Start Of Something New

Hogwarts Headmaster

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Posts: 46
Age: 35
Species: Human
House: Hufflepuff
Occupation: Headmaster, DADA Professor
Status: Widowed
Played by: Emma

Last seen Nov 1, 2024 19:01:38 GMT

Start Of Something New Oct 28, 2022 22:36:09 GMT

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Post by WILL RYAN BELACQUA on Oct 28, 2022 22:36:09 GMT

Will had always thought he had known what he was letting himself in for when the position of Headmaster was offered to him but the truth was that he had never thought that something like this would happen. He could still remember the time when Voldemort’s followers had taken over Hogwarts as that had taken place in his early years at Hogwarts and Will had known that he hadn’t wanted anything like that to happen again. Now another group was seeking to make their mark on the world and in some ways they were already proving to be worse than Voldemort ever had been. The Enlightened didn’t just want to take over, they had thrown the world into chaos and Will knew that things were never going to be the same again. He would be lying if he said that he didn’t worry about what was going to happen next but during his time at Hogwarts he had heard about the Order of the Phoenix, a group that had fought against Voldemort and his Death Eaters even before the Ministry and others in the magical community had believed that he had returned and Will had known that if they were going to stand a chance at stopping the Enlightened then those who could fight couldn’t just stand on the sidelines this time either. Will didn’t just have his kids and his family to keep safe, he had all of the students and staff at Hogwarts to think about and he would be lying if he said that he didn’t feel like he carried the weight of the world on his shoulders sometimes but it helped having Kirsten there to share the workload at Hogwarts at least and he knew that he could count on the Heads of Houses as well.

Now with everything going on it seemed a little strange to think about carrying on with life as normal but that was what Will was trying to do just like everyone else was. He had been working with the Minister for Magic and the Head Guardian to make sure that Hogwarts was kept safe and having an Auror and Guardian presence definitely seemed to be putting minds at ease. That left Will to think about other things and after talking it through with his friends he had realised that it was time he finally started dating again. He had held off on doing that after his wife died but the kids were teenagers now so they didn’t need him as much and Will knew that he didn’t want to be alone forever so he couldn’t help but feel like it was time. Unfortunately he had ended up going on a string of bad dates and he knew that he wasn’t interested on going out with any of those women again but he wasn’t going to let that put him off. Truth be told it was good to feel that kind of companionship again and Will knew that he was doing the right thing. For now he knew that he had something else to focus on, though, as he had arranged a catch up with one of his newest members of staff and one of his oldest friends. Thalia had taken up a teaching position at the start of the school year just in time for the world to fall into chaos and he knew that he wanted to make sure that she was settling in ok so he had asked her to stop by his office and it was there that Will was sat at his desk grading homework while he waited for her to arrive.

THALIA JADE BARNES

THALIA JADE BARNES

Hufflepuff Head of House

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Posts: 17
Age: 33
Species: Human
House: Hufflepuff
Occupation: History of Magic Professor
Status: Single
Played by: Mandy

Last seen Nov 12, 2024 0:41:08 GMT

Start Of Something New Oct 29, 2022 15:18:06 GMT

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Post by THALIA JADE BARNES on Oct 29, 2022 15:18:06 GMT

WILL RYAN BELACQUA 907 wordsNotes: First post, yay.

