A Child's Innocence (Adam)

[Julie Paige McGreggor]

“I can’t do this!” Screamed a little boy in the corner of Julie’s large art studio. Julie turned around to see who was causing the noise. When she had seen the child’s frustrated face, she walked up to him and shook her head slowly, with her hands on her hips. “Now, Todd.” She told the young boy, who was clutching a large yellow pencil and was staring at his paper with anger. “I want you to read that sign over there. Tell the class what it says.” She spoke to the child in a soft, kind voice as she pointed out a large colorful sign that was hung amongst many beautiful paintings and other works of art. The boy raised his head from the paper to read the wall, and read a quote Julie had pretty much lived by ever since she graduated Hogwarts. “If you trick your mind into thinking you can’t do something, chances are it won’t happen. Always think positively. You can do anything you set your mind to. Julie read softly to herself while the boy mumbled the same thing. She glanced up at the small clock on the wall. The face read 5 o’clock. Had it really been an hour already? Julie often lost track. She shrugged and clapped her hands once or twice, in order to get the children’s attention. She was tired anyway. They all looked up from their papers. “Ok kids, it’s five o’clock! Time to clean up. Todd, will you do me a favor and collect the pencils? I’ll grab your work. She told the class confidently.

Minutes later, Julie waved goodbye to all her students and their parents. Once they were gone, she removed her wand from her smock pocket and before long; about ten papers were flying towards Julie’s hands in a neat pile. She sighed as she reached into her desk and removed a small wooden box. Inside, were many checks and a few stray bills lying around. She had earned a decent amount of money today, but of course, more than half of it would be spent on bills and rent money. She sighed as she pocketed the money and went into her room to change.

She slipped off her messy art smock and replaced it with a ripped pair of jeans, an incredibly short t-shirt, and a winter jacket. She painted her lips their usual shade of bright red and brushed through her straightened shoulder length jet black hair. Her style hadn’t changed much since her years at Hogwarts. Although, back then it was more grunge than anything. Now, it was much more mature, and sometimes even classy. Julie didn’t have a whole lot of money being a single guardian and all, but her clothes always told people otherwise. She slipped on a pair of beautiful winter boots (which were a Christmas present from her grandmother…Julie would have thrown them at the woman had they not been so beautiful) and walked out the door. Carson would be arriving for the Winter Holidays the day after next, and Julie wanted to spend as much time with him as possible before he went back to school. Not to mention she still had to buy him his Christmas gifts. Julie sighed as she walked into the fireplace. She threw some powder in, and within moments, she disappeared into the emerald green flames.

Seconds later, Julie found herself in the Three Broomsticks, greeting Madame Rosmerta. “Evening, Rosmerta. I see all these Hogwarts students have been keeping you as busy as ever.” Julie said with a smile, glancing around the pub. There were kids everywhere. “Oh, yes. Hogsmeade visits definitely help keep us in business. I daresay you should know that by now, judging by all the times I’ve seen you here.”She said, polishing a glass form behind the bar. Julie removed her coat and took a seat. “So what will it be today?” Rosmerta asked. “Whiskey, please. I’ve had a rough day.”Julie said with a sigh. Suddenly, she heard someone call Rosmerta’s name. “One moment dear.” Rosmerta said, already headed towards the voice. Julie shrugged and headed towards the only empty table left in the pub to await her drink.

[Professor Adam Greene]

A day in Hogsmeade just wouldn't be the same without a stop in the Three Broomsticks. Adam had spent the day Christmas shopping, and he figured that there was no better way to end a successful day than with a good drink and a bit of relaxation. For Sierra, he had bought her an enchanted box that was the size of a loaf of bread, but had so many secret compartments that could fit in it almost anything you wanted. What made it unique was that it had been designed so that only the person who used a particular drawer of the box could open the box. It was perfect for keeping things safe that one didn't want others to get into. For Dixie, Adam had bought her a picture frame that could be enchanted to change from one picture to another every so often. He figured that they could start to fill it with pictures of them. And, of course, he had bought her an engagement ring. He wasn't really sure it was a Christmas present though, as he hadn't yet decided how he would go about proposing. That decision would be made on a later day. For now, he was just happy to have finished his shopping. Only having to buy two gifts was nice. It took him long enough as it was, but he was happy with what he had found.

Entering the Three Broomsticks, Adam quickly realized that it must have been a visiting day for the Hogwarts students. He wondered if Sierra was around, but didn't see her. They had been writing quite a bit, but it had been a while since they had seen each other. She would be staying with him over the holiday though, so that would give them some time together. Finding a seat at the bar, Adam ordered his drink: a White Russian. Lately, this had been his drink that he got whenever he was out. It was odd though, because he wasn't much of a coffee person. He preferred tea, thanks to Dixie. Yet, the White Russian always seemed to hit the spot. Madame Rosmerta had gotten him the drink, and Adam gave her the money required. "Thank you," he said, rubbing his hands together to warm them up a bit before taking a drink.

