Mason Reed, having kept mostly to his own quarters since the decision on scheduling, sat comfortably in the window seat of his quarters. Flitwick had never used it much in his time, preferring to use it as just another location to store his immense accumulation of books. However, Mason found himself content to hug his knees to his chest and look out the window at the still lake below, trying not to remember the last time he had seen the lake, there had been a dead body floating in it, blood pooling out around the body…
A knock on the door pulled him from his thought and he softly called, "Come in," and straightened himself so he sat with his feet on the floor. Bill hesitantly walked in, unused to the quiet response that he seemed to think he had imagined. Realizing that Mason was fine with his presence, he walked fully into the room.
"Sorry if I bothered you," Bill said, unsure about the quiet man.
"It's no problem, I was just thinking." Mason said with an almost sad look in his eyes, "What can I help you with?"
Bill didn't hear the question, being completely distracted by the bareness of the room. There was a small, faded trunk at the end of the bed, what he assumed was a contact case on the nightstand, and twelve books, seven of which being his text books he was teaching from, four being muggle books he was probably reading for entertainment, and a small black book. Other than that, there was nothing personal in the room. Bill looked up when Mason repeated the question, "Sorry, it slipped my mind for the moment. Is this all of your belongings?"
Bill knew it wasn't the nicest thing to ask, but he couldn't stop himself from being curious. Besides, Mason didn't seem to mind, "Yeah, I haven't felt a need to hold onto nostalgic items."
"You were a teenager during the war, weren't you?" Bill asked, and Mason nodded, "I know people who feel the same way. Like my mother, she lost her husband and her youngest two children. There isn't a trace of them anywhere in the main house, and she's made the old den into her new bedroom so she never has to touch those rooms. You probably lost a lot in the war too."
"Everything," Mason said, just above a whisper, "Family, friends…"
Bill had seen so many people like this after the war, it wasn't rare with all of those that lost their lives. The two shared a silence where both were thinking of the war.
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Nathan had completely transformed the room given to him, it having not been used since Binns' death made it a little out of repair. He was happy with the room, if you stood to the right of the window and squinted you could just make out the quidditch field that was in between the two towers that made the view quite difficult to manage. He was just finishing unpacking his bags as he heard a knock on the door, and opened it himself.
Angelina stood on the other side, seemingly confused that he had opened the door rather than call her in. He beckoned her in, "Sorry, I know that in the wizarding world calling people in is the norm, but I've gotten myself out of the habit."
"Wow, there's a lot of books in here." Angelina replied, noting the three bookshelves in the room stuffed with books.
"Yeah, surprises me every time I see how many there are," Nathan said, "The two on the far wall are both history books that I have collected over the years, the other are my books on law."
"Law?" Angelina asked.
"I was a lawyer in the muggle world. It's always been my second passion." Nathan told her, "Now, what did you come in for?"
"Oh, right, me and Bill were supposed to fetch you and Mason to get ready for the Opening Feast."
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Severus sighed, frustrated that once again the teachers were being organized in some ridiculous way for the feast, when they would never sit in the same spot again over the year. This of course meant that he was stuck sitting between McGonagall and Reed. While the Gryffindor Head of house had been less annoying since the war, she always tried to start a conversation with him that he didn't want to have. Reed, however, was much quieter by nature, a strange boy that Severus could see was a little uncomfortable being next to him. Not surprising really, the new teachers were often weary of his reputation as a grumpy old potions master. He was only forty-five and was starting to call himself old, surely insanity was setting in.
Severus didn't even register Dumbledore's speech until he heard applause: the oldest Weasley had just been announced as the Defense teacher. The Weasleys had grown rather popular since the war, those remaining being the one from Gringotts, the dragon tamer, the Assistant Minister (who would probably be promoted to Minister of Magic by next year), the Twins who were potions masters as well owned five joke shops in four countries, and Molly.
"And as Herbology Professor, we will have Angelina Weasley, who will also have the duties of Head of Hufflepuff." A similar applause greeted Angelina, despite the fact she was head of a house she hadn't been in herself.
"And our new history teacher will be Professor Finch." The blonde man stood, grinning in an arrogant way even though the only clapping he received was out of politeness.
