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Oct 27, 2016 15:52:53 GMT 8
Post by DAMIEN REED KELITH on Oct 27, 2016 15:52:53 GMT 8
Twenty-nine... twenty-nine years old, it seemed like yesterday that he was just entering into Hogwarts as a student. But no, that was now eighteen years ago. Almost two decades late and he was back into this school. He'd been teaching here for his own handful of years now and he loved it. The one place that felt like home, he was more than happy to be here at the school.
Today had started out well, he'd gone down and enjoyed a spot of breakfast before coming back up to his classroom. He set up for his classes that would begin again the next morning. He had to prepare his students for end of year examinations and those for their O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s that were only just around the corner. Badger, his cat, had come up and attempted a jump onto his desk. That was where the Savannah cat found himself lying during the days. Unfortunately Badger had been having a hard time with jumping as the cat was aging. He was a seventeen year old cat now, after all. Unfortunately it'd been the beginning of the end of an era.
Badger had been his best friend for a significant portion of his life. Damien didn't even want to imagine what would come to be when he would see the cat go. Carefully he picked up the elderly cat and put him upon the desk. Soon it would just be him and Nazca, his owl. ”It's okay,” he said and gently pet the cat. He turned from Badger and continued to set up for class. He had most of the day free. He would probably now be spending it here in his classroom with Badger. He pulled out a stack of parchment that had essays on them.
Damien began to read the essays. All were about muggle artefacts that each student had gotten to experience in their own way. The blue eyes scanned the words and carefully graded each essay. Since these were based on experience and not facts he was checking in a more muggle sense of these essays for spelling and proper writings rather than the definite. His left hand carefully pet his cat to make sure Badger was not forgotten about.
The muggle studies professor missed the days when Badger was happy skipping outside chasing whatever could catch his eye. But as with all things, Badger had to age, just as he would. Getting older was just the way of the world. ”Badger, sometimes I swear these students do not know what they speak of, do you think I was this terrible at writing when I was a student?” he asked the cat who just gave him one of the looks that Badger was great at giving him. Damien just smiled over to him and continued to read. Even though he didn't have to teach today, Damien was well known to have an open door policy whenever it came to students or other professors if anyone needed him. He didn't close himself off even if he had wanted to.
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▲ You were the perfect storm, But it's not enough
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Jan 11, 2017 17:06:51 GMT 8
Post by BEATRICE ADELAIDE DURSLEY on Jan 11, 2017 17:06:51 GMT 8
 I put my armor on Show you how strong how I am, I put my armor on I'll show you that I am, I'm unstoppable
Sometimes a muggleborn wizard could find themselves lost in the unknown. Bea knew she needed to count herself lucky to have cousins that were magical like herself, and that even those cousins had their own magical cousins. She was not going to have to face the magical world alone - Lily had told her that before, but sometimes it was hard to explain in a way that Lily could understand. The magical world was still scary in some ways to Bea - there was so much she still didn't know about it - there was still something holding her back from accepting herself as a witch even, if she was being honest that is.
Its not to say she hated being magical - even her father seemed to tolerate it now, sort of. But sometimes it seemed like it might be easier, if she wasn't a witch...but its not something you can change - she knew this, and she didn't want to change...but - it was complicated. With classes over Bea had been wandering her mind a mess. N.E.W.T.s were coming up and Bea still had yet to settle on a field, at least a specific one. Her classes would help her to do well enough in any typical job - it was hard to admit that perhaps she had squandered her opportunity to spot her passion with her indecisiveness. Of course...was she going to live in the magical world? There were some big questions Bea had been asking herself and not asking others - funny how she never really seemed to understand how to ask for help but was so willing to give it.
Now being muggleborn Bea hadn't been a student of Professor Kelith's, not directly at least. Still it wasn't as if it was a secret he was muggleborn himself, and it was also well known he was approachable. Bea wasn't sure she had been seeking him out at first but when she found herself not far from his classroom and office she decided to see if he was in...maybe he could offer some advice on what she could do...if there was anything to do. Although she wasn't exactly looking for advice on classes or even her N.E.W.T.'s, this was a little more person.
"Excuse me...." Bea said peeping her head through the door that stood ajar "Professor Kelith, I'm Beatrice Dursley - seventh year hufflepuff, I was wondering if I could trouble you for bit, I could use a bit of advice you see...." The seventeen year old tried not to look so sheepish as she made her request but it was hard not to - after all, who actually had doubts about becoming a member of the magical community? She obviously was just defective or something, maybe just pathetic. She just hoped Damien would hear her questions out at the very least - it wasn't like she actually could expect him to have an actual solution to her predicament. |
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Jan 22, 2017 15:29:48 GMT 8
Post by DAMIEN REED KELITH on Jan 22, 2017 15:29:48 GMT 8
Damien always had his door open for students, whether they be one of his own or just one that needed a helping hand. He'd chosen his subject of lessons based upon his own life experiences. A lot that he knew about had been from his childhood in the muggle world. While he was an intelligent Ravenclaw who could have probably ended up teaching charms or something along those lines at one point. This was where he felt he could teach witches and wizards important things that they could know on how to survive the muggle world instead of being lost within it.
