After lunch in the Great Hall, Fauna had walked to Professor O Morain's office and hesitated by the door, wiping her clammy palms on her uniform. He had no classes today, and his office hours had just started at 1:00, so now was a good time as any to talk to him.

That knowledge did not help her nerves. O Morain was a puzzle to her. He'd been treating her nicely ever since she'd done well with the Acromantulas-that-weren't-Acromantulas lesson, and he was allowing SAWS to invite a professional speaker of their own choosing to Hogwarts. However, he still seemed to favor the Slytherins and Ravenclaws over the other houses, and the way he singled out the students and professors he didn't like bordered on tyrannical. Fauna wasn't sure she trusted him. She wasn't even sure she liked him. But she did respect him, and she'd much rather approach him than approach the Headmistress (who, as far as she knew, was still traveling).

Sucking in a breath, Fauna knocked on the door, self-consciously wiping any stray crumbs from her shirt and running her tongue over her teeth to make sure she didn't have remnants of her lunch stuck in there. At the sound of his voice, she entered the office and gave him a small, nervous smile.

"Hi, Professor. Uh, is now a good time to talk? Or I can make an appointment," she offered, hovering in the doorway, both hoping for and dreading his dismissal.

It seemed, all in all, that Declan was well suited for his role not only as a professor but as Deputy Headmaster of Hogwarts. He was enjoying his new found power, and it seemed that the students respected him. There had been less word of people lashing out since he set out to enforce the current rules of Hogwarts. He ran his class strictly, and he made sure to keep a thumb on the pulse of Hogwarts. Declan had made sure to sit in on the latest meeting of the prefects- letting them know he was watching, and he had bothered the school's caretaker to put up copies of the school dress code- which would hopefully be all over Hogwarts sometime in the next few days.

He had much more free time to work with the students and to keep an eye on everything since he didn't teach a core class. (Though a part of him still wished he had the potions position, but Declan knew that his career in the potions world was finished.) Currently, Declan was looking over some mail which had come in from concerned parents- it seemed there were quite a few.

The professor set aside the letters and readjusted his glasses on the bridge of his nose whenever he heard the knock on the door. He carefully organized the papers on top of his desk, asking the person to come in. Declan was slightly surprised to see Fauna standing there- and genuinely hoped it had nothing to do with this werewolf speaker (or any other SAWS) business.

"Now is fine," he told her, motioning to one of the empty chairs across from his desk. "Please, have a seat Miss Blake. Is everything alright?" he asked. Declan wasn't accustomed to students approaching him. Most were afraid of him- as they should be- so they took their problems elsewhere.

Professor O Morain looked like he was in the middle of paperwork, which was organized in neat piles on his desk. Fauna glanced around the office before shutting the door and taking a seat in one of the chairs across from him. It felt like pixies were staging a revolt in her stomach, but she managed a polite smile when he wondered if everything was alright.

"Oh, everything's fine," she reassured him, folding her hands in her lap so she wouldn't fidget as much. "Thanks."

Fauna took a deep breath, and decided to dive right in, not wanting to waste his time. Speaking with Professor Frasier had also given her some practice talking about it.

"My Head of House actually suggested... that I should meet with you. About some class changes that I've been thinking about."

"I sorta have... two career ideas for after graduation." Fauna shifted in her seat. "The first, well, I was thinking about doing something with the RCMC, maybe helping werewolves." She paused, aware that he wasn't exactly a fan of SAWS' goals. "And the other option I was thinking about was maybe going into Auror Training." She studied his face for a moment, wondering how he was taking this information.

"Um, the problem is, that if I did decide to try for Auror Training, they... strongly recommend NEWTs in Potions and Transfiguration. But I dropped those classes after my fifth-year. And I was... never very good with those subjects," she grimaced.

"So I was talking with Professor Frasier, and we thought that maybe, if I drop a class, I'll have time to get tutoring and try to catch up. Divination is the only one I can think of that I probably won't need as much as the others. The thing is, he said I should get permission to drop a class this late in the term from... well, the Headmistress. But she's not here. And I feel more comfortable talking to you."

Actually, she'd rather attempt conversation with just about anyone than the Headmistress, but Fauna reasoned that a compliment couldn't hurt.

Though he would not admit it, Declan was glad to hear that everything with Fauna was alright. She had become one of his favorite pupils after proving her brainpower in the acromantula lesson, and she had only continued to prove her competence since then. Probably the only competent Hufflepuff he had in his classes. If only he could convince her to abandon the SAWS mess he could genuinely like her...

"Class changes?" he repeated, letting her explain herself. Career ideas were good- and he liked hearing her interest in the magical creature field. Perhaps his recent coddling had helped to influence her... and then she ruined his little moment by adding the part about helping werewolves. Why was the girl so determined to do such a thing? It was ridiculous.

