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Fic - Understaffed - 1/1
Title: Understaffed
Author: Evandar
Fandom: Harry Potter
Rating: G
Genre: Gen
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and am making no profit from this story.
Summary: The life of a Hogwarts teacher isn't an easy one.
Author's Notes: This was written for the prompt 'Women Being Awesome' on my GenPrompt Bingo table and is inspired by a conversation with![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
silberstreif.
Minerva takes a deep breath, steels herself, and turns the little hourglass three times for the third time that day. In her office, she’s finishing off paperwork for the exam board; she’s on the fifth floor, teaching Transfiguration to third year Ravenclaw and Slytherin, and she’s on the second floor teaching her seventh year NEWT class.
She’s getting too old for this, she thinks, as she slips the Time Turner back into her robes. Too old to keep track of all the Professor McGonagalls running around – all of them sleep-deprived and over-caffeinated – and she can feel retirement creeping up on her. Age is sinking into her bones, faster than it should, given the extra hours she’s been living.
She meets Pomona on the staircase. It helpfully moves them in the opposite direction to the staffroom mid-climb, so they take a longer route.
“How many times today?” Pomona asks.
Minerva holds up three fingers and thinks longingly of the Old Ogdens in her bedside cabinet. All being well, there’ll be a snifter or two coming her way this evening.
Pomona winces. “Only once myself,” she says. “I don’t know how you do it.”
“Practise,” Minerva says. “Hard alcohol, and strong coffee.” She flashes Pomona her most wry smile – the one that had once made Tom Riddle laugh, during a Runes assignment too many years ago – and wins a chuckle for her efforts.
“Of course, there’s always the odd student who makes it all worthwhile,” she continues. “How is Mr Longbottom?”
“Thriving,” Pomona replies. “Simply thriving. He’ll be my replacement if I’m lucky.”
Minerva envies her that. Oh, she’s had the occasional hope, but nothing substantial. Nothing to have her hang up her witch’s hat, certainly. “Lucky you,” she murmurs, and steps onto a new staircase as it begins to move – taking them in the correct direction this time. She would love to know what the Founders had been thinking with that one. If she can feel retirement creeping up on her, the feeling that she’ll be doing this to the end of her days – though hopefully not beyond – has sunk so deep into her bones that it’s become a part of her.
The Time Turner is a routine. The exhaustion is a way of life. The mantra “I love my job, I love my job” is carved into her heart.
She smiles at Pomona when they reach the door to the staff room. “Shall we?”
Author: Evandar
Fandom: Harry Potter
Rating: G
Genre: Gen
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and am making no profit from this story.
Summary: The life of a Hogwarts teacher isn't an easy one.
Author's Notes: This was written for the prompt 'Women Being Awesome' on my GenPrompt Bingo table and is inspired by a conversation with
silberstreif.Minerva takes a deep breath, steels herself, and turns the little hourglass three times for the third time that day. In her office, she’s finishing off paperwork for the exam board; she’s on the fifth floor, teaching Transfiguration to third year Ravenclaw and Slytherin, and she’s on the second floor teaching her seventh year NEWT class.
She’s getting too old for this, she thinks, as she slips the Time Turner back into her robes. Too old to keep track of all the Professor McGonagalls running around – all of them sleep-deprived and over-caffeinated – and she can feel retirement creeping up on her. Age is sinking into her bones, faster than it should, given the extra hours she’s been living.
She meets Pomona on the staircase. It helpfully moves them in the opposite direction to the staffroom mid-climb, so they take a longer route.
“How many times today?” Pomona asks.
Minerva holds up three fingers and thinks longingly of the Old Ogdens in her bedside cabinet. All being well, there’ll be a snifter or two coming her way this evening.
Pomona winces. “Only once myself,” she says. “I don’t know how you do it.”
“Practise,” Minerva says. “Hard alcohol, and strong coffee.” She flashes Pomona her most wry smile – the one that had once made Tom Riddle laugh, during a Runes assignment too many years ago – and wins a chuckle for her efforts.
“Of course, there’s always the odd student who makes it all worthwhile,” she continues. “How is Mr Longbottom?”
“Thriving,” Pomona replies. “Simply thriving. He’ll be my replacement if I’m lucky.”
Minerva envies her that. Oh, she’s had the occasional hope, but nothing substantial. Nothing to have her hang up her witch’s hat, certainly. “Lucky you,” she murmurs, and steps onto a new staircase as it begins to move – taking them in the correct direction this time. She would love to know what the Founders had been thinking with that one. If she can feel retirement creeping up on her, the feeling that she’ll be doing this to the end of her days – though hopefully not beyond – has sunk so deep into her bones that it’s become a part of her.
The Time Turner is a routine. The exhaustion is a way of life. The mantra “I love my job, I love my job” is carved into her heart.
She smiles at Pomona when they reach the door to the staff room. “Shall we?”
no subject
And this one deserved to be written so much! McGonagall and madam Pomfrey are wonderful choices. She sounds so tired, but there is still a lot of fight in her. ^^
Love the tibit with Longbottom, they make him sound like a miracle or blessing. And the stairs with the hint that maybe Hogwarts wanted them to give them a moment for themselves.
I don't think I can imagine the teachers more without a time turner ever again. It makes sense. Why else give hermione one with mere 13 years? Because they are really common.
All in all a tribute to every teacher out there who loves his or herb job. :D
no subject
McGonagall is an amazing lady and I have so, so much admiration for her. RE: what we were talking about, she must be absolutely exhausted, but she still keeps on going. And yeah, Sprout has a hell of a workload as well (Head of Hufflepuff as well as a teacher of a compulsory-and-elective subject
just OMGHogwarts why don't you have any more teachers?!) so she seemed right for the fic too.The stairs and other architectural eccentricities always struck me as really weird in the books. I mean, did the Founders design them that way or did they just change over time? But I like the idea of them taking you where you need to go, down the route you need to take.