As he continued to read some of the papers of his students and mark them accordingly he would slightly shake his head and chuckle at some of the things. The few muggleborn students that actually took muggle studies as a class would write things just as funnily as the wizarding students quite often. It wasn't because they didn't know anything about what they were writing, but that it was a part of their day to day that they didn't know how to write about it. Things that one did mindlessly were tough to write about.
His eyes glanced up as he heard a student ask if she could trouble him for some advice. ”Miss Dursley, you're more than welcome to trouble me for a bit, these parchments are giving me a small headache,” he said with a smile and shuffled his papers over to the side of his desk. Advice was something that he was good with. He was a younger professor year and even though he still finished his seventh year nearly eleven years ago, he could actually remember those days of the stress of figuring out how to figure life out. The daily stress of just waiting to fail you N.E.W.T.s and then having to figure it all out once again. Damien had once worked in The Three Broomsticks as a barkeep just so he didn't quite have to decide what he wanted to do out of school right away. He wanted to teach back at Hogwarts, that much he had known, but he'd never picked a subject of focus. It was the several years of waiting to figure it out that left him with the option of a Muggle Studies professor when the position was vacated by the professor who once taught him.
Damien stood up before walking to a desk to gather her a chair. He took it back to his desk. ”Please come sit down, hopefully I can help out with advice that you are looking for,” he said with a smile
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▲ You were the perfect storm, But it's not enough
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Oct 10, 2017 11:12:04 GMT 8
Post by BEATRICE ADELAIDE DURSLEY on Oct 10, 2017 11:12:04 GMT 8
I put my armor on Show you how strong how I am, I put my armor on I'll show you that I am, I'm unstoppable
In some ways Bea debated on pardoning herself and leaving - it wasn't as if she actually knew Professor Kelith, so why was she looking for advice from him. But Damien welcomed her in and was quick to set her up with a place to sit so they could chat. All she could do was offer up an awkward smile of thanks. Sometimes Bea had to wonder how she was related to her Uncle Harry - well no she knew, but there just seemed to be so little in common. Except magic.
Settling into the chair he had brought over for her Bea nervously fiddled her palms on her thighs as she tried to sort her words. Had she always been this nervous of a person? No, it wasn't until the magic had started to show - at least that's how Bea looked at it. 'I'll be honest Professor I ought to have come here with a better thought out question, or maybe one that didn't feel so complicated to ask in the first place...."
Be could feel the flash backs of her primary school days (back when she still attended muggle school). Sitting in teachers offices trying to figure out why strange things were going on around her. Had hogwarts been all that different? "I don't mean to be rude, but, they say you're from a family of muggles - so, I guess I thought maybe you'd be the one try and sort this all out with..."
Oh gosh she really wasn't getting anywhere fast was she? "Sorry, I should hurry and get to the point - though it'd be easier if I actually understood what I'm nervous about...what I mean is -...how...how do you figure out if this is right, I mean - as someone from a muggle family...your friends...I mean magic and muggles don't really mix well...even some laws and such. What I mean is, how did you decided that magic was better?"
It felt almost wrong to be asking, after all they were magical. Nothing would or could change that. Bea had wished many a nights to be like her youngest sister and not be a witch. Of course she had enjoyed many things about being a witch as well. She was going to graduate in a matter of months though and there was only so much time she had to work on catching up with a muggle life - that was if she choose to go back to a muggle life. Was that even an option, could a witch go to uni - would potions have prepped her for anything in the muggle world? Yes Bea had a number of questions that had been building over the past few years and Damien was now the one who was going to hear a number of them. |
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Oct 11, 2017 16:06:45 GMT 8
Post by DAMIEN REED KELITH on Oct 11, 2017 16:06:45 GMT 8
Damien was good at speaking with students. He hadn’t always had the easiest time with things when he was a student and he always wanted to make himself available to those who needed advice or even just someone to speak to.
Once Beatrice sat down in the chair, he took the same opportunity and sat back at his desk. ”I’ll be honest Professor I ought to have come here with a better thought out question, or maybe one that didn’t feel so complicated to ask in the first place…” Damien looked at her carefully but he didn’t want to interrupt her. She was clearly nervous with what she was trying to ask. ”I don’t mean to be rude, but, they say you’re from a family of muggles - so, I guess I thought maybe you’d be the one to try and sort this all out with…” Damien nodded in a way to respond back to her.
”Sorry, I should hurry and get to the point - though it’d be easier if I actually understood what I’m nervous about… what I mean is -... how… how do you figure out if this is right, I mean - as someone from a muggle family… your friends… I mean magic and muggles don’t really mix well… even some laws and such. What I mean is, how did you decide that magic was better?” Damien took a couple of moments before he tried to say anything. He fiddled a little with his papers on his desk.
