Three Steps Behind

[Monty Pendleton]

The very last thing Monty wanted to do that afternoon was patrol with the Headmistress. It wasn't that he didn't like her. In fact, if it hadn't been for his anxieties, he suspected he'd have greatly been enjoying working alongside her. She was level-headed, and keen to make the school a better place - two traits Monty usually shared with her, though his head had not been quite so level since his promotion to Deputy.

He really was trying. Unfortunately, it was trying so hard that was causing him the trouble; if only he would have given himself a moment's rest, some time alone to wind down and recuperate, he might not have worked himself into such a state. As it was, the scarce amount of free time he had was spent worrying about all the things he was supposed to be doing - things he'd taken upon himself thinking he could handle it all.

Silently, he walked alongside Katherine, racking his tired brain for something to say, some conversation starter that would deflect attention from himself for a little while. He wasn't usually so quiet, so listless, and he didn't expect the Headmistress not to notice. Standing a little taller, he forced a smile upon his face. Maybe he could get away with it - disguise it until it passed. Maybe.

 

[Katherine Alicastell]

Change was a common theme at Hogwarts, perhaps more so than the average school, even by wizarding standards. From staircases that moved between floors within the very castle itself, to the arrival and departure of new students and staff each and every year, not a lot stayed the same. Yet even with this knowledge, Katherine had expected at least a select few things to remain the same. Perhaps it was because they'd been things yet to change since she took up her position as the schools Headmistress. The former Deputy was one of those things. After all, he was still young enough to be quite far from retirement, and old enough to be settled in to his position, so the woman had assumed he would be around for far longer than he was. It was both a surprise and a shame to lose him, and had a larger impact than would be thought of one person, considering he didn't leave behind one, but three separate roles to be filled. Thankfully for Katherine, she didn't have to look far to fill those positions.

Montgomery hadn't been a difficult choice for the school's deputy. There were only few staff members she considered for the position, and she felt he was someone she could trust to be dedicated to the role. He was approachable, hard-working and well-liked by the students, though the decision was far from a popularity contest. Katherine was, after all, far from the most liked professor, but that didn't stop her doing her job, and doing it well, and she expected the same from a Deputy. How much the students liked them was more of a bonus. It did make for a better learning environment overall, for them to feel comfortable and respect an authority figure, but it hadn't been the trait highest on her list, in part due to the fact the students already had their heads of houses to go to.

It was the first time Katherine had gone out on a patrol with Montgomery. More often than not she simply didn't have the time, and when she did, she generally did so on her own. Currently it seemed as if she may as well have just been alone, with how quiet it was between the two of them. Katherine didn't go out of her way to converse with or make friends with her colleagues typically, being as busy as she was, so she couldn't be entirely surprised that there was little being said, but it seemed to be a little more than that. As an interrogator, body language was something she'd learned to be more aware of than the average person, though it may have been obvious to anyone he was a little off. "We'll do a short walk of the forest line and head toward the cliffs." The woman began in an effort to break the silence, prefacing the conversation indirectly to avoid the awkwardness of questioning him right out of the blue. Veering toward one end of the treeline, she looked over her shoulder at her companion. "I wanted to ask how you were coming along adjusting to your new position. It is a lot of responsibility to be put on someone with so little warning. I hope its not been too difficult." So much shifting of positions would have been more ideal to happen before the beginning of a new year, not in between semesters, but she simply couldn't leave it that long.​

 

[Monty Pendleton]

Monty was grateful when Katherine finally relieved the silence, for any longer and it would have become intolerably awkward. "OK - excellent," he said, though the thought of walking all the way to the cliffs and back filled him with dread. He considered spontaneously feigning illness, so that he could return to his quarters and sleep for a few hours, but he was nowhere near a good enough liar to pull it off with conviction. Besides which, the intention was to direct attention away from himself, not to draw it in. He was just going to have to grit hit teeth and get on with it.

The question that followed was not entirely unexpected, though Monty had hoped to delay it just a little longer, until he was feeling more confident in his position. Then again, lately he'd begun to wonder whether he was cut out to be Deputy Head at all. Having been self-employed as a private tutor the majority of his life, he had neither the training nor the experience required to handle so much responsibility. Added to the fact it had been sprung upon him so unexpectedly, during a time of personal turmoil and high anxiety, he was nearly ready to quit, if only to save Katherine the nuisance having to fire him. He bit his lip, watching the grass disappearing beneath his feet. How could he tell her the truth? She would surely regret his promotion immediately, and wish she had placed her trust within somebody else's, more competent, hands.

"Well, I..." he started, prepared to begin telling her he was getting on just fine. But he couldn't do that, either. "It's certainly been a challenge. I mean - an enjoyable challenge. Really; I'm privileged to have been given this opportunity. And it isn't as if I expected it to be easy, you understand." He cringed inwardly, wondering whether he sounded so false to Katherine as he did to himself. "Your support, too, has been immensely appreciated." It was just a pity everything Katherine had taught him so far seemed to have flown right over his head. "Did you, er - did you have some concern?"

 

[Katherine Alicastell]

On the rare occasions Katherine patrolled with a partner, the woman's attention was typically focused on her surroundings rather than those she was with, but as Montgomery spoke up about how he was handling the position he had been handed, she made the effort to slow the pace down, and direct more of her attention to him. It wasn't a conversation to be had at a brisk pace. "Not at all. It's a process. I'd be more concerned if there wasn't a challenge being presented. It's no easy task, particularly under the circumstances. I'd be more worried if you found it too easy. To me, that would show not enough work was being done, or the work wasn't being taken seriously enough." The last thing she wanted was an incompetent deputy. There was a lot of responsibility associated with the role, and if they were finding it too easy too soon, there'd most certainly be a problem. Of course, there wasn't a complete lack of concern regarding Montgomery. The way he spoke made it sound as if he were trying to convince her, when she wasn't in any need of convincing. She'd made her choice for a reason, because she believed he'd do well. It almost seemed as if he needed to believe it, too. "As with all new experiences in life, it takes time to get accustomed to, though I'm sure I don't need to tell you that. I couldn't expect you to be completely settled in so soon. I've had my own struggles adapting to new roles. There will come a point where it does get easier."
​

 

[Monty Pendleton]

Monty knew Katherine meant to be encouraging, but the reminder that he was supposed to find the new role challenging - and that if he didn't, she would have questioned his dedication to it - did not ease his anxieties. Suddenly he felt a new pressure: the pressure to continue working as hard as he had been, even at the expense of his health. Perhaps she would have understood if he'd been honest with her, but that wasn't a risk he was willing to take. He recalled vividly how awful he had felt when he had failed his Auror training, and though he was several decades older now, he suspected the experience of losing his job as Deputy Head would be frightfully similar.

He was surprised to hear that Katherine had struggled herself. For some reason, he had not considered that she might ever be less serious or composed as she appeared on the outside. "Mm," he said, self-consciously putting his hands in his pockets. He did believe the job would get easier eventually; it was simply a case of whether he beat it before it beat him. "Thank you. I'm sure that is true. I really am enjoying the work, meantime." At least about this he could be truthful. In spite of the stress, he did enjoy being Deputy Head. Keen to move on, Monty then changed the subject, asking Katherine about some recent plans they'd been discussing. It seemed he had gotten away with it - for now.

---

END​