Look High... Look Low

Bathilde set aside yet another book. She had begun organizing her main cabinet two hours earlier and had still not found the book she was looking for. Not that Muncel helped.
"Try looking in the correct cabinet, oh Miss-I-Know-I-Left-It-Here. Since it's been as long as it's been. I'd give up and get some actual work done."
She didn't reply, checking the next book.
"Can you not hear me?"
"I wish..." she murmured.
It was mid afternoon with a high sun and beautiful pleasant breeze. And she was stuck trying to find a book. It was not turning out to be a good day.

Gage traversed up to the Headmistress's Office with his cane in one hand and a file folder in the other. Also on his person, as was common since his semester of learning was also in session, was his own bag of books, ingredients, and potion phials. The trek was made easier with the help of a few spells - especially the one that made the steps act like an escalator! Being a slight albeit playful 'brat' he still refused to inform student and colleague alike what the spell 'Giddyup' really was and how to make it work.

Reaching the landing, the potions professor set his cane aside. Normally he would use it to knock on a door but this was the Headmaster, or in this case Headmistress's, domain. With a slight smirk on his face Gage grasped the brass doorknocker and knocked to the first "line" of notes belonging to the Imperial March from Star Wars.

Muncel cleared his 'throat'.
"There is a gentleman knocking on your door." he announced. "But then again you would have heard that if the Bach wasn't so loud."
Bathilde turned the volume down as she lowered herself down from the step ladder.
"Who is it?"
"I'm your mirror, Mistress-of-mine. Not a door-knocker."
Resisting the urge to blast a nasty spell at the mirror, Bathilde headed to the door.
As muggle as it was, she twisted the knob and pulled it open.
"Yes?"
Unsure of her appearance, her hand drifted to smooth down her black robes.

Gage collected his cane after he rapped his tune of the day and waited patiently for the door to open. To his surprise, the Headmistress had opened it in muggle fashion. Quick to recover, the wizard reapplied his trademark smirk even though he knew she couldn't see it. "Professor Gage Hall, Ma'am. Do you have a moment?" he replied, glancing at the small portion of office that he could see via the opened door.

The wizard wasn't sure if it was just him or what, but the room seemed bigger than he remembered. That seemed odd. Wasn't it supposed to be that rooms looked smaller as one grew older? Then again, it wasn't often that he'd been sent to the Headmaster's office. Now, Ravenclaw Head's office was an entirely different story...

Gage also noticed a slight hint of disarray from his side of the archway. He was always noticing small details that might otherwise be overlooked. Or, at least, that was what some said about him. "I've prepared reports both for my students' progress as well as my own. Although, if later is a better time...?"

She smiled as he introduced himself; grateful for his manners. Her 'name' spell usually supplied whoever was around her, but there were times it didn't work correctly, as in this situation.
"Oh of course. Please come in." she stepped aside, so he could pass her and left the door, knowing it would shut itself as soon as he was through it. "I would be delighted to hear the reports."

"Indeed, she would be." Muncel tossed in. "She's not doing 'anything' else, potion boy."
Bathilde paled.
"I am sorry about Muncel, the uh, mirror. He has a disposition problem. Won't you sit?" She sat down behind her desk, offering him the other seat. The huge piles of books came to mind as she sat on one in her chair. "Accio wand." she muttered, hoping Professor Hall wouldn't think she was insane for the mess or the mirror. Catching the crystal staff-wand, she had the books all organize themselves back onto the shelves. "Cleaning..." she murmured.
"Making a mess is a better definition." Muncel sneered.

"Thank you," Gage murmured at the invitation to come in and thumped his way across the threshold with some assistance from his cane. He made to close the door, but as usual it closed of its own accord. Vaguely he wondered if the Headmistress wanted him to state the contents of the records, or if she was referring to a spell to ease the hurdles of blindness. Either way worked for him, but the Ravenclaw in his veins made him curious.

"Indeed, she would be. She's not doing 'anything' else, potion boy."

Caramel-colored eyebrows rose at the voice, and settled again upon spotting the mirror. At Bathilde's apology he shook his head, and just about kicked himself for his lapse of remembering she couldn't see such a response. "Not to worry. I'm quite familiar with 'Sassy McMuncel,'" Gage chuckled, giving a mischievous smirk to the mirror at the name he'd given it.

