A new beginning -open-

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In his entire life, Graham never thought he’d be back within these castle walls. Ever since he was a child, he had set his mind upon working at the Ministry. Which was what he’d done his entire life. He never considered a teaching position but here he was. Fate could be odd sometimes. In fact, Graham just applied because Harper Avery was pushy. The older man wanted to prove a point. He hadn’t believed that he could ever find a decent job again. But here he was. And now he owed Harper. It was worth it all however. This were his first steps back to becoming the man he once was. And from this position he could watch over Kallisto better than before. But of course he’d do his very best to treat her like all the other students while he was in his teaching mode.

Graham was given five days to settle in and prepare his first classes. He’d arrived a couple of hours ago and packed out his stuff. He sat in his new office and looked around, this would need some time but he could get used to it. He was more worried about what the students and other Professors would think. Everyone knew about him and what happened. The aging man took a deep sigh. His hand reached to a bottle of whiskey but stopped mid air. This too needed to stop. He couldn’t be a drunk teacher. That’d be unprofessional. Graham retreated his trembling hand, this was going to be difficult but it had to be done.

Distraction was what he needed. Perhaps he should get to know his new colleagues before he’d start. They could have tips for the first class. He decided to give it a try so he stood up and walked towards the exit of his office. When he opened the door, he walked right into someone. “Oh, I’m terribly sorry,” he apologized for almost running into someone. The werewolf tilted his head and looked upon the person. “I don’t believe we’ve met. I’m Graham Avery, I’ll be the Potions Professor starting today,” he introduced himself with a polite smile as he offered his hand.

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Ginny liked people. She suspected that it ran in the family; her mother also liked people. In fact, Molly Weasley loved people. She had a family which included not only those who were related to her by blood but also those who she had met, those who were in need and anyone who she could subject to her extreme generosity and warm heart. Molly Weasley was a wonderful woman and Ginny felt instinctively that if she did turn out to be anything like her mother, then she would feel that her life had been entirely worthwhile. And Molly Weasley would most definitely have made a point of going to greet any new colleague in her workplace. This was not the whole reason why Ginny was going, of course- mostly, she was being nosy- but it did play a part, and was the reason for the box of chocolates which she held in one hand. Not entirely sure as to whether the new teacher was male or female, she had plumped for some of Honeydukes' best chocolate as a gift which would be acceptable to either.

Potions had never been her favourite subject as a child, although she suspected that this was in no small part due to the influence of Professor Snape- he had in fact been the reason why she had not gone on to become a Healer. Neither was she particularly keen on the dungeons, finding them cold and dreary, and so it was a good job that she was not head of Slytherin House, because she would not have been able to cope down there. Still, she had made the journey as a pilgrimage to friendship- hopefully- and so she was perhaps a little miffed when the door suddenly swung open and someone tried to walk through her. Which would have been fine, except that said person was not a ghost. But she marshalled her senses as best as she could and mustered a smile.

"No, we haven't." she agreed. "Ginny Potter. History of Magic and Gryffindor Head of House. Pleasure to meet you." And she offered him the chocolates.

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Graham found himself looking at a person he thought he'd never met like this. Ginny Potter, wife of the famous Harry Potter. And no, it was not that she was like a celebrity to him. What did make this weird to him was knowing he once was part of the organisation that tried to kill her husband, although it wasn't on his free will. It didn't change what happened however. He still wore the scars but he was glad the dark lord lost. Else he'd still be mind controlled till this day. He wondered how much Mrs. Potter had heard of him and what she believed.

"The pleasure is all mine," he said with a polite nod. The new Potions teacher blinked up in a as chocolates were pressed in his hand. "Uh thanks?" Confusion was written on his face. At the Ministry he never got gifts from his coworkers, only complainants and threats. "Could I invite you for some tea or coffee. I actually was going to gather my courage and meet my new coworkers. But having them approach me is much easier," he said with a half grin. "I'll be staring for real next week. Is there anything I should keep in mind?"

