black and white

patiently listenin'
you're keepin' your distance

Sue Li was traveling again, and while that wasn't remotely shocking it was still a bit frustrating. Zacharias knew he couldn't pin his wife down like that. At one point he had proposed that they get a cabin in Hogsmeade so that they could see each other more often, but the kids had stated that they hated the idea of being so close to school even when they weren't there. Sue had agreed, had kissed his cheek, and then had stalked around their home collecting things that she thought she might need. He hadn't put everything together, then. For some reason he had thought that she was just cleaning, not packing up to leave. He was pretty sure that she was in Durmstrang for the moment, but it was possible she had gone to America. She hadn't been very clear in her letter. I'll be out of the country for a bit, love. That was as specific as she got, really. He didn't mind it much; it wasn't like they were going to get to see each other that much for the next few weeks. Besides, this wasn't anything out of the ordinary. She went off a lot because of her career, and she liked studying under different professors. At some point he was sure that she would take on an apprentice for Alchemy or even one for some of her other fields. 

She was such a Ravenclaw sometimes. She balanced so many different things, so many different paths. He was awed by that, really. It was brilliant, exciting. Zacharias could never quite give that up, not for anything. He didn't need that type of stability that some other blokes needed. He just needed his wife and kids to love him, he just needed his exciting job, and he was sure that a cat may help as well. The plan had been to get the group one for winter break, but the entire Smith clan had elected to stay at Hogwarts so that they could be with each other, and he had forgotten that in the rush to make sure that they had all of the presents for the kids. It had been extremely hectic, in the end, and Zacharias was sure that they should celebrate elsewhere the next year. He could bribe someone else to stay, if he must, or he could just not spend Christmas Day with the school. He was fine with staying over break, mostly. Not as many kids were around and it made the castle a serene and peaceful place. But Christmas was, essentially, sacred. He wanted his kids to have similar memories towards the holiday that he did.

Zacharias was grateful when everyone returned to school in one piece, though. He much preferred Hogwarts when all of the students were back and excited. It was warmer, freer... Even if he had a million more papers to grade. Today he had dragged the stacks with him to the staffroom, wanting some company. He wasn't sure that anybody would be there, but he wanted to gather up some other opinions about some of the students, especially the non-Hufflepuffs. 

Bella hadn't thought this position through, really. Typical, of course, since both Salva and her were about as impulsive as they came. Mal was the only rational one in the household and she was thirteen for Merlin's sakes. Still, that was the point and it was something that she occasionally came to regret. After all, most decisions could easily be unmade, and their decisions usually were things like wether or not to argue that night or where they would be traveling next. Both things that could easily be cut off and corrected swiftly if they changed their minds. Taking on a semi-permanent job was not, however, so easily rectified. Bella had, however, gotten used to a lot of freedom and activity over the years. Sure, they didn't move about as much as they used to, but her time was never boring. Not with Salva around. Here, in this castle, Salva wasn't around. He was in their apartment in London and she was in Scotland. While of course she could could leave the castle when she wished to, she had classes to give, office hours to hold, rounds to complete, homework and tests to correct.It was horrible, suddenly having so much responsibility, and she didn't know what she'd been thinking when she took the job. It wasn't as if they needed the money, she could just stay in London with Salva and have fun. It wasn't as if Mal needed supervision, she was fully capable of looking after herself in a castle full of teenagers. Dammit.

The place was boring, at the end of the day. Quiet and full of children and completely dull. The political situation had had a few momentary sources of amusement for them over the last few months, but in the end the dust had settled and she was absolutely fed up with all of it. Could she say that it was a respite after years and years of tense excitement? Yes, an unwanted one at that. Ugh. And on top of things, whoever had taught the subject before her had been a moron and left her with children that didn't even have a proper foundation for their studies. She'd had to go over basics with fourth years even though supposedly they'd had a whole year of magical theory already. Absolute garbage, was what it was. The contents of the essays were bad enough without even taking into account their terrible writing. Who taught them to write essays? No introduction, no proper separation of paragraphs, writing like chicken scratches and final drafts full of crossing out and blotching. Only one student had gotten an E, three had gotten As and then after that they all failed. Absolutely terrible. She was also taking away points for neatness, one does not just hand in essays like this. Disgraceful.

