school's NOT out ((open))

As is usually recommended for new professors to do, Frederick found himself riding the Hogwarts Express for first time in decades so he had an idea of the student body he'd be working with this term. From what he understood, two of the pregnant students had their babies over the summer and would be back for this term. This meant that he would simply have to prevent those babies from having another baby and that they knew the symptoms of diseases. Typical stuff.

Frederick sat in one of the compartments, the door wide open, reading the day's issue of the Daily Prophet. As he clearly looked too old to be among the students, he hoped it would help keep him incognito until the feast. He had no time to get into any of his pupils' business unless it directly involved anything he was going to teach in class.

He hummed loudly as he flipped the paper to the comics. Very inconspicuous of him.

With his hair tied back with a ribbon, a long cloak with the hood up and a clever bit of weaving between the various families on the platform, Leythan thought he'd managed to stay fairly inconspicuous. He didn't want his siblings knowing about his teaching post quite yet. He had this good image of them seeing him seated at the Professor's table in the Great Hall at the feast, then realising he was there and feeling the dread of a thousand curses. Their private lives were no longer private. They'd have no choice but to do what he said.

Hilarious.

He boarded the train right at the front. When it was recommended that they took the Hogwarts Express he didn't want to miss the chance of riding it again: risking being rumbled was well worth it.

It seemed he wasn't the only new teacher. A man was sat in a compartment by himself, so he lowered his hood and entered. "New as well, are you? Leythan Selwyn - pleased to meet you." His movements were fluid and flouncy, as though entering through a sliding door was a grand finale of his dance. He sat opposite the man, poised and graceful, loosening the ribbon from his hair.

@Frederick Renshaw

As his eyes scanned down the page, Frederick folded the paper in half as he saw a fellow adult join him in the compartment. He pulled his legs back to allow the other adult some room to sit.

"You got that right, Leythan. I'm Fred Renshaw, pleased to meet you as well," Frederick responded, holding his hand out diplomatically.

Various rustling could be heard as he firmly grasped the newspaper with his other hand. "Which subject are you teaching? It's my duty to inform these kids of the birds and the bees."

@Leythan Selwyn

He took his hand delicately to his own, giving it a gentle shake. It was interesting to feel the contrast of his hands in another man's, as his were usually a lot softer and maintained by manicure. Or MAN-icure, as he liked to say. Sitting back again, he moved his hands through his hair to smooth down the link inside of it from the ribbon.

"Oh," he said, surprised to hear it, "Well thank Merlin you're here. I had a fear that students would be asking me awkward sorts of questions, but now I know I can just pass them over to you."

He chuckled lightly.

"I will be teaching traditional dance as part of the new core structure, as well as leading needlework classes as an extra curricular. So I'll be forcing them closer together, and you'll be warding them apart."

@Frederick Renshaw

He sounded like a man but he kind of looked and his hands felt like a woman's? Well, it reminded him of more topics he'd need to cover in his classes so all students would be able to heed his words and knowledge. He would just have to see what supplies and contraceptives were already in the hospital wing before special-ordering them for educational purposes.

"Dancing? That's a very new subject as I don't remember that when I attended..." Frederick chuckled, finally setting his newspaper to the side of him as he pulled his hand back. "Lochlan said he needed someone to keep these students from making poor decisions, and he decided I was best for the job. Is it right that there was an epidemic of teen pregnancies last term?"

As the other man looked to be younger than him, perhaps he'd be more familiar with Hogwarts' current climate.

@Leythan Selwyn

"New to this term - part of the Headmaster's new core structure. He certainly sees the importance of having well-rounded students Hogwarts can be proud of."

He glanced at the front page of his newspaper but saw nothing of interest. Crossing his legs over elegantly, he leant back on his palms and considered what Renshaw was saying.

"I had heard that to be the case, yes," Leythan confirmed, "I had attended a wedding in the summer of a heavily pregnant, freshly graduated girl to the Father. My younger siblings informed me of two others, both of which have one or two years left of their education to complete. So going by school student's standards, I suppose it was something of an epidemic."

He sighed.

"If I had made a girl pregnant at school, I'm sure my Mother would make sure I paid for it for the rest of my miserable life..."

@Frederick Renshaw

He nodded. "I see. I was told that I'm not the first to teach health here, only that the previous professor wasn't the best at his job." Thankfully, that meant Frederick would have an easier time adjusting to being a professor with an actual curriculum. He could only do better than the previous professor.

"Were your siblings able to relay to you if they received any substantial education related to their health? I know the younger students will be learning all about their changing bodies. I'll have to try to get one of the healers to talk to the girls about their periods."

He stroked his slightly stubbly chin thoughtfully. It would be far too awkward if he tried teaching that bit. At least the topics for the older students would have broader applications.

"My mum would've told me to at least pay child support if the child wasn't given up for adoption if I had done that..."

@Leythan Selwyn

"The evidence is startling..." he murmured.

Yet when he was at Hogwarts, there wasn't much in the way of that sort of education either. It didn't come from home, but it had come from a saving grace: his Aunt, Eluren. Only she did it in such a thunder-clap way that he and his brothers were scared out of their wits most of the time.

"I'm not certain, but I rather doubt they had such an education."

To draw this conversation away from puberty and periods, a thought had occurred to him: "Perhaps we could help one another. As I am sure there will be a lot of students protesting to my lessons--" Let's face it: the mudbloods. "--perhaps you could emphasise the importance of exercise when it comes to their general and sexual health. Then, in return, I shall give them the best form of exercise, and in a way that they can safely express feeling for one another."

@Frederick Renshaw

"I think that is the best possible way to make sure our students heed our instructions. I will have to go into physical movement as I've been told that I should definitely hold some classes in the gymnasium, that particular room is also extremely new and unfamiliar to me."

