"There are options that require more than good grades," Jared pointed out neutrally. Natural talent. Decision-making. Intuition.

Among other things.

Not, of course, considering professions one is either born into, or never a part of.

"Because I thought I'd get that response." People that had settled on a career tended to drop unnecessary subjects.

"Not yet." Jared grinned lazily. The boy had nerve, and Jared found his second question amusing. "I have, however, tried out a few."

Ugh. Rae wanted to roll her eyes as Jake pulled a move that was much like one of a show off's impressive nonetheless. Anyways.. The apple was gone.. Time for him to run off and find another one yes? No. Rae's eyes widened as he just pulled out another apple. GAHHHHH! CAN'T HE SEE THAT RAE AND PROF CHAUD ARE BUSY?!


So.... Prof Chaud wasn't a detention giver.. Then she wouldn't have to be careful when he's around not that she really would be anyways... AND... If she did want detention with him.. She now knew how.

Note to self: Ask Fletcher how to get ahold of a niffler


Now the two of them were talking... LIKE SHE WASN'T EVEN HERE! Rae really wouldn't mind Jake, and would most likely be friends with the kid.. If he had better timing.
This wasn't the timing she was thinking about. Maybe Rae could lead this beloved professor away.
"Classes haven't started yet... There is plenty of time to discuss future options... However.. Not much time to explore the castle and grounds before you need to start your teachings.. I could show you the pumpkin patch.. "

"Won't hurt," Jake repeated with a shrug. "I'm probably going to University first. Helps to have good grades there."

Yeps indeedy.

Jake looked interested as the dude spoke. "Have you? What other professions have you tried?"

-_-

Turning to face the girl properly, Jake frowned. "You really are quite rude. Professor Descoteaux is currently having a conversation with each of us. There is plenty of opportunity throughout the year to explore, staff or student."

See, Jake could call her rude because she seemed to be TRYING to be rude. He always managed it inadvertantly.

JP being a second year knew that it would kinda rude to butt in on a conversation, but seeing as the Charms professor was speaking to another student about the future excited him even if it was far off for him. Since charms was one of the subjects that seemed to come to him very naturally he took the opportunity to try and get on the professors good side. "Wouldn't hurt now would it?" JP whispered to himself.
"I don't mean to be rude but it sounds like you two are talking about life after hogwarts! Am i right?" JP looks over to the professor with a bright smile. "Hello Professor. I'm JP a second year Ravenclaw.

Cass strolled over to the first floor until she had found the hourglasses. "Only a few days since start of term and Hufflepuff already lost fifteen points..typical.." She mused..

"In England?" Jared asked. The benefit of a specialist's school, he reflected to himself, is the elimination of the need to attend college to specialize. Then again, choosing such a school had been an easy decision for him. He hardly expected it to be the same for everyone else.

"Clearly. Manticore Capture. Department of Mysteries." He thought, for a moment, of his first... job? Job. Fantastic days, despite the risks. Because of the risks.


Had he just become the cause of a student skirmish? Jared easily kept back a lazy grin, before deciding to intervene.

Only a little, though.

"Rae, you can show me the pumpkin patch this evening." Despite the skirmish being almost amusing, Jared assumed it was part of being a professor to maintain a modicum of discipline in the castle and, if accepting her offer meant a lighter mood here, he supposed he could. "If that suits you," he added, as one adds an afterthought.

He turned to Jake. "People might take that as name-calling," he pointed out, scratching his chin rather thoughtfully. "She's trying to help."

Did he happen to be a people magnet? Jared cleared his throat, looked at Rae and Jake [Do. Not. Trust. Students. They are said to be able to shake the living daylights out of each other in the space of half a second] and then turned to the new kid.

"Careers," he corrected. Life could have an entirely different meaning altogether. Pause. "Hello, JP."

Looking around to see a new student (well... new to him, in any case), Jake gave the boy a smile. "You got that right," he responded, finding that his second apple was also almost gone. Well... it had been smaller.

...

It was getting harder and harder to not react. Points were just that... did nobody else genuuinely see it that way? And how was it typical?

Rawrr.

"It depends. I'll owl around, go on visits and see what I like," Jake shrugged. To be frank, he didn't care one jot about the future. All he cared about or ever considered was NOW.

