Hogwarts Is Where The Heart Is

Chapter 7

It wasn't the last time she had a nightmare during her stay with him. When they happened, she would come down and make some warm milk and Professor Fig always miraculously seemed to have already been awake on those nights. He would come down and they would sit at the kitchen table. Sometimes she would tell him what she'd dreamt but usually they'd just sit and his presence was enough to calm her.

They never discussed it in the day. They didn't need to.

One morning as Genevieve began to do her hair into its usual strict style as she'd been trained, she paused. It had never been very comfortable. Back at the orphanage they'd threatened that they'd cut their hair off and beat them if they caught the girls with it down. But there were surely no such restrictions here. She was free to do as she pleased. So, for the first time instead of pulling the hair into a tight bun she formed a braided headband over the top with two sides and then let the rest hang free.

She looked in the mirror and saw the hair framing her face and looking far less severe. Genevieve smiled and skipped down to breakfast.

As she entered Professor Fig looked up and for a second as he looked at her, she could have sworn he was speechless.

"Everything alright Professor?" she asked. He swiftly smiled.

"Oh yes, just lost in memory."

HL

Eleazar had been eating breakfast as usual one morning when Genevieve came down. Looking up Fig found himself slightly shocked. Genevieve in all the time he'd known her had always worn her hair pulled back in a tight bun, that never looked particularly comfortable but who was he to comment on her hairstyle choices. Yet today was different. She'd braided a portion of her hair over her head and left the rest hanging down in a style nearly identical to the one Miriam had favored during their youth. He found himself slightly stunned.

"Everything alright Professor?" Genevieve asked him and he shook himself out of his revere.

"Oh yes, just lost in memory."

He went back to reading the daily prophet while Genevieve dished her own food only looking up when Genevieve asked him a question.

"Professor, who is Ranrok?" slowly Fig laid down his paper. While he didn't like to lay huge burdens upon children such as worrying about dark wizards or in this case potentially goblins attacking them. Especially when everything was currently speculation. Children deserved a chance to be children and not have to worry about things adults SHOULD be taking care of.

With that said also believed that it was foolish to try and completely shield someone from potential dangers just because of their age. It was unlikely Genevieve would be affected too much by the goblin rebellion just yet but given he seemed to be one of the few people that perceived them for the threat that they likely were it was best to put her on her guard.

HL

Genevieve glanced at the front of Professor Fig's morning paper. A portion of the front page showed a photo of a scowling goblin in armor with the title Ranrok the Rebel?

"Professor, who is Ranrok?" she asked. Professor Fig laid down the paper his normally amiable face suddenly quite serious.

"Ranrok is a goblin who has been trying to gather support against wizard kind."

"Why?" asked Genevieve.

"Because he's unhappy with the way goblins have been treated. And he isn't entirely wrong. There are indeed far too many wizards that look down upon goblins and even mistreat them simply because they believe that being wizards makes us superior."