Auror training could be more interesting- and after she mentioned potions his ears perked a little. Potions was his true passion- though not many people at Hogwarts were aware of that. He tried to keep it quiet so that other people wouldn't start snooping and discover his less than honorable past. That he had been booted from his apprenticeship and shunned by the potions community wasn't a good thing- even though the reason he had been shunned had nothing to do with his competency- just his fertility, really.

"Transfiguration and potions can both be quite difficult," he conceded. "Transfiguration was never my best subject either, although potions was the one I got top marks in. Before I came here I was working in the potions field," Declan told her. "I'm sure that either myself or the potions professor would be more than happy to tutor and attempt to get you ready to sit your NEWTs in the class- although I have to admit I doubt you will be ready in the short time we have between now and the time for the tests.

"As far as dropping divination, I don't see that it should be a problem. How many classes are you in now?" Declan asked. "As long as dropping divination doesn't interfere with your minimum NEWT classes it should be simple. Though you will have to discuss it with Professor Cuthbert as well. Have you had words with Morrigan about extra help with transfiguration?" Declan askd. "Or do you have somebody in mind who could aid? Professor Storm might be of assistance there, too. He is one of the most skilled wizards that I know."

Fauna raised her eyebrows in surprise when the professor responded sympathetically, even generously. He admitted that Transfiguration hadn't been his best subject either, but that he'd excelled in potions, and... was that an offer of help? He'd just offered to help her with Potions!

This was going much better than she'd expected, and certainly better than the disastrous SAWS meeting, where Professor O Morain had demonstrated he did not play well with others. Speaking to him one-on-one seemed to make him more agreeable.

He asked many questions, and she tried to remember them all, attempting to hide her surprise when he complimented Professor Storm, because she'd thought they were at odds.

"Well, I haven't spoken to the Transfiguration professor yet, but Professor Storm is a good option too, and..." she trailed off. Fauna knew Raynor was an animagus, though she didn't want to pile more work on the woman and become a burden.

"Um," she shook her head. "I'll talk to Professor Cuthbert, since you seem alright with me dropping it," Fauna looked hopeful, even as she dreaded facing any disappointment from the Divination professor.

"That would leave me with only four classes, which... isn't very impressive, but it would give me more time to try to catch up with Potions and Transfiguration. Though you're right; I don't think I'd be at NEWT level by the end of the school year. I might need to keep studying on my own after I graduate, and take NEWTs in those subjects later?"

Fauna voice rose up in a question, wondering what he thought about that.

"Divination is rubbish for people who aren't seers anyway. It's not a practical magic to use. There are few with genuine talent, the rest just regurgitate what a book tells them- and that's hardly useful in my opinion. A person cannot train themselves to have an inner eye- either you are born with it, or you are not. I cannot tell you of one adult who reads tea leaves and is accurate and successful with their readings who isn't a seer or related to some."

Reaching into a desk drawer, Declan extracted some parchment. He inked his quill and scratched out a note for Fauna- detailing the request and that he had given her permission to drop Divination. "This should help you with Professor Cuthbert. If any of the other professors have any questions or concerns, feel free to point them in my direction and I will take care of it." He wasn't sure how the others would react to her request, but if it was to aid her future career, then the other professors should be glad to help. It wasn't often that most Hogwarts students had goals.

"I'm not sure how re-scheduling the NEWTs would work. That would be a subject to take up with the school governors. What I can do is send an owl to them and meet with them first myself, although I am certain that they will also wish to speak with you on the matter."

"It would also aid you to ensure that the auror corp would consider taking you on without those NEWTs completed right away. It would certainly behoove you to get in touch with the head auror to discuss the matter, and she might be able to help plead your case with the governors if needed. I only have so much pull being the deputy headmaster, but if you can find a few others to give a good word to the board of governors, then it will certainly make the chances of your getting to reschedule the NEWTs that much better."

Oh, Divination. The butt monkey of Hogwarts classes. Even Professor Cuthbert didn't seem to have a ton of respect for it, which was why Fauna opened her mouth but didn't say anything in the subject's defense. She didn't want to get into a debate over something minor, especially when he was going out of his way to help her and offer advice.

Fauna accepted the permission note with a thank you, blinking when he told her he'd talk to any professors that had questions. Then he offered to meet with the School of Governors about taking her NEWTs later. A mixture of confusion and hopeful gratitude flitted across her face. Some of these newer professors just didn't make sense to her. Like Storm - he'd poisoned Fauna and her friends one day and then stood up for SAWS the next. O Morain was even more puzzling, and she just couldn't figure out how she'd become one of his favored students, or how someone who could act petty one moment could be so helpful and encouraging the next.

