Never Grow Up
Early September 2025
[@Maisie Gemmell]
While the ever-fickle Scottish weather could turn in an instant, there was an irresistible charm to the early creep of the fall weather. The start of the year was always an exciting time as her mind ran wild with speculation about the chaos the year would hold. As the heat of summer began to yield, Zoë felt at perfect ease. The early part of a new school year wasn’t without its challenges. The plethora of new students would invariably keep her on her toes but there was a pleasant comfort in being reunited with the many bright minds and smiling faces that she had come to know over the preceding years.
With the cooling of September, Zoë found herself frequently making her way down to the grounds. The habit had admittedly begun while she had struck up a fledgling romance with the previous Groundskeeper. Zoë hadn’t truly anticipated what the relationship would blossom into, but the grounds of the castle now held a truly special place in her heart. Countless memories and adorable little dates had taken place in the beautiful greenery of the grounds.
A walk through the grounds didn’t necessarily clear her mind. Obnoxious singing and dancing in the sanctity of her room was a far better method to clear out any stress or obtrusive thoughts. Instead, the grounds had become a place of inspiration. It allowed her mind to wander and chase after strange ideas. Many of her notoriously chaotic lesson plans had been first conceived while enjoying the overcast weather that often defined the highlands.
The ominous blanket of grey clouds above Hogwarts had been threatening rain for the majority of the morning but had yet to fully break. Still, however, there was a pleasant aura of petrichor in the air from the night before. Donning a Venetian red fall jacket, Zoë kept her hands comfortably buried in the cozy side pockets as she walked. She adored the feeling of being warmly bundled and would jump at any excuse to pull her warm clothes from their summer hibernation.
As she made her way toward the edge of the Forbidden Forest, Zoë crouched beside a patch of fallen leaves as her curiosity was suddenly piqued. In the shade of the nearby trees, there was a small smattering of adorable little pink mushrooms. While Zoë wouldn’t exactly consider herself a naturalist, years with Eliseo had taught her a tremendous amount about the fauna and flora around the castle. She had always adored his sudden small tangents of random facts about things they found while hiking or walking together. So even with the quick glance, she was able to recognize the patch of small rosy bonnet mushrooms climbing through the deciduous litter.
She recalled that these were one of the several types of bioluminescent mushrooms that could be found in the area, and immediately her mind began chasing an idea. While not directly about the mushrooms themselves, Zoë began considering the bioluminescent aspect. Always trying to pull new ideas and inspiration, Zoë wondered if she could decorate her classroom in bioluminescent plants… preferably ones that weren’t poisonous. While she thought a faerie-themed classroom would be a beautiful idea, she had the partial idea of having a couple of lesson activities in near pitch darkness.
All of their lessons left her students ill-prepared for the unique challenges of dueling or casting spells in places where there wasn’t any light. While spells like Lumos could bring a quick pop of light, that wasn’t always the best idea. Learning quick accuracy and reaction in challenging situations was a fundamental component of the professor’s lessons. Already, Zoë’s active mind began to race with ideas for certain spells that might be worth learning to use when in natural or unnatural darkness. Crouching beside the small patch of mushrooms, the Charm professor remained happily lost in the sudden flood of ideas and potential feywild decorum that she might need to make.
OOTD:
Reducio
Stamina: 5 / Evasion: 11 / Strength: 2 / Wisdom: 20 / ArcPower: 16 / Accuracy: 16
"Never be so politе you forget your power. Nevеr wield such power you forget to be polite."
Never Grow Up
It was good to be back. There was something about the way that the school looked in autumn—the warm colors, the longer shadows—that was comforting to her, even if she'd always miss the city. And one of her favorite things to do was to take Mischief on a walk around the grounds.
Maisie did not believe in giving the rabbit a leash and harness like a dog. Instead, she'd tuck him in her bag and look for a place where they could sit down together. Ideally, it needed to be a place with some plants or rocks to give the rabbit a kind of fence in which to stay. Maybe one day she might conjure something like that, but she knew you couldn't make something from nothing. And, well, Transfiguration was not her strong suit—not like Charms.
Speaking of Charms, she had reviewed the syllabus for the year earlier that week. It looked strong, but was it strong enough? Was it strong enough to break her losing streak? She didn't know. But it had to have a better chance than something like Transfiguration.
While pondering this and pulling the collar of navy trench up around her neck, she eventually came across a patch of mushrooms with a strange color. It always like they were emitting a kind of light. Her eyes widened, curious. This was not the sort of thing she would have found back in the city at home.
Kneeling down in her jeans, she found a kind of circle, which looked perfectly acceptable as a place to release Mischief. "Come on, come out," she said gently to him as she tipped her bag slightly so he could hop out and experience the mushroom circle. Her eye followed his silvered fur closely, making sure he was comfortable in this space.
But there was a moment where one of the mushroom stalk's shadow somehow shifted into into fabric. It was denim, she was pretty sure, but rounded. And as her eyes looked up, she realized, with a gulp, she had been staring into the leg of her Charms professor. "Professor Fresnel!" she said, surprised, as she reached out to try and pull the rabbit back into her grasp. "We're sorry. We didn't see you there."
And that was true, even if it might have seemed somewhat far-fetched if only because the professor was always so fashionable. And yet, Maisie figured she had an opportunity: "Em, Professor, could I pick your brain about something? I really enjoy your class—Charms are so useful and, I don't know, just make sense—so I was wondering if there were any you might recommend for duelling? I, em, haven't been so great at it so far." It was a big admission and her cheeks flushed slightly. But she couldn't tell Mylo, who was both an excellent coach but also believed in running away from problems. Margaret Gemmell, on the other hand, wanted to face them.
