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She shuffled the papers in front of her with a heavy sigh. "I never thought I would miss the offices," Rolanda huffed. When she'd taken the job at Hogwarts, she had been beyond excited to return to the castle and get away from London and the Ministry. She'd never been someone to enjoy living in a city. She loved just being able to get on her broom and fly… the fresh air, the smell of nature, the bite of a cold wind on her face, its whistle in her ears.
The dark was beginning to settle outside, but Rolanda hadn't even noticed. A knock at the door roused her from her daydreaming. "Come in," she called out, collecting the papers into a pile. She wondered who could be coming to her office at this time.
McGonagall opened the door and walked into Rolanda's office, a stern look on her face - one that Rolanda had seen her turn onto students aplenty. Uh oh, she thought to herself, what happened? "You didn't come to dinner?" McGonagall asked, settling herself into one of the chairs on the opposite side of the desk. With a quick wave of her wand, a plate of food materialised in front of them. "You need to eat," McGonagall insisted. "Eating is imperative if you plan to spend most of your days outside."
"I lost track of time," Hooch mumbled, looking over at the clock on the mantelpiece. "I had gotten too invested in the training schedules."
McGonagall's eyes softened. "I know that adjusting to life here isn't easy, especially coming from the Ministry." She smiled over at Rolanda; they weren't too far off age-wise, but Rolanda looked up to the deputy headmistress. The other woman had been so open and welcoming, a nice change from what she was used to. "In my early days, I felt I had to work so hard, to not make mistakes, to prove that I deserved my position here. I can see you doing the same. I promise you deserve your place, you wouldn't be here if you didn't. Working hard is great, and being thorough is brilliant, but not to the detriment of your well-being. None of us can be the best or hope to look after the students if we aren't looking after ourselves first."
"I know, Professor, I will try to remember," Hooch said, still not able to look the other witch in the eye. She felt as if she was getting a telling-off as if she were still a student.
"Please, call me Minerva. Only the students need to call me Professor." She smiled, "Now eat before it gets cold." She smiled warmly. "The house elves outdid themselves tonight."
Rolanda inhaled, the food smelled divine and her stomach panged in response. She hadn't been aware of how hungry she was. She picked up the cutlery that was beside the plate and began to eat.
"I will leave you to it," Minerva said, rising to her feet. "Do come and join us in the staff room at some point tonight."
Rolanda murmured an assent, she would make a point of heading there once she had eaten. It still felt strange to have a staff room and to be able to relax. She never felt like she could do so in the ministry. Maybe it was being the only woman there. Life in the castle feels a lot more like her life back when she was playing for the Appleby Arrows. Like she was part of a big family. She just needed to remember to let up sometimes, she didn't need to be working all the time. She doesn't thrive like that, she learnt that the hard way.
She ate quickly, feeling warm and cosy as she had her fill. Once she had sent the empty plate and goblet back to the kitchens she looked around. She pulled the papers back towards her, finishing up one more lesson plan wouldn’t hurt.