in a kingdom far, far away [chantal]

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As always, Zytka's door was open. However, instead of sitting behind her desk like she normally did, grading papers, Zytka was pacing around the room, trying to work out some of her nervous energy while simultaneously composing a mental list of Christmas gifts she needed to purchase. The list was, as always, surprisingly short, though Zytka was trying to think of at least something to get for each of her colleagues, even the ones she didn't know all that well. The gift that was giving her the most trouble was Caro's - Zytka didn't know what on earth she could get the nurse that she didn't already have. They said that the best gifts were experiences, not objects, so Zytka was considering performing for Caro, a more elaborate performance than the fire-flower gimmick, but she didn't know if that would be a suitable gift or just showing off. Sighing heavily, Zytka returned to her pacing.

@chantal

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Chantal didn't spend a great deal of time inside Hogwarts; mostly, she went between the Great Hall and the Beauxbatons Carriage. Aside from when she had somewhere to be, she had no reason to wander around the castle's corridors, so she didn't. Following dinner one evening, however, the weather had turned too cold for her to bear running outside to the carriage, and Chantal was left to find something to do until either the weather warmed up or she ran for dear life and hoped that she wouldn't slip on any ice.

Taking the first moving staircase that came her way, Chantal counted the number of landings that she bypassed on her way up. When the staircase found its destination, Chantal knew that she had reached the sixth floor and decided to keep walking to see what she could find.

She went down the corridor, stopping when she saw one of the professors pacing around. Chantal had seen the woman before, although she didn't know what subject she taught. The professor didn't look busy, though, hearing her heave a sigh, Chantal spoke.

“Madame,” she began. Quickly realizing that she was speaking in French and not English, she switched from one language to the other. “You are okay?” she asked, moving into the doorway.

@zytka

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Zytka didn’t know that there was a student outside her doorway, but she quickly gained that knowledge when she heard a voice ring out not a second after she had heaved her sigh. She turned to see a girl standing in the doorway. Since she had addressed Zytka as Madame, the professor could only assume that she was speaking to someone from the Beauxbatons delegation. “Yes, I’m fine, thank you.” Zytka said, letting out another quiet breath. “You’re welcome to come in.” Zytka said with a smile. She would have gestured with her hand, but with her performance on her mind and so much stressing her, Zytka couldn’t be sure that a little magic wouldn’t accidentally leak from her fingertips and do something unwanted with the gesture. “You’re from Beauxbatons, yes?” Zytka asked. She was trying her best not to automatically revert back to the type of English she had used when she was first learning the language. She didn’t want to insult the girl’s intelligence accidentally.

@chantal

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The professor said that she was fine and invited her to come in. Chantal did and stood by the desks. “You’re from Beauxbatons, yes?”

That must have been apparent from her accent, Chantal thought, though she noticed that the woman's accent didn't sound British, either. There was something about it that made it sound vaguely familiar—the woman was definitely of African origins—though there was something else about her accent that Chantal couldn't place with ease.

“Yes,” she nodded with a polite smile, “I am from Beauxbatons.” She leaned lightly against the desk behind her. “And you?” she asked. Obviously, she taught at Hogwarts now, but she didn't seem as though her workplace was also her alma mater.

@zytka

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The girl seemed hesitant to get close to Zytka, and the professor wondered whether that was a cultural thing, an unfamiliarity thing, or simply the girl’s personal preference. In any case, Zytka wasn’t going to push the girl to do something she wasn’t comfortable with. Zytka was a little surprised when she was asked where she was from. Normally she was just asked which Hogwarts house she was placed in. “I am from Uagadou.” Zytka said, sounding grateful despite her effort to keep her voice neutral. “I must admit that I am disappointed they are not invited to participate in the Tournament as your school is.” It would be nice to see how the students of her school changed over the years, and perhaps to see if any of her old schoolmates became headmaster or something of the sort.

@chantal

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“I am from Uagadou,” said the professor, and, suddenly, Chantal knew the reason for her familiarity. Although it appeared that she was relatively young and wouldn't have gone to school with him, Chantal's father, too, had attended the same school. She said something else about how she was sad that students from Uagadou could not compete in the Triwizard Tournament, and Chantal nodded her head. Competing against students from every wizarding school in the entire world would have been very interesting.

“Uagadou?” Chantal repeated, beginning to grin. “Vraiment? Euh… Really?” It wasn't often that she found people with a connection to the wizarding school in Uganda, and she hadn't expected to find a member of Hogwarts's staff who had gone there. “I am Sénégalaise, but my father attended Uagadou,” she explained; her mother had gone to a smaller school.

“I am Chantal Dembélé,” added Chantal, who felt compelled to introduce herself. “My father is Oumar Dembélé. He represents France in the…” In her head, Chantal worked through the organization's French name to translate it into English. “International Confederation of Wizards.”

