Chapter Text
Another year.
September was getting closer and it had been showing in the changing colours of the Forbidden Forest, in the windy weather, in the shifts of the Whomping Willow that always turned a bit feistier by the day because, apparently, even trees had a temper and as years passed by, the old being was growing more and more annoyed by the students of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Only a couple of days before a new school year begun and the Keeper of Keys and Grounds of Hogwarts, Zee Pruk Panich, was contemplating his life choice to move from his homeland to Hogwarts, 3 years already now, while feeding his big labrador Fak Thong, while staring at the sun setting over the lake.
Climate at first unfamiliar, he found out he could actually adapt rather easily, and he apparently possessed unexpected negotiation skills because it wasn’t easy to convince the Merpeople living in those darks waters that a Labrador would have loved to swim in their waters, from time to time. Still, Zee managed to have some bargain with them, making him one of the few ones getting something from the rather hostile creatures.
He was getting ready, again, for a new year of teaching lessons too since, after Hagrid retired from his position, moving with his half-brother to some warmer, welcoming giant community in France, he also took on himself the position of Care of the magic creatures’ professor, too.
Speaking of professors…
The news of “fresh blood” injected into the teaching staff was spreading around for weeks, after the last professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts got a well-deserved position in the Ministry of Magic.
For days the information related to the new professor were confusing and nebulous to say the least.
Some said he was an old, retired Auror; others, that he was someone from Ilvermorny; some even talked about a dragon trainer coming from secluded areas of Europe. Gossip spreading everywhere but headmistress McGonagall’s lips had stayed well sealed on the topic. Zee himself had been curious but not equally obsessed like some of his colleagues.
Then, 2 days before, headmistress McGonagall formally asked him, as he was due to welcome the 1st year students at Hogsmeade station, to collect the new professor who was due to arrive on the very train, too.
While pondering this, he went back to take notes for his first lesson about Nifflers, sipping a warm cup of coffee while fire crackled in his fireplace.
1st September
Sun had set for a few minutes now and the Hogwarts Express was deemed to arrive very soon at the station of the magic town bordering the Castle’s grounds. Zee Pruk looked at his pocketwatch: it was time to go.
“Fak Thong! Let’s go, big boy!” he called out his Labrador that raised immediately, wagging his tail, apparently happy and excited to follow his master to his next mission.
While walking, absentmindedly, holding his lit lantern, his feet trained towards a well-known destination, his mind replayed the short conversation he had with the headmistress about the new professor.
Funny enough, his name was precisely that.
New.
New Chawarin.
“Does He come from Thailand, too?” Zee asked, mildly surprised.
“As a matter of fact, he does. This is part of the reason, prof. Panich, I came to ask you to welcome him in our school” the headmistress paused, looking at him. “He is young, maybe the youngest professor we have ever had here, but he’s very talented. His curriculum is … impressive. And this is the first time he travels so far from his country. I confide, you might help him get accustomed to our life here”.
“I’ll do my best to help nong” Zee said.
“Nong?” McGonagall arched an eyebrow in mild confusion.
“It’s… a thai word, professor. It’s the way we refer to younger people…” he tried to explain in the less confusing way he could come up to.
“Oh…” the headmistress pondered. “Well, so I entrust professor Perp… Perpir… oh I confide you will have no problem to say his full surname, prof. Panich. I’m afraid, it’s really very complicated for me to correctly say…”
Zee smiled a bit at one of the rare moments of headmistress McGonagall’s defeat and reassured her about his positive disposition towards his task.
So… he was about to have a nong to guide and take care of.
How young, tho? Probably a lot, if professor McGonagall pointed out his age compared to his remarkable achievements. He had to admit, his interest was picked because, how could he be so young but also a professor, and a professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts? Maybe he was some kind of prodigy, a very gifted wizard. He couldn’t really imagine what kind of person he could be and that he was thai, too, intrigued him even more.
Once arrived in Hogsmeade, he headed towards the little, one rail train station.
Raising his lantern, he tried to look into the distance for any sign of the arrival of the train. Fak Thong sat next to his feet, quiet and waiting for any sign of the train himself.
The big dog liked the students and it usually was a reciprocated sympathy.
Finally, Zee could hear a distant metallic noise of engines and could see blowing steam in the darkness, so he got ready to welcome the new students and his new colleague.
He retrieved his bell, ready to call all the new year’s students, Fak Thong suddenly standing and wagging his tail in anticipation.
