You Can\'t Go Home Again

Getting a Few Things Settled

It was the weekend so Mary would have two days to get herself settled , get her new classroom straightened to her liking and get at least a weeks worth of lessons planned for the two classes she would be teaching. Mary had made it very clear to Dumbledore that she had her own style of teaching and she would not consider insisting on doing things her way a breach of their 'no arguments ' agreement. She was amazed when Dumbledore didn't so much as raise his eyebrows in disagreement but said instead,

"Thats fine my dear, the school could use some new perspectives. However one thing I must insist on ...In front of the students you will refer to me as Albus or Professor Dumbledore. Never as Brian while we are at school, agreed?"

She knew that would take a little getting used to but she was so surprised that he had not insisted on anything but restraint when following the proscribed punishments for misbehaving students. So she agreed readily. Hey , she thought to herself , this might even be sort of fun.

Mary had brought several large trunks with her filled with various and sundry teaching aides. After all she reasoned to herself , It's unlikely that Hogwarts would store a variety of muggle apparatus. It was early in the morning several hours before breakfast and she was very thankful that Brian had seen fit to have her come over the weekend. Albus, she told herself , I must start thinking of him as Albus or I'll wind up calling him Brian out loud.

Mary found her way to the large classroom Albus had said would be hers entered and shut the door behind her. She was thankful the halls were so empty at this time of day. She saw her trunks at the front of the classroom beside a large oak teachers desk. The chairs were lined up in rows and aisles all square and uniform just as she remembered. Mary pulled out the chair at the teachers desk and sat behind it getting a feel for what it would be like to sit here on this side of the desk in her old alma mater . As she surveyed the room her mind could not help but drift back all those years ago and picture the classmates she had known so well and had to leave so quickly. Mary pictured a much younger Albus Dumbledore, before he was headmaster. She also remembered a young Minerva McGonagal smiling shyly at Albus with a twinkle in her eye. There were so many people she had known and not seen in years. Some of whom had moved on with their lives. Others whose lives had been tragically cut short. Still others whom in the depths of her heart she felt should have died but didn't. Mary felt tears of anger mingled with grief slide down her face.

This will never do! She thought to herself . She sniffled once blew her nose on the hanky she kept in one pocket and shook her head as though doing so would shake off the bad memories like a dog would shake off water. Then she took out her wand and started arranging the room more to her liking. Mary had never cared for prejudice in any form and could not help but remember how house rivalry seemed to reinforce some prejudices.

"Well , we will just nip that in the bud eh?" Mary waved her wand and thought some appropriate and complex spells and charms. Before she was done she was quite sure that her first classes would be a mixture of shock and surprise for all of her students. She took one last look around the room, slapped her hands against each other to dust them off , performed a cleaning spell on her clothes and practically skipped off to breakfast smiling a very self satisfied smile to herself . "Yes indeed ",she thought "this was definitely going to be some fun!"

@