Airey was purposefully looking everywhere but at Medea right now - especially after she removed the charm that had hidden the muggle pranking device. Even if she were to ask him directly what it was he would honestly be able to say that he did not know because he had forgotten to proper name.

Attention back on his...whatever this piece of plastic cutlery was called, he slowly took it out of the wrapper when a woman's voice caught his attention. "Evening Gemma. It's good to be back. Did you ha---," he replied with a smile before his face dropped suddenly. He was about to tell the woman she had no proof considering she hadn't been there when he had set things up nor when the actual event had taken place...when he realized that having a full on I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT moment would make him even more suspicious. So instead he went for a different route. "Heh. Looks to me more like someone is trying to get Medea's attention."

Wait. What?

Oh. HEY...HEEEEEEEEEEEEY! Was that Mr. Gunter writing things on paper plates down there at the Puff table? Waste of school resources right there! Did he not understand why those were there in the first place?! Destruction of school property...RIGHT there. It was called graffiti, Mr. Head Boy. Airey would just have to clear up the matter when he stopped by his office to turn in his summer homework.

Okay, now he was going to sneak a peek back at Medea - but only out of the corner of his eye. It was then that he noticed the new History of Magic professor join the table as well. Oh, hey. The man who knew how to dress! Smirking slightly, he inclined his head when the Headmistress walked past. "Evening, Headmistress."

Feeling a new pair of eyes on him, he turned and saw a lady that he was unfamiliar with. Must be the new Care of Magical Creatures professor. Oh OH! He had something to give he--- SWEET SOLSTICE WAS SEREN PREGNANT? Wait, right, back to the new professor. "Airey Flamsteed, professor of Astronomy," he greeting as he offered her first the hand that was clutching his spoon-fork mutation. Ooops. Putting that hand down, he offered the other - EMPTY - hand to her. "You must be the new Care of Magical Creatures professor."

"...Evenin yourself..." She said under her breath as she watched him walk in. Oh yeah... She liked watching him walk... Mer-LIN!

"Huh? What? Oh... Yes... Hi Cece." She said looking back to something that wasn't the groundskeeper. "Uhmmm Wait... what was the question?"

"Miss Knox..." why was the woman here? Where there other Board of Governors here.

"Great summer." She said to the librarian.

Oh my...

Drama... and she was not involved this time!

... He was still here?

She rolled her eyes. "With her father. And besides... Someone" she said looking over to Truebridge, "wasn't too keen on the presence of someone's child."

Sure it wasn't... Mhmmm...

Just because she sat so far away didn't excuse the woman's rudeness...

"Bentley..." She said to the woman.

She closed her eyes and thought of her Captain... Quidditch... and her potions... Sierra and Ariadne.

... Feeling better...

Besides, the man wasn't wearing his kilt...

"Thank you Gemma." She said to the professor. "Sooooo...." She started by picking up her plate. "Are you to blame for these?" She said and picking up a plastic fork.

Hecate saw the other BoG member... "Mister Vinteren." She said and nodded. This was creepy...

Hecate looked over at the newcomer. "Good evening..." She said.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Davvy_Wavvy

Sophia smiled a charming sort of smile at the woman and proceeded to get even more comfortable in her seat. This woman must have knocked her head on something really hard to even think about threatening her.

Ha!

She was amused...except not really.

"First off..I am not your friend, not get that twisted and secondly, you and your BoG position can scoot along down the table because my attitude and I are staying right here. You were elected to serve the school, the entire school." Including the staff. And Sophia Bellaire was busy, talking and she would not be getting up until she was ready.

She pulled the chair in again.

"And about that comical threat of yours....I'd love to see you try." And with that Sophia ignored her like a fly on the wall. Who did she think she was anyways..coming in and getting up in her face...pfft!

Ivy did listen to what the woman had to say. And laughed. Out loud. "Excuse you, Professor, but I belong to the Board of Governors, not the Board of Servants. We are not here to stir your tea and rub your feet at the end of a long day; we're here to make sure the school runs properly, despite recent setbacks and stubborn professors who might need an attitude adjustment." Hint, hint. YOU.

"I, along with with Mr. Vinteren," she gestured to the Norwegian man as he walked by, "are generously volunteering our time and efforts to make sure the students in this castle receive a solid education. We and the rest of the Board have complete control of your career as a professor at Hogwarts, so, again, I suggest you kindly move." And Merlin knew she would not ask again. She wasn't even getting paid for this nonsense.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BanaBatGirl

A 'good evening, Headmistress,' floated their way then, so Anastasia was saved from trying to make more conversation with the cow lover beside her. She leaned back in her chair and tried to discern who had greeted her.... oh, it was her newish Charms professor! Well how nice of her, Annie hadn't thought she was the kind to greet other people... in general... the redhead flashed a smile Knox's way, but then noticed something off.

"Sophia, dear," she called out loudly enough for the Transfiguration professor to here, "your seat is down here now, or did you forget you switched subjects?" Well the woman was older, it was possible she had forgotten. Either way, Bellaire had better not be causing trouble for their volunteer teacher and Board of Governors member.