“1st year students here, please!” he said, while ringing the bell.
The younger kids started to gather around him, while the older ones passed by him, already directed towards the chariots driven by thestrals, some of them waving a polite ‘Hello professor Panich’, which he acknowledged with a curt nod.
“Good evening students, I’m professor Panich and I welcome you all to Hogwarts! You will follow me; please leave here your belongings, you’ll find all your trunks later at the castle. Stay together and don’t stay behind” he said in a plain, clear voice, over a faint whispering from the kids. “Now you gather in line, we’ll go to the boats in a few minutes.”
That said, he started to look around the platform, almost empty except for the new kids and some older students just taking their sweet time to leave the station.
Where was he?
As if on cue, that precise group of older students started to walk towards him and as they got closer, Zee could immediately tell…
“Professor Panich?” a young, petite man said, stopping just a few steps away from him.
At Zee’s nod, he joined his hands in a waii… oh, Zee didn’t see a waii for a very long time.
“I’m New Chawaring Perdpiriyawong. Professor McGonagall told me to look for you…” he concluded, taking an envelope from his breast pocket.
Zee barely gave a look at it, recognizing the headmistress’s seal on it. His focus was, instead, all for the young man in front of him.
“Sawaddee krub, prof. Perdpiriyawong, welcome do Hogwarts”.
“Oh, sawaddee krub” New said, with a shy but relieved smile.
Zee couldn’t help but smile back, for a second or two.
He was… pretty?
Really, one of the prettiest young men he had ever seen. He kind of wondered if it was appropriate to even think that of a young man, even more if said young man was going to be his colleague.
Prof. McGonagall wasn’t giving any understatement because he looked indeed young. In his early 20s to the very least. He had dark, straight hair cut in a very typically thai bowl-like cut, not that different from his own.
A prominent nose and full, heart-shaped lips that… he shouldn’t, maybe, be looking at for too long.
It wasn’t too long… right?
He averted his eyes for good measure and this thought kind of got overdriven by the fact that such a delicate looking person was about to be a teacher of one of the most complex and obscure topics available for a wizard.
“Prof. McGonagall must have already briefed you; as keeper of key and grounds of Hogwarts, my task is also to lead the 1st year students to the castle…”
“She did tell me, krub! I can help you with that! Lead the way, I’ll keep an eye on them along the way!” and after that, he moved to the back lines.
That wasn’t exactly what Zee meant but he couldn’t really stop the younger’s enthusiasm if he wished so. Zee nodded and started to lead the group through town, towards the lake shore.
Along the way, he couldn’t help but give a look behind, to check on New, who just walked gingerly, giving a look around every once and then.
And he couldn’t help but notice, Fak Thong started to throttle towards him too.
Of course, the logic explanation was that of course, Fak Thong was operating through his task-driven instinct, because he was used to keep watch over the students… but it totally looked like he was also rather friendly with the new professor, walking at his pace. It looked almost like his dog… liked him? Not so unusual, Fak Thong being a friendly dog, but…
Zee shook his head.
Maybe he was seeing too much into something this trivial.
As soon as they reached the lake front, Zee secretly looked in amusement at all those kids’ reaction at the sight of the castle in the distance.
It was almost full moon, so it was a really radiant night, with silver light reflecting over the calm surface of the lake.
“Now student, we’ll reach the castle by boat. No more than 5 of you for each boat” he instructed, making light for them so that they could safely hop on.
“Prof. Panich, is it true that the lake is inhabited by merpeople?” he heard one petite brunette girl on his left.
“It is, miss…?” he let it trail.
“Candice Patel, professor”.
“Miss Patel, the lake is inhabited by many friendly or less friendly creatures. For the moment they are not of your concern, therefore I suggest you all to be careful and stay still in your seat. I assure you; the cold waters might be the last of your concerns…”
“Sounds scary…” he heard his colleague, this time. His face and voice actually betrayed some mirth. “So, you better all behave and follow prof. Panich’s instructions. 5 people per boat.” He repeated, helping himself with light, using a Lumos charm.
Zee and New climbed in the last 2 boats, together with the last kids left. Fak Thong, this time, hopped on his master’s boat.
“This is really so beautiful!” New said, loud enough for Zee to hear it from his boat.
Zee had to agree, equally enthralled by the sight of the castles illuminated by the moonlight. Then his eyes met New’s ones.
“I’ve never seen anything like this, not in any place I’ve been before” said again the younger man with a soft smile, before turning back to look at the scenery in front of him.
