here comes the sun [astoria]

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The first week of school was almost over, and Imogen was getting really sick of her boring hair. It just wasn't fun to have her hair be brown all the time, especially when she had an infinite amount of power over her appearance. She needed a change, but she didn't know what to change to. What was considered appropriate for a school environment, but was still fun enough that she didn't feel like she was dying inside every time she looked in a mirror. Imogen was sitting in the staff room with her legs drawn up to her chest, her tiny hand-held mirror balanced between her knees as she began flickering through hair colors like a strobe light. She passed by her favorite shade of green again, and lamented the fact that it was probably too far out there to be considered appropriate for a professor. She should have asked the headmaster about this, Imogen thought, changing her hair color to a deep purple. That would have been so much easier than guessing what he would think.

@jill

[Deleted]

@imogen
<3

This summer had been absolutely crazy. She had been extremely pregnant, popping out like a rollie pollie. But only three weeks ago, she had a beautiful baby girl. So, as she was still on leave for another few weeks, Astoria was trying to catch up on what her substitute was doing for her. She had stopped into Hogwarts with Lyra, making sure to pick up a few things and to go see Scorpius. She had heard about what was going on this year, and to say it worried her was a positive. But she was trying to stay helpful and supportive either way.

Tori took a turn into the staff room with Lyra on her chest in a carrier, and was shocked to see someone in there. She looked quite young, but if she was in the room she must be a staff member. And, her hair was...purple? Astoria rose an eyebrow, but let it rest. She knew that some witches and wizards could change their hair color, but she couldn't spot the exact word for it. Astoria walked over to the coffee to grab a cup and she smiled at the girl, making sure she was careful of Lyra at the same time. "Hello, I'm Astoria Malfoy, professor of Astronomy and Slytherin Head of House. Are you new?"

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Imogen looked up when an unfamiliar voice broke through the silence. The woman, who introduced herself as the Astronomy professor and the head of Slytherin, had a baby strapped to her chest, and that was enough to make Imogen balk. Babies didn’t ever seem to like her, even when she made funny faces or changed her hair to pretty colors. Still, the woman was polite enough, even her question was a little silly – if they didn’t know each other, it was obvious that Imogen was a new teacher. “Yes, this is my first year at Hogwarts.” Imogen answered with a small, nervous smile. “My name’s Imogen Zhu. I teach Charms.” She paused, and then changed her hair color back to normal brown, fearing what the woman would say about the purple. Slytherins weren’t exactly known for being kind, though this woman did seem to be an exception to the stereotype. “So, you’re on maternity leave?” Imogen asked awkwardly, gesturing towards the baby on the woman’s chest. It was the only reason Imogen could think of that she hadn’t yet crossed paths with the Astronomy professor. That, or the woman was actively avoiding her, and Imogen really didn’t want to believe the latter, so she settled with the former, which had more evidence for it, anyways.

@jill

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@imogen
<3

Astoria noticed the woman change her hair color back to brown, but she didn't mention it. Hair color wasn't important to her. She smiled. "Well congratulations on getting the job! It's great fun working here, I'm sure you'll enjoy it." Tori noticed Imogen eyeing Lyra, and she grinned. Astoria knew some people weren't all that comfortable around babies, and it also wasn't all that normal to see babies here at Hogwarts, especially with everything that had been previously been going on. She looked down at her blonde girl and smiled. "Yes, I'll be back in a few weeks though. I just had her three weeks ago so I'll be back in another three. My husband, Draco, will be home watching her for the time being. My son is a Slytherin here, Scorpius. Have you had him in a class yet?"

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Imogen smiled awkwardly at Astoria. She hadn’t applied for the teaching job because she wanted to have fun – she had applied because she wanted to teach children. So far, she hadn’t met any professors that she seemed to have any connection with. A lot of them were Gryffindors, which was not a good place to start, and there was also the fact that she was one of the youngest professors, if the not the youngest. It wasn’t a good way to connect with people, but she was trying, even if it was hard. Imogen was struggling with Astoria, too – no surprise there. The woman had a teenaged son, for crying out loud! “Um, I’ve had Slytherin, but I’m still working on learning everybody’s names, so I’m not so sure.” Imogen responded. The other professors already knew the majority of their students, but Imogen was starting with a blank slate. “Is he a good student?” She expected that Astoria would say yes – no one admitted their child wasn’t a good student – but it was still worth asking after.

@jill

[Deleted]

@imogen
<3

Astoria nodded her head. She understood; it was hard in the beginning of becoming a professor to memorize who was who, especially with Imogen, where she teaches a class that every year takes. She was trying to be understanding and nice, but Imogen seemed wary of Astoria, however she couldn't understand why. She then asked about Scorpius and Astoria had to laugh. She sat down and nodded. "Yes, he can be. He has his moments. And his fights. But as far as grades are concerned, he does well."