And... saying that, right NOW Jake decided he wasn't fond of Descoteaux, from the simple fact that he put the 'clearly' at the start of his sentence. That right there.

Merr.

"Nice."

REALLY?!

"Pointing out that someone is being rude is name-calling?" Jake asked curiously, looking mystified. Really, someone else trying to end their conversation was rude, and as it was, Jake didn't want this conversation anymore. Not with that girl around anyway.

Why did professors always seem to take the side of the female, no matter what gender?

"So those staff at the Feast telling me I was rude must have been calling me names, then," Jake reasoned. And it worked. Or maybe it was different when it was the staff.

"Well, I don't feel much like hanging around here anymore. I'll be on my way," the young man said, holding out his apple free hand to shake Descoteaux's own hand.

Right. Jared nodded, but made no comment.

Nice?

"I know."

"No." He sounded neutral, even detached, again. "I said people might take it as name-calling." Let's get the facts right here. Jared paused for a second before speaking again, tones still neutral. "No, calling someone offering help rude, can be taken as name-calling. Given that Rae's comment had been directed at me, and I am present here, technically, you should have let me handle it."

Common courtesy.

The feast?

"There's a time and place for questions." Obviously. "Sometimes, questions can be taken or appear as rude, despite being legitimate, because of the manner they are asked in, and the time and place they are asked at." Surely, the boy knew that? If he did not, Jared had no desire to lecture him. Some things, one has to learn for oneself.

"Have a good day." He gave the boy's hand a brief shake.

"Uh, Right then. Sorry, I must have misunderstood. Nice to finally meet you professor. I can leave if you guys are busy. I wouldn't want to imposed."
JP looked kind of sorry for interrupting.

Seeing that that new other person standing next to him was leaving he bid farewell to him as well.
"It was nice meeting you! I am sure i will see you around."

"I don't think you did," Jared said, offering the kid a faint smile. Yes. You are misunderstanding now, child. "It's fine."

He doubted Rae agreed.

JP looking completely confused now looked up at the professor.
"Ok, well thank you professor. It was nice to finally meet you. I guess i'll be off now.." JP slowly walked away. It would be best to just leave to avoid making a completely fool of himself in front of the professor whose class he looked forward to the most. He walked away ruffling his hair feeling embarrassed at what just happened

Mentally, Jared shrugged. He did not get some of these kids. "Have a good day, JP," he said kindly.

He had a feeling he had flustered the chap.

"Yeah, You as well Professor!" JP yelled back as he was half way to the door.
"Great, now he probably thinks I'm a creep. I'll have to visit his office sometime to make up for it" Jp said to him.

Yes, time to end this conversation.

It wasn't often that Jake could see someone's intentions when someone else couldn't.

And now he was telling him what EVERY professor seemed to want to hammer into his brain? Errr... yeah. Not quite so easy.

Jake had another Tate on his hands.

"So I've heard."

Deciding not to comment on any of that... well, except for that teeny comment, Jake silently shook the man's hand, gave him a nod, and departed through the doors towards the kitchens.

It was for the best, before he shouted at someone.

This... Wasn't supposed to happen. She was being told off by some kid that interupted in her conversation in the first place! Rae was going to say something back until ANOTHER kid walked up and intruded... GRRRR. She held her tongue. While her temper is usually calm and hard to raise... Right now her temper was almost to the breaking point.. That is until.

She let things unfold, huh, They seem to be leaving, and Prof Chaud was on HER side! hah! Take that Jake! For now Rae stayed silent and held her hands together behind her back... Looking like the little saint she was set out to be.

They were gone.. Woot woot! Cue sweet smile.

Brynn ambled down to the ground floor. It had been quite the hike, considering she had come from the seventh floor, where her common room was located. Apparently house points were a big deal around here, and she heard through the grapevine that Slytherin had been on a winning streak when it came to the house cup. There they were - the hourglasses. Sheesh, it looked like there was next to nothing in the bottom half.

..Scratch that. There was nothing. Not a single point - to any house! Although poor Hufflepuff appeared to have negative points. Didn't take them long to get into trouble. Oh well. They were only grains of sand, right?

