 Mischievous Niffler
Alice considered asking Anna what was so funny, but she decided against it at the last moment. Of course she did not mind students smiling. It was good for the students to be happy. But asking why a student was smiling was probably not a good idea when you had the reputation of being the strictest teacher in the castle. Anna might misinterpret the question as annoyance, though really smiles did not bother her at all.
For now she'd just assume that the Gryffindor was just happy to be able to go to the rooftops. That was probably it!
The question about the broom gave her pause. Were there rules against flying inside the castle? Surely that was illegal, right? But she couldn't recall ever hearing that rule - and if she couldn't recall it, then surely it was allowed. "Very well," she consented with a small nod. "You may summon your broom. Be careful." She didn't want to cause an accident.
While they waited, the history of magic professor decided to probe some of the answers gave her about being a prefect. Alice could sense her favorite student's displeasure at the job, not just by the words but also by the way she said them. And while she couldn't sympathize, she could try to emphasize. "I'm sorry you had to give up Quidditch. I know you really like it." Alice herself could never understand the sport, but she knew how popular it was and she of course knew how much Anna liked it. "Do you desire to pursue professional Quidditch upon your graduation?"
The mention of not telling off first years raised a small alarm bell in her head. She shifted ever so lightly on her soles. (She had ceased walking a few moments ago after telling Anna to summon her broom.) "In my experience working with them, first years are always a bit edgier than everyone else. Understandable that they would be a bit suspicious of us authority figures. But I'm just curious, have you told anyone off since becoming prefect?" She asked this in a conversational way, not trying to seem at all like a probing teacher. |