"But it could be," she says softly, almost as a way to hint to him that she thinks Slytherin House can have more to it than just snakes, green and leather. "It could be warm - and interesting, like the underwater dwellers coming to say hello? It just needs ...um...incentive."
Which is a diplomatic way of saying it needs its students to not be little shits. Course she can't say much, considering the house she comes from. And Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs aren't saints either. In fact, the closer she gets to her thirties, she more she believes are teenagers are little shits, truth be told.
Back to point, and his question, she shrugs. It's not her first year experiencing teaching to Slytherins. "I like to think I'm fairly prepared. Most of them have had me as their professor for a few years now and will have had time to get used to my method and behaviour. It's the first years that will find it all novel, really, but...that can be told of every year."
She looks at Malfoy with a little smirk, and then shakes her head. "You'll see. The first week you teach first years, you will start seeing...mini-Malfoys and mini-Grangers everywhere." She lets out a laugh at that. "It's a scary revelation to see children with behaviour akin to yours from years ago and think, oh bugger I was such a little git."
He snorts at that, not really denying it — he was a little shit, all things considered. Still is, but probably better at being polite about it.
"I imagine my experience will be a little different for this year alone," Draco says. "I am the new teacher after all, even if the class I teach is not as exciting as - oh, I don't know - making cauldrons explode by mixing worm guts and dried nettles with crushed dragon horn. Just - for example," he adds as an afterthought, because he definitely did not do it when he was a student, and even if he did, it wasn't on purpose.
"A night once or twice a week under the stars mapping out constellations and planetary movements would seem comparatively easy," he says, almost blithely.
In his defense, most students didn't take Astronomy until year three, when they could be trusted to stay awake that late - or until their guardians decided they could be trusted to stay awake that late - so he will have to deal with some more mature specimens. Also the most hormonal ones.
"You do make a point," she says wryly, "but at least none of mine will be making jokes about Uranus."
"Perhaps I'll give them points if their jokes are creative enough," he says dryly. "But that is harmless enough, if obviously childish. I'd wager that most of my worries will lie on preventing the most adventurous students from wandering into the Tower for some late night trysts under the stars."
She lets out a bark of laughter, and shakes her head. "You have two choices, for teenagers will always try to sneak off for a tryst, either in the Tower or the dungeons where it's quiet. You can lose sleep over it and become paranoid about catching them, like Filch, or you can just ignore it and clean up the Tower every morning just in case."
A pause, as she takes another bite of food, and she adds, "If it's any comfort, I have students brew a contraceptive potion in the first semester of their fifth year."
"Professor Sinistra adapted to the second system quite expertly," Draco says, with a tinge of envy and admiration. Now that he has the chance to think about it, outside of Astronomy classes and events at the Great Hall she was rarely ever seen moving away from the comfort of her own office, that even the tower scarcely showed her presence. "I suppose that's what prefects and Head students are for."
And teachers, of course, as they will probably need to patrol once in a while, just as their professors did when they were in school.
Well, that tells her a lot about many things. Like maybe he was not a stranger to visiting the Astronomy tower with some paramours?
Shit, did I really just think in terms of paramours? Am I fifty?
She shakes her head, distracted. "It should be - and in any case, it does no harm. I mean, I don't think it does any harm, as long as it's character building type of rule-breaking. Like clandestine snogging, or other normal things for teenagers to do."
"'Character-building type of rule-breaking'," he repeats, dry as a desert in the highest peak of summertime. "I'm sure such character-building lessons are well worth the inevitable detention that would come their way."
But the implied tone is heard, loud and clear. Anything clandestine that happened during their school years are the very last things Draco would have categorized as normal — though he supposes that makes them very good at recognizing what isn't.
No budding dark lords or chosen saviors will thrive under his watch. Probably.
"I suppose it is for the best that I leave the Tower open," he tacks on later as an afterthought. "Beyond exciting teenage escapades, I wouldn't deprive others the chance to see the stars. They can be rather mesmerizing."
Edited (WOW look at these edits go me) 2021-02-12 08:00 (UTC)
Draco Malfoy laughing, and not at something mean, or some misstep of hers. Will the wonders never cease?
But she is well amused, by his hopefulness that the students will be regulating themselves. As if they ever did that, back when. Then again, it would've been easier to dish out detentions to people caught out snogging, instead of what was actually going on with their lives, back when.
She shakes her head, a little chuckle escaping nonetheless. "Right, give everyone an equal chance to stare at Uranus."
"Yes," he replies good-humoredly, "as well as other interesting sights, perhaps." He could make the obvious joke about being that good-looking that students would want to stare at his face also — he's certainly still vain enough to know and appreciate that about himself — but he'd rather keep the atmosphere as light as it is. He doesn't know what she'd make of that just yet.