Meanwhile Zee found out, he was still looking at him; he couldn’t help but stare and… notice how fair his skin was and how the moonlight on his face made his eyes shine in a silvery light.
This…
This was a weird train of thoughts, Zee realized.
Why had he even noticed something like that, in the first place?
Sure, it was true, his skin was fair and his eyes full of wonders and…
Why was he still looking at him…?
Oh, he had no time nor will to speculate on this, tonight.
He blamed it on the moonlight.
Once they reached the castle, the 1st years students were welcomed by Neville Longbottom, professor of Herbology and new head of the House of Gryffindor. It was Zee’s cue to leave the kids to him and make way towards the Great Hall.
“Come this way, the new students will be alright with Neville” Zee said to New. “Let’s go take place in the Hall”.
“Wait, mhm… prof. Panich… I need to find July first…”
“July?”
“My cat! I left him to the elves at the station but…”
“Oh, you don’t have to worry, I’m sure they have already carried him to your chambers, with your belongings. Our elves are very efficient”.
New nodded, a bit more relieved but not that much.
As if feeling the look Zee was giving him, the younger professor smiled shily.
“It’s just…he doesn’t like to stay in his carrier for too long, and he might be hungry, too...”
“…dinner is about to begin, tho…” Zee mused.
But for whatever reason, he felt like he really wanted to do something to ease his mind and make him feel reassured.
Why, tho?
Was it just, politeness, over a new colleague?
Was It because he was young and he felt someway protective?
Was it…
“Come with me!” he said, both to New and to shut his own, unruly mind.
At some point Zee noticed, he had grabbed New’s wrist and he immediately let him go.
Luckily enough, Argus Filch was just where he usually was, with his cat Mrs. Norris in his arms, looking at all the kids with his usual, annoyed look.
“Mr. Filch, this is prof. Perdpiriyawong, our new professor of Defense against the Dark Arts and he needs to go to his chambers before the Sorting Ceremony and the banquet begin”.
“Now?” He said, while actually staring suspiciously at New, a look of doubt all over his face. “Dinner is about to begin, professor…”
“Please mr. Filch” said New this time. “I need to check on my cat, just for a moment please!” he did a waii to him too.
Filch’s expression seemed to soften a little bit. Zee wondered if it was just because New mentioned that a cat was the reason of his concern.
The old caretaker scratched his cat’s ears.
“Alright, if it’s for your cat… but you need to be fast, I don’t want to be punished or reprimanded for your late...”
“Nobody is going to punish you if we are a bit late. Even so, I’ll take responsibility for this” Zee enforced his statement.
“Ok, alright then…” Filch said, taking his keys. Zee and New followed him, adjusting their pace to his unusually fast one.
They apparently got lucky with the moving stairs because they were moving to the right direction, to the Turris Magnus, were Defense Against the Dark Arts office and room were located.
“This is your room, prof. Perd…Perdt…”
“Perdpiriyawong” suggested Zee, amused.
“That one, sure. Your name is really complicated to spell…” he said, while unlocking the door.
“It seems so…” New smiled, his eyes meeting Zee’s ones. “Thank you, mr. Filch”.
“Yes, yes…” the old caretaker muttered under his breath. “Well, since you are already here, this is your key. I have to go back to the Great Hall, or Godric Gryffindor knows what chaos those unruly little scoundrels will unleash…”
Zee and New exchanged another amused look while the grumpy man left.
“He looks… peculiar” New said.
“He is, in his own way. Well, I’ll wait for you at the stairs, I need to “persuade” them to stay in place for us, or we’ll never be on time at the banquet…”
“Oh, I’ll be fast, kobkhun krub, prof. Panich!”
Zee gave a nod before turning and heading towards the stairs, ready to try to reason with them, as funny as it could sound.
Although his mind seemed to keep coming for his sanity, questioning his behaviour for unknown reasons.
Why tho?
He did nothing wrong! He was helping his new colleague, sure. Also, headmistress McGonagall kind of asked him to do so, too. New was also a nice guy, so it was kind of natural, to be kind in return.
Nothing to see there, no hidden meaning to find.
It was totally irrelevant that New Chawarin was maybe the prettiest, cutest young man he had ever laid his eyes on.
Zee turned around at the sound of steps and here he was back, smiling to him while getting closer, thanking him again with a waii, because he helped and because he waited for him.
Yeah.
Irrelevant, indeed.