Sunscreen [Astrid]

[juniper minerva mcgonagall]

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June 10th, 2027

Mother of Merlin she had actually landed a teaching job at Hogwarts and was allowed to keep doing her day job at Witch TV! Juniper hadn’t believed the letter she received at first, cautiously eyeballing the scraggly owl that had delivered it in the off chance that it ended up being some sick prank from one of her siblings. She could see either of them trying to pull a fast one on her like this after how enthusiastic she had been at the last family dinner about sending in an application for the position. But it got even better! Not only was she teaching Advanced Transfiguration for the NEWT level students, she had also been given the option to do a class entirely on transfiguration and how it applied to the human body. Obviously that meant she got to show off as an animagus, but it also got into territory of higher level magic that Hogwarts didn’t normally touch on. These were far more advanced than the NEWT students would get, though there were quite a few second year (seventh year?) LIFE students signed up. In the staff meetings that had happened leading up to the start of term, she had been given a pretty good idea of how far along her class was going to be from some of the other professors. She hoped that she could give them a little stability in their learning after the previous two years. Especially now that their grades really mattered.

Unfortunately her Advanced Transfiguration class didn’t start until later in the afternoon today, meaning she’d spent the last few days getting a feel for the new campus after getting out of work. The weirdest part was getting confused as a student by other professors that she had literally met a few days prior. Outside of the students that were in the middle of training for law enforcement, she had a good decade on the oldest of the regular students. She didn’t know if she should feel flattered or offended because that had never happened before now. Like it had definitely been a thing when she was an intern at the Ministry straight out of school, but now? There were definitely more than a few of the older professors that were getting up there in age, her namesake included.

With her class not ready to start for another two hours, Juniper had found a bench outside in one of the courtyards. She was not going to be a wasting a beautiful June afternoon sitting in the staff breakroom. A cup of Spellbucks perched to her side, she was going over the syllabus she had drawn up for the upcoming term. If they were to be treating the students like they were in university, then she was going to make it as close to one as possible. The only issue was the sudden looming of a shadow, blocking out the sun that had been lazily shining down on her. Squinting as she adjusted her glasses, Juniper looked up from her binder to see who it was.

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Since Kal had unceremoniously dumped her via letter, Astrid had let herself drift. It had been unheard of in the first place for her to allow someone into her heart, to open herself up to pain. She'd found so much through him, learned that love was more powerful than fear. And yet it couldn't have been anything but cowardice when the note turned up on her doorstep mere weeks ago asserting that their relationship was finished. She'd sought answers, she'd cried (which was a shame in itself - but over a boy?) and she'd admitted defeat to Ana. At least all was not lost. Her best friend was still by her side, by some sort of miracle.

To keep herself busy, Astrid had toyed with the idea of taking up further education. She'd heard that Hogwarts had expanded post fire, and was now offering postgraduate degrees. Though Astrid wouldn't admit it to herself, Hogwarts was also one of the few places untouched by Kal's presence. He hadn't believed in traditional education systems, which was a relief for her. An idea tickled at the back of her mind that perhaps she could learn more about the ice magic that flowed through her veins, but she had no idea where to even start looking for that.

It was a balmy summers day when Astrid found herself ambling aimlessly through the LIFE campus. She didn't have a particular destination in mind, or a real purpose, but that didn't stop Astrid from moving. Something within her was restless, and she knew that she had to accept her fate to be alone forever. If she could move on from heartbreak, something she didn't think she'd ever feel, she could do anything. Including master the ice.

Astrid drew to a halt in front of a young woman perched on a bench, her nose stuck in a book. A stack of advanced transfiguration books teetered on the bench beside her, looking about ready to fall at any moment. The young woman looked up, squinting at Astrid through thick glasses. "Hi," Astrid found herself saying rather nervously. Her eyes dashed to the books, an idea forming in her head. "Do you er... do you mind if I sit?"

juniper minerva mcgonagall

[juniper minerva mcgonagall]

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Juniper knew that her target audience for the shows she wrote at Witch TV was typically for toddlers and the likes, but she didn’t think her ability to tell who was or wasn’t a student at Hogwarts now was this skewed. The woman that was standing in front of her definitely look around the same age as her, but she couldn’t be sure. As with her own experience thus far, it was possible that this was either another professor that she hadn’t interacted with yet or a student. Or even worse, hopefully it wasn’t an old classmate that she’d completely forgotten about. There were so many unremarkable people she’d gone to school with that it was sort of easy to do. Merlin, she didn’t blame anyone else for not remembering who she was either. If anything, good for them. She’d been horrible during her Hogwarts years.

