the book of love is long and boring [caroline]

[Deleted]

Zytka didn’t often frequent the staff room; when she wanted to meet with one of her fellow staff members, she found them in their room, or sent them an owl to let them know that she’d be in hers at a certain time. Since she couldn’t exactly meander into the hospital wing nonchalantly, Zytka had sent Caroline an owl with a simple message to meet in her room long after the students had returned to their common rooms. Of course, there wasn’t really anything for Zytka to discuss – the crossover between Ancient Runes and medicine was predictably little. Still, when Caroline was around, Zytka felt…different. Not like she was lost in a country that still wasn’t hers after a decade of living in it. Caro made the best tea, too, but that was just the cherry on top. After spending days with children who were unfocused or just plain rude, it was nice to spend some time with an adult. Especially an adult like Caroline.

@caroline

[Deleted]

Being that it was still so early in the school year, there were still very little students in need of help in the Hospital Wing so Caroline still had quite a bit of free time. And when Caro had free time, she took advantage of it. She had been sitting in her office, knitting away at her desk when she received an owl from Zytka. So, Caro set down her needles with a smile and headed for the Ancient Runes classroom.

It had been a while since Caroline had felt such a joy in hanging around another adult. It wasn't like being around her best friend, Calliope, though. Something was different. Sure, Caro found Zytka to be attractive but she had never felt that about a coworker before so she was left feeling slightly confused about her feelings for Zytka. When she finished the trek to the classroom Zytka taught in, she knocked on the door politely.

@zytka

[Deleted]

Zytka didn’t often close her door, so the knocking on it was a strange sound for her. She looked up, momentarily confused, before remembering that she had closed the door so that no students would come wandering in between when she sent an owl to Caroline and when the nurse would be able to make it to the room. Zytka stood up, jostling the desk in an uncharacteristically ungraceful movement. She waved her hand towards the door, opening it as she walked towards it, smiling broadly. Caroline was behind the door, as expected, but Zytka found herself suddenly unsure of what to do. “Come in.” She said, covering her confusion smoothly. “I wish that I could offer you some tea, but I’m afraid the classrooms are not as well equipped as the hospital wing in that regard.” Technically, Zytka could summon a kettle to her room, but that seemed to be a safety hazard in more ways than one, and if the kettle were to injure anyone in its way to the classroom, then the whole purpose of the visit would be defeated, since Caroline would have to leave to attend to whomever had been injured.

@caroline

[Deleted]

Caroline found herself quietly tapping her foot against the stone floor to the beat of a cheery tune she heard in her head as she awaited the foor to open. Moments later, the doors swung open and there was Zytka, smiling at Caroline who easily returned the smile. Caroline stepped inside the classroom when Zytka invited her. As she stepped in, she looked around. It occured to her then she had never visited this classroom before. Caroline had never even taken Ancient Runes. She had focused much more on Potions and Herbology in order to become a nurse. "That's quite alright," Caroline replied with a grin. "I love your classroom." She returned to looking around the room.

@zytka
I didn't want to say what her room looked like, but you should describe it so Caro can get a better look into the world of Zytka because cute~

[Deleted]

Zytka smiled when Caroline came in through the door. The nurse complimented the decorations in the classroom, which Zytka couldn't help but think was a little overzealous. Her walls didn't have much on them, due to the amount of space that was taken up by bookshelves holding various syllabaries for the students to use. There were wild roses sitting in vases on top of the shelves, but other than that, the decoration was sparing, at best. Zytka had tried to focus more on the natural appeal of the room - the light streaming in through the open bank of windows and the high ceiling above. Her desk was slightly more cluttered, but Zytka doubted that Caroline could see the family photos sitting there from her vantage point at the door. "It's not much." Zytka demurred. "But it is home, I suppose." Hogwarts was the only home she had known for a while now, ever since she had left Uganda. "Did you study Ancient Runes, Caro?" Zytka could see no reason why a nurse would need such a skill, but she was curious nonetheless.

@caroline

[Deleted]

Caroline was a lover of the smaller, simpler things in life. What may not seem like much to some, went a long way with Caro. Which was why she was so fond of Zytka's classroom. Sure, the decor wasn't in abundance but it was still very cute to Caroline. She smiled at the professor. "Very cozy," she complimented, returning her gaze to look around the room. Caroline always liked entering the spaces people lived in. She felt it was almost like a window to those peoples' souls. It was something she had always sort of been fond of.

The nurse turned back around to look at Zytka when she had asked Caroline a question. "Oh, no," she shook her head lightly. "No, I was a Herbology nerd." She tilted her head and shruggly happily. "Had a thing for Potions, too, but my passion was in Herbology. I really took to decorating the Hufflepuff common room with plants my sixth year..." Her voice trailed of throughtfully at the memory. That explained why Caroline's own office was full of homegrown plants and herbs, many of which had their own medicinal purposes; both magical and non.

@zytka

[Deleted]

Cozy was one way to put it, Zytka supposed. There were times when she wished she had more personal effects with which to decorate her room, but since her life was more or less contained within Hogwarts’s walls, it seemed silly to cover those walls with baubles that didn’t mean anything to her. “I should have guessed as much.” Zytka replied, unconcerned, when Caro said that she hadn’t studied Zytka’s field of expertise. The Herbology part made sense, though, and Zytka smiled knowingly at Caroline. “Is that why the headmaster likes you so much?” It was old news that their headmaster was a Herbology enthusiast, and Zytka couldn’t help but believe that teachers who were passionate about the subject would get a leg up, as far as his favor was concerned. “The only plants I know of are non-magical ones, so I don’t think I’d be much good at Herbology.” Roses were Zytka’s forte, and she could tend to other flowers, too, but beyond that she didn’t have much of a green thumb.