She'd been sitting in the staffroom, knowing that if she was in her office Mal would be there hiding with her instead of trying to socialise. On a couch, reading a particularly terrible one. She'd just tossed it to the side with a disgusted sound when the door opened and she looked at the incoming professor. Oh, Smith. Had she talked to him yet? Handful of times, maybe, but nothing particularly personal. She'd only started teaching this school year, so it wasn't as if she knew him well at all. Bella offered him a nod and something of a greeting before scribbling a large D with red ink on the essay and moving on to the next.

Zacharias loved teaching. He loved the way that the kids often sat at attention (or pretended to), how they seemed more than vaguely interested in what he was attempting to wax on about. He was able to make a difference when he was teaching, even if it was a small one. Even if it didn't seem like it, there were children who were positively affected by his lectures. They wanted an education, they needed an education. Just him being at the front of the classroom was clearly helping, clearly making a positive impact. Sure, he knew that made him sound pompous and overdramatic, but it was true. He was helping just by standing there, talking happily about Charms and showing them how to move their wands in the exact way. He especially liked how whimsical and enthralled the first years were, how they thought that just learning magic was one of the best things that the world could offer them. It was amazing to see their faces when they mastered a charm for the first time, and he loved how he was able to see them grow into flourishing young witches and wizards. Making an impact... He loved it. He loved how he could finally do something like that for the world.

It was just like how he got to witness his own children display their first signs of magic. It was really purely magical; that was what pure magic was. Family and love... And power, of course. He was a sentimental man but he knew what power was, where it should have rested on the level of importance. Power was high on that list: power, family, magic. Those three things were how he tried to live his life, they were the most important thing in the world to him. His wife, Sue... The kids... And how much he did miss Sue as he was up at the school. She was just out there, living her life, completely unconcerned with how they weren't seeing each other that often. She was proud of him for the job, she was proud of herself for the freedom... Power, family, and magic. She put it differently than he did, she put family last and magic first, and sometimes it bothered him, but that was just his wife. Magic for her was the most important thing, it was something that grew and something she could learn from. 

He dropped the stack of papers onto a table with a sigh, choosing to focus on his surroundings instead of the work he had set out for himself. Zacharias wanted to make more connections; wasn't that what Hogwarts was for? He learned that from Slughorn, anyhow. Make connections, make friends with the students. He was jolly and he joked, he made sure that he was adored and revered by the lot. And the other professors? Well, he hadn't quite struck out with them, but he did realize that he wasn't doing the best he could be. He needed to try harder. He needed to make more friends, he needed to get them all to like him. It was important to him, to his future... Another one in the room was... Howard. Right, Howard. Theory of Magic. "They're not doing so well, hmm?" he remarked, leaning over to notice the large mark on the parchment.

"Not well at all, no." Bella chuckled and leaned back in the couch, crossing her legs. She studied the man over. Charms, she figured, head of one of the houses. She hadn't learned everyone's names, but if she remembered correctly then this was Smith. Common name, but apparently of a prominent pure family here, not that the man was pure. Didn't matter, neither was she, despite her husband's blood. His family had minded more about her being American than about that, but things had worked out in the end. His happiness was more important than bloodline, at this point. He was a second son of a second son, not his responsibility to carry on the line. "I don't know who the professor was before me but they did a half assed job if I ever saw one. Malena could write better essays when she was eight. It's not just content mistakes, it's spelling errors, grammar, sloppiness. They're supposed to be fourteen, I would assume they know how to write 'definitely'."

She would kill for a cigarette, right now, but Malena had been correct in pointing out that professors should set a proper example for their students. What did she know, she'd been homeschooled by Bella her whole life and she'd never minded her smoking. Then again, she always did make sure to smoke in another room or outside when Mal was around. All right, she saw the point, but nobody in the world should expect Bella to be a proper example for anything at all, ever. Not unless they wanted the kids to turn out to be reckless thrill seekers like she and Salva were. Then again, she had to admit that Malena had turned out all right. Sweet girl, very sober and reasonable, extremely smart. Could wipe the floor with any of the brats in her house if she wanted it. Of course, the Ramirez family always had to deal with a lot of family due to the business. It'd been imperative to teach her to defend herself, in the rare case that Bella and Salva weren't around to protect her. Not that it would ever happen. She'd gut anyone with her bare hands before letting them touch her daughter.

