Chapter Text
Fallscrest Academy was situated underneath Cumberland Falls, tucked away from the muggle world in frankly absurd fashion: directly behind the largest waterfall and surrounding woodlands in the Midwest hid one of the largest magical education centers in the United States. It was a wonder it had never been accidentally infiltrated by the thousands of muggles that flocked to the Falls each year to witness the moonbow or hike the trails surrounding the Falls, but the founders of Fallscrest had been diligent to the extreme in the protection of the wizarding population, or so Tom figured. Standing in Cascade Hall, the heart of Fallscrest Academy, the waterfall and river itself were a sight to behold, as the invisible barrier that protected the academy from both intrusion and the elements held strong against the tons of water constantly pounding against it. The whole of Cascade Hall was carved out of the rock itself underneath the falls, magically cut out of the sandstone centuries ago, and that strength was apparent in both the foundation, and the magic that permeated the campus. Thomas had never appreciated the intrinsic spellwork of the school before, but the sound outside the barrier for the falls had been immense; inside of the barrier, it was nearly inaudible. Some monstrous level of a Silencio charm, at the very least, Toms thought. He glanced around his old school’s great hall, having casually levitated Kaitlyn’s dozen or so bags with the flick of his wand as their group puttered about the grounds of the campus. Seven tables were in straight parallel lines, perpendicular to a single table at the far end of the room, where the professors had dined when he was a student.
“It isn’t massive by any means, especially compared to any of the other major schools in world, but the three hundred or so students that attend each year attend enjoy the view. Particularly when the moonbow takes place.” Professor Clarke says, gesturing to the rapidly flowing water falling in front of them. He had been leading them on a short tour of the grounds of Fallscrest, upon Kaitlyn’s imploring towards Professor Clarke to be shown Thomas’ old haunts. Despite Tom’s repeated complaints of a lack of time, of course. “The moonbow, of course, drew the founders to Fallscrest’s location due to its potential influence on astronomy, astrology, potion making, enchantments, what have you. It has fairly unique properties, as the celestials often do, even with lunar and earthly circumstances limiting the amount of useful moonbows each year.”
“And what exactly do those properties provide for you?” Kaitlyn asked, still staring wide eyed at the near-silent waterfall. “How are moonbow beams different than regular moonbeams?”
Professor Clarke bobbed his head, nodding thoughtfully to her question. “Quite a few things, in fact. Mr. Udovah, if you would care to test your memory?” He said, gesturing to Thomas as they walked among the central hall.
Thomas frowned, concentrating. He’d graduated four years ago now, and was out of practice. “The moonbow at Fallscrest provide access to refracted lunar light, which are often condensed, collected, and used in the creation of American pensieves, are captured to be placed in certain enchanted lanterns using illumination charms or spread across certain plants raised in the caves and woods that are a part of campus to improve their individual properties for potionmaking, as well as being occasionally required in ritualistic or divinitive practices.” Professor Clarke peered over his glasses at Thomas, grinning. His dark eyes were dancing. “Among other things.” Thomas grumbled. He never did like answering questions in Clarke’s Charms and History of American Magic classes. Professor Clarke always seemed to be poking fun at him.
“Indeed! Well said. There are a few more use cases, but Mr. Udovah explained it quite succinctly. Fallscrest provides most of its own funding from the sale of moonbeam-based materials. The lanterns, pensieves, plant materials, and potions are very rare, only produced three or four times a year in the best of circumstances. That rarity leads to a very successful program, and an incredibly low barrier of requested tuition for students to attend Fallscrest due to those funds.” Clarke nodded to himself. “It’s a unique system of operation, but we’re proud to have been independent of MACUSA funding for our entire existence.”
“It’s very impressive. I wish we could see the moonbow, but the next full moon isn’t for weeks. We just missed the last one.” Kaitlyn spoke quietly, awestruck. “I’ll bet it looks incredible.”
Professor Clarke stopped in his tracks and looked at Thomas pointedly. “You might just be surprised.”
Thomas nodded, stepping forward and grasping his wand from a pocket, waving it in an intricate pattern towards the cascade in front of them. “Lunaris Lumos!”
