The Hands of Time [Open]

[alba shacklebolt]

Alba Shacklebolt loved the Clocktower.  Not only was the view pretty impressive looking out over the grounds but there was also the massive work of clockwork that was the school's clock. Alba found it quite fascinating honestly. Muggle mechanics, the way the gears turned. Alba had no doubt that this particular clock wasn't purely a muggle work, in fact she was quite certain that it was enchanted to provide absolutely perfect time.  Why, afterall, would this tower be in place if that wasn't the case? Sshe gazed up at the grinding gears  silently, nothing that it was likely that she would only have a few months longer to uncover the secrets of Hogwarts castle. That was almost a sad thought. Alba's formal education was soon to come to an end, but that didn't mean that she would stop learning. Her father had been teaching her to duel, and she had plans to find some job where she could learn something new. Maybe eventually she would return to the castle to teach. 

The girl turned her attention to the grounds. it was getting dark and the setting orange sun had painted the green grass  and eve the blue lake brilliant shades of orange and gold. Soon it would be dinner time but right now, Alba just wanted to enjoy the view, she thought perhaps she'd be a little late to dinner, she'd never seen  the view from this particular tower of a night.  As it was though, the forbidden forest drew her attention. Alba remembered her father telling her that Delores Umbridge had been tormented by the local centaur population, and that was what lead to her intense disgust at 'half-breeds' as the vile woman had called them. Alba didn't know for certain that she should believe that. Indeed, it struck her that Delores Umbridge was simply a wicked person. Perhaps she had never been death eater, but she was all-in with Pious Thicknesse' minstry of magic. She was, if nothing else, tolerant of other brands of evil.

Was that forest to blame for the war now? Was it those centaur that tipped Umbridge over the edge? Even if it was, Alba could hardly blame them. If Delores Umbridge had come into her home, and insulted her, there would no doubt be a duel between the two women. 

From there, her eyes panned to the white tomb of Albus Dumbledore. She was named after the man. She lamented that he could not be here now... He would be well over a hundred by this point, but wizards had lived longer, and Dumbledore had beeen in fine health prior to his being cursed. What would he have thought of Alba? She didn't know, but her father had adored the man, and admired him as a great sorcerer, a magnificent teacher, and an even better person.  Was Albus Dumbledore all of that? Alba liked to think so. She wondered if one day, the woman from whom she drew her middle name, the headmistress of Hogwarts would allow her the pleasure of meeting Albus Dumbledore's portrait.  She had only ever seen that portrait smiling serenely from a corner, quietly.


Slowly, Alba sat down, legs dangling from the tower as she stared out into the grounds.

[Deleted]

Kallisto had managed to get permission to hire specific books from the forbidden section. She hoped they'd provide her with information on werewolves that the school books left out. After all that had happened, she wanted to do something for her father. Perhaps if she knew more about it, she could make things more bearable for him. Or at least the thought would help her sleep. Somewhere she knew there wasn't anything that she could do rather than let him know that they'd stick together like true family would, no matter what. She wanted to read them somewhere quiet. The clock tower was a beautiful place and it had a wonderful view to clear her mind if she needed to.

It was a long walk from the library. So it was a bit of a bummer to find out someone was already there before her. She wanted to leave to find another place but was pulled in by the overal scenery. The light fell beautifully on her hair. It was Alba Shacklebolt the much older Ravenclaw. Kallisto knew who she was because her father has worked for Alba's for quite some years. But no doubt that Alba never heard about her. The older Ravenclaw was so cool, mysterious, intelligent and beautiful. She was the kind of person Kallisto wanted to be. When she looked better she noticed the older Ravenclaw half dangling out of the window. Her instinct kicked in and ran quickly towards her. "Careful!" She shouted as she wrapped both her arms around the young adult and pulled her in with all her strength. Her mother had warned her about the dangers of such acts. "Please don't do such things. You could've fallen out!" Now Kallisto sounded just like her mother.

[alba shacklebolt]

Alba was more or less off in her own little world as she heard the voice of a student she only vaguely recognised, before she started to react she felt the girl's arms around her pulling her back into the tower She wasn't angry even if she was startled she scrambled a little, to get clear of the opening. The girl was right that Alba could, she supposed, have fallen from the tower and splattered against the ground, but at her age and level of skill she had never felt at risk she could have magically caught herself, even if she had fallen, which seemed unlikely. Still, Alba could understand thee girl's concern. She breathed a little heavily having been startled, but smiled to the younger softly. "I suppose you're right..." She said to the other girl, doing her best to sound thankful. It was Kallisto Avery. Alba had noticed her a few times, and she'd heard things about this girl's father. The brave order spy, who had been placed under the imperious curse. Who, more recently had been turned into a werewolf and fired by Alba's father's successor for his 'crime' of remaining loyal to wizard kind, and staying within the ministry.