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The man;s name sounded somewhat familiar to Ginny but she really could not think where from, and so she dismissed the thought as quickly as it had arisen. Ginny met lots of people in the course of her hectic existence, and she really could not be expected to remember them all. In any case, it was evident that she had not known the man well, so they might as well begin again. This was going to be a professional relationship in any case, and there was no point in starting off with a half-remember friendship, if they had indeed been friends- the redhead really didn't recall.

"You're welcome; really, it's nothing." she assured him with another warm smile, stepping back slightly to allow him to actually walk through the door if he wanted to. At least he hadn't hit her with it, since the castle's doors opened inwards. "Tea sounds wonderful; thank you. I'm afraid I don't drink coffee; never liked the stuff." The redhead smoothed her robes, and pursed her lips in thought as he asked her advice. "The most important thing is not to shout if you can avoid it." she eventually decided. "Otherwise, you have nowhere to escalate."

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A small smile crept on his aging yet still handsome face. Graham wasn't used to this sort of unforced kindness in work. Perhaps he'd come to the right place after all. He'd never gave anything but politics a chance but he had faith he'd find his little place of happiness through all the dark that he has gone through. “Tea it is then,” the man nodded and went back into his office. There he summoned a seat and tapped his wand against the teapot that was seated on his desk. The box of chocolates was also put on his desk and opened for both Mrs. Potter and him to take. He settled back into his own chair. The other was obviously meant for his guest.

Graham noted the advice he'd gotten. "No shouting, noted," he nodded and poured them both a cup of tea. "I'll try my best to treat them as teenagers. I'm afraid I'd go too hard on them sometimes. If you ever catch me being overly strict, please correct me." It was one thing that he didn't look forward to. Being a kind and just teacher was important. That was the kind of Professor he wanted to be: kind, dependable strict but just. He was here for them after all. They were the future of this world. Perhaps the current generation of power was beyond help but the future held hope. "There is another thing. Soon I'll be teaching my own daughter Kallisto. You have children of Hogwarts age too, right? How do you manage to stay Professional and have them known you're here for everyone, not just them?"

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Ginny smiled brightly and followed the man back into his office, glancing around and noting to her surprise just how little the place had changed since her Hogwarts years. Oh, how well she remembered the interminable hours she had spent in this tiny place, scrubbing out cauldrons without magic for detention. What a waste of time that had been. The redhead wondered if this man had been a Slytherin, and made a mental note to keep an eye on her little lions, just in case. She was learning from the past, and she was absolutely not being prejudiced because that would be silly. Still, this man seemed a world away from Severus Snape, and so she was hopeful. But she was not going to lose the House Cup over any professor who showed favouritism.

The redhead grinned and took the cup from her newest colleague with a word of thanks, taking it in one hand and swallowing a mouthful of the searing hot liquid, closing her eyes briefly to enjoy the sensation. Merlin, that was good. She hadn't realised it until this moment, but she hadn't had anything to drink since breakfast. It had been a hectic day, to say the least. "I hate to break it to you, but I'm not going to be standing in the corner of your classroom watching every lesson." she pointed out drily. "History of Magic may not be the most glamorous subject, but I still have to teach it. I might be able to pop in for your first lesson if you like." As a Head of House, she supposed that she was technically a senior member of staff, which was a joke for a start, and so it was among her duties to help out new members of staff when necessary.

Ginny pulled a face and shrugged at his question. "Honestly, I don't know. I just don't take Mum into the classroom. Treat them the same as everyone else, and they'll react the same as everyone else."

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It felt weird welcoming someone in his office even though it had just been so since today. He still had to make it and the classroom his own. For now he kept it tidy and clean. The feeling would come. His office was a little more like home, still tidy and clean because that was who he was. But it had some photos and a trinket here and there. It still was pretty empty and would probably stay that way, Graham didn't like stuffing his room. It'd only gain dust.

Graham sipped a little of the tea. As his mouth filled with the hot liquid, he wished it was whiskey. Alas things needed to change if he were to become a functioning teacher. At least his guest seemed to enjoy the tea. Mimi always picked the teas, she was the biggest tea drinker among the small family. Come to think of it, he should ask the headmistress if Mimi could come here. There was nobody at home and he wanted the old elf to spend her last years among family. Or he could sell the mansion and settle for a simple house in Scotland. It was not like they needed the space with the three of them. "Do you like the tea? I could ask Mimi where she got it, I could send you a bag of leaves," he suggested, hoping to return the friendliness the other had shown him.