Ivy returned the woman's smile, but it was hardly genuine. One of the redhead's children staff members was being a stubborn pain in the neck.

Aha, see? Even the Headmistress called her out. Would that make the stubborn woman move?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lezleighd

She went further down the table saying her hellos as she went, "Sophia, great to see you..." she said and instantly noticed the woman with her hands on her hips...was she mad that Sophia was in the Charms seat....did it really matter...no it didn't...they were just chairs... she smiled at the woman and held out her hand, "Gemma Cerulean, Muggle Studies...you're more than welcome to come sit on the opposite end of the table near my seat...they are after all just seats..." she said sweetly trying to keep the peace and motioning towards the last seat near her regular chair.

Oh, heavens... It was her. Ivy gave the Muggle Studies professor a thin smile and ignored her extended hand. "I know who you are. And thank you, but I have a chair right here." And she would sit in it, as soon as Professor Grumpyskirts got off her high horse and walked herself to the other end of the table. SHE could sit next to Cerulean.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Droo

"Miss Knox..." why was the woman here? Where there other Board of Governors here.

Ah, and the famous Potions Mistress, the wife of the Minister, the woman that was probably ten times more powerful than she, despite her lack of Board title... "Good evening, Mistress Lafay." Ivy made note to introduce herself more formally at a later time, when there weren't so many annoying people around.

Lovely as always? Was the man blind? She was fat, like one of his cattlecows. Regardless, she smiled brightly, "You don't look too bad yourself," she mused. She was hardly going to call him lovely now was she?



"Gemma, good to see you again," Seren greeted warmly with a nod. Though, veteran? Was she old as well as fat now? ... Wait no, don't answer that.



"Good evening Mr Vinteren," Seren greeted, smiling brightly. Yes, she had voted for the gentleman, and she wasn't wrong in doing so, since he was kind enough to lend his services to the school... voluntarily.



Seren managed to catch a glimpse of the Astronomy Professor at the other end of the table.. Merlin. She saw the look on his face.



Slightly startled by the use of her surname in place of her proper name... Seren peered down the table to the potions mistress. "Hecate," she replied with a nod.



Another voice caught her attention, and as Seren turned to peer up the opposite length of the table, she realised it came from Ivy Knox. Oh it was so graaannnd! having more herbologists on staff.

Considering the distance, she didn't want to intrude on others' conversations so she offered the woman a small wave and of course, a bright smile.

Squinting at the pink round object and holding it as if it had a disease, Medea missed quite a few professors taking their seats, as well as the Headmistress. She was, however, half aware of the less than pleasant conversation happening right next to her, which, by chance, had her aware of the interaction between Gemma and Airey not a few seats down.

Glancing down the way, the defense professor raised an eyebrow before her attention was turned to Gemma walking by, giving her greetings. Medea smiled. "Oh, thank you. You as...vell..." And there she went down the long table.

Blink blink.

When did everyone get here?

Not that it particularly mattered at the moment. Medea took a deep breath, eyebrow raising back up to it's spot that it was previously as she slowly turned her gaze to the Astronomy professor. The wheels were indeed turning in her head.

Yeah yeah Sophia expected Bunz to keep the peace and ask her to take her rightful seat. Sophia had seen it coming but that was the only way she'd actually get up from the seat that she was now seated in. Had it not been for Bunz asking her...and so nicely too she certainly would not budge an inch.

Heck she didn't even move right away.

"You could belong to the Ministry of Magic and it wouldn't phase me one bit Ivy." Sophia got to her feet and held her ground. She did of course glance over to Mr.Vinteren but her eyes didn't linger on him, they moved sharply back to poison ivy here."I can assure you, you don't have as much power as you think you do." She picked up her clutch from off the table.

"I trust you as far as I can throw you Miss Knox and considering your..size..that isn't very far. I really do not like you." And she certainly would not make her stay here very easy either.

Finally taking her glare off the woman Sophia swished from the seat and moved down to the end of the table where she took out her own high end eating utensils. No plastic plates and cups for her thanks.

Airey continued to play with his spoon!fork mutation a bit when he felt familiar pair of dark brown eyes judging him. Sloooooooooowly he turned his head and met her gaze while trying not to look like he was about to burst into a fit of laughter. Which was HARD considering that she was now raising an eyebrow at him.

BUSTED! or....was it more....BUSTED?

Thankfully the Potions Mistress drew his attention away from the dark haired woman with the red face before he completely gave himself away. "Oh, that's unfortunate," he said with a genuine frown and a quick flick of the eyes towards the Headmistress to indicate that he was not disappointed that the child was with her father but rather that the Headmistress did not seem to like small children.

Sort of ironic, wasn't it?

Just as he was about to say something else, something came flying at him out of nowhere, causing the Astronomy professor to panic momentarily at the sight of icing going anywhere near his suit. In fact, the man nearly tumbled backwards out of his chair and probably would have if his knees had not hit the underside of the table with an unceremonious THUD. "Ooooooooooooooow," he howled under his breath as his body lunged forward and SNAP!