"Thanks, Kallisto." She sighed slightly as she stood now, looking out the window as she stood beside the younger girl. She knew the other must be a wreck right now. Even her own father was having a hard enough time of things and he hadn't been forcefully dismissed when he was replaced with a monster. Kallie looked worried, careworn. Was that due to her seeing Alba's dangling from the window, was it concern for her father? Alba thought about whether or not she should voice her concern that the girl wasn't really meant to be up here this time of day, She didn't really want to draw attention to her own decision to stay up here. Instead she settled on something else.

"I've always liked it up here - I do some of my best thinking in this tower, between watching the gears turn and the view from up here, it's really kind of beautiful and peaceful... What brings you up here?" She asked the younger gently. Alba wouldn't want to intrude on Kallie's problems but she was concerned. she had seen people crumple under less pressure than must be on this poor girl right now.

[Deleted]

Kallisto's cheeks turned red when she realized what she just did. The older Ravenclaw must think she was odd and paranoid. Perhaps she was. Kallisto was once a reckless girl who didn't see danger in anything. Until three months ago she would have done the same. Lately she started to become more like her mother than she realized, seeing danger in everything. Was she growing up or was this a temporary phrase due to everything that had happened. Because the strongest person she knew suddenly collapsed. Her father had survived the Dark Lord's torture, a werewolf attack and survived as a werewolf functioning just like he had done before. Was losing a job really too much? Of course she knew it was his life's job. Her father would've tried to become Minister of Magic hadn't his reputation been damaged from the start. But these were her own worries, life at Hogwarts went on. Alba's father also suffered under Umbridge's rule.

"I'm sorry," she mumbled. "I know you're capable of catching yourself. But what if you were going to jump?" It didn't look like she was going to but still. The young Claw took a step back to give the older girl some space. She went back to the books she'd dropped and picked them up. Hopefully they were unharmed. She'd be in trouble if she damaged books from the forbidden section. Not all were forbidden because they were dangerous some were old or rare.

She was ready to leave the older girl alone. Then Alba started talking and she stopped with what she was doing to look at her housemate. "I wanted to study and clear my mind. This place is beautiful and quiet," she told the girl. "Is it alright if I stay? I won't be a bother."

[alba shacklebolt]

Alba was immediately impressed with the girl. She was clearly caring, and thoughtful. Alba was never going to jump but the fact that this person she bbarely knew would take it upon herself to stop her bought a smile to her face. Kallisto obviously had a good heart. Alba almost wanted to hug her for that, but Alba wasn't a physical creature and so she had no trouble restraining herself. Still she studied the younger Ravenclaw, seeing the embarrassment on her face. Alba could see the fact the girl was troubled but she mostly saw past it to the caring, clever, and dedicated girl before her.

"I appreciate it. I don't think I'd ever do anything like that, but thank you for stepping in. It means a lot to me that someone would be there for me in that sort of situation." Alba's language was a bit rigid partially because she didn't know what to say. It was a little awkward, all told, but she could deal with that. The girl had obviously had good intentions, and the situation had obviously been misunderstood by the younger woman. Alba glanced down at the young lady's reading material, one or two of these were books she herself had pawed over. She'd always had a fondness for the library's restricted section and was always eager to search it for whatever obscure knowledge it contained when she had the chance.

"I don't own the tower, and even if I did, I wouldn't kick you out." She said gently to the girl offering her a little smile even as she let the movement of the gears of the clock lul her back into a more comfortable mindset, and serve as background noise to the two's conversation. "Are you doing all right?" she ventured, prepared to back off if the girl didn't want to discuss her issues. "I read about your father, and I'm sorry. It sounds awful." She almost whispered, compassionately. Alba might not have been a prefect, but it was a close thing and she would always be there for her fellow Ravens when the going got tough.

[Deleted]

Alba Shacklebolt's kindness put a tiny shy smile on the blonde's face. "I'm glad to know you won't do such a thing. It's a big relief," she chuckled nervously as she let out a deep breath. Kallisto calmed her nerves. It was alright, Alba wasn't really in danger. It was a little bit awkward, this conversation. It wasn't like Kalli to be awkward, this was something he had of lately. She saw the other girl's brown eyes slide towards her books. "I've got permission," she noted quickly before questions would be asked.