He went on, suggesting that she contact the Head Auror, and Fauna tried to look as neutral as possible, since he didn't know she already saw Raynor every weekend. His advice made sense, and she nodded in agreement.

"I'll send Auror Raynor a letter," Fauna then hesitated, but decided she could tell him at least this much. "I've met her before, back in August. During the, uh, kidnapping thing at the Woodcroft Festival. And then later with the werewolf attack.

"Thank you for helping me," she told him suddenly, a note of surprise in her voice.

"If you've met the head auror, then you'll have an advantage," he commented. Declan didn't grasp the point of her confession- taking it merely at face value. "With any luck she'll remember you fondly and be more apt to work with you on this."

Her thanks was sudden and surprising. "I know what most students think of me, Miss Blake," he told her honestly. "And if there are students with serious goals who are willing to go out of their way to make arrangements to attain them, I'd be willing to help them as well. Unfortunately most of your classmates seem to have no real aspirations beyond Hogwarts. For a student to realize their future is entirely in their own hands and to have the ethics to work hard for that future is rare. Even when I was in Hogwarts most students didn't think about their future until it was too late."

"If I can aid one of the few enlightened teenagers under the care of Hogwarts, then I will do it." Hopefully his helping Fauna would also help his reputation among the students. He was certainly a stickler for the rules, that was true, but rules were necessary to maintain order- especially among children. Hogwarts was supposed to get them ready for the real world, and most places of employment would have stricter rules than the ones he imposed. It was a shame the students didn't seem to realize that.

"Hopefully you can influence the other students in taking their lives more seriously. After you all graduate you won't have adults to take responsibility for you anymore. I don't think most of your peers have any experience with the real world and have no idea what to expect after graduation."

The professor's uplifting words shocked Fauna. She hadn't expected it from him, and though she now understood better why he was helping her, she didn't feel as driven or focused as some other students in her year; students like Dion, Ruby, Waker, Grace, and other goal-oriented types who typically did well in school and had an idea of their goals since their fifth-year. Fauna, on the other hand, almost always felt lost and conflicted, like she was just taking things as they came and attempting to make sense out of it as obstacles were thrown at her. Finally, she was at least attempting to think about her future and make decisions before decisions were made for her. Devlin's words had cut deep, but had also motivated her in a strange way. So had the discussion at Akiva's during the winter holiday, when Sasha and Fergie had unintentionally (or intentionally) made her feel like some kind of idiot layabout.

"...I don't think most of your peers have any experience with the real world and have no idea what to expect after graduation."

"I'm not sure I do, either," she admitted, but looked hopeful, trying to take the confidence he had in her to heart.

She shifted in her seat. "If... I did decide to do something in the RCMC, do you think..." Fauna trailed off. She didn't want to blurt out if he thought she'd be any good at it.

"If the werewolf thing didn't work out... do you think there would be other areas with creatures I might be decent at?" He'd seen her in class, had seen her on her good and bad days, and still seemed to believe in her, so she thought that despite his obvious bias towards werewolves that he might have a bit of advice. Her confrontation with Lexus Dale had scared the hell out of her, and she didn't have anyone to talk to about it besides Ayla. She still felt that werewolves deserved an equal place in society, but her confidence in trying to help them had been shaken.

Declan paused as he thought about her question in relation to the magical creatures department of the ministry. "I'm not overly familiar with the werewolf unit at the ministry," he admitted. "But you've been doing well in my class- you really surprised me after our acromantula lesson. You've done remarkably well with most of our lessons- save for that incident in my first class in relation to the doxie." He remembered whenever she had opened that box. It had nearly ruined her chances for being among his liked students.

"But if you're interest in werewolves expands to all humanoids, the being division could be a good place to look into. They work with centaurs, house elves, things of that nature. Other than that you'd be looking at the beast division, which focuses a lot more on the sorts of things we cover in class- or the spirit division. They regulate the ghosts- making sure they aren't wreaking too much havoc."

"If you're interested, I'm sure that you could set up a meeting with some of the people. The right owls will get everything accomplished. I'm sure that you could all kinds of employment information from the heads of the departments, set up some meetings for after graduation. Or if you wanted to meet sooner, I'm not against escorting you to Hogsmeade for any discussions." It seemed that Declan was starting to take more and more of an interest in his students. It was starting with Fauna, but he wouldn't be very surprised if began to expand to other, more career driven students in his care.