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Imogen couldn’t help but feel a little intimidated when Astoria sat down in front of her. For one thing, it meant that the baby was closer to her, and for another, it meant that the other professor intended to stay a while. Imogen’s face paled, and the color drained out of her hair, too, until it was bright white. Crap. She really needed to get better about controlling her Metamorphmagus abilities instead of just letting them take over whenever the situation demanded a change in appearance. Popping the hair back to a sapphire blue, Imogen tried her best not to look as scared as she felt. “Don’t they all?” She asked weakly when Astoria said that her son had his moments. Struggling for something else to say, Imogen fell onto her constant backup plan. “I figure that if the kids don’t like me I’ll just change my hair or something to distract them.” That was always Imogen’s go-to when she wanted people to like her – she just showed them how much a freak she was, and they felt better about themselves, and then their relationship was somewhat better.

@jill

[Deleted]

@imogen
<3

Astoria noticed her face go white and she became worried. Being the motherly figure at Hogwarts, her face showed concern. "Is everything alright? Do you need anything?" She hadn't even thought it was because she had sat down, she had absolutely no idea why Imogen became nervous. And then her hair changed to white and Astoria was stumped. It immediately went to a bright blue and Tori smiled softly. "I'm sure they'll like you. It takes awhile to get the students to listen, but once you're comfortable it'll be easy. And your hair will be a bonus."

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Imogen hated how concerned Astoria was being – the older woman had no reason whatsoever to care about Imogen, and thus she could only assume that Astoria was being nice because she wanted something. Wasn’t that how Slytherins worked? “I’m fine,” Imogen said shortly. She thought it was pretty obvious that she was nervous, but maybe Astoria was too busy cooing over her baby to notice. “As a rule, people don’t like me.” Imogen replied when Astoria tried to assure her to the contrary. “Especially not people who haven’t met me before. I get so nervous, and then all they see is a bumbling idiot, which I guess I kind of am, and then…” She made an explosion gesture with her hands and shook her head. This was a mess.

@jill

[Deleted]

@astoria
<3

Astoria narrowed her eyes at the girl. She didn't realize being concerned was such a horrible thing to do. She hoped Scorpius wouldn't grow up that way; so nervous yet so angry if someone cared about him. Tori then rose an eyebrow. A rule? That was a different way to put it. But she then shrugged. "A lot people get nervous, but I don't see you as a bumbling idiot. And if people see you that way, then they don't deserve to get to know you." Astoria was just trying to be nice, but she was sure Imogen might get offended at anything she said to her.

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Imogen couldn’t help but sigh when Astoria spoke again. She didn’t care how one Slytherin professor saw her, and she was pretty sure Astoria was lying to her, anyways. She cared about how the children saw her, and she certainly hadn’t been able to put her best foot forward, especially with the buzz about the Triwizard Tournament distracting practically every student. The fact that the other professor was acting all high and mighty about who Imogen let know her was even worse – if Astoria had bothered to ask Imogen anything about her life instead of just talking about her own, she would’ve known that Imogen didn’t let anyone in anyways. It was just her and Ophelia, and that was how things were. “Yeah, and that’s worked out really well for me so far.” Imogen muttered under her breath. She curled her legs up underneath her on the chair and put the mirror she had been gripping on the table. Her hair popped back to brown, and she sighed again. This was miserable. Why had she let anyone talk in her into teaching?

@jill

[Deleted]

@imogen
<3

Astoria wasn't lying about anything; she was being honest to Imogen and truthful about her own thought process. She wanted her to know that if some professor or student thought badly of her, that she shouldn't waste her time trying to get to know them was all. Astoria didn't find that bad to say at all, she thought it quite helpful. And the only thing she really said about her own life was that she just had Lyra, and she had another son. She wasn't talking back and forth about her whole life, just two simple bits of it. Still, Astoria smiled softly at her. "I wouldn't worry, school has just started. You've got time."

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Imogen didn’t think that Astoria understood what she was saying, and that was to be expected. The other woman was twenty years older than Imogen – there was a generational gap, and a huge one, at that. Not to mention, Imogen wasn’t a straight white woman. Her story, especially her story with other people, wasn’t a happy one. She needed time to trust people, but she didn’t need time in the scope that Astoria was suggesting. It had taken Imogen years to trust her best friend, and not many people had the patience to invest in a relationship like that. She decided to move onto a different subject. Something they could both relate to. “What’s your favorite house to teach?” Maybe that would move the conversation in a more positive direction.

@jill

[Deleted]

@imogen
<3

Astoria sensed that Imogen did not want to continue the conversation they were having. Not only because her responses didn't seem like they cared, but because she didn't continue speaking about the same subject. Instead, she asked Tori which house she enjoyed teaching the most. She didn't have to think long to answer the question, as she had decided this a few years prior. "I'd have to Hufflepuff. They aren't so entranced in their schoolwork like Ravenclaws, and aren't so competitive like Slytherins. They're a good balance."

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Imogen couldn’t help but smile when Astoria said that Hufflepuffs were the best house to teach. She thought so herself, but up until that point she thought it was just bias for her own house. “I’m a Hufflepuff.” Imogen said proudly when Astoria was done speaking. “Badgers do it best.” The kids that she had seen from Hufflepuff were just as amazing as the ones she remembered from her own year, though that could, again, be the bias talking. Imogen couldn’t help but note that Astoria hadn’t mentioned Gryffindors, but she didn’t particularly care. No amount of pretty words or endorsements from other teachers could change the way she felt about those kids, though she was working her best not to show it.

@jill