@zytka

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A French word slipped into their conversation, and Zytka waited for the translation she was sure would come. Just as Zytka always did when she accidentally slipped a different language into conversation, the girl added what she meant in English, and Zytka smiled and nodded, acknowledging both the question she asked and the last-minute correction. The girl was Senegalese – thank goodness, Zytka thought, for cognates – and her father had attended Uagadou. Just when Zytka was about to inquire further about the girl’s father, she explained that her father was a representative in the International Confederation of Wizards. That was quite an accomplishment, if you asked Zytka. “It’s nice to meet you, Chantal.” Zytka said with a smile. “Though I must say, if you were given the choice between Uagadou and Beauxbatons, you chose incorrectly.” Uagadou was infinitely preferable, at least in Zytka’s opinion. Realizing the girl had introduced herself but she had yet to do the same, the professor added, “My name is Zytka Kamuntu.” She would let Chantal decide what to call her. Since she wasn’t the girl’s professor, either Zytka or Professor Kamuntu would be acceptable for Zytka.

@chantal

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“It’s nice to meet you, Chantal,” answered the woman, “Though I must say, if you were given the choice between Uagadou and Beauxbatons, you chose incorrectly.” When she realized what the professor had added on, she laughed. Being that the schools weren't near to each other geographically, there wasn't a rivalry between them, though Chantal understood the pride in Uagadou.

Before she could respond in words, the professor introduced herself as Zytka Kamuntu. “Enchantée, Madame Kamuntu,” Chantal smiled, finding that the professor's name struck her as familiar. She paused, trying to recall how she knew of her. “You are the…” English was escaping her, though it didn't seem as though Madame Kamuntu spoke any French. “The—how you say—for the Black Students' Union here?”

Hopefully, the professor would be able to comprehend what she had meant to say; Chantal was fairly certain that she was the staff member who was responsible for overseeing the club's meetings, like how the Charms professor was for the GSA.

@zytka

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The girl said it was nice to meet her, and Zytka smiled. She paused for a moment, listening as Chantal stumbled over her words a little. “The supervisor, yes.” Zytka said, filling in the word she assumed that the French girl couldn’t remember. “You’ve met Roxanne, then?” Zytka asked. She couldn’t imagine any other person through whom Chantal would know about the GSA, and it wouldn’t surprise the professor at all if Roxy was overly friendly to the foreign students – she definitely seemed the type. “Are you going to be attending our next meeting?” Zytka asked after giving sufficient pause for Chantal to process the first question she had asked. She didn’t want to talk too much for fear of overwhelming the girl with a foreign language, so after her first two questions, Zytka stayed quiet, waiting for responses, however long they would take.

@chantal

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“I am the supervisor, yes.”

“Ah,” Chantal nodded, understanding. “Superviseuse.” She hadn't realized that the English term was a cognate of one of the possible French words that could have been used to describe the role.

Madame Kamuntu asked if she had met Roxanne yet, and, again, Chantal nodded her head. “Roxy? Yes, Madame,” she smiled. “She is… très sympa. Very nice girl.”

“Are you going to be attending our next meeting?”

“Yes!” Chantal hadn't realized how enthusiastically she had given her answer and then laughed in embarrassment at herself. She would absolutely be at their next meeting; she didn't want to miss it. “When is it?”

@zytka

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Zytka nodded, listening to the French word for supervisor. The word for female supervisor, actually, since French was a gendered language, like Polish. That had been the strangest part about learning English, at least for Zytka; there were no genders. “Yes, Roxy.” Zytka confirmed. She forgot that the girl more often went by a nickname. Zytka preferred to use full names, for some modicum of formality, but if it was easier for Chantal, Roxy she would be. “She is very nice.” Zytka agreed with a smile. She liked Roxy. “I’m not sure when the next meeting will be.” Zytka admitted. “I have to ask Roxy what times would be convenient for her.” Since the club was small, the planning of the meetings mostly reduced to when both the supervisor and captain could attend.

@chantal

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“Yes,” confirmed Professor Kamuntu, “Roxy.” It sounded to Chantal as though she had had to think on it for a moment, and Chantal realized that there must have been a difference between with whom Roxy used her given name and her nickname. Remembering it now, she had introduced herself as Roxanne first. Chantal didn't really have any nicknames—none, anyway, which came to her mind—so, for her, it was a moot point. “She is very nice.”

Professor Kamuntu went on to say that she didn't know when the next meeting for the club would be. “I have to ask Roxy what times would be convenient for her.” Considering that the holidays and the Yule Ball were coming up, Chantal imagined that it might be some time before the meeting could be held.

“That is okay,” she answered. “It is a very busy time, n'est-ce pas?” Chantal didn't want to sound as though she was horribly impatient, especially not around the professor in charge. The woman had been pacing when she had encountered her, as well, so Chantal guessed that she must have been feeling some of the stress, too. Chantal still had some assignments that she needed to finish up before the holidays, and then there was always the Yule Ball.

@zytka