Archive of Our Own ^beta

“Well Mrs Grant, it is an interesting curriculum vitae you have here,” Albus Dumbledore stated as he lay back in his seat, eyes twinkling. The young woman in front of him just smiled and made a faint nod.

“I’m glad you seem to think so, Sir. I admit I hadn’t expected you to give my letter a second glance. After all, I’m sure there is no short amount of witches and wizards who postulated for the job.”

“Oh, less than you would think so,” Dumbledore commented absently. “Geography isn’t as glamorous a subject as Defense Against the Dark Arts – and I’m afraid the number of people qualified to teach it is just as small.” Disturbingly small, he thought to himself with dismay. It was a very disagreeable surprise – but then again, he should have foreseen it.

Geography hadn’t been a subject taught at Hogwarts since he had been a student himself and even then, it had only been an elective. So few students actually took it back then that when the teacher eventually retired, he wasn’t replaced – the lack of replacement potentially helped because it was a very Muggle subject at the core and Phineas Nigellus Black, then Headmaster of Hogwarts, had never made a secret of his dislike for anyone who wasn’t a Pureblood or any subject that wasn’t purely Magical in its teaching. Muggle Studies had almost gone the same way but thankfully, the timely arrival of Armando Dippet as Headmaster had saved it from being terminated as well.

In all honestly, Dumbledore felt vaguely ashamed that since the beginning of his tenure as Headmaster, he had never thought to reopen the Geography course. Granted, he had had bigger fishes to fry than to worry about a class that students weren’t even asking about anymore, but even so, he should have paid more attentions to what was going on in his school before the various members of the ICW started to raise concerns over the quality of education in several of the Wizarding School worldwide and how several of them were starting to fall behind the standards set by the illustrious congregation – Hogwarts included.

A hard blow to receive for Albus Dumbledore, given his position as both Headmaster of Hogwarts and as recently appointed Supreme Mugwump, but hours of listening to debates and some careful researching of his own, Dumbledore had to acknowledge that there was an underlying truth in their concerns. Learning magic was one thing, but young witches and wizards also had to hold a minimum of knowledges in a variety of subjects such as writing, mathematics, languages… and geography. After all, how was a young magician just graduated from their school supposed to maintain the tradition of travelling abroad if they didn’t know how to read a map in the first place?

Thus why, after more than sixty years, Albus Dumbledore had officially announced to the Daily Prophet the reopening of the Geography class at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

But what he had expected to be a simple endeavor – at least in comparison to trying to find a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, again – had slowly turned into a growing headache.

The ICW had long since set standards to adhere to when it came to worldwide education and while they didn’t strictly enforced them asides of the OWLs and NEWTs, it was expected that any potential teacher would be able to perform up to those aforementioned standards. Defense asides, for which Dumbledore and the Ministry had to lower the threshold, all teachers at Hogwarts were able to meet the ICW criteria – even Binns, though the last examiner had commented the ghost would need to amend his cursus in the next twenty years or so to stay within those criteria. Consequently and couple with his position as Supreme Mugwump which imposed him to be an example for other wizards, Albus Dumbledore could do no less but hire a teacher that could fit the ICW requirement for Geography. Having gotten at least a OWL or a NEWT in the subject on independent studying would have been nice, but he was ready to make do with a solid knowledge of the ICW standards.

Cue the headache as the old wizard realized that, due to a whole generation and half not concerning themselves with how the world had changed as Muggles and Wizarding frontiers shifted, very few of his fellow wizards and witches knew anything about the current state of the world unless they worked for one of the International branches of the Ministry of Magic – Quidditch, Law, Cooperation,… -- and those people weren’t willing to leave their posts, oh no.
Instead of people who at least had some idea of what they were speaking about, Albus Dumbledore had to deal with amateurs.

It had taken a lot of tact to correct Mr Kardfel over the fact the Austro-Hungarian Empire had long since ceased to exist or that the Austro-Hungarian Ministry of Magic had also broken down into several entities, albeit ones with different borders than the Muggle populations. Mr Kardfel had been crestfallen and spent the rest of the interview lamenting about the good old time. Dumbledore showed himself to be understanding and caring as he lead him out of his office, but privately thought hiring a wizard who was almost a decade older than him wouldn’t have been a good idea anyway.

Then there had been Ms Busso, on which he had perhaps a little too forcefully impressed the fact that no, there was no true ‘Wizarding state’ out there where only wizards and witches lived and Squibs and Muggles were systematically chased away (if not worse). The closest thing that fit her description was an uncharted island in the Mediterranean Sea that had served as a port for wizard sailors from the 14th to the 18th century, after which it was changed into a Research center and Reserve for water-based magical flora and fauna. The woman had left in a hurry, slamming the door behind her. Dumbledore had accorded himself an extra lemon drop after that specific interview.

There had been two or three other candidates, but their credentials hadn’t warranted meeting them and Dumbledore had just sent them a politely worded letter of refusal.

He had still been thinking about contacting one away when the last letter had arrived on his desk a few days prior.

