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The Interviews Part of the Headmistress' job was conducting interviews for open staff positions... and this term, Annie had quite a few interviews to conduct. Not only did she have to replace two of her deceased professors, but she also had to find replacements for all the jobs held by her departing staff members. And Merlin knew how many jobs Vindictus had had. Sighing as she settled into her pink desk chair, Annie pulled a stack of parchment closer to her and gave Gingersnapple's head a rub. Yes, the fat orange cat was indeed back in the castle. Good riddance to whoever interviewed with her. If they knew what was good for them, they would mention how much they loved cats. :evil: First up? The Deputy Headmaster job. And Joesphina Hadley was first on the list. Annie jotted her name at the top of her parchment and then set the quill up on its point and charmed it to write her thoughts as the interview went on. Then she called out, "Come in!" in case Hadley was here. Which she should be, as it was time... |
Josephina had never before been so nervous for anything. She wasn't even this nervous when Tate had interviewed her for the Arithmancy Professor position. Perhaps it was his calm and collected demeanor or maybe it was the fact that Anastasia was her former housemate; her sister's fellow graduate. Plus the woman always seemed to be judging. A woman thing, perhaps? The best thing about this was that at least the interviews were done at the start of the vacation. Which might be good ....or bad. Inhaling and exhaling, she glanced down at her attire and self-consciously smoothed some hair behind her ear just as she reached the gargoyles. It was just about time .... and then , she heard it ... it was now or never ... With one last deep breath, Fina pulled open the office door as her hazel eyes immediately fixed upon the redhead sitting behind her desk; waiting. "Morning, Headmistress." |
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She waited for the Arithmancy professor and Hufflepuff Head of House to be seated before continuing. "Care for a cup of tea? Coffee? Water?" Annie did have an army of House Elves at her disposal, and now that the castle was empty... they should be able to respond even more quickly. |
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"Some tea would be lovely, thank you." She agreed. Something to calm her nerves, as coffee would no doubt accelerate them. |
Emily said Tinka would come :3 Quote:
Back to the interview. Annie gestured for Josephina to help herself and settled back into her seat, eying the few notes that had been jotted down on her parchment so far. "This was just your...seventh term, Josephina, is that correct?" She looked back up and made eye contact with her former House mate. "And how do you think it went, all things considered?" |
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Leaning forward slightly, she poured herself a cup of tea, adding a little cream and sugar, stirring it twice clockwise. She placed the spoon carefully back on the tray as she sat back in her seat with the teacup. "This was just my eighth, actually," she corrected quietly, gnawing her lower lip slowly. All things considered, how did she think it went? "Hogwarts is a place of trust and friendship. Learning and unity. No amount of danger can take that away from us," she began. "So when you ask how it went, considering all the .... excitement and dramatics and deaths, learning still happened. Friendships still were broken and formed and blossomed." |
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"'Learning is the most important thing that happens at Hogwarts,'" Annie seemed to quote. "Would you agree or disagree with that statement, Josephina? If you disagree, what IS the most important thing to happen at Hogwarts during a student's time here?" |
yes, yes, you do ;). so do we *coughsupsnot* Quote:
Listening to the quote the redhead recited, she pondered it a moment. Was that a trick question? "I ... agree to disagree," Fina seemed hesitant. "Learning is definitely an important aspect, but as I've seen students start as first years and graduate, one of the benefits of seeing that is ... knowing that respect is the most important thing that happens at Hogwarts." |
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"So you would prefer, then, that students graduate with empty heads BUT as respectable people who know how to respect others, rather than as intelligent and capable young adults? Interesting, hmm." The quill started writing again, and Annie took another sip of her tea, setting it down with a pleasant smile toward the former 'Puff. Perhaps she was playing Devil's Advocate with that question. Or perhaps... she was trying to rile Fina up. One never knew with this redhead. "So," she switched to another question, "what do you think the role of a deputy Headmistress should be? And what changes would you make at Hogwarts if you were my Deputy?" |
