Do not meddle in the affairs of cranky professors
Category: Pink Sheep RPG
Bill stalked down the halls of the third floor, his scuffed boots charmed not to make noise on the stone floors. While he normally tolerated his duty to do rounds, it gave him a chance to think, to ponder, in peace, Claire was sick and it wasn't fair to Fleur to be up the whole night with the toddler. Thankfully, he was due off at midnight, when Sinistra would be taking over.
Hearing a noise down the hall, he doused his wand light and began to investigate.
A telling glow emanated from around a corner. Soft rustling noises were originating from the area as well. There really weren't a plethora of things that it could be at Hogwarts these days. Not many homicidal snakes, trolls, or Death Eaters were breaking in now that Harry Potter had finished. Events now were as mundane as they ever could be at a magic school. Basically, it boiled down to this: a student had decided to break curfew.
This someone, on this certain night, was Ethan Clearwater. Said Ravenclaw was surrounded by a small collection of objects, all of them for the making of mischief. Making mischief was generally something that Ethan Clearwater was very good at and generally he didn't do silly things like use wandlight or make noise; these were the marks of an amateur.
Except he was having a bit of a problem.
"Just bloody work already," Ethan hissed lowly, fiddling with the object in his hands. He was sprawled out on the corridor floor, propped on his elbows, disassembling a row of wet start fireworks. "Should've bought Wheezes instead of this off-brand shite."
"Yes you should have," Bill said from behind the seventh year, his arms crossed. "But I'm obligated to say that as the Twins' brother." Waving his wand, he silently summoned the fireworks. After looking at it for a moment, he pocketed them. "Good evening, Mr. Clearwater." The teenager sprawled before him was smart, after all, he was a Ravenclaw, he just chose not to divert his intelligence in more productive channels.
"Evening, Professor Weasley," Ethan replied pleasantly from the floor, as if the professor regularly stumbled upon him in dark corridors with banned items. He was mildly put out by the confiscation of the fireworks but the damn blighters weren't right to start so it could hardly be considered a loss.
"Up, Mr. Clearwater." Bill nudged the boy's foot with his booted one. "You know, I would normally just confiscate these and send you on your away, perhaps with some point loss, but you've caught me in a bad mood. Detention, Mr. Clearwater. Now," he raised his hand, cutting off any argument. "That might be unfair, but you should have been more observant in class. Consider it an important life lesson." He offered the boy a hand up.
Ethan rolled over and took the offered hand. Once standing, he took his time brushing himself off, correcting his tie, and collecting his discard robe.
Since after his first year, detention just hadn't instilled the terror in him that it once had. Probably because the Carrows weren't running them anymore.
Really, after the Carrows, other authority figures just paled in comparison.
But Professor Weasley was an alright sort; he knew his Defense Against the Dark Arts, didn't assign too many essays and was usually pleasant. Ethan had heard that he'd been a Curse Breaker with Gringotts before he began teaching and that he was married to a Veela; both impressive feats in Ethan's opinion but he thought the Veela rumor was probably stretching it. The trump, however, was being the older brother of the Weasley Twins.
"I won't let it happen again, professor. So, when and where, sir?" Ethan asked.
"Do us both a favor, Clearwater, and don't lie to me. I find it distasteful." He glanced at his watch, five minutes to midnight. It would be more than acceptable to walk the teenager back to his dorm before taking his leave.
The pair remained silent as they began their journey to the base of Ravenclaw's tower. Bill watched young Ethan. He was one of the last touched by the horror that Snape and the Carrows had inflicted on an entire generation of children. In the last few years he had spent at Hogwarts, he had tried to undo as much damage as possible, but he wondered if some were just beyond his help, like Ethan Clearwater before him.
The boy didn't understand consequences unless pain was attached somehow. Hopefully, the mere mention of the possibility of others' pain would be enough to jar him.
"Do you realize what would have happened if one of your fireworks had set off the wards on one of Professor Babbling's projects? Which could then easily cascade into one of Professor Flitwick's."
Ethan's mouth started to run faster than his brain, "Chaos?"
