of Headmistress Truebridge

[BanaBatGirl]

If permitted to enter the highly exclusive and incredibly pink palace of Headmistress Anastasia Reina (née Bunbury) Truebridge, please take a moment to allow your eyes to adjust. The current occupant of the Head chambers has distinct fashion tastes unlike any of her predecessors. And yes, she does re-do her office every three few years.

The large, thick black desk, which is easily the largest item in the room, rests on a fairly new, geometrically patterned pink and black carpet. In front of the desk are two nearly new black and pink, modernly styled guest chairs; behind it is what can only be described as a veritable throne. This, obviously, is where the Headmistress sits when she is in the office. If you're here to speak with her, you might as well have a seat in one of the guest chairs. You aren't welcome elsewhere in this office.

As you take your seat and look around, you'll notice that the room is lush with healthy green plants in black pots; new black curtains which are usually pulled back from the spacious windows; books and magazines scattered on matching black wooden end tables; and lots and lots of framed personal photos. Most of the photo occupants (the ones that you can see, anyway) are the Headmistress' husband, a former professor himself, and a baby photo of her now nine-year-old son, who is certain to grow up to be a genius. The largest photo, which sits facing the Headmistress' throne and the large window behind it, is of the three Truebridges from before they left Egypt.

The other frames on the walls of the room include portraits of former headmasters; a glass-encased man's cane; and a framed scrap of paper from one of Hogwarts' own student publications. In the back corner of the room, near the door that leads to the rest of the Headmistress' chambers, is a collection of very rare brooms locked up inside a black wood corner cabinet. In front of the cabinet sits a large pink wicker basket, usually containing a very pampered, very fat ginger cat. This is Gingersnapple.

Gingersnapple is most protective of his master's chambers, so if you truly wish to speak the Headmistress in her office, be aware that you are doing so at your own risk. Please note: This room is an animal-free zone... with the obvious exception of Gingersnapple.

OOC: You absolutely may not enter this office unless given the password or given IC/OOC access by the Headmistress. If you RP yourself here without following instructions, your post will be deleted.

[BanaBatGirl]

Anastasia had prepared a pot of hot, fresh tea, brewed from her hand-picked leaves of course, but had no biscuits sitting out as usual. Why not? Because this was a serious meeting about some serious misbehavior going on.... likely with some serious Heads of Houses as well.

She seriously sat, looking serious in her luxorious chair, her cat Gingersnapple resting on her lap with half-closed eyes. The Heads knew her password; she assumed they would show their prefects up to the office any minute now.

[Nordic Witch]

This was a morning of many meetings. Luckily the library could manage without his presence for a few hours. After the meeting in Tiara's office had adjourned Leo had stopped by the Ravenclaw Tower to fetch Gabriel. They had arranged that the previous night since Leo then hadn't been sure just how long the other meeting would take. Plus Gabriel wouldn't know the password to get past Anastasia's gargoyles.

Walking up the stairs to the Headmistress office with Gabriel by his side, Leo paused to knock on the door twice before he proceeded inside.

Coming into the Headmistress office Leo gave Anastasia and her sleeping cat an acknowledging nod. "Good morning again, Headmistress Truebridge." Taking a seat in one of the guest chairs he motioned for Gabriel to do the same while they waited for the others to arrive.

[Govoni]

The trek to the Headmistress' office had been a...quiet, thoughtful one; even in the company of his Head of House. Gabriel found he appreciated this 'calm before the storm'equs....situation....and the brisk, echoing sounds of their shoes against the stone floors. Thanks in part to a dreamless night's sleep,,,,,,and then getting back on track with his potion this morning, of course. The relief of that alone made Gabe's outlook on the day a tad brighter, despite the meeting.

Naturally, the closer they got to the specified location, the more aware he was that...Yes, he was about to meet with the Headmistress of the entire school. Even if he had been in her Fairy Tale book search party last term, Gabriel felt zero confidence in the fact that he wasn't in trouble. Everything had gotten out of hand on HIS watch. Everyone involved probably thought he was beyond stupid.....

