December 10th, 1894 — Professor Lyra's Office, Mid Afternoon

It had seemed a natural suggestion when she left Samuel. His niece was now his ward, and she knew without asking that made the girl precious to Samuel. Themis hadn't known the two were related, but for five years, Miss Eleanor Griffith had delighted her as a student and made her fight off a smile on more than one occasion. The girl didn't know she was pretty, and Themis would wager that she hadn't heard how clever she was nearly as often as needed. Themis had seen glimpses of herself in the awkward, long-limbed girl with the mess of blonde curls. Perhaps that was why she mentally cheered for the girl whenever she had the nerve to speak up in class and why she had mourned losing her to the marriage mart. Any father who knew so little of their child as to think Miss Griffith would be better suited to marriage than education was an idiot who had no right directing their fate. When Samuel had told her that his niece was back at the castle, Themis had been surprised at how much the news meant to her. She had a soft spot for Miss Eleanor that had nothing to do with her uncle. All the same, when the Ravenclaw entered her office, Themis felt her heart clench.

"Miss Griffith, thank you for coming to see me. I understand an owl from a past professor may be alarming, but this is a friendly call, I promise." Themis gestured her past her work desk and toward the plush chairs around the fireplace in her office. "Please, sit. Would you like tea?" She taught for a living and yet, suddenly, one young witch had her nervous in her own domain. That boded well for the evening.

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Eleanor Griffith

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Alarming would be a vast understatement – not that anyone would truly know. When an unfamiliar owl has found her, Nell had been somewhat curious – but that curiosity had shriveled up and perished like a single droplet of water under the desert sun when she’d seen who it was from; what had she done to have the Professor of Astronomy reach out to her?

She’d fretted the whole way to Professor Lyra’s office, left with only her own thoughts on the matter.

(Was she in trouble for dropping Astronomy? Or because she only made an A in it? Had she down something wrong previous club meeting? Or had she not participated enough in the last book club meeting? Maybe she’d been seen loitering around the Astronomy tower too much, studying there instead of the library, and that was suspicious…)

Apprehension hung about her like an ill-fitting coat and this was blatantly obvious, she knew, as she knocked ever so softly and opened the door with great care, clutching the edge like a lifeline as she paused in the threshold. Even as the Professor welcomed her inside, with assurances everything was fine, Nell couldn’t shake the tension wrapped around her bones.

Professor Lyra was nice, kind even, she knew this – but the urge to make herself smaller and placate couldn’t be shaken; still, she offered a poor half-courtesy as she shuffled her way in and, with a visibly surprised stutter step, over to the plush chairs. She clasped her hands and played with her fingers to keep from chewing on them, glancing around as she tentatively sat.

“Um, yes,” her gaze darted briefly over to the professor, but did not linger before falling back to her lap: “Yes—please—th-thank you, Professor.”

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Themis Lyra

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Themis turned away briefly to conceal a smile. The poor girl was nearly shaking where she stood, her palpable tension triggering a deep sympathy for the young woman. Themis belonged in any room she entered, but that was a conscious decision. Every force in Society, besides her guardian ironically, had tried to make her grateful for existing. The right to take up space, to be a person with agency and worth, wasn't extended easily and certainly never to a young girl. Themis claimed this right, lived every day in her confidence that she was as worthy as any man around her, but it came with practice. She hoped to share this confidence with other women, like the young one before her, but change was a slow machine, and self-worth was earned and never given.

"Accio," She summoned the tea service to the table in the center of her living space, taking the chair diagonal to Miss Griffith. "How do you like your tea, Miss Griffith?" She asked gently, hoping she could be less of a fear factor. She watched her for a moment, watched her fidget, and felt compelled to expand, "Miss Eleanor," she used the girl's name, wanted her to listen closely. "On my honor, I promise this is a friendly visit. I apologize for waiting so long to speak with you, and I was remiss for not doing so sooner. I wanted to see how you are. I'm sure it is no small feat to adjust to life back at Hogwarts when you were not expecting to return."

Placing two sugar cubes in her teacup, an action she did with a convivial wink to Eleanor, Themis poured her tea and waited for the girl to voice her preference. Surely, Miss Griffith had the nerve to state her tea preferences.

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