Working for the Government (Virvatuli)

[Deleted]

October 16, 2025

Clarence had found himself somewhere in the Hebrides on what had been converted into "Zombie Island" for the later half of October. It wasn't exactly the sort of thing that he wanted to do with his time, but he was there to help his colleagues supervise the students as they ran the booths and activities. The most labor-intensive element of it all was the zombie event at midnight each night, though he didn't exactly see the appeal of it. Maybe if he were sixteen again, Clarence thought, he would have felt differently about it, though they had hours to go before then.

One day in, Clarence was glad that things were running relatively smoothly. He didn't doubt that Halloween itself would be incredibly stressful for all involved, but at least they had two weeks before then. It was enough time for the students to know precisely when and where they needed to be to make sure that nothing got out of hand, and it was a good lesson in responsibility for some of them.

He walked around a bit, making sure that there wasn't anything for which his assistance was needed. No one had drawn his attention to anything yet, so he was mostly just checking that the students weren't doing anything that they weren't supposed to be doing.

@virvatuli

[Deleted]

Virva oddly enough, was on duty. She was more or less at zombie island as undercover added security. The ministry didn't want everybody being very obvious and Virva must have done something to really anger the bunch. Or they figured she might actually have fun and get some cultural experiences she could easily have missed out on. She rolled her eyes at the mere idea. She wanted to go back home and see her family and celebrate Samhain with them, not mess around for this silly halloween which just seemed to be a reason to wear different types of plastic and behave more odd and erratic than usual. She grumbled softly as she sipped some pumpkin juice. It wasn't even proper pumpkin juice. It was more like a processed version, which resulted in more grumbling. Almost everything about the magical world disappointed, which her father had sort of predicted when she'd gone off to explore the great wide beyond.

That was until she spotted somebody that looked completely looked out of place. It took her but mere seconds to realise this particular man was relatively old, not dressed in synthetics and not freaking out over the most ordinary details like too many people here were in this little plastic universe. She walked a little closer, at first a tiny bit guarded in case she'd seen wrong and his outfit was still synthetic. The moment she realised it had to be all natural materials she was almost unable to contain her enthusiasm. She walked over, very rudely sniffed his clothes and looked at him with wide eyes sparkling with joy. "Please tell me that this is not some insane sort of costume because it feels like years since I last found people not wearing plastic clothes!" She started out. Virva had lived in a community were boundaries were not quite the same as most other places and she was one to take all that a step further than most. "I'm sorry." She then said, realising most people here were weird and dumb about this sort of thing. "I'm Virvatuli, I'm from the druid branch up North." She figured there wasn't much point in mentioning the Sami heritage as in all honest, barely anybody even knew about them, even in Europe itself. Only in the Nordic countries they seemed to be remembered and known. Since she'd mostly been raised by them in their little community she was very fond of them and had been so ingrained in her culture (along with her parents) that they were considered to be part of the community as much as all the others. She wondered if he had a native american blood line as he did seem to have some features that made her think of them. Now that'd be something, running into something that would understand her roots better than most out here of all places.

@clarence

[Deleted]

October 16, 2025

Clarence wasn't used to having his clothing sniffed by anyone for any reason—and certainly not by a stranger who had only just approached him. The young woman looked old enough to know that that wasn't something that most people did, and Clarence's mind was immediately drawn to the possibility that perhaps a spell had gone wrong somewhere in one of the activities. "Please tell me that this is not some insane sort of costume," she stated, "because it feels like years since I last found people not wearing plastic clothes!" It was an observation to which Clarence wasn't entirely accustomed, but at least the young woman was coherent. She had an accent to her voice that he couldn't place, but he knew that she wasn't a student.

It was true that nothing that he was wearing at that moment was synthetic, including some dragon hide, but it wasn't the sort of thing that most people would have commented on unless they had a particular interest in it. Again, what puzzled him was that it wouldn't have been by the smell of his garments. He remained stiff as the young woman spoke to him, trying to determine how to react, and she apologized before he had the chance to say anything to her.

"I'm sorry. I'm Virvatuli," she explained. "I'm from the druid branch up North."

While he had known that there were Druids even before he had begun teaching at Hogwarts the previous year, he knew that they generally kept their distance from the rest of the magical world. Clarence couldn't say that he blamed them for that; he'd heard about how the Ministry of Magic had dealt with the Druids living on Hy-Brasil, and it wasn't exactly amicable. He understood that, to some extent, though he knew that his own positionality was different from theirs. They weren't alike, per se, and he couldn't say that he spoke their language or understood their culture significantly. Yet there was no doubt that they had… mutual grievances.

"Clarence Corntassel," he introduced himself in return, his demeanor softening slightly at the understanding that there wasn't anything wrong. He wasn't sure what Virvatuli knew about Native Americans, so he figured he would start with that. "I teach Native American Magic at Hogwarts."