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No. That wasn't what she was implying. "You didn't ask what I thought students should come away with when they graduate here. You asked what is the most important aspect of being at Hogwarts." So in other words, she wasn't going to choose between respect or smarts; she didn't HAVE to choose. "I would prefer that students graduate with both. But let me amend that slightly; not only is respect important, but so is common sense. And I think those along with smarts, go hand-in-hand." Oh moving on though. "The role of Deputy?" She repeated, picking up her teacup again, as she considered the question. "Deputy Headmistress is not ... in charge of the school, by any means, but they are still responsible for handling both praises and complaints. They are the first person that the new first years meet and explain briefly policies at our grand school. They are there. Present." Changes? She would be allowed to make changes? "Any changes would have to be approved by you, naturally, and likely the Board. But hypothetically, one change I would hope for is greater unity among the houses. The staff. The students." |
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"Do you believe it is possible to teach something that should be common knowledge then, Professor Hadley? I would have thought that the definition of 'common sense' precludes it from being taught." Anastasia scooped Gingersnapple onto her lap and started petting the cat methodically, his loud purrs adding to the cacophony of the scratching quill. So she thought a deputy should just... be present? Well that would be something more than Max had done this term. Hmph. "And how would you achieve greater unity, Miss Hadley?" Go on. Add some meat and potatoes to your chicken broth. |
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What kinds of questions WERE these? But Annie was older than her, even if technically speaking she was only her sister's age. More importantly though is that Annie was her boss. Which meant that if she wanted to continue working here AND if she wanted the promotion, she had to persevere. She had to be honest as she could. "Unfortunately, Headmistress, common sense means that not everyone has it. And sometimes, it must be attempted to be taught." And sometimes all hope was lost. "So in some cases, it is possible and necessary to teach our students what should have been common knowledge." How would she achieve greater unity? Well then, this fiery redhead was not making these questions EASY, was she? "Well obviously not get rid of the houses, because that sort of competition and rivalry is good for learning, but," she twisted the teacup in her hands. "The school could do with some general Hogwarts pride. Any one given day, you will hear a Slytherin who is proud to be a Slytherin, or a Hufflepuff proud to be a Hufflepuff, but how common is it to truly here a student say they're a proud Hogwartian? They're more than apt to break it down, but general Hogwarts pride just seems ... rare. And yet it's necessary. So as far as achieving general unity, perhaps one day a week, we could go with casual Fridays, where students and staff ditch the houses and just show their pride for being a Hogwarts student. We could even go so far as to take points from any student who refuses to show general school pride." |
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Oh well. Anastasia was honestly over this question. She just shook her head and smirked at the Arithmancy professor instead of saying anything else on the topic, as her latest question was much more interesting. "I happen to agree with you - for the most part - on that question," Annie surprised herself by admitting. "I don't think negative reinforcement is necessary, however. I don't think taking house points is the way to encourage MORE house unity." It just seemed a little... backwards. Annie stole a glance at the clock hanging over the door and eyed her quill. "Do you have any questions for ME, Miss Hadley?" Because if not... well, they were done here. She did have five more interviews to conduct, after all. |
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"We were talking about school unity encouraging more of though, not house unity. For house unity, yes, I agree with you that taking house points would not encourage it." Mmhm. "But for encouraging school unity, for those who don't..." yea. She got the point. But what was that? Oh they were done. "No, no, I don't think so. Except that I look forward to hearing from you this summer." And that was all she was going to say on that subject. "And I'll see you in September." |
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"I look forward to welcoming you back to Hogwarts as well, Professor Hadley," she said kindly and offered the woman another handshake. "It's been a pleasure." |
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Taking the woman's hand, she shook it as well, as she rose from her seat and set the teacup on the tray. "Yes, yes, it has been. I'll see you in the end of August. Good luck." With you know, finding a Vindictus replacement mostly, since the man was a legend. "And I'll send Leanne your regards?" Surely the woman would remember her older sister, of whom she graduated with, despite the different houses. Leanne remembered Annie, at least. With that, the brunette turned and disappeared from the Headmistress' office. The woman had a schedule to keep to. |
