In an Awkward Position ((Professor Foxcroft))

[Charles Driscoll H7]

On the second floor of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, in the area of the school known as the West Wing, a small boy who had just turned thirteen but looked a little younger was standing irresolutely in front of the wooden door of the Muggle Studies Professor's office. He looked very nervous and agitated and he stood for a few minutes thinking about his plan of action, almost deciding to run back to the safety of the Hufflepuff common room and abandon it. Had he any other alternative solution to his problem he would have done that, but there was no other solution he could think of. He couldn't ask the help of his friends as he was too proud to do so and he couldn’t ask for help from his family as it was they who were the reason for the tight spot he was in. Charles Driscoll, Charlie to everyone who knew him, bit on his lower lip nervously and thought desperately that he was in the wrong place and at the wrong time.

He finally gathered his courage and knocked on the door. Charles was here to ask Professor Foxcroft for money for the trip to Weinig Zug, the reason for this being that his parents had signed his permission slip but given him no money and that nobody was allowed to stay at Hogwarts during the vacation so he either had to go home or go on the trip. The thought of going home had been unbearable, and the thought of having to ask his friends for money to go on the trip even more humiliating and mortifying. Charles had thought of one solution and that was to run errands for the Professor, as he had done during the summer for his neighbours, helping them with any odd jobs from mowing their lawns to taking care of their pets or anything else he could do so he could get money to spend on his hobby which was photography. This time however he wasn't too sure what he could for the professor and he needed the money for something that was even more important.

[Professor Julius Foxcroft]

Julius was copying his students' marks on their last essay in his small neat script, his wand hovering above the parchment on which they had written it, shifting each essay to one side as he copied the mark into a leather notebook. Everything on his desk was placed neatly as Julius was a very organised person. He accidentally pushed the picture of Beth and him as he looked up at the sound of a knock on his door. "Come in," he said in his serious voice. He was feeling a little surprised. Who on earth could possibly want to speak to him now? It was too late for a student. Could Dumbledore or Juliette want a word with him?

[Charles Driscoll H7]

Charles walked into the room feeling very self-conscious. For some reason he suddenly felt he was very small and insignificant in the large room. He felt himself redden to the roots of his hair and then finally he spoke. "P-professor F-foxcroft, I need your help," he said, in a voice that was barely above a whisper and with his eyes down. He stood near to the door, wishing he had thought to stand behind it, wondering if Professor Foxcroft had understood anything of what he had said, or rather stammered.

[Professor Julius Foxcroft]

Julius was rather surprised to see the small boy at the door of his office that had just been there a few days before. He looked very much the same as he had on that day, worried and a little frightened, actually that wasn't exactly true, on closer inspection Julius thought he looked much more nervous than the last time he had been to his office. Julius' office was open to the students at any time they liked and he was always ready to help them and provide assistance should they ask for it, but due to his reserved manner and dry sense of humour he wasn't exactly the kind of teacher people usually went to too for anything other than help with their schoolwork.

Julius frowned for a minute. The boy was very red-faced and apparently had some sort of serious problem, but why he had sought the help of Julius was beyond him. He had never had any of the students come to him with a personal problem before, but obviously the boy was not here for help with his academic work. While Julius knew him to be a good student though not extraordinary he also knew that Charles was not one of the students who worried excessively about their marks. He wondered how exactly to put the boy at his ease realising that he had never been in this kind of situation before. "Sit down, Driscoll," he said a little sternly, waving his hand to indicate a seat in front of his desk. Then he told himself he would need to sound a little kinder. "There's no need to look at me like I'm going to swallow you or something," he said in a slightly more pleasant tone. He opened one of his drawers where he could remember placing some biscuits Juliette had given him some time during the year where they had remained untouched. "Have a biscuit?" he said, offering one to the anxious boy. "I don’t know how long I've had them, but they don’t look stale to me," he said, hoping he sounded kind enough.

[Charles Driscoll H7]

Charles would have much preferred to stay where he was, but it would not do to seem impolite especially since he was here to ask for Professor's Foxcroft help. He looked at the biscuit the Professor offered him, glad that the Professor didn’t look annoyed and that his voice did not sound as sharp as it did at times. Charles would never have thought about asking Professor Foxcroft for help before, especially with a personal problem, but after the incident with Socks he was beginning to think maybe his impression of Professor Foxcroft wasn't completely correct. He swallowed once and then tried to talk again. "Professor Foxcroft, I need money to go on the Christmas trip," he said. "My parents won't give me any though they signed my permission slip, and I don’t have any money of my own, and…." Charles suddenly shrugged and looked at the professor in the eye, unable to continue the sentence. His feelings were written all over his face; he looked lost and desperate and almost as if he was trapped.

