Early afternoon at Maiko's house

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Mai had been relaxing on the couch, reading a psychology journal and using her bear-dog as a footrest. She didn’t get very many days where she could wind down, and she was so looking forward to being lazy for the rest of the day. On the end table, a cup of jasmine tea rested on a badger coaster. Although she had graduated from Hogwarts a while ago, she still held onto some Hufflepuff pride.

Kohaku spending his day with friends, and so she had the house to herself. It would’ve been lonely if it weren’t for the fact that Mai was content to take a break from people once in a while and read. She was an extrovert through and through—but that didn’t mean she didn’t enjoy time alone.   

Maslow wiggled his way out from under her feet and sauntered on over to the front door, ears perked, tail wagging, and nose pointing to the doorknob. He didn’t bark, but it was very obvious that there was someone there, or about to be there.

She sighed and got up from her comfortable spot and peeked out the window.

“Cal?” Mai’s eyebrows furrowed together. It seemed like he had arrived in town early for Kohaku’s birthday!  She hadn’t been expecting him until dinner! She gently shoved the dog out of the way and opened the door for her honorary brother before he could even knock. “It’s been too long!” She exclaimed, wagging her finger at him in an almost scolding manner.

Cal had known homesickness. Over the past six years, it was his most frequent companion. But he could never bring himself to return for whatever reason. Most likely cowardice. Every time he thought of moving back permanently, he remembered how he had let his moms die, and then he would pack up his belongings and move even farther away. There was even a moment he considered joining an expedition to Antarctica.

He always returned to the Yukawas' (his chosen family) for holidays and birthdays, though, and today was his little "brother's" birthday. There was a time when Cal wondered if Kohaku would even live to this day, and he thought back on all the years he had known the boy and his sister. Mai. Cal doubted he could ever repay those two for the kindness and love they had shown him over the past decade. To say that the three of them had supported each other through some extremely trying times would be an understatement.

The bus hit a pothole, causing Cal to curse a bit too audibly, and he grimaced at the shrew-faced mother with her equally rodent-esque children two rows down who glared at him reproachfully. Somehow, this homecoming felt different. Despite the fact that the weather gods spared no expense in making sure that the day was as dreary as possible, Cal felt remarkably upbeat, and only mildly disheveled. But for having lived in a tent city for the past couple weeks, he wasn't much worse for wear. Other than getting his favorite argyle sweater stolen by that rough hobo, Jim. Cal mourned the loss of that sweater. However, during the mugging, Callum Tyberius Asher had a realization. He was thirty years old, and still afraid of the bogeyman. Sure, his outward persona would never imply that, but the fact of the matter was that a part of him had never moved past that decisive battle in Hogwarts during his seventh year. And that scraggly bum who smelled of stale beer and piss was his own, albeit much less friendly, Rafiki - telling him that it was time to stop running from his past, no matter how much it hurt. Cal just wished that he could have been bonked on the head with a stick, rather than a broken bottle. The memory caused him to rub his forehead absently, though he had healed the wound, and there wasn't even a mark.

As he stepped off the bus near Mai's home, he gripped the frayed straps of his backpack and sloshed along in the rain as he made his way towards the only place he felt he belonged. Drawing a breath, he was about to knock when the door opened, Mai standing in front of him, her expression happy to see him.

It's been too long!

It was everything Cal could do to not break down then and there in front of his little sister. He wrapped her in a bear hug to end all bear hugs, and felt home.

"I've missed you guys!" Cal exclaimed when he set Mai down, and he kneeled to pet Maslow. "Where's the birthday boy?"

She squeezed him back—one of those bone cracking, lung crushing hugs. It was only when he set her down did she release her grip.

Mai practically pulled him into the house, while Maslow kept trying to lean on Callum lovingly. It didn’t work out, as they were moving and leaning was primarily a sedentary action. It resulted in Maslow stumbling and practically trying to knock Cal over. Typical dog behavior. Totally harmless, unless Callum didn’t exactly have a good sense of balance or any physical strength whatsoever.

“Kohaku’s out with friends right now.” She explained, “… I didn’t even know he had friends.” The latter sentence was very obviously a joke—of course her brother had friends, it was just that most of them were from his program at university and Haku was often a little too embarrassed to bring them by. Mai couldn’t blame him, she did go out of her way to make him feel uncomfortable.

