Kindess in Spades: A Harry Potter Story.

Caelum absently watched on at the bubbling hub-bub of civilisation from his comfortable chair at the tea-house. One of his more favoured places in London, it was a quaint place, a bit off the beaten path. It wasn't something you would find unless you were looking for it, but the soothing atmosphere and fantastic choice of tea which gave the place a nice smell and well it more than made up for any downsides.

Besides Caelum was good friends with the owner, Adrian Quince owner of 'Quince's Tea Retreat'. A muggle in his mid twenties who he had come across getting robbed. Through a subtle applitcation of magic, one that most would frown on he'd managed to easily overcome the robber and put them to sleep.

Despite not asking for anything in return Quince -As he claimed everyone called him, announced that Caelum would never need to pay for a drink at his tea-house. That had been oh, two year's ago.

Oh how time flied.

Taking a sip of some perfect Jasime Pearl, he glanced at his watch. Quarter past nine still a handful of minutes until his guest arrived. 

Caelum glanced at the people outside - a poor fellow's hair colliding with bird droppings drew a wince. He put his cup down, sighed with pleasure, and offered the passing server a smile.

Had it truly been almost two decades since he had woken up here. In one of his favourite fictional works? He reached down and pinched himself with one hand while the other hovered over his half-drank tea cup and gently spun in place.

The mixed sensation of pain and a blend of tingling warmth and a cool breeze, an otherworldly fusion that defied simple description -yet it didn't really feel like that, it was something words couldn't quite express but it was as close as he could get, ran down his spine and the sight of his cup refilling -from seemingly nowhere. Reassured his anxieties, that yes it certainly was real.

He knew it was silly, that after nearly two decades he still found himself checking and reassuring himself that it was all real but he couldn't help himself. It wasn't everyday you died and woke up in the Wizarding World after all.

He took conscious control of his thoughts, taking the misplaced concern and reducing them into nothingness. A well practiced use of what he'd come to call Regulamency, the magical art of ruling ones own mind. 

It was in essence a form of Occlumency, only instead of occluding or hiding ones thoughts and only controllings one's emotions, it extended on that control aspect. Becoming the magical art of consciously controlling his mind as he pleased. 

It was mighty useful for ensuring his motivation -drive to actually go through with homework, never died out. Made a quick deal out of burn-out too.

"Ah, it is greatly pleasing to see you again Mr.Embermere." A jolly, sligthly whispery voice spoke pulling Caelum from his thoughts. He didn't need to tilt his head upwards to know who was talking, yet he did anyway a grin already forming on his face.

Sky blue eyes on an aged face met Caelum's ice blue.

"Professor Dumbledore." He spoke simply, gesturing to the chair on the other side of the table. The Professor took it with a smile, "Thank you for coming." Caelum said once he'd sat down.

The Professor's eyes merely twinkled with mirth, "It's not often I'm invited out for such things, usually I'm afraid it's all stuffy meetings concering much more drab subjects." He said with a wink, and Caelum could only imagine the sort of meetings he was used too, it was well known that the minister regularly owled Dumbledore for advise after all, then the older wizard raised a hand to signing a server to come over and began his order. 

As Dumbledore ordered his tea -Lemon Sherbet of all things, Caelum went over how he was going to approach this.

They both knew what this meeting was for, his application as Defense Against The Dark Art's Professor. He was young, perhaps 'too young' for the job in most peoples opinion but Caelum ceartainly had the qaulifications, and he was sure he could swing his youth as a way to connect deeper with his students. 

"So, you wish for the position of Defense Against The Dark Art's Professor Caelum?" Dumbledore began once the server had gone to get his order, a warm smile on his face.

Caelum's grin transformed into a smile, "Indeed. I know I'm young, but I do believe -no I know that this is what I want to do, help people, guide people to better themselves.". While not the full truth, it was the truth.

He did wish to guide people into being the best versions of themselves, he truly believed that there was good in everyone and that all it took was someone reaching out a hand to bring that good to the surface and what better way to do that then to be a guiding hand for those who need it most, the youth.