History had always been fascinating to Thalia, even from a young age and the chance to finally teach the subject, at Hogwarts nonetheless, the same school she'd attended and that had hosted so many famous prior professors was a dream come true. It'd taken a lot of hard work to get here, she'd tried for ages while in America to get a teaching position and they'd always pushed back, letting her do the work and co-teach, but when the time finally came to let her take the helm they'd passed her by again and after the strain of losing her son, her marriage, and beginning to think America was the place of heartbreak she'd gone back home, to her roots. Getting in touch with old friends, trying to make new ones, and landing a dream job was like a dream in of itself and she wanted to keep in that dreamlike state and would have had the Enlightened hadn't made her first year as a professor such a terrifying time. History had always been one of those subjects that most students didn't care for, considering one of the professors before her was an actual ghost who'd droned on for ages hadn't helped in the matter giving history a bad reputation as boring, but it wasn't. It was fascinating. There were wars and politics behind that waging of war and conflicts and unlikely heroes. Ordinary people fighting for the beliefs they were passionate about and becoming extraordinary people who made it into the history books. Thalia had a dream of writing her own book and delving deep into the history, of getting all the small details from people who'd been there, and considering in the world of magic vampires existed it'd been a dream to find one close to a subject she wanted to research and diving headfirst into it. She wouldn't for a while, not with the Enlightened and getting a handle on teaching at Hogwarts again, but it was something to pass the time as dating certainly hadn't been going well for her these days. It was ridiculous trying to date as an adult, and she'd been on some horrid dates as of late, pushed ever so gently by Kirsten, who knew the struggle. Her struggle was different though, she wasn't dating again after the loss of a spouse, but as a divorcee. She'd lost her husband simply because they hadn't been able to come to terms with the loss of their son, from which she'd never truly recover from. She thought about her son every day and wondered what person he'd have been, even if it was a silent wistfulness kept to herself. She didn't talk about her son much, not wanting to have to explain over and over of his loss and in turn relive the moment he'd left this world and the agony she felt. It became an internal debate when on dates, did she mention that she'd had a son and lost him on the first date or was that a third-date type of confession? If they brought up having kids did it leave her free to bring up her own or did it make things awkward for them? It was almost pointless not to mention some of the awful people dating apps and the like had to offer and she teased Kirsten more than once about she just needed to get a dog and go to a dog park to meet the love of her life as Kirsten and Josh had done.

She'd just finished one of those awful dates, the man going on and on about himself and when learning of her profession going on and on about how boring history was and that so much of it was made up just to make certain people look good and it really was a worthless subject that no one really used in adult lives and wasn't worth the students' time at Hogwarts. Thalia had been speechless by the tirade, history was her passion, there was always comfort in history, the facts didn't change there wasn't an incantation or trick to a charm or jinx, it was all there in every side both beautiful and ugly. She'd barely gotten in a word during his tirade and it was only when she noticed the time she'd made her excuses about a meeting and left, texting Kirsten about the whole debacle until she reached the castle grounds and after stopping by her office to freshen up she made her way to Will's office. She'd known him at Hogwarts when she'd attended as a student introduced through Kirsten, who'd also introduced her to Alison, and reconnecting with him at her interview with Kirsten had been nice. She hadn't caught up with him as she had Kirsten, but she supposed the time to do that was now as she knocked on the door and was given the signal to come in and offered him a smile, "Hey." She greeted warmly as she sat in the offered seat noticing the homework he was looking over, "You ever stop working?" She teased with a nod to the papers on his desk knowing it was getting late in the day. She supposed running a school, especially in times like this, was a lot of working and the teaching aspect had its own set of work separate from that as a Headmaster that would need time to devote to it.

History is the story of events

with praise or with blame

made by remi of adox

WILL RYAN BELACQUA

Hogwarts Headmaster

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Posts: 46
Age: 35
Species: Human
House: Hufflepuff
Occupation: Headmaster, DADA Professor
Status: Widowed
Played by: Emma

Last seen Nov 1, 2024 19:01:38 GMT

Start Of Something New Jun 11, 2023 14:52:18 GMT

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Post by WILL RYAN BELACQUA on Jun 11, 2023 14:52:18 GMT

Will had thought that he had known what was going to happen when he became Headmaster, he had known that he’d had big shoes to fill but he had always felt like he was up for the challenge. For the last few years things had been going well, he had been able to introduce the university and things were going well with this kids but that year everything seemed to have fallen apart in a matter of moments. Will had seen the devastation that Voldemort and his Death Eaters had caused and there were always going to be those who didn’t like the way things were done but there had been absolutely no warning before the Enlightened revealed magic to the world. Even before this Will had had regular meetings with the Minister for Magic and Head Guardian about the safety of Hogwarts and its students but those meetings had become much more frequent. Will knew that there were probably students at Hogwarts who believed in the Enlightened and what they were doing but he and the others were working hard to make sure that they didn’t end up getting drawn into the conflict. The outside world seemed to be falling down around them but Hogwarts was safe and Will knew that he wanted it to stay that way for as long as possible. He never wanted the school to experience what it had done during the Battle of Hogwarts and he knew that he would do everything in his power to stop history from repeating itself.

