Merlin, all the new guys had such amazing decorating skills! Paul wanted to hire them, as a TEAM, to redecorate his home! All their styles mashed together--what could possibly go WRONG?

Also, Milton might not like that very much. He had GREAT decorating skills, thank you VERY MUCH!

Some of the flowers of the plant he had brought for Nana were tickling his nose, and he just couldn't help but laugh softly about it. He knocked on her door, and waited.

This was probably his favorite plant of the ones he had bought. It was very pretty and vibrant.

Nana had immersed herself in school records. She was looking through every important Transfiguration class held in the past ten years with the intent of figuring out exactly what her students would need a firmer grasp of in the upcoming year.

She had three piles of parchment before her, each carefully compiled into three categories; What needed revisiting, what needed to be outright taught, and what needed to be outright discouraged. This would take some time.

The laughter was heard first, before the knock and Nana watched the door curiously before crossing the way to open it up. "Professor Myers." Mild surprise slipped across her features. She had been expecting one of the children with a prank in mind. This was much more welcomed. "How can I help you, sir?" She asked, smiling as her eyes caught sight of the flowers he held. "Beautiful." Would it be improper to lean in for a sniff? Alas, she believed so.

Nana! What a lovely person, really. Paul adored her voice, and her mannerisms. She was a classy lady. "Hello there, Nana." He still couldn't say her last name correctly. He would keep trying, though!

He chuckled a little. "Help me? No no--here! A welcome gift for you, m'dear. Some cherry blossoms..." they were so beautiful. "Just to brighten your office. And your day of course." He bowed his head and found himself, well. He wanted to be extra polite with Nana. He did NOT want to come off like some...buffoon. "I hope you don't mind random visits!" Some people didn't like them, and he was feeling a bit guilty, now, in case she didn't.

Maybe he should have checked with all his coworkers first...

"Oh, and you can call me Paul, if you wish."

She was just going to have to use to this first name basis thing, wasn't she? Not just with the Herbologist, but with the other professors as well. Perhaps, if she continued speaking to them in her naturally more formal manner they would learn to adopt it in time. Or perhaps not. Time would tell.

A gift? Well, she hadn't expected that. In general she discouraged gifts (especially those from older men), but Nana supposed accepting these beautiful flowers wouldn't be too imprudent. "How kind of you." She said, touched by the thoughtfulness. She'd believed the professor to be on the sillier side after his exuberant introduction and silly attire at the feast, and though that thought still remained, she now also considered him rather sweet. "Random visits? From yourself? No, not at all, but I might be quite busy, I shouldn't want to turn you away next time." Ergo, maybe mention something in advance next time, flower man.

Smiling politely, Nana took the flowers from him and moved aside. "Won't you come in, Paul?" He had asked, after all.

Now that Professor York was no longer at Hogwarts, that meant they needed to interrogate meet the new Transfiguration professor. That was exactly what Frankie, hand-in-hand with Hady, was doing up on the sixth floor after supper. Normally he would have snuck down into the kitchens during this time to grab some food for later while he was doing his rounds. But there was an important matter that needed to be taken care of first: the continuation of their Animagus studies.

"Think she'll be in her office?" the prefect asked his girlfriend as they walked down the Transfiguration corridor. He wasn't sure if the professor would have immediately gone back to her office after eating or not. Would she even want visitors at this hour? The blond, needless to say, was a little nervous. From what he had observed during the feast, the woman seemed so ... serious.

And there they both were, standing outside the office. Frankie gave Hady's hand a little squeeze and nodded toward the door, indicating that she should be the one to knock.

SPOILER!!: Frankie

Now that Professor York was no longer at Hogwarts, that meant they needed to interrogate meet the new Transfiguration professor. That was exactly what Frankie, hand-in-hand with Hady, was doing up on the sixth floor after supper. Normally he would have snuck down into the kitchens during this time to grab some food for later while he was doing his rounds. But there was an important matter that needed to be taken care of first: the continuation of their Animagus studies.

"Think she'll be in her office?" the prefect asked his girlfriend as they walked down the Transfiguration corridor. He wasn't sure if the professor would have immediately gone back to her office after eating or not. Would she even want visitors at this hour? The blond, needless to say, was a little nervous. From what he had observed during the feast, the woman seemed so ... serious.

And there they both were, standing outside the office. Frankie gave Hady's hand a little squeeze and nodded toward the door, indicating that she should be the one to knock.