"In one, sense, yes." Bill stopped in the middle of the hallway, unbuttoning his shirt part way and shoving it aside to reveal his scarred shoulder, an ugly reminder of his last brush with death. "I received this when wards, not properly grounded, were disturbed by errant magic," he spoke quietly, purposefully. "Now, it is unlikely anything Professor Babbling is doing would result in repercussions designed to create a fine red mist out of your body, but combined with unknown magic from Professor Flitwick or your wet-start fireworks, we can't be so sure."
He took a deep breath. "Now my class is not just about fancy moves or learning cool curses, it's supposed to teach you to think about your actions. It's quite possible that tonight could have gone off with out a hitch. Or you could have started a ticking time bomb that could result in many injuries, possibly death. I do believe there is a first year Hufflepuff-Gryffindor Charms class tomorrow morning."
The professor's eyes locked onto Ethan's. "Would you really want that on your conscious?"
Ethan looked away, lowering his gaze to his shoes. He couldn't think of anything to say. Mutely, he shook his head.
Ethan thought he'd had all the angles figured. It wasn't even a grand plan, he'd just been bored and hadn't used up all the fireworks that he'd bought in Hogsmeade. He'd just been aiming to give whoever was patrolling a bit of a start, make sure they were awake and alert.
"I'm sorry, Professor. I hadn't realized it was such a poor location," Ethan finally mumbled.
The kid looked so dejected, Bill almost wanted to tell him that there were centuries old, and well powered, wards to prevent that from ever happening, but in doing so, he would erase whatever steps they had just taken forward. "Magic is not a toy. If my father had caught me, or any of my siblings doing something so stupid and irresponsible, he would have tanned our hides. Count yourself lucky corporal punishment has been banned."
The jerk back was involuntary. Ethan tried to stop it, tried to hide how the words 'corporal punishment' made his stomach drop to the floor and his bones liquidate.
Ethan looked at Professor Weasley again, this time his expression was guarded.
"Yes, sir."
He hadn't missed the change in Ethan's demenor. "Purtain du Carrows," Bill spat, belatedly realizing he spoke aloud. Hopefully the teenager in front of him didn't know French, but then again perhaps that would increase his reputation among students. "Ethan," he used the boy's given name, speaking softly, yet firm, "You realize that nobody would ever do that here, now, right? Especially if I'm in power to stop it."
He paused, taking a deep breath. "I forgot myself. I shouldn't have thrown that against you and for that I appologize."
Ethan flushed at being caught. It was such a stupid thing, his reaction. Sometimes he wondered why he was in Ravenclaw at all with the streaks of idiocy that he'd shown. First trying to set off fireworks in a corridor where magical research was happening and then flinching about like an abused puppy over nothing.
"It was nothing. It all happened a long time ago," Ethan reassured them both.
They were moving toward the tower again.
"That doesn't necessarily mean it's nothing," Bill mused aloud, stroaking his beard, under which reminders of Greyback's attack still lingered on his skin. "Years pass and you still wake up at night in a cold sweat, terrified."
They stopped in front of the door that led up to the Ravenclaw tower. "I think five nights of detention should cover it. Not all at once, of course, as I like to go home and spend time with my family, but we'll start tomorrow." He paused, considering. "I'll think I'll have you grade some of the first year quizes. I can't think of anything more cruel than paperwork."
There was a flash of curiosity in Ethan. He knew that Professor Weasley had seen things, had been involved in the war, but he'd never considered that those things continued to bother him. For a moment Ethan had thought that the professor had been talking about him, like he was some all-knowing being. He filed those thoughts away for later reflection.
"Yes, sir," Ethan replied again, feeling a bit like a broken record. "In your office after supper?"
Bill didn't particularly care for the almost defeated tone, but they could work on that. He prefered his Ethan Clearwater snappy, almost insolent, then he knew the boy was thinking, somewhat. "Yes, after supper should suit just fine. What are you best subjects, if you don't mind me asking? I might as well see if anyone else needs things to be graded."