On paper, Erica Grant had sounded quite interesting. A young witch who officially had an OWL and a NEWT in Geography, which immediately put her name at the top of the short list of candidates Dumbledore had been able to come up with, she was also mentioning in her letter and curriculum vitae to have a teaching experience, albeit as an Assistant Teacher only, both in Uagadou School of Magic in Africa and in Mahoutokoro in Japan.

That was a rare find indeed.

“And you say you were teaching English in both cases?” the Headmaster inquired after offering the young woman a lemon drop she politely refused.

“Yes, Headmaster,” she nodded, the black curls framing her face moving with the move. “In Uagadou, it has long since been traditional to learn English – and it’s the only language used for lessons. The students come from so many countries and belong to so many ethnicities, each with their own languages, that teaching the main subjects in a common language has long since been dubbed a necessity.” She paused. “Of course, the imposition of English is still debated today, as North African students keep loudly reclaiming for French lessons. But English is supposed to be more universal, as it is considered THE most spoken human language on Earth, so they haven’t have much luck on that front.”

“And Mahoutokoro?” Dumbledore inquired, nodding his understanding.

Mrs Grant let a curl of hair twirl around her finger. “Well, it was more a case of wanting their students to learn at least one Western language to simplify the exchange and pen-pal program they have put together with Beauxbatons and Castelobruxo. Oh, but you must know all those details already,” she blushed. Hogwarts was also a participant in the pen-pal project, though they had only opened it with Ilvermorny and Castelobruxo so far.

“It’s perfectly fine, my dear,” the Headmaster smiled. “I had heard of it, of course.” And contemplated the idea of opening a Language class at Hogwarts as well at some point, but the Board of Governors hadn’t deemed it a priority and the matter had been pushed indefinitely. Perhaps he should try to bring it back to their attention. “But I’m surprised you found yourself working in those two schools, on two different continents, and in such a short laps of time. Perhaps did you graduate from one of them? I can’t remember seeing you in Hogwarts.” He watched her over his half-moon glasses.

“Unfortunately, I never went to a Wizarding school as a student,” Mrs Grant sighed. “When my letter for Hogwarts came, my father and step-mother decided against me going. I was homeschooled until my step-mother decided that the… political climate in Britain was too dangerous for us to stay,” she eluded. “After which I continued being homeschooled, but this time abroad. My step-mother wasn’t feeling particularly well anywhere so we kept moving -- and my husband with us -– until as of two years ago, when I decided I wanted to return to Britain. After all, all danger had passed for people like me, and it was home,” she finished, looking away from Dumbledore’s face.

Albus Dumbledore nodded slowly. “You would hardly be the first child overprotective parents decided to homeschool or send studying abroad.”

“So I’ve heard,” the young woman nodded.

Part of him wanted to pry her for details but… it was a job interview. Not an interrogation on her private life. “May I inquire about your Geography OWL and NEWT?” the Headmaster asked instead.

“Oh, but certainly. You see, the problem with being homeschooled is that you can’t always have access to a wand. Some Ministries ban their possession from children who aren’t properly registered in Wizarding Schools. As such, I was encouraged to mainly study subjects that don’t require one – Potions, Arithmancy, Runes, Herbology, Divination,…” she listed off. “Geography came on the table given how often we tended to move. When I learned it was an official OWL subject, I decided I should as well try to pass it. It does add a line to a CV – though I hadn’t imagined it’d serve a practical purpose,” she added with self-depreciation.

“No knowledge is ever wasted,” Dumbledore commented. They chatted a little more over different questions. Capitals, Ministries of Magic, exportations and importations, magical Reserves, rivers, agriculture… Geography wasn’t just pointing the name of a town or city on a map, and Mrs Grant knew her subject, no doubt about it. Satisfied, the old wizard leaned back in his seat. “As far as I’m concerned, Mrs Grant, you’re probably the most qualified person I saw so far. That said, I still wish to interview another person or two before I decide who to hire for the position.” Pure formality, of course.

“I understand,” the young woman nodded. “May I ask how long until you give me an answer?”

“No more than a week,” he assured her. Dumbledore mused a moment. “Tell me, Mrs Grant… are you, by any chance, related to Henry Grant from the 'La Grange’s School for Young Whiz’?” he asked, curiosity getting the better of him. He may not remember the name Grant as the name of a student, but he had read it in the newspapers, associated with the opening of a primary school for young witches and wizards.

“My husband,” Mrs Grant – no, Professor Grant, he should call her, because he already knew he’d hire her, answered with a nod and an amused smile. There was something familiar in that smile, too. “I may go teach there as well should I fail to get the post here at Hogwarts.”

“I see,” Dumbledore murmured. Interesting. Very interesting, he mused as he accompanied the young lady downstairs and bid her farewell. He wasn’t surprised to see that Severus was waiting at the end of the corridor, standing still and frozen and giving but a jerky nod when Mrs Grant passed in front of him with a greeting. “Well, Severus, that was hardly polite,” he chided him, though without heat.

“Polite?” the Potions Master almost choked. “Headmaster, her eyes…!”

Dumbledore hummed. Yes, he had noticed too, even if he hadn’t commented on it. It was just one more reason for him to be interested in Mrs Erica Grant. “Yes, she has beautiful eyes, hasn’t she? Very green…”

Lily Potter’s eyes.