The dry comment caught the new Potions teacher off guards before he ended up with a low chuckle and a shake of his head. "That was not my intention," he told her. "Just if you hear people complain, I'd like to know. See if there is some reason in it and what I need to change. Thanks for the offer though. It is appreciated," he gave her a nod. The good thing about tea he assumed were the fuming smells that filled his nose thrills. They were quite relaxing.

"Perhaps it'll happen automatically," he figured as he put together Mrs. Potters words with his own expectations. It would be odd at the beginning nevertheless.

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The place was tidy but then Ginny supposed that since the professor had only moved in within the last few days, it would have taken a disaster of colossal proportions for things to be otherwise. Her own office, she was guiltily aware, was hardly spick and span- the house elves did their best, but they never touched her desk for fear of tidying away something which was important to her, and it was her desk that was most urgently in need of attention. Things were more or less organised; she practised the 'pile' method of filing, and while it was effective, the fact nevertheless remained that visitors to her office were quite often left with the impression that they had mistakenly entered a printing press. Most of her papers, in all honesty, just needed to be thrown away- she was convinced that she still had the letter which had originally invited her to take up her first position at the school somewhere in the depths of a drawer, and she certainly had no need for that any more. Molly Weasley would probably have had a heart attack on seeing the state of her filing... but then she would probably sort it out as well, so there were some benefits.
"It's lovely." Ginny responded politely, although she would never consider herself to be any form of authority on tea. She just drank whatever was in front of her- unless it was American, because American tea was a travesty; even she recognised that. The redhead didn't buy any particular type, nor any particular flavour, although she did nurse a hatred of fruit teas. Jasmine was nice. Chamomile and Earl Grey. Lady Grey and English Breakfast, or indeed Scottish Breakfast. All good teas. She had a cupboard full under her desk.
She nodded at his request. That, she could do. In fact, that, she was more or less obliged to do and she certainly had no intentions whatsoever of allowing her students to suffer because of the way that they were being taught, although the man's apparent lack of confidence did concern her somewhat.

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Graham smiled as his guest approved of the tea. "I'm glad it gets your approval, Mimi would be glad to hear that," he told her. "Mimi is very serious about her tea," he chuckled. At this point, he didn’t really know what to say. Usually he prepared himself for a conversation. The new potions master cleared his throat and took another sip. He was worse at this than he could remember. At least Mrs. Potter seemed forgiving of his awkwardness. Which was good.
He used the silence to think. Then he figured he maybe should try to talk about what worried him. “I hope they’ll accept me as their teacher… I can understand that after what they heard of me, parents won’t be happy,” he slowly started and held his cup between both hands and took a deep breath.

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"Tea is a very serious business." Ginny agreed, a smile spreading across her lips. It was unbelievable how many arguments it was possible to get into over tea. Milk or tea first? Water or bag? There was a world of possibilities, and you could guarantee that where there was more than one option, there would be someone willing to fight to the death for every one of them. Such was life.
She smiled and shook her head as he stated his worries. "Parents will always find something to complain about." the redhead assured him, speaking from her own experience. "People complained when I got my job because they thought I was too much of a loose cannon. And, of course, I was possessed by Voldemort in my first year... If anyone were to take any notice of parents' complaints, I would be very much surprised."

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Graham softly chuckled and shook his head. He wasn't big on tea, it was alright. He was more of a whiskey person but that wasn't really comparable to tea in any way. Except that they were brownish liquids. He did know he preferred tea without the milk or sugar. Something considered barbaric by his fellow English.

Blue eyes shot up when Ginerva spoke of being possessed by the Dark Lord. When she said the name, shivers ran down his spine. He would never get used to people just saying it like that. even if he tried to do so himself. But that was right, he had forgotten about Ginerva Weasley's possession. Graham was a student at Hogwarts himself, in his third year. "Well... Now they have two Professors who were once mind controlled by you-know-who," he said and rose his tea as it if was a pint of beer.