[Professor Julius Foxcroft]

Julius' features remained impassive but inside he was feeling very confused. He was astounded when he heard the boy's request. Why had the boy's parents signed his permission slip then refused to give him the money? He had never thought of the boy as disobedient or rude, just a bit of a day-dreamer but with potential to do good if he tried. He had never been impolite in class and he had never heard from his fellow teachers that he gave them trouble - on the few rare occasions when he had spoken to them. The boy had suddenly looked up at him and Julius saw in his eyes that he was hurt and he felt that somehow this was not the boy's fault. "Take the biscuit," he said in a commanding tone, not too sure how to commence now.

Julius suddenly looked at the photograph of him and Beth and saw her lovely smile and his face softened. Beth had always been fond of children and told Julius she wanted them to have at least four. He turned to Charles after a little thought and said, "Giving you the money is no problem, but you must tell me why your parents have refused to do so. You understand that if they are punishing you in some way than that is their right and I shouldn’t try and help you," he said gently. "Try and explain the situation to me," he added.

[Charles Driscoll H7]

Charles took two bites of the biscuit and listened to the Professor talk to him. "Yes Professor, I was going to tell you that of course," he said referring to why his parents weren't giving him the 5 Galleons. "Mother and Father think I need to be punished because – because they don’t like my friends. They don’t like them because they're not purebloods like we are and they don’t want me to mix with anyone they think is beneath us. I didn’t obey them and so they keep trying to make me see I need them. So far I've been able to save money from working during the summer but since I've come to Hogwarts I can’t do that. So – so I was wondering if perhaps I could something for you and you’d give me some money in return?" he said uncertainly. Now that he had started to talk Charles was gradually beginning to feel a little more at ease. Charles remembered his pride and spoke again. "Professor, I wouldn’t take the money for nothing," he said, a firm note in his voice that had not been there before.

[Professor Julius Foxcroft]

Julius' face showed his compassion and sadness which he could not conceal after hearing the story from Charles. Here was someone with a real will, ready to fight for his own ideas even though he was only 13, and Julius admired the young boy's strength of character. He had learnt a lesson a lot of adults in the magical world around him would never learn. Then Julius did something he hadn’t done in a long time - he flashed Charles a smile. He had a solution to the boy's problem and the boy deserved his help.

Julius raised his eyebrows at Charles when the boy said he wasn't going to take the money for nothing. "Nobody said I was offering you any money yet," he said with a hint of amusement. He then tore a paper out of his notebook and wrote down the names of two books. "Here you go. I want you to go to Diagon Alley during the next weekend and pass by Flourish and Blotts. I want you to purchase these two books for me, and once you do that, you may have the 5 Galleons. Deal?" he said, leaning over his desk to give the boy the piece of paper.

[Charles Driscoll H7]

Charles couldn’t believe his ears when the Professor said he was going to give him the 5 Galleons. What was even more unexpected was the smile that had come before that, usually Professor Foxcroft was telling Charles to pull his socks up or to stop day-dreaming; he had never smiled at him before. "Deal," he said, standing up. "Thank you ever so much Professor, you – you don’t know how much this means to me," he said. Charles couldn’t tell the Professor what his parents would have done to him if he had gone home that vacation, but he could tell that the Professor understood how grave the situation was. He was too embarrassed by the fact that his parents didn’t love him to say so to the professor, and was glad he hadn’t had to go into that. Charles returned the Professor's smile and took the paper. "I'll see you in class Professor, and thanks again," he said then left the room and ran to the common feeling so happy he was sure he would burst.

[Professor Julius Foxcroft]

Julius felt a little embarrassed by Charles' enthusiasm. "Anytime," he said a little gruffly, his usual manner back again. He watched the retreating back of the boy, and wondered how it was that parents like Charles' could have a boy like him. Julius hated all the pureblood fanatics because of the way they were destroying the magical world and because they couldn’t understand that muggles were just like wizards and witches and should be treated with respect. He looked at the smiling Beth who had bewitched him the minute he had laid eyes on her like no witch had been able too. He felt like she would have been proud of him for what he had done today, and as he looked at her picture he did not feel the usual overwhelming grief he felt when he did so but instead he felt relaxed and content, and as he turned back to his work he wondered how much the other teachers knew about Charles Driscoll. He would have to ask them about him.