Madame Rosmerta moved on, taking the order of the girl that had sat down beside Adam. Once the bartista left, Adam turned to the girl who seemed vaguely familiar. She was likely a few years ahead of him in school, he figured. Adam could never be sure though. The girl moved from the bar to an open table once getting her drink, and Adam followed, figuring she might not mind if he joined her. She seemed to be alone, and there were no other tables. "Rough day?" he asked, having overheard the woman tell that to Madame Rosmerta. Adam took a seat, hoping that the girl wouldn't mind. "My name's Adam," he said, offering her a hand to shake. "What brings you to Hogsmeade? Just a drink?"

[Julie Paige McGreggor]

Julie sighed, rubbing her temples. Today had really been a rough day. She just needed some downtime right now, before her busy night. She had plenty of things to do lately. There was her art class, (who used so much paint each class that Julie always ended up going back to Hogsmeade for more each weekend) Carson, potential buyers, and then of course Carson. Her students tended to be the biggest pain of them all. Julie taught students of all ages. During the school year, Julie taught six classes. Two of them came to Julie on the weekends, so their parents could run errands and such. These two were the hardest of all to deal with. Students in her beginners class were only about four or five years old. Julie sometimes had no idea how to handle them.

Today was Saturday, and Julie had just barely survived her first beginner’s level class of the week. Tomorrow she’d have to deal with the other group, who were considerably louder than the first. Her other four classes were much easier on Julie. Her intermediate group met once a week in the late afternoon, and her advanced group of high school students met in the evenings. Her advanced class was most definitely Julie’s favorite class. She remembered herself during her last few years at Hogwarts. She wanted nothing more than to break free of that damned school and begin her career as an artist. This fact was widely known among students around her age. Julie was known as the trouble maker of the school. Her weekend plans almost always included a detention with Snape or McGonagall. She rarely ever attended classes, and if she did, she just sat in a corner with her latest boyfriend or best friend talking and goofing off. She sighed, snapping out of her reverie. Rosmerta brought her drink. “The drink is on me, dear.” She said with a smile as Julie reached into her jeans pocket for her wallet. “You should save that money on Christmas gifts.” Julie rolled her eyes and offered her the money anyway. She did need to buy gifts for Carson, but she could definitely afford a drink. As Julie took a sip of her whiskey, she noticed someone approach the table and sit down. She smiled weakly, putting her drink down on the round wooden table.

“Yeah, a class full of five year olds doesn’t exactly help a headache.” She said with a sigh. It wasn’t that she hated her younger students; it was just that they weren’t her favorite class to teach. She loved the feeling teaching gave her, and those bright young smiles always put a warm feeling in her heart. Julie would never give up teaching, no matter how old she got. She hated teaching in a real classroom setting, but teaching the way Julie did was definitely something she loved. Her classes were more fun than anything. Sometimes, Julie had to really buckle down on her kids, but mostly it was just like a friendly gathering than an art class. She liked the fact that she didn’t have to grade her student’s on their work. Back when Julie was a teen, she hated anything and everything that had to do with grades and structure. Now, she was much more responsible and goal oriented. However, her spark was still there. She was still the same old Julie deep inside, and whenever she had to go up to the school to talk about Carson’s grades or his behavior, that Julie came out. She remembered last year, when Snape had called Julie in for a conference about something Carson had done. Supposedly, he was caught wandering after hours on several occasions with his friend Ethan. Julie didn’t care. So what if he was out five mintues after curfew? That didn’t give Snape any right to try and talk to Julie like that. Julie still remembered stomping out of that wretched dungeon, leaving Snape alone in his office with a sickening smirk on his pale ugly face. But, the old Julie only came out when she had to. Julie liked to think she had done a good job of keeping her old self in.

“It’s nice to meet you Adam.” She said politely with a glowing but exhausted smile. “I’m Julie.” She let out a heavy sigh when Adam asked her what brought her to Hogsmeade. “Christmas shopping. I've got a lot to do, but I've got to fuel up first." She said, taking another sip of her drink. She was used to the sensation the whiskey gave her. She had been drinking it ever sicne fourth year. Speaking of Christmas presents, she wondered what she'd be getting for Carson. She wondered where he was right now. He either had yet another detention with his friend Ethan (with Snape no doubt) or he was somewhere around here in Hogsmeade. Julie wondered whether she’d see him here or not.