This wasn't going to be confrontational, was it? Yes, he figured he'd be asked to relay a timeline of events...but he wasn't going to get yelled at, was he?

Somehow managing to bring a stress tsunami down upon himself, the Ravenclaw lowered his chin to his chest and sped up; walking just a bit closer to Mr. Kitridge. When they'd arrived, the older man knocked...and then proceeded inside; Gabe just behind him.

No Beverly Wayne yet...or the Healer.

.

.

Flush. "Headmistress." If he'd been wearing his glasses, Gabe would've most definitely been fumbling them.

[The1HBIC]

And here it was, time for yet another meeting. And they weren't even twenty-four hours into the start of the school term.

With Prefect Wayne following her, Healer Murdoch lead the way to the Headmistress' office. As they entered the office she noticed that Professor Tanner had not arrived yet.

"Hello Headmistress. Will Professor Tanner be joining us?" She was the one who wanted this little meeting. Right? She then turned to Leo. "Hello Professor Kitridge." She wasn't going to say good morning because so far there had been nothing good about this morning.

Cece didn't bother with sitting down just yet. She would wait until invited to sit since this wasn't her office. She looked at Beverly expecting her to do the same. Wait to be told she could sit down.

[Deezerz]

She was not looking forward to this. It made her feel as if she was in trouble when all she'd done was her job. She didn't even raise her wand to anyone even if she had wanted to, and that had been for a purpose. Maybe she SHOULD have hexed someone. At least it would've been worth it then.

No no no. She was doing it again. She was over thinking and jumping to conclusions. Running her clammy hands down the sides of her robe, Beverly clasped her hands in front of her as she followed Healer Murdock. She tried to mimic the woman's posture, confident and strong. And, to be honest, she was glad her Head of House had come along. Beverly's never been in trouble to the extent of landing in the Headmistress' office, and even if she hadn't done anything wrong it felt like she was.

Coming to a stop next to Healer Murdoch's side, she ducked her head, nodding at the people present. "Headmistress, Professor Kitridge...Prefect Banner." She didn't feel the latter and her were on first name basis, were they? She didn't know and she was too nervous even think about it. Luckily she wasn't as flushed as he was and rather kept a serene expression on her face.

[hpluvr037]

What a morning! She had just finished de-briefing from the meeting with Ophelia, Gregoire, and Austin, but it was already time to meet with the Prefects. She was hoping that their input would give clarity to the stories they had already heard from the others. After speaking the password, Tiara ascended the spiral stairs, knocked, and entered.

"Sorry I took so long." She was clearly the last one here. "Thank you for waiting, Headmistress, please do begin."

[BanaBatGirl]

Anastasia returned everyone's greetings with murmured ones of her own. "Tea?" she asked as they all sat there waiting on Tiara. She was the one who had wanted this thing... and now, here she was. Sure, Anastasia could run this thing. Sure. She started by looking at the Prefects.

"Why do you think you've been asked here today, Gabriel and Beverly?" At least they, unlike the dueling babies from the earlier meeting, had the sense to wait before speaking.

[Govoni]

Quietly declining tea, the Ravenclaw twiddled his thumbs; a nervous tick he couldn't help...And when he was addressed specifically, along with Beverly, Gabriel fought the urge to sink down further in his seat.

.

His cheeks flamed.

"....To..." Gabe paused to clear his throat. It felt especially dry at the moment. "...recount what happened at the.....feast." Thankfully, the words weren't stuttered....but sweat was already beginning to gather at his temple.

[Deezerz]

"I'm fine, thank you." It surprised her she had a voice after being quiet all morning. But no tea, what if it made her want to use the loo. It would be terribly uncomfortable to have to wait until the end of the meeting. A meeting she hoped wouldn't last long.

Why had they been asked here today? To be told what horrible job they did and how they were to be punished for their housemates' behavior and have points docked and--

Calm your bum down, Wayne.

