Opening the door to the staff room after dinner Leo looked forward to some quiet time with the evening prophet and a kettle of tea. It had been a long day, with a lot of running around the library to fix odds and ends. Leo could use an hour or two of peace and quiet before he went to check on his eagles.

Putting on a kettle of tea the curly haired librarian slumped down into a vacant chair and opened up his newspaper as he waited for the tea to get ready.

Lolita walked into the staff room.. or actually it was more like a strut. She didn't have much reason to be here other than wanting a change of scenery. Her office was just how she wanted it, but sometimes even that got a tad boring. Her thought had been that she might go see what kind of treat the elves had laid out. Alas, today it appeared her quest would have to take her even further out of her way to the kitchens. She stood still briefly, trying to decide if it was worth the walk or if she should just cut her losses and head back to her office to mark papers.

See, being a Slytherin meant SLY before anything else, and SLY required 'casual' now, so Cosgrach was the mostest casual of the most casual. He entered the room a minute or two after her, shoulders slumped forward, eyes narrowed as if he was sooooo sleepy. He didn't even greet her at first but just sat on a chair. Only after that did his gaze was on her as if he had JUST noticed her presence.

"Hola."

Because he had to impress her.

It was simple yes, in Javier's mind as he waited on Cosgrach's appearance before they kicked their part of the mission into high gear.. Until a little birdy crow told him otherwise. No really, his message rang loud and precise on him needing to meet him right away to see what was so important.

Walking through the ground level, he casually entered through the door leading into staff room. "Hello Cos.." Nodding curtly at him, but lo and behold was Lolita as well. "Lolita.. buenos dias." Suddenly, he fashioned himself a cup of tea. Which he so obliged to do so by fixing some up.

So no, she wouldn't bother walking all the way down to the kitchen as well. It was just too far for what might not even be there. Plus... Did I forget to lock my office door? There were definitely some things in there that she wouldn't want people coming across..

Just as she'd come to this conclusion and made to walk out of the room, she heard someone greet her. Ah, Señor Culloden. "Hola, señor." Did he need her for something, or could she lea-- "Buenos días a ti, Javier." When were there ever this many people in the staff room at once? Was there a meeting about to happen that she didn't know about? Perhaps she'd better stay a minute or so to find out.

"How are you gentlemen this fine day? Enjoying the normal seasonal temperatures, I'd assume." Who wouldn't after that ridiculous winter they'd had from the chorts?

Phew, Javy was even quicker than his patronus. Because united, they were stronger. Upon hearing his voice, he opened his eyes more to be 'polite' and turned fully towards them.

Although, he'd be more comfortable if Lolita sat. Would she, if Javy did?

...definitely, because who was mentioning cold weather!

"Certainly," he said in a more cheerful tone, "the chorts were such a hassle. I hope they aren't causing problems for someone else."

Huh, Señora? Were they?

It looked like this would be more than just a quick greeting. The men were in a chatty mood. Her office could probably wait after all. I probably did lock it, she assured herself. Fine. Lolita took a seat.

Good fellow, not afraid to discuss his misery the previous year. "Hassle? I would not have chosen that particular word," she mused. "Where did your ministry people send them away to, anyhow? Surely they would not wish them on any other unsuspecting persons, ¿no?" Innocent bystanders, no. Researchers, perhaps..?

Of course she wouldn't name them a hassle. Cosgrach didn't know HOW, but she had certainly fared better than all of them. She was a dark witch, he knew. She had fared better than all with dark magic.

Alas, if only he had Veritaserum... but he wouldn't dare, not without official permission.

So he shrugged in response to her, his face betraying nothing.

"I am just happy they are not here. I'd like to know how they got here, though..."

Did she know!?

Behind Javier he could hear the two start conversing, to her earlier question on if he was enjoying the pleasant weather, "Naturally". Quietly brewing up some nice hot herbal tea while he listened to the two.

It was curious on her interest in the chorts. Why did she care where the Ministry seem to be taking them? The space between his eyebrows lessened as he thought over before the tea was complete. Mm, nice camomile tea to help relax and stay calm. "Would you both care for some nice camomile tea as well?" It was nice to offer, plus less suspicious if everyone drank some. Javy sipped his quietly appearing quite intrigued with what they were discussing, letting Cos get his smooth on for now.

Of course he was happy they weren't here. "No one likes to live near dark creatures, it seems. Especially ones that bring such frigid temperatures and constant cloud cover." But there was a silver lining to each cloud, after all.

"Thank you, Javier, that would be wonderful." She nodded in appreciation and then turned back to Cosgrach. "Certainly you do. If we knew where they came from, we probably could have figured who or what is responsible." And then the guilty party would be in a heap of trouble. How unfortunate for them.

Cosgrach could only nod before Javy offered some tea.

"Thanks, Javier," he said and sipped at it while listening to the Señora. Oh, it was plain where they came from: She, HERSELF, had brought them here! He wanted to point that out, but kept his mouth shut. It wouldn't do them any good. He wondered how Pierson was doing, and whether he had found anything. By now, he should be in her office... hopefully he was.

"Have you two got any idea?" he asked to both of them not to draw suspicion.

Honestly, the Arithmancy professor didn't like the direction of this conversation. "I prefer not to dwell on the past in general, especially one so chilling." Her body shivered visibly at the very thought. Good thing she had this tea to sip on. "And if I did know where they came from, I certainly would be staying away from that location for a very long time." That would obviously look very suspicious.

