New friends, old places

It was a cloudy day in the cramped streets of Diagon Alley. It was rather cold for an August day as well. To Nick it felt more like a day thay should belong in the cooler autumn months. It was only near seventy degrees and to top it off, it was cloudy with a slight breeze in the air. Along with the weather though, there were a lot of people, children with their parents looking for Hogwarts supplies mainly. Even though Nick was nearing nineteen years old in September, not that long removed from Hogwarts, he didn't really remember what it felt like to be going back to school. The rush and craziness of having to buy school supplies. Textbooks, quills, clothes, even his wand and first quidditch supplies were just a giant blur to him. Emma and Emily would be eleven years old before he knew it though. They were already a year old. It was hard getting past this year. Sarah and him had fights, and in the end it just didn't work. But when they split, Nick was left with Emma, and Sarah had Emily. They still managed to come together on holidays though. The girls did deserve to grow up together. But it was not something that could be attained easily.

Nick was here today though because he was the new Gryiffindor Head of House, and Defense Against The Dark Arts Professor. He needed stuff for his classes, and his house in general. He would bring pride and honor back to Gryiffindor house this year, and he would run a stable classroom. He would be damned if he didn't. Hogwarts had really fallen apart to Nick over the past few years. This whole marriage law would make things a mess for his older students. Nick wouldn't be a strict teacher though, or a strict Head of House. He would have his rules, and yes. If he had to take a course of action then he would. He would try to be fairly nice and respectful of the children.

Nick finally arrived to a large bookstore that he knew a few teachers got books from. He took a seat at one of the tables and looked around. He had never been here before. He didn't know where much of anything at all was, and it didn't look like there were very many people around so that he could ask. He would sit here for a second, look around, and take it from there.

Adrienne could not believe the situation she found herself in. Not only had she taken her NEWTs late so she could graduate, but having spent the last six months with Keiran and his students, she had found her place in teaching just as he had. After his accident and everything with the Ministry, Mr. Hayes had been against going back to his former post, instead choosing to keep his head low and fill the role that the Ministry have him and his wife: counseling.

The very idea was absurd, but Adrienne couldn't help but think that maybe it could actually do the couple some good. Having to give advice to others might end up helping them sort themselves out. As for Adrienne, counseling wouldn't be needed for her now that she was going to be at Hogwarts while Kaiden worked at the Ministry.

After being told that she was promoted to full-time Transfiguration Professor, Adrienne had things she needed to collect for her lessons. Keiran had kindly agreed to look over her lesson plans and ensure that the students would take her seriously, so she was feeling a bit more confident going into everything. As her feet carried her through Diagon Alley, Adrienne kept an eye out for the shop that Mr. Hayes had named as an excellent place to find books and general supplies. He, of course, would know as he had been Head of Slytherin and taught her same class last year.

When she finally located the store, Adrienne smiled to herself and walked in. Having only been in the store once or twice - on accident, actually, or when browsing to kill time - she couldn't remember where everything was kept. So she decided to amble around the outer edges of the shop and look at the section titles until she found one for her class. As she was walking, however, her eyes remained on the shelves and the brunette failed to notice the tables in front of her. Bumping one with her arm, she jumped, turning quickly to apologize to the man sat there.

"I'm so sorry! I'm a bit distracted, I suppose." Offering a small smile in greeting, she added, "I'm just trying to get ready for the school year."

Feeling a little bump on his back, and the small, soft voice of a girl; Nick turned around and looked at the woman in front of him for a minute before saying anything back. She looked familiar, but Nick couldn't really place it. She looked to be around the same age as him, maybe she was a year or two below him when he was in Hogwarts. "Its okay." Nick said with a small smile before asking "Are you teaching at Hogwarts this year? Or any other school? Drumstrang? Beauxbatons?"

"I'm Nick, Nick Potter. I'm the new Gryiffindor Head of House, and Defense Against The Dark Arts Professor." He introduced. Taking the little room between his chair and the girl herself, Nick scooted back the chair he was sitting in, and stood up, before pushing the chair back in. Taking another look around the enormous room he still couldn't place where anything was. It would be quite a search considering that she looked somewhat lost as well.

Getting a better look at the woman in front of him Nick noticed certain features about her. She had dark hair, soft facial features, she was still rather young. Maybe she was just getting out of Hogwarts herself. Or maybe she was a seventh year and just got lost. Either one looked to suit her.