Taking advantage of Gabriel speaking first, Beverly readied herself. All she wanted to do was jerk her thumb at him and say, "What he said," but that wasn't her style...not in front of adults. Adults with powers. And she wasn't about to admit her worries. She opted to verbalize half. What if they weren't thinking that and she gave them ideas? No.

"I agree with...Prefect Banner, to discuss what happened last night."

[BanaBatGirl]

Okay then. No tea would be had until maybe after the students left, and they all agreed that they were here to discuss the events of last night.

The Headmistress nodded and gave Gingersnapple a gooood long pet from his head to his tail, so he started purring audibly. "And what did happen last night, Prefects? Give me a straight and simple version of what you saw and how you each reacted.... and why." Why had they reacted the way they did. She was curious.

[Govoni]

After glancing briefly at his co-Prefect, Gabe assumed he was expected to speak first...because he'd been in the midst of it for a longer period of time than Beverly had been. She didn't exactly know everything that had happened.

Just the fighting....that EVERYONE had seen.

He swallowed thickly.

"The....Slytherin boy had been.....relentlessly teasing and.....bullying the two...younger Ravenclaws." Cue some throat clearing. "...I asked him to...stop but instead of stopping......he began teasing...and...." Gabe looked down, cheeks flushing harder. "...ridiculing? me, which wasn't...a big deal. I had been...prepared to ignore the barbs...but then...he made one of the Ravenclaws cry...and I...." FIDGET. "...I Silencio'd him."...which Gabriel had hoped would make the Slytherin walk away without confrontation...but had, instead, brilliantly backfired. Much fail. "He lunged at me after realizing what I'd done...and one of the Ravenclaws tackled him before he....could reach me..." He still didn't understand that bit. Why the kid had protected him...They didn't even know each other...

One good thing...As he kept talking, the words seemed to come easier. "They were rolling around on the floor...fighting, when two additional Ravenclaws stood and began firing Immobulus spells. I..." MOAR FIDGETING. "...disarmed them both because they were only adding to...the...confusion. That's when...Professor Tanner arrived."

Trickles of sweat were rolling down the side of his face...and he felt itchy. Maybe he would take some tea...

[Deezerz]

Ohhh...she did not know Gabriel Banner had cast at her housemate. Gluing her gaze on him, she listened carefully with calculating eyes, still trying to make out whatever feelings she'd felt last night. She wasn't generally the protective kind. Her motto has always been 'better them than her,' excluding a few from that, but last night...she'd felt a sense of responsibility she had not felt last term. Odd.

Maybe it came with age. Maybe Kennedy's words were finally clicking in her head, or maybe it had been Gregoire crying that did her in. She didn't do well with tears. What if she was traumatized and now needed counseling? She'd punch him for that.

When Gabriel finished his piece, the Slytherin wiped her hands on her robes, clasping them in front of her once more and keeping her nerves at bay. "...I spotted my housemate at the Ravenclaw table and it didn't take a genius to know what he was intending to do, so I headed on over with the intention to stop whatever was going on, verbally." Slytherin was at the negatives by then so she wasn't about to risk more house points by doing something stupid like casting and having a war break out, that's why she used her voice...which didn't work.

"I got there as a Ravenclaw rammed into my housemate and two others cast on them." Poor Gregoire. The fool had been outnumbered. "I managed to calm him down after casting Finite on him after he was hit by one of the Immobulus spells...then Professor Tanner appeared," she ended, nodding in agreement with Gabriel. So she hadn't failed entirely, had she?

[The1HBIC]

Finally Professor Tanner arrived. Now they could get this meeting under way so Cece could get on with her day.

And apparently Anastasia wasn't going to invite them to be seated, but she was going to offer them tea. Why were they being offered tea? This wasn't a social visit. This wasn't even a visit Cece wanted to be at. Then again, she DID want to hear what that prefect had to say for himself.