Of course on the other hand, while he did believe he would enjoy being a teacher, he did have his misgivings. He loved to wander, to go from place to place -it was what he'd spent the last year after graduating doing, usually finding problems to fix.

The largest issue here -that was if he got the job in the first place, would be having to give that up. But Caelum was prepared for that. He didn't have to be a teacher forever after all, and if he wanted to help things from getting as bad as they did in the books then he'd have to be at the centre of it all; Hogwarts.

Dumbledore continued to smile, carefully taking his tea from the server blowing gently at the hot beverage a few times before taking a sip. A content hum escaping him as he did so, "You'll need to construct a course for the upcoming year, fortunately you have four months to do so." He spoke clearly, calmly and then took another sip from his tea.

Caelum blinked. 

Dumbledore watched in barely concealed amusement.

"Wa- wait that's it?" He said with hardly hidden suprise. Dumbledore only continued to drink from his tea, offering a nod before the server returned with a plate full of biscuits -Ginger snap, form the looks of it he took one, eyes wide with glee and dipped it into his tea before eating it with relish.

Caelum huffed, a grin reappearing. "Very well, guess I should get to work," he said. Eyeing his refilled tea, he added cheekily, "After I've finished this." meeting Dumbledore's amused gaze.

Dumbledore placed his tea down, "I've heard you've been travelling?" He asked.

Caelum nodded, he hadn't exactly been trying to 'whisk by the enchantments without a whisper' as the wizarding world woud say. "I have." He said, a smile on his face as he recalled his numerous wanders.

Dumbledore peered over his half-moon spectacles at him, a gleam of interest in his eyes. "I've also heard more than one, rather, spectacular tale." Caelum's smile became fixed, oh no. "Why, the most fascinating was this story about a small settlement in Bulagaira? Leshten I beleive, and how not too long ago they were being plagued by a den of Runespore who had taken up a nest in the local forests." 

Caelum ran his tongue over his teeth, once again imploying Regulamency to crush any growing discomfort -embarrassment mostly, from having his own deeds told to him and from the knowledge that stories about his actions had been spreading, his smile smoothed back out and he carefully grabbed his nearly empy tea and drank the last of it's contents.

Dumbledore only looked more amused, his head tilting forwards. "Only for a 'dashing young wizard' to arrive and settle the issue, this young wizard didn't give a name, nor ask for any reward beyond a place to stay for a night or two and was gone just as soon as he arrived. It was only due to a picture taken the elderly woman who offered him a room that his identity was discovered." 

With control over his emotions and thoughts regained, Caelum only shrugged. "I merely did what anyone would've done." He stated succinctly.

Placing his empty tea cup onto the table, he brushed his hands on his torso and thighs cleaning off imaginary non-existent dirt and fluff as he stood up, "I'm afraid however I do, really, need to get going. I have a ciriculum to plan out you see." He said hastily.

Just because he'd regained control over himself didn't mean it wasn't embarrassing anymore to know that stories were being told about him. That they'd have been spoken enough that Dumbeldore had caught wind of them even.

Dumbledore chuckled, waving cheerily. He dipped a ginger snap into his magically refilled tea, "I truly have enjoyed this, Mr. Embermere. Mayhaps we shall do it again sometime?" he asked with a polite smile.

"Course, we can." Caelum spoke warmly, offering his own smile before he left the Quince's Tea Retreat, slipping on an avoidance charm between one step and the next his mind brought forth a picture, a massive wooden structure, on an forested mountain slope. With the immediate surrounding tree's seemingly being apart of the structure itself, almost as though the house was grown from those very tree's. 

It was an image that bubbled with emotions and thoughts -that he allowed to form, warmth and security, familiarity and belonging; The Ancestral Home of House Lungbarrow.

His family on his mother's side though they were all gone now, rest her soul. Caelum having been an orphan hadn't discovered his magical heritage until he managed to track down his mother; Teressa Lungbarrow during his fifth year.

Before that he had suspected he was at least a half-blood, couldn't get in Slytherin if he had been muggleborn after all.

Using those emotions and thoughts -something he found allowed him to apparate much easier than actually picturing the place, thought that did help, he was gone before his next step touched the ground, barely a warble of displaced air announcing his apparation.