"We go way back... How long d'you reckon it's been? Twenty years, give or take?" he asked the mirror, scratching at the stubble on his chin with thought. Gage had a feeling asking the mirror its opinion would only earn him a smart-aleck reply in return, but that didn't bother him any.

The wizard murmured his further thanks at Bathilde's offer to sit, and eased himself into the comfortable chair opposite the Headmistress's desk with an almost inaudible grunt and oppositely rather noticeable sigh of relief. A flashback of repercussions from a boyhood prank flew across the wizard's eyes at breakneck speed, causing a full-blown grin instead of just a smirk.

He watched as the staff-wand flew through the air and into its owner's hands. While it was just another magical implement, Gage couldn't help but marvel at the crystal and sheer beauty of the thing. The wizard nodded. "Need to do that very thing myself, one of these days," he replied with a chuckle, referring to the cleaning the Headmistress claimed to have been doing.

"Making a mess is a better definition." Muncel sneered.

"Yeah, like you could do better. 'No-Arms'..." Gage scoffed, being sure to also provide a second inflection of mirth so the Headmistress knew the comment was merely his sense of humor rather as opposed to being genuinely irritated by the mirror.

Turning his attention back to Bathilde, Gage opened the file folder to review the key notes he had outlined in case the Headmistress had any specific questions. After all, with his schedule the way it was, he only had two options. The first was to combine two years into one: first-and-second, third-and-fourth, and fifth-and-sixth, with the seventh being the only exclusive class. The other option was to wear a time-turner as religiously as his father wore a crucifix pin until he finally earned his title. The first option was much more appealing for its interest and challenge, and Gage conducted these mixed classes confidently.

"Depending on your reaction to student status, I would also like to suggest a possible side-project for the brightest of our N.E.W.T. year students. It's a little advanced but I feel it might give those with potion-oriented careers in mind a bit of an advantage by the time they're done here," Gage ventured. He initially wasn't going to say anything in favor of ensuring by sign-up sheet that there were enough interested individuals first. Yet, on the other hand, Gage was fairly certain he had two students that would take him up on such an offer.

Bathilde was shocked into silence for a moment as she took in the unexpected familiarity between her mirror and the professor. It was the name mostly that surprised her. Most people thought of Muncel with terror, fear or anger... this was the first person that had turned it's brashness into a joke. Recovering, she smiled.
"Well, that's... good."
Muncel didn't agree.
"Ah, my old nemesis." he growled.

She felt the soft vibration by her leg as the professor seated himself; something she'd designed specially to know where to look. At first she was fairly certain she'd heard something from him, but her hearing often played tricks on her, so she ignored it.

Muncel didn't respond to the 'No-Arms' comment, although that was probably due to the silencing spell his mistress sent his way... the fifth time for the day.
"You do know him well." she sighed, laughing softly. "I can't hardly get him to shut-" she stopped, eyes widening. "Oh I'm so sorry. He irks me more than I thought."

The sound of pages opening caught her attention. She figured he was preparing the report and hoped her nearly blank expression looked interested. She was... after all, she'd done nothing but organize books that day.
"A side project? That sounds like a lovely idea. If you feel as though students would be interested, I'd be pleased to sanction it." The fact that a professor thought his students would be interested in doing more work than they already had to do was a breath of fresh air. Usually, more often than not, she got reports about how the students fell asleep or had more detentions than classes. "Were, uh, were there any students in particular?"

Gage suppressed a chuckle at the dual responses he had gotten about having met the mirror previously. Some part of him couldn't help but wonder if the few times he had encountered the mirror had contributed to his occasionally blunt way of putting things. The wizard shrugged it off: such a disposition could've easily come from his father instead.

"Don't worry about it," he laughed lightly at her apology. "It took me awhile to get used to him. If this were twenty-six years ago, it'd probably be a whole different story."

"Mm-hmm..." Gage murmured to confirm her echo. "I spoke with Jennings briefly about the possibility at Start-of-Term. Erm... Carol Jennings," he answered, taking a moment to try and remember the student's name. "According to records from the previous year, she's one of the highest-marked on her Potions O.W.L. She's one of the first to answer a question, and is particularly the most active that I can recall of the Gryffindor seventh-years. The other student to show active interest is, er..." Gage glanced down at the name again and inwardly groaned. 'Not this dude's daughter...' he mused. "Zol... Zon... Zoner-klovich or something like that. I have a really hard time saying the name so I just call her 'Miss Z'."

