Midwinter Tears [OPEN]

[charles septimus weasley]

▲

January 30th, 2029

”…and remember that your papers on the differences between dragon egg incubation periods are due next week. I know who has started and who hasn’t already,” Charlie dismissed his class while giving them a knowing look. It was mostly because those that had, had already asked him questions, and were looking for further reading outside of his own book that they were currently using for class. That didn’t mean they were all in the same boat, but he’d taught enough years now to know the difference. Students were students at the end of the day.

The weather had been horrible lately, so watching them dismiss from the classroom led him to staring out the window longingly. The wind was whipping aggressively at it, spattering the glass with specks of snow and ice. Charlie hated holding class indoors since there were so many opportunities to bring creatures to class when the weather was nice. Hands on learning was so much more important for this field, especially now that he was only teaching higher level students.

Now that he was done for the day, he organized his teaching materials and dropped them into his bag before slinging it over his shoulder. He couldn’t disapparate from here, so that meant having to trek outside to do so. There were charms to deflect inclement weather, but for the distance he had to go, that seemed pointless. Plus, he was supposed to meet his wife in Hogsmeade, so jumping from the school to there was a bit of overkill.

Letting out a long sigh as he locked his classroom door behind him, Charlie headed towards the building exit, slipping gloves on and making sure his hat and scarf were on as tightly as possible. Reducing snow to skin contact was so important in this weather. And with the way it was pelting the classroom windows, he really didn’t want that hitting his face. Stopping at the door, he paused, and hoped for a moment there would be a break in the wind. Instead, it looked like it decided to start going in the opposite direction, and faster. ”Merlin…” he swore, leaning against the door but not daring to go out just yet. He had to steel himself for a little longer before trying. Natalie would understand, after all.

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[monday meadow weekly]

January 30, 2029

Working for Witch TV was fun enough that Monday had kept her job as a production assistant instead of just riding through adult life on her parents' fame and money, but it wasn't something that she could see herself doing for the rest of her life. Leaving Witch TV, though, most likely meant returning home to the United States and only coming back across the pond when it was convenient for vacations. Monday (or her parents, more accurately) had the means to do that—she and her siblings had a penthouse in London, for Merlin's sake—but as much as being on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean hadn't always been ideal for her mental health, she felt weird about the idea of moving back to California.

One of the things that Monday had thought about doing before she had finished her NEWTs was going into the legal profession in some way. She didn't have as many connections there, and that had its pros and cons. While it might have stood to reason that she wanted to go into entertainment law, she didn't. Instead, she wanted to go more towards civil rights and advocacy and that realm of the law in the magical world.

Actually qualifying and then practicing as a lawyer internationally seemed like too many hoops to jump through, and Monday was a little put off by that. She could deal with MACUSA just fine, but that would mean committing to staying in the US, probably in New York City, for at least a good while. The legal system under the British Ministry of Magic was a little—and sometimes a lot—different, so there was also the problem of not being able to work in her own country if she wanted or needed to go back.

Rather than abandon the idea, however, Monday had made an appointment to meet with Madam Macmillan, her former Head of House as a Gryffindor at Hogwarts, and some of the other staff members who would be more familiar with what course of study would be most appropriate for what she wanted to do in the future. The meeting, which had been held in one of the administrative offices in the Central Building at LIFE, had been a positive one. From what she had learned, she could get a qualification in legal studies, and it was likely that most of the classes she would take if she decided to attend LIFE would be in General Studies rather than in the school's Law Enforcement Department. The latter department was mostly for teaching the students who wanted to become Aurors or similar, which Monday really didn't want. As a part-goblin, it was easy enough for her to dislocate or break something without trying to chase Dark wizards around.

While the meeting had been nice, Monday was frustrated to find that the weather outside was no better than it had been when she had gotten to the Hogwarts campus. She had avoided injury getting to her meeting, and she really didn't want to try her luck. From what she could see out the windows of the Central Building, it looked nasty. It almost made her think that maybe going back to California wouldn't be so bad.

Monday sent a few messages from her phone to various recipients, including her family's group chat, to let them know that she would be holding off on Apparating back to London until the weather cleared up enough that she could avoid Splinching herself. She didn't really know what she was going to do to occupy her time until it was safer outside, but she decided to get a feel for the layout of that building, at least, while she was stuck there.