"Your own students not too terrible, I hope? I hear you have quite an amount of NEWTs this year, professor Smith. I have only some. Not as many as there were on average at Ilvermorny. Then again, it was a larger school." She takes the next essay, red inked quill immediately going to mark the nasty splotches of ink and crossed out sentences and marks a point detriment for it in the corner. No, that would not be acceptable in her class. She'd rather they come to her for the few extra knuts they would have to spend on parchment than hand this mess in. Honestly. What was wrong with writing it out on a normal notebook first and then copying it over? It was much more efficient and allows them to get their details in order. They ought to learn how to use drafts, they're fourth years for heaven's sakes.

"I do have a great deal of bad essays, I think," he murmured, shrugging. Zacharias was always fine with that. He knew that he was a lax grader, that he was a bit too easy sometimes. But he never wanted to be that teacher that told kids they couldn't learn. That was a Snape thing, and he tried his best not to emulate that man. He was the biggest brag that he had ever met. He had been mean and cruel, far scarier than any teacher ought to be. Really, he couldn't understand what Snape had been thinking. He was sure that the man was more than a bit deranged with how he had acted, billowing about like a damn bat. Well, the bat part was something that he would be fine with attempting to replicate, if only because billowing robes did add a bit of drama to the classroom. Maybe for the older years, once they got more adjusted to him. Zacharias did tend to keep the younger students from being too scared. First and second years were so easily frightened. "We ought to keep them in some sort of English class while they're here." He almost waxed on about how important the subject was, but he paused, briefly to ask a question. "Is Malena your daughter?"

Kids, he was good at talking about kids. He had his own, he had his house... That was always a safe way to start a friendship, too. People always loved talking about their kids and he was known for going on and on about them anyway. That and Charms and Sue, or even the people that he was familiar with. He did tend to wax on a lot; Susan Bones made sure to keep that in his head. He talked too much about himself, and she was sure he was a pompous asshole. He thought that was her exact wording on the subject, but he really didn't listen sometimes. Susan did have a habit of just yelling when she thought it was important. Even at his wedding she did a lot of yelling, telling Sue that she was making a mistake. It wasn't his fault that he had found someone who actually understood what was going on in the world. Sure, he was a Hufflepuff, and sure, he had been a part of the DA. But that had been for him. That had been so he could continue to learn Defense, so he could work on things that he wanted to without having too much of a decline in learning. He thought that Potter had been an idiot then and an even worse idiot now. Thankfully, he could talk about that now. He could talk about what he thought was bad and what he wanted to change. He was with people who held similar beliefs, now. It was nice.

"I did get a lot of N.E.W.T students this year. I think they feel Charms is a good one to have as backup," Zacharias remarked, letting out a laugh. At the very least it did help them keep up with critical thinking, so he couldn't be too mad about that. Out of every class he was glad people chose to keep up with his. "They aren't too terrible, but I've had a hell of a time keeping the younger ones from killing each other off with Cheering Charms."

English class, yes, and more languages as well. Her daughter had traveled around enough to know more than just the English and Spanish that her parents taught her out of necessity. She'd learned Latin and Arabic and French, enough to get by in the countries they usually moved through. Some Portuguese but generally it was all easily understood, those languages from common roots. It'd been necessary for Malena, what with moving around so much and so often, but she thought it was absolutely ridiculous that these children would only ever know their own language. As if there wasn't a whole world beyond their borders. First and foremost, however, she thought it'd be a good idea to make sure they learn how to write a proper goddamn essay in their own language. Please and thank you. "That's be useful. It'd save me a headache. They can't possibly go through life thinking they can start a paragraph in an academic text with 'and'."