The end of last term was nearly heartbreaking when Professor York had announced she was leaving. Her gift to Hady didn't got to waste though for she had read the entire book from cover to cover over the summer. Possibly more then once. It was thus fact though that reminded her that she should meet the new Professors sooner rather then later. Which is had her trudging all the way up here after dinner along side Frankie.

"Maybe. Hopefully she is. The sooner we can speak with her the sooner we can hopefully continue our training," Hady answered shifting her gaze to her boyfriend. They had both studied and practiced so hard last term and there was no way she was allowing it to go to waste.

Feeling Frankie's hand tighten around her own she gently gave his fingers a squeeze in return. It would be okay. They could do this, they were only going to speak with her. When the blonde didn't make a move to knock on the door as they arrived at the office Hady gave a small smirk. It was fine, she'd do it. Raising her her free hand she lightly knocked on the door to Professor Ichiara's office.

Now they just had to wait.

Despite the Japanese woman's best efforts her favorite pair of heels were uncomfortably squishy thanks to all that sudden and torrent rain. The Rain they'd been forced to use to quell a food fight. A food fight, that had begun with just a handful of students before erupting across the whole of the Great Hall.

Even the hag Divination professor had been attacked.

Nana was going to have to start charming her clothes to be stain and water resistant if this sort of thing kept up. Taking out her wand, Nana slipped out of the black heels and performed a quick drying spell. There, no more silly squishing noises, no more cold feet. Perhaps now Nana could sit back, unwind from the nights exuberant festivities (for lack of a better word) with a good book and some tea. Naturally, no sooner had the notion entered her mind than a knock sounded through her office. It was rather late for an office visit wasn't it? Slipping back on her heels, Nana rose from her seat and crossed to the door.

Students. Well. That was a surprise. Glancing at their young faces, Nana wondered what could have brought them in so soon after the feast, what seemed so important that it couldn't possibly have waited until the next day? "Hello." She said, tucking back a lock of her dark her. "May I be of some assistance?" Nana asked, her tone even, but not unkind. If there was another food fight, fainting man, misplaced date, or creepy hag wondering about, any there weird happenings... well... She might not be able to so effectively keep her cool.

It only made sense the the Transfiguration professor would be in her office after the start-of-term feast. The combination of food and rain was never a good thing. Fortunately a little spellwork had did the two fifth years well before they had found the professor's office, though Frankie could have swore there was still bits of food in his hair. Not that he was going to make a big deal out of that. Their visit was, surprisingly, more important that maintaining perfect hair.

The prefect grinned when she squeezed his fingers and then knocked on the door. He was tempted to give her cheek a little smooch, but the door opened and Professor Ichihara appeared. The blond gave a quick gaze at Hady after the professor addressed them. Did she want to speak first or should he?

Figuring that it was only fair that he be the first to respond since his girlfriend knocked on the door, Frankie shot the professor a smile. "Hi, professor. Sorry for bothering you at this hour ... but I'm Frankie Paton, and this is Hady Lynch. We just wanted to stop by to discuss something with you since you're the new Transfiguration professor and everything. Last term we began studying how to become Animagi, you see."

As the Great Hall had emptied out nearly everyone made their way towards their common room or dorms. So that meant that it should be likely that the professor was in her office. Chances were she herself was cleaning up after that disaster that was a feast. Hady just hoped she didn't look to ratty at the moment.

The second the door opened to show Professor Ichiara standing before them Hady nearly let go of Frankie's hand. They didn't need to be reprimanded for PDA right now but on second thought it made her feel better so she kept a hold of his hand and silently willed the new professor to not notice.

The glance from Frankie was met with a tiny smile and a nod of her head. He could do the talking. And luckily for her he did just that. See she didn't need to say anything he just knew. They seemed to work well like that. Hady listened to him speak and smiled softly nodding her head to what he had said. "Only now that Professor York is no longer here we were wondering where that sort of left us..." Hady continued quietly for her boyfriend when he stopped talking.

Would they be able to continue with their lessons? She'd help them out, wouldn't she?

Tia wasn't fully convinced she wanted to go through this. After all, she barely handled being head girl at the opening feast and taking charge. Although then again, if she was successful, maybe it'd be better to hide from future embarrassments and failures at a leader.

Then again, if she couldn't lead, how could she ever expect to be successful at this task.

Picking up a copy of Witch Weekly, the seventh year flipped through it thought not really reading it, as she awaited her turn to speak with the new Transfiguration Professor.

