Clearing One's Mind }{ Jonathan&Aelwyn

[Professor Jonathan Quinn]

Jonathan sighed as he sat with his students essays before him. Rubbing his temple, he finished marking the essay that laid before him, giving it an all around A. The essay had been good, but the student could have done so much more, they'd gotten O's before, so Jonathan was somewhat concerned, maybe the student hadn't understood the lesson, or maybe they'd left it to the last minute. Whatever the reason, he'd ask the student about it when he saw them the next day. Looking at the pile he had left to do, he gritted his teeth and rubbed his eyes before placing his pen on the desk. He couldn't do any more, it was getting late and he was finding it hard to concentrate. And even with the room filled with candles, he was strill struggling to see the parchment before him. This was what he truely hated about being a professor, he could handle the students and the work, but he found it so hard with his bad sight. Not only were some students cold to him, but he often had difficulty with basic actions, and it frustrated him.

Pushing himself out of his chair, he waved his hand, cutting the flames on the canadles out. Standing in the darkness for the moment, he allowed himself to be consummed with the thought that for once he wasn't blinded. Anyone who walked in here would be the same as him, and it gave him great comfort. Though he still had some sight, it wasn't much. It was why he'd struggled at the ministry, and was partialy the reason why he'd quit. He often missed his job, it had been fun going out and catching dark wizards. But this was the best place for him, this way, he could help prevent dark wizards from being created. The last thing in ministry needed was more people like Voldemort.

Deciding it would be good to go for a walk to clear his head, Jonathan took his wan out, muttering 'Lumos' as he held it limply in his hand. As light began to shine from his wand, he began to slowly make his way out of the classroom, being careful not to accidently bump into anything. He already had enough bruises as it was, he didn't need anymore. He had considered setting out the classroom, in a way that would enable him to move around freely without the risk of injury, but it would have been pointless and it would only have highlighted his problem.

For a brief moment as Jonathan walked through the corridors, heading to an unknown area, his thoughts rested upon one of his students Diomedea Rosier. The last time the two had actualy talked, it hadn't ended well. In fact, it seemed Diomedea now disliked being around him. She had been quiter in lessons, and he was worried. When he'd last spoken to her, she hadn't been eating. And it seemed their conversation had angered her. Jonathan didn't understand how or why, but he assumed it was because he'd mentioned her mother. It would probably be sinsible to apologise, but Jonathan still believed he'd been right to bring up her mother. How else would he shock her into sorting herself out?

Pushing Diomedea out of his mind, Jonathan soon found himself in the North Tower. Stroking the wall beside him, he began to think of his own life at Hogwarts when he'd been a student. It seemed so long ago. Back then, life had been good. Back then he'd had everything, he'd had a family, a sister, and his sight. Now all of that was gone. Jonathan didn't regret his decision to get revenge for his sister, people always assumed he did, after all, it had affected him rather deeply. He'd been close to his sister, out of all the people he'd interacted with, she'd understood him the most. And loosing her had been like loosing himself. It had broken him.

Going to the window, he leaned against the frame and looked down to the grounds below him, he couldn't see it all that well, but his memory was sharp enough to allow him to know what was there. Hogwarts had hardly changed since he'd been a student, and Jonathan had often come here and looked down at the sea of students laughing away. It had been a hobby of sorts. And he had loved the view. Now all he saw was a sea of darkness. It did depress him at times, but he knew that nothing could be done. A curse couldn't be undone, and no spell could fix someone's sight. He was cursed to be like this for the rest of his life, he just had to accept it.

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[Professor Aelwyn Ahlgren]

There was still a student sleeping on the couch in her office when she closed the door. They had talked for a long time before the girl's eyes had begun to droop and in the silence that followed she was asleep. Aelwyn didn't want to wake her even if she had to pause and question herself as a professor. It wasn't professional to let a student sleep in one's office... But she trusted nothing would be tampered with and it had been a very rough night. She would circle back on the latter part of her patrol and escort her back to her house to sleep through the morning. Since it was a Hufflepuff she considered not even waking the girl in the transition and decided that it would depend on when she got back.

