Thunder

@caerus | Outfit

Stepping down from Deputy Head was a good decision for Charlotte. It hadn’t changed much - it wasn’t as if it was a highly powerful position or anything of the sort. But it gave her slightly more freedom than she had before. She could go back to the Estate more during the weeks rather than staying at the school to make sure there was no trouble. There hadn’t been much lately, not since Halloween when Sebastian had mutilated the mudblood and the bloody North girl had disarmed Lucian without a bit of sense. But that was behind them, and no longer a problem. The mudbloods were out of the school, and they had made an example of that evening. Things were going much more smoothly now, and Charlotte had ease of mind knowing they were educating only those who wouldn’t taint magic.

Charlotte had always loved teaching, especially when it came to her passions. Herbology had always been her niche for as long as she could remember. She recalled after Renée died how she had taken a sudden interest… She had spent so much time in the woods, not wanting to be near the house that felt empty without her sister, even more empty than she felt inside as it was since her twin was deceased, though she knew her absence had worried Alder. She would try to use her magic to make flowers bloom in the daytime, finding the sight of them to be more pleasant, lifting her spirits even a little in the dark time. Years later, teaching it to the magical youth seemed intuitive. Perhaps it would help them through dark times as well.

Of course, teaching wasn’t always bright and sunny. In fact, most days it wasn’t. There were always those who struggled, those who excelled, those who acted up, and pretty much everything in between, but Charlotte was used to balancing it all by now. The evenings in the castles were a break, at least from the madness of teaching. She truly loved the castle. It was peaceful at the best of times. Charlotte liked to take rounds around every once in a while. The corridors were practically empty, as most students and staff were on their way to the Great Hall for supper. Charlotte found herself on the seventh floor, as distant as could be from the rest of the school, and she headed up to the astronomy tower. It was cold, and it would be getting colder since the sun was setting. When she reached the top, she was surprised to find she wasn’t the only soul there. There was a form across the tower and smoke coming from a cigarette in his hand. As Charlotte’s eyes adjusted to the dimmer light, she realized who it was. A student. “Mr. Nott,” she said, an edge to her voice. “Need I even tell you that you ought not be up here?” She had little patience for those who senselessly broke the rules...

THUNDER

OUTFIT

Caerus was… mostly all right with the rules. Most of the time, anyhow. When he did break the rules, he usually didn't get caught. He supposed that was probably why he was a Ravenclaw-he was smart enough to avoid detection when doing something he shouldn't… though that was a little Slytherin of him, admittedly. That was beside the point. He didn't get caught enough that he had been asked to be a prefect this year. It was a position that had formerly been held by LJ, but since he had been made Head Boy, there was a spot open amongst the seventh years and it had been him. Maybe that had been a little surprising, but he thought that Garnet had always liked him well enough. He didn't break stupid rules, and he wasn't an asshole to people. He wasn't perfect when it came to rules, but clearly people listened to him enough that his head of house had decided to choose him for the position.

That still didn't make him perfect, though. It was dinnertime, so he should be in the Great Hall. Monday was a light day for him-which was nice. Honestly, his entire schedule this year was rather perfect. He only had one class on Monday, and it was charms in the late afternoon. He only had one class on Fridays too, and it was in the morning, right before lunch. It meant that once he'd finished with Theory, he had lunch, and then was free for the weekend. It also meant that his weekend extended into Monday, until three o'clock when he had charms. Most of his classes were just on Tuesday and Thursday, and that worked well for him. It meant that he'd been in the common room when it had been time for dinner, and he just hadn't felt like going down there just yet. Instead, he'd come up here. He hadn't thought there was much of a chance that anyone would come up to the Astronomy Tower during dinner.

He liked it up here. There were plenty of places in the castle that had a decent view of the grounds, and even more room on the grounds to spend some time, but there was no beating this particular view. And with everyone downstairs, he thought that he could have a quick cigarette without anyone bothering him. Really, he was absolutely sure that no one would come up here. Why would they? It was dinnertime. There were Astronomy classes later in the night, but not yet. It would be empty until then. And he would only be a couple of minutes. It might be January, but the night wasn't even too miserable. He was sure it would get colder as the night went on, but at this point, it wasn't completely intolerable. And it was quiet. It was hard to get some quiet in this school. Most of the time, he didn't need it. But sometimes… sometimes he did. Sometimes a bit of quiet did him some good.

There was a reason that he was usually the first to arrive to his own astronomy classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays. He liked to appreciate the quiet, and enjoy the view, for a little while before anyone else showed up. Usually Professor Patil was already up there too, but that was all right. She didn't seem to mind him being early. But that was tomorrow. Tonight, the first class wasn't until ten, so he knew that he wouldn't be bothered here. At least, he thought he'd known that, until he heard footsteps and then a voice. Caerus turned to face her, not even bothering to hide the cigarette at this point-there wasn't any way to do so subtly, and he was of age anyhow. It wasn't as if he wasn't allowed to smoke, even if he wasn't technically supposed to do it here. "No, you don't need to. I know." He said, with an easy grin. "I just like the quiet." He thought being honest might get him further than trying to come up with any unbelievable lie.