And there it was, yet another eagle showing just how smart he wasn't. In Cece's opinion it was Gabe who had started this whole mess. Sure, Gregoire may have been teasing another student, but none of the physical contact would have happened if Mr. Prefect over there would have gotten the help of an adult once he realized Gregoire wasn't going to listen to him. But no, he had to go all spell crazy and start casting at another student.

Maybe he should take prefecting lessons from Miss Wayne. She knew how to handle the students in her house without being physical or casting spells on them. For now Cece would just stand there listening to what was going on. She would have her say soon enough.

She looked back to the Headmistress to see what her reaction was going to be to what these students had just told her.

[Nordic Witch]

Leo quietly declined the tea as Tiara arrived at last. Leo flashed her a nod, as Anastasia started the meeting and both Gabriel and Beverly gave their versions of what had transpired the previous night from their perspectives. The big difference between how the prefects had acted was that Beverly had managed to calm down her house mate just through the use of a few choice words. Gabriel had sadly failed to do the same. A question came to him. He wondered who had sent Penelope to the staff table to fetch help. Had Beverly or Gabriel done that or someone else? Or had Penelope acted on her own accord?

Not sure if this was the right time to interject with his small question that in the bigger picture didn't matter Leo remained silent. It was more interesting to hear Anastasia's reaction to the two tales given.

[BanaBatGirl]

Aha, so it was the good ol' silencing charm which had gotten Gabriel in trouble. Well that was a damn shame. Anastasia was a huge fan of the charm herself, and had (in the past) given permission to student prefects to use it on their housemates on more than one occasion. Hadn't she had Hollingberry use silencio on a few Gryffindors just a few terms ago? Maybe that was longer ago than she thought....

The Heads of Houses didn't seem to like the spell casting half as much. Annie cleared her throat and poured a cup of tea for Gabriel, since it appeared that he would need to replenish his fluids after all the sweating he was doing. "Thank you both for your honesty," she said levelly, as their stories did indeed match what the adults had heard from the combatants in the earlier meeting. "However, Gabriel, and I don't think this needs to be said at this point.... but could you have handled things in a better way? Beverly, you're a second year prefect. Why did you not go get an adult when you realized right away what your housemate was going to do?"

Obviously Gregoire was thick-headed and hard of hearing; had she really thought a few words would stop the boy at the Ravenclaw table?

[Deezerz]

She didn't much like the silence from the Heads of Houses. Was hers angry or disappointed in her? Her stomach nodded. This morning's breakfast wasn't seating well. Beverly glanced back at the Headmistress after stealing a peek at her Head of House, taking in even breaths. She was fiiiiine. Not.

Yes, she was a second year Prefect but it wasn't like she had a manual for each of her housemates. For how long or short their temper was; or how they react when they feel attacked. Heck, she didn't even know Gregoire existed before last night.......Okay, that was a lie, but not to the extent of predicting his next move. She'd seen the look on his face before going at Gabriel, and because Gabriel meant things to Jeremiah and Ruby, Beverly had acted on whim. Feelings were confusing, especially when she wasn't just looking out for herself. The adults wouldn't understand that.

Rubbing her moist hands on the side of her robes for the billionth time, she considered her words as she spoke them. "I acted on instinct," she admitted forcefully. Lying would be a heavy burden and all she wanted was to get this over with. "When I saw Gregoire running at Prefect Banner my first thought was to stop whatever was happening before my housemate did more damage." Which backfired on Greg considering he got his bum kicked, and which might backfire on her for trying to be responsible. "I'll think more clearly next time."

She glanced up at Healer Murdoch with apologetic eyes. Could she leave noooow?

[Govoni]

He was grateful that she was a sharp lady because asking for tea seemed leagues more difficult than it actually was. Despite having his potion this morning, Gabe felt stressed. It'd started with walking into this office....

"Thank you," he mumbled.

