May 4th, 1894 - Flower Show

It wasn't as if Mason could claim any credit here— he'd only had the younger half of the Potts sisters and he certainly hadn't taught them how to do this, but still, he felt a little proud, seeing all of their hard work today. Of course he also had a good professional relationship with Mrs. Potts and now Quincey was part of the family as well, so really, it did feel like a nice connection.

It also brought up that danged travel bug that Lissington had gotten him hooked on with all of the tropical and international flowers to go with the international beasts. Perhaps he ought to do some work abroad this summer after all. Too bad he had promised himself that he would take the social season a little more seriously this year. Pending how that went, next summer might be one of travel regardless, whether that be a more tame honeymoon or something a little more adventurous remained to be seen. This was a good way to pass the time away from the school however and it also gave him some inspiration for what might come next in his itinerary looking forward.

After spending quite a bit of time with the birds and then some of the larger animals, Mason wandered off toward the picnic area and the topiaries for a little snack from Quin's and a lemonade. With a pastry in hand and the drink in the other, he meandered toward one of the trees near the edge to find himself a little place to eat. "Excuse me," he said to the pretty redhead already near the space. "Is it alright if I share the tree? I don't want to be a bother." Mason had a long ago learned that he always sought out some sort of permission before taking up space.

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Chastity Bentley c/o Henry Berkwood

  

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magic by MJ the magnificent

Chastity enjoyed events like this, where she didn't need to leave the confines of Irvingly to enjoy mingling among society, especially in a very informal way. It was something well within her comfort zone. And anyway, she'd always liked flowers--perhaps the least controversial of all of Chastity's admittedly most uncontroversial opinions.

She had parked herself with a pastry in the picnic area and thankfully did not have a mouthful of food just at the moment when someone walked up to her. Looking up, Chastity said, "Oh, yes, of course," before shifting over unnecessarily--there was plenty of room already, after all. It was only then that it registered that she recognized the man. "Professor Skeeter, isn't it?" It felt like a lifetime ago since Chastity had been at Hogwarts.

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Though it wasn't too hot out, Mason was thankful for the shade the tree provided. He took a seat on the ground nearby, careful not to spill his drink, but not too close so as to be a nuisance. "Oh, yes." He should have been used to people knowing who he was, but Mason was also typically pretty good at recognizing people in return.

"I'm sorry, I'm getting forgetful in my old age, did you attend Hogwarts?" She could have been a student of his in the past, but not one he'd spent a lot of time with. Mason was truly terrible at guessing the ages of young women as well, so he was at a bit of a loss here.

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magic by MJ the magnificent

Chastity laughed. "I wouldn't worry about your memory. I don't think we overlapped very much?" Well, not unless her memory was getting bad, too. "I left in '85." Her hands were a bit full at the moment, or she might have extended one in greeting. She thought a lack of formality was probably understandable at a time like this. "I am Chastity Bentley."

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Relieved his memory was not indeed failing him, her information at least meant she had been at the school early in his career and not for very long at that. "It's a pleasure to see you again, Miss Bentley." Mason assumed he'd had her as a student back then, unless she hadn't taken Herbology at the NEWT level? It didn't matter at the moment. He'd been teaching for a decade now, surely he couldn't remember every single student. Right?

Getting comfortable in his spot, Mason set his lemonade to the side, careful that it would stay upright. "How have you been spending your time since?" Mason did like to know what students got up to after graduation. He liked to think he had an inkling while they were under his tutelage what they might become, but realistically he could only guess.

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magic by MJ the magnificent

"Teaching, actually," Chastity said. She didn't often get the chance to interact with her old professors, so there was something novel about talking about her own career path with one. "I was a governess for a couple of families, and then last year I started working at the village school."

She paused to take a bite from her pastry. The refreshments here really were quite nice, she mused.

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"Oh?" Mason's interest was piqued as he polished off his snack. He leaned back on his hands, legs stretched out before him, getting comfortable. "How are you finding it?" It would be wildly different than the type of teaching Mason was doing, but no less work, a different kind of difficult, he was sure. "What is it that you are teaching them?" Irvingly might not be any magical subjects, just the basics of arithmetic and reading, but having a good sense of both would help the students no matter how far they went with their education.