He looked at the young man in front of him. It was a pity it was so late in the boy's school career, there was so much untapped potential, if he could only draw it out. Well, he would do the best he could in the short time he had to do it. Bill didn't like the look in the Ethan's eyes at the mere mention of 'corporal punishment'. Perhaps he could kill two birds with one stone. Ethan Clearwater may never be the model student, but perhaps he would cease to be the cause of so many gray hairs. Time would only see.
"I've top marks in Charms and Arthimancy, sir. I'm also taking NEWT level Ancient Runes and History of Magic," Ethan replied, some of his previous cockiness returning.
Bill nodded, making sure to note which professors he would need to speak to. His mind had already jumped to the options available to the boy after leaving Hogwarts, but he was getting ahead of himself. Putting the thestral before the carriage, as his father would say. "Good night, Mr. Clearwter," he said finally. "Do us both a favor and don't let me catch you out again."
Ethan smirked and took a step closer to the tower entrance, "Oh, you won't, sir. Have a good night, Professor."
"Impudent brat," Bill muttered under his breath, with no real heat behind the word. He covering a yawn with his hand. "I will see you tomorrow, after supper. It's high time I go home and return to my wife." Making sure the boy actually went into the tower, Bill made his way down to his office where he could floo back to Shell Cottage and Fleur's comforting arms and open ear.
Up in Ravenclaw Tower, Ethan lounged in one of the armchairs. The Common Room was empty and just as he'd left it with his books stacked by the chair. He picked one up and idly flipped through the pages, pretending to read while he thought.
Professor Weasley hadn't laughed when he'd jumped, had even seemed sorry. Maybe he'd be alright. Probably not but Ethan didn't have much of a choice in the matter, there were detentions to serve afterall. He'd reserve judgement for now.
A glance at the clock revealed that it was well after midnight. He considered going back to bed but he knew that once he'd dreamt once, he'd just dream the rest of the night. Better to stay awake and take a nap in the afternoon.
Besides, there were NEWTs to study for.
{Summary: Professor Weasley runs into a rascally Ravenclaw during patrol.}
Bill stalked down the halls of the third floor, his scuffed boots charmed not to make noise on the stone floors. While he normally tolerated his duty to do rounds, it gave him a chance to think, to ponder, in peace, Claire was sick and it wasn't fair to Fleur to be up the whole night with the toddler. Thankfully, he was due off at midnight, when Sinistra would be taking over.
Hearing a noise down the hall, he doused his wand light and began to investigate.
A telling glow emanated from around a corner. Soft rustling noises were originating from the area as well. There really weren't a plethora of things that it could be at Hogwarts these days. Not many homicidal snakes, trolls, or Death Eaters were breaking in now that Harry Potter had finished. Events now were as mundane as they ever could be at a magic school. Basically, it boiled down to this: a student had decided to break curfew.
This someone, on this certain night, was Ethan Clearwater. Said Ravenclaw was surrounded by a small collection of objects, all of them for the making of mischief. Making mischief was generally something that Ethan Clearwater was very good at and generally he didn't do silly things like use wandlight or make noise; these were the marks of an amateur.
Except he was having a bit of a problem.
"Just bloody work already," Ethan hissed lowly, fiddling with the object in his hands. He was sprawled out on the corridor floor, propped on his elbows, disassembling a row of wet start fireworks. "Should've bought Wheezes instead of this off-brand shite."
"Yes you should have," Bill said from behind the seventh year, his arms crossed. "But I'm obligated to say that as the Twins' brother." Waving his wand, he silently summoned the fireworks. After looking at it for a moment, he pocketed them. "Good evening, Mr. Clearwater." The teenager sprawled before him was smart, after all, he was a Ravenclaw, he just chose not to divert his intelligence in more productive channels.
"Evening, Professor Weasley," Ethan replied pleasantly from the floor, as if the professor regularly stumbled upon him in dark corridors with banned items. He was mildly put out by the confiscation of the fireworks but the damn blighters weren't right to start so it could hardly be considered a loss.