Why was she so nervous?! Was it because she was going to be locked in a room with the red-headed banshee of a Headmistress? No. It was because this job opportunity was a once and in a life time kind of thing and she would never had dreamed she would be in this position just a few mere years ago. No, Calista Elwood was nervous because she couldn't See what was going to come of this interview. The large doors of the office opened and Callie smiled and waved smally to Josephina as she exited. Now was she supposed to go in or wait until Truebridge called her? No she would wait. The blonde stood there in her usual skirt, flowy shirt and bangles waiting. |
Leanne? Who the heck was Leanne? A momentary look of confusion crossed Anastasia's face but she didn't say anything, for the moment. She was still trying to figure out who Leanne was.... then something clicked. Leanne Hadley. Hadley, right, must be related to this Hadley. She still couldn't remember what House the other Hadley had been in but apparently she was no 'Puff.... "Right, sure, send her my regards." Annie's face resumed its fixed smile as she nodded at Hadley and closed the door. She made her way back to her desk, having closed the door just before Calista's arrival, and sat back down. Annie cleaned up the desk and tray of cookies and beverages, and then set up her quill and parchment again. She cleared her throat and folded her hands, waiting for the inevitable knock that would surely signal Callie's arrival. It never came. When the redhead looked down at her watch and realized that the blonde was 15 minutes late, she frowned and sent off her Nundu patronus. Where was she? Didn't she realize how valuable her time was?! Surely she hadn't left for the summer already... maybe she didn't value this opportunity the way she should have... |
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Finally it had been too much, she was going to miss her interview time. The blonde walked slowly to the door and rose her fist to knock when a silverly nundu patronus popped through the carved wood, the voice of an annoyed redhead emitting from it's mouth. Oh great. The Divination Professor opened the door slowly and entered the PINK office. The portraits around the walls seemed to be all sleeping and there was no Minister or Board member present just Anastasia Bunbury behind her desk. Gulp. "So sorry Headmistress. I was afraid you had company, didn't want to interrupt." |
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Once the blonde was settled, she gestured toward the tray and gave Gingersnapple a nudge away from it. "Would you care for some coffee or tea, Calista?" |
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Yeah this interview started off well. Callie nervously twirled her silver bangles and mermish bracelet from Everett as she waited for the woman to say something but not much was said just a 'sit'. So she sat. The usual bubbly woman was somewhat subdued, she didn't want to blow this and she was already behind becuase surely Fina had done well. Oh but she wasn't so late that she could still have treats? "Do you have any lemon-" she cut herself off before asking for her favorite beverage, lemonade and corrected herself. "Oh, I mean tea would be nice, thank." She poured herself a glass and took a sip of the warm stuff. Meh. Nothing compared to her lemonade. |
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"So," she settled back into her chair, "tell me why would like this position, and what you'd like to accomplish if you were to have it." |
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First question. Hmmm...not too bad. Callie chewed the inside of her cheek for a moment before opening her mouth to talk. "I would like the position of Deputy Headmistress because of the most general reason of wanting to give more back to the school that has already given me so much," she paused and looked the woman in the eyes. "As for what I'd like to accomplish, an understanding for the underrated subjects such as Divination, Ancient Runes, Astronomy and Arithmancy through more research and insentives placed on those lessons but also strengthening the idea of family and home that Hogwarts represents." She paused and thought a tad more on that before continuing. "As Deputy I will be sending the students their acceptance letters and I would like to start their firts impressions of Hogwarts as ones of acceptance, love, and understanding of their vaired backgrounds and stuff." The 'and stuff' was a token of her nerves but Elwood thought she did well enough. |
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"Good, very good," the redhead nodded. Let's see... second question... "What do you think is the most important thing for students to walk away from Hogwarts knowing?" |
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What thing....? Hmmm. Aha! "Well one of the most important things about schooling really, especially for Hogwarts rather than Wizarding University, is to learn as much as possible." A given really but she was going to elaborate, she took another sip of the dreadful tea out of habit and then continued. "What I mean to say is that the most important thing I would like students to walk away from this school knowing is their strengths and weaknesses. That is what will ultimately determine their career paths in the long run." And their jobs would be what would make them parts of society. Yep, that was all. Elwood smiled and took another sip of tea. |
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