til all my sleeves are stained red [parvati]

[Deleted]

Imogen was preparing for the school year to begin, something she hadn't done for seven years. It was a strange feeling, going back to a school as a teacher instead of a student. She still wasn't sure how to prepare, other than writing a freakish amount of lesson plans. So far, the number was two hundred and sixteen. Imogen wasn't sure how many of them she'd actually ever use, but it was better to be overprepared than underprepared. Part of that meant talking with other staff members about Hogwarts. So far the only one that Imogen had been able to contact was the school's counselor, a veteran of the Second Wizarding World who had been...in Gryffindor. Imogen was displeased, to say the least, but she really did need to learn a lot about how the kids were dealing with the latest events - the murders and kidnapping and explosion.

She had agreed to meet Parvati Macmillan (Patil? apparently the woman was divorcing) in The Three Broomsticks to discuss both the past and upcoming school year. Imogen had ordered a gillywater to sip on while she waited, and spent the time trying on different hair colors, observing each change in a tiny mirror held in the palm of her hand.

parvati patil macmillan

[parvati patil macmillan]

There were a few new staff members who would be teaching at Hogwarts beginning in September. One of them, the new Charms professor, was a young woman called Imogen Zhu. Parvati knew little about her, but—being a relatively new member of the Hogwarts staff, herself—she didn't think that it would hurt to introduce herself to Imogen before the start of the new term. Working at Hogwarts was overwhelming enough, and—in light of recent discussions with some of the other magical schools—Parvati imagined that things would only become more hectic around the castle. She hadn't had much time to acclimatize herself to her role, either, and she didn't want Imogen to feel as though she didn't have any support from the rest of the staff. There was so much that had happened in the past year, too, and Imogen needed to be aware that things might feel a little bit different from when she was in school.

They would be meeting at the Three Broomsticks, and, when Parvati arrived, she realized that she wasn't even sure what Imogen looked like, although her surname suggested that she was Chinese. There was a young woman who looked to be about the right age to be Imogen, however, and Parvati wondered if it might be her. Strangely enough, the woman in question was changing her hair color and admiring it in a hand mirror—either it was exceptional spellwork or she was a Metamorphmagus.

“Excuse me,” Parvati said, approaching the woman. “Are you Imogen Zhu?”

@imogen

[Deleted]

Imogen had been so distracted by her hair color – green looked good on her, and she’d never tried it out before – that she had forgotten to keep her eyes peeled for Parvati. When her table was approached, therefore, Imogen was a little bit startled by a stranger’s voice. She recovered quickly, though, turning her hair back to the shade of green she had so liked and pocketing the portable mirror. “Yes, that’s me.” Imogen replied, extending her hand for a handshake. She was lucky that she had been able to contact Parvati personally; she doubted that her faculty file (which, she assumed, was just an updated version of her student file) would have her correct name on it. Being able to introduce herself as Imogen to the woman without any of the awkward ‘my name is not Ignatius’ hullabaloo was a good feeling.

“Thank you so much for agreeing to meet me.” Imogen said gratefully. She couldn’t believe that she was thanking a Gryffindor for anything. What had her life come to? “I had been so worried that I was just going to be thrown into the deep end this year. It’s so difficult to contact some of the other professors, you know, and I…don’t do well without a lot of preparation.” Preparation was her safety blanket, a barrier between the world and her. The more that she could do, the better.

parvati patil macmillan

[parvati patil macmillan]

The woman startled when she was spoken to, quickly settling on keeping her hair green. For such an unusual color, Parvati had to admit that it didn't look half bad on her. Then, confirming that she was Imogen Zhu, the woman extended her hand for a handshake.

Extending her own hand and shaking Imogen's, Parvati smiled. “I'm Parvati Macmillan. It's wonderful to meet you in person,” she told her, having only ever communicated with Imogen by owl.

As Imogen thanked her for having agreed to meet with her before the start of term, Parvati pulled out the chair across from her and seated herself. Imogen added that she had been “so worried” about starting her position. “It’s so difficult to contact some of the other professors, you know, and I… don’t do well without a lot of preparation.”

Neville had been especially preoccupied recently, as had plenty of the other members of staff. She had been rather preoccupied, too, with her divorce, but that was a topic for another time. Although Parvati knew that she wouldn't be much help to Imogen from the standpoint of teaching, she knew that she would be able to provide her with some guidance. “It's my pleasure, really,” she said. There was a lot to take in, although Parvati was sure that Imogen, in applying for the Charms post, had kept abreast of the news. On the whole, it was difficult to ignore the reports of murdered and missing students. “We've all had to adjust, I think.”