_____________________________________oops. There went the top of his spoon!fork as it hurled off somewhere down the table.

Worst part of it all? It had been over NOTHING. His icy blue eyes fell on the cupcake that was now resting quite contently on his plate, almost as if making fun of him. He was sure that if cupcakes could talk it would be taunting him right now actually.

Stupid thing.

And wait...how had it gotten here in the first place? No one else had cupcakes....

His eyes darted right back to Medea, who was already staring back at him. His complexion may have rose in color just a bit, but that wasn't on his mind right now. This cupcake was SUSPICIOUS! Just like YOU are SUSPICIOUS Medea Romanos.

The good thing about all this cupcake suspicion was that it caused him to completely miss all the girl drama over seating arrangements.

And he probably should find where the top of his plastic eating utensil went.

SPOILER!!: Lezleighhh :-)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lezleighd

Gemma clicked into the Great Hall with a little sigh....how many terms had she done this exact same thing...they were all starting to run together...was she burnt out? no surely not...she pushed that thought to the back of her head and put her usual smile on her face and kept walking.

She beamed extra bright as she walked past her lovely Ravvies. She could tell there was a little bit of questioning on their faces and instantly realized it must be from the cutlery sitting in front of them. When she realized that she scanned the Great Hall and noticed that it was dreadful with all the dirt and cobwebs and like....she knew there were cuts but this was awful.

Getting closer to the table, she turned to the left to start at the opposite end of the table from her seat. She always liked to say hello to those professors that were seated and to introduce herself to the newbies.

Starting on one end, she slowly made her way towards her seat that seemed to be so far away from this vantage point. The first two seats were still vacant, but the third held the Astronomy professor whom seemed to have an extra wide smile and twinkle in his eye...hmmm...had she missed something..."Airey, it's great to see you are back again...and from the way it looks up to your old antics..." she finished as she heard someone picking on Medea.

She went further down the table saying her hellos as she went, "Sophia, great to see you..." she said and instantly noticed the woman with her hands on her hips...was she mad that Sophia was in the Charms seat....did it really matter...no it didn't...they were just chairs... she smiled at the woman and held out her hand, "Gemma Cerulean, Muggle Studies...you're more than welcome to come sit on the opposite end of the table near my seat...they are after all just seats..." she said sweetly trying to keep the peace and motioning towards the last seat near her regular chair.

She kept moving down the table, "Medea, you look lovely as usual..", "Headmistress, lovely to see you.", "Alistaire, nice to see you back for another term.", "Cece, glad to see you hear..." she said and then wondered how often the healer would be around, "Bentley, great to see another veteran here again..." she said with a little wink....

She glanced at the empty chair at the History of Magic seat and her face turned a little shade of pink. She had to admit that she was a little disappointed that the man wasn't there, but then her attention was drawn to her usual neighbor and she beamed, "Leo, it always starts my year off brilliantly getting to sit by you at the Opening Feast..." she said with a little wink as she continued to the end of the table to make the turn.

As she turned the table, she smiled at the Potions professor, "Lafay, you look lovely as usual." she said sweetly and sincerely...the woman was beautiful....even if she was a little scary intimidating.

She took her seat and coughed a little bit from the dust that rose from her plopping down...she wiped off her skirt from the dust and turned her body towards Leo slightly, "So, tell me what shenanigans you got into this summer." she said as she unwrapped her silverware and slowly unfolded her napkin into her lap. She reached out and picked up her solo cup and squeezed it so it made that plasticy sound....and it took every bone in her body not to laugh at the item...first class it was not.

"Gemma, good to see you as well," Annie returned the greeting from the Ravenclaw Head of House. She did like Gemma, in her way of liking people, which wasn't saying much, but which was at least better than disliking them. The redhead's sharp blue eyes took in Gemma's pink dress head to toe and Annie gave her a distinct nod of approval. "Lovely outfit tonight." It really was. Could she borrow it? SO piiiiiiink!

Quote:

Originally Posted by hpluvr037

Good. She was pleased with the compliment. He had made a mental note back a year ago in his first Welcoming Feast. Yes, he had vowed to compliment Anastasia Truebridge as often as humanly possible.

But then the smile quickly got replaced with a disapproving frown. The tone of voice she used in her next statement could have frozen a pound of doxy eggs instantly. Think fast, Firth! "Oh well, yeh know.. I was thinkin'... If we're still havin' troubles, I may be able ter sell the offspring. Tha' would certainly cover any cost ter the school tha' the cattle bring." He finished hesitantly, not sure how the woman would react. Would that wound her pride? Give her relief? Make her angry?

Annie turned back toward the War of the Charms Professors when was distracted from the tennis match by the groundskeeper addressing her again. Oh no, she thought somberly, turning her head back to him and forcing an interested expression onto her face.