Kaitlyn gasped as the whole room instantly fell dark, as did the world outside the barrier. Pinpricks of stars became visible, winking slowly through the waterfall. A bright white light began to shimmer in the corner of the barrier: a figment of the full moon, wavering in the starlight and water, nearly blotting out the stars. Slowly, it began to transcribe an arc, west to east, before coming into perfect alignment with the center of the waterfall. The effect was instantaneous: the inside of Cascade Hall became filled with a rainbow of color. Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet splay across the hall, one of the seven long tables falling squarely into the middle of each of the colors.
Kaitlyn stood, mouth agape at the wash of color in the hall. Musical sounds tinkled from the stalactites above, a chiming that rang and varied with the colors as they passed over them. They stood for a time, with Kaitlyn awed, and student and teacher quietly observing. Slowly, the color began to fade as the faux moon transcribed its arc across the sky behind the waterfall, and faded from view entirely. As it did, daylight returned to the outside world, and brightened the inside of the hall. She closed her mouth, throwing a bewildered look at Thomas and Professor Clarke. “How did you…That wasn’t the real moon, was it?”
They both laughed, Clarke clapping Thomas on his shoulder and shaking him. Clarke stepped away, still chuckling, and removed his glasses. “No, no, of course not. The no-maj’s would throw a fit, not to mention the effects that it would have on the tides and lunar calendars. No, Thomas here just demonstrated a faux-moonbow! For individuals like yourself,” He paused, using the edge of his fine cloak to clean his glasses, which he pointed at her when he finished. “Who have never had the opportunity to see a real moonbow and may not ever again get the chance, the founders of Fallscrest created an equivalent experience by developing a spell to shut out natural light and providing an alternative source of moonbeams through the waterfall. Of course, faux-moonbows have none of the intrinsic magical properties that a real moonbow has, as they’re powered by a wizard or witch, but are excellent for demonstrating what happens when they do occur.” He turned back to the waterfall, now lit by the afternoon sun shining on the muggle travelers and river outstretched for a mile in front of the trio. “It’s most definitely a wonder. The moonbow has been the key to Fallscrest existence, and always will be. Without it, this academy would not exist.” He spoke softly. Turning back to them, he smiled, gesturing them forward. “Now! We’ve got two more locations on campus to visit. After you, Miss Tofty. To the warps, if you can find the way?”
As Kaitlyn walked towards the main entrance to the left of the waterfall, still pondering the mystery of the faux moonbow, Clarke stepped in line beside Thomas, replacing his glasses on his arched nose. “So, Thomas, how have things shaken up post-secondarily? Your charmwork more than proved an interest when you were still a student. As does your master of the Lunaris charm.” He pointed out, clearly curious.
Thomas grimaced, the line of Kaitlyn’s luggage still trundling along behind him. “Deadlocked, unfortunately. Funding fell through in my first six weeks, so I took my mastery elsewhere, and gave up on the prospect of teaching entirely after the first two years were fruitless and the available professors at Ilvermorny and Andropogon had no interest in me. Funds were tight, so…Kaitlyn snagged me out of the gutter and took me on at WHIZ after that, so I’ve been earning my galleons there.” He shrugged. “I gave up. Had to, unless I wanted to scramble back to Dad’s with my tail between my legs. Or Momma’s” He adds, absently scratching his scruffy jaw.
“Well, that won’t do. I’ll tell you what.” Clarke declared, pointing a finger at Tom sternly. Thomas could tell the professor was about to go on a rant; He’d been around enough of them to know. “If you do decide you want to continue pursuing a Charms mastery, send an owl to Headmaster Gideon after your trip to England. Corelia is planning to retire shortly, making time to explore the Arctic with a few adventurous friends looking for Erklings, Hodags, and Ice Phoenixes.” Clarke shook his head, irked. “Despite her eccentricities, she does expect me to take her position, as being the Deputy Headmaster and most senior of the current crop of professors would have it. We will need to begin training a new Charms professor, in any case.”
“And you’d have me come on board, despite not having my mastery?” Tom asked, surprised for several reasons, not the least of which was that Professor Clarke kept himself from embarking on a ten-minute segue on why exactly Corelia Gideon was so irksome in her hunt for adventure in the arctic. “I didn’t even finish my qualifying exams, let alone have any experience teaching a subject.”
Clarke waved his hand lazily, unconcerned. “I know your capabilities. I’ll administer your mastery myself, if I need. Handing over deputy duties to Morrigan will make things easier, especially with Gideon already delegating to me for most of the last few years with her explorations.” He made a face. “Beyond the lack of formal mastery, you did tutor most of the students below sixth year at one point or another, managed Outstandings in Charms and Astronomy alongside fair results across the other disciplines, and you’re well versed in Fallscrest Academy as a whole. I think you’d be a fine addition with your experience and dedication, if you’d consider it at all.”