I think the idea of Time Turners for teachers is pretty cemented in my headcanon too, now. Which makes you wonder - what would Barty Crouch Jr have got up to with his in 4th year?
no subject
You have a Rise of the Guardians challenge too. *amazed* And here I thought I'm the only one lurking in that fandom. ;) It can really use a few better stories, though.
Especially considering that Sprout seems to be responsible for the greenhouses as well - and the growing of medicine parts. And probably the plants for potion class as well.
I liked the idea that they are simply part of a very elaborate defense system. After all medieval castles were often built with an army in mind, and if you retreated you retreated into a tower and *removed* all latters/ stairs behind you. So, if the founders came from such a background, it would make kind of sense to make sure that all stairs can be *removed*.
*laugh* Or Quirrel and Voldemort...
Barty Crouch Jr. I think used them probably to keep up with the lesson plan and to meet Voldemort. Also I bet that he went out of Hogwarts to see the world again as a (kind of ) free man.
no subject
Lol, Rise of the Guardians. That movie is adorable. When I came back from Thailand, my sister was like "you're going to sit here and watch it and write fic about it for me" - but she ships Bunny/Jack and I lean more towards Pitch/Jack so it hasn't happened yet XD Not to mention I keep adding more and more things on to the list...
I hadn't really participated in challenges before this year. Now everything I write seems to revolve around them.
It does make sense that Sprout would be the one to supply all that, which kind of makes you wonder if that's what she bases her lessons on. I mean, we see the Mandrakes, but what about the rest of the time? Either that or there's got to be some extra greenhouses that the students don't see. Stocking the Potions lab would be a full time job all on its own!
I like that idea. I hadn't thought of it that way. I think part of my problem is that the Hogwarts described in the books isn't a 10th century British castle. I mean, that was probably the logic behind whatever system they were introduced under, but it probably didn't belong to the Founders - they're a later addition, which kind of makes you wonder what the original defences there were. Which is part of my other architectural problem: no one found the Chamber of Secrets except Tom Riddle in all that time? Really? When indoor plumbing wasn't a thing for most of Hogwarts's history, and the Chamber being there meant that the sink it was under couldn't work?
Wow, yeah. Voldemort would have had a hold of it with Quirrell. He probably did a lot of looking into Cerberuses and used it to give him time to hunt down a dragon egg. I love the idea of Barty going out and exploring the world again. It's kind of sad, in a way.
no subject
I ship Pitch/Jack as well. Jack/Bunny just doesn't have the same chemistry for me.Though I have to say, that so far I found no really good fanfic inside that fandom. Some were okay, some good, but not a single one were I said: Yes, this is it!
I kind of think that she does base on that her lessons. 20 kids are probably good helpers and get a lot done. I actually think there was were several greenhouses mentioned in the book and the lessons were only in one? *tries to remember*
I kind of always imagined it like the castles of the 12th century in Germany, just renovated a lot. Plumbing especially, though I wondered the same about the Chamber... I actually came to the conclusion, that Riddles ancestors knew very well where it was located and just never found out the password of the Basilisk. Maybe they just went down for some alone-time, barbeque or so?
Would also explain btw why Dumbledore always had a so hard time to prove his teachers were up to something. They all HAD alibis, anything less than catching them in the act wouldn't have helped.
Barty is a sad story, yeah. Kind of like the drug-dealing rebel kid that went on and became a serial killer.
no subject
Yay, Pitch/Jack! I mean, when I was watching it, I could see the bits my sister pointed out as flirting, but I just couldn't get into it. Pitch, on the other hand... I didn't find anything really good either. Some were okay, some were good, most were meh, and nothing made me excited about what I was reading. There was also a lot of non-con.
I think maybe there were two... Either way, having her classes help out would definitely lighten the load, and it would make sense for the kids to help grow the ingredients that they'd be using in Potions.
I lean towards German castles for it as well, judging by the descriptions in the books, but the fact that it's supposed to be 10th British...Eh. It doesn't work for me. So yeah, lots and lots of renovations - possibly with a foreign influence?
And totally ignoring the fact that there was no such thing as 'British' as we understand it today...I live fairly near to a 11th century castle and it's nowhere even close to the description of Hogwarts.It does make sense that they'd know where it was and utilise it to an extent. It would also make sense if the entrance we see in the books was a second entrance that was added later (by a descendant) during renovations.
It would explain it. There's a lot of explaining things as ignorance (which I don't entirely buy) or testing Harry, but time turners would definitely add a new angle and make it a lot harder for teachers to be kept track of.
Barty's death is one of the most dark and disturbing things in the book for me. He's one of the tragic stories of Harry Potter, but one of the most ignored as well.
no subject
What i miss in that fandom so far, that no one really goes into the real nature of winter. Winter a few hundred years ago, was a killer. I don't have data at hand how many humans anually died during the winter, but we can savely assume that it was a lot. Also armies - in World wars Winter froze thousands of people.
Now, if the spirit of winter is also the spirit of fun, one has to ask who was cruel enough to combine these two natures into one?
Can only agree. :)
Not sure how 10th British castles looked like. Not very stoney? We could also assume, that the wizards of that time were far ahead culturally and rich. *shrug*
So, over centuries it would make sense if parts of the castles were regularly destroyed. Renovations or potion explosions or wars, Hogwarts probably saw it all.
Time turners for teachers are now canon. ^_^ More hourse of a day for the teachers!
Yes, it's also one of the most obvious signs that the revolution of Voldemort maybe had/has justified roots. I mean, no trial no anything just... soul sucked out? And everyone is like "oh, well, too late to protest". It's so...casual.