“Yeah that’s uhh…that’s fine,” Juniper responded. “Let me just get these out of the way…” She quickly started to shuffle her class materials off of the bench so that the woman could sit. Her coffee cup was placed on the ground, the class textbooks right next to it to protect it from her foot. With it half-empty, it was prone to go sideways at the slightest breeze. If she so much as tapped it with her shoe, off it would go across the courtyard. Thankfully she was proficient in levitation charms, because there was no way she was going to be able to carry everything to her classroom in one trip. The first thing she was going to be buying this weekend was a bag with an extension charm on it, because this was not going to be feasible every day she had a class. “First day of class for me. Making sure everything is in order, you know?”

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The stark changes that had been made to Hogwarts were not lost on Astrid, even if she hadn't attended the school. She'd visited previously, but only once or twice. To her, it was bizarre to extend the magical education to all ages. The ministry had a huge grip on the children, and Astrid wondered if they were acting nefariously. But she quelled that thought. It wasn't worth investigating. The new campus was nice, at least. Lots of benches and fountains and green spaces as well as towering stonework buildings. She supposed it wouldn't be a bad place to learn.

Astrid's eyes drifted from the stack of books next to the young woman to the eyes that squinted up at her as she surprised even herself with a greeting. The girl acquiesced, moving the books out of the way. Astrid sat rather stiffly, offering the girl a tight smile. Thankfully, Astrid was saved from having to cobble together a conversation as the girl she sat with struck one up with ease. Astrid's features relaxed, and she even managed a genuine grin. "Yeah, makes sense. Transfiguration professor?" asked Astrid, nodding towards the stack of books.

Rubbing a spot on the side of her neck, Astrid glanced from the books to the girl. "Must be strange with a new crop of students. Three schools in one," she added after a moment, then wondered if she was actually speaking with a student rather than a professor. But, Astrid thought to herself, no student would be caught dead with this many books on one subject. She brushed a finger against the spine of one, frowning as she read the titled. "Theories of Transubstantial Transfiguration? What does that even mean?"

juniper minerva mcgonagall

[juniper minerva mcgonagall]

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Thank Merlin the woman assumed she was a professor and not a student. Now that the campus was essentially being treated like a university, there were definitely students that were older than the normal age range. That and being blessed with the McGonagall genes helped looking about a decade younger than she actually was. And her height. There were probably third years that were taller than her, as there definitely had been when she was still in school. "That's the one," she confirmed. "In the LIFE school, so for older students and higher studies. They've got me teaching Advanced Transfiguration, which is essentially the NEWT-level class, and then an upper level class called Transfiguration and the Human Anatomy." The second was the one she was more excited for. Teaching difficult spell casting on top of the rare Transfiguration abilities that some could have, like metamorphmagi and animagi, was fascinating. Plus she was allowed to show off in that one. "But today is Advanced Transfiguration and my first time actually teaching...so yeah." She'd been telling herself all week that it was the same as pitching a new show idea to a producer, except she had thirty producers and they were all sixteen and seventeen year olds. Absolutely no pressure there, right?

The conversation shifted to the new campus, and Juniper nodded in agreement. "I actually haven't been here since I graduated. Which was...ten years ago now? It's unbelievable what they've done to it." Even when working for the Department of Education, she had never gotten to the point where she was proctoring the exams she helped write. Which was probably for the best because watching kids struggle wasn't how she wanted her work to be perceived. At least now she could sort of help. "Its a bit of a poor title if you ask me. Transubstantial essentially means being able to change one thing into another. So Transfiguration," Juniper explained. "But that specific one goes into a lot about the boundaries that could be pushed using Transfiguration in every day use. Not the most thrilling read and honestly kind of dangerous to imply that just about anyone can safely sling spells around like they do with simple charms."

