Year/Job
FIFTH YEAR
SEEKER (6)
There's fear in letting go |
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Post by Jazmina Evans on Feb 2, 2024 13:01:45 GMT -8
Jazmina stared into the water, the sound of soft waves lapping against the wooden dock. She kicked her legs back and forth, arms out to the side to keep her balance. She despised the water like a dog with rabies. Still, time and time again she found herself at the water's edge. How could she not when it was the water that had taken her brother? It had swallowed Leo up and spat him out. Beside this massive pool of dark liquid, she felt closest to the deceased. "Self-inflicted torture," she murmured to herself. Jazzy's lips curved into a bitter smile. "Though it would be cruel of me to not keep you company from time to time. This was supposed to be our adventure after all. Hogwarts was the castle we dreamed of conquering." Sorrow filled her voice, and she raised her head just a touch before the tears could spill over. It wasn't like Leo had drowned on the Black Lake, but the pain still cut deep. She gave a small huff as the boards behind her creaked. "It's rather rude to eavesdrop on people," she told the newcomer. She turned to face whoever it was, her lips pressed tightly in annoyance. Private moments were meant to be private, or had they never been taught manners?
Notes: open
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Year/Job
Professor of Ghoul Studies
Travis
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Post by Dr. Bryant Tannen on Feb 2, 2024 20:34:12 GMT -8
The boathouse had always been one of Bryant's favorite places to cry. In his day, the owlery had been a popular spot for students to hash out all of their issues or develop their romances. For him, it was a poor location because the owls were too likely to make him happy. The library had plenty of private little corners to go to, but the books there gave him the heebie jeebies. And of course everybody knows the acoustics in the divination tower couldn't be beat, but with divination being one of the most popular courses at Hogwarts it was always way too heavily trafficked to rely on. But the boathouse? Cold, dank, depressing. Perfect for a midday cry.
So many people had wandered in and out of Bryant's life, so many of them had changed, found influential careers, became parents. But Bryant still felt like the same, sniffling little boy crying over girls. Only this time it wasn't Slytherin babes he was crying over. Looking back on it now, it had always been a little bit about Abbey.
Bryant was prepared to belt his feelings out right there, but he was devastated to find someone was already there looking pensively into the water. Well now he just felt stupid. For a moment, Bryant considered moonwalking back out of the boathouse, but the student sensed his presence first.
"It's rather rude to eavesdrop on people."
It's rather rude to take peoples' crying spots! Bryant almost cried, but instead he sputtered, "Uh, um, it takes one to know one! I should give you detention for talking to yourself!"
- Jazmina Evans - I hope Professor Tannen is okay! I do not have a student.
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Year/Job
FIFTH YEAR
SEEKER (6)
There's fear in letting go |
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Post by Jazmina Evans on Feb 3, 2024 6:28:07 GMT -8
Needless to say, she regretted the words the moment she turned around and saw a Professor. There was little time for an apology, as the man was already threatening her with detention. Jazmina felt slighted. She'd made an honest mistake, and he was going to punish her for it? It wasn't as if she'd drawn her wand and threatened him with a curse. She hadn't even used a swear word. Her father didn't tolerate such language in his household, and she dared not use it at school amongst her peers and professors. Jazzy stood up, careful not to lose her balance and fall back into the water. It was too cold for a swim. It would be dreadful if she got sick. Her OWLs were coming up, and there was little time to waste sitting in bed with a cold.
Dusting off her skirt and robe, she looked up at the Ghoul Studies Professor. "I apologize Professor Tannen, I mistook you for a student," she told him politely. "It's not often you see a Professor down here." Jazzy thought it best to do damage control. This man was notorious for giving out detentions, and she didn't want to join the long list of students. While she knew it would be easy to put on the waterworks and give a sob story, Jazmina was not going to use her dead brother as an excuse to escape. She could be borderline manipulative, but she wasn't foul.
Her expression softened. Choosing her words carefully, she addressed the matter of speaking to herself. "I was only thinking out loud," the blond told him with a small smile. "It's quieter than the dungeons, so I come out here to clear my head." She glanced back at the water with a certain look of disdain. When her gaze fell back on him, the look had disappeared. She had not forgotten his childish response to her retort. She was no eavesdropper, but arguing with this man was futile. Jaz knew when to pick and choose her battles. "What of you Professor," she asked curiously. "On patrol for rulebreakers and entangled teens?"
Notes: Absolutely! Thank for joining
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Year/Job
Professor of Ghoul Studies
Travis
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Post by Dr. Bryant Tannen on Feb 5, 2024 20:05:59 GMT -8
Bryant had a few conflicting reputations had Hogwarts. There was the hard ass professor responsible for the majority of students in the detention hall, and then there was the mildly dimwitted professor whose class was impossible to fail if you showed up and turned in your papers. Though his temperament may have intimidated a few, it wasn't difficult to get on Bryant's good side. When Jazmina's tone changed to something that Bryant read as respect, he paused for a moment as if to decide whether she was honest or just trying to avoid a detention. It wasn't a long second though, because he quickly decided that of course she respected him, the world's imminent expert on ghouls.