"The side project is simply designed to give the best and brightest a look at what they'd be up against in their respective field. I've been all over the potions map, and need a team of fresh eyes to analyze a potion of my own design I was assigned to develop as part of my final. There is some spillover of this project in regards to the section on antidotes, naturally," Gage explained, curious as to the Headmistress's thoughts.

"As far as their core studies are concerned, I haven't detected any major problems. I've found an occasional student off-task, but none of them have been sleeping on the job and thus far haven't had a need to assign any detentions. The first years are having some challenges with the second-year materials covered in order to accommodate the older students they share the class with, but overall I believe they are doing well.

"The only real problem I'm having is getting a singular, solid vote on each class's 'fun project' for the year. The first years are torn between a simple color-changing ink, some sort of mild 'firework' potion, and a bunch of excited babble I couldn't make heads or tails of but we've got lots of time," Gage explained, punctuating his statement with a laugh.

She listened intently, subtly reaching to tap her magical recording device. Although she had a fairly good memory; she liked to have a back-up. Carol Jennings... the name was slightly familiar; but that meant little. She went over every student when they first came to Hogwarts, watched their sortings and continued to monitor their progress through the reports from their professors. But, that didn't mean she knew every student; far from it in fact. As he continued to mention the high Potions marks, the name became slightly clearer. Frankly, as awful as it seemed, better students came easier to memory than the average. Of course the same could be said of those who fell below average.
"I wouldn't feel bad, professor." Bathilde assured him, finding it amusing how he juggled the name. Miss Z was definitely easier than whatever he'd been attempting to say before.

He had certainly gone over his report well before presenting it; she mused. His passion for his subject didn't require sight to spot. It saturated his every word to the point that she was fairly certain that he could talk about potions all day. That showed a special gift in her opinion and allowed her to better take what he was dishing out for their students. He obviously cared for their education and was doing everything in his power to take them to the fullest possible potential.
Therefore with all that thought as he spoke, she felt rather bad that all she asked was.
"What potion did you design exactly?" Hardly big into potions after nearly having failed it in her own schooling years, she still couldn't help but find herself curious. It worried her slightly that there had been a problem, however small with an antidote for whatever it was he'd concocted, but other than that, she was fascinated by the man before her.

Gage nodded, though this time was well aware of the fact his action might not be detected. If he were to be honest he didn't feel bad about stumbling all over the name at all. He was actually a little frustrated, but that was for a completely different reason that had nothing to do with the witch in question. And since she never confronted him or anyone else to his knowledge about being addressed by a single letter, Gage assumed that the topic could be dropped.

The wizard blinked, somewhat caught off-guard by Bathilde's question. He bit his lip as he thought about how to answer it, for the reasoning behind its creation was slightly complicated and highly personal. "In simple definition, the potion is designed to work like an internal time-turner. When I was Head of the Poisons Department at St. Mungo's, I... lost a patient. A young girl, though I don't recall how young...

"She had been brewing a potion when an accident in her lab occurred. Not only was she burned but the potion's intended properties changed in the accident, poisoning her on top of her injuries. By the time we got to her, and tried to find a cure, it was too late. I still feel that had I had more time I would have been able to save her. I'm hoping the formula I created might aid in buying the needed time so another situation like that doesn't happen again," he answered. The professor reserved his feelings about his academic status at the time. It seemed obvious to him that he was getting his Master's degree because he valued education, and that he felt his own was lacking a trifle.

"I won't be testing the potion on them. The side-project is simply observational analysis, any contributions they might have to add, and whatever else may be vocationally required of them based on their field of study," Gage added, just to make sure Bathilde realized he wasn't a mad scientist looking for metaphorical lab rats amongst his pupils.

Being blind had several small perks; one of which was that she could easily feel when someone was uneasy. So though she entirely missed the several expressions that Professor Hall's face went through, she caught the fact that her question had hit a nerve. The brief silence and hesitation as he answered was proof enough of that. So she listened, without speaking.

