Something New

[Julian Rossi]

Late November, 2005
7pm
After dinner, Julian rose from his chair at the head of the staff table and followed a crowd of students through the double oak doors and out of the Great Hall. As if on autopilot, he headed directly to the grand staircase which would take him to his office where he would retire to the comfort of his office for the rest of the evening. Julian was halfway up the first flight of stairs before he remembered that he had intended to spend part of his evening in the teacher's lounge, in his new efforts to be more social in his free time.

Doubling back across the Entrance Hall, Julian entered the staffroom corridor, stopping at a door that was guarded by a pair of sentient stone gargoyles. Ever since they had been partially destroyed in the Battle of Hogwarts, the gargoyles now demanded a password before admitting entrance to the Teacher's Lounge, and even as Headteacher, Julian was not exempt from this added level of security. "Widdershins," he said, and the lock on the door clicked open.

Julian pushed open the door and stepped inside, finding the long, panelled room was currently void of staff members. He took a seat in one of the mismatched armchairs, placed his briefcase on the table and looked out the window. It had been cold and rainy for most of November, but the weather had turned mild and it began to snow earlier this evening. There was already a smattering of snow on the grounds, and Julian watched as a group of first-years attempted to make snowballs, only to give up and instead shove handfuls of snow down the backs of each other's robes.

Julian smiled and laughed, then turned away from the window and opened his briefcase. He re-read a memo he had received this morning from the Head of the Auror Department, which asked for an estimate on the amount of Aurors needed at the castle over the holidays. Julian didn’t have the official count of students staying at the castle for Christmas – that list didn't go out until the first week of December – but could usually make a fairly accurate prediction. He reached for his quill and ink to pen a letter back, then snapped his briefcase closed again.

He was here to socialize, not to work.

[Elyria Silverberg]

Elyria had finished her dinner a bit early and was patrolling the hallways to make sure no students were steaking around already. When everyone was in the Great Hall, some of the teenagers enjoyed some of the more remote corners of the halls to prepare pranks or have a little couples moment away from eavesdroppers. With the term drawing near its end, many students tried to get their visiting in before they were away from each other.

Alas, tonight was quiet. Elyria was quietly thankful for that. With her wand out and illuminated, she walked down the dim hallways to the Entrance Hall. As the flames in the halls got brighter, she gave her wand a flick and put it back into her robes, smoothing them out as she walked. Rather than make her way back to her quarters, Elyria decided to spend some time inthe Staffroom to see how some of the other professors were doing had they decided to stop by.


"Widdershins," she said as she approached the gargoyles at the door. Professor Silverberg waited for the lock to click before opening the door and stepping through. As she shut the door behind her, she scanned the room to see who had made their way in. To her surprise, she only saw Julian at the time. "Well, good evening, Julian. Gearing up for the end of term?" She gave a smile and stood nearby until offered to sit. She didn't want to impose if he were busy.

[Julian Rossi]

The doors to the staffroom opened, and Julian looked up, relaxing at the sight of Elyria. As Headteacher, Julian appeared confident and outspoken, but the opposite could be said outside of working hours. To be honest, he was out of his comfort zone to be in the staffroom this evening. It wasn’t easy to tell, though. Julian was great at small talk – he'd had years of practice – but he was reluctant to talk much about himself and too shy to ask questions, and relationships with his colleagues had a tendency to stagnate.

His Deputy Headteacher, however, was one of the few staff members with whom Julian felt fully comfortable. Elyria had been at his side from their first day at Hogwarts, and she knew all of his secrets: there was no need to wear a mask with her. "Long time no see," he joked, referring to the fact that they had just dined side by side at the staff table in the Great Hall. Noticing that she still stood waiting for his invitation, Julian smiled – she was always so polite – he gestured for her to sit.

"Yes and no," he said in response to her question. "I'm trying to be more… outgoing, I suppose," he said with a shrug. "Do you know, I just recently started calling Professor – er, Nigel," he corrected, "by his first name?" Julian chuckled ruefully in the irony of his mistake. "Clearly, I'm still not used to it." Julian allowed himself a moment's rumination, and then stood up. "Coffee or tea?" He offered brightly, gesturing and heading to the long table in the middle of the room where the house-elves always left beverages and an assortment of pastries and sandwiches for the staff to snack on.

As he busied himself at the table, Julian spoke over his shoulder. "But yes, I was just looking over some end-of-term work. Nervous habit," he added, glancing back to look at her. He was, of course, referring to his need to keep busy at all times, to which Elyria was well accustomed by now. "What are your plans for the holiday?"