Thankfully he had Kirsten to share the workload with now because the truth was that he had other things to focus on as well. He knew there were some who had thought that he was crazy when he had continued teaching after taking on the role of Headmaster but it was something that Will loved doing so he had known that there was no way that he was going to give it up. He had the kids to think about as well and after talking it through with his friends he had realised that he was ready to start dating again after all. He had held off on doing that for a long time after his wife died but he knew that she would have wanted him to be happy and Will wanted that as well. He hadn’t talked to the kids about it yet, truth be told he wasn’t sure how to even start that conversation, but he knew that sooner or later he was going to have to. He had been out on a few dates already but so far none of them had worked out, the women he had gone out with had all been terrible matches for him and they hadn’t even made it as far as a second date. Will would be the first to admit that he was rusty with all of this, he had dated while he was at Hogwarts and he had been in a few relationships but then he had met his wife after graduation and he had thought that they were going to have a long and happy life together. As it was she had been taken from him far too soon more than ten years ago and Will had been left to pick up the pieces and be there for his kids as much as he could. He had done his best to make sure that they didn’t feel like they were missing out on too much, there were a lot of times when he had found himself wishing that his wife could have been there to see the kids grow up and see their milestones but that wasn’t possible so Will knew that he had to make enough memories with the kids for both of them.

After a string of bad dates Will was starting to wonder whether this was actually a good idea after all but he knew that he couldn’t give up yet. He didn’t want to end up alone, he had been on his own for such a long time and he had seen that it was possible to find love again after a loss like the one he had endured so he knew that he just had to be patient and trust that it would all work out in time. For now he needed to focus on grading homework that had been handed in that week and he wanted to check in and see how Thalia was settling in as well. She was an old friend and he couldn’t deny that it was great to see her back at Hogwarts where she belonged. Will knew that she hadn’t had it easy either, she had endured a terrible loss and returning to Hogwarts to teach was a big step but he was confident in her abilities and he hoped that she was as well. Will could still remember how nerve-wracking it was when he had returned to Hogwarts to teach after taking some time out and travelling but it was one of the best decisions that he had ever made and he hoped that in time Thalia would feel that way as well. For now, though, he knew that he just wanted to see how she was doing and he felt a smile touch his lips as he heard a knock on the door and he didn’t hesitate in telling her she could come in. “Hey stranger,” he grinned as he looked over at her. “It doesn’t feel like it at the moment,” he chuckled as he set the homework assignments aside and turned his full attention to her. “Having you here is definitely a welcome distraction though,” he admitted. “How are you settling in?”

THALIA JADE BARNES

THALIA JADE BARNES

Hufflepuff Head of House

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Posts: 17
Age: 33
Species: Human
House: Hufflepuff
Occupation: History of Magic Professor
Status: Single
Played by: Mandy

Last seen Nov 12, 2024 0:41:08 GMT

Start Of Something New Jul 19, 2023 22:14:23 GMT

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Post by THALIA JADE BARNES on Jul 19, 2023 22:14:23 GMT

After losing her son, Thalia had hated being alone but also felt so lost and alone even in a crowd, all of which had taken their toll. The night she'd finalized her divorce from her husband, despite the separation prior both literal and metaphorical, she'd laid in her bed alone and laced her two hands together as if she was holding someone's hand to drift to sleep, sleeping fitfully with odd dreams. Luckily she had moved past holding her own hand to sleep and doesn't feel suffocated by loneliness now that she was back in the UK where she belonged. She'd never felt American, never fit in or felt like she belonged, not like she had here, especially not as she had since joining Hogwarts as the history professor. Finally getting that pipe dream into reality had felt like it's own dream, she had to pinch herself to make sure she wasn't asleep and if she was she didn't want to wake from it. She'd wanted to teach, and teach history at that, for so long, was so passionate about the subject it felt for a while as if she'd never get the chance. It wouldn't have been the end of the world, she would have worked tirelessly as an adjunct professor or something in the field but she didn't have to now. Now she had the chance to teach young minds the best and the worst of the wizarding history, and from time to time sprinkling in the overlapping muggle history and how they viewed anything that may have spread beyond their secret community. The events of September 1st would be in both forms of history, as well as the rebuilding efforts to form a bridge of peace amongst the magical and the non.

