BACK TO A SIMPLER TIME | ROMAN

[Deleted]

[googlefont="Open Sans Condensed:300"]

SINGING LIKE IT'S
A FULL MOON

[attr="class","next"]

LATE OCTOBER 2024

It was a weekend close to Halloween in Hogwarts, and the Great Hall had been decorated in such a manner that reminded her of her time at Hogwarts. She always loved Halloween time at Hogwarts, as well as Christmas. The students were preparing a sort of ‘Haunted Hogwarts’ in hopes of attracting the teachers, students, and outsiders as well to the castle to explore and enjoy the holiday spirit. But until that was unveiled, it was just a regular trip to Hogsmeade and Laurel had joined along. She walked with a purpose, a thin coat wrapped around her upper frame, as she watched the students run around all excited, going from shop to shop. She smiled, remembering her own time as a Hogwarts student all those years ago and getting to go to Hogsmeade. It was a simpler time then.

Laurel had not seen her daughter since early Fall, having sent her to an excellent elementary school in the mean-time, since the girl was old enough to hide her magical qualities. She had written to her here and there, having left her with a nanny while she was away. The young girl was utterly content and was having a blast with the young witch that was taking care of her. But she had requested some candy, and thinking of Honeyduke’s, she set off in that direction. Stuffing her hands into her pocket, she made her way towards the candy shop that she had loved as a child. When she got there her hand stretched out, but she noticed that someone else’s hand had done the same. Inches apart, she retracted her hand and looked up with a soft laugh, taking in the male before her, “Sorry—please, go ahead,” she said quickly.

---

TAG @rory

[newclass=.next::-webkit-scrollbar]width: 5px;[/newclass][newclass=.next::-webkit-scrollbar-thumb]background: #000;[/newclass]

[Deleted]

Rory was headed to Hogwarts for one of his normal check-ups. It wasn't that he didn't think the healers in the infirmary didn't know what they were doing, it was just one of his duties. Once a month he had to make his way to the castle and check on them, make sure they had everything they needed and that they weren't too overrun. In all honesty, it was one of his preferred jobs. He liked visiting his old school, sometimes running into old friends like Shawn. 

Today, however, he hadn't run into anyone. It was kind of a disappointment, but not too terrible. He decided that while he was nearby, he might as well visit Hogsmeade. He hadn't been to the village in quite a while. As he walked down the familiar path, he tried to decide where to go first. Zonko's was good ... but he was in a mood for sweets. So Rory made his way to the famous candy shop, Honeydukes. He hardly paid attention to his surroundings, so it wasn't altogether surprising when his hand hit someone else's as he reached to open the door. "Oh, sorry!" He wanted to tell her to go first, but she was already insisting that he should. Rory nodded and walked into the store, holding the door open for her. "There you go. Sorry about that. I'm Rory," he introduced himself with a small smile. It wasn't the most ... normal meeting, but it would do. 

@laurel

[Deleted]

[googlefont="Open Sans Condensed:300"]

SINGING LIKE IT'S
A FULL MOON

[attr="class","next"] It seemed like they both were quick to tell each other to enter, or it looked like he was about to, but she had beat him to it. The second the male walked through the door, holding the door open for her to enter right after, she smiled. “Thanks,” she said with a soft laugh before he introduced himself and her smile grew brighter. “Laurel,” she said introducing herself and sticking out her hand for him to shake. As she looked at the guy, he looked oddly family. Perhaps they had gone to Hogwarts together, but even that was a faded memory these days. Had they met somewhere else? She thought to put it to the test. “I feel like we’ve met. Perhaps at Hogwarts?” she questioned, her voice hesitant for a second. Wouldn’t it be awkward if he never went to Hogwarts and simply had one of those faces?

---

TAG @rory

[newclass=.next::-webkit-scrollbar]width: 5px;[/newclass][newclass=.next::-webkit-scrollbar-thumb]background: #000;[/newclass]

[Deleted]

The woman thanked him for holding the door and Rory shrugged. It was the gentlemanly thing to do, even if there weren't many people who were that polite. It seemed like she was a little surprised that he held the door, but Rory didn't care. He took her offered hand when she gave her name. "Nice to meet you Laurel," he said politely, sure that she would turn away then and go to do whatever she needed to. There was some reason she chose to come to Honeydukes, he was sure, and that wasn't to meet someone new. He was about to turn away when she spoke again and Rory looked back to her. His eyes narrowed when she said she thought they'd met before. "You do look very familiar," Rory answered slowly, "Probably from Hogwarts. I was in Hufflepuff house, graduated in 2014," he said with a small shrug. "What about you?" Other than that, Rory had no idea where they would know one another from. He was sure the two of them could figure it out though.