"I apologize Professor Tannen, I mistook you for a student. It's not often you see a Professor down here."
"Yeah, well, this place makes us a little uneasy. I think the old potions professor was murdered out here." Which technically wasn't true, but Bryant was the type to only watch the movies.
Truthfully, Bryant wasn't eavesdropping on Jazmina at all. After all, you have to be paying attention to be eavesdropping and he hadn't actually paid attention to a word she'd said. He'd only seen a punk kid wasting space in in his favorite crying spot and reacted emotionally. He had to hand it to her though, the dungeons were a lousy place to cry. The one time he tried, he'd been caught by a pack of particularly cruel Slytherin second years who were still bullying him five years later.
"What of you Professor? On patrol for rulebreakers and entangled teens?"
"Nosy, aren't you?" he shot back grumpily. "Well, I didn't come out here to cry, I'll tell you that!" He laughed, proud at how deftly he'd dodged that question. "What about you? What was all that thinking out loud about?" -Jazmina Evans
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Year/Job
FIFTH YEAR
SEEKER (6)
There's fear in letting go |
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Post by Jazmina Evans on Feb 6, 2024 18:04:57 GMT -8
Jazmina had heard the rumors, as it was nearly impossible to avoid Hogwarts Grapevine of Gossip, as she liked to call it. If she hadn't been preoccupied with other things, she might have started a paper under the name. As it was, the Slytherin had a personal task to accomplish. One that did not revolve around the student body's gossip of peers and professors. Still, she'd heard the stories of the renowned expert on ghouls. Her brother, Finnick, had taken the man's course and dropped it after a few days, calling him a fraud. She was inclined to believe her older brother but also had the sense to make a judgment after getting a personal feel for the person in question. As it stood, her opinion of the man was low.
The man spoke of the former Potions Professor meeting his demise out here. "I wasn't unaware," she said with round eyes. "That must have been quite a shock." She looked down into the water. "A murder on Hogwarts grounds." Jazzy looked up at the man. "Although, my mother tells us that it was common back when she was my age. Death ran rampant through Hogwarts like a plague." Jazmina gave a small shrug. She honestly didn't believe a word Professor Tannen had said, but since he'd felt the need to share false horror stories, she'd dread up real ones. "Must have been awful."
She held back a frown as he called her nosy. And you're a liar, she thought to herself. She took note of his blatant disregard for her question. "Shame. It's the perfect spot. You can cry right into the water and no one would ever know," she said casually. "No one here but you, your thoughts, and your tears." She would have loved to have told him that he was the one being nosy now, but that would be far too aggressive. She was more adept at being passive-aggressive. She could be ugly while leading people to believe she was as sweet as a button. She liked to think of it as a special talent. She crossed her arms behind her back and feigned shyness. "Oh, just a few silly things. O.W.Ls, homework, if my crush likes me," she slipped in. "What I want to be when I grow up. Things like that."
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Year/Job
Professor of Ghoul Studies
Travis
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Post by Dr. Bryant Tannen on Feb 21, 2024 22:48:11 GMT -8
Ohh, Jazmina was one of those kids, Bryant thought. Of course, he knew a thing or two about emo kids. Heck, when he was in school, Elliott Smith was charting on the Billboard 200. He’d certainly take this over the scene kids who had taken over Hogwarts when he started teaching.
“Sometimes it was a literal plague,” Bryant mused. “A lot of the ghouls I’ve seen were just magic pox victims left to wander the world for eternity. I stumbled on a room in the dungeons full of ‘em, completely unrecognizable as people through all those blisters. I don’t know for the life of me what they were doing down there, but I try not to ask any questions about the giant murder snake school.”
Bryant was proud of himself, taking the time to sit down with a student and really connect with her. He could see the respect in Jazmina’s eyes, a small twinkle that said, “Gee wizz, Dr. Tannen, you sure do know an awful lot about ghouls.”
“Yeah,” Bryant nodded. “I sure do.”
Bryant was even prouder when Jazmina admitted her reasons for hiding away in the boathouse. “Oh, just a few silly things. O.W.Ls, homework, if my crush likes me. What I want to be when I grow up. Things like that.” In his ten years teaching, Bryant had never had a student open up so easily to him.
Earlier that morning, Abbey had accused Bryant of not intuiting Baby Blossom’s needs. “What?” Bryant cried. “Babies love peanut brittle!” The incident was still fresh in his mind: Abbey hadn’t been mean to him, that was never her nature. But the way she insisted that she was doing fine on her own had still hurt. Sulking out of her house in Hogsmeade, he stretched the twenty-minute walk back to Hogwarts into a full two hours, sobbing along the muddy road. In the boathouse he’d expected to find a comfortable place to cry some more, but instead he stumbled on Jazmina and with her an opportunity to prove to Abbey that he was more than a pocketbook. He could listen! He could relate! He could intuit!
