Guidance Counselor

Alice nodded, she would most likely stick to calling him Mr. McCormack for now. She wasn’t planning on getting that close to him. She wasn’t even planning on coming back to his office again. Though that may change depending how this went. “Both please.” She told him. The girl liked everything sweet, probably too sweet. It was a wonder how her teeth didn’t fall out with how much sugar she ate every day. “I’m guessing Professor Dumbledore had you come due to uh- recent events?” She asked, genuinely curious. That wasn’t to say she wasn’t at least a little thankful that he was there now. She just thought that it would have been helpful if he’d been there from the start of the school year. 

As Phillip swished his wand to summon his little supply of sugar and cream to them he nodded along with the girl’s words. He believed that he did need to have a certain level of transparency with those who came to see him. They needed to be able to trust him. “At the recommendation of the board of magical education the ministry thought it wise to place me here on a temporary basis in case anyone wanted to talk or perhaps just wanted some tea and company. Thank you for coming to welcome me” 

She nodded, hesitantly taking a seat in the chair that he gestured to. Alice realized that it was silly for her to be so nervous. It wasn’t as if he could read her mind and know what she was considering discussing with him. Unless he could read her mind, something like that was surely possible. It would certainly be easier if he could just read her mind, though she did think the idea was to silly to actually test out. “Tea would be nice Profes- sorry. Mr. McCormack? You’re not really a Professor, so would you rather be called Mr. McCormack, sir?” Alice was quite sure that she was coming across rather stupid in this moment, but she didn’t want to be disrespectful towards him and refer to him as something she shouldn’t. 

A kind smile lit up his face as she took the seat that he offered. “You can call me Phillip if you would like. Mr. McCormack is also fine” he said as he poured them both a steaming cup of tea, “Cream and sugar?” he offered, settling a tea tray between them. One of the most difficult things to do was to reach out and ask for help and despite everything that had happened to these poor kids this year it was still amazing that one of them had come so soon. Phillip didn’t expect that she would tell him very much during this visit, but at the very least he could try to make her feel as welcome as possible. 

When Alice first heard that there was going to be a guidance counselor, she had thought that it was a very nice gesture. With recent events, everyone definitely needed a little counseling. If anything, it was probably something that would have been much more useful if they’d had once since the beginning of the school year. The more she thought about it, she realized that she could use a bit of guidance. Sure her talk with Ted had been pretty helpful, but he himself said that she should talk to someone more insightful about everything. Originally she had planned for that person to possibly be Professor Sprout, but nerves had stopped her from approaching the woman. Knowing that there was a professional in school seemed better though, as he surely wouldn’t judge her for the choices she’d made thus far. 

When she heard the voice, she suddenly began to regret her decision. Should she really be doing this? Was going to talk to him a good idea? She didn’t even know this person, so how was she to know that he would be able to help her. Even if he was a professional, there was always a possibility that she may not like him. “Hello,” Alice smiled, figuring it was to late to turn back. Even if she tried, it would seem weird. Instead she took a few steps into his office. “I’m- uh Alice. Alice Fortescue. I just thought that it would be good if I came and said hello.” 

“Hello Alice, I’m Phillip McCormack. It’s really lovely to meet you. Would you perhaps like to have a cup of tea wth me?” Phillip offered, gesturing towards the comfortable chair he had set up in an office he was still working on rearranging. There was a desk but he didn’t want to use it if he didn’t have to. It was his desire to understand people and what troubled them and he didn’t think the best way to do that was by putting a large slab of wood between them. She seemed to be nervous. Many people were when it came time to seek help and he wanted to make them as comfortable as he could. He’d never force them to do more than they were ready for so a cup of tea and offer of simple conversation seemed a good place to start. 

Hearing that they were finally getting someone who might be able to help their students had been a huge weight off Pomona’s shoulders. She did her best and tried to be supportive and helpful, but she just didn’t know how to handle the problems her students faced now. And there were some who really needed some help. Currently she was most worried about Andromeda Black, if only because she was spending so much time with her - there were others, of course. She’d been watching Lily Evans and Alice Fortescue and so many other students. 

She’d grabbed a small pot with a dittany plant in it - everyone needed plants around, she thought, and this one had the bonus of being useful, if he managed to keep it alive. She paused in the doorway until he greeted her and stepped in, smiling. “I just wanted to welcome you to Hogwarts officially,” she said as held out the plant. “And here’s something to liven up your office.”

It hadn’t been all that long ago that he had finished his schooling so it was a bit of a surprise that there were a couple of new professors much like the one now entering his office. “Thank you” he said, returning her smile and accepting the small plant she offered him, “This will definitely help. Everything is pretty bare bones right now. I’m Phillip McCormack, it’s lovely to meet you. I was hoping for a chance to sit down with a couple of professors if you’ve got more than a couple moments of time.”

Margo had never had a hard time making up her mind about people; after about four dates with Phillip, she’d been pretty positive she was falling in love with him. Her feelings hadn’t changed either, and when she got his owl the night before about his new job, she’d barely been able to contain her excitement. She managed to get through her shift in the hospital wing, but when she had her free time, she wasted no time in hurrying through the corridors - not quite sprinting, but very close - to the room that had been designated as his office. “Phillip! You’re here!” She barreled into the room, throwing her arms around him as soon as she could.

Phillip had always loved people but relationships had been hard for him. The fame of his sister had attracted people to him for the sole purpose of having the chance to become close to her. He and Margo had met at a game and argued almost the entire timer, but he’d not change a thing about it. For the first time somewhere cared about him for the person that he was and not just his family name. “Oof!” he exclaimed as she barreled into his arms, laughing as he wrapped his arms around her, “I’ve missed you too, beautiful”

Now with the door open all he could do was sit by and wait. Her perked up immediately when he noticed a hand on the door frame. “Hello there” he greeted, rising from his desk to greet whomever was there, “You can come in if you would like”