Professor Brown's Office

Oh, she was mad, alright.

Rachel glared openly at the painting in front of her. It was a picturesque scene, with young witches and wizards dressed in Medieval styled clothing. They were soaring through the clouds, and the children in the paintings were laughing merrily. However, one of the boys in it noticed it, and he gazed uneasily at her. Without saying a word, she reached forward, and tickled the little boy under the chin, though rather rough about it. Suddenly, the characters in the painting stilled, and it opened up, revealing a staircase up to Professor Brown's classroom.

Rachel stormed up the stairs, make a clicking nose with the small pair of heels she had on. As soon as she arrived at the top, she began to speak.

"Kelsi! There is something I need to talk to you about! And no, I couldn't have used an owl for this!" she barked, without even saying a simple hello.

Kelsi looked startled, but kept her posture. She couldn't show vulnerability at this school. The students would pounce on her and eat her alive like raging mosquitos. "Hey, Rachel! What's wrong?" she said, looking up from some papers.

Rachel sat down in the chair in front of her desk, the very same one that Will had sat when he had gotten into mischief. Unlike him, she wasted absolutely no time in getting down to business.

"Why the hell is my kid failing your Transfiguration class? I just received a notice about it today." Rachel demanded, her eyes in a bright blaze.

Kelsi didn't even blink. She looked up at Rachel, her dear dear friend, and smiled. "Which one?" she asked sweetly, and looked back down at her work.

Rachel's jaw dropped, and the red and heat climbed up into her face. She was about to go on a tangent, yelling and raving at her, but she quickly stopped herself. So, she cleared her throat, and with a shaking voice, she continued to speak.

"I was referring to Will, but I didn't know I had more than one failing it." She said in a dark voice.

Kelsi sighed. "You know, it's their fault I'm actually beginning to plan some tutorial sessions. And pretty much all of them. Except for James, he's doing alright."

"Well, James is a pretty bright kid. But gosh..." Rachel was still pretty red, but she looked more disappointed than anything. "I don't remember being THAT bad at Transfiguration in school. Just charms, but I can't let them go down the same path I did. I really regret not taking a N.E.W.T. Charms class." Rachel suddenly looked determined.

"I'm going to send them all Howlers!"

"You should. It would help them a lot. I even slowed my classes down for them and a few others- who don't try. Don't get me wrong. Your kids try. Except for Will. He's a bit on the extraordinary side."

Rachel rolled her eyes. She didn't like the thought of being the mother of a trouble making slacker. But, she couldn't hide from the truth now.

"He is rather extraordinary, isn't he? I'm surprised he's in your NEWT class. Maybe you should be more tougher about who's going into your class. But anyway, I'm not sure how I can whip him into shape. He's so headstrong."

Kelsi smiled. "Oh, trust me. I take very good of my students," she said winking. "Oh my god, I didn't mean that sexually." she sighed. "But yes, Will definiately is scared of you."

"I can tell. Well, it won't be easy, but it's worth a shot." Rachel stood up, and gave Kelsi a tight hug. "It was nice seeing you again Kelsi, even if it wasn't such a happy conversation."

Kelsi smiled greatly at her friend, and hugged her back. "I'm so happy to see you too. How's Sophia doing?" she asked softly, leaving a hand on Rachel's shoulder.

Lines appeared around Rachel's forehead and mouth, but she tried to sound as optimistic as possible.

"She's doing much better than before. I think she'll be okay. I think she's trying to keep busy, as she keeps scribbling down in this journal of her's, and sending out many owls."

"I'm glad you're helping her. You're doing the right thing." Kelsi said softly.

"I couldn't turn her away. I didn't want her to have to go through what I did." Rachel muttered. As she said this, tears smarted up in her eyes.

Kelsi's stare softened greatly, almost as if she could feel Rachel's pain. "No, don't cry, Rachel." she said softly, turning her head to the side and taking a falling tear away from her face. She hugged her tightly.

"Thank you... you're so kind." Rachel muttered in her eyes. With one final squeeze, she gave Kelsi the strongest smile she could muster. "I should be getting home now. I need to start dinner, soon."

Kelsi smiled back. "You should try the muggle takeouts. When I was a kid, we had that often. They make the dinner all ready for you. It's not the best thing, but you need a break. Spend time with Sophia, instead. Tell her about you and Nick. I'm sure she's under a lot of stress too, and would love to hear of you two at her age, and how you coped with it all."