@ Zoë Fresnel
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Never Grow Up
[@Maisie Gemmell]
Mind lost in the rapture of racing ideas, Zoë kept her attention squarely on the small patch of rosy bonnets. While she knew she couldn’t raid the grounds for random plants, Zoë believed that she might have some ideas to go over with Eliseo to redecorate her classroom. The ever-revolving ambiance of her classroom was as much for her as it was for her students. The new sights and essence of her classroom helped to break away any creeping sense of monotony. She adored teaching but worked best with constant variation.
Naturally, Zoë’s focus was immediately interrupted when the fuzzy head of a bunny poked its way into her vision. Like any sane person, Zoë adored rabbits, and her face immediately brightened at the unexpected guest. It was clearly not one of the wild rabbits that could be found around the grounds, and she quickly located the probable young owner of the small bunny. A quick laugh escaped the professor’s lips at the look of sudden surprise etched over the young student’s face. Zoë assumed that, like her, the student had been too engrossed in the peaceful grounds to have noticed her. That, or her outfit was unexpectedly stealthy—a reality she somewhat doubted.
“Oh, please don’t apologize!” Zoë quickly assured the girl with an easy smile. “I have to know who your adorable little friend is,” she added, shifting her gaze back to the small rabbit. She had immediately recognized her young student. It did take her a short amount of time at the start of each year to learn the new first years, but then it was locked in her memory. However, on occasion, her students would go through such growth spurts over the summer that they came back almost entirely unrecognizable.
Professor Fresnel kept a warm smile etched on her lips as Maisie began to seek out some advice on dueling. She could tell that it took a bit of mustered courage for the young student to ask for help. While Zoë adored an opportunity to give her students a bit of additional guidance, she also liked to push them as much as she could. She knew that in a lot of cases, students might be nervous to seek out advice. She tried her best to foster an environment that promoted it, but it remained rare. So Zoë did have to hold back her initial excited impulse to start bombing Maisie with advanced dueling strategies and counter tactics.
“Well, you absolutely came to the right professor, and I’m so happy to hear that you enjoy my lessons. I love having you in class,” Zoë replied with a genuine smile. “However… I’m afraid you are a little mistaken. You have been fantastic. Most students get really nervous at the idea of dueling, and having the bravery to even step up is already a huge win. Just going out there and trying will give you so so much valuable experience, regardless of the result,” she explained as she considered the girl.
“But! That being said, I’d be more than happy to give you some tips to steal the edge,” Zoë added with a wink. “If you had to say, what do you think your current weakness is when you get into a duel?” Zoë asked, hoping that she might be able to help lead Maisie through an ever-valuable exercise of self-analysis and critique.
OOTD:
Reducio
Stamina: 5 / Evasion: 11 / Strength: 2 / Wisdom: 20 / ArcPower: 16 / Accuracy: 16
"Never be so politе you forget your power. Nevеr wield such power you forget to be polite."
Never Grow Up
“Oh, please don’t apologize!”
Her eyes were still wide as she grasped the rabbit tight so he wouldn't accidentally run into Professor Fresnel's leg or try to eat her jeans. "His name is Mischief," she introduced her non-human companion who also happened to be the very best pet a girl could ask for. It took a few seconds, but then he seemed calm down in her arms. "You can pet him if you want. He's friendly," she offered, holding the grey mist hopper out a little bit as she stood up to meet Professor Fresnel where she stood.
As she did so, she bit her lip slightly in anticipation of what the Professor might have to say. Criticism did concern her, but she hoped what she would be hearing would be genuinely useful. That way she could bring it back to Coach Mylo as they prepared for the duelling season to come. Maybe they'd need a strategy board this time.
“Well, you absolutely came to the right professor."
Good, that's what she thought, too. All the other professors seemed a little too by the book. They knew the material well enough and were effective, mostly. But no one quite had the flair or energy of Professor Fresnel, which Maisie quite enjoyed and it made the class more fun. She absolutely was the right one to trust with this.
"I’m so happy to hear that you enjoy my lessons. I love having you in class."
This brought a small smile to her face. It was good to know that as she'd always enjoyed school and Charms was certainly her favorite subject.
"I’m afraid you are a little mistaken."
Taking a breath, she could feel the self consciousness creep up her back as her cheeks flushed. She was wrong...about Charms? How could this be? Her body swayed slightly in the wind as she held the rabbit close to her chest.
"You have been fantastic."
The swaying stopped as her eyes widened and her brows lifted. This was not what she expected, at all. Restraining the surprise was not easy or successful. All Maisie had seen on her duelling record was loss after loss—and to the same Hufflepuffs! Professor Fresnel's suggestion that just getting up there took courage was revolutionary. "Really?" she asked somewhat incredulously. But she wanted to believe that. Her wide, vulnerable eyes really, really did.
But thankfully, this wasn't just about dreaming. Professor Fresnel could offer real, solid advice. Because she was the right person to come to about this! Maisie's expression refocused as she thought on her professor's question. "Well, I usually make it to the end so that's good even though it's painful," she started, "Maybe I need more ways to protect my teammates? Fumos helped, but it's not like I always know where it's going to go." She thought about the ways the various others had all fallen before her whether through skilled hits, epic fails or sheer dumb luck. And then there's been Yolanda who'd just stood there petrified. But regardless, Maisie knew couldn't do very much on the block on her own.
"I tried my best to dodge last year, but they kept throwing out things I've never seen before. I saw the Counter Charm on our syllabus this term. Would that help?" she asked too, trying to get to something more specific. A first year's offense could only go so far. So, she felt like she needed to improve her defense to something beyond just moving out of the way.
She look up at Professor Fresnel with hope. Perhaps with professional help, she might turn her record around.
@Zoë Fresnel
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