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Astrid nodded, pleased that she'd been able to place the woman before her correctly. She had an air about her that screamed competency, especially owing to the books stacked precariously by her side. There was something very practical and forward about her as well, and the usually frigid Astrid warmed to her immediately. "That sounds much more exciting than what I had to endure at Durmstrang," said Astrid with a scowl. "Though I'll admit I've never really been interested in human transfiguration. And you can't exactly transfigure dragons..." she added with a shrug. "Well, I wish you luck," Astrid replied with a hint of a smile.

Teaching had never once appealed to Astrid. The thought of sitting with an impatient group of teens, trying to lasso their attention into something that could be critical in their lives... it just didn't do it for her. She was all for the sheperding and development of young minds, but she wasn't patient enough for the job. It was very likely that she would purposefully freeze at least one student a day. No, Charlie Weasley was much better suited to the patient and noble role of teaching. The conversation shifted to the new campus, as Astrid observed that it had changed much in the past year. She hadn't attended Hogwarts in its original state, but had visited the castle on more than one occasion. "I dropped in for a conversation with Charlie Weasley I think... a few months before... well, before it all happened. And to say that so much changed in a year," said Astrid, casting her gaze around the courtyard. "So different from all of the other school constructs as well. The only one with a youth and further education curriculum," she added, more to herself than anything.

Theories of Transfiguration confused Astrid. How was there theory behind it all? She knew that the power that lay within her was a form of transfiguration - sublimating hydrogen and oxygen in the air to form ice, as she'd discovered in an old Chemistry textbook she'd found - but the theory behind it? All in all, magic made no sense to her. Where did it come from, and why did she have it? "No, we wouldn't want that," said Astrid, dropping her gaze to the ground. "But does understanding the theory behind it make the cast more stable? More reliable? Though I can't imagine a seventeen year old caring enough to research that..."

juniper minerva mcgonagall

[juniper minerva mcgonagall]

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“Thanks. I’m sure I’ll need it,” Juniper responded. There was no way it could be any more difficult teaching sixth and seventh years than making show proposals to television producers that literally determined the fate of your job every time you stood in front of them. Maybe that was a bit too dramatic because plenty of her ideas had been shot down and reworked for better shows later on and she still had a job at Witch TV. They were just getting their stride there, so anything and everything was basically welcomed at this point. Where it was similar to teaching was that she needed to plan out the entire term ahead of time, just like a season’s worth of shows. “Hopefully none of the students will ask me to transfigure a dragon either…you’re not wrong on that probably being difficult.”

She had met Charlie Weasley during professor orientation, and he seemed like one of the chilliest people ever. Obviously the name went a fair distance, though she hadn’t known that one of them had worked with dragons and then decided to switch to teaching. It was an interesting career change that was for sure. “I actually wanted to teach the younger kids…my day job is creating children’s programming for Witch TV so I’ve spent a lot of time learning child education over the last several years,” she explained. “But Transfiguration is also super important to me, so having these classes and being able to keep doing my normal job is awesome.” Being a professor in MAGIC or for the pre-school children would have meant a complete change for her. At least this way she could scratch all the itches. And if a spot ever opened in the lower schools, she would have teaching experience by then.

The question about stable transfiguration casting was a great one. The answer was pretty simple, “Depends on the person. For me, it helps explain how spellcasting can be broken down more than the average person would normally think of it. Thankfully that class has more students that are looking to further their education than NEWT-level ones.” The woman wasn’t wrong that a seventh year probably wouldn’t give a damn about theoretical Transfiguration. Juniper barely cared, but it was sort of required reading for the course.

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With a grin, Astrid spoke. "One time I had a dream that I met a dragon animagus. I was so shocked! I'd never heard of the sort of thing before, especially when their ancient magic is so powerful. When I awoke it stuck with me very much." She shrugged. "If it was real I suppose you could have that person come to class. But it is not," she added after a moment of thought.

