Ignatius had come to the office of his colleague, a man he who had briefly been his own professor and now someone he saw as a friend. The portraits were at it again, perceiving the world through the narrow window they inhabited and spreading badly informed rumours. It was quite unfair on the poor girl "walking about unchaperoned" of all things, making @"Emma binns" out to be some kind of temptress, she was on prefect duty and doing her rounds. The faculty knew this which is why she had not suffered sanctions, but, rumours were rumours, and there was, as always more to it.
"How are you feeling? That business after your party has everyone shaken up?" he asked his colleague. Ripples had gone through faculty. Professor Prince himself was quite accustomed to untimely deaths in his travels to the less safe parts of the world as a cursebreaker, but to see a colleague perish in such a way was... well it was never a kindness.
"I hear there are rumours about, can't say I blame you leaving the party early, they can sometimes be taxing. I... suppose you've heard the other rumours regards that night?" He asked, just on the off chance that he hadn't.
Ignatius grinned at response from his colleague the rumour mill of Hogwarts was very vibrant. It was an inevitability with several hundred teenagers boarding together, and the portraits seemed to get a kick out of messing with the residents too, a little rumour here, a tall tale there and then watch the fun unfold.
"I too try to avoid that particular part of school life, it does nobody any good" The Professor now began to wonder whether troubling Professor Skeeter with this was the correct course of action, but then again, he had come here to have an honest discussion with a man he knew and trusted if Mason was not aware of the ever worsening rumours, then perhaps his objectivity would only improve.
He let out a little sigh. "The particular rumour involves myself and one of the prefect girls, Miss Binns, Sixth year." he waited a moment to ensure that the name registered with the other man. Nothing had actually happened on the evening in question, but it was hard to hide the obvious affection he had for the girl when he mentioned her name.
"I ran into the girl in the night, she was on prefect duties, and we chatted, it was pleasant. But these portraits and their love of salacious rumours...." he rolled his eyes and laughed. "You know me, I've handled worse than idle gossip in my career, but the situation does concern me for how it might affect the girl... and." he hesitated, there was clearly more, but he wished to allow Mason to respond to his first comments, whether he had in fact heard the rumours. Or whether he had insight, to give Ignatius more idea how his next news might be taken.
Mason Skeeter @"daffodil potts"
Ignatius smiled and nodded as Mason Skeeter spoke and described the perils of inviting further rumours. Stories, however fanciful could easily be taken and turned them into something harmful. "What you say does not surprise me even slightly and whilst I am well aware there are worse things that can befall a girl than being spoken to alone, it's a risk I shall take in mind in future." He scratched the scar on his face as he spoke. It was a strange situation, they had to be treated with kid gloves as if they were fragile, and yet only a day ago, Emma turned seventeen and the clock started counting down on her being married, how was she supposed know to be a girl or a woman.
"Their education and their wellbeing are our top priority."
"This we absolutely can agree on..." he said with a large smile. To take this as open endorsement to take any action that he deemed met this criteria would obviously be naivety of the highest order, but Professor Prince could certainly see his own argument to that matter. "Miss Flitwick tells me she is in a situation where her education will immediately end, and she will marry the first suitor her Father finds once she turns seventeen, which was yesterday. If I were to find myself in a position to prevent such a travesty, would you agree that I something I should at least consider?" He was more than considering it, his letter to Mr Flitwick was written and an owl waited to send it, but if he framed it like this, and it was the truth after all, then people would hopefully think more of him and not less. "I plan to ask Mr Flitwick If I may be the one to take her hand. If any man shall do it, someone who knows her and has her interests at heart is better for her." He braced himself for the likely chastisement, but being dishonest about it would only worsen things and ask for it to be treated as sordid as some of the rumours suggested. Professor Skeeter had taught him and whilst they had not remained in contact during the years between his graduation and his return, he hoped he would judge him fairly.
Note - Binns family has been retconned to Flitwick
Mason Skeeter @"Daffodil Potts"
Ignatius was not shocked, but was a little taken aback by the forthright manner that the other professor spoke with. "My family is of an appropriate station to for her father and if I were still a cursebreaker, there would be no question about whether I was a suitable candidate. I have never taught the girl, nor am I likely to. But I do unfortunately see your point. Reputation is an ass, the girl should be forced into a miserable existence with someone like my cousin, just to spare the blushes of people who should mind their own bloody business." he realised he was holding a cigarette in his and and was tapping it nervously before flipping it over again and again. Maybe a career I'm teaching would turn out to not be for him. He would rather not be forced to resign over something so petty as public perception, particularly considering the reason he had left his last posting as a curse breaker.
"I apologise for my language. Please to not use the crude terms of the gossip. We were not "cornered unchaperoned" A painting saw a girl on her prefect patrol speaking politely with a professor who happened to be getting some air on the bridge and decided to tell a tale."
He let out a long sigh. "I do not intend to wed the girl while she studies, nor make it a public spectacle. There are a couple of NEWT girls, and even OWLs who are engaged and it does not affect their studies." A curious look crossed his face as he leaned in a little closer to ask a question he had already posed to himself privatelty. "I am aware that the headmaster married a student not long after she herself graduated, one who would have been in Hogwarts at the same time as Professor Skeeter. May I ask how considered amongst society?" he knew very little of the details beyond what he had endeavoured to learn when he first joined the school, perhaps it was an entirely different situation, perhaps it was not.
Ah yes, the semantic deifference between an engagement and a betrothal, both promised marriage between specific parties at a specific juncture, this was indeed a misstep by the professor, too many years away, but a semantic difference was one that could be rectified. "I have no intention of throwing anything in the Headmaster's face, he is an honorable man, I only sought to understand how he himself handled such a situation." he sighed again as the other Professor outlined what he saw as his options. He did not intend to marry Miss Flitwick until after she was allowed to graduate anyway, it was the whole point, so the options did open up a possibility.
"It does baffle me that a noble establishment such as this, particularly one that itself stands on the outside of society, would seek to expell a promising girl based solely on the fact that a gentleman had signaled his intent to one day marry her." it would be amusing if it wasnt true, although the thought crossed his mind of some of the more unpleasant girls in his own time in Hogwarts. Perhaps it would have been fortuitous had he asked his father to find them grooms and rid him of their presence at school.
He pondered the options, why had he overlooked the option of betrothal? "OK, my intention is for Miss Flitwick to remain to study, as she wishes, it was to be a condition of the arrangement with her father. Would she be allowed to remain a student if she were betrothed? Or would her punishment be the same if she were to be engaged?" Would he be allowed to? It was legal, it was within social convention if her father accepted so he saw no reason other than personal resentment to the idea by the headmaster. As much as he had other options should teaching not work out, he enjoyed it here, it made him happy and it soothed the wounds from his previous career. "It is unfortunate that society sees that girls are of age the day they turn seventeen, had her father been willing to wait to find a suitor until she debuted after she graduated, none of this would ever have been a concern." she shrugged apologetically but also with a measure of defeat, sure the ridiculous rumour that a professor dared to speak to a student would circulate, but it would die down, it did make him wonder who might be fueling further rumours about the situation as he an Emma had not even spoken outside of running in to her in the great hall since that night, but children could be malicious for no reason but for fun at times.