The reasoning behind the unease was quickly revealed. She'd always been fortunate in her own select fields. One didn't have to worry about the plants however expensive or precious that one accidentally lost; transfigurations could almost always be reversed or at least they had during her career... but it was entirely different for the wizard across from her. He felt responsible for losing a life; someone's little girl. Without meaning to, Bathilde's eyes watered, her own Taryn coming to mind.

"I see." she nodded, adjusting useless glasses. "I appreciate your willingness in sharing its use with me." Hoping her asking hadn't brought bad memories to his mind, she leant back in her chair.

"If I may be frank, Professor, I believe you are doing a marvelous job with Hogwarts' students and the potions instruction." she smiled, staying focused on his general direction. "Your compassion and desire to help your students is obvious. Since there is a need and I heard that you are a former Ravenclaw... would you be interested in becoming it's head?" Knowing this was quite the request to so casually toss out at the professor, Bathilde didn't expect an immediate answer; just a hopefully positive one.

"The designs are nothing without their inspirations," replied Gage simply but congenially, hiding the few unpleasant memories that lurked beneath the surface. It was because of these bad memories, of the fact that he had failed, that spurred him to continue his education and ensure the next generation received theirs. The memories were the demons he faced every day despite moving on to the next case well enough, and hoped to overcome the puzzle that still haunted him in due time. So long as he managed to do his job and do it well, the professor knew he would triumph.

Gage listened carefully as Bathilde spoke. She might be blind, but his upbringing demanded he act no different than if she were sighted. His father adamantly disciplined all in his household that did not give respect where it was due. The unconscious nods of thanks persisted, and he made mental notes to thank her for her kind words. Her proposal however caught the wizard off guard.

A different hesitation ensued. The wizard was still fairly new to the school, and already his employer was willing to grant him Headship of his former House? "Thank you..." Gage began with a slight stutter common in having been shocked. He cleared his throat in attempt to dispel the flaw from persisting in his speech. The professor could have gone on to reiterate his views about education and further demonstrate his passion for potions but he refrained. "I would enjoy that privilege, and appreciate your considering me for the position, Headmistress," Gage replied with genuine pleasure. He wasn't certain how good of a Head of House he would be, but it was a position Gage certainly wasn't going to turn down without trying first!

It would have worried her if the professor hadn't been hesitant; although she did find it hard to keep her smile from growing as he spoke. He was shocked, anyone with ears could see that. And since she often didn't get the chance to surprise people, in a good way, Bathilde was momentarily close to giddy. Right now if Muncel could speak he'd be blasted her for that 'childish' action of trusting someone on a gut feeling. And maybe he would have had some credit to his ramblings. She knew the professor in front of her about as much as she'd read from his career file and hearsay... something she didn't take much from anyway. But there was something that warranted trust in him. And in the often dark world in which they lived; Bathilde loved finding such people.

"I should thank you. I've been going through the reports, trying to decide on whom to ask to take the position." So far, she hadn't asked anyone to take the position, because frankly, no one had seemed interested. Somehow, he had. She opened the left middle drawer of her desk, listening to the charmed voice that told her the house passwords were on the two inches above where she'd placed her hand. "Here is the password to the Ravenclaw common room. Feel free to change it whenever you want. The paper is charmed and will list in in my copy as well."

The paper left her hand and floated toward him, hovering a few inches from his nose. Charms weren't difficult for Bathilde... placement however was another story. "Oh and I did have another question for you." she murmured, closing the drawer.

"It's an honor," he replied genuinely, smiling. The facial expression dripped from his words and even creased at the corners of his eyes. "Sounds like tricky decision making," Gage offered at Bathilde's comment about not having been able to decide which of those in her reports would make the Head positions.

A bit of curiosity crossed his face as the Headmistress reached into a drawer. The part of him that was still very much a childish teenager wondered briefly if there was an initiation process. An inward chuckle and brief entertainment of that notion later and he shook the notion from his thoughts. He had done so right on time, too, for the Headmistress had found the item and explained it to him. "Okay. I'll definitely try to come up with some interesting ones," Gage replied with light-hearted yet still professional humor. The professor went slightly cross-eyed as the paper hovered a small distance away from his nose. He plucked the parchment from its perch, glanced at the password, and pocketed it.