@virvatuli

[Deleted]

Virva really was the odd one out here, she herself just hadn't quite figured that out yet. She was still at the stage where she believed everybody else to be odd. Maybe that was something that would never really disappear. Yet the man before her with his short introduction kind of confirmed what she'd thought she'd seen. He was native american, he almost had to be considering the class that he was teaching. She just didn't realise that Hogwarts had that particular class as part of their curriculum. Interesting. She nodded slight, rather impressed. "That's cool. I don't know if Durmstrang teaches any kind of Sami magic but I sincerely doubt it. Apart from that I think most of the Sami are still kind of fed up with how they've been treated. Or at least the older generation seems to be. They're not overly vocal about it.She shrugged. She had her own bones to pick left and right with all different kinds of people. This would be neither the first nor the last time she'd face the bad things the ministry had done to leave her wondering why she was working for them.

"Out of sheer curiosity. Here to babysit the students or along to enjoy the festivities?" She asked curiously. It didn't seem like the kind of playground for both her kind (druids) and she felt that most people raised outside these silly holidays probably wouldn't feel quite that attached to them. She was looking forward to celebrating Samhain with her family in Lappi and she'd already invited Luke to join her. They planned to go to lake Inari after the celebrations for a small holiday and a taste of Finnish culture. It wouldn't have the summer magic, but perhaps the winter wonderland would be just as magical all the same. She just wondered what had brought him here. Work? That was the case for her at least.

@clarence

[Deleted]

October 16, 2025

"That's cool. I don't know if Durmstrang teaches any kind of Sami magic," Virvatuli explained, "but I sincerely doubt it." While slightly surprised that she knew of the Sami, Clarence understood. Native American Magic hadn't been an option at Hogwarts until the students and some of the staff from Ilvermorny had been invited there. While he had begun to teach some of the Hogwarts students who had never gone (or weren't supposed to have gone) to Ilvermorny since, it was different enough from most of their experiences. Durmstrang, from what he knew of the school, focused more on the Dark Arts than anything else.

"Apart from that," considered Virvatuli, "I think most of the Sami are still kind of fed up with how they've been treated. Or at least the older generation seems to be. They're not overly vocal about it."

Clarence nodded slowly. If anything, that seemed to be the universal experience for many. Somehow, having a closer connection with nature and the elements was seen as unthinkable by those who hadn't experienced it. Even for himself, Animagi were still something that he didn't fully understand, though he knew that it was very common for the Druids to become Animagi in spite of the magical creatures with which they were surrounded. He couldn't say that he understood the appeal, anyway.

Virvatuli then posed another question. "Out of sheer curiosity," she began. "Here to babysit the students or along to enjoy the festivities?"

It wasn't "babysitting", per se. Most of the students were old enough that they didn't need constant supervision that couldn't be provided just as well by their own peers. "I'm just here to make sure that everything runs smoothly," Clarence answered. Some of it felt a little… gimmicky, but at least no one was running around in anything appropriative, that he had seen. "And you?"

@virvatuli

[Deleted]

The old man wasn't very overly talkative but that was no problem for Virva. She could just as easily ramble on endlessly without help from others. Well, if she felt like it. She felt the kindship, even if he maybe didn't. Sometimes Virva believed that the druids in Hy-brasil lacked a certain understanding and appreciation of everything they had. She'd seen how it had gone for the Sami people and the native americans were not that much better off. The only difference seemed to be that they were better remembered by the world population in general.

When he asked about her reasons to be here she shrugged. "About the same, although I'm calling it babysitting nontheless. I'm not here to keep kids from misbehaving though. I'm for the older children that think it's fun to play with dark arts and cause trouble for other people. I sincerely hate and despise them." She could feel the revulsion in her entire system. She hated nothing more than those practising the dark arts. Even muggles didn't get close to that level of disdain. Still, not all muggles were bad in her eyes, mostly the ones still in touch with nature and their roots were people she cared for deeply despite their lack of magic. At least they understood nature better than most wizards.

@clarence

[Deleted]

October 16, 2025

When he asked her about why it was that she was there, Virvatuli shrugged. "About the same," she said, although she mentioned that she would be calling it "babysitting" nonetheless. She wasn't there for the younger children, though; her purpose, she told him, was to keep an eye on the older children who might have been using the Dark Arts. "I sincerely hate and despise them."

While no fan of the Dark Arts himself, Clarence found Virvatuli's words rather harsh. He couldn't deny that there were Hogwarts students who had gone in the direction of the Dark Arts, but any student still enrolled in the school would face disciplinary action for any of what Virvatuli was suggesting. The same would have been true of Ilvermorny. Neither school provided instruction in the Dark Arts, and they didn't operate as Durmstrang did.