As she returned to the entrance she had used to get in the building prior to her meeting, Monday noticed Professor Weasley waiting by the door, presumably trying to gauge if it was worth going out or not. Monday had never had a particular affinity for Care of Magical Creatures, the way her sister Charlie did, but Professor Weasley remained memorable, mostly because his name actually wasn't that different from her sister's: She was Charlie Weekly, and he was Charlie Weasley. It must have been frustrating for both of them at times, but it was funny in a, "What are the odds?" sort of way.

"Hi, Professor Weasley," Monday greeted him, both to be polite and because they were both standing there. "How have you been?"

charles septimus weasley

[charles septimus weasley]

▲

The snow had to be getting harder. Charlie had stood for a bit now, still wondering what the best course of action would be. Visibility was...poor. He knew of several spells that could deflect water for a brief period of time, but nothing that could handle an onslaught from a snowstorm. For all of his time spent at Hogwarts, the snow very rarely got like this. Another long sigh escaped him as he shivered at the thought of braving it. Why did it have to happen on the one day he was teaching? Earlier in the day had been perfectly fine, a gentle snowfall that played beautifully off of the surrounding buildings. Now he couldn't even see the next one over from his own. The odds of stumbling into a wall or tree were high, in his opinion. With the old grounds he could have navigated the storm with his eyes closed, but not anymore.

The sound of footsteps in the nearly empty corridor drew Charlie's attention away from staring out the window. "Afternoon Miss Weekly," he greeted the young woman. The Weekly family was sort of funny, especially the one girl Charlie. Not only were the two of their names eerily similar, more than once he'd had long conversations with her about dragons and other large reptiles. He knew she was working in Hogsmeade at the reserve, only increasing their number of encounters. But Monday here, he hadn't seen in a while. "Well, I would be better if I could go home right now, but other than it's been a splendid day." He let out a low chuckle. It seemed like everyone here was stuck unless they wanted to chance their luck outside.

"And how about you? Are you here for work or...?" Charlie asked. It was so hard to tell now with students. They could be well above the average age for Hogwarts and still be taking classes. He even had a gentleman that was looking into a second career as a magizoologist, who also happened to be in his mid-forties. And he knew Monday had already graduated too.

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[monday meadow weekly]

January 30, 2029

Professor Weasley returned her greeting, wishing her a good afternoon, and said that he would have been better if he could go home, but it had been a "splendid day" other than that. Monday understood. Having a designated spot where Apparition was permitted at Hogwarts would have made life easier for a lot of people, but there were also a lot of security concerns with that concept.

"And how about you? Are you here for work or...?"

"I've been well," Monday answered, "and no, I was actually here for a meeting about starting school here at LIFE." In British parlance, "school" didn't really include higher education, but it did in her American vernacular. "I've been working for Witch TV in production, but I'm looking at doing, like, some sort of legal studies."

charles septimus weasley

[charles septimus weasley]

▲

”Ah! Excellent!” Charlie exclaimed. ”It really is good to see so many return to further their education. I wish that I had had that option back in the day…” He trailed off, as he started to think back on his own post-Hogwarts education. Most of it could be considered close to what was being offered now, as an advanced studies on magical creatures and dragons. The only difference between what he had gone through and what his current students were doing, was that he was essentially thrown directly into the field with dragons. Romania did not mess around at all. Even with top magizoologists like Newt around to supervise, it still had the occasion to run afoul. The top experts in dragonology were still learning at that point in time. So while it was the perfect period to enter the field, the risk was considerably high compared to the reward. Charlie liked to think that he won out in the end.

Monday mentioned that her idea was to start in the legal studies field, a remarkable shift away from where she currently worked at Witch TV. While he had very little knowledge on the entertainment industry, he supposed there was an area for the law in it. The muggles always seemed to be up in arms about ‘copyright’ and whatnot in their newspapers. ”Both sound fascinating to me. Is the goal to use the legal studies in your current field, or are you looking for a complete shift away from it?” He only ever knew dragons and creatures. Even with the book deal and teaching, Charlie was never far away from his expertise. It sort of helped being the foremost expert in dragons, as it was.

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[monday meadow weekly]

January 30, 2029

Enthused by her mentioning that she was thinking of coming back to Hogwarts to continue her education, Professor Weasley mentioned that he wished that he'd had that opportunity "back in the day". Though it was the sort of wording that older people used, "back in the day" before LIFE's existence hadn't been that far back. Plenty of people who had been in her own year at Hogwarts hadn't gone to LIFE, since they had started careers before it was an option available to them, too. A handful of others had started their job training under whatever the previous structures for their positions had been, then switched into training at LIFE once that became available.

