 Bathes in Maple Syrup | Dancing Lobster | Mrs. Charlie Weasley | Seneca's Beard | That's So Fetch
She had to admit it: these Board members did not waste any time getting to the bare bones of why they were there. That was something that Regina appreciated. Though, the fact that they had summoned them all here because of an influx of owls and howlers seemed a bit unnecessary. The woman was positive that stranger things had happened there before. Even whispers of some of the school's more dangerous occurrences had managed to travel across the pond in the past.
Her thoughts quickly went elsewhere, however, when it was stated that they were concerned with what was going on. All eyes had turned on her. The headmistress's face still remained neutral, deadpan. She was choosing her words very carefully in addition to mentally preparing for the responses of the agitated parents and relatives of students currently in the school. She could only imagine what the finger-drummer had to say...
Not standing up to maintain an equal position with everyone sitting, Regina made sure to look at each individual Board member present while she spoke. "I understand that many of you, in addition to countless parents and guardians, are greatly concerned about what is currently going on here at Hogwarts. While the situation has been and continues to be unpredictable, it is important to understand that numerous measures have been taken for the safety of our students. The occurrences that have happened have not been taken lightly.
"After several students first returned from the other side of the portal in November, all students, with the exception of prefects, were forbidden from going anywhere near the portal as a safety precaution. A number of students described the world on the other side, mentioned seeing the presumed remains of our caretaker, and expressed the belief that a monster resided in that world. Since then, the prefects and my fellow colleagues had been patrolling the area to keep tabs on the portal and make sure no one foolishly went through it again."
Pausing for a moment, the woman remembered very well how unwise that handful of students had been. As for the other encounters, well... "Our efforts seemed to be working until smaller portals started appearing at random. Two students, Junia Botros and Henrietta Kramer, were first taken when the students returned from holiday. The girls were in the alternate world for nearly a day and fortunately came back to us without being harmed. Rosalyn and Kaysha were present at the portal when the girls returned.
"The next group of students to be taken, just recently, were Rooney Bronwyn, Carlton Lewis, and Henry Whittebrook. The very moment I was notified of their disappearance, the school was put under lockdown. Students were taken to their common rooms, where they remained under the supervision of their prefects and Head of House until the next day. New school rules were soon implemented -- prefects and professors escorted students to and from classes; the school curfew was changed to 6 PM; and all students needed to stay in their respective dormitories post-curfew. When the boys did not return as soon as we had expected, I contacted the head of the Department of Mysteries. When several Ministry employees arrived, so did the three missing boys, who were taken to the hospital's quarantine. Since then the Ministry has taken samples, extracted memories, and the like to analyze while we here at Hogwarts have continued our efforts to keep everyone safe."
With all that said, Regina sat back in her chair, her folded hands now resting on her lap, and waited.
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