The woman before her went on to reveal that she wrote children's programming for Witch TV. Astrid kept her face neutral. It didn't sound like the sort of career someone who was seemingly so skilled in transfiguration would care for. "And you did not apply to teach transfiguration at the... what is it, MAGIC school?" asked Astrid, glancing up at the aforementioned castle. "Either way, it is good to do what you love. I know... knew... a professor. Though I believe he has left now. He taught herbology," she said, not entirely certain why she was sharing this information with the woman before her. "It is a noble profession. One I do not have the patience for," she added.

"Sort of like... you can't point your wand and say some words and automatically magic happens. It must come from somewhere, and be cast with some sort of intent." Astrid's thoughts drifted to her own past - where had her magic come from? What had gifted her with such powers? And what decided that she would be more partial to animals than to transfiguration. She may never know. "I wonder where it has all come from."

juniper minerva mcgonagall

[juniper minerva mcgonagall]

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Animagus forms that were anything outside of normal animals were rare, but equally preposterous. Juniper had met a few over the years that could turn into something more exotic than her stereotypical black cat, though their personalities always seemed to match their animal. Hers certainly did at times. A dragon though? Unlikely. If anything, someone was exceptionally good at casting visual charms to make it appear as if they were turning into one. Plus the practicality of it was all off. Very few places would allow such a form to be taken on and sort of useless. Dragons just took up space and flew around in locations that were watched constantly. "No need really," she answered about having the fictitious dragon animagus coming to her class. "I'm an animagus myself, so that makes that lesson a lot easier to teach." She already had a few plans on how she wanted to go about it. Making it seem like she was late to class and strolling in as a cat was a front runner, though being chased down by students was a very real possibility. That happened once before when she wandered past a playground in the park near her flat. Children were incredibly fast, and it hurt when they pulled on her tail.

"The position wasn't open," Juniper stated, her nose wrinkling as she remembered the initial disappointment of finding that out when she first inquired about open posts. "And if I teach MAGIC I would have to leave my current job. These two classes don't really interfere with that yet." Luckily she felt confident that if she got the boot from WitchTV, moving into teaching full-time would be an easy change. She'd earn less, but the upward mobility was higher for her as a professor than it was as a screenwriter for a public access television station. She wasn't sure if her two classes would ever make her a notable educator, but she was certainly there to help those that needed it most.

"Sort of like that, yeah." Magical theory, was simply that: a theory. There was still a lot that no witch or wizard knew, so bogging down children with it seemed stupid to her. "One of life's greatest mysteries, I guess." Magic just happened, with a little help of a wand for most people. The class that was going to focus on these sorts of things was definitely going to have a really difficult time comprehending it all at first, at least in how it was related to Transfiguration. She felt that she'd prepared enough, but there was honestly no way of knowing yet.

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Astrid blinked at the woman's blasé reply to her dragon animagus dream. She wondered if she'd heard her correctly - a dragon animagus. Not any sort of usual animal, but a dragon. "Are you a dragon animagus?" asked Astrid warily, her brow crumpling in confusion. Sometimes... no, oftentimes really, Astrid wished that she had the ability to change into an animal at will. It would save her from the many uncomfortable conversations she had navigated in the past. But, she thought to herself wryly, she'd just have to make do with the ability to control ice.

Conversation flowed naturally, and Astrid found her interest piqued by the young Transfiguration professor. She asked why she hadn't applied for the role at MAGIC, instead focusing on young witches and wizards later on in their careers. It was at that moment that Astrid realised she hadn't offered her name, and she flushed scarlet at the impropriety of it all. "I am Astrid, by the way. And I suppose it take a lot of time and effort to teach the MAGIC age," she conceded. "If the position were to open up, do you think you would take it?" added Astrid after a moment of thought. She'd shared her thoughts on teaching, though she knew she would never be up for the task. Her patience was very short.