@laurel

[Deleted]

[googlefont="Open Sans Condensed:300"]

SINGING LIKE IT'S
A FULL MOON

[attr="class","next"] The man was friendly enough, something that she missed when being in London and the Hogwarts area. It differed from her experience in America where people were constantly rude, and very rarely did you find someone as friendly as a British person usually was. Sure, there were some old grump locals in the British area, but very rarely did she run into someone like that. She smiled, “Nice to meet you as well,” she said truthfully and being as polite as possible. She watched him for a beat after she revealed he looked familiar, and quickly he concluded that it was probably within the halls of Hogwarts. Though his words deterred her from believing they were in the same house and year, it did reveal that they were in the school at the same time. “Gryffindor, graduated two years after yourself in 2016.” she said truthfully, shrugging her shoulders, “We could have run into each other around the school…”

---

TAG @rory

[newclass=.next::-webkit-scrollbar]width: 5px;[/newclass][newclass=.next::-webkit-scrollbar-thumb]background: #000;[/newclass]

[Deleted]

She seemed pretty cheerful, which was nice. Often, during his trips to the school he ran into people that were too busy with this or that and didn't have time to chat or anything. It was nice to meet someone who seemed to want to talk a little, even if they might be busy with their responsibilities. He nodded as she said that she was two years younger than him, from Gryffindor house. "Yeah, we probably did meet one another while we were here," he concluded with a chuckle. "So obviously you're working here now ... as a professor? What do you teach?" He was going out on a bit of a limb assuming she was a professor, but she didn't look like a caretaker or anything like that so it seemed a pretty accurate guess.

@laurel

[Deleted]

[googlefont="Open Sans Condensed:300"]

SINGING LIKE IT'S
A FULL MOON

[attr="class","next"] The male was reasonably nice, and when they realized they were on the grounds of Hogwarts at the same time, the conversation seemed to take an exciting turn. He concluded that they probably saw each other around, which was fairly true since many students mingled with those of other houses and years. She let out her chuckle and nodded her head, “Yes—I came over with the Ilvermorny transfers. I’m the muggle studies professor,” she said with a smile, twirling in fingers in hopes of not getting judgment about her choice of career. Many conversations ended when she brought up what she taught, especially around certain people in her family. “What about you? What have you gotten yourself into?” she questioned, she had not seen him around the school, so perhaps he worked at Hogsmeade or something?

---

TAG @rory

[newclass=.next::-webkit-scrollbar]width: 5px;[/newclass][newclass=.next::-webkit-scrollbar-thumb]background: #000;[/newclass]

[Deleted]

Rory's eyes widened when the woman said that she came over with the Ilvermorny transfers. "Wait. So you attended Hogwarts, but then taught at Ilvermorny? Why is that?" He couldn't help the natural curiosity. Rory loved Hogwarts and had since he attended the school. If he'd ever been interested in teaching, he would have wanted a job at Hogwarts, not at some other school. Obviously, she didn't feel the same and he wondered why. Maybe she had a bad experience at Hogwarts ... or maybe she just wanted to try somewhere new. Either way, it was an intriguing tidbit of information and as long as she didn't seemed annoyed about it, Rory would probably continue asking questions because he was simply curious about it. 

When she turned the questions back on him, Rory smiled and shrugged, "I'm a mediwizard. I work out of St. Mungos, but I'm one of the first responders when an accident or something happens. One of my responsibilities is also to come here and make sure the Hospital Wing has all the required supplies and that nothing's out of date or anything. Nothing too exciting." Okay, maybe those weren't the right words. His job was exciting, thrilling in the fact that he was what made the difference between life and death for lots of peoples, but when he made that comment he was referring to his responsibilities at Hogwarts. "Are you enjoying being back?" he asked.