@caroline

[Deleted]

Caroline smiled softly. "What made you want to become a professor?" She asked the woman suddenly. Caroline, herself, had wanted to become a nurse because she liked helping people. Sure, she had always liked Herbology, but she had never felt she had the patience to teach. But healing was her thing. She had a strong stomach and a tough exterior, and after the death of her mother, she knew she wanted to help people who were sick.

Caro laughed at Zytka's saying the headmaster liked her 'so much.' "Well, he and I have definitely bonded over our similar interests," she said after a moment. "And his wife is also a nurse here now, so I do see a bit of him. That, and his youngest is sort of a regular in the Wing." She said thoughtfully, thinking of the youngest Longbottom child and his accident prone tendencies. "I love all plants. Magical and non," Caro nodded happily. "Marigolds are my favorite. And I'm trying to look into an indoor garden in my office... mint leaves, perhaps. For tea." She beamed at Zytka.

@zytka

[Deleted]

Zytka chuckled when Caroline asked her what made her want to become a professor. “No good reasons, I’m afraid.” Zytka couldn’t profess that her reasoning was for the love of learning or for the love of teaching – she just wanted to be stable. “When I left Uganda, I made most of my money doing street performances. Wandless magic was a big commodity and people loved to see me do it.” To demonstrate, Zytka swept her hand in a wide arc, leaving a trail of fire behind wherever she touched. The fire burnt out quickly without any fuel to consume, and with another wave of her hand, Zytka turned the smoke to bright red and orange flowers that looked like the fire she had just created. A final gesture, and the flowers assembled themselves into a bouquet, which Zytka held out to Caroline with a smile. “Don’t worry, I only gave flowers to a few other pretty girls.” She assured her friend, surprised to find a blush creeping up into her cheeks. That was rather forward of her. “And, well, you can only do so much of that before you miss actually having a home.” Zytka said, returning to the actual question at hand. “Hogwarts was home enough for me. Has been for a while now.” And that was that. She had learned to love teaching the way she had learned to love Britain – out of necessity.

Zytka nodded when Caro explained why she and the headmaster were so close. Zytka liked the man, but she felt there was precious little they could talk about; she knew nothing of plants or of running a school, of parenting or dueling. She was just…there. “Well, as you can see, I have an abundance of space.” Zytka said, inclining her head to the empty walls. “If you should ever have need of any of it for your garden, I hope you’ll ask.” It would be nice to have some plants growing in her room, even if it confused the students a little. They would come to understand eventually.

@caroline

[Deleted]

Caroline smiled softly as Zytka began to explain why she had become a teacher, and she had to admit, her reasoning was not one that Caro had expected. Though it was an impressive surprise. And then Zytka demonstrated what she meant and Caroline's mouth fell open in awe. Caro could do basic wandless magic herself, but she was certainly not a performer so it was a very impressive thing to see. Then Zytka produced a bouquet of flowers and handed them to Caroline, which she gladly accepted. "Well, a few I can compete with," Caroline joked happily as she smelled the orange flowers. She smiled when Zytka explained that Hogwarts was her home. "Mine, too. I seem to always find my heart leading me back here."

Caroline grinned when Zytka offered up her own space for Caro's garden. "How very sweet of you," she nodded once. "I may just take you up on that offer." It would be excuse to see more of a pretty face, right?

@zytka

[Deleted]

Caroline seemed awestruck by Zytka’s wandless magic, and the Ancient Runes teacher smiled at the nurse. It was good to see that her skills were still up to snuff, and that she could still wow a crowd. “Well, when I say a few…it is not as many as you think.” Zytka said with a wink. She hoped that Caro was going to try to compete with the nonexistent, other pretty girls, to win Zytka’s affections. She didn’t know why, but that seemed like a fun prospect. When Caroline agreed about Hogwarts being home, Zytka smiled back at her. It was nice to know that she wasn’t the only one who felt that way, especially since Caroline seemed genuine with the sentiment, and not just wanting to appease Zytka.

“I would not have offered if I didn’t want you to take it up.” Zytka responded when Caroline said she was going to do just that. “No need to owl beforehand – I’ll be here.” Zytka added, just in case Caroline was worried about the logistics of the garden space.

@caroline

[Deleted]

"Well," Caroline smirked light-heardedly at the professor. "Less competition is good for me." She shrugged once playfully. Caroline was never interested in competition for romantic attention with anyone, but she was no stranger to competing for physical attention. And Caro definitely was physically attracted to Zytka. The nurse smiled when Zytka insisted that Caroline could just show up whenever she pleased. "Well, I certainly shall take you up on that," she nodded and took out her wand, and with one flick she conjured up a big sunflower in a large pot. She flashed her smile back at Zytka. "You may grow tired of my visits." She chuckled.

@zytka

[Deleted]

Less competition was indeed good for Caroline, but Zytka wondered if they were talking about the same kind of competition when she saw the smirk on Caroline’s face. She nodded nonetheless, and returned herself to the present moment instead of dwelling too much on something she couldn’t hope to decipher. Caroline proceeded to conjure up a sunflower, and Zytka let out a little laugh. She wondered if the flower was taken from someplace else in the castle or it simply appeared to make a point about just how often Caroline would be visiting. “I do not easily grow tired.” Zytka assured Caroline. “And I have never met a person I am tired of.” People were fascinating in that way.

@caroline
(we can wrap this one up?)