Charlotte had always had a passion for the younger generation. She had loved herbology in school, so she figured why shouldn’t she teach it? It combined what she loved. She had bounced around from job to job over the years, taking a break to raise her son and dealing with the nonsense of Durant for so many long and hard years, but it was more than a relief for her to be back in Hogwarts where she belonged. Sure, she wasn’t the Deputy Headmistress any longer, but really, that was of no consequence to her. It didn’t change how she interacted with the students. If anything, she thought it had made some of them ease up around her since she no longer seemed so intimidating without the title. She didn’t mind that; she commanded respect one way or another, but she didn’t want them to fear her.

At least, she didn’t want the students to fear her. She was there to educate them, to help them along in their journey in life. Charlotte always thought teaching was an extremely important job. They were educating their future, after all, and at this point, Charlotte was glad it was back in order the way it ought to be. The Mudbloods were finally out of the school, no longer tainting magic and taking what simply did not belong to them, and the future generations of the sacred twenty-eight were being educated here. After all, education was finally happening here now that Dumbledore and McGonagall had finally died and Harry Potter was out of the way. At least immediately out of the way...every witch and their mother knew no education had happened here when Potter had been around. But that wasn’t a problem anymore.

As Charlotte’s footsteps echoed against the ground as she took a few steps closer to Mr. Nott, and as she got closer, the moon lit up his face more, revealing an easy grin on his face. “I’m pleased to see you haven’t lost your sense,” she said. At least he wasn’t putting up some ridiculous front like he wasn’t in the wrong. Charlotte had very little patience for that. “I quite enjoy the quiet as well, but that is not an excuse to come up here and break school rules. You are of age, but that is still prohibited on the grounds of the school.” She was sure he knew, he had just said so, but she had to give him some sort of lecture or discipline.

Coming up here was just… peaceful. Caerus didn’t need that all that often. He was usually fine with the common room, or one of the many places to pass some time with people always around. That was honestly fine with him a lot of the time, but sometimes he did just like to be alone for a while and there was no place at Hogwarts that was as peaceful as the astronomy tower. The grounds were fine too--there was a place down by the lake that was pretty peaceful, but there was something that he enjoyed about being this high up. And, of course, it was easier for him to sneak out onto the astronomy tower than down seven floors and out onto the grounds. That was just logic. If he was in Slytherin, then that would have been the easier choice. Out of the dungeons and right outside, simple as that. But from Ravenclaw Tower, it was just so simple to come out here. And it was such a cliché for couples to come out here that he thought that it had actually started to lose some of its appeal.

And it was January, which definitely worked in his advantage. Couples weren’t coming out here and getting busy when it was likely below freezing and possibly snowing. Spells could only do so much to keep a person warm. But he didn’t mind the cold. He thought that it doubly helped him avoid getting caught. Because what professor in their right mind would check the astronomy tower for people out there when it was this cold? Apparently, Professor Burke. He considered that to just be unfortunate. Caerus thought that he could charm a lot of professors, but she was not one of them. She was just… well, he didn’t quite know how to explain it. He didn’t think that he had ever seen her smile before, or even really show any kind of emotion before. It might be a little creepy if she wasn’t nice to look at. Not as nice to look at as Professor Patil, but she was just… the most attractive professor in the school, no question.

If she had been the one that had caught him out here, then he thought that he wouldn’t get into any trouble at all. She knew that he liked astronomy a lot, and he was always early to her classes just to get some extra time out alone in the quiet. She likely would have just told him to get back to his common room, or maybe she would have even pretended he wasn’t there and would just let him be for a little while longer. Professor Burke, though… he didn’t think that he was going to get that lucky with her. He liked to think that he knew how to play professors to what appealed to them most, but she was a tough nut to crack. The best that he could really do was to be straightforward and not bullshit with her. “I understand, Professor.” He said with a nod, shifting his hand a little to hide the cigarette a bit more behind one of the parapets.

Students came in all forms, Charlotte knew. Some were passionate, fiery, obstinate, intelligent, easygoing… It depended on the person, and sometimes in that case, it even depended on the day. She had little patience for students who recklessly broke the rules just for the hell of it. It wasn’t something she understood… Wouldn’t they realize their lives would be easier if they followed the rules? Most of them were not even that difficult.

It was no secret that Charlotte had a rebellious streak, but it was never without purpose. Some of the students were like that, she could see it… But some of them were just obstinate. Some could be changed from their ways. The energy could be placed more productively, and they were open to it. Others, though...Charlotte didn’t want to say they were lost causes, but they were as close as you could come. Nothing was out of the question, but they were so stubborn they often seemed unchangeable.

Luckily for Charlotte, those students were few and far between. Most of them didn’t recklessly break rules for fun. Some were foolish, yes, had their heads in their arses from time to time, but they were children. They were teenagers. She didn’t expect anything less. But they were still moldable, still shapeable…

Caerus wasn’t one of the reckless, obstinate rule breakers. She was pretty sure he did foolish things like this simply because he could and didn’t care. She wagered he thought it was a stupid rule and just intended not to get caught. He wasn’t purposely being defiant. If he was, she was sure she would have heard more bullshit from him, but he was being rather compliant. She liked that; straight shooters were easier to deal with. She watched as he put moved the cigarette slightly out of sight and refrained from rolling her eyes. “Put it out, Mr. Nott, you can smoke outside of these grounds on your own time.” she said as she crossed her arms.