Nana watched the Frankie Paton and Hady Lynch quietly as they spoke, she was taking them in, doing a quick character study of them both. So far, all she could discern with absolute certainty was that the two were very nervous, but anyone with eyes and a clear sense of logic would have realized that. From one to the other Nana's gaze shifted as the two students took turns speaking.

Animagi training, she should have expected as much. Nana was no stranger to young people eager to push their limits in this particular branch of Transfiguration, but she was not used to it showing them showing up at her doorstep at this kind of hour. It was rather impolite, and imprudent, but after what she had seen at the feast... Well, it wasn't as bad as it could have been.

"I believe the three of us are in need of a deeper conversation, mister Paton, miss Lynch." She said. Running a hand through her dark hair, Nana considered her two options. She could turn them away until another time, or she could take them now. With an internal sigh, Nana stepped back enough to let them in. "You two best come in." There went her calming night of reading and music. "Take a seat, make yourself comfortable."

ooc: you may now post your students in Professor Ichihara's office.




Books tucked neatly into the crook of her arm, Nana was walking and reading her way through the waiting room at a slow, but smooth pace. She had just been to the Hogwarts library where she had been absolutely delighted by their selection of Transfiguration, alchemical and familiar texts. So delighted, had Nana been, she'd felt practically forced to take as many as the Librarian would allow to pour over for the night, and couldn't even wait until she'd reached her office to begin reading.

Unfortunately, this meant that she didn't see the young woman as she passed by her, nor as she stepped into her office, it was only when she closed the door that she finally realized the young woman's presence. Peeking back out, Nana directed her gaze. "I'll be with you in just a moment, young lady." she said, offering the quiet thing a small, polite smile, before slipping back momentarily into her office.

Knock Knock Knock Knock Knock. She waited at the door, rolling slightly on her heels. Then: Knock Knock.

Now that the musical knock was done, the door was boring. Haddie spun around and made a running leap onto one of the couches. Oh! Transfiguration Now. Maybe those will have answers. She grabbed a handful and began to browse each issues table of contents, getting distracted by the moving pictures a bit. Oh, that reminded her, she really needed to start taking pictures. She brought all that film after all. Did Hogwarts have an art class or something that would show her how to develop moving photos? Going to Wiseacre's was such a hassle sometimes.

Each time an issue came up short, she'd toss it, none-too-neatly back on the tables. Come on, Teach. Hurry up!

The knocking did not go unnoticed. Oh, no. Professor Ichihara heard each and every one of them, and she was waiting patiently for them to stop before answering, except that they kept on and on, in a manor that was putting the Transfiguration Professor on edge.

Brow raised, Nana sat in wait, fully expecting the knock to return, but when it didn't the dark haired woman arose from her seat and crossed to the door, opening it and peering sternly at the little girl who was oh so casually making a mess of her waiting room. Pursing her lips, Nana cleared her throat loudly enough to attract the child's attention. "I do hope you plan on arranging those back in their proper manner, young lady." Nana calmly said, her dark eyes absorbing the Ravenclaw student, keen to make sense of her antics.

Uhhhhh... okay. Hadley scooped up the magazines, piled them together, and tapped the edges of the magazines on the table until they were unison. She honestly didn't remember how the were arranged, so hopefully a neat stack will do? Yes? She looked up at the Professor, expectantly, as she set the stack down on the table.

If this woman was so concerned about having everything as it was, she should really put up a sign instructing everyone to put everything back where it was. Wait... did she have a sign? Haddie glanced around to double check but thankfully didn't see one. Yeah, should totally get a sign.

She stood up and faced the Professor. "You're the transfiguration Professor, right?" She kinda knew the answer, but it was a good way to steer the conversation away from the stack of magazines in case it wasn't good enough.

Really now, Nana was beginning to think most, if not all Hogwarts students had an issue with order, rules, curfew and/or cleanliness. Still, this one did have the sense to put things back into order (even if she'd had to been told).

The pursed lips and steely gaze vanished as the Professor softened, replaced by a calm, expectant look. "Yes, I am, did you have a question for me, miss... ?" There was the question of her name, and the question as to why this particularly exuberant Ravenclaw had found her way to her door. "If you would like to have a discussion, I suggest you step inside."

OOC: you may post in Professor Ichihara's office.

Oliver slowly, but surely, made his way up to Professor Ichihara's office from the dungeons. Although he wasn't nearly as sore as he'd been at the beginning of September, the working out thing was still kicking his bum.

