disclaimer: all the characters and most other things belong to Mihoyo and J.K. Rowling, not me
A Hogwarts AU, both Zhongli and Venti are professors.
The narrator is...an unnamed person, it can be anyone lol :D
There would always be a few strange visitors during Professor Zhongli's lessons. Sometimes, he would be droning on and on about the Archon Wars, or some other boring part of magical history, and a hilichurl would climb in through the open window, or an anemo slime would drift in and start floating around the room. Once, a baby geovishap rolled in through the doorway, breaking the wooden door in the process. Another time, six oceanids visited the lesson, parking themselves on the empty desks at the back and seeming to listen attentively. In fact, these are such common occurrences that at this point, most students hardly raise an eyebrow or blink when they meet an unusual new classmate. Most of the time, if they do not cause too much trouble or chaos, Professor Zhongli allows them to stay, and if they do disrupt the lesson, he would carefully shoo them into a specially prepared cage behind his desk, then continue as if nothing had happened.
Strangely, the creatures would always be gone by the end of the day. Most left of their own accord, some would even file out the door alongside the students, I would never be able to forget the time I had to step over splintered wood while accompanied by two baby geovishaps, or the time I struggled not slip on the puddles of water left by the oceanids. Even if they did not leave at the end of the lesson, or had been caged up, they would always disappear eventually. Perhaps Professor Zhongli knew where they were coming from, and had sent them home.
It is speculated that Professor Venti, the Care of Magical Creatures teacher, is responsible for these strange visitors. There are also rumors that Professor Venti and Professor Zhongli are great friends. How true that is, I know not, for I do not take Care of Magical Creatures, but I have heard that Professor Venti often mentions Professor Zhongli during his lessons.
It always seems to slip out of his mouth, an unusual comment about how geovishaps have rocks for brains, just like Professor Zhongli - they take awhile to respond to your affection, but once they do, it's worth it. Or, perhaps, a complaint about how long crystalflies take to create their nests, carefully weaving together elemental crystals in an intricate manner and hiding them within trees, similar to how Professor Zhongli takes hours to brew a cup of tea and twice as long to drink it.
I have also heard that Professor Venti never quite takes his lessons seriously. Sometimes, he simply leaves the students to interact with and take care of the magical creatures, while he sits off at the side, or within the branches of a tree, watching on lazily. Occasionally, he seems to forget that he is a Care of Magical Creatures teacher and starts teaching music instead, playing the lyre and singing for his students, though I've heard that his voice is heavenly. Sometimes, apparently, he does not even show up. I have also heard that he loves to drink wine despite his overly-young appearance. In fact, there are also rumors that he isn't actually human, but an elemental spirit. It is a wonder he has not been fired, I simply cannot contemplate how Professor Zhongli can be friends with such a person.
All things considered, I am quite thankful for the unusual friends that come during Professor Zhongli's lesson - why, they are the only reason I've managed to stay awake throughout all my lessons for the past four years. Still, I refuse to believe the rumors claiming Professor Venti to be the one responsible for such occurrences…
...That is, until today.
We had a peculiar visitor today, even stranger than usual. It was not a slime, or a hilichurl, or even a whopperflower. It had drifted in nearly at the start of the lesson, and upon close inspection, I realised with a start that it was a wind spirit! An actual, living wind spirit! Wind spirits have apparently been extinct for centuries, and yet, here one was, flying casually into the History of Magic classroom!
It didn't head to the back, like most other creatures, nor did it start causing chaos and disrupting the lesson severely. Rather, it headed straight for Professor Zhongli and settled itself on his head, amongst his hair, seeming rather pleased with the soft bed it had found for itself. I expected Professor Zhongli to swat it away, or at least lift it off his head, yet he simply cast it a glance before continuing with the lesson, as if he didn't have something sitting on top of his head!
For the rest of the lesson, my eyes were glued to his head, or rather, the little spirit nestled within his hair. My eyes grew even wider when the wind spirit rolled over, messing up Professor Zhongli's hair and making some strands stand up. Professor Zhongli sighed in exasperation, the corner of his mouth twitching as he said, gently,
"Behave yourself."