Nothing that any of the Hogwarts students were doing was supposed to come close to the practice of the Dark Arts. There were enough families and school staff members who would have balked at that—not to mention the Board of Governors—to keep anything like that from happening. That was also why they had magizoologists and other specialists on-site to assist with some of the activities.

"I don't think you'll need to worry about that," Clarence assured her. "I'm not the only school staff member here." With the way in which Virvatuli was speaking, she seemed to have a very strong conviction about the Dark Arts. That, in itself, wasn't an issue; she was free to feel how she wanted. His concern, however, was that she might view something as being a threat when it was only part of a firmly vetted and staged activity. If any of the students were found to be doing anything that went against school rules, it would be dealt with swiftly.

@virvatuli

[Deleted]

His words made it very clear he hadn't understood properly, but Virva failed to see it for a moment as everything was clear as crystal to her. "I don't know what school staff plans to do about the purifiers or azkaban escapees. Give them detention? I don't really think that'll deter them. Besides, it's my job to worry about those people. It's not an age thing, if people can't behave without supervision it's babysitting to me." Oh right, well of course he figured she'd meant the students when she called it babysitting. Back home there hadn't really been school. You were taught what you needed to know by the adults in the village and you were never done learning. There was no official schooling system and everybody was a teacher to all others. Even Virva herself had been teaching some of the younger few a trick or two while she was far too young to have officially been out of school. Somtimes she forgot other people functioned very different. Schools were weird, even if Hy-brasil had them too.

"Sorry about the misunderstanding. I just keep forgetting people do the whole school thing. Back home everybody teaches everybody. One of the elders in my village said that the old forget lessons that the young can help them learn again. We were to respect our youth as much as our elders for everybody is capable of teaching valuable lessons, even if they are not aware they do. Hierarchy works differently in our little nook of the world. Even Hy-brasil doesn't quite work the same way." She shrugged. Ownership and responsibility were very different. Nobody truly owned things in the way people saw now. You shared and helped our own survive. Goods were exchanged for the benefit of all and Nature and the Spirits would provide. It was a kinder world compared to what was out here, as long as you didn't anger the Tonttu or other spirits. Those were just important things to remember, after all.

@clarence

[Deleted]

October 16, 2025

It was at the moment that Virvatuli spoke again that Clarence realized that she hadn't meant "children" in the literal sense; she had been referring to Dark witches and wizards, Azkaban escapees and the like. She asked what the school staff would be expected to do about those people, questioning (rhetorically) if they would give them detention. "I don't really think that'll deter them," she voiced. It was her job, she said, to worry about them. If people couldn't behave without supervision, then she considered it "babysitting" regardless.

"Sorry about the misunderstanding," Virvatuli apologized to him. "I just keep forgetting people do the whole school thing." The Druids were educated, though, Clarence knew; they simply didn't use the same models of learning or ways of knowing. She explained that, in her village, the elders and the children learned from one another. "Hierarchy works differently in our little nook of the world," she said. "Even Hy-Brasil doesn't quite work the same way."

Clarence knew that there was a presupposition that some people had that the world was only as they themselves had experienced it. While he knew that even he had a tendency to hold firmly to his beliefs, he knew that there were multiple ways of doing things. He might not have agreed with all of them, but that didn't change their existence.

For him, though, he had always had to balance Indigeneity with a certain settler-colonial worldview, yet he was also not a Druid. His understandings and uses of magic—and those of others similar to him in their histories—were legitimized by his being able to teach a subject about them. He had never lived in an environment where he was completely apart from that, and so his status was—at least on the face of it—the same as other non-Druids.

It was strange for Clarence to hear someone else speak to him about their community's views of the world, of elders and of the relationships between people, in a way that was so strikingly similar to his own, yet Virvatuli seemed to think that he wouldn't understand. He nodded to her, though it put into perspective how different some other people must have thought her to be. Given how he was occasionally received, he knew that it wasn't always pleasant.

"It's alright," he told Virvatuli, accepting her apology. She simply had been trying to make a point about the Dark Arts and criminality. "What do you do for work?" he asked, treading carefully around the subject. She seemed to be some form of security or law enforcement, although he didn't want to assume that she was affiliated with the Ministry of Magic.

@virvatuli

[Deleted]

The older man didn't really talk a lot, but that was okay. There was a man in the village that barely ever spoke and mostly communicated in gestures and noises. He was one of the most respected authorities in the village despite that, as everybody somehow managed to understand him in his wordless communication. It wasn't always easy for Virva to speak with those that were not as vocally inclined as she was but she didn't hold that against them. She was just happy he understood her well enough and that she meant no harm (to any that knew how to be decent human beings that was) and seemed inclined still to keep some shape or form of conversation going.