@imogen

[Deleted]

“It’s wonderful to meet you in person as well.” Imogen added, only realizing that she hadn’t said the pleasantry when the older woman offered it. She had thanked Parvati for the meeting, so was that the same thing? Im wasn’t sure, but it was better to be a bit overly grateful than under, especially with her future colleague. Imogen expected that her Gryffindor bias would begin to show itself soon enough, so having a few extra brownie points in that arena would also be helpful, since the counsellor doubled as the Head of Gryffindor. The Hufflepuff watched as the other woman sat down, trying to contain some of her nervous energy by squeezing her hands into fists. Her knuckles popped rather conspicuously, and Imogen winced. She hoped that it hadn’t been seen as a threatening gesture.

“That’s what I had questions about, mostly.” Imogen said, trying her best not to seem too pushy, or too anything really. Neutral was best when first meeting someone – if they didn’t know anything about you, then they couldn’t hurt you later. “How are the kids adjusting to everything that’s happened? Are there things I should avoid when I’m teaching – any particular triggers that most of them share?” She didn’t know what sort of thing could cause a group trigger, but it was better to ask than be surprised when her students freaked out. “And if they have an anxiety attack or anything, do I send them to the hospital wing or to you?” When Im had been in school, the answer was the former, but they also hadn’t had a counselor, so that was different.

parvati patil macmillan

[parvati patil macmillan]

Context, in this case, spoke volumes, and there was no need for Imogen to elaborate on what it was that she had questions about. The questions that she did ask were much more thorough than Parvati had expected, which wasn't a bad thing at all. She was pleased to see that Imogen was so concerned with ensuring that her classroom would be a safe space for the students.

“All of the students have been affected,” Parvati replied. There were the Muggle-born students who feared that their blood status would put them at risk, and there were the pure-bloods who were afraid for the same reason. The Hogwarts community was a close one, and every negative event impacted everyone there. “Some of the new first-years—the Muggle-born ones, at least—they might not know… what's happened,” she reminded Imogen, a touch of unease in her voice. They would learn, though the accuracy with which eleven-year-olds disseminated information was dubious. “The older ones,” Parvati went on, “it's much more personal for them, I think…” They understood more about what was going on in the world around them, and many were likely motivated to do something about it.

“Try to carry on with things as normally as possible, though,” she advised after a pause. Since Imogen wouldn't be teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts, Parvati didn't think that she would need to worry about readjusting her lesson plans or the like. “They're going to need stability from us.”

As far as anxiety went, Parvati explained, “If any of the students need Calming Draught or anything like that, have them see Caroline first.” There wasn't much that she could do for a student in the midst of a severe anxiety attack other than to send them to the Hospital Wing, anyway.

@imogen

[Deleted]

Imogen wished that she had brought a notepad with her for the meeting – she had asked more questions than she had expected herself to, and there were therefore more answers to remember. Still, she supposed most of the answers were common sense, when she actually stopped to think about it. Everyone was affected by a tragedy – that’s why it was called a tragedy. Still, she hadn’t thought about the fact that some of the new students would have been left in the dark about the recent going-ons. Parents would do anything to protect their children, even if that meant lying to them. Imogen didn’t want to be the one to reveal the man behind the curtain, so to speak.

“I’ve made too many lesson plans not to go on teaching normally.” Imogen said with a small, nervous laugh. “I’m not sure if Charms are much use in a situation like this, anyways, I’m afraid.” She wished that she could help more, but it was the job of the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher to prepare these kids for another year that could be as hellish as the one before. She didn’t envy whoever had that job. “But I can do stable.” Stable was her middle name. Not actually, but it could be – once Imogen found her groove, she could stay in it indefinitely.

Imogen nodded when Parvati explained the procedure for anxiety attacks. “From there, Caroline – the nurse? – will recommend them to visit you if the problem seems to be ongoing?” She asked. She wanted to make sure she wasn’t missing a link in the chain of accountability for students’ mental health. Imogen knew what it was like to be broken emotionally, to need help desperately, and not to get it. She didn’t want anyone to have to go through that, because it wasn’t just one anxiety attack – it wasn’t one bad hour, or one bad day. It was an entire lifetime of pain and worry and suffering. No one deserved that.

parvati patil macmillan