Thomas rubbed the back of his neck, fast approaching the entrance to the hall. “I’ll think on it. I enjoy the radio and WHIZ, but it might be time to think about moving on…” He looked ahead to where Kaitlyn was standing by the apparition pads that semi-circled the entrance hall, pacing around and throwing impatient looks at the pair. “Times change.”
Professor Clarke followed his gaze, nodding to himself again. (Thomas swore he’d never seen a man nod so much for so little reason.) “That they do.” He clapped his hands together. “Right! On to the dorms and forest, then?”
They approached Kaitlyn, who’d begun exaggeratedly tapping her foot. “Alright there, Kate?” Tom teased.
“No! And you know damn well why.” She complained, resuming her pacing. “I’d like to see the rest of the grounds before the Ilvermorny portkey leaves us behind. How do these work, anyway?” She pointed at her feet, where the semicircle of five short blue platforms stood dormant and wrinkled her nose. “I’ve never seen anything quite like it. And they don’t work, for being so unique.”
“She’s cranky since she hasn’t eaten yet.” Tom remarked to Clarke in a stage whisper. “I’ll have to treat her to lunch before New York or she’s likely to tear the poor portkey office workers to shreds.” He grinned, walking to stand beside her on one of the platforms. “It’s like ordering food at school. You stand on the platform, and state what part of campus you want to go.”
“So, what?” She said, stepping onto the leftmost platform. “All I have to say is ‘dorms’ an-WAH!” Kaitlyn yelped as she whirled away, the platform having spirited her half a mile away to the dormitory forest.
“You did that on purpose.” Clarke observed, charming the luggage behind Tom so they’d apparate alongside him when he warped. “You’ve known her how long?”
“A little over two years? We met right after I gave up on the mastery program, like I said. It was at a music shop open mic show, if I remember rightly? Got to talking and found out she needed a new overnight DJ for WHIZ, and the rest is history. Why?”
Clarke hesitated. “Tom, you were always a…headstrong student. And occasionally oblivious. Miss Tofty clearly has some affection for you, and you her. Why are you committed to staying at WHIZ when the only reason you fell into it at all was because of her?”
How the hell…? Tom mentally recoiled. Clarke had always seemed to read him perfectly. Even without seeing Tom for years, it seemed he still kept that familiarity. “Professor, with all due respect to your skills as an educator and wisdom as a wizard, I know better in this case. I’m not going to cut her off from her family by asking her to stay, no matter how I felt, or may feel. I knew she would go back sooner or later, likely sooner with what she had told me about her family’s history of illnesses as they age. Arthritis, various poxes, mental deterioration from potioneering, and so on, you know? And she’s…” Incredible? Brilliant? Confident? “…dedicated to her family. Despite their initial disappointment with her being a squib, they’ve treated her much better than most pureblood families would have. She wasn’t disowned.” He pointed out. “They fully funded her secondary education since attending Hogwarts was out of the question, supported her moving halfway across the world for a ‘prove-it’ job, and now she’s going back to England to make strides in improving an ever-growing aspect of the wizarding world in magi-communications, which would never have happened without their support. Whatever feelings I may or may not have, they would never be able to compare to that, nor would I ask her to leave them behind when they clearly care so much about her.”
Professor Clarke nodded once again, infuriatingly. “All good reasons to let her go. But Thomas, you may not know what you might have if you don’t ask. I think you might be surprised, just like she was with your capabilities. You’ve been holding out on her, haven’t you?” He peered over his glasses, eyes narrowed slightly as he stepped onto the platform. “In more ways than one. Don’t give up home, Mr. Udovah. There’s always a chance. Dorms.”
With that, Clarke whisked away just like Kait had, whirling towards the dorms in a mix of color and cloth. Thomas closed his eyes, stepping onto the rightmost platform. No matter what he thought might happen between him and Kaitlyn in the next bit, it all changed with her going back to England. There’s no sense in building a rift that can’t be mended for the sake of his own aching heart, he figured. Let it bleed a bit, then it’ll scar over. It wouldn’t be the first time, he thought, absentmindedly touching his abdomen.
He stepped on the platform, following a wise old man and a much wiser young woman.