As he asked about her job she couldn't help but give a bit of an ironic smile. "I'm an auror trainnee actually." She said with a shrug. "I'm the black sheep of the family in choosing to work in a different country for a ministry the druids are not particularly fond of as a group. I just wanted to learn how to fight dark wizards and they don't really have much of that at home. Hy-brasil might have more but it's a very different angle. We shape as a community so we handle those things as such as well. I just want to learn in case we ever need the knowledge to secure out community better. We got attacked in the past and I don't want to feel as defenceless as I did back then." It was quite a bit to share with a stranger but Virva figured that he was more trustworthy than most. After all, he seemed to understand things a bit better.

@clarence

[Deleted]

October 16, 2025

Virvatuli, somewhat shockingly, explained that she was actually an Auror trainee. The reason why it was so shocking, of course, was because of what Clarence knew of the Druid communities' relationship with the Ministry of Magic: Historically, it hadn't been positive, which was also just about how he felt about MACUSA. He hadn't trusted the Magical Congress of the United States of America, as an institution, for years. It also made some sense that the young woman was an Auror trainee, because it gave more context to her comments about "babysitting".

"I'm the black sheep of the family," she admitted, "in choosing to work in a different country for a ministry the druids are not particularly fond of as a group." At least she was aware of it, Clarence thought, though she added that her goal was to learn how to fight Dark wizards. Understandably, as Virvatuli also stated, there wasn't very much of that kind of training in her community or on Hy-Brasil. It was for self-defense, from what she said. They—Virvatuli's community, presumably—had been attacked before, and she didn't want to feel so defenseless again.

"Ah," Clarence nodded, although he had managed to avoid needing a similar set of skills. He preferred to avoid conflict, but he had never been in the position of having his community attacked by Dark wizards, either. Occlumency, instead, was his coping mechanism. To clear his mind and to make it a blank, impenetrable slate had served him well. "And how is your training?" he asked her, curious to know how it had been, especially in the past few months.

@virvatuli

[Deleted]

The elder man seemed far better at understanding things than most. Even if she was a little more chaotic and generally not always the type to stay on track he seemed to understand the general picture well enough. Some things were worth more than old enmity for a singular individual and she would easily betray the entire ministry if they ever planned to go against the druids. That or attempt to destroy them from the inside out. Yet that seemed like a less likely option as there was no way that they'd trust her if she ever ended up in such a position in conflict between two interested parties. It was the last thing she wanted to happen and be part of.

She shrugged and pulled a face. "They got so far away from nature in their magic. It's very different from what I expected, I guess. It's not as much protecting from dark wizards as hunting them down to ensure they can't do harm. I guess I appreciate that as it means they can't harm anybody. Otherwise I probably would have quit and gone home already." There was plenty of magic that served to protect but she knew that she couldn't go home with this training and protect her community. She could only choose to hunt down people that attacked and only so with either government assistance or on her own, which was far too dangerous. It wasn't what she'd thought it would be when she had set out for the plan but it was a good thing to stick to either way.

She then looked at him curiously. He was clearly as much in his natural environment here as she was, which meant not at all. "Why did you choose to teach at a school, if I might be so bold to ask? Do the students understand more than just the magic?" It might have sounded like a strange question but it ought to be painfully clear what she meant. Did the students understand that nature based magic wasn't just about what you could do with the magic but how there was a balance in life that grew more powerful when in perfect harmony. Witches and wizards depended on the lands from which they harvested their ingredients and in which they practised their magic and if they used magic that would destroy the balance of nature they would eventually destroy themselves too. It seemed a long forgotten heritage to most modern wizards and witches and it made Virva very sad to see that.

@clarence

[Deleted]

October 16, 2025

When he asked her how her training was going, Virvatuli expressed her distaste for how far removed "their magic"—British magic, Clarence inferred—had become from nature. "It's very different from what I expected, I guess," she explained to him, elaborating that a lot of what was involved was hunting Dark wizards down instead of actively providing a defense against them. It seemed to be a bit of a dilemma for her, but Clarence wasn't sure if he was really the one to be able to provide her with much assistance in that regard. He had been frustrated by MACUSA's buck-passing for decades. He had tried countless times to get through to them to make them understand his perspective, but he had been unsuccessful each time.

"Why did you choose to teach at a school, if I might be so bold to ask?" Virvatuli questioned him. "Do the students understand more than just the magic?"

It wasn't a "bold" question in the sense that Clarence minded it. It was a valid question—or questions. "I attended Ilvermorny and taught there. I'm only working at Hogwarts until we're able to return to Ilvermorny," he provided to clarify things. "Most of my students are also students who came from Ilvermorny." Some weren't, of course, but the vast majority were. "They understand," he added, because he focused on it in his lessons. "But the Hogwarts students as a whole?" Clarence shook his head. "I'm not so sure."

@virvatuli