29 Apr 2024, 01:19
Curiosity killed the Cat
They/SheSome months into their newest subject, Divination, and Pax was finding themselves surprisingly interested in the class. They had been on the fence about originally, only being convinced to take it by their brother, but it had proven to be a worthwhile selection. Especially since Professor Clairmont, their new Divination teacher, had been oddly suspicious whenever the topic of seers had been brought up - and in Divination, that had been a fair amount. Today, they were going to get some answers.
After class was dismissed, Pax lingered around the room, taking their time to look at all of the different divinatory objects whilst the rest of the class cleared off. The classroom had lots on trinkets and other little things that all seemed to be helpful in Divination one way or another. Once, they were sure that nobody else was around, they approached, enthusiasm evident. They had to start on her good side, after all.
"Hi Professor, thanks for the lesson today! It was really interesting to learn about seers, you know. None of my family are - though I've heard rumours that my ancestors were in the past. Are any of your family seers, given that it's meant to be like a genetic thing? Because you are a seer, right Professor?"
They said this last sentence without any malice behind their words - because they did genuinely think that Professor Clairmont was a seer. After all, why wouldn't she be?Reducio
Last edited by Pax Zhang on 19 Aug 2024, 12:26, edited 1 time in total.
6 May 2024, 08:16
Curiosity killed the Cat
Sereia's Calming Presence is in effect
Get out, get out, get out.
Was it too late to hand in her resignation form? Maybe clock in her two weeks notice? Her mind was spinning with questions as she rubbed off the chalk on the board. She did it in a way that took much longer than it should've, wanting to avoid any obvious questions about her heritage and grey hairs. Both of which could be classed as non-existent at this point.
While she could stay confident that the school had hired her, her abilities in the subject she was to teach exemplary, some kids were mean. So unbelievably mean and narrow-minded. Yes, working with toddlers would've should've hardened her heart with the things they've said, but some things have yet to be resolved.
At twenty-four, Sereia hadn't quite come to terms with the phrase, "don't bleed on those who didn't cut you". It was easy to ignore problems and never confront them, just like her father did. After all, she was her father's girl, was she not?
(Not really.)
When she finally lowered her arm to stop clearing the already-clean board, a voice came. Not that it was entirely unknown to her as they were engaged in the lesson. Sereia hummed and turned to face them, an artificial smile plastered onto her face. "Thank you for engaging with the lesson! Would've been a different thing otherwise."
Of course, the question of her family came up. She started picking at the undersides of her fingernails. "Well, yes, most of the male heirs tended to be Seers, though I do have a Seer aunt that's still alive today." Her aunt... All Sereia knew was her name, nothing else. What she did now, who her husband was, who her children were, they were deemed not important in her father's re-telling of the family history.
Would that be how she ended up in history? Unknown, unimportant?
"... Because you are a seer, right Professor?"
Well, if she was meant to end up as unimportant in her family's history, would it matter what she said?
Sereia cleared her throat, still picking at her nails. "It's... it's not something I like to talk about."
@Pax Zhang
my imagination tells lies, too. — virginia woolf
sta 7 | eva 15 | str 10 | wis 15 | arc 10 | acc 13
24 Jun 2024, 02:03
Curiosity killed the Cat
They/ShePax wasn't always the most observant, however they knew enough about body language to understand when someone was uncomfortable. And, right now, Professor Clairmont seemed to be uncomfortable. They weren't sure what had exactly made them so uncomfortable about their questioning, but to be fair, their questioning wasn't the most sugar-coated, they typically tended to be very blunt about it.
But why Professor Clairmont wasn't proud of their heritage, Pax didn't know. Being a seer, at least in their eyes, was so cool! Having the ability to tell the future, that was super cool, and must be really helpful. Why the professor didn't want to talk about, they simply couldn't understand. Especially since she'd elected to teach that very subject here, her not being proud of being a seer just didn't make sense.
"Why not? If I was a seer, I'd never shut up about it, it's so cool!" Pax exclaimed, raising an eyebrow out of curiosity. "And you came to Hogwarts to teach divination, so surely there must be some part of you that actually does like talking about it, right? I mean, you had to know that these sort of questions would come up when teaching."
Her statement had genuinely baffled Pax. How could someone not want to talk about this, especially when teaching that very subject it was relevant in?Reducio
12 Aug 2024, 05:12
Curiosity killed the Cat
Sereia's Calming Presence is in effect
Deep breaths. While her body wasn't particularly sagging with fatigue, Sereia was mentally exhausted. She had wanted to clock out of teacher mode and relax once the class ended, but the world always had different plans.
Sereia had prepared for this, but only in a mental way. Excuses? Not much there. Most of the time, not wanting to talk about it was enough. "I..." (What was she supposed to say now?) "It's just my preference."
Coming to Hogwarts to teach divination? "Teaching like this was... an impulsive decision. It's impressed my father..." A lie. She hadn't told him yet.
Then the thought of her aunts and uncles made her heart sink. Her extended family didn't even know she was in England, let alone teaching at one of the most esteemed magic schools. But they always looked at her as if they were grieving what could've been. What were the odds their children were one of her students? One of the new Hogwarts cohort? Had they already written to the family about her?
Sereia sighed, combing through her hair with her hands. "If word ever reached my family that I was here teaching this subject, they would laugh. "What's Nate's dull daughter doing teaching divination? She can't even see the future!" I barely know my aunts and uncles but they're so annoying! Whenever they came over for vacation, it was always, "has she had her first vision yet?" and never "how are you?" It's like..."
She was about to continue ranting when she realised the bombshell she just dropped. Shit. The amount of swears running through her head made her consider a memory charm then, but ethics. It was not ethical to erase someone's memory especially if you accidentally erased more than was intended. Sereia had half a mind to laugh at her situation. Everything was falling apart.
She didn't want to break down in front of a kid.
Sereia cleared her throat. "Sorry. I... that wasn't kind of me. And I would like some space to process all of this. I just... please don't tell everyone?" Was it okay to elaborate or was asking good enough? Third years were thirteen, some already fourteen, so surely they were mature enough to not pry any further.
Being the outlier was never a great experience, no matter which end of the spectrum she would sit at.
@Pax Zhang
ooc: whoops sorry for the wait T-T please take this as compensation
ooc: whoops sorry for the wait T-T please take this as compensation
my imagination tells lies, too. — virginia woolf
sta 7 | eva 15 | str 10 | wis 15 | arc 10 | acc 13
18 Aug 2024, 18:07
Curiosity killed the Cat
They/SheThe sudden rant from Professor Clairmont easily caught Pax off-guard; they weren't aware that they'd just opened a full can of worms into their professor's private life. It couldn't have been easy for Professor Clairmont to be dealing with their tirade of (definitely too personal) questions, and clearly this rant had been something building in her for quite some time.
A guilty expression fell over their face as they clutched their bag strap nervously, taking a slight step backwards towards to the door. "I-I'm really sorry I asked," they mumbled, not fully able to meet Professor Clairmont's gaze. "I-I didn't mean to bring up so many, uh, repressed feelings about the scenario, I was just curious..."
They let their apology hang in the air, unsure if it would really excuse the weight of the issue that they had uncovered. After all, this seemed a lot deeper to their professor than they could've imagined.
"I-I won't tell anyone, don't worry," Pax assured her quietly, hoping that it would help in some way. It was the least that they could do in this situation now. "I think I should be heading out now..."
Using this a reason to take their leave, they headed towards the door and stairs, pausing just before they left. "And, for the record Professor, I still think you're a great teacher. Seer or not."Reducio