Ella scuffled her feet along the Ground Floor, with it being mere hours since she was carted back to this stupid school. She was actually excited to be home schooled. She didn't need to cope with horrible others, and she got to see Aiden more frequently. But nope, her parents decided to ruin her life further and sent her back.

She skulked past the hourglasses and took a quick glance. Oh, the precious house points. Last year, she was all for this battle for victory, but this year she really didn't care. She stood, moodily, then chuckled out loud.

Ohhh, Hufflepuff.

Ella couldn't recall ever having a Hufflepuff friend actually. Huh, weird. She looked to her side and saw a girl observing the hourglasses, much like she was. "Hello." She smiled, "are you a Hufflepuff, by any chance?" She asked rather nicely.

So you haven't learned.

Jared turned his gaze back to Rae. She seemed more pleased, now that Jake and JP had left. He had to admit, the atmosphere had lightened. He never had been the type to give lectures.

"I think I've forgotten the actual topic of discussion," he grinned.

No, he hadn't.

Brynn was just about finished finding amusement in a couple of giant hourglasses when she heard a voice beside her. "Hey," she greeted, in response to the girl's hello. A Hufflepuff? Traces of a smile graced her lips and she shook her head. "Nope, I'm a Gryffindor." She pressed the tip of her forefinger against the glass of the Gryffindor hourglass.

Her head swiveled to the left. "I'm sorry if you're a badger.."

Septimus wandered over to the hourglasses. He had been exploring Hogwarts due to his extreme boredom and thought he'd pay a visit to the hourglasses. Gryffindor in the negatives, huh? In five years, he was so going to punch the poop out of whoever invented this whole "house points" thing. What was the point in that? Did it have a point? Was it just friendly competition? Well, maybe not so friendly between the lions and snakes. What was with them being enemies anyway? Why couldn't Gryffindors and Slytherins just, you know, get along?

Ahh, a Gryffindor. Judging by the girls smirk, she obviously also found Hufflepuffs quite amusing. "That's lucky, then." She giggled. Ella didn't like the yellow house, and she wasn't sure why.
"Me, a Hufflepuff?" Did she LOOK like a Hufflepuff? Technically, you didn't have to look a certain way to be a Hufflepuff, but Ella was an exception of that rule. She looked like a anake, and nothing else. "Sadly, not. I'm a Slytherin." Ella took another look at the hourglasses, then looked back at the Gryffindor girl. "You know.. the house that is winning." Already. It was so strange how Slytherin took the lead every year. She always thought that they were the most misbehaved house.

Anyway. "My name's Ella." She introduced herself finally with a smile. One of Ella's goals this year was to make more friends. The past two years, all she needed was Aiden and now he had bloomin' gone sooooo... Ella was very much alone.

Meredith walked up to the hourglasses, eager to know who was ahead so far. She squealed. Yes!! Slytherin was ahead!!! Okay, she had to admit, she was liking her house a lot more than she thought she would have

Jenny passed by the hourglasses, when something caught her attention. Ravenclaw has negative ten points...AGAIN. Urgh. Was this house cursed or something? Hufflepuff wasn't doing any better, but at least they were off to a clean start last year.

She was about to walk away with a disgusted expression when she noticed someone jumping up and down. Probably a Slytherin happy to be in le--wait, she looked familiar. Slowly, Jenny tiptoed to see her face. "Meredith? Is that you?"

Meredith stopped when all of a sudden Slytherin's points just dropped to negative 15. Grrr. How the heck did that happen? Then Meredith heard someone call her name. It took her a second to actually realize it though. She looked and saw Jenny. "Oh, Jenny! Hi! Yes it is me." Meredith said and tried to smile

"Ah, that's cool." Jenny nodded. Just when Jenny was about to celebrate the fact that she could recognize someone from the train, she noticed Meredith's subtle yet sad expression. Hard to not recognize when someone smiles to look like they're hiding something.

"What's--" Then before Jenny could finish, her eyes darted to the hourglasses. Oh. Oh. That explains things. "On the bright side," Jenny said feebly, trying to brighten things up. "all of the houses have negative points right now, so we're like in the same boat basically." Hopefully she sounded as positive and confident as she thought.