Ah, always an awkward moment. The staff of Hogwarts incorporated quite a number of them really but Connie could hardly pretend she had not noticed a certain degree of hierarchy in the staff room when everybody was together. (Apart, of course, for the Headmaster’s ghastly staff meetings in which almost everybody joined forces to dislike him intensely.)

She was not ashamed of her position, in fact she was rather proud of it, but still she hesitated for a moment. Carmelina – fittingly a beautiful name - was clearly a woman of some intellect and a nagging part of her was reluctant to expose herself for what she was. She could lie. Pretend to be more than she was, but what was the point?

“Life,” she replied with a wry smile. “I’m not a teacher, I’m the matron for Slytherin house.”

There, it was done, and nobody had died of shame over admitting to an extremely respectable position. And it was hardly as though she were an idiot! She could debate with the very best of them and only recently had been reading a book she was sure her new friend must have come across given her…her…

“You’re Carmelina Cramming.” She stated, realisation washing over her. She had been reading Ancient Rune, Ancient Tombs on and off, had found it interesting and had been impressed that a woman – a married woman at that – could make such wonderful discoveries. And now she might be in their midst. The Headmaster would hardly be swayed by fame but he could not doubt her qualifications!

“I read your book,” she added, for clarification, grinning moments later. “I even understood some of it.”

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MJ made me beautiful