Feeling settled in her life again after that feeling of being adrift following her son's death she'd decided to try dating. She'd managed a few talks to Kirsten about how it felt to try dating again, but she'd been unhelpful given, from what she'd been told by the Headmistress, that she hadn't been looking into dating again and it'd simply fell into her lap when Josh appeared. The sentiment and story was sweet but not exactly helpful so she’d just got out there, and so far every attempt had been a swing and a miss. She was glad she had the catch-up session with Will to give her the reason for escaping the date, and walking through the castle and up to his office chased away the stress of the date, and she knew she’d be able to laugh at the absurdity it with him when they turned conversations to non-work related topics. Having a friendship with both of her bosses was strange at first but not unpleasant, and she’d liked to say they’d both become friends in their own right again after such a long time away from them. It seemed Will was a workaholic given while she’d been out he’d been in working, something she was quick to gently tease him for when she entered his office, “Hey yourself.” She grinned sitting across from his desk, “I’m settling in okay. It feels surreal finally being a professor. I’m trying to keep the students engaged and make learning history fun and not boring like it’s been in the past. Otherwise, it’s just been trying to get settled back into life on this side of the pond.” She recapped, nodding at the papers Wil was marking, “I have a mountain of those back in the bed and breakfast I’m calling home for the time being.” She chuckled knowing essays and grading them were part of the job, even if it wasn’t necessarily her favorite thing to sit down and do. “I know you aren’t settling in like I am but how are you doing with all the chaos? I’m sure your job is that much more difficult now.” She asked in return, wanting to return the question of how he was doing. While Thalia had made a lot of changes in a short time from moving across the ocean to a new teaching job, the world itself had imploded with its own changes following the reveal of the Enlightened and everyone was affected by that. Especially the heads of the school as their workload had to have multiplied with additional duties and arranging patrols and the like.

Tag: WILL RYAN BELACQUA Words: 735
Notes: She is definitely a Huffleclaw. History nerd.

credit to Laura of Adox

WILL RYAN BELACQUA

Hogwarts Headmaster

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Posts: 46
Age: 35
Species: Human
House: Hufflepuff
Occupation: Headmaster, DADA Professor
Status: Widowed
Played by: Emma

Last seen Nov 1, 2024 19:01:38 GMT

Start Of Something New Oct 21, 2023 23:03:23 GMT

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Post by WILL RYAN BELACQUA on Oct 21, 2023 23:03:23 GMT

Will would be the first to admit that his life had turned out differently to how he had thought that it would. He had taken some time off to travel and train with the Ministry after graduation before returning to Hogwarts to teach. He had thought that his life was set, he had fallen in love during his travels and they had gotten married a few months after he started teaching with the twins being born a few months after that. Christian being born had completed their little family and Will had been happy but then his wife was killed and nothing had been the same after that. He had done his best over the years to be there for his children and be the best dad that he could be while still juggling his career at the same time and he liked to think that he hadn’t done too bad a job with them but he had spent years grieving the loss of his wife. He had let his children and his job consume him to the point where he hadn’t even started thinking about moving on with his life. It was only recently that he finally felt ready to move on but the truth was that the idea of putting himself out there again had terrified him at first. It had been over a decade since he had last been out on a date and so many people out there knew who he was and knew what had happened to his wife so he had to try and juggle all of that on top of everything else. So far the dates he’d been on hadn’t been great, there either hadn’t been any real connection there or the women had only wanted to go out with him because of who he was. Will wasn’t sure how he was meant to find someone who wanted to be with him for him and not because of the position he held but he knew that he had to at least try and stay positive. One thing he knew for sure was that he didn’t want to end up alone forever but the truth was he didn’t remember dating being this difficult in the past and he wasn’t sure how to change that.