And speaking of suspicious, she really did think she had left her office unlocked. Or at least she had forgotten to replace some of her intruder charms today. She had a nagging feeling in the back of her mind that something wasn't right with her office. "Now if you two gentlemen will excuse me, I need to get back to marking papers... possibly stopping by the kitchens on the way. A warm scone would go nicely with this tea," she added as an afterthought. "Good day."

Would she, now? Wasn't she a clever woman? Cosgrach opened his mouth to answer, but she beat him to it - only to excuse herself! But - she couldn't -

She could. She did. She did leave for her office. Once she was out of the room, he looked at Javy. Hopefully that had been enough time for Pierson.

Sigh. There was nothing for it. Tiara was bored. One could only patrol the corridors for so long and for so many times before wanting something more. She sat down at the table to pour herself some tea and try to think of yet another argument to convince Anastasia on the flying front. Yes, the pitch had been swallowed up in a giant hole. But really, there was plenty of other space on the grounds. Now how could she bring the Headmistress around..?

The Headmistress happened to BE around, as it were, she was just incredibly busy and very short on time. She passed by the staff room and then backtracked when she saw Tiara sitting inside (the door was open). Aha, perfect. She could knock two things off her to-do list at once.... one, get a cup of tea, and two....

"How do you feel about numbers?" Annie stated toward the former Flying professor as she sidled into the room.

She blew on her tea and took a sip. No, definitely still too warm. She'd just let that cool a bit more while she thought about her issue with the Headmistress. And speaking of Anastasia, here she was. Numbers.. what? "Beg pardon?" she asked, clueless. A bit of context would have been nice here.

"Numbers," the Headmistress repeated while busying herself with the tea things. "Are you good with them, bad with them, neutral? Are you the one balancing the budget with...." shoot, what was her husband's name? Jim? James? "...your household? I promise I have a purpose for this question."

Tea finally in hand, the redhead took a moment to sit down and peer across the rim of her cup at Tiara.

Once more the former official tested the temperature of her tea. Perfect. She took a deep, looooong slurp. "Good with them, most definitely." She nodded and took a thoughtful swig of the warm liquid bringing life back into her fingertips. "As for the budget, no. Jason does that." She firmly believed it was the man's place to keep the finances for the household.

Really, it seemed a bit nosy to be poking into the inner workings of her still-relatively-new marriage. "Where are you going with this? I assure you we are not having marital troubles, Anastasia." And if they were, the Headmistress would certainly not be the one she would go to.

Oh great, that was NOT where she was going with this. "MY marriage is just fine, thank you," the redhead blasted Tiara like a freezer. She took a deeper sip of her tea to calm her moment of inner!rage.

Siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiip! Then she turned toward the woman with a little more purpose.

"Look, I'll be blunt. We need an Arithmancy professor and you need a reason to still be employed here. I'm glad you're good with numbers, but are you good enough? Can you teach Arithmacy? My only other option is Hadley, and she..." well, she could almost be blamed for bringing the shifty Latina in. "...has a lot on her plate already." Which was, technically, also true.

Her marriage? When had this become about Anastasia's marriage? Tiara was so confused. She had thought the Headmistress was asking about the Tanners, but apparently this was just turning into a giant mass of confusion. She gladly switched topics.

Aaaaaand all the Quidditch arguments she had been marshaling went soaring out the window. "Oh!" she exclaimed softly. "That is certainly not what I was expecting." She needed a moment. "I quite agree that Josephina would not be the right option. She already has a full course load." Just like every other professor in this place. She took a deep breath. "Yes, I can do it," she said with as much authority as she could muster. Yes, she should have consulted Jason first. But it sounded like it was this or be unemployed, and that sounded like an easy choice to the Fl-- Arithmancy professor.

So.... she would do it? Just like that?! Bunz almost added a snarky remark along the lines of, 'Are you sure you don't need to consult your husband first?' but didn't, for once.

So. "Great," she took another long sip of tea and then scooted to the edge of her seat, holding out her hand for Tiara to shake. "It's a deal, then. You can move into the Arithmancy suite stat and... I'll get a contract prepared for you." Little did the flying professor know that she would get a raise with this change in assignment, but Annie thought that would be a nice surprise.

She looked stunned. But why should she? It didn't sound like she had left room for any other options. "Indeed." She mirrored her boss and took a swig of her tea. Anastasia seemed suddenly businesslike, and the change was a bit of a surprise. Tiara extended her hand and grasped for a handshake. "I will have to think about moving.. I already have an office." Her current office was also outside.. and it was cold. "It's not my top priority, looking at the curriculum and getting started on plans is." She ignored the contract part, as it was the least of her worries.

"Well, it sounds like I should get going right away! Excuse me, Headmistress." There was work to be done!

Quote:

Originally Posted by hpluvr037

She looked stunned. But why should she? It didn't sound like she had left room for any other options. "Indeed." She mirrored her boss and took a swig of her tea. Anastasia seemed suddenly businesslike, and the change was a bit of a surprise. Tiara extended her hand and grasped for a handshake. "I will have to think about moving.. I already have an office." Her current office was also outside.. and it was cold. "It's not my top priority, looking at the curriculum and getting started on plans is." She ignored the contract part, as it was the least of her worries.

"Well, it sounds like I should get going right away! Excuse me, Headmistress." There was work to be done!

"Well let me know what you decide. The castle IS warmer than the grounds... and nothing has caved in here." Recently. She offered Tiara a nod as she excused herself and then took her time to finish her tea. Ahh. There was nothing quite like a break.