She swiftly read through the first few measly sentences, finding nothing truly wrong about them, and then looked back up at Smith. "Yes, Malena Ramirez. Third year Ravenclaw." Her daughter was bright as they came, smart as the devil that girl. Fernando had insisted that she would end up in Slytherin but Bella had known better. Mal was intelligent and cunning, yes, but she was thirsty for knowledge in the way that she used to run away from their tent at night to hide in crypts in order to figure out what the inscriptions said. Mighty dangerous of course and Bella had yelled at her for days about it, but the girl had kept doing it. Tiny thing, too, but fierce and good with her wand. Bella and Salva and Ampi had made sure that she was. The Ramirez family business was never peaceful and if Bella and Salva were ever called back to help then they could all be sure that something serious was going on. "Smart girl, delightful though a menace when she's bored. Have you got children yourself?"

Bella would like to say that Mal got that from Salva, but it wouldn't be completely true. That was to say, yes, he was a complete disaster when he was bored, but Bella herself was no better. It'd culminated in a child that set out traps for anyone to fall into, just so she could try out a new rune or ward. Experiments without caring who got caught in the crossfire. Well, at least if she got expelled Bella could quit and she wouldn't be stuck in this boring hellhole for much longer. In fact, Mal would probably not even be punished. Who needed to go to school to learn, anyway? Bella and Salva had always homeschooled their child and she'd come here knowing more than the rest of her year put together. "Well, at least they aren't levitating each other off balconies. Some students at Ilvermorny went around trying to do that, when I was a child." Bella chuckled at the memory. If she were being honest she'd have to admit that she'd given it a try, too. "Nobody got hurt, luckily, but you know how those things go. Students are the same everywhere."

They really shouldn't have left English, Grammar, and basic premises of Mathematics to the parents to teach at home. It was good, in theory, because it allowed more time to be spent on magical subjects, but it really did leave a gap in students education. Sure, they were still getting history and other subjects that were taught in primary education, but they were lacking in the basics that were needed to write decently. Maybe he could set something up in his house that could help the students, or else he could take it up with Sebastian. He really didn't think that the man would take too kindly to him asking about it, though. He was sure that he irritated him quite a bit, but Zacharias really didn't know why. He was such a charming fellow! He got along well with everyone, he made sure that his students knew who they could go to for help... What was the issue? Maybe he was just biased. Maybe Zacharias was just projecting. "How much do you mark them down for that?" Half of the question was curiosity, and the other half was to see if she was an easy grader or not. 

He watched as she studied a few more sentences and forced his mind not to wander too far away. He was far too concerned that the witch might think that he was being ridiculous, constantly trying to stay on his toes. He was sure it was because of Sue. He always had to try to prove himself for his wife, he always tried to make sure that he was doing things for her. There was a reason that Sue didn't take his last name. Half of it was because she was proud of her heritage. The other half was because it sounded stupid. And, of course, there was the sliver that always proved that she knew she was better than him. He couldn't blame her. She was a genius, that wife of his. He didn't know why she had settled for him. Even Susan Bones had said it-- Sue could do better. But she had chosen him (so screw Susan's opinion!). She had had her fair choice of men and she had chosen him. "Luckily they're rarely bored in my class," he said proudly. It was true. Charms was rarely boring, although he did assign a lot of book work. "I have three. Delilah, Ephraim, and Benjamin. Delilah is a fourth year, Ephraim is a third year, and Benjamin is a first year. All Hufflepuffs." He was proud that they had stuck with the House tradition, at least, though he was sure that Sue wasn't so glad.

Zacharias tried not to be too impressed with students levitating one another off of balconies. So far, they hadn't had anything that dangerous, but there were rumors of a group of first years who decided that they were going to climb up anything they could. He was trying to ignore that (and simultaneously hope that they weren't of his house). If they were then he would have to deal with it, and Zacharias wasn't sure what he was supposed to do. Did he put the in detention? They would likely do it anyway. Kids were just like that. Maybe he could stick the Head Girl on it. She was pompous enough that it could help. Hopefully it was a group of kids and not just Hufflepuffs. "They're always so imaginative," he murmured, shaking his head.

Bella had quickly enough built a reputation amongst the students for being a tough teacher. As witches and wizards, she believed that knowing basic theory about what magic was and how it functioned to be indispensable. In her opinion, it shouldn't be an optional class at all. What, did they want to remain ignorant about where their power came from forever? It was ridiculous and she thought very little of the students that didn't take it at least during their OWL years. NEWTs weren't necessary but at least some basic understanding of why spells worked would've been essential. Beyond all that, she didn't allow any sort of childish mistakes like spellings errors or grammatical mistakes. It might not be exactly what she was supposed to be teaching, but she would damn well take it into consideration when giving a final mark. An O with spelling mistakes would never happen. These were just basic requirements of proper academic work, hand in a final draft after correcting every possible mistake. Absolutely shameful. "Let's just say I take into consideration for a final mark. I'll be less inclined to round a mark upwards, for example."