Wait wait, did he just offer to sell the precious offspring of his two fat, poopy cattle?! "You know what, Mr. Firth, that might just be the most brilliant thing you've said all evening," she decided quite brightly. "I'll hold you to that offer. I'm sure Hogwarts and even the grounds in particular could use those funds for improvement. Excellent idea."

Quote:

Originally Posted by sweetpinkpixie

Smirking slightly, he inclined his head when the Headmistress walked past. "Evening, Headmistress."

Looked like someone had woken up enough to properly greet his boss. Anastasia didn't even know what was wrong with Flamsteed, but she was certain the man was a bit off his rocker. A few gobstones short of a full set. One snitch capture away from winning the match. And so on.

"Hello," she called down the table toward him politely. He was no Burbage, that was certain.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Davvy_Wavvy

Yeah yeah Sophia expected Bunz to keep the peace and ask her to take her rightful seat. Sophia had seen it coming but that was the only way she'd actually get up from the seat that she was now seated in. Had it not been for Bunz asking her...and so nicely too she certainly would not budge an inch.

Heck she didn't even move right away.

"You could belong to the Ministry of Magic and it wouldn't phase me one bit Ivy." Sophia got to her feet and held her ground. She did of course glance over to Mr.Vinteren but her eyes didn't linger on him, they moved sharply back to poison ivy here."I can assure you, you don't have as much power as you think you do." She picked up her clutch from off the table.

"I trust you as far as I can throw you Miss Knox and considering your..size..that isn't very far. I really do not like you." And she certainly would not make her stay here very easy either.

Finally taking her glare off the woman Sophia swished from the seat and moved down to the end of the table where she took out her own high end eating utensils. No plastic plates and cups for her thanks.

Oh good, Sophia was moving. Annie had no idea of the words being exchanged between the two women but she would try her best to stay out of it for now. Instead, she would try to make conversation with the Transfiguration professor who had unfortunately been beside her when she'd found the mess in her office last term.

"I hope you had a nice summer, Sophia," she started off lightly. "I must have you up for tea again this term. I assure you my office is MUCH more pleasant to be in now." Even if she did have a four year old's toys littering it now and then.... she would take toys over cow patties any day.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Davvy_Wavvy

Yeah yeah Sophia expected Bunz to keep the peace and ask her to take her rightful seat. Sophia had seen it coming but that was the only way she'd actually get up from the seat that she was now seated in. Had it not been for Bunz asking her...and so nicely too she certainly would not budge an inch.

Heck she didn't even move right away.

"You could belong to the Ministry of Magic and it wouldn't phase me one bit Ivy." Sophia got to her feet and held her ground. She did of course glance over to Mr.Vinteren but her eyes didn't linger on him, they moved sharply back to poison ivy here."I can assure you, you don't have as much power as you think you do." She picked up her clutch from off the table.

"I trust you as far as I can throw you Miss Knox and considering your..size..that isn't very far. I really do not like you." And she certainly would not make her stay here very easy either.

Finally taking her glare off the woman Sophia swished from the seat and moved down to the end of the table where she took out her own high end eating utensils. No plastic plates and cups for her thanks.

Ivy was amused that this woman thought her petty little insults would affect her. They were seriously pathetic! Although it was more the Headmistress that made the Transfiguration professor to stand, Ivy was finally somewhat pleased. Again, her attempt to insult Ivy's 'size' (which was, by the way, perfect) was pathetic and Ivy uttered another laugh. "I never asked for your trust, nor do I care if you like me or despise me." She just wanted her damn chair.

And as for Ivy not having as much power as she thought she did... Hah. The woman smirked as Bellaire whisked away to her seat at the END of the table. "You have no idea," she muttered, taking her seat at the staff table. Finally.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hera

Another voice caught her attention, and as Seren turned to peer up the opposite length of the table, she realised it came from Ivy Knox. Oh it was so graaannnd! having more herbologists on staff.

Considering the distance, she didn't want to intrude on others' conversations so she offered the woman a small wave and of course, a bright smile.

That was when she noticed the blonde at the other end giving her a smile and a wave. Goodness, people at this school were so... cheery. Were they this bad when she was a student? Either way, Ivy returned the greeting with a smile and a nod. Bentley was okay. For now.


Now that Ivy was settled into her chair, she tried to ignore the plasticware and turned to the woman beside her who she assumed was the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. "Good evening... Medea Romanos, is it?"

Leo was confused. Why was Medea almost hiding in her seat from him and with her face beat red as if she was embarrassed? Had something happened before he got there? Scratching his head in confusion he watched as Medea seemingly inspected her chair and then held up a pink odd looking object. "What is that? Was it lying on your chair?" he asked trying to grasp what on earth was making Medea so embarrassed.

"Evening Seren." Leo greeted with a bright beam as the herbology professor eased into her seat, not that far away from him. He noted the baby bump wondering if he was supposed to be aware that Seren was pregnant. Had he missed a memo? He chose not to ask. If he had been told but forgotten would just be embarrassing. Instead he focused his attention on the bag slung over the arm of Seren’s chair. "What do you have in the bag Seren? New herbs and seeds for the greenhouses?"