"Thank you," she said with a bright smile when she was allowed to stay. Alba was in real life even better than she imagined. The cool and mysterious clever people were often arrogant. The older Ravenclaw didn't strike her as such. The little blonde sat down and let the sounds of her surroundings clear her mind. She opened the first book and started going through the index. When asked a question, she gazed up. "I'm alright. I haven't been myself lately but I think it'll pass," she told the other with honesty. "How are you? Have you decided what you want to do next year?" Alba was in her last year if she could recall right. Her smile faded into a more serious look when her father was mentioned. "Umbridge is an awful Minister. I still can't understand how people could vote for her after the good years your father gave them," she said with a sigh. "My father spoke always highly of Minister Shacklebolt. I remember getting angry at him when he decided to keep his job despite that Umbridge replace your father. I still wonder why he stayed..." Until this days he still didn't understand her old man's reasons. Was that the ambition of Slytherins. Perhaps he believed Umbridge wouldn't last long.

[alba shacklebolt]

Alba nodded as she listened to the girl. She was good to know that the young lady felt as though she would get past whatever was ailing her. She sat beside the blonde cross-legged as she studied the young lady before her. She agreed with everything the young lady was saying, honestly feeling quite a bit of affection for her. "My father was a good minister but this is politics. Those who disliked his way of doing things played on any mistake he did make, they attacked Hermione Granger's reputation, and they played on fear to get Delores Umbridge elected into office. Honestly this is just simply how politics goes." She said slightly bitterly. Alba was actually quite interested in politics and so this was an interesting thought.

"If you had asked me what I wanted to do before Umbridge was elected, I'd tell you that I was going to go and become an unspeakable, or a Witch Watcher. But working at the ministry, under that foul toad... No. I've thought about maybe going abroad for a while, and avoiding the war, but I don't think that I could deal with leaving my family when there are such awful things happening here." Alba contemplated the question at hand further. What would she do with herself once she finished at the school. "I'm too young to teach, even though I'd love to..." Honestly that was the truth for all of Alba's calm planning and meticulously plotting out her life, this war, and Delores Umbridge had thrown that for a loop.

"Have you thought about what you might do in future?" She didn't know why the girl's father had stayed at the ministry and so she dodged the question. She suspected it simply came down to a combination of pride, and the fact that Graham Avery had worked for so long at the Ministry he probably didn't know what else to do. At the same time it wasn't like Alba to just leave a situation be. she was an assertive girl and she wanted to be a part of conversations that happened around her. She wanted to help. "I'm sure he was only trying to provide for you... I'm glad my father was good to work under I suppose but the reality is that your father was one of the highest paid people at the ministry, being so high ranking. He'd never have been able to provide for you the same way if he had just left." she explained patiently to the young woman. 

[Deleted]

Kallisto kept her book open but all attention was on the other Ravenclaw in this room. She didn't know much about politics herself. Sometimes she asked her father out of politeness rather than curiosity. It turned out to be way more complex than she thought. "That doesn't sound right," she shook her head at the thought of people voting for Umbridge in fear. "It only caused a roller coaster effect. There hadn't been big troubles with creatures before. Now there is." How did one make people unafraid? Or was it too late for that?

Her eyes turned a little sad when Alba told her about how her plans for the future changed. She didn't like the power Umbridge had. It even got as far as stopping young wizards and witches from doing what they wanted. She slowly nodded because she did understand why Alba didn't want to work there anymore. The sound of traveling alone sounded both exciting and scary. Kalli couldn't leave her home for too long without getting homesick. That this girl considered such a huge thing only made her respect Alba even more. The younger girl beamed up when the older student said she considered teaching. "You'd be a great teacher!" The little blonde chanted enthusiastically. "What course would you like to teach? Maybe some of the teachers are willing to take an intern under their wings. I hear them complain about too much work all the time," she chuckled. Besides Hogwarts was safe from Umbridge's wrath. There were still werewolf and vampire students.

"Huh Me?" Kalli blinked up in confusion. Then she chuckled sheepishly and ran a hand through her medium long hair. "Honestly I haven't thought of that yet. For now I just like to learn about as many things as possible. Perhaps something with history or muggles. My parents once took me to a muggle museum and it was the best!" She rambled without thinking. "Or, I'd like to be a healer. I like helping people. On the creature department because then I can also help my father may something go wrong with his potion. Although I hope he'll never need my help." So far her father never had a bad full moon but she was always scared that day would still come.

She hadn't expected an answer on her question to be honest. It was a difficult one after all. Her face took a serious expression and she nodded. "Thank you. It makes sense. I'd always hoped like he would be secretly stayed to make it difficult for her to actually get laws through. However a part of me also feared it did it because he hated werewolves more than he hated her," she swallowed feeling bad for thinking this way about her own father, he'd always been a hero. It hurt her to know even great men like her father weren't flawless. "They killed my grandparents you see, I never actually met them. Years later they killed my mother and would've killed me if it hadn't been for him... Now he is like those he hates so deeply." She took a deep breath. She wished her father was a little more forgiving and didn't judge an entire group of people on two events but she knew better. "But I do know he didn't vote for Umbridge so that makes it a little better for me."