@laurel

[Deleted]

[googlefont="Open Sans Condensed:300"]

SINGING LIKE IT'S
A FULL MOON

[attr="class","next"] ‘Wait. So you attended Hogwarts, but then taught at Ilvermorny? Why is that?’

She let out a soft laugh and nodded her head as if confirming that was the case. It was a little strange that she had attended the school in London but ended up teaching across the pond. She still even had a bit of her accent, something that she luckily never lost. Her students were very fond of it and sometimes also questioned her on Hogwarts. She smiled, “After I graduated, I moved over to America with my newborn daughter. Did it to starting over, did my time and then got a job teaching Muggle Studies there for a spell,” she said regarding his question on why.

She nodded her head, “That sounds like an interesting job. I could never do it; I’m not good with hospitals,” she said with a soft laugh. She had tried to do a home birth with her daughter due to her fear of hospitals but ended up needing to go because there were certain complications that only hospitals could deal with. Her birth experience wasn’t the best and only added to her dislike of hospitals. “Sounds a bit stressful having to travel back and forth,” she concluded, musing over the idea of the stress.

She smiled and nodded, “Oh yes. I miss my daughter though. I had to hire someone to essentially live at my apartment with her while I’m away teaching. I cannot wait until she’s old enough to attend Hogwarts, or even Ilvermorny if it’s fixed up by then and we move back. I worry a lot about her when I’m away.”

---

TAG @rory

[newclass=.next::-webkit-scrollbar]width: 5px;[/newclass][newclass=.next::-webkit-scrollbar-thumb]background: #000;[/newclass]

[Deleted]

Rory listened carefully as she explained what happened, moving to America after she graduated and getting a new job along with her new start. "I'm glad things were able to work for you over there," he answered honestly. Rory was a big proponent for people doing what they loved and being able to do it wherever they wanted. "Are you okay working over here at Hogwarts, or do you still wish you were at Ilvermorny?" he asked curiously. Obviously she liked the school where she worked now, but he couldn't help but wonder if she missed Hogwarts while working there. Rory knew he certainly would. He loved the old school. 

Laurel said she couldn't do hospitals, but that his job sounded interesting and Rory nodded, "Yeah, lots of people don't really like hospitals," he told her. It was true, but at the same time there was a big need for them. There needed to be a place where people who needed help could go, no matter what time of the day or night. He shook his head when she mentioned the stress. "No, I like it. I come over here about once a month. It's nice to do something different from my normal responsibilities and it's nice when I get to run into old friends here. I like it." 

He frowned when she mentioned missing her daughter. "Do you get to go and visit her on weekends sometimes, or only during the long breaks?" Rory asked. He wasn't married, nor did he have any children, but he couldn't imagine not seeing a child for months because of his job. Of course, as a healer, it would be difficult for him to find good time to spend with a child, but it was doable. "I think worrying about her is definitely natural," Rory agreed, wishing there was something he could do to help with that, but there really wasn't. 

@laurel

[Deleted]

[googlefont="Open Sans Condensed:300"]

SINGING LIKE IT'S
A FULL MOON

[attr="class","next"] Rory asked the question that many people seemed to think of, if she was okay working at Hogwarts or if she wished that she was back at her first teaching job, and she shrugged. “I don’t mind either way. It’s been long enough that the problems I ran away from faded and new ones arose over there. As long as I’m teaching, I’m content on wherever I am. I might even stay if Ilvermorny is back and running in the next coming years, that is—if Hogwarts will keep me on as their Muggle Studies professor,” she said with a soft smile on her face. Her troubles started with her pregnancy, but over time it seemed to have been let go, her parents didn’t seem to care much now though they were still a little iffy about it all. Her life over in America had turned to shit just before she left, so there was no way in hell that she would be returning anytime soon, not as long as Devin Harper was alive and living there.

Laurel nodded her head as Rory explained that he didn’t mind going back and forth, that he only did so once a month and that it was a reprieve from his regular responsibilities. He did say that it was nice to run into old friends when he stopped by for his monthly trip and she smiled, “I guess that doesn’t sound so bad then,” she said with a soft laugh.