"I’m glad to hear that Cece." Leo murmured quietly. "My summer was good too. I got to visit a muggle chocolate factory." One of the highlights of his summer vacation definitely.

"Thank you. You don’t look too bad yourself Ali." Leo complimented. "I'm glad the boat trip went well. Wasn’t it just last year that some student’s decided to take a dip in the lake?" he queried. Remembering the cattle books he had found the other day, Leo asked "Is it okay if I stop by your hut sometime this week? I’ve got some cattle books I want to show you."

Uh-Oh.

Going beat red Leo almost touched his forehead as he apologized to the Governor and new Charms professor. "I'm sorry Ivy, erm Miss, Professor Knox. I met quite a few people at the library auction last year, but I do remember your generous donation. Welcome to Hogwarts!" Her name had slipped his mind. Leo wasn’t perfect and his memory faltered sometimes but that happened to everyone. Can we change the topic of conversation please?

In a very PINK dress Gemma breezed up on the dais and sat down next to Leo. "Good evening Gemma! You look stunning tonight." He complimented. The muggle studies professor seemed cheerful and for lack of better word happy. Oh, um. Feeling his face burn Leo mumbled. "It's nice sitting next to you too at dinner." Awkward moment!

Coughing slightly Leo busied himself with checking out the plastic silverware and napkins before Gemma spoke to him again. Turning his head to glance over at his seatmate he said. "I’ve been to chocolate factory and also visited Hawaii with some old friends."

"What did you do this summer?"

Leo was about to wave to a woman that looked just like Peyton Barlow that was taking a seat on the other end of the long table close to Airey when his view was blocked by a man. Recognizing the blond man he offered him polite nod. "Mr Vinteren, right? Are you the new History of Magic professor?" Why had Dash’s position been filled by a Governor?

Leo hadn't been paying attention to the little feisty exchange of words between Ivy and Sophia at all until Sophia suddenly appeared on his end of the table sitting down next to Hecate. Raising a brow at her in question he said loud enough for her to hear. "Thank you. I'll come by your office after the feast Sophia. I've got a gift for you." Uhum, because he needed to give her, the gift he had bought for her over the summer amongst other things.

Why is she staring? Did he have something in his beard? He surreptitiously ran his fingers through the hair but felt nothing. She must just be having a moment, likely trying to figure out how to best answer the question.

Expecting? "Ah, I see. Maybe yeh heard some rumors a' the end o' term? Jus' ter be clear, I was NOT responsible for my cattle endin' up in Annie's study, an' she's well aware of that." He felt the need to set the record straight with every person he could.

And then she was berating him like he was a student--a CHILD. "I'm jus' tryin' ter be friendly. She's the only new staff member I know, and i's always nice ter feel welcomed." He remembered his first Feast last year, stuck between Annie and Cece. A friendly welcome from someone he knew would have been most appreciated.


She looked pained as he began his explanation of his idea. But to his surprise, the further he explained, the less sour she looked. Actually, she looks pleased! he thought as he finished. But... most brilliant? "Excellent! I'll be lookin' fer buyers, then. The birth won' be for a few months, mos' likely. Tha' should give me plenty o' time." She was right, the Grounds could definitely use some funding for improvements.



Ali smiled at his friend. They really needed to get together more this year now that he had a handle on the job. Leo appeared to be in much better spirits than he was at the last feast, which was a definite plus. "[B]Yeah, Bartholomew had his work cut out f'r him las' year. Bu' this year's group was far less... rambunctious.

Oh, books on cattle? Count him in! "O' course! Bring them on down whenever yeh get a chance!"

Josephina was so not late. No; she was simply tending to other matters that should have been taken care of last month. Other matters that apparently took most of her colleagues a lot less time. Either that or they didn't have the issues that she had.

Stepping into the Hall, she smiled at her Hufflepuffs and waved when she passed by their table. What was with the confused expression though? Squinting at the table, she blinked in shock at what she noticed. Was that . . . plasticware? That was certainly strange. She offered another comforting smile and beamed again before stepping onto the staff dais and starting at Magnus' Bellaire's seat, she walked behind the seats of each of her colleagues.

"Bellaire. Lafay," she greeted plainly. "Gemma. Seren! Congrats!" And wait; hold the chaldean! Was that Erik Vinteren sitting in Dash's old seat?! Yes, she knew him because he observed her first lesson last term. But seriously, was that not a conflict of interest, him being a Board Governor and also Professor? Unless he wasn't really teaching, but just sitting in a vacant chair...

"Vinteren. Good to see you again." Or maybe not; she wasn't really too sure.

Moving on though. "Evening, Leo and Cecelia." And was it just her or did the healer look less than pleased to be here that evening? Actually it was probably her normal expression.

"Evening Headmistress," she beamed. "And Alistaire."

And then was the new Creatures professor, of whom got a polite smile. And the new charms professor, who, .... wait?!? Was that ANOTHER board governor? What was Annie playing at here?

