Fic: Homecoming for fpb

[springmod]

Title: Homecoming
Author: penknife
Recipient: fpb
Character(s): Minerva McGonagall, Neville Longbottom
Rating: G
Wordcount: ~1400 words
Warnings: Spoilers for McGonagall's Pottermore backstory.
Summary: Minerva has a few questions before hiring Hogwarts' new Herbology professor.
Author's Notes (if any): I hope you enjoy this!
Betas: Thanks to N. for beta

Comments

[chthonya]

An interesting question. For what it's worth, I think there's an area between 'famous' and 'anonymous grunt'.

If 'famous' means 'well known', then in a world in which every child in the country passes through one school, then yes: the teachers - especially the long-standing teachers - will be known by everyone. Staff changes and major happenings in their lives will be covered in the Daily Prophet because the whole readership has an interest. The best teachers will probably have a relationship with their counterparts in other wizarding schools, they might write books on their subjects that make their name known nationally, they may contribute to learned journals, and senior staff at each school will be aware of who is leading the other schools.

But in a world with low population and instantaneous communication, a greater proportion of the population will be known to most people - I'm sure most people know [of] Tom at the Leaky Cauldron, for example, or Madam Malkin. So from a wizard's point of view fame would probably be viewed a little differently.

That said, I think the comment about students thinking of her as an institution is spot on - everyone knows her, but they are likely to view her through the lenses of their own pasts. Unlike most schoolteachers in the Muggle world, she does have the option of making her voice heard in the wider world on the back of her job, as Dumbledore does. But only if she puts herself out there. After all, Dumbledore isn't famous enough to feature on a chocolate frog card just due to his role as Headmaster, but because he was Defeater of Grindelwald.

And I don't think Minverva does put herself out there: she comes across as someone who takes her profession seriously, focusing on the teaching and holding the fort castle when Dumbledore is out saving the world and fending off political interference.

So it's believable to me that she would not see herself as famous, that she would not see teaching as a path to fame, or even that she just felt she had to say such a thing to a prospective member of staff to ensure his heart was in the right place.