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magic by MJ the magnificent

"It's certainly different," she mused, "but I'm enjoying it." It had been a thing to get used to, teaching so many students rather than just one or two at a time. But it had its advantages, too. Weekends to herself, for example. "And oh, much of the basics. Reading, writing. Arithmetic and some science." Nothing ground-breaking, but enough, she hoped, to give them a start.

"And you?" she asked. "How is Hogwarts treating you?"

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Nodding along, her answers lining up with his assumed responsibilities, Mason chuckled as she turned the question around on him. "Hard to believe, but I will be wrapping up my tenth year at the end of the month." A whole decade down, doing something he truly enjoyed. Before returning to Hogwarts he'd felt a little lost with what to do in the field he had come to find a home in, but sharing the knowledge and teaching had turned out to be exactly what he had needed. "Still enjoying the challenge of it." He had seen students go through their entire Hogwarts careers, it was sort of wild.

"I'd be happy to put together some simple gardening materials for your students." Mason offered as he looked over at Miss Bentley with a smile. "But only if you want, no pressure." Simple planting could be added easily into her science if she wanted. It would be practical for some of the working class students as well.

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magic by MJ the magnificent

"Has it really been so long?" Chastity said thoughtfully. "Time certainly moves fast, doesn't it?" Somehow, the fact that it was nine years since she had left Hogwarts felt both like too long and too short an amount of time.

"I would appreciate it," she said honestly, smiling. "And I imagine many of my students will appreciate the chance for lessons that require physical activity." Chastity herself couldn't remember ever having nearly so much trouble sitting still for long periods, but she couldn't say if that was a natural inclination or a learned one. It was too ingrained now, at any rate.

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"Indeed," Mason tended to forget his fortieth birthday wasn't too far away, but he didn't feel thirty-seven either, so maybe there was that. He had spent so much of his life in the same motions that it all blurred together a little bit.

Pleased that Miss Bentley agreed to his rather forward proposal, Mason smiled genuinely in return. "I have some free time this summer, I could come by the school and bring along materials and get you set up?" This way he could cultivate some seedlings in the greenhouses and transplant them for her to use with the students in the fall. "Is there anything specific you would like for them to be able to do?" She might not have a direction, as he'd clearly just put her on the spot, but Mason was not trying to override her teaching style or curriculum, either. He had always just been the kind to share what he knew and would be happy to extend that to the school in Irvingly.

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magic by MJ the magnificent

"Oh, I'm sure whatever you think would be a good starting point will be fine," Chastity said, because really, she had no idea. She hadn't touched a plant since her last time in the Hogwarts greenhouses, and doubted she'd have the space for a garden any time in the near future. Needless to say, there was probably a thing or two she'd learn along with her students. "But I would appreciate whatever time you can spare."

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"I'll put some crates together of things you could use, or might need. I have some young vegetable plants that I can bring to get you started, or cut flowers are generally easy to work with." The vegetables would be more useful, he suspected. It would be nice if he could help get Miss Bentley set up with a little seasonal vegetable garden. It would serve many purposes.

Easing into a more comfortable position, Mason sipped at his drink. "When would be a good time to bring supplies by? Once school lets out for the summer, I should be pretty open." Barring a few trips with Gus here and there, if they could squeeze them in.

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magic by MJ the magnificent

"Summer should be pretty quiet," Chastity said, which was a strange thought. She already didn't know what she would do with herself. Well, she would figure it out. "Some time early in the summer would probably be best, before I get busy preparing for next year."

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"Perfect," it would give him plenty of time to figure out what he was going to put together, gather the supplies and come up with something useful for her. "I can send you an owl when everything is ready and then I can bring it by at your earliest convenience?" He was curious to see the schoolhouse in Irvingly. Mason had to wonder just how different that sort of teaching was. He only taught the one subject over multiple years, Miss Bentley had to do multiple for multiple levels. He wasn't sure he would be able to keep up. It left him impressed by her.

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You can probably wrap and we could do something new?

  

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magic by MJ the magnificent

"That sounds perfect," Chastity said with a smile. "I look forward to it, thank you."

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I'll start something new!