“I missed you too!!” She exclaimed, taking a seat on a rather cushy couch. “So, what crazy story do you have to tell me now?”

Cal was accustomed to Maslow's excitable nature, and managed to remain upright, but just barely, and the dog's behavior caused him to laugh heartily. He was happy to be inside, out of the dreadful weather, and quickly cast a charm to dry himself off, as he didn't want to drip all over Maiko's floor. Her home always exuded a welcoming aura, and Cal hung up his backpack and jacket with a grin, happy to be back.

When Maiko informed him that Kohaku had friends, he feigned shock. "Wait, people actually like the kid? I thought we just tolerated him out of obligation," he jested, but honestly he couldn't think of a more likable person than Kohaku.

He sat down on the couch beside Mai, and sighed dramatically when she asked him whether he had any recent crazy stories. "Hoo boy, do I have any crazy stories? Have you tricked Haku into going on awkward dates recently? The answer to both questions is yes," Cal stuck his tongue out at Mai. "But I actually found myself in a bit of a pinch not too long ago, because who knew that substitute teachers didn't make a decent living wage? Anyway, this self-titled king of Tent City, Jim, took pity on me and allowed me to stay with his group. It was nice in a vaguely cultish way. However, apparently all he wanted was my argyle sweater that you got me a couple Christmases ago. There are a couple teaching horror stories, but I'll save those for when Haku gets back. But I didn't want to exacerbate his fear of the homeless."

“I know, I’m surprised too!” Mai shook her head, “Apparently his demeaning sense of humor is appealing to people.” She wasn’t actually surprised. Kohaku could be quite sweet when he wanted to be. The other day, he had picked out a cute little Star Wars baby onesie for Gabriel Eleor. That was not an action that someone made of doom would commit.

Shockingly, she hadn’t tricked Kohaku onto any dates recently… Though she was planning on one in a couple weeks.
Kohaku didn’t have a fear of the homeless. Mai wasn’t sure where that came from, but she chalked that up to typical Cal dramatics. She narrowed her eyes at him, however, when he said he lived in a tent city.

“Really, Callum?” She sighed, “You didn’t think to owl me? I would’ve loved to help.  That was a lovely sweater, too.” At least he was back. “You know you can always ask for our help. Even if Kohaku rolls his eyes about it.” 

Cal waved his hand at her concern, he hadn't meant to upset Maiko. He knew that she would have helped him, and that was part of the reason why he didn't want to write to her. Mai had a tendency to attempt to fix all of his problems, and part of his reason for his pilgrimage was to become more self-reliant. Though after several years, it might have been time for him to learn that he didn't always have to be so independent.

"I know that you are always here for me, and I appreciate that," he smiled, and ran a hand through his thick hair. "God, I'm tired of running. Mai, how are you able to work in that school? When they were sending out owls letting people know about the ten-year reunion a few years ago, I burned the letter. I couldn't even read it. Who knows who was even in attendance. But I just saw the faces of all of our classmates who wouldn't be going, and those who had no right to attend," the last part was almost a growl, and he remembered how easily some of the other students joined with the Death Eaters, and the enjoyment on their faces as they cast Unforgivable Curses on him in detention. He cursed the fact that he still wasn't over the events more than a decade later.

He cleared his throat and tried to smile nonchalantly. "What I'm trying to say is that I want to stay in the area. Will you help me? ... Surprise?"

“It—“ Mai shook her head, “I had to go to that school for another year. I had to deal with it. Besides..” She sighed, “I… It’s different now. The students there, they don’t have those same experiences. They have different problems. And helping them helps me. I want to help them have the adolescence that we didn’t get to have.” The people in their generation were forced to grow up before their time. Some more than others. 

School reunions were grim. But people now tended to cherish the ones who survived, rather than dwelling solely on the ones who didn’t make it to graduation. For the ones who would never have families of their own. This holiday was a reminder of everyone whose lives were cut too short.

But now, Cal was asking for her help. Help finding a job. This meant that he was... Going to stay? This would be the best gift he could've given Kohaku.