Fauna's face flushed when he mentioned the doxy incident, but his compliment about the acromantulas and other lessons made her glad that he seemed to pay so much attention to his students. She nodded, murmured a thank you, and listened as he went on to outline the various departments in the RCMC. She'd been interested in centaurs since Gertrudis had let her talk to them in the Forbidden Forest, and she had a soft spot for the house elves that lived in the castle. Ghosts tended to annoy her, especially since she had the most experience dealing with Peeves. But there were definitely options, and talking through it helped her narrow down the things she'd be interested in.

She blinked again in surprise when he offered to escort her to Hogsmeade. He was just full of surprises this afternoon. Fauna almost felt bad for getting so mad at him whenever he talked down to some of the other professors and students. Almost!

"That would be really helpful, thanks," she told him sincerely. "I've been thinking about talking to Ms. Gertrudis, but I know she's busy in Africa with the Runespoor business. But I'm sure there's... others in the departments that I can get a hold of."

She felt much more comfortable owling Gertrudis, the Head of the RCMC, than she did any of the other employees in that department, simply because she knew her from the internship over the summer. Fauna just needed to muster her courage and attempt to make other connections.

"And I'll talk to the other professors today. Depending on how that goes... well, I think it should go okay. But I'll let you know," she smiled at him, relieved that their meeting had progressed so smoothly.

"Gone to Africa?" Declan repeated. "Well I'm certain if it is a long trip that she has left someone in charge. It is the way things typically go," he added, pointing to himself. "Until the headmistress is back I'm acting in her stead. Hopefully she is not too disappointed when she returns to Hogwarts," Declan said with a slight chuckle. He doubted she would be, but he knew that everyone else in the school would be glad for her return. He wasn't particularly popular with most people- but Declan just expected more out of the students. It was like they had no self respect or grasp of self worth. And they were all idiots.

He nodded. "Yes, just let me know how things go. I'll send out the appropriate owls sometime this week, and I will let you know what I hear back. I'm very glad to be of some service to a student." To a student he didn't want to throw into a dark pit. "If you would like for me to get any other information for you from the ministry I could do that as well," he said- sensing her apprehension.

"And as I said, if you need any help with potions or other classes, I am more than glad to extend my personal services or to locate the appropriate tutors. Some others in your own year might also be able to help. If you copy over some of their notes from the year that could be quite beneficial."

"I do hate to cut our meeting short, Miss Blake, but I do have quite a bit of work to get done today. Is there anything else you need at the moment?"

Fauna smiled slightly when Professor O Morain chuckled, though she couldn't imagine why the Headmistress would be upset with him when she got back. Oh, wait. The werewolf speaker assembly. Yeah, that. Despite how rudely he'd treated some of the SAWS members during their meeting, she hoped that he wouldn't get into trouble with Headmistress Snark because of the assembly. She only felt a tad worried about it now because he was going out on a limb to help her, and being nice about it, too.

He went on to confirm his offers of aid and to also suggest that she speak to her peers and see if she might copy their notes. When he wondered if there was anything else, she shook her head and rose from her seat.

"I don't think so. I'm sure a few of my friends would be okay with sharing their notes. And... I don't mind contacting whoever is in charge since Ms. Gertrudis is away," she nodded, though the idea made her nervous. She'd do it. Fauna wanted to show that she was capable of taking those steps and finding some things out for herself.

"Thank you. Er, this helps a lot," she paused, not sure how to deal with the strange sense of gratitude she felt towards someone that she normally saw as obnoxiously focused on rules, rank, and regulations. "I'll see you in class, professor," Fauna smiled at him, then stepped out, shutting the door quietly behind her.

Declan nodded. He knew that Fauna was going to take care of things on her own, but he wanted to be of some help. He would make sure to talk to the same people himself, just to ensure that all of Fauna's bases were covered and to let the right people know that she had a support system behind her at Hgowarts that were willing to aid her in her goals with her future.

He wasn't entirely sure that he could see the mild mannered Hufflepuff as an auror. He associated most aurors with self righteous Gryffindors or over achieving Ravenclaws. They liked glory. They weren't the sort to be in it for justice, (or so he assumed), and Hufflepuffs were known to be loyal, fair, and just.

"Alright then, Miss Blake. Have a good day. If you need anything, you know where my office is. I think you will enjoy our next joint lesson," he told her. "It will be quite a bit of fun." He watched as she slowly left his office, closing the door behind her. Then Declan leaned back in his chair, pondering the fact that it had taken one single student to shatter most of his prejudices against houses. Oh he would always have a soft spot for Slytherin- it had been his own house- but they had also rejected him whenever he'd had his own problems in school.

But things had changed a lot since then. The world was a different place. And as weird and awkward as it felt to admit- considering that teaching had never been his ultimate goal or passion- he liked how it felt to know he had helped one of his students, that perhaps he had been a good influence on her future. It was very... self satisfying, and he liked feeling good about himself.