Springfic: "Calling" for vane_nt
Title: Calling
Author: author_by_night
Recipient: vane_nt
Characters: Sybil Trelawney, Filius Flitwick.
Rating: G
Words: 800
Warnings (highlight to view): None.
Summary: Flitwick is used to giving practical career advice; this is not possible when one's student is Sybil Trelawney.
Author's Note: I enjoyed writing Trelawney - I'm glad you asked for a fic about her. I hope that this is what you were looking for! I would like to thank my betas, K and A, for helping me with this!
Calling
"I already know my calling."
The young woman was looking at Filius Flitwick with so much earnestness, he was very much inclined to take her seriously, even though this sometimes proved difficult.
His Ravenclaws were all quite interesting students. Out of all the Houses, they were the ones least inclined to gather in exclusive circles. Some Ravenclaws were deeply logical, focused only on the facts and the facts themselves. Others were far from logical --focused on the speculative, the romantic, the lyrics of life. Both were intelligent, but the ways in which they demonstrated it were vastly different.
Sybil Trelawney seemed to fit into both categories. Filius felt that she would argue that she was a logical thinker; her logic was just different than other forms of it. There was no speculation, no thought, only her personal belief that she was different.
"I'm a Seer," Sybil continued.
Filius hesitated. "How can you be so sure?"
"It's in my blood. Therefore it is so."
"Sybil, dear," Filius said carefully, "that does not mean you are one."
"But Cassandra Tre-"
"-was a very gifted Seer, yes," Filius finished. "But nobody else in your family has exhibited those traits - yourself included."
"I know you like the color blue!"
"I'm wearing blue robes."
Sybil looked crestfallen. "But... Professor, I cannot deny my gift. Everybody thinks I am insane, and perhaps I am, but I know who I am."
"How long have you felt this way?"
"A muggle psychic told me. And don't say being muggle makes her a fraud."
"Psychic abilities do not know magic or lack thereof," Filius said quietly. "I'm not saying you don't have it in you. But how can you know for sure?"
"I just do."
"Why don't we discuss what you can do with those gifts, then," Filius said, feeling quite sure that he was not going to get any further by continuing to argue.
And maybe it wasn't his place anyhow - he knew the girl was taunted quite a bit, and ignored even more. Believing she was gifted might have been especially important to her, and who was he to say she wasn't gifted? Sybil could end up surprising them all.
"I can be a Divination Professor," Sybil pointed out.
"Divination has not been taught here regularly since -"
"Then I'll recreate the class," Sybil said.
She paused, then continued to talk. "Or I could be a History Professor. I'd like that, and Binns is so dreadful."
Filius held in a laugh.
"He'll find his way back home sooner or later," Sybil continued. "Lucy - that's my muggle psychic friend - told me the dead always do."
"That's generally believed to be the case," Filius admitted. "You could also work for the Department of Archives and Artifacts at the Ministry of Magic. Would you like that?"
"Maybe," Sybil said with a smile.
"You'd need to pass the OWLs for History of Magic," Filius continued. "I think Professor Binns would be happy to have you - provided you didn't offer to help him find his way again."
"I was only trying to help!"
"If he'd wanted your help, he would have sought it," Filius said. "We discussed that, remember?"
"I know, I know," Sybil muttered.
She looked back at him. "I really just want to be a Seer."
"It doesn't pay," Filius warned her.
"Lucy gets money," Sybil said.
"Are you sure you can trust this... Lucy?"
"It won't matter anyhow. I'm never going to see her again... I'm going to lose my friend, and if I can stomach that, I can stomach anything."
Dear God! Filius thought.
Filius suddenly stopped seeing Sybil as a teenager with ideas greater than her sense for reality. He instead saw a scared little girl holding a stuffed animal, her back against the wall as she told herself the thunder was nothing to be afraid of, despite knowing it was. And in a way, that little girl was right. Who was to say Lucy wasn't in danger? Muggle killings were far too common these days, and a young woman roaming around claiming to have gifts associated with magic would not be safe.
Sybil had closed her eyes, but when she opened them they were dry.
"If you think you're meant to be a Seer, then I won't stop you," Filius said.
"I'll talk to Dumbledore about teaching Divination," Sybil informed him. "And I'll study for the History OWLs."
She began to leave, paused in the doorway, and turned.
"Professor Flitwick?"
"Yes?"
"Thank you. Lucy would have liked you."
"I'm sure your friend's going to be fine," Flitwick said.