“Well.” She said carefully. “This isn’t the sort of job you can just throw away.” Even though there was a high turnover rate at Hogwarts, most professors came in intending to stay. “There’s an opening in September. Professor Frasier is leaving.” Mai sounded almost sad about it. She rather liked Isaac and felt like he left just when she was getting to know him as a coworker. “He taught muggle studies. You should apply. I'll put in a good word.”

It was strange, as Cal hadn't given more than a passing thought to Remembrance Day for years, but the moment he got the idea in his head to move back, the memories had come flooding back unbidden. He felt ashamed for his outburst, as he knew that Mai had had it worse since she couldn't completely detach from everything immediately afterwards, but perhaps that had allowed her to gain some sense of closure and hope for moving forward.

When she mentioned that a teaching job had opened up at Hogwarts, Cal frowned slightly. He had been teaching nonmagical teens and young adults for awhile now, but...

"Muggle Studies? There aren't any crazy purists running amok, right? Being tortured for one period in my life is plenty, and I remember what happened to the professor during my last year. The Death Eater who replaced her made sure to inform all of us so that we knew what happened to those who had favorable views towards muggles," he shook his head.

Cal mulled over the idea of being a Hogwarts professor in his head, and met Mai's gaze. Maybe this would provide him with some sort of... peace, or something. And Mai would be there if he ever wanted to throttle a mouthy student.

"You truly believe that I wouldn't screw these kids up?"

“If there’s crazy purists running amok, they certainly don’t have any power.” Maiko responded confidently, no hint of hesitance in her tone or her body language. Hogwarts had become… A safe place. A better place. It was difficult for those who had not returned to remember it the way that it should’ve been. Sometimes it was something that Maiko had to remind herself—what Hogwarts had been for her was not the same Hogwarts that it was now. And Mai only hoped it would stay that way. In fact, she would do everything in her power to make sure that it did.

She bumped his arm with her shoulder, “These kids are resilient. I doubt you can screw them up.” Mai nodded, “Besides, who better to teach Muggle Studies than someone who has spent time in all different kinds of muggle culture? If Storm hasn’t traumatized them for life, I don’t know who will.” Maiko adored the Defense professor, and spoke quite highly of him whenever he was brought up.

Cal chuckled at her comment that he couldn't screw the students up. Oh, ye of little faith... He pondered what he would have as his curriculum. Not that he was considering the job. Well, maybe a little bit.

"You do bring up a valid point, though. It's almost a personal responsibility at this point to learn these kids some knowledge," Cal grimaced. "America was terrible for my grammar."

The moment he decided, he felt that it was the correct course of action. Besides, he was qualified. Of course, he said this while in Mai's home quite some distance away from Hogwarts. How would he feel setting foot on the grounds? But there was only one way to find out.

"Ah, what the heck, I'll apply. I do enjoy teaching, as long as they're not too young. Believe me, being all on your own versus thirty-plus six-year-olds... It's bloody terrifying. But Muggle Studies at least isn't available for students below third year. Teens are more tolerable, some are even entertaining."

“I’ll put in a good recommendation for you. And I’m sure Minerva remembers you, her memory is as sharp as ever.” Though, Cal was a bit wild at Hogwarts, if Maiko remembered correctly. Maybe McGonagall’s memories of him would not be as fond as she thought. Still. She probably knew that he had a good heart. Very few witches and wizards had people reading skills like Minerva’s. And she was quite no-nonsense too, which Mai appreciated.

She let out an excited squeal and gave Callum a quick squeeze, “You’ll do great! Even if you have to deal with eleven year olds. They’re not that bad.” In fact, many of them were absolutely delightful to be around. For someone as childish as Callum, he sure was hesitant when it came to interacting with kids. He was practically one giant kid, dimples and all.

It made Cal happy to see Mai so excited, and he swore to himself that he wouldn't let her down. He returned the hug, and beamed. "I'm glad that you have so much faith in me. And I think McGonagall had a soft spot for me. I mean, I never broke the rules," Callum reminisced on his rambunctious days of youth, and shook his head at the memories of some of his antics.

As they continued catching up on each other's lives, Cal felt a sense of hope for the future. He had been away from his family for far too long, and the distance had obviously done little to help him cope with his problems. It was time for a new approach, and he felt that he was finally ready. He wasn't suddenly over all of his guilt and trauma, or even remotely close, but he could see himself moving forward for the first time in many years. It was good to be home where he belonged.