"Up, Mr. Clearwater." Bill nudged the boy's foot with his booted one. "You know, I would normally just confiscate these and send you on your away, perhaps with some point loss, but you've caught me in a bad mood. Detention, Mr. Clearwater. Now," he raised his hand, cutting off any argument. "That might be unfair, but you should have been more observant in class. Consider it an important life lesson." He offered the boy a hand up.
Ethan rolled over and took the offered hand. Once standing, he took his time brushing himself off, correcting his tie, and collecting his discard robe.
Since after his first year, detention just hadn't instilled the terror in him that it once had. Probably because the Carrows weren't running them anymore.
Really, after the Carrows, other authority figures just paled in comparison.
But Professor Weasley was an alright sort; he knew his Defense Against the Dark Arts, didn't assign too many essays and was usually pleasant. Ethan had heard that he'd been a Curse Breaker with Gringotts before he began teaching and that he was married to a Veela; both impressive feats in Ethan's opinion but he thought the Veela rumor was probably stretching it. The trump, however, was being the older brother of the Weasley Twins.
"I won't let it happen again, professor. So, when and where, sir?" Ethan asked.
"Do us both a favor, Clearwater, and don't lie to me. I find it distasteful." He glanced at his watch, five minutes to midnight. It would be more than acceptable to walk the teenager back to his dorm before taking his leave.
The pair remained silent as they began their journey to the base of Ravenclaw's tower. Bill watched young Ethan. He was one of the last touched by the horror that Snape and the Carrows had inflicted on an entire generation of children. In the last few years he had spent at Hogwarts, he had tried to undo as much damage as possible, but he wondered if some were just beyond his help, like Ethan Clearwater before him.
The boy didn't understand consequences unless pain was attached somehow. Hopefully, the mere mention of the possibility of others' pain would be enough to jar him.
"Do you realize what would have happened if one of your fireworks had set off the wards on one of Professor Babbling's projects? Which could then easily cascade into one of Professor Flitwick's."
Ethan's mouth started to run faster than his brain, "Chaos?"
"In one, sense, yes." Bill stopped in the middle of the hallway, unbuttoning his shirt part way and shoving it aside to reveal his scarred shoulder, an ugly reminder of his last brush with death. "I received this when wards, not properly grounded, were disturbed by errant magic," he spoke quietly, purposefully. "Now, it is unlikely anything Professor Babbling is doing would result in repercussions designed to create a fine red mist out of your body, but combined with unknown magic from Professor Flitwick or your wet-start fireworks, we can't be so sure."
He took a deep breath. "Now my class is not just about fancy moves or learning cool curses, it's supposed to teach you to think about your actions. It's quite possible that tonight could have gone off with out a hitch. Or you could have started a ticking time bomb that could result in many injuries, possibly death. I do believe there is a first year Hufflepuff-Gryffindor Charms class tomorrow morning."
The professor's eyes locked onto Ethan's. "Would you really want that on your conscious?"
Ethan looked away, lowering his gaze to his shoes. He couldn't think of anything to say. Mutely, he shook his head.
Ethan thought he'd had all the angles figured. It wasn't even a grand plan, he'd just been bored and hadn't used up all the fireworks that he'd bought in Hogsmeade. He'd just been aiming to give whoever was patrolling a bit of a start, make sure they were awake and alert.
"I'm sorry, Professor. I hadn't realized it was such a poor location," Ethan finally mumbled.
The kid looked so dejected, Bill almost wanted to tell him that there were centuries old, and well powered, wards to prevent that from ever happening, but in doing so, he would erase whatever steps they had just taken forward. "Magic is not a toy. If my father had caught me, or any of my siblings doing something so stupid and irresponsible, he would have tanned our hides. Count yourself lucky corporal punishment has been banned."
The jerk back was involuntary. Ethan tried to stop it, tried to hide how the words 'corporal punishment' made his stomach drop to the floor and his bones liquidate.
Ethan looked at Professor Weasley again, this time his expression was guarded.
"Yes, sir."