Befuddled Fina finally arrived at her seat and was pleased to see that Airey returned. Perhaps the curse was broken? "Airey. Medea." She smiled at the two, before addressing the two new additions to the table. "Josephina Hadley, Arithmancy Professor"

Well, just look at that! She'd gotten the attention of the groundskeeper despite the unfortunate number of seats between them. "Ali," she said, making a point to let him know she'd remembered the name he preferred to be called. "Stop by the hut soon, yeah?" They had a few loose ends to tie up on some plans they'd made over the summer.



...and then there was a utensil in front of her.

Peyton just looked at it and wondered if the man was oddly offering her his utensils since he was apparently going out to dinner after the feast. She'd decided he must be earlier, since he was all decked out in a suit.

...and then the utensil was gone.

Oh, that'd been an attempt at a handshake? Peyton sort of half-laughed, half-smiled then shook the man's hand. "Is is that obvious," she said, "or...are we all alphabetized?" She'd sort of worked that out earlier while eyeing the other occupants of the table. "Peyton Barlow, and yes, I'm the new Care of Magical Creatures professor."

She'd ask him his name, too, but he was a busy body this one.



Oh, look---someone who wasn't quite as excitable as the professor in the suit next to her. Peyton gave the woman a nod of her head, for the woman was quite far down the table, and extended the same greeting. "Good evening to you, too," she said. "Professor Peyton Barlow, Care of Magical Creatures."

Oh, wait! Was that Anna's stepmother?! Yes, Peyton had done that part of her homework, too. She finished her introduction with a small smile.



Drama? ... Niiiice.

Peyton tried to act distracted with her silverware...err, plasticware, while at the same time trying to get the goods on whatever else was going on around her.



Just when things looked like they might settle down--...

Holy Merlin, what was wrong with this man in the suit?! Peyton grew wide-eyed as the utensil shot past her and on down the table. She snuck a glance at the professor who seemed horrified at the cupcake in front of him.

Maybe he just had problems with his nerves...

SPOILER!!: Real quick lil replies :3

Quote:

Originally Posted by hpluvr037

She looked pained as he began his explanation of his idea. But to his surprise, the further he explained, the less sour she looked. Actually, she looks pleased! he thought as he finished. But... most brilliant? "Excellent! I'll be lookin' fer buyers, then. The birth won' be for a few months, mos' likely. Tha' should give me plenty o' time." She was right, the Grounds could definitely use some funding for improvements.

A few months. Fine fine fine, she could wait that long. Annie nodded. "Sounds fine. Keep me in the loop, will you?" But not too close, because she sure wasn't going to go VISIT the newborn cow. What if it was accidentally cute like some baby things WERE and then she wanted to keep it and just GOSH she couldn't even HANDLE that thought.

Quote:

Originally Posted by PhoenixRising

Josephina was so not late.

"Evening Headmistress," she beamed. "And Alistaire."

Well well well, look who decided to show up. "Josephina," Annie returned the greeting quite stiffly. Now that her four Head of Houses were here... finally... she could begin the speech.

The redhead stood.

"Good evening, everyone," she called out with her voice amplified as always. Annie did her best to perform her speech exactly as she had rehearsed it earlier, with her vocal tone even and her smile firmly fixed in its place. Not too cheerful, but not too serious either.

She didn't want to scare all the students away now that they were here, after all.

"As you might have noticed, tonight we have... a bit of a different setup in the Great Hall. We have disposable plates, cups, and sporks this evening, but I have to ask that you do not throw them away at the end of the feast, students." The redhead wagged her finger seriously. "That is your ASSIGNED dinnerware set for the duration of the entire 2080 school year. Due to an unfortunate series of events over the summer, Hogwarts has been forced to make some cutbacks for this term. Some things, like our fine china, we had to sell in order to have sufficient funds to keep the school functioning. Some other things we had to get rid of entirely. You might have even noticed that we have a new Deputy Headmistress," Bentley, yep yep, "and two Hogwarts Governors serving on our staff pro bono."

She took a breath and glanced toward Vinteren and Knox. "Please be nice to them, students. They're volunteering their time to teach you. Additionally, for mysterious reasons," which she had yet to get to the bottom of, "our house elves, save for one, have resigned for the term." Disappeared, more like, but well, she didn't want to worry the sensitive kids out there. "That is why YOU are responsible for washing YOUR dishes AND for not losing them. There will be no replacements." She looked toward the Hufflepuff table as she said this.

"And so with that, I invite you to make the best of the situation, as we're all in this together, and to enjoy the feast. Thank you." She promptly took her seat.

Almost immediately after the Headmistress finishes her speech, the tables in the Great Hall are suddenly filled with food. But the first thing you will notice is that the food doesn’t seem to have its usual deliciously glowing aura about it. The food seems rather mediocre at best. In fact, the chicken is dry and flavorless, the mashed potatoes are a sloppy, boring mess, the broccoli hardly seems cooked at all - and there’s not even cheese on it! And on top of that, the butterless bread looks more like bricks of charcoal. Not only does the food look and taste somewhat unappetizing, there’s hardly any variety.