“Oh, I know a thing or two about that,” Bryant nodded solemnly. “When I was your age I had,” he counted on his fingers and mouthed the names: Liliana, Iola, Via, Annalynne, Francesca. “Five Slytherin crushes, and they were all in love with me. The thing was, I didn’t love them. I mean, they were babes, yeah. And each one was meaner than the last, which you know I can’t resist. My therapist says that I seek rejection, like I’m constantly reenacting my parents abandoning me? Anyway, even after I snogged like forty percent of those girls, I felt dead inside. Do you know what I’m saying?”
- Jazmina Evans
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Year/Job
FIFTH YEAR
SEEKER (6)
There's fear in letting go |
BLAKE
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Post by Jazmina Evans on Feb 24, 2024 11:15:18 GMT -8
It was amusing to hear Professor Tannen talk. Nothing he said could be trusted, but it made for a good story. She imagined he'd be great with little kids. It would keep them entertained and allow him a chance to brag about himself. "Is that how you got into Ghoul Studies," she asked curiously. Was it wrong to try and bait a Hogwarts Professor? The answer was yes, but she'd do it anyway. She wanted to see how long it would take for the man to catch on. Jazmina didn't care for his extravagant adventures, she just wanted to see if he'd see through her deception, just as she'd seen through his. Her lips curved as he mentioned the murder snake. She could only assume he'd been talking about the Basilisk. She'd heard the tales. The famous Harry Potter had killed it. The Wizarding World's hero! She'd grown sick of his tales of bravery quite early in her life.
Jazmina looked visibly surprised when the man claimed to have had five crushes! Crushes that apparently liked him back at that! She quickly fixed her face. There was no way in Merlin's name that this overgrown man-child had anyone fawning over him! She blinked one. Twice. Here she was struggling to find her Prince Charming, and he'd have five crushes!? The world was unfair. She refused to believe a thing he said. She was smart, an excellent Quidditch player, and absolutely beautiful! He was a liar!
He had completely rendered her speechless. Jazzy was silent when he asked if she understood him. Her mask slipped for a second time, and it was a battle to put it back in place. "I'm sorry to hear that Professor," she told him, shaking her head. "I don't think I can relate on the matter. I've only ever kissed one boy," she admitted. "He wasn't very good at it either." She gave a shy smile. "Have you gotten over those feelings of abandonment," she pried. "
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Year/Job
Professor of Ghoul Studies
Travis
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Post by Dr. Bryant Tannen on Mar 14, 2024 9:35:53 GMT -8
Bryant was never going to see through Jazmina’s deceptions. As much of a liar as he was himself, he was also bizarrely trusting in people. He never took anything as more than face value. That was why it was so easy for students to manipulate him into favorable grades.
When Jazmina asked him why he’d gotten into Ghoul Studies, it sent him scrambling for another easy lie. He couldn’t risk his reputation by admitting to her that he’d misread the job posting as Girl Studies, a subject which he was very qualified to teach. How could he then elaborate on how he’d scrambled to save face in the interview, describing fictional run-ins with ghouls that were actually just Bryant’s favorite Ghost Type Pokémon, relying entirely on the assumption that McGonagall wouldn’t be familiar with the popular Japanese video game series. She wasn’t, but she did know that Bryant was an unqualified goof. And of course, Bryant definitely couldn’t admit to Jazmina that a generous donation to Hogwarts from his own bank account had tipped the scales, and the Board of Governors ultimately decided that, eh, what’s the harm in hiring one junior Ghoul Studies professor who won’t even be around in a year?
Bryant looked her dead in the eyes and said, “I do it for the kids.” He nodded his head to let it sink in for a moment. “Yes, I grew up in a world that was mostly ignorant about ghoul and human relations. Most kids didn’t even know that if you say a ghoul’s name backward you can send them back to the Shadow Realm. I discovered that. For me it’s about making Hogwarts a safer place for every kid.” He finished with a confident smile.
“I don't think I can relate on the matter. I've only ever kissed one boy. I've only ever kissed one boy.”
“I’ve never kissed a boy,” Bryant admitted, though he wouldn’t say no to that dollop of warm butter Anakin Walker.
“Have you gotten over those feelings of abandonment?”
Man, Jazmina was prying today. Bryant studied her smile as he asked and he knew immediately what she was doing. He mirrored her smile with a touch of sympathy. Poor thing had been abandoned too and she was searching for comfort from someone with shared experience.
“Nope,” he said. “Still keeps me up at night. I mean I was just a little baby! It’s not like my parents were even killed by a dark wizard or something, they just up and left me! I do often wonder how different my life would have been. I mean, would there even be a Professor Tannen if his parents hadn’t abandoned him to follow Rush on tour? But it’s like the French say: c'est la vie, you know?”
Jazmina Evans
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