Throwing the Book

[Eliza Corcoran]

This was only the second staff meeting Eliza had had the... pleasure of attending since she had assumed her professorship. She could, of course, understand the need -- though she was nearly ten years out of the Ministry, she still remembered well the various meetings that often interrupted her research -- but the first one, at least, had been rather dull.

Of course, this time she had rather more to say. The incident with Mr. Vablatsky and Miss Woodcroft had only been a week or two prior and she was required to give a brief report of the encounter, though there wasn't really much to say on the matter. School policy was quite clear on what was and was not acceptable behavior, and a boy and a girl out after hours alone was absolutely unacceptable, regardless of what boggart or bogeyman had accosted them.  

Eliza would never have let herself get into such a position in her school days.

The rest of the meeting proceeded without incident, and Eliza was fairly confident she had even managed to keep her boredom off her face. It was a good day.

She stood to leave, but caught the Gryffindor Head of House's eye before she could escape. Barrett Keene had been a year or two ahead of her at Hogwarts, but otherwise she couldn't recall much about the man.

"Professor Keene," she greeted lightly with a polite smile. "Did you need something?"

Date: February 1st, 1886 | Tag: @'Barrett Keene' @'Cassius Lestrange'

  

[Barrett Keene]

Gryffindor was in the hole, and Barrett had been avoiding eye contact with Madam Sykes for several days now. It was only a matter of time before she started hexing his belongings to mock him. Because of this, he was harboring a bit of a grudge against the very pretty Professor Corcoran.

In a probably ill-advised move, that might have been half designed to avoid Constance, Barrett approached Professor Corcoran at the end of the staff meeting.

"I wanted to apologize on behalf of my house," Barrett said, matching her polite smile, "My students are not usually so... difficult."

  

[Eliza Corcoran]

"Oh, please don't apologize," she said with a laugh. "It's hardly your fault. Sometimes children are just determined to be children. That is what the rules are there for, after all, to save them from themselves." Of course, she had never needed such intervention, but alas, not everyone could be as sensible as she had been in those days.

It was probably a good thing Eliza had never had any children of her own.

  

[Barrett Keene]

Professor Corcoran was pretty, but very serious. "Usually Woodcroft and Vablatsky are more sensible -" for Gryffindors "- in their defense. I don't know what came over them." Teenaged idiocy, no doubt, but at least the cuff hadn't been set off, so not that sort of idiocy.

  

[Eliza Corcoran]

"I'm sure you would know best; they are your students, after all," she replied cheerfully. "Surely if they're as sensible as you say, it won't happen again."

"I'm afraid I've not made the best of first impressions with the students, though," Eliza added wryly. "I forgot quite how quickly news spreads through the castle!"