Once the door was completely closed, she flicked her wand to illuminate her path and began her casual (and often random) route through the school. The atmosphere was quiet and calming when disregarding Peeves and Aelwyn actually appreciated the time she spent alone monitoring the halls. During the mornings she accepted students into her office, then went to the staff room for breakfast, then taught her classes, accepted more students into her safe haven while correcting papers, and the like, and... Don't get her wrong, she really loved being surrounded by the staff and the students, but listening to her footsteps echo in the empty hallway was just soothing. It gave her time to think; about her family, but mostly her sister. Sarah was an auror on the field and although she was proud of her, she was extremely worried for her safety.

Especially with Nolan's disappearance.

He was supposed to be on parole, checking in with his officers every week for the next two years. However, the moment they let him out it seemed that he had disappeared and not in a violent or suspicious kind of way. It was in the dangerous kind of way, with all his money and affairs changed around to live a new life. Aelwyn worried her lip and began climbing the steps of the north tower. (Teenagers did crazy things in these towers; things she wasn't too keen on walking in on, but she was the adult here). Anyway, with Nolan out there her family could be in danger. Not to mention that he could literally come waltzing into the school with little or no problem.

That wasn't something she wanted her students to see...

Aelwyn paused, her light shedding on a lone figure at the top step of the tower. She froze momentarily, her mind and heart racing. He was here. Nolan was here and he was going to... No, that wasn't right. No, no, no. She needed to calm down and think like the rational, intelligent woman she was. For one, the figure above her was shorter than Nolan and second he was emitting some sadness and melancholy, NOT anger. The blond took a slow, quiet breath and continued up the stairs. Light illuminated the foot of the man's robe, and hazel eyes took it in, trying to recall... Ahah!

"Good evening, Jonathon." Her quiet, feminine voice eased through the silence. Aelwyn remembered seeing those robes earlier as the quiet professor made his way through the halls. "I didn't expect you to be patrolling tonight."

[Professor Jonathan Quinn]

The darkness that enveloped Jonathan and the grounds below him gave him and odd sense of peace and comfort. He was usually frustrated with having his world vertially in darkness. But for once he felt safe and in control. His life had been tough since being cursed, but he'd survived, he'd learnt to overcome his problem. True, he often did get frustrated, even now thee was a level of frustration, especially thanks to the fact that he could not see the beauty that he knew was below him. But he had to accept what had happened to him and move on.

Tracing the window frame with his fingers, he began to think of his life when he'd been in Hogwarts. Back then, he'd been a quiet and reserved Ravenclaw. Girls had fallen over his sharp blue eyes, and although he'd rejected most, it had been somewhat fun to have a girlfriend. Sure, he'd enjoyed puzzles more then being with a girl, but that didn't mean he'd been bored when with a girl. In fact, he'd been rather happy and at times rather boastful. But he'd grown up, those days were over and done with. Now anyone he was interessted in seemed to shy away. And all because of the curse that he'd been inflicted with. It wasn't fair, why did people have to judge him on his appearance. Okay, true enought, he could be anti social at times, and being an auror had affected him somewhat. But that wasn't enough reason to cower from him.

Clenching his fist, he punched the wall, quickly regretting it as he felt a quick surge of pain. He had to learn to control his temper, he didn't want to go causing himself any more inuries. He just wasn't able to find a way of controlling the frustration he had inside of him. Being at Hogwarts was not doing him any favours. He hated how some of the students taunted and laughed at him. And if they didn't do that, then they never spoke to him. Of course, there were those who accepted him, but Jonathan couldn't help but focus more upon those who wanted nothing to do with him. He'd already had to put Alina Vania Kerl in detention more then once for her attitude towards him, and yet he seemed to have done nothing to the way she addressed him.

A small amount of light seemed to fill the room, and Jonathan slyly reached for his wand. He was probably over reacting, it was most likely a student out of bed, but if it happened to be an intruder, he had to be ready. He wasnt going to slip up, not again. Turning around he raised his wand, but soon heard the familiar voice of Aelwyn Ahlgren, the Astronomy teacher. Lowering his wand, he pocketed it and sighed. His hearing had improved dramaticly since loosing his sight, it was how he got around these days, and it was good to hear a familiar and kind voice, rather then the one's inside his head. "Aelwyn" Keeping his face straight, he walked towards Aelwyn, hoping to see her properly. "I was tired of marking essays, and as the head of Slytherin, I saw it only fit to patrol tonight." Jonathan had been offered the position and was still having trouble adjusting to it, especially given the fact that he'd been a Ravenclaw. But hopefully he'd be able to keep a close eye on his house, he knew well enough that some of them were interessted in the Dark Arts, and he hoped to put a strop to it. "I'm sorry if I startled you in any way."