He hadn't missed the change in Ethan's demenor. "Purtain du Carrows," Bill spat, belatedly realizing he spoke aloud. Hopefully the teenager in front of him didn't know French, but then again perhaps that would increase his reputation among students. "Ethan," he used the boy's given name, speaking softly, yet firm, "You realize that nobody would ever do that here, now, right? Especially if I'm in power to stop it."
He paused, taking a deep breath. "I forgot myself. I shouldn't have thrown that against you and for that I appologize."
Ethan flushed at being caught. It was such a stupid thing, his reaction. Sometimes he wondered why he was in Ravenclaw at all with the streaks of idiocy that he'd shown. First trying to set off fireworks in a corridor where magical research was happening and then flinching about like an abused puppy over nothing.
"It was nothing. It all happened a long time ago," Ethan reassured them both.
They were moving toward the tower again.
"That doesn't necessarily mean it's nothing," Bill mused aloud, stroaking his beard, under which reminders of Greyback's attack still lingered on his skin. "Years pass and you still wake up at night in a cold sweat, terrified."
They stopped in front of the door that led up to the Ravenclaw tower. "I think five nights of detention should cover it. Not all at once, of course, as I like to go home and spend time with my family, but we'll start tomorrow." He paused, considering. "I'll think I'll have you grade some of the first year quizes. I can't think of anything more cruel than paperwork."
There was a flash of curiosity in Ethan. He knew that Professor Weasley had seen things, had been involved in the war, but he'd never considered that those things continued to bother him. For a moment Ethan had thought that the professor had been talking about him, like he was some all-knowing being. He filed those thoughts away for later reflection.
"Yes, sir," Ethan replied again, feeling a bit like a broken record. "In your office after supper?"
Bill didn't particularly care for the almost defeated tone, but they could work on that. He prefered his Ethan Clearwater snappy, almost insolent, then he knew the boy was thinking, somewhat. "Yes, after supper should suit just fine. What are you best subjects, if you don't mind me asking? I might as well see if anyone else needs things to be graded."
He looked at the young man in front of him. It was a pity it was so late in the boy's school career, there was so much untapped potential, if he could only draw it out. Well, he would do the best he could in the short time he had to do it. Bill didn't like the look in the Ethan's eyes at the mere mention of 'corporal punishment'. Perhaps he could kill two birds with one stone. Ethan Clearwater may never be the model student, but perhaps he would cease to be the cause of so many gray hairs. Time would only see.
"I've top marks in Charms and Arthimancy, sir. I'm also taking NEWT level Ancient Runes and History of Magic," Ethan replied, some of his previous cockiness returning.
Bill nodded, making sure to note which professors he would need to speak to. His mind had already jumped to the options available to the boy after leaving Hogwarts, but he was getting ahead of himself. Putting the thestral before the carriage, as his father would say. "Good night, Mr. Clearwter," he said finally. "Do us both a favor and don't let me catch you out again."
Ethan smirked and took a step closer to the tower entrance, "Oh, you won't, sir. Have a good night, Professor."
"Impudent brat," Bill muttered under his breath, with no real heat behind the word. He covering a yawn with his hand. "I will see you tomorrow, after supper. It's high time I go home and return to my wife." Making sure the boy actually went into the tower, Bill made his way down to his office where he could floo back to Shell Cottage and Fleur's comforting arms and open ear.
Up in Ravenclaw Tower, Ethan lounged in one of the armchairs. The Common Room was empty and just as he'd left it with his books stacked by the chair. He picked one up and idly flipped through the pages, pretending to read while he thought.
Professor Weasley hadn't laughed when he'd jumped, had even seemed sorry. Maybe he'd be alright. Probably not but Ethan didn't have much of a choice in the matter, there were detentions to serve afterall. He'd reserve judgement for now.
A glance at the clock revealed that it was well after midnight. He considered going back to bed but he knew that once he'd dreamt once, he'd just dream the rest of the night. Better to stay awake and take a nap in the afternoon.
Besides, there were NEWTs to study for.
{Summary: Professor Weasley runs into a rascally Ravenclaw during patrol.}