"Well, I do hope your students are as passionate as you," said Astrid, rather more kindly than she ordinarily would have been. Something about the sunshine and the company brought out her good side. She had nearly forgotten about Kal. "For muggle born witches and wizards..." started Astrid hesitantly, knowing that she was opening a can of worms. "Do you think that blood affects ability?" Astrid was only curious. "I do not mean offence," she added hastily. "But I am curious what you have seen."

juniper minerva mcgonagall

[juniper minerva mcgonagall]

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"No, just a cat," she laughed. It was seemingly a family trait now, with herself and Ewan both mastering the cat form, as well as their great-aunt. Birds of a feather - or whiskers of a cat? Whatever it was, there was seemingly some inherent link between McGonagalls and cats, and she was interested in seeing if this was a common occurrence in their family. "To be frank, being a dragon animagus would be one of the most useless forms one could take. Anything too large or exotic will stand out, and I don't view the ability as being a novelty to show off." Though it had sort of started as that for her. To prove she had the chops to be a transfiguration master. But taking a dragon form was preposterous. If someone could do that...well she didn't really know what would happen. Personally, she knew she'd hate it. If she wanted to hang out around dragons, she would have become a dragonologist. She also feared what taking the form of a dragon said about someone's being. Her tiny black cat was the perfect representation of her solitude and preference to be on her own. It was so incredibly useful too.

Astrid. A name to the face. "Pleasure to meet you, Astrid. I'm Juniper." Though she immediately had more to think about concerning the MAGIC students. "If it opens, I would definitely apply. That would mean having to leave my day job though, since the work load for teaching five years is way more than the LIFE students." She really enjoyed Witch TV, but if the chance to teach full-time opened up, she'd probably go after it. Assuming this first year didn't go horribly wrong. Hopefully she wasn't getting too far ahead of herself here.

The next question was a curious one. Juniper didn't think about stuffy things like blood purity at all, or rather, whether the 'quality' of one's magical blood had positives or negatives to one's innate abilities. For everything she had accomplished thus far and only being half-blood, it was relatively impressive. Then again, she was a McGonagall. That added a few parameters into the mix that others maybe didn't have. "I've always believed it's up to the witch or wizard in how they apply their magic. Those that want to achieve greatness merely need to put in the effort to get what they want." She wasn't too sure on where this conversation was going now, but it was definitely grabbing her attention now. Anything was better than taking theoretical transfiguration as if it was casual conversation. "I think magic may be predisposed to some where others it isn't, similar to intelligence. But I doubt that has anything to do with a person's blood status," she added quickly for safety.

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Astrid breathed a sigh of relief. She'd been apprehensive that perhaps her dream had come true, and this woman was about to turn into a massive Hebridean Black before her eyes. But instead, she laughed and confirmed that she was not in fact a dragon, but a house cat. "True, I suppose. And I don't think the natural species would be quite so accepting either," she said reasonably. "Sounds all in all like a lose lose situation."

Surprisingly, Astrid found the witch quite easy to talk to. She even offered her name, something Astrid rarely granted to strangers. She didn't play well with others, someone had once said to her. Juniper said that she would most certainly apply if the position for MAGIC Transfiguration teacher did become open. Astrid wondered silently where anyone found the patience for such work, but she supposed someone had to do it. Perhaps it was a bit like her workings with Rhys Greyback - painful, long, but strictly necessary. Thankfully, she hadn't had to reach out to him as of late. The Cursebreakers hadn't come across any foreign dragon breeds that needed her help.

Perhaps it was a mixture of the summer sun and the pleasant conversation, but Astrid found herself in a rather good mood. She even asked Juniper her opinion on the strength of magic based on blood - it was always something she found curious, especially with blood purists about whinging that muggleborns like herself were stealing magic. Their whinging had gotten progressively quieter over the years, but not silenced completely. She smirked at Juniper's response. "That is certainly reasonable - a fair few have little to no intelligence at all," said Astrid. "And it's not even something you can learn necessarily. Like intelligence. You have it or you do not. You cannot increase your capacity for it, only hone the skill to a level of expertise," she mused.

