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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?”
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no subject
Date: 2014-06-06 05:22 pm (UTC)From: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
Date: 2014-06-06 08:33 pm (UTC)From: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
Date: 2014-06-11 07:02 pm (UTC)From: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.