She hadn't much cared to interact with her fellow teachers so far, though she made conversations over meals if she had to. From what Malena told her, most of them liked their jobs and were fairly capable. This particular professor, apparently, enjoyed giving class. She could tell from the proud glint in his eye, though she would hate to dash his hopes. The problem was that students always got bored no matter what. They were children, they couldn't concentrate for very long. There would always be at least one that was bored, that was certain. It was good that they moved on to safe topics, like children. Three, damn. As much as Bella loved Malena, she had always admitted that the child had been an accident. An accident with a happy ending, but one nonetheless. She couldn't begin to imagine what she would've done with another child, let alone two more. To have to spend all that time in Mexico all over again, she would go stir crazy, much like she was going now. Thankfully, the last thing Salva and her would ever become was the 2.5 children, golden retriever, white picket fence kind of family. That, they could be sure of. "All in the same house, huh? I think my husband's family were all in Wampus as well, actually. In his branch, at least." She didn't know if it was something to be proud of, it just meant that they were all alike. Having children in different houses would be the special thing, actually, because it meant that even if they were raised in the same way and by the same people, they maintained their individuality. "I suppose I was too, but Malena is much more Horned Serpent material. Like my brother."

She waved a hand dismissively at the thought. Jerome was boring and predictable, nothing like her daughter. What a stupid idea. Mal would be a Horned Serpent, yes, but she wouldn't be like Bella's brother. She was just a very logical person, that didn't mean she was boring. Logic meant following a certain set of rules, but those didn't need to be society's rules. Bella had always taught her daughter to follow her own rules. Much like Slytherins, she had promoted the idea of following her own code of conduct, not what everyone else taught her to do. "They sure are. Children always manage to figure out their own uses for the world around them. It's why making them abide by strict rules is so harmful. They should be allowed to experiment, with supervision for safety's sakes but still freely."

Zacharias had more than a few things on his mind at any given moment, especially when he was at Hogwarts, but none was more important than how much fun he had teaching. Because teaching? At Hogwarts? That was his dream job. That was something he fell in love with when he was in school, something that he could see himself doing for the rest of his life. Teaching at Hogwarts was really a privilege, too. It wasn't like only a handful of people had applied to teach at the school. So many others had and hadn't quite gotten the job. This wasn't something that just everybody could do. There was an interview process, there were your credentials to be checked... It was important, too, to match up with the current Headmaster's point of view. It wasn't just something that people could do on a whim, and he thought it would be ridiculous to attempt to instruct somewhere-- or do anything, really-- that you weren't passionate about. He couldn't quite understand it at all. 

He just had feelings about teaching. He loved it. He loved when kids listened to him, how they paid attention... And he loved how they were always growing and learning whether they wanted to or not. He had seen it even in his Lufkin students. And to see this in Hogwarts? It was better. It was on a higher scale because he saw them everyday, sometimes, especially if they were in Hufflepuff. He didn't see them on Monday, Wednesday, Friday classes. He saw them constantly. And they were growing and doing so well! Even when they weren't happy, even when they seemed bored, they were growing and learning. And it was brilliant! "I'm actually related to Helga Hufflepuff," he continued. Zacharias waited until she had finished speaking, but only barely. He knew that he liked to speak, and that sometimes he thought his words were more important, but it was something that he really knew that he should say. Then again, he did think that every time... Maybe, to be polite, he ought to ask her to explain the difference between the American houses. Even though Sue had told him he barely registered them. "And, uh, what are those houses again? Horned Serpent, Wampus..." There, that was better. It always paid to be polite. 

"It's amazing what uses they'll find for their wands..." Especially the ones that weren't actually magical. Really, he had seen kids use their wands as poking devices, back scratchers, hair holder uppers... It was amazing when you forgot about the possible accidental magic.