Finally he spoke, ”How did I decide to stay in the wizarding world versus the muggle world?” It was more of a musing than anything else. How did he decide to leave the muggle world mostly behind? For him it was probably much easier than it would be for her. ”Let me start with my history before I tell you how I decided,” he told her.
”My parents abandoned me when I showed my signs of magic. I am assuming the way they felt was not easy. I had three older siblings. Two parents who should have loved their child for who… or what he was. They put up with me in their home until I came here for my first year. When I disembarked the Hogwarts Express, Rebecca was there to greet me. She became my foster mother, the kindest woman anyone could ever ask for. She was the hardest part of my decision. In the end, I grew fond of this school. I fell in love with a world that accepted me for who I was,” Damien glanced down while he spoke, it wasn’t always an easy story to tell. He took a deep breath. ”What I found out after I graduated was that I could still have my friends in the muggle world. Rebecca knew who I was, and I didn’t have much more than her, but I still keep in contact with some people I knew before I was a wizard. In the end we are magical folk, you can live a life in the muggle world but it can’t compare to living in this world. Especially once you have been here. Also trying to go to university after coming to Hogwarts is very difficult, unless you’ve tutored during the summer to keep up on your studies. Our lives seem to be a little more difficult once we come here. Once you graduate here you will have so many options. But you don’t have to leave your life behind. I wouldn’t say magic is better, but life where we belong is definitely easier.
He wasn’t sure if what he said could answer her question, but he did believe that the choice was something that one had to make from the heart. ”Where you go from Hogwarts, it’s where your heart will take you. And it can be confusing, our dreams of being policemen and doctors, those come from an old life, but also from a mind that once dreamed you could use magic, muggle stories of witches and wizards, as children we dream we could be one. As we grow into adults those dreams have become reality. The best part of having a choice is the fact that you have the choice to make the decision best for you,” he smiled, ”but if you stay here what would you do?” he asked. If her answer put a smile on her face than it was probably the right decision. That was how he felt of being a professor. He just hoped at this point that this helped her. Even if it seemed like a jumbled mess of a story, he could only hope that she would have an answer.
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▲ You were the perfect storm, But it's not enough
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Nov 5, 2017 7:47:42 GMT 8
Post by BEATRICE ADELAIDE DURSLEY on Nov 5, 2017 7:47:42 GMT 8
I put my armor on Show you how strong how I am, I put my armor on I'll show you that I am, I'm unstoppable
If Bea was being honest Damien was not exactly going the direction she had expected when he approached her question. Of course the hufflepuff was very grateful that he was even giving her his time - let alone being so open about a matter that well...it was practically horrifying for Bea. The fear had been there her whole life with her grandparents, thankfully her father and mother were more accepting...not entirely but compared to what Uncle Harry had endure Dudley might have seemed like a saint - to his kids at the very least. BUt Damien had been abandoned.
She regarded to herself that in some ways Damien was clearly biased for the magical world...she was bias for the muggle world though, wasn't she? But his choice had been made for him in many ways, at least how she was looking at it. If her parents had abandoned her....would Harry have taken her in? Would she even have a second thought about falling away into this hidden world? But much of what he said was true too. She had already lost so many important years in the muggle world. If they did this schooling in their twenties maybe she would be able to live side by side in each world not having to choose....but she was going to have to choose and soon.
No doubt she seemed a bit pale after he went on. It wasn't his fault, just the horror of reality setting in for a young adult. Time was not on her side here. Bea was quiet, it was a lot to take in and think about and she so easily got caught in her own head. Old habits die hard after all. "Thank you, Professor, I have to say I hadn't expected you to be so...complex - oh and please I don't mean that rudely, I guess the way I grew up I just assume - its amazing really, that you've been through so much."
Yes it was hard to imagine that people actually got abandoned. Even her gran had kept Harry when they had loathed everything he represented. "My younger sister Elizabeth, she's here too - but Isabel...she's thirteen, and a muggle..." Bea had wanted to be there for both her sisters, always...but Hogwarts had taken her away years ago, and than Elizabeth joined her...it had been almost three years since it was confirmed that Isabel was just a muggle...would they manage - she barely saw her grandparents, what if her sister developed feelings similar to the ones harbored by her nan?
"What I mean is...what I'll do...um..." Her studies had never been very specific - a mistake that she was starting to understand. She had been preparing to live a duel life, a muggle forward life...a life she didn't belong to - at least if Damien was correct. Still she had kept her grades up, for the most part, and had taken the classes that were advised to her by her teachers, cousins, and of course Harry. "Harry, my uncle, he made sure I would be getting enough N.E.W.T.s to - hopefully - have a few decent options...for jobs..." It was hard to hide that she clearly was not as prepared as a soon to be graduate. Yes she was ready for the tests, but after that? After school? In so many ways she hardly felt like someone who was ready to not be a student anymore. |
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