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[Professor Aelwyn Ahlgren]

There were too many words to express how relieved she was that it wasn’t her haunting ex-husband, or two students misbehaving. Actually, it was a bit of a pleasure to find the silent (and slightly brooding) professor that she was familiar with. They spoke some mornings in the staff room, but rarely saw each other outside of that time because of classes they had to teach. Aelwyn was regrettably a bit of a recluse up in these towers, buried away either looking at the stars, reading her books, or spending time with students. Jonathon offered a slightly sad aura, but she felt comfortable with his presence and not nearly as skittish as she normally was around men. A mild smile appeared, softly expressing both a friendly greeting and her relief.

“Very responsible of you,” She joked without scorn. It was fairly obvious that the patrol was merely a distraction from his intensive task but who was to blame him? Going through a couple hundred different handwritings in a night was a difficult task. Especially for someone with a curse on his eyes; oh yes, Aelwyn did recognize the obvious oddity of his eyes and being the Ravenclaw that she was, she recognized it almost immediately. “I’m actually glad you’re here. It’s unusually quiet tonight. Not even Peeves is causing his normal ruckus!” True, the poltergeist was awfully silent tonight.

Perhaps he was down stairs.

The blond professor continued up the steps to meet him half-way, her wand held considerately off to the side. No need to blind the poor man further. “In all honesty, I needed to slip out of my office. One of my students has had a rough night and fell asleep; I thought it best to leave her to herself for a while. I’d hate to wake her.”

[Professor Jonathan Quinn]

The professor of Astronomy seemed almost pleased to see him, but Jonathan could make out something else in her expression. What that was, he wasn't truely sure, but it looked something like....relief. Had she been expecting someone else here? Jonathan was of course curious about what was going on in that bright mind of her's, but he decided to not ask. She could get angry and storm off, and he was glad that he had company, it was keeping away the memories and the bitterness within him. With Aelwyn here, he had a source of distraction, and what a fine distraction she was.

The two often talked in the staff room, which was unusual for Jonathan. People had never truely been interessted in him, not that he cared. He was a solitary creature by nature, he didn't mind being alone. But even when he'd worked in the Ministry, he and his colleges had rarely talked, unless they had to. And it had only gotten worse after his accident. So when he'd joined the staff at Hogwarts, he hadn't really expected anyone to talk to him. But surprise, surprise, the kind natured Aelwyn had approached him. Jonathan wasn't afraid to say that he considered her a friend, and he was glad to have someone who didn't judge him on his appearance.

Smiling in return, Jonathan walked up to Aelwyn, trying to see her better in the darkness. The only light that seemed to aid him was the light reflecting off of the moon. As it shone onto the prodessor's face, he couldn't help but think how beautiful she looked in the moonlight. He quickly pushed these thoughts away and locked them deep within the cages of his mind. It would be inappropiate to do anything, and he would not tarnish their friendship. "Yes.. well." Swallowing, Jonathan looked at the ground and recomposed himself. "As far as the essays go, it won't take long to mark most of them. It seems some of my students think they can get away with only half an essay."

At the mention of Peeves, Jonathan smiled and chuckled, the two had crossed many times, and Jonathan seemed to have earned a reputation with Peeves. He remembered from his time at Hogwarts that only the Slytherin Ghost could frighten Peeves. But it seemed Peeves like many others was both disgusted and frightened of his eyes. It was the only time Jonathan had been happy with the curse put upon him. He'd threatened to use his vast knowledge of spells on Peeves if he ever did anything to him, so the ghost had probably spotted him and taken off. "I don't think Peeves will bother anyone, not tonight anyway." Pausing, Jonathan looked around him quickly, making sure that Peeves was indeed out of the way. "He's rather frightened of me, especially since I threatened to use a spell that could harm ghosts. Of course there's no such thing, but he doesn't know that."

Jonathan frowned ever so slightly when Aelwyn mentioned that a student was sleeping in her office. There was probably nothing wrong with it, but he himself wouldn't allow it. The closer you got with a student, the more dangerous path you walked on. But he was probably making a mountain out of a moal hole. Aelwyn was sensible and responsible enough to not let anything happen, so there was no need for him to think in such a way. "It was kind of you to comfort her, these are dark times, it's no wonder the students are having rough nights."

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