Not that he would know what to make of this situation, in the end, sharing dinner with a once enemy, an old acquaintance. The past has a way of catching up to you, sometimes.
"The meal is as good as I remembered," he says as he's finishing up the last few bites off his plate, his tone prim and proper. Not at all tinged with the nostalgia and regret he feels — therein lies a dangerous thought cycle that could only lead him to an early midlife crisis. "I suppose some things will never change."
"Some change is good - even necessary," she manages to quip, quietly, a non-commital little smile on her lips. She's just had a conversation about teenaged mating habits with Draco Malfoy, and neither of them shot off a hex - all things considered, she thinks this kind of change is a success, too.
"Listen, Malfoy," she starts, after finishing up her food as well, and dabbing her mouth with a napkin pulled out of nowhere.
"Your first trimestre will be difficult, before you get the hang of everything. You can reach out, if you need...help, or company. I promise I won't bite." She cracks a small smile.
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Which is a diplomatic way of saying it needs its students to not be little shits. Course she can't say much, considering the house she comes from. And Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs aren't saints either. In fact, the closer she gets to her thirties, she more she believes are teenagers are little shits, truth be told.
Back to point, and his question, she shrugs. It's not her first year experiencing teaching to Slytherins. "I like to think I'm fairly prepared. Most of them have had me as their professor for a few years now and will have had time to get used to my method and behaviour. It's the first years that will find it all novel, really, but...that can be told of every year."
She looks at Malfoy with a little smirk, and then shakes her head. "You'll see. The first week you teach first years, you will start seeing...mini-Malfoys and mini-Grangers everywhere." She lets out a laugh at that. "It's a scary revelation to see children with behaviour akin to yours from years ago and think, oh bugger I was such a little git."
headcanon!!
"I imagine my experience will be a little different for this year alone," Draco says. "I am the new teacher after all, even if the class I teach is not as exciting as - oh, I don't know - making cauldrons explode by mixing worm guts and dried nettles with crushed dragon horn. Just - for example," he adds as an afterthought, because he definitely did not do it when he was a student, and even if he did, it wasn't on purpose.
"A night once or twice a week under the stars mapping out constellations and planetary movements would seem comparatively easy," he says, almost blithely.
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"You do make a point," she says wryly, "but at least none of mine will be making jokes about Uranus."
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Since they're talking about hormonal teenagers.
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A pause, as she takes another bite of food, and she adds, "If it's any comfort, I have students brew a contraceptive potion in the first semester of their fifth year."
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And teachers, of course, as they will probably need to patrol once in a while, just as their professors did when they were in school.
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Shit, did I really just think in terms of paramours? Am I fifty?
She shakes her head, distracted. "It should be - and in any case, it does no harm. I mean, I don't think it does any harm, as long as it's character building type of rule-breaking. Like clandestine snogging, or other normal things for teenagers to do."
The implied thing here is not that we'd know.
no subject
"'Character-building type of rule-breaking'," he repeats, dry as a desert in the highest peak of summertime. "I'm sure such character-building lessons are well worth the inevitable detention that would come their way."
But the implied tone is heard, loud and clear. Anything clandestine that happened during their school years are the very last things Draco would have categorized as normal — though he supposes that makes them very good at recognizing what isn't.
No budding dark lords or chosen saviors will thrive under his watch. Probably.
"I suppose it is for the best that I leave the Tower open," he tacks on later as an afterthought. "Beyond exciting teenage escapades, I wouldn't deprive others the chance to see the stars. They can be rather mesmerizing."
no subject
But she is well amused, by his hopefulness that the students will be regulating themselves. As if they ever did that, back when. Then again, it would've been easier to dish out detentions to people caught out snogging, instead of what was actually going on with their lives, back when.
She shakes her head, a little chuckle escaping nonetheless. "Right, give everyone an equal chance to stare at Uranus."
IT'S BEEN 84 YEARS....
Not that he would know what to make of this situation, in the end, sharing dinner with a once enemy, an old acquaintance. The past has a way of catching up to you, sometimes.
"The meal is as good as I remembered," he says as he's finishing up the last few bites off his plate, his tone prim and proper. Not at all tinged with the nostalgia and regret he feels — therein lies a dangerous thought cycle that could only lead him to an early midlife crisis. "I suppose some things will never change."
ROSE LET ME GET ON THE GD DOOR WITH YOU
"Listen, Malfoy," she starts, after finishing up her food as well, and dabbing her mouth with a napkin pulled out of nowhere.
"Your first trimestre will be difficult, before you get the hang of everything. You can reach out, if you need...help, or company. I promise I won't bite." She cracks a small smile.