On the bright side, there’s loads of ice cream! Bowls and bowls and bowls of ice cream have appeared along the center of the table amongst the lousy dinner dishes. Good thing your mother isn’t here to make sure you eat your undercooked broccoli before dessert!

This was a pleasant enough feast so far...minus all the plastic everywhere and the staring he was enduring from the other staffers. Erik returned the look from the sour Healer.

"Good evening, Ms. Tillstorm?" Perhaps she had just momentarily lost control of her tongue....and her manners....

"Professor Lafay," Erik, unlike some staff members, had the decency to return a greeting. He nodded back at Lafay.

"Please, call me Erik," the blond turned his head to converse with the pretty Herbology professor. Wait a minute, was she expecting? Was this a recent development? Should he say something about that?

No, best play it safe. "Did you haff a pleasant summer?" the man inquired instead, carefully keeping his blue eyes fixed on hers. Politely.

Mr Vinteren was right. "Good day, Mr....Kitridge, is it?" Erik returned the nod. "I am, for vhe time being. Ve Headmistress seemed desperate to fill vhe position and I happened to be in vhe right place at vhe right time." He shrugged harmlessly.

"Good to see you too, Hadley," Erik replied quietly as the Arithmancy professor passed. Was no one on a first name basis here?



Erik listened intently to the Headmistress' speech with his hands resting lightly on the armrests of his chair. He gave her a slow nod when she mentioned him and then clapped politely at the end of the speech.

And...there was the food. Erik blinked at it for a few moments, secretly pleased as he was the sight of how terrible it looked, but carefully keeping his face neutral. He unwrapped his plastic eating utensils carefully and then got out his wand. He got to work transfiguring his plate, spork, and cup into real, solid dishes, with a few well-placed taps.

He did not touch the food yet. Was that ice cream? Copious amounts of ice cream? Yes, yes it was. Smirk.

SPOILER!!: Anna!Peyton! And we DID introduce ourselves :P

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anna Banana

...and then there was a utensil in front of her.

Peyton just looked at it and wondered if the man was oddly offering her his utensils since he was apparently going out to dinner after the feast. She'd decided he must be earlier, since he was all decked out in a suit.

...and then the utensil was gone.

Oh, that'd been an attempt at a handshake? Peyton sort of half-laughed, half-smiled then shook the man's hand. "Is is that obvious," she said, "or...are we all alphabetized?" She'd sort of worked that out earlier while eyeing the other occupants of the table. "Peyton Barlow, and yes, I'm the new Care of Magical Creatures professor."

She'd ask him his name, too, but he was a busy body this one.

Just when things looked like they might settle down--...

Holy Merlin, what was wrong with this man in the suit?! Peyton grew wide-eyed as the utensil shot past her and on down the table. She snuck a glance at the professor who seemed horrified at the cupcake in front of him.

Maybe he just had problems with his nerves...

Right. Score another awkward introduction for the Astronomy professor. At least he hadn't stabbed her with his eating utensil. That would have made things worse.

"Process of elimination mostly," he nodded. "Since the two Board of Governors members took up two of our vacancies and Creatures was the only professor not to make their presence known just yet." Ramble ramble logic logic no one cares Airey. "That...and we ARE seating in alphabetical order."

Hey, at least he had made her smile, right?

"It's nice to meet you, Peyton," he continued while rummaging through his charmed breast pocket for something he had been intending to give to her. "This is for you. Just a little something to welcome you to Hogwarts." And to keep all he animal fur far away from him.

SPOILER!!: speech and iiiiiiiiiiice creeeeeeeeeeeeeam

Quote:

Originally Posted by BanaBatGirl

The redhead stood.

"Good evening, everyone," she called out with her voice amplified as always. Annie did her best to perform her speech exactly as she had rehearsed it earlier, with her vocal tone even and her smile firmly fixed in its place. Not too cheerful, but not too serious either.

She didn't want to scare all the students away now that they were here, after all.

"As you might have noticed, tonight we have... a bit of a different setup in the Great Hall. We have disposable plates, cups, and sporks this evening, but I have to ask that you do not throw them away at the end of the feast, students." The redhead wagged her finger seriously. "That is your ASSIGNED dinnerware set for the duration of the entire 2080 school year. Due to an unfortunate series of events over the summer, Hogwarts has been forced to make some cutbacks for this term. Some things, like our fine china, we had to sell in order to have sufficient funds to keep the school functioning. Some other things we had to get rid of entirely. You might have even noticed that we have a new Deputy Headmistress," Bentley, yep yep, "and two Hogwarts Governors serving on our staff pro bono."

She took a breath and glanced toward Vinteren and Knox. "Please be nice to them, students. They're volunteering their time to teach you. Additionally, for mysterious reasons," which she had yet to get to the bottom of, "our house elves, save for one, have resigned for the term." Disappeared, more like, but well, she didn't want to worry the sensitive kids out there. "That is why YOU are responsible for washing YOUR dishes AND for not losing them. There will be no replacements." She looked toward the Hufflepuff table as she said this.