[Elyria Silverberg]

Elyria took a seat across the table from Julian. She listened as he spoke about his efforts to be more outgoing. There was always a sort of delicate balance between being casual and professional with the other professors. Was it acceptable to call the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor 'Ethan' when the two had known each other since their first year at Hogwarts? What if students were around, too? Like Julian, Elyria had to navigate those waters. There was a sense of disrespect she felt when she called the Arithmancy professor, her former professor no less, by her first name.

Even at the Ministry, she called her Professor Sigma out of habit. "I'm glad to see you're trying at least. I think the staff will be more at ease with it, too. It felt like I was being disrepectful the first time I called Professor Sigma 'Integra' when she was over my department at the Ministry. I still struggle with it now." She gave a chuckle while thinking about those interactions. Since the school reopened, things had felt stiff and almost rigid at times. The Ministry had Aurors stationed at the school, which had it's benefits she supposed. For Elyria it just made things feel even more rigid. Who knew what would be reported back to the Ministry without their knowledge? More Ministry interference was the last thing she wanted. But, the Aurors had all seemed pretty relaxed about their postings. Perhaps reports back to the Ministry were just a figment of her imagination.

When offered something to drink, she took a look at a nearby timepiece before responding, "It's a bit late, so tea would be safer for me, please. I don't want to be unable to sleep later from the coffee." She noted the paperwork that Julian had at his seat and nodded. Making sure all Ts were crossed and Is were dotted was an important step at the end of each term. Exams and grades had strict deadlines to get the grades sent out. When Julian asked about her plans she thought for a moment. Her family had their traditions that she'd take part in, but that was really about it. "I'll have family things back home, but aside from that, I'm not really sure. I may do some work around the castle or something. The Highlands are so beautiful this time of year and we've got fantastic views... what about you?" Knowing of Julian's past, she wondered if he'd be staying at Hogwarts through the holiday or if he'd go home. Perhaps he had other plans? "The offer stands to come celebrate with us this year if you plan on sticking around here."

[Julian Rossi]

As a workaholic, Julian always considered himself to be "on duty" and available to those at Hogwarts. Due to his reclusive tendencies, however, Julian had learned that the act of simply being available was not enough to form relationships with his colleagues. He could not depend on too many casual visits to his office; he was much more approachable in neutral locations, such as the Great Hall or the staffroom. Nevertheless, habits were hard to break, and Julian smiled at Elyria's acknowledgement of his effort.

Julian felt a rush of gratitude towards Elyria for her understanding and knowing how to ease his anxiety. Of course, Elyria would relate to the challenges of navigating workplace dynamics; she had gone from student to colleague to superior with many of the staff at Hogwarts. Bringing up Integra as an example was the perfect choice, and served as a reminder to Julian that even the rockiest beginnings can lead to a close and meaningful friendship. "I just called her 'Madam' for the longest time," he admitted wistfully, recalling the fond memories.

Citing the late hour, Elyria requested tea, and Julian poured some cream and dropped two lumps of sugar into a teacup. With a flick of his wand, the teapot rose in midair and tipped to pour into the cup as he prepared himself a cup of coffee, black. With his back turned, he allowed a slight smirk to play on his lips at what Elyira considered to be "late"; as a chronic insomniac, there was no such thing to Julian. Conjuring a tray beneath the two drinks with another wave of his wand, Julian added a few biscuits with only a moment's hesitation; despite just having had dinner, he could not deny his sweet tooth.

With a final flick of his wand, the tray floated to the table, where Julian rejoined Elyria. Taking a sip of his coffee, he murmured "Hmm," in interest as Elyria shared her holiday plans. It seemed they were sticking to routine again this year; she typically went home for the holidays, and Julian always stayed at Hogwarts. "The same as usual," he said in a neutral tone, neither looking forward to nor dreading it. While he didn't have a family to celebrate with, he was never alone. In fact, Elyria's family was always hospitable to him, and sure enough, Elyria reminded him of their standing offer. Lowering his coffee mug, Julian smiled warmly, and "Thank you," was all he said for the moment.

While there wasn't much to do at Hogwarts during the break, Julian liked to be there for the few that did stay. That wasn't to say he didn't keep himself busy; he was well-connected and always had a plethora of invitations to parties or functions. He attended each and every one of them, though more out of social obligation rather than enjoyment. They could be formal and stuffy, and Julian's idea of a good holiday was spent with family… even if they weren't his own, and were as large as Elyria's.

"Thank you," he said again, making up his mind. "I'll be there. As much as I can," he added without further explanation; his reputation for never missing Christmas day lunch at Hogwarts was well established by now. "Are you going to the party at the Ministry?" he asked casually, wondering if perhaps they could go together and avoid the reprimands from the hostess for not bringing a plus one.