Meet-Ups (Teagan & Thomas)

Thom woke up, enjoying the warm July heat as he stretched out in the guest room of his parents' home. It had been so very long since he'd left the comfort of his four-bedroom apartment in Virginia Waters Surrey to see his family. Jesselyn was absolutely delighted to see him and have him spend the week, even more excited too to look at the books he'd picked her up from Diagon Alley the week before. He saw no harm in educating his little sister that, potentially could have been his own daughter had he not taken precautions to end things with Andalucille when he did. He ran a hand through his hair and yawned again, enjoying the warm air once more as started to rise out of bed.

His parents were at work most likely; Jesselyn told him she was going out for ice cream with some friends, via her bike. He thought about what he had to do today as he washed his face in the sink and brushed his teeth. He winced as he realized what day it was.

For years since his employment five years ago, Headmaster Whiles, and him would meet over the summer to discuss his... "ailment". The very idea of doing it again this year made him wince. Except, this year it was to be different. Much different. Whereas Whiles and him developed a pattern of speaking about his- well - "ailment" and how it was being controlled. In some ways, Whiles would warn him against letting his personal opinions affect his teaching. But in others, Whiles appreciated that he was looking out for other students. It always left his heart feeling heavy whenever he left the meetings. Despite his jovial attitude, when it came to that one time per month, Thom was often more recluse. He would isolate himself from his students and his fellow professors for periods of time. He would take preparations for a sub when he would miss the days.

It was such a heavy reminder whenever he saw another Howler or another sympathetic or angry look from another professor that he was cursed. That he didn't have the good, happy life he tried to project unto others. As Thom laced his loafers he shook his head and prepared himself to Floo out; that was neither here nor there, he had two weeks before that, and for now he was just to prepare himself to meet with the new Headmistress, Teagan Finn.

They hadn’t interacted much when she was Deputy Headmistress, but within light of her recent promotion, he had the feeling they would need to. With that in mind, he Owl’d her asking her to meet up for tea at Rosa Lee’s so they may get acquainted better with one another.

"Where did you hide my hair clip, you annoying piece of-Ow!" A thump sounded as Teagan knocked her head on the underside of her vanity. Rubbing the area that would surely bruise, she pulled herself from under the piece of mahogany furniture and scowled at the cat perched delicately on her bed. "I know it's your favorite, but it's mine t.o." She picked up her wand as almost an afterthought, murmuring, "Accio hair clip." The small green jeweled object zoomed into her palm from amid the toys in Kitiara's bed. Using it to pull up half her hair, the witch grabbed her heels and walked out of her quarters and into her office.

The large space was still something to get used to. Her quarters as the Potions professor had been more than enough for the pair of them for the last few years, but now...there were more things in here than she knew what to do with. The books lining the shelves sent a thrill of anticipation through her. During Christoff's time, she'd admired them during their meetings. And now, while she didn't own them, she had free reign of their contents.

But there would be time for that later. Sifting through the pile of folders she'd gathered, she found the one marked "Selkin". Christoff, bless his heart, hadn't kept things as tidy as Teagan would prefer. It had taken her some time to sort through the drawers and shelves of documents to piece everything together for meetings such as this. She slipped her feet into her shoes as she took one last look over things.

Charms...Surrey...Hufflepuff...Were-

A small smile lit tugged at the corner of her mouth. While her predecessor was very discreet with such things, and with good reason, Teagan wished that he'd have told her about Thomas. Some witches and wizards, even some of the staff here in the castle, took personal offence to non-human faculty. It had always been that way, and it would probably take a miracle to change it. But personally, she loved the idea. Sure, there were precautions that needed to be in place. But like any such happening, there was no reason to punish the victim.

The witch grabbed a light jacket and Apparated to Diagon Alley. Merlin, this job has perks! she thought. It didn't take long after that for her to reach the little tea shop. A quick look around and she spotted him over by the window. With a warm smile, she greeted the man as she slid into a seat across from him. "Hello. Hope you weren't waiting long."

Selkin. Teagan recognized the face enough to know he was the man she was meeting, but like her relationship with most professors, theirs was closer to "civil" than "acquaintance". As the youngest Deputy Headmistress these last few years, the witch had done everything in her power to appear in calm control, and worthy of the position. That usually involved a lot of paperwork, extra time on her lessons, and not many hours spent in the staff room. With her new appointment, she vowed to change her approach. If she didn't get to know her professors, how would she be able to lead them?

Glad for the returned smile, the brunette saw a bit of hesitation in his features. Maybe this meeting wasn't as common as she'd imagined. She'd had a few over summer breaks, with Christoff, but maybe it was just because she was Deputy. In a flash, her mind swam with the possibility of botching this whole thing. He's probably older than me, even. Merlin, I'll look like a complete idiot. Trying not to let her nerves affect her, she was glad for the distraction of ordering. A quick glance up at the daily specials on the wall showed her they were featuring and fresh peach and plum blend of black tea.

"That'd be wonderful, thank you. The Ripe-tide sounds wonderful." Shuffling off her jacket, she got a bit more comfortable in their little corner of the shop. "How have you been enjoying your summer?"

Honestly, she'd missed having the month, at least, where she usually wouldn't worry about lessons. After the first year of teaching, it was mostly going over what she'd done before, and tweaking to make things better. But there was just so much to DO, since Christoff's passing in May, that she'd barely had time to relax. Not that she regretted taking it on. She just...needed to remember to breathe once in a while too.