Two of a Kind

[Daniel Clairoux]

It was just at the start of the new year, and Daniel knew that, as with every year, there would be a lot of work to catch up on. As always, there would be the first years who would be leaving their families (for some, for the first time) and Daniel knew from experience that this could be a hard transition period for them. Then came the third years, who had all new classes to get used to, with new professors, and some students would find some of these new classes completely foreign. He wasn't a professor, but he knew the new classes for the third years well enough to be able to talk to them about it. The biggest challenges were generally the fifth and seventh years, however, with the new pressure of the OWLs and NEWTs sometimes being a little much for the students. It was great that he had a colleague to help out during this busy time, as sometimes it was hard to get around to all of the students in the school whenever they had any problems they felt needed discussion. Maria was going to be a huge benefit, he could feel it, especially since as far as he had heard, she had been doing a great job.

Exiting the staff room with a cup of coffee, Daniel walked through the library to visit his new colleague. They had met only for a short while previously and he had seen her around, but he had been absent from the majority of her time at the school, and since returning from a short holiday, he hadn't had the time to really get to know his colleague, which he felt rather guilty about. They'd be working together more often than separate, so he was planning to put a little effort in getting to know her. "Knock knock," he announced, rapping on the door to announce his presence. "It's Dan, are you free?"​

 

[Maria Madison]

Maria's favourite tradition after being away from work for a while was always going through her office, wondering what on earth filing system she had thought was a good idea a few months ago, and reorganising things to better suit her current frame of mind. Right now she was re-alphabetising her books (Who on earth alphabetised by book title? Author's surname made so much more sense. What had she been thinking?) and pondering the year to come. She had been thinking it would be a good idea to pick up some pencils and paper for younger students who might benefit from art therapy, but the holidays had come and gone so fast, she would have to make a mental note to nip out next time she had a few free hours. And now her own oldest daughter was at Hogwarts, the time passing so quickly already. Charlie adapted well to change, and as glad as she was to be able to be here for her, Maria worried a little that Charlie would think it was uncool to reach out to mum for help now that she was trying to make her own name in a new place again. She would have to remember to check in with her soon.

Maria's thoughts were interrupted by a knock and a voice she hadn't been expecting and she scrambled to her feet, dropping the books back on the pile. She didn't have any appointments coming up, that was for sure, what could this be? She opened the door, relieved to see her co-worker, and smiled quickly. "Oh! Hi! Sure, of course, come right on in." She said happily, stepping back and gesturing him in. "Sorry about the mess, I'm a bit of a compulsive re-organiser. What's up?"