As he made it up to the waiting room, he went and knocked on the professor's door and then sat down on the white chair. From here, he really tried to remember why exactly he'd even bothered making the trip there. Ollie bounced a little in his seat and thought hard...but nothing was coming to him.

"Well I'm not just gonna leave." The Slytherin boy sighed to himself and picked up the gold Rubik's cube. ....What's the point in a Rubik's cube that's all the same color? Not that he could do a regular one, the boy really wasn't all that smart, but he was smart enough to know this made no sense. He set the cube back down, sat back in the chair, and simply waited for the professor to open the door. Maybe once she did, he'd remember why he was even there.

OOC: I'm sorry this post sucks (:

Ariadne had some bad news. She had some REALLY bad news. She approached the professor's office with what looked like a book in her hands. She held it open as if she was saving a certain spot, which she was. Too bad she had to knock. It meant she probably had to wait in line, which meant she might be here for a while. Oh, well. She was here on important business, so she'd wait if she had to!

*knock knock knock*

In the meantime, she sat down, immediately noticing the little golden cubes. The professor had obviously put them out here for visitors to..well, ...do something with. What exactly were these things? Ariadne began to twist the pieces around in an attempt to figure things out.

Nana peeked out. she'd been in the middle of re-decorating. Trying out a few things to help her creativity, but the funny thing was that she'd pretty much ended up putting everything right back into it's old home. "Hello, Mister Kyle, may I help you?" She asked, head tilted.

Did they have an appointment?

Miss Greingothe. Nana should have guessed. The little thing was practically everywhere of late. Nana didn't have much patience today, she'd lost her favorite day planner and was more than a little out of sorts about it. "How can I help you today, miss?" She calmly asked, and that was when she noticed it. The book in her hands. it was impossibly familiar... "Where did you get that?" she asked, eyes narrowing just a bit.

The door opened just then, and Ariadne snapped out of her daydreaming state and looked up to see the professor peeking out. FINALLY! Yes, Ariadne had grown impatient, but she also knew the professor was a busy, busy woman. She waited while the professor talked to the student who'd arrived before her, then finally, it was her turn! Ariadne smiled even though the professor seemed kind of annoyed at something.

Ariadne put down the little golden cubes she'd been working with and showed the professor what she THOUGHT was her day planner. "Hello, Professor," she greeted, and then she made a somewhat sad face. "I'm here to return your day planner. I looked for a name on the inside cover and found yours." She held the not-so-nice-looking day planner out for the professor to take.

"My friends and I were out on the grounds just hanging out, and then I heard someone giggling. When I looked over, I saw your day planner just laying there. The pages were torn, and there was this weird message scribbled on the inside," she answered. She flipped a few pages to where the crayon message had been written.

'WHY WON'T ANYONE PLAY WITH ME?'

"So even though it's all messed up now, I thought you might like it back," she said.

The year was almost up, could you believe that? Hadley wasn't sure she could. She knocked calmly, for once, on Professor Ichihara's door and resisted the urge to touch anything as she took a seat. The transfiguration professor was a bit of a compulsive neat freak, and well, Haddie knew that if she touched anything, she'd just end up making a mess...by Ichihara's standards anyway. She was still trying to impress the professor, by showing she could be well-behaved and listen to instructions, in hopes that Professor Ichihara might agree to train her to be an animagus next year. Even though Haddie most likely wouldn't be here next year. You never know though. And Haddie wasn't going to give up on the hope she'll be back in the fall until she was firmly seated in a muggle classroom rather than on a train to Scotland come September.

Stacked on her lap was her reason for visiting today. Three ever-so-slightly worn books. For the most part they were in the same condition as she got them, but the year of being read and reread by a particularly active and energetic twelve year old still showed a little, despite the extra care Haddie tried to take with them. She had nearly read all three twice, and would have finished reading through the last of the three the second time had exams not been on their way. The Californian knew herself well enough that once exams hit, she'd likely forget completely to return the books. So better a little early than not at all right?

Nana took the planner from the young girl and carefully turned it over in her long, pale hands as she inspected the damage done to the darplanner. It was ripped, faded and many of the pages were suspiciously damp. Essentially it was useless, useless and messed up and no, Nana Ichihara would not cry. It was just a notebook, a silly leather-bound day planner that had been given to her by her mother, and meant nothing.

don't sniffle. don't cry. you are a grown woman.