Adrienne blinked in surprise, realizing that he really did look rather familiar once she thought about it and heard him talk. "Yes, I'll be at Hogwarts this year. I only just graduated, though, so it's kind of strange to be going back. I'm sort of expecting the students to either think I'll go easy, or take advantage of my being new. But I've got a good mentor looking out for me, so hopefully it all goes smoothly."

Offering a smile in return for his introduction, she extended her hand. "Adrienne. Used to be Adrienne Reynolds, but now that the Ministry made everyone marry, it's Adrienne Poliakoff. I'm teaching Transfiguration, and - unless a Hufflepuff Graduate applies to teach, I'll be acting Head of House for them. I was in Ravenclaw, but the Deputy Headmistress is keeping her position as Head of House again this year."

She followed his gaze towards the shelves, but leaned against the table instead of heading off to look for things. "It will be nice to have a new Head of Gryffindor, I think. They seemed almost quiet last year, which was a little disappointing, even for us Ravenclaws. They didn't seem their lion selves, you know?" Letting out a slight shrug, Adrienne hesitated only slightly before deciding that it would do to get to know him considering they would be at the school together all year. "If you want, we could search this place and see if we can't find supplies for the both of us? It would be nice to be on friendly terms with one of the professors. The others I only know from having taken their classes."

Nick thought maybe they went to school together, and he was right. If she graduated just last year, she would have been a fifth year when he was a seventh year. "I graduated from Gryiffindor two years ago. After that I signed a contract with the Falmouth Falcons, but after injuring my shoulder I can't play professionally anymore. So now I'm back at Hogwarts. The Head of House position was actually quite a surprise. I didn't expect it at all really. I don't really plan on being some strict uptight person though just because of it. I'm going to be nice, fair, try to bring back some of the dying Gryiffindor values back to the House." Nick explained softly.

Taking a second to breathe, Nick thought about what he should say next. She said she was married to someone because of the marriage law, but Nick was not. It was an odd situation really. "I was married. I have a set of twin daughters. But things didn't work out, in the divorce I got one child and she has the other. When the marriage law came along though, my match requested someone else. So I suppose I could call myself single." He said with a sigh. Part of him still missed Sarah, but the other part hated her and wanted nothing to do with the woman.

When she offered to look for supplies Nick nooded his head yes, and pointed "after you" he said with a soft tone to his voice. It would be nice to get to know Adrienne. It would be nice to have a friend in general Nick thought to himself.

"I was never one for Quidditch," Adrienne admitted, "but that was mostly to do with my being caught up in classes and things. Maybe I'll actually get into it now that I'll be going to matches to support the students and all."

She had to agree with his mentality when it came to being Head of House for the Gryffindor students. "Well, I don't know if I'll be taking care of Hufflepuff yet, of course, but if so I hope I'll be the right person for the job. I mean, I guess I'm just worried that some kids might try to get around the rules since I'll be new at this."

Something about the way Nick told her about his ex-wife and the whole Marriage Law ordeal made Adrienne's heart ache for him. Such experiences couldn't have been pleasant, and she doubted that - were it her in his place - she could have kept strong. Deciding to focus on the positive, Adrienne gave him an apologetic smile. "Well, does that mean that she'll be living at Hogwarts with us? I bet she would love to see her dad teach," she added with a small laugh. "If you end up needing anyone to watch out for her, I hear they've got people coming in to take care of babies due to the law and all. Or you can ask me if all else fails."

She didn't know what Nick's daughter looked like, but Adrienne could nearly imagine a little girl sitting around in Nick's classroom during his lessons and distracting the class. It brought a larger smile to her face, and she didn't hesitate before walking towards the aisles of books. "Well, this place is certainly larger on the inside, isn't it?" She asked conversationally, leaning around a shelf end to read the sections. Catching sight of a label that read 'NEWT subjects,' she started towards that section. If she had to buy things separately for the older students and the younger ones, she would, but that would just mean looking farther to find the other areas.

"I could never watch it to be honest. I hate watching it actually. I just like to play, if that makes sense." Nick explained. "Maybe I could teach you how to play? Who says professors can't have fun?" He added with a quiet little laugh.