Focusing on things he did know was much easier and that was why he found it so easy to focus on his kids and work. With everything that was going on with the Enlightened right now the world was in chaos but Will was determined to make sure that the students and staff were safe. He had known that he was doing the right thing by appointing Kirsten as Headmistress so she could share the load with him but now he felt more certain than ever that it was the right thing to do. Having someone else to bounce ideas off of made it much easier and he knew that he had someone that he could talk to about all of this without having to worry because Kirsten no doubt felt the pressure to keep everyone safe just as much as he did. Together they were doing their best to look out for everyone in the school and he knew that they would continue doing so until the Enlightened were stopped. One thing Will had always tried to do was to check in regularly with new members of staff and see how they were getting on. Thalia had joined them at the start of the year and from what he’d heard the students were enjoying her class but he knew he wanted to make sure that she was doing alright with everything that was going on. “I remember that feeling. It’s always strange at first but you’ve been getting glowing reports from the students, you’re doing a great job,” Will assured her, a smile forming on his face as he looked over at her. “You’re doing much better than Professor Binns did when we were students, he knew his stuff but even he couldn’t stay awake to teach us half the time,” he chuckled. There was a time when he had honestly thought that Professor Binns was never going to retire but he had decided to do just that at the end of the previous year and that had left the opening for Thalia to take the job which was never going to be a bad thing. As Thalia said she was staying in a bed and breakfast for the time being, Will studied her carefully for a moment. “There are plenty of rooms available in the staff quarters if you want one,” he offered, knowing that he didn’t want Thalia to feel like she had to stay in the bed and breakfast if she didn’t want to. As she said his job was more difficult now, Will nodded. “You’re right about that. All the meetings with the Minister for Magic and Head Guardian on top of trying to keep everyone here calm are starting to feel like a full time job itself,” Will admitted. He knew that it was to be expected with everything that was going on but it definitely wasn’t how he had thought the year would end up going. “I’m doing okay though, having Kirsten taking on more this year has been a huge help,” he added. It was her first year as Headmistress but he could see the difference already. “Right now I’m just trying to keep things as normal as possible for everyone and keep my kids safe.” Truth be told all of this brought back the memories of his wife being killed by a dark wizard and he refused to lose his kids or anyone else he cared about in the same way.

THALIA JADE BARNES

THALIA JADE BARNES

Hufflepuff Head of House

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Posts: 17
Age: 33
Species: Human
House: Hufflepuff
Occupation: History of Magic Professor
Status: Single
Played by: Mandy

Last seen Nov 12, 2024 0:41:08 GMT

Start Of Something New Nov 12, 2023 12:30:54 GMT

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Post by THALIA JADE BARNES on Nov 12, 2023 12:30:54 GMT

When you were a student dating was such a natural course of things that it didn’t seem that odd to go on all sorts of dates, have these short relationships that faded and fizzled with all the changes of the seasons and hormones but no one said how hard dating as an adult would be. Not to mention a divorced adult. Everyone had their own stories and baggage and Thalia was no exception, still grieving the loss of her son as well as the loss of her marriage and everything she’d saw for her own future, but she hadn’t expected all of the dates she’d gone on to be so damn complicated and go so wrong. Perhaps she was just a magnet of bad dates and horrible choices but she’d held out promise from each one and was close to throwing in the towel on the dating game altogether and remaining single for the rest of her life. She knew that it wasn’t going to happen overnight, and perhaps she was searching for perfection where it didn’t exist but perhaps it was that she wasn’t as ready to get back out there as she thought she was. She liked going into dates with a planned excuse to get out should she need it, and having the meeting with Will had been perfect and couldn’t have been executed fast enough. The date had started nice enough but soon it transformed into something else entirely, the guy assuming she was going back to his to bone, even saying that exact phrase and she hid a shutter at the idea of someone calling it something and assuming that was happening on the first date. She’d made clear before each date she was looking for a serious commitment and would want to take the romance aspect slow but apparently one date was slow enough for him, and she couldn’t even fathom to call him a man and definitely not a gentleman as she walked away and towards the castle for her meeting, glad she’d had a legitimate reason and not something made up in case she wasn’t all that great of an actress in making up an excuse and everyone else had been gullible.