Sybil shrugged. "What the stars do is what the stars do."
Author: author_by_night
Recipient: vane_nt
Characters: Sybil Trelawney, Filius Flitwick.
Rating: G
Words: 800
Warnings (highlight to view): None.
Summary: Flitwick is used to giving practical career advice; this is not possible when one's student is Sybil Trelawney.
Author's Note: I enjoyed writing Trelawney - I'm glad you asked for a fic about her. I hope that this is what you were looking for! I would like to thank my betas, K and A, for helping me with this!
Calling
"I already know my calling."
The young woman was looking at Filius Flitwick with so much earnestness, he was very much inclined to take her seriously, even though this sometimes proved difficult.
His Ravenclaws were all quite interesting students. Out of all the Houses, they were the ones least inclined to gather in exclusive circles. Some Ravenclaws were deeply logical, focused only on the facts and the facts themselves. Others were far from logical --focused on the speculative, the romantic, the lyrics of life. Both were intelligent, but the ways in which they demonstrated it were vastly different.
Sybil Trelawney seemed to fit into both categories. Filius felt that she would argue that she was a logical thinker; her logic was just different than other forms of it. There was no speculation, no thought, only her personal belief that she was different.
"I'm a Seer," Sybil continued.
Filius hesitated. "How can you be so sure?"
"It's in my blood. Therefore it is so."
"Sybil, dear," Filius said carefully, "that does not mean you are one."
"But Cassandra Tre-"
"-was a very gifted Seer, yes," Filius finished. "But nobody else in your family has exhibited those traits - yourself included."
"I know you like the color blue!"
"I'm wearing blue robes."
Sybil looked crestfallen. "But... Professor, I cannot deny my gift. Everybody thinks I am insane, and perhaps I am, but I know who I am."
"How long have you felt this way?"
"A muggle psychic told me. And don't say being muggle makes her a fraud."
"Psychic abilities do not know magic or lack thereof," Filius said quietly. "I'm not saying you don't have it in you. But how can you know for sure?"
"I just do."
"Why don't we discuss what you can do with those gifts, then," Filius said, feeling quite sure that he was not going to get any further by continuing to argue.
And maybe it wasn't his place anyhow - he knew the girl was taunted quite a bit, and ignored even more. Believing she was gifted might have been especially important to her, and who was he to say she wasn't gifted? Sybil could end up surprising them all.
"I can be a Divination Professor," Sybil pointed out.
"Divination has not been taught here regularly since -"
"Then I'll recreate the class," Sybil said.
She paused, then continued to talk. "Or I could be a History Professor. I'd like that, and Binns is so dreadful."
Filius held in a laugh.
"He'll find his way back home sooner or later," Sybil continued. "Lucy - that's my muggle psychic friend - told me the dead always do."
"That's generally believed to be the case," Filius admitted. "You could also work for the Department of Archives and Artifacts at the Ministry of Magic. Would you like that?"
"Maybe," Sybil said with a smile.
"You'd need to pass the OWLs for History of Magic," Filius continued. "I think Professor Binns would be happy to have you - provided you didn't offer to help him find his way again."
"I was only trying to help!"
"If he'd wanted your help, he would have sought it," Filius said. "We discussed that, remember?"
"I know, I know," Sybil muttered.
She looked back at him. "I really just want to be a Seer."
"It doesn't pay," Filius warned her.
"Lucy gets money," Sybil said.
"Are you sure you can trust this... Lucy?"
"It won't matter anyhow. I'm never going to see her again... I'm going to lose my friend, and if I can stomach that, I can stomach anything."
Dear God! Filius thought.
Filius suddenly stopped seeing Sybil as a teenager with ideas greater than her sense for reality. He instead saw a scared little girl holding a stuffed animal, her back against the wall as she told herself the thunder was nothing to be afraid of, despite knowing it was. And in a way, that little girl was right. Who was to say Lucy wasn't in danger? Muggle killings were far too common these days, and a young woman roaming around claiming to have gifts associated with magic would not be safe.
Sybil had closed her eyes, but when she opened them they were dry.
"If you think you're meant to be a Seer, then I won't stop you," Filius said.
"I'll talk to Dumbledore about teaching Divination," Sybil informed him. "And I'll study for the History OWLs."
She began to leave, paused in the doorway, and turned.
"Professor Flitwick?"
"Yes?"
"Thank you. Lucy would have liked you."
"I'm sure your friend's going to be fine," Flitwick said.
Sybil shrugged. "What the stars do is what the stars do."