Nick had thought about what he would do with Emma when school started. The girl would only be a year old in October, and Nick didn't exactly know how the whole living at the castle would be for her. "I haven't really decided yet honestly. I think I'll leave her at home with my brother for the first day or two, and see what it would be like at Hogwarts for her." He explained. Then Nick realized that Adrienne hadn't mentioned anything about children herself, and his curiosity peaked. Sometimes Nick felt like he should have been a Ravenclaw with his curiosity. "Do you and your husband have a child?" He asked softly. If not, they would have to have one soon. It was in the Marriage Law that the couples had to have children.

As they were walking through the aisles of books, Nick noticed a smile come across Adrienne's face and it made Nick smile and he didn't know why. "Yeah. I think there's actually a charm on the building to make it look smaller on the outside." He said softly. As they walked into the section labeled NEWT, Nick looked around, but didn't see any books pertaining to the subjects they were looking for. But there were still more and more rows of NEWT labeled books.

Adrienne was surprisingly tempted to take him up on his offer, even though she had always felt that heights was something she would handle poorly. But the problem wasn't in any fears she had anymore; now it rested in something completely different. As if Nick actually knew what her new dilemma was, he turned the topic to the other requirement of the Matrimonium Legem.

"Well," she started slowly, looking down at herself, "I'm expecting now, and I guess it's a little scary, but it's mostly because I feel like I'm too young to be ready. Kaiden, though, he seems okay with it, as far as I can tell." Shrugging it off, she added, "It might be a while before I can actually get on a broom. But when the time comes I would actually really like to learn if you're still up for it."

She tossed a smile over her shoulder, trying to convince both Nick and herself that she was going to be alright with everything. She obviously had no choice but to take everything in stride. Otherwise it would tear her and Kaiden apart, and would almost definitely not put her in a good place with the Ministry.

"So," she started, heading down another aisle to see if she could find the right books. "I'm guessing you read the Prophet article? It sounds like we'll have a lot of chances to interact with the students this year. We only have to hope they actually get their homework done," she laughed.

Nick listened, and stayed quiet for a minute. He could tell that behind that smile of hers, there was something bigger going on. Nick was a people person. He could have easily been a school counselor or something like that. He wanted to say something to comfort Adrienne, but didn't really know what to say. Nick had always been awful at comforting people. Instead he just gave a soft smile back and continued to walk with her. Hopefully things would be the exact opposite for Adrienne and Kaiden that Nick and Sarah went through. He loved her, and she loved him, but raising the children really broke the two of them apart.

"I don't think I've read the Prophet lately actually. I've been meaning to, I've just been busy." Nick admitted. Nick had actually picked up the Prophet, it was laying on his kitchen counter actually. He just never got around to reading it. "Would you mind filling me in on it?" He asked curiously. He wondered what sorts of rules and regulations would be added this year. It seemed like they had changed every year. The Ministry had no clue about anything. About how to run anything in Nick's opinion.

Adrienne couldn't help but feel a bit grateful for Nick not asking any questions, even though she wasn't sure he had done so specifically to make her feel a bit better. Not having to explain her fears actually made things feel better. In the end, the best option would be for her and Kaiden to just figure things out as they went along. Or, she thought so, anyway, considering she didn't have a better plan for them.

"Well," she started, knowing she could get a bit too vocal regarding her opinions of the Ministry if she wasn't careful. "supposedly the new Minister paid a ton of money to the school," she explained as she ran her fingers over the spines of a couple Transfiguration books. "They're putting in a lot of new programs - even going so far as to giving dragons to second years to raise and take care of. I mean, they're supposed to be little ones, but still. It sounds kind of dangerous, you know?" Shaking her head, Adrienne passed him a slightly frustrated look.

"And, I don't get why the Ministry thinks the students need to learn all these Pureblood traditions. That's what the special professors are coming in for. Cooking, manners, probably dancing and who knows what else? I don't understand why they have Purebloods marry others and then teach everyone about their ways. What are they wanting to accomplish? Proving to the Purebloods that anyone can be like them?"

Somehow, the idea didn't sound wrong when she said it, but Adrienne had no proof. No real reason to believe she was right. Maybe she was right, or maybe the Ministry just needed something for those fourth years so that it looked like they were helping everyone. Either way, it was all very sketchy.