InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Blake should be in a cage."

in_the_grass (in_the_grass) wrote in wished,
@ 2010-09-03 18:49:00

Entry tags:

!2003: 09, !complete, quentin trimble, severus snape

Who: Snape & Trimble
What: A portrait visit.
Where: Headmaster's office, Hogwarts.
When: Eight o'clock tonight
Warnings/Rating: None/Low

It had been a rather pretentious request in the first place, Severus thought, to ask for time in the Headmaster's personal office to catch up with some famous relative that Trimble younger had (judging by the death date on his great-grandfather's frame) likely never met. It was nothing he felt obligated to respect, not at all; but one didn't like to slight portraits, who had the ability to make one's working space highly unpleasant. If Trimble was going to insist upon intentionally disrespecting him, however, it would become a necessary risk. Considering that they had hardly met at all since the man had been a passably above-mediocre N.E.W.T. student, and not a particularly pleasant one at that, Severus thought it took quite a bit of nerve to go about acting like he ought to be able to speak to everyone just as he wished.

Trimble elder was one of the few portraits he actually enjoyed speaking with, unfortunately. One of the scarce benefits Severus had realized from being a spy was that everyone was now perfectly aware he that had been a Death Eater for the better part of twenty years, and as such it was more or less expected that he should have a deep interest in the Dark Arts. His extensive library on the subject mingled freely with the other books that took up the vast majority of available wall space in his office, respectable and sinister alike, and Headmaster Trimble's opinions were frequently more reasonable than those of, say, Albus.

But that didn't mean he had to like his progeny, did it.

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in_the_grass
2010-09-05 10:24 pm UTC (link)

'Mixed' was a generous description. "Yes - pawns of the Dark Lord, idiots, Ministry hacks, Dark creatures, actual Death Eaters ... It shouldn't be too difficult to outshine our recent attempts. Some have been better than others, of course." He himself had managed a little over a year, which he would be quick to point out put him well above the average. "But I have been wrong before." It was said with a slight warning in his voice, but really, there had been a reason he'd hired Trimble. He didn't expect to find him incompetent. "Personally, I've found that the least disastrous candidates have been those least afraid of ... engaging with the subject matter." Which probably made Barty Crouch the best, in his opinion. Well, second best.

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notyourdada
2010-09-05 10:27 pm UTC (link)

"So really, I could be a trained monkey and fare at least as well," Quentin chuckled. He liked to think that he was much, much better than any trained monkey. And also better than most of the former Professors of the subject - at least in the past decade.

He smiled in a manner that dazzled many. "Oh there's very little that I'm afraid of. I do agree that understanding those things that we're teaching them to defend against." Of course he was careful to make it sound like this was all theoretical understanding.

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in_the_grass
2010-09-05 10:41 pm UTC (link)

A trained monkey could have out-taught Gilderoy Lockhart and Dolores Umbridge combined - and probably Quirrell, too. "Good," he said, sounding rather noncommittal. He expected to see something like Lupin's much-lauded (and, as far as he was concerned, overrated) approach involving largely risk-free exposure to forces that weren't particularly impressive in the first place. "Considering how many fully-qualified experts there are currently running around evading the law, ignorance would seem to be a very dangerous strategy indeed."

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notyourdada
2010-09-05 10:43 pm UTC (link)

"I think some people have already become complacent," Quentin commented. As if, with the Dark Lord gone, there couldn't possibly be any more trouble in the world. Which was, of course, a foolish notion. When one predator was taken out of the picture, others always moved in to fill in the space.

"I do plan to challenge then. The older years, particularly." Of course he wouldn't throw the big things at the younger years. They would begin with the basics.

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in_the_grass
2010-09-05 11:30 pm UTC (link)

"They have," he agreed immediately. He couldn't bring himself to fault anyone for not being terribly worried about the particular Death Eaters who were on the loose - few of them were people for whom he'd ever held much respect - but all the same, it was foolish not to be vigilant when they had only been shot of the Dark Lord for a few years. "As they were after His first disappearance. But He was never the only threat - just self-important enough to convince everyone. Challenges are appropriate."

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notyourdada
2010-09-05 11:33 pm UTC (link)

"I find that people are often short sighted. They can only see the trouble that is right before them. And otherwise..." Quentin trailed off and shrugged. So many people didn't seem to think ahead, or think behind. They only thought about now.

"I'll be sure to let you know if I'm going to do anything in class that might end with a flurry of concerned letters from parents."

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in_the_grass
2010-09-06 12:34 am UTC (link)

"Indeed." Most people were idiots generally, but short-sightedness was a no less legitimate complaint. "Do. I do not enjoy answering letters." Nor was he any good at smoothing ruffled feathers, not that that had ever discouraged the concerned parties from writing in. And he had more than enough correspondence to tackle already, as could be seen form the stack on his desk that he was currently ignoring. "I prefer to have a suitable explanation concocted before being buried under mail."

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notyourdada
2010-09-06 02:30 pm UTC (link)

"I will be sure to." Quentin liked to think that most of the students would be able to handle such things, but there were always some who went crying to Mummy and Daddy for everything. He didn't need to have loads of teaching experience to know that - he remembered it plainly from his own school days.

"Well, I will leave you to your work." He wasn't going to push his luck the first week andtry and drag Snape out the door or something!

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in_the_grass
2010-09-06 09:33 pm UTC (link)

"Hm." Severus pointed his wand at his office door, which snapped open at once, and put his nose back in his book for about the tenth time in as many minutes. "Good evening." It seemed to him that Trimble had generally the right idea, although of course the coming months would bear it out, or they wouldn't; but in any case, he was not left with a strong desire to make things very difficult for him. Even if he was arrogant and prone to flaunting his famous relatives.

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	notyourdada 2010-09-06 09:34 pm UTC (link)
	"Good evening," was the reply that came, accompanied by a nod of his head. And then Quentin was slipping through the door and heading down the stairs so he could return to Ravenclaw Tower. (Reply to this) (Parent)

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