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[juniper minerva mcgonagall]

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"Obviously you can't choose what form you take, so it's a bit of a roll of the dice when you undergo it. Coming out the other side as an exotic animal or creature would honestly suck a lot of the practicality out of it." She had thought about that at length before she went through it, momentarily sidelined by the worry that she would end up as a horse or insect. Obviously with the way her family seemed to be, a cat was the most likely and it worked out that way in the end. And then Ewan had the same thing happen when he did it. So with three living McGonagalls all as cat animagi, there definitely seemed to be a trend. Which brought up so many questions on a magical level. Were certain bloodlines predisposed to have similar powers if pushed that way? Did animagi actually have a say in what creature they wanted to be? These were all concepts that she was delving further into, though admittedly had issues because of how rare the ability was. Traveling to Uagadou in the future to discuss these ideas was definitely something she wanted to do. They were the masters of the animagus after all.

The comparison between intelligence and magic was definitely something she'd thought about a lot. Obviously there were different types of intelligence out there: educational, practical, street smarts, etc. Magic seemed to be similar, in a sense, though more in the realm of the different disciplines. Not everyone was good at Transfiguration like she was, and likewise there was that girl at the bakery in Horizont who could apparently use cooking charms far better than anyone else. She had no idea if that was a learned or inherited trait, but either way it didn't matter. That barista could be dumb as a box of rocks but her baked goods would still be stellar. "Exactly. I'm definitely learning how not every student learns the same way as well. Sort of forgot that's a thing because I never really had any problems in my studies." Patience, in that regard, was a virtue she had been practicing a lot.

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Astrid mulled over what Juniper had said. "Is your patronus a cat as well?" she asked suddenly, bluntly. She had long wondered if there had been a connection between the two. "It's curious how magic manifests differently in each of us," she added after a moment, glancing down at her finger tips to make sure they hadn't started forming ice crystals as she thought of her own gift. Shooting a grin at Juniper, Astrid replied. "Imagine learning to become an animagus for stealth reasons and then it turns out you're a massive, brightly coloured peacock or something." The mental image elicited a chuckle from the usually stoic Astrid.

Testing the waters, or perhaps throwing herself to the sharks, Astrid asked Juniper's opinion on how blood related to magical potency. She had never researched it deeply, but her own sample size (herself, a muggleborn witch) spoke volumes against the whole pureblood mantra. She still wondered how her own magic had manifested, but that was an enquiry for another day. Astrid commented how intelligence couldn't be gained or lost, only sharpened into a weapon. "Yes, you must be very patient if you are willing to deal with all sorts of learners," said Astrid. "I think I would set fire to my classroom in a fit of rage if someone asks too many stupid questions. But then again, is there such thing as a stupid question?" she asked, tilting her head.

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[juniper minerva mcgonagall]

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"It is," Juniper answered, albeit a little proudly. The family connection to cats certainly ran deep, and she wasn't exactly sure where or when it began. A little digging proved that her great-aunt wasn't the first to become a cat animagi, and obviously she wasn't the last either. They seemed to keep being drawn into it, and effectively completing the training too. "I've dabbled in researching family lineage when it comes to certain magic. There are three of us currently living that can turn into cats, which obviously isn't a coincidence at this point. And that's just with becoming an animagi. There are so many other forms of magic that are seemingly hereditary." Like silly old Jimbo Blishwick, apparently. That was the only one she truly knew of, mostly because of how loud he was about it in his advertising. One literally could not escape it.

Astrid went on to mention training to become an animagus for stealth reasons and then coming out with an animal that simply wouldn't work. Juniper nodded her head and shrugged at it, "That's the sort of risk you take. To be honest, I didn't go through with it for a practical reason. I just wanted to prove that I could do it." Being a cat did have its perks sometimes, and she'd be lying if she said she didn't enjoy creeping around at ankle height from time to time. But there were so many more negatives to being a small animal than positives, so she made sure that she was in a safe position to turn before going through with it.

"There are stupid questions," Juniper let out a long sigh. "Like the one I had today where the answer was right in the course syllabus." That could be blamed on laziness and not paying attention though. These students were in just as much of a new environment as she was, and she was fairly certain her class was going to be difficult for most of them. She wasn't here to hold their hands and have too much fun like the lower level professors were. "But they're still children. And most of them have gone through things that I can't even begin to imagine...so they deserve some slack." Except for when the answer was directly in front of them.

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