"Finally, our new charms teacher and head of Ravenclaw house, Professor Reed." The quiet man stood with a flat expression and nodded assent to the polite applause before sitting down quickly. Unlike Finch, he wasn't one to thrive in attention.
Countless times through out the meal, Severus noticed how little the man next to him ate. It definitely was an explanation to his size, but he had seen few people eat as little for a meal and was tempted to try to make the man eat more. However, he realized it wasn't his business to worry, and tried his best to ignore the behavior.
After the students were gone, the teachers chatted idly about the students to have an eye on for the year before retiring to their own quarters. Dumbledore handed each of the four heads of houses a stack of schedules to hand out in the morning, Severus was slightly amused to see Reed nearly drop the entire stack before cradling them securely under his arm. He seemed tired, but unlike Finch (who yawned and walked out of the Great Hall first), he waited until about half the other teachers had gone to bed before excusing himself. Severus found this behavior peculiar, and it reminded him of someone, but he couldn't think of the name.
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Mason was up early, and, as per usual, skipped breakfast entirely. Being nervous about his first classes didn't help. So, he went, and sat at the end of the Ravenclaw table where each student would have to pass him, and handed out schedules. It was only after most the kids were in the Hall that the other teachers noticed what he had done and realized what a good idea it was. The Ravenclaw Prefect smiled, "Good thinking, worthy of a Ravenclaw."
Professor Reed smiled, "Thank you, but I wasn't a Ravenclaw."
The Prefect shrugged, but the comment didn't go unnoticed, especially by Professor Finch, who had been walking by the table at the time. He could have sworn the quiet teacher was a Ravenclaw. Reed followed Finch, having finished with the schedules, and sat at the table with nothing more than a strong cup of tea. Finch gave him an odd look, but said nothing.
"It's for the caffeine." Reed said, surprising the blonde.
"hm?"
"You were giving me an odd look, I was simply saying I was only here for the caffeine, hence why I don't have anything to eat." Reed explained, taking a deep drink of his tea.
"Oh," Finch said, unused to unasked questions being answered without prompting. The curse of being a lawyer, "So if you aren't a Ravenclaw, what are you?"
"I was a Gryffindor," Reed replied with a sigh, "But that was a long time ago."
Finch looked at him curiously, but didn't say a word as he finished his meal. Before he was done, Reed had finished his tea and had left the table. Finch watched him leave, somewhat reminded of himself. Admittedly, he had been headstrong as a teenager and arrogant, but as time went on he had changed and was content to settle to a life where he could sometimes pretend that he was the proud pureblood he was a decade ago, even though he knew that wasn't who he really was after the war.
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It had been a week, and McGonagall felt a lot more confident about all the new teachers than she had been over the Summer.
Bill Weasley was, of course, a brilliant teacher who used his own stories that were more than believable to help with his teaching. Then again, despite the fact he was married, the girls all seemed enamored with him. Angelina teased him mercilessly that it was the ponytail that all the girls liked.
Angelina had adopted a very similar vibe to Professor Sprout, making the class almost identical, except for the unexpected bursts of sarcasm and odd euphemisms to Quidditch. She did, and always would, blame Oliver Wood for that.
Nathan Finch had completely changed the History class, focusing a little less on the Goblin wars and making things relevant. Instead of straight lecturing, he had the students do research and discuss and even played games. Finch was often described as being full of energy and was able to capture and keep the attention to the class.
Mason Reed, however, was the opposite. His classes were organized, but tended to be more quiet. His classroom was basically empty, him having cleared out all the desks and books, and the students stood during class. Reed himself was calm, and had been able to earn respect by showing his classes little tricks that were intricate and hard to master.
Although, McGonagall had to admit that Finch and Reed worried her. Finch was greatly concerned with both Snape and Reed, and could be caught staring at them during meals. Reed would space out be in an entirely different world for long periods of time with a forlorn look on his face. It was odd, but the quirks were minor compared to some previous staff members.
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(A/N: Alright, I know it's been a while, but I have about three hours of homework a night and decided long ago that homework comes first. I'll update when and as soon as I can. I'm sure I'll find time for it. Please review!)