Beverly spoke first this time...and Gabe was more than okay with that...since it gave him a chance to sip on the tea and calm himself down a bit. He didn't like all the eyes on him...and being one of the centers of attention, since he and Beverly were being questioned. And even though he was probably about to get into trouble, Gabe didn't regret Silencio'ing the Slytherin boy. As someone who had been bullied before, it was hard to listen to two of his housemates being talked to like that...and he'd have done the same thing had it been anyone else from any other house being bullied, too.

Gabriel focused on the Headmistress when it was his turn to speak. She was being very kind and he found it easier to explain given that. "I honestly believed we could avoid confrontation if he'd have lost his ability to speak. I though it was a peaceful solution."....but now that he knew the Slytherin to be so hotheaded and temperamental, yes. The first thing he should've done was run to collect someone. Though, in all honesty, it probably wouldn't have changed the outcome much. In his personal opinion, and remembering all the factors, the situation had felt so close to exploding. It was already at that level.

.....but Gabe agreed with Beverly. He'd try to do better next time.

[hpluvr037]

Tiara was simply standing off to the side listening to this. It was gratifying to hear that the prefects had reasons behind their actions that seemed logical enough, especially in Gabriel's case, of whom she expected a lot being from her own house. Not that she necessarily agreed with both of their actions, but the fact that they had put thought behind them was a good sign. Now that both had spoken their peace, she swiveled her head curiously to see what Anastasia's response would be.

[BanaBatGirl]

Alright, they were both going to be making positive changes for the next time they handled their housemates. Anastasia nodded, though her eyes remained on Beverly. Something about the girl just didn't seem as.... sincere as she would have liked. She was too Slytherin, and kept looking at Murdoch as though she were the one running this meeting. Hmmmphhh. Annie had half a mind to take points from the girl now.

"One more word of advice, prefects... do try to be proactive in monitoring your houses. Anticipate and plan for the worst. It's like knowing where the exits are any time you walk into a room... because as you have seen first hand, the younger students can be quite unpredictable and inappropriate."

She gave the cat on her lap another pat-pat and then looked to Leobald, Cece, and Tiara. "Do you have anything to add?"

[hpluvr037]

It sounded as if Anastasia was not inclined to give out punishments to these two, but she could be wrong. Tiara happened to agree. She knew Gabriel well enough to know that he was punishing himself more than adequately internally. And though she didn't know Miss Wayne, Tiara didn't see anything wrong with the way she had handled herself enough to merit punishment. So did she have anything to add? Not too much.

Instead of addressing Anastasia, she turned to the two students. "My only comment to add is that your Headmistress has just given you excellent advice and I myself would advise you to put it into practice." She'd hit the nail on the head, in other words.

[Nordic Witch]

Anastasia was not giving out punishments to either Gabriel or Beverly. Leo happened to agree that this was the right way to go. The events had given both prefect's a wake up call and since they had both woed to do better in the future Leo saw no sense in protesting.

When his opinion was asked for Leo turned to adress the prefect's just as Tiara had done just before him. "Take Headmistress Trubridge's advice to heart and use it, work closely with your co-prefects Aldrich and Newell and if you need advice or guidance then don't be scared to come and talk to us." Preferably before something equally bad happened.

[BanaBatGirl]

...well, wasn't Cece going to say anything? Anastasia cleared her throat and looked toward the door. "If no one has anything else to add, then you both are dismissed. Do try to stay out of trouble, now."

[hpluvr037]

Up, up, up the staircase wound until finally the door to Anastasia's office appeared. "Don't be getting dizzy on us, now," she quipped. Tiara followed her boss through and stepped to the side out of the way. She had been there plenty of times herself, so she didn't need to look around at all.

[sarahlooo]

Evie almost pouted when her friends didn't show up. BUT she was DELIGHTED to hear that they got to go up into the Headmistress' office. She had been in there once and luckily it was because she wasn't in trouble.

Excitedly, Evie hopped off the pink couch and was one of the first few to head for the stairs. Or maybe the first. She liked this club, okay? Evie had to stop herself and wait for the others before she ran around the room all by herself. But her sketchbook was already open and she was already starting to draw.