"Oh?" Gage blinked in response to a further question. The Ravenclaw in him, as well as his own curious nature, couldn't help but try and solve the puzzle before it was stated. Unfortunately most of the questions his mind generated were the ones asked of him by the press from times passed or were of the adorable 'I'm-not-sure-what-I'm-doing-yet-professor-but-I'm-trying-to-sound-knowledgeable' type of questions posed to him by his last First/Second Year class.

She had no doubt that the passwords would be interesting; her professors usually employed a great deal of imagination to the whispered words. After all, every student in that house used the password. A dull password didn't last very long...

"Yes... I'm sorry about this but..." Bathilde blushed crimson across her cheeks as she sorted through thoughts as she prepared herself. No matter how many times she asked; it was always like this. Hesitation linked arms with embarrassment and no small amount of unease. There were some personal parts of her existence and its meandering about life that she liked to keep to herself; however, normalcy demanded that those few things she enjoyed keeping private be the most well known. Her inability to see was at the forefront... her spells in order to function came next. "Would you please let me see you?"

Many took this the wrong way; believing she wanted to reach out and touch them, in the muggle manner that many blind used. However, actually it was as different a process from that as it could get. And with the hopefully open mind before her... she wouldn't get an awkward refusal and hasty retreat.

Chocolate brows tightened with concern and curiosity at the apology. 'Don't tell me you're going to ask about Liara and I...' was his first thought. It was the only thing he could think of that would warrant a pre-apology that had anything to do with him. Unless she'd heard the thump of his cane and wanted to know why he too had such a device. His mind was doing double time to try and solve the riddle.

"Would you please let me see you?"

Gage blinked at this and tilted his head curiously. He thought a moment, and true to muggleborn status couldn't help but think of the way blind muggles 'saw' the world. The wizard wondered if people who were magical and blind had to resort to the same technique. Not that he would object to being touched. As typical of those in his House, it was simply a matter of curiosity and a desire to know. The professor shrugged. "I don't see anything wrong with that," Gage answered lightly, not in the least bothered by such a request.

He sat up a little straighter in his chair with the intention to stand and approach the Headmistress. Gage didn't get very far before coming up with a question of his own. "Do you mean by the Muggle method, or is there some sort of incantation?" he inquired with genuine curiosity.

Bathilde let out a breath she hadn't noticed she'd been holding, rather anxious for the outcome. Some people were rather finicky with personal space and she was relieved to hear the professor soothe that fear. For someone in her position, it was important. Each 'going along' helped her see the world the way others did.

"It is a spell of sorts." she supplied, moving her cane slightly forward to get a better purchase on it. Since her wand was inside of the crystal device, per the instructions of Wand Sight, her spell bible for sensory spells, none of her connections worked unless some part of her was touching the cane. "Basically it takes a picture of you and then coverts it into a mental image for me to see." it was a crude explanation at best, since the spell was far more complex than that, but she felt it explained enough. Jokingly, she came close to saying 'say cheese'... but thought against it and murmured the latin phrases for the spell.

It was longer than the average sensory spell, creating a soft white light around Professor Hall's chair before working up to right above his head. All in all it took about ten seconds before she could see what he looked like.

His appearance surprised her. Mainly because everyone's did. When she heard people speak to her and around her, she automatically imaged what they might look like, what they wore and how they carried themselves. So to suddenly see them was akin to seeing a book character in a live action movie. "Thank you." she smiled, hoping he really hadn't felt uncomfortable. "I greatly appreciate this."

"Ah," returned the professor. He wasn't quite certain he truly understood, but it sounded interesting. "Multi-functional cane then: cane, camera, and wand, I presume? Now I'm a little jealous," Gage joked lightly, tossing in a chuckle to let her know he was only kidding. As she murmured the incantation the wizard wondered what sort of facial expression to make. Should he be professional, or fun? Contemplative, or cheerful? Gage decided to settle on his trademark smirk, with just a brief hint of fun-loving mischief beneath the surface.

"Not a problem," Gage replied automatically, a smirk for a smile upon his lips. "You know... I only just thought of it, but I should've said 'cheese'..." the wizard chuckled, assuming Bathilde knew the reference. He wasn't sure how frequent the expression was used in the magical world. Then again, until now, he hadn't really thought about it.