She looked forward to catching up with Will even if the meeting was business in intention she’d known him long enough that it wouldn’t be everything they discussed and it’d be relaxed at best so she’d get to share her travesty of a date with him and laugh about the absurdity of it all at some point. She found Will and Kirsten amazing bosses and not just because she knew them from her days as a professor but because they seemed to genuinely care for the students and the happiness of the professors who were under their employ as well as keeping everyone safe these days, even the adults who were more than capable of caring for themselves. As a teenager she’d have listed the exact bosses they were as the idea boss for her future never expecting that to happen in the form of friends. It had made settling into the school that much easier, adjusting to being back home and getting her dream job even with the messy start with the Enlightened revealing itself on what was supposed to be a dream first day but she had rolled with it the best she could, after all she taught history and they were living it so she was prepared to keep the students up to date on the history they were living with the information she was allowed to give them in a controlled learning environment and find historical points of the past to tie things with her subject. She’d had to rapidly change her lesson plans constantly but found she rolled with the changes with a grace that she knew she didn’t possess in many other aspects of her life. “I’m glad they approve. I don’t have much to go on since my only comparison is from a literal ghost so I didn’t have a lot to go on to beat that.” She chuckled knowing learning from a ghost had been challenging to even her, who drank in history with an excitement that made people tease her and label her a nerd, which for history she was fully accepting of. “I change the lesson plans I made so much because I’m trying to reflect what we’re experiencing with things that have happened in the magical past. One of my last essay assignments was to write an argumentative piece from the perspective of a Goblin during the Goblin rebellions on their rights using legislative practices of the time and put a personal spin on the Goblin. Give him or her a name, and a history of their own and reflect it in the essay. I’m excited to see what they come up with.” She explained happily, wanting her students to have to think outside the box and consider someone else’s perspective and trials that weren’t like they were. She’d found the goblin rebellions fascinating as a student even when the boring ghost had been teaching the subject so she’d planned to bring the topic up in a more interesting way and use a variety of teaching methods to keep the information in their heads, especially for the fifth years who would have to sit their OWLS this term.

Her room at the bed and breakfast had papers and lesson plans strewn across the room and the space wasn’t the greatest but as it was temporary she dealt with it and her haphazard organization system was working well enough she hadn’t failed at her jobs thus far. “Kirsten said the same thing but if I stay in the staff quarters I’ll never get my own place. And making myself leave the castle is good for me. Thanks for the offer though. Know anyone whose renting a flat, by chance?” She asked knowing she didn’t need to go purchase a whole home when she was just a single person and a flat would do her just fine. It was the one thing of a home she missed compared to the bed and breakfast was personalizing it and the added bit of a full kitchen to play with cooking. She hadn’t a huge passion for it, but she could bake little treats for her students and she did have a passion for teaching so she’d manage to muddle through the cooking aspect to enhance the teaching part. Least her days weren’t as busy as she knew Will and Kirsten’s were and it seemed to be busier than she’d imagined as he recounted the extra meetings plus the job of teaching and normal duties of a headmaster before the chaos of the world came into play. She was glad she wasn’t interested in that sort of position, that much was certain. “It seems. Sounds like you need to get to cloning yourself before too long to juggle everything.” She joked knowing that the idea of it would never happen, too much chaos with clones it was hard enough with the existence of polyjuice potion during troubled times but she was glad that he and Kirsten had each other to balance things out, especially since they both had families of their own to get home to every night, “She told me she was happier than ever you appointed her so she could help you with all this chaos. This being after I teased her about missing being Head of Hufflepuff.” Thalia joked making fun of her friend in a kind way as it was hard to find an “unkind” thing to tease Kirsten about. “Well you’re doing an amazing job keeping things safe around here. And I can help take on some extra patrols if it helps you get home to your kids sooner.” She offered knowing how much she’d want to get home to her son if he was still there. He’d been so sick during his life she’d been in fear to leave the room in case something happened in her brief absence she could understand any parent's fear right now all too well and if she could soothe that by taking on an extra patrol so a parent could be with their kids she would gladly do so. “Your classes change in interest this term because of everything or did duelling alone take the biggest uptick in interest?” She asked curiously assuming duelling became more popular than ever with the trouble in the world making people want to join the class in larger amounts than during a time of peace. Thalia knew she’d have taken duelling during times of war but wouldn’t give it much of a thought during the times of peace knowing what she learned in both charms and DADA would suffice her interests and needs plenty.

Tag: WILL RYAN BELACQUA
Words: 1478
Notes: The rambling continues. Sorry.

credit to Laura of Adox