"Both sound fascinating to me," the professor remarked about what she had voiced interest in studying at LIFE. "Is the goal to use the legal studies in your current field, or are you looking for a complete shift away from it?"

"Yeah." Monday nodded in response to the latter half of Professor Weasley's question. "I mean, I don't mind TV work, but it's like… the whole 'nepo baby' thing got kind of old years ago." Besides, she didn't really know that there was anything else she wanted to get out of working at Witch TV. It wasn't boring; there was always something to do, but it just didn't feel right to her. "Like, I don't want to be a lawyer, either, but like… more working with people and advocacy?"

charles septimus weasley

[charles septimus weasley]

▲

Charlie had no clue where the nepotism came into play with the Weekly family, other than that the family was wealthy. It had taken a while for him to connect the dots between the last name and the name of the infamous calendar company. His parents still got one every year, and he recalled flipping through the decades old one as a child that his father had never taken down in his garage full of muggle oddities. That did lead to a number of intruding questions that he decided to keep to himself, about where exactly the leg-up came for Monday in the television industry. He barely watched it, always more interested in spending his free time now with his wife. It was amazing how simple life was when he wasn’t chasing dragons down all over the world.

Still, he nodded his head as if he understood. If nepotism was a problem, then his own family probably had it these days. Having two Ministers of Magic in the last decade, albeit short and abrupt stints, definitely spoke to the power of the Weasley name these days. ”That’s a very admirable way to approach it, I would say,” Charlie commented as the conversation shifted towards Monday’s desired field of work. He sort of did the same thing, just with dragons. Except that their only way of advocating for themselves was with flames, claws, and teeth. In a way, it was worse that there were humans and sentient creatures being treated poorly still. Everything had come a long way since he was young, but there were definitely still steps that needed to be made.

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[monday meadow weekly]

January 30, 2029

"That’s a very admirable way to approach it, I would say," Professor Weasley said in response to what she had told him about what she was planning to do at LIFE. Monday appreciated his input. Even though the meeting that she had just finished had gone well, it was nice to hear from someone who had no stake in her studies one way or the other. Her parents didn't mind paying for the additional expenses associated with her switching up what she wanted to do, but they were generally the type to praise her regardless.

"Thank you, Professor." Since the weather didn't appear to be letting up, Monday didn't feel that she was holding Professor Weasley hostage by continuing to converse with him. "I mean, I think Witch TV has been a good experience," she shared, "though I had to get a lot of coffee orders when I was still an intern, but I think it sort of… built character for me to have a regular job, as my dad says." Almost dying in a fire had also put a lot into perspective.

charles septimus weasley

[charles septimus weasley]

▲

Chuckling at the coffee orders comment, Charlie thought back on his own time as an apprentice dragonologist. Most of that was filled with a kind of hazing that would be considered illegal by international labor standards these days, but he wouldn’t have it any other way. He came out of the experience with all of this fingers still on his hands, so he really couldn’t complain all that much. A healthy supply of burn-healing paste helped immensely, and had become one of his best ‘potions’, if one could even call it that. Fetching coffee seemed quite a bit easier than adjusting a loose egg underneath a nesting mother dragon, in the fear that leaving it out for too long would have negative repercussions. Then again, he had also written down his own children’s orders before, only because he never would have been able to remember all of the ingredients each of them wanted. And then there was his wife. Natalie was the worst with her Spellbucks drinks…

But having a ‘regular job’, was an interesting tidbit of information to hear from Monday. Charlie was aware of the Weekly family’s patriarch. He had unknowingly been buying their magical calendars for years prior to the Ilvermorny students being brought over to Hogwarts. It sounded like he still believed in hard work for his own children, instead of letting them easily rise up in the family business. There really wasn’t a whole lot of nepotism that he saw in the magical community. Most children that inherited shops put just as much effort and hard work in as their parents had. Except maybe Ollivanders. Charlie had been disappointed by the output of Veronica Ollivander these last few years. She also wasn’t that friendly, and really didn’t gel well with his own personality.

”Normally, I would say that working really helps take the rose-tinted glasses on how the world works. But everyone around your age has been through enough these last few years that I think you’ve probably already figured that out for yourself.” Charlie let out a long exhale. It had been the same for him in his early twenties. Everything up to that point had been relatively okay, at least until the Death Eaters started to reappear. Working in Romania at the time meant he was safe but didn’t stop him from worrying constantly about his family. Once again, it seemed like everything had finally quieted down for the better.

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