Nana was so busy not crying that she was hardly paying any of miss Greingoth's words any mind, though she nodded just enough to seem as though she was listening. "Thank you, miss Greingoth." She stiffly said, nodding again. She was being a sentimental mess, oh dear. "I will get to the bottom of this, I assure you. No stone left unturned." She would find who did this and they would be sorted out, though perhaps she would leave it to someone else considering her emotional response.

"Thank you, Thank you." She quickly said again. sniffle.

Nana strolled into her waiting room with a small smile on her face. In a fit of whimsy she had taken to using her yellow polka-dotted umbrella as a walking stick (newly shaken dry), the light spring rain and the warmth of the sun had brightened the woman's spirits and it was quite evident. Taking stock of the room, Nana'a dark eyes landed on someone she had expected to see sooner or later. "Miss Denaker." She greeted, the smile was decidedly impersonal and polite, but Nana was glad to see the young woman had turned up.

"Will you be stepping in for a formal visit? Or do you simply have a question?" Nana asked, taking off her light pink spring coat and draping carefully it over her arm.

Hadley shook her head as she stood, carefully cradling the three books in front of her. A small smirk threatened to spread on the young girl's mouth at the sight of her prim and proper Transfiguration Professor's entrance, but she managed to contain it. Barely. "No. I just wanted to give you your books back." She held them out delicately for Nana to collect. She how responsible she was being, Nana? Huh? "And to say 'thank you...'"

The way her voice trailed at the end made it clear that that wasn't all she wanted to say, but instead of continuing, Haddie's eyes drifted to the floor as if she wasn't sure what to say next. "And I hope..." Yep, she was clearly having a bit of trouble figuring out what to say, or at least how to say it. The was so much she did want to say and yet it felt pointless to say. It just seemed foolish to say, Oh hi, I hope you'll let me start animagus training next year, when it had already been decided she would be returning to muggle school next year. Though, Haddie wasn't giving up that easily, oh no. "...I hope to see you next year," she said finally. "Anyway, here." She shifted her grip on the books so they were easier for Nana to take. "Thank you."

Ariadne paused as the professor took back her day planner. She seemed...heartbroken or something. Was she about to CRY?! It was...just a day planner, but maybe she was just hurt that somebody had taken her day planner and pretty much killed it. "You're welcome, Professor," she said, giving her a sympathetic look. She wasn't really sure what else to say. There were lots of 'thank you's', but Ariadne had already responded to those.

Maybe she should offer to do something to help make the professor feel better...

"Is there something else I can do?" she asked, hoping the answer wasn't 'mop my floors with your toothbrush' or something equally disgusting and mundane. "I can try and conjure you some flowers!" she added excitedly. Maybe she'd like THAT. She was the Transfiguration professor, after all.

.... Haddie was such a different creature now. Nana could see the difference quite clearly, the energy was there, but it was subdued now, likely because of her own presence, but it was a welcome change and Nana Ichihara was just a tiny bit impressed. a tiny bit. "It was a pleasure to loan them to you, miss Denaker." she replied, taking the books and glancing over their care-worn appearance. She watched the young girl, dark eyes widening just a little as silence fell for much longer than she expected, still, she said nothing, simply waited patiently for the young girl to hopefully express what she seemed to be having trouble with.

She considered miss Denaker for a moment before offering the books back to her. "Take them, keep them. I think they would have a warmer home with you." She simply said. "Consider it part of your summer reading." She would be getting a new set for next term anyway, and this was just as good as donating them. Completely within her professional bounds.

"I will be returning next term, Miss Denaker," Was that the Ravenclaw's worry? Nana assumed so, but something about Miss Denaker's... not her words, but her actions was leading her to believe otherwise. "I expect you in my class next term, miss Denaker. It would be much too quiet without you." She said, a lightly amused smile slipping across her face.

Yes, she had made a joke. No, the world was not ending.

This was really just so inopportune. Of all the times to be turning into an emotional ball of sadness, right in front of a student. Merlin, Preston Kingsley would be absolutely ashamed of her. She nodded quietly, clearing her throat and blinking to keep her eye from becoming too watery.

.......

Nana laughed, watery and awkwardly, but she laughed. "I... That would be very kind, but it is unnecessary, thank you." She cleared her throat once again. "I had best be going, I have.. Very much to do and very little time, but I thank you again, Mis Griengoth." It was the offer that did it, made her pull herself together and see how silly she was being.