Laurel smiled as he questioned if she saw her daughter on weekends or during breaks, “I sometimes visit during the weekends when I can. But that isn’t very often; we see more of each other during the breaks,” she said softly. It was worse back home, leaving her with Devin was almost unbearable at times, but now she was with a nanny that she heard was lovely. Rory seemed to agree that worrying about her daughter was natural, and she nodded her head. “I’m just excited about the holiday coming up. Break from school and spending time with her, it’ll be nice,” she said with a quick laugh.

---

TAG @rory

[newclass=.next::-webkit-scrollbar]width: 5px;[/newclass][newclass=.next::-webkit-scrollbar-thumb]background: #000;[/newclass]

[Deleted]

Rory nodded as she explained that she wouldn't mind staying at Hogwarts if they wanted to keep her. "Well I'm glad that you're comfortable being back here," he told her with a smile, "and I don't see why they wouldn't want to keep you. In the very least it'll keep them from having to interview for the position," he teased with a slight smile on his face. He didn't want Laurel to feel like he was judging her or being to serious about the situation. He honestly was just trying to get to know her a little bit better.

"It's not," Rory confirmed with a laugh. "It's always fun to run into my friends that are teaching here and also to interact with people I normally wouldn't have been able to, like you." Rory was all about people. He liked getting to know new people and broaden his horizons. 

She explained that she didn't get to see much of her daughter unless it was during a break. He frowned a little bit, sympathizing. He didn't have any children, but he could try to imagine what it would be like to have to leave yours for a long time. That was one good thing about his job. He could go home much more frequently than Laurel could. He smiled when she mentioned the holiday. "I'm excited you'll get to spend that time with her then. It's always nice to spend the holidays with your family." He often went to visit his father during the holidays, since he didn't have any other siblings. 

@laurel

[Deleted]

[googlefont="Open Sans Condensed:300"]

SINGING LIKE IT'S
A FULL MOON

[attr="class","next"] ‘Well I'm glad that you're comfortable being back here, and I don't see why they wouldn't want to keep you. In the very least it'll keep them from having to interview for the position.’ His words caused a small laugh to leave her lips as she nodded her head with a smirk, “That is very true. One less position to fill if any of the other Ilvermorny professors return to the states once the school is reopened that is if it does reopen.” From what Laurel had heard, the damage was pretty severe and would take some time to fix, she was unsure if they would ever reopen the school or if it would just take a long while to do so. For now, she would remain at Hogwarts and probably stay even if given the opportunity to return home, but there was no home to return to. The divorce between herself and Devon was not something she wanted to return to, staying here with her siblings and her family was the best option for her now.

She let out a soft laugh at his words, telling her that it was fun to run into friends, something he would generally be unable to do if it wasn’t for his job. It seemed like a lovely way to keep in contact with people you were once close to and interacted with in the past. She smiled at his next words about being able to spend time with family during the holiday, and she nodded her head. “I agree. Holidays back in America was always with her and my ex-husband. But now, back in London…it’ll Be nice to be around more family than before. Maybe spend time with my parents and siblings as well,” she said truthfully.

---

TAG @rory

NOTES we can end this soon if you'd like!

[newclass=.next::-webkit-scrollbar]width: 5px;[/newclass][newclass=.next::-webkit-scrollbar-thumb]background: #000;[/newclass]

[Deleted]

Rory was glad that he could make her laugh, even if it was just a little. He liked making people feel comfortable and happy and was pretty proud of himself for being able to help Laurel in that way. He nodded, "Exactly. And I'm sure you're a great teacher, so they'll want to keep you if they can." At least, that was how Rory saw things. Why get rid of someone when they were already doing a good job. Laurel was definitely the type of person that would be sure to do her job well and thoroughly. 

She laughed again and Rory grinned, proud of himself. He nodded as she answered him, "Yeah, I definitely think your family will appreciate you being so much closer now," he agreed. "I'm sure they missed you while you were over in America. And if you need any time to breathe away from them, just let me know and we can go out for a drink or something." Rory loved doing things with his friends. He was more than willing to spend some time with Laurel if she needed a little bit of space. 

A bell rang and Rory glanced at his watch, making a face. "I'm sorry, but I've got to go now. It was nice running into you Laurel. Until next time?" He smiled, giving her a chance to say goodbye before he left. 

@laurel