Frederick gave Leythan a small smile, pleased that they'll both have an easier time adjusting to the teaching routine by helping each other out.

"Tell me, what are the current batch of students like? Any behaviors I should look out for and keep in mind?"

@Leythan Selwyn

Leythan smiled back at him. It was nice to be around other men sometimes. In his line of expertise, he usually dealt with women.

"I only know those who I am related to, or those who are friends of the family," he informed him, "So I suppose I could begin with my brothers - Tontas is sensible and rather sensitive - Comarth is just about the opposite of that. I doubt either of them will be much trouble for you, but I wouldn't expect Comarth to have too much contribution. His mind wanders frequently, you see."

He gave it some more thought.

"That portly boy - Burke. He seems a little too big for his boots, if you catch my meaning. Other than that, I can't think of anything too challenging. That being said, I'm only speaking of the ones I know. I suppose we will be finding out other behaviours together."

@Frederick Renshaw

Frederick nodded thoughtfully as he wondered how exactly some of the classes would be split up; as health was one of those subjects that was guaranteed to be taught to the entire school, he knew that no matter what, he was going to have quite the roster of students unlike the core classes that only taught per year.

"Out of those, I have to worry most about Burke then?" he inquired, wondering which year groups the three of them would end up being in. "I suppose we will be then. How familiar with you with any of the other professors? I don't think a single one from when I attended still work here."

Hogwarts was a whole different ballgame than it was tending to quidditch players and helping them stay fit for matches.

@Leythan Selwyn

"I wouldn't say worry. Worry would imply he was more of a burden than a flea, which is anything but true."

He grinned widely without bearing teeth, the snigger in his throat short but cruel.

"Professor Riddle was my Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher when I was at Hogwarts, so I know him fairly well. I left around six years ago now, however. The Deputy Headmistress is like us - it will be her first year here. Out of the current staff members, she is the one I am most familiar with, as she is my Aunt."

He tilted his head to the side slightly, folding his arms on top of his lap.

"If you prefer a straight forward and resolute sort of temperament, you will get on with her rather well."

@Frederick Renshaw

"Ah, I see, very good. At least we won't be the only ones who are entirely new to our jobs. I'm used to working with pro quidditch players, so I have to get adjusted to being stationary and in one timezone. How about you?"

A pulse of music began blasting down further down the carriage. Sticking a finger in his ear, Frederick winced as it was clearly not the kind of music he'd listen to.

"What's with the noise? This isn't a club!"

@Leythan Selwyn

"Ah - a world traveller, are you? It will take time for you to adjust, indeed. When we travelled to--"

An obscenely loud ruckus cut him off. Although it was at a distance, it was still enough to drown out his normal speaking voice: something he was completely, and utterly offended by. Frederick shared the same resentment, apparently, as they were pulling faces at each other.

"The first test of asserting our authority happened sooner than I thought," he said bitterly, raising his voice over the noise and his company's ear plugging. "Allow me to take care of this one." It didn't matter if Frederick had heard him or not, as his intentions were very clear. He stood up resentfully, slid open the compartment door and pranced away in a swish of his cloak.

@Frederick Renshaw

As he watched his colleague depart for the time being, Frederick glanced out of the compartment. He unfolded his newspaper and resumed reading the comics, occasionally looking to see how the disruptive student was being disciplined.

@Leythan Selwyn

Leythan returned to the compartment similarly to how he left: he twirled about the door and slid it shut like a ballet stretch.

Taking his seat once more, he removed the smartphone from his pocket and showed it to Frederick.

"Do you have much knowledge on this?" he asked, hoping he would say 'no'. If he said 'no', that meant they could probably enjoy further conversation without any forced friendliness.

@Frederick Renshaw

Now that Leythan had returned, Frederick put down the newspaper and squinted curiously at the mirror of sorts that his colleague showed him.

"Not really, no. What is it?"

@Leythan Selwyn

"A muggle device - a smart phone, apparently. This is what was causing the noise," he confirmed, turning it in his hand and inspecting it again. There were all sorts of marks where that boy's fingers were touching it. Urgh. "I was in two minds about confiscating it, but then he admitted to tampering with it. Using enchantments on a muggle object. Surely, nothing of the sort should be allowed in our world - let alone Hogwarts."

@Frederick Renshaw

"A muggle device? Who'd bring one of those into the wizarding world? They're useless here!"

Besides, there was this new thing called crystals that worked quite well. Frederick found them to be extremely useful when coordinating appointments and training sessions with the last team he traveled with.

He leaned forward, looking closely at this smartphone. It was odd to see in person. He'd only ever heard about them as, naturally, some of the players he worked with were muggleborn.

"I thought it was illegal to make muggle objects magical without Ministry knowledge?"

@Leythan Selwyn

Leythan nodded quietly to acknowledge and agree with everything he was saying.

"Precisely," he said, drawing his hair back over his forehead and pinning it behind his ear mischievously. "To bring all of that to our employer on the first day of our employment. What a find. Even if we had a series of massive cock ups hereafter, Riddle would still think highly of us."

He chuckled.

"Perhaps you can take the next one if there's another spot of bother," he suggested, feeling he was being courteous.

@Frederick Renshaw

Being seen as better than most of their colleagues would be a safe way to keep the job for years after...

"We've set the bar high for our co. workers then. What are the chances that they overlooked it in years past?"

Frederick had heard that past leadership wasn't quite so competent before his boss became Headmaster.

He glanced through the compartment screen, squinting his eyes to be on the lookout for any other hooligans in the corridor. "I think I'll do just that. We found our first potential problem student, so we'll have to keep an eye on him during class."

@Leythan Selwyn

Cernunnos ran up the corridor and found himself near where the professor Selwyn came out. He immediately turned around and headed to the other end of the train.