"And so with that, I invite you to make the best of the situation, as we're all in this together, and to enjoy the feast. Thank you." She promptly took her seat.

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Narrator

Almost immediately after the Headmistress finishes her speech, the tables in the Great Hall are suddenly filled with food. But the first thing you will notice is that the food doesn’t seem to have its usual deliciously glowing aura about it. The food seems rather mediocre at best. In fact, the chicken is dry and flavorless, the mashed potatoes are a sloppy, boring mess, the broccoli hardly seems cooked at all - and there’s not even cheese on it! And on top of that, the butterless bread looks more like bricks of charcoal. Not only does the food look and taste somewhat unappetizing, there’s hardly any variety.

On the bright side, there’s loads of ice cream! Bowls and bowls and bowls of ice cream have appeared along the center of the table amongst the lousy dinner dishes. Good thing your mother isn’t here to make sure you eat your undercooked broccoli before dessert!

SPORKS! So THAT is what these things were called! Why no one had bothered to answer his question earlier was beyond him, but at least the Headmisstress had done so now - so he shot her a grateful expression. Spork. How witty. Must surely be a muggle thing.

He watched the students as the Headmistress continued to speak, hoping that they wouldn't become too alarmed with the situation at Hogwarts. It was really just the beginning of things he fears. And yes, YOU Mr. Gunter and your plates were being watched EXTRA carefully.

And he was rather upset about the house elves. Now he was going to have to enlist students to help him clean Calista's habitat.

He applauded for Seren and the two volunteers while he scanned the table for the top of his spork. Just where had the little rascal gone off to? He needed that so he could fix his damaged goods. Wouldn't be getting a replacement after all.

AND THEN THERE WAS ICE CREAM!

Forgetting momentarily all about searching for his spork top, Airey helped himself to a hearty mountain of various ice cream flavors and jabbed at it with his broken eating utensil. Oh, er, right....stabbing his ice cream wasn't going to do the trick now, was it? Airey took this moment to stand up. "Excuse me....anyone seen the top to my spork?"

And the man was hungry...so he needed to eat something. The astronomer reached out for one of the dinner rolls and took a bite.

Maybe if he dipped it in his ice cream it would taste better?

nope.

But it would have to do for now until he found the rest of his spork so, dipping awful bread into his ice cream it was.

And there was Fina. "Evenin' yerself, Josephina. Yeh look well. Happy ter see it!"

Oh good, she'd heard him despite Cece's chiding. And she remembered I don't like Al, at least. Good start. He gave her an encouraging smile. "Alrigh', will do!" he replied, keeping the exchange brief to minimize the annoyance to his neighbor.

From down the table, he heard the unmistakable voice of Airey Flamsteed. ...just the top of his spork? Perhaps the man had taken to imitating Theo. Maybe Ali needed to deduct points from Airey, too. "Jus' Summon it," Ali said, half jokingly and half seriously. Flamsteed probably couldn't even hear him, but Ali didn't really care.

Though there were various negative reactions to the cutbacks this term from the students, Erin turned her gaze regretfully to the students - her gaze lingered on the Hufflepuff table in particular - and offered them a sympathetic, encouraging smile. It wasn't the end of the world. There were plenty of pros to this, really; by the end of the term, surely the students would excel at cleaning spells and perhaps be more mindful of picking up after themselves. Maybe the situation would even enhance their gratitude toward house elves and the normal state of affairs throughout the school in past terms. How many students regularly thanked the house elves? And how many left messes around the school with the mindset of someone else can pick that up?

Those with the latter mindset would be in for a rude awakening very quickly.

And who knew? Maybe the house elves would return sooner rather than later. Erin kept a calm, content expression on her face, but she eyed the headmistress; did she really know that they were going to be gone for the whole term? Might they wander back?

Erin clapped heartily as Annie sat back down in her seat - she was always proud of her and her knack for public speaking - and gave her a nod, "You handled that well." Much more delicately than she could have, that was for certain. They WERE all in it together, that was a good point to make.

Mmm... feast food. Or... a poor lone house elf's attempt at feast food - better than no food at all, eh?

Soon after a cupcake lands in front of Professor Flamsteed another lands infront of Headmistress Truebridge. Yeah something magical and delicious is clearly up.

The woman seemed quite nice... to her anyway. And really.... who else was more important here. She nodded to the woman. "Hecate. Please."

"Isn't it..." She said not really caring. She loved her child, but Merlin, she was a handful.

... did he now... Interesting.

... "Hadley" She said not looking at the Hufflepuff Head of House.

She nodded to the woman. Woman... pshhh... Girl is more like it. She looked to be about... Anna's age... "Hecate. Potions."

Pro bono? Well... Wait. WHAT?!?!? Assigned plastic/paper. Was she insane?!

But then the food came to the table. Hecate never ate at the feast... but this... this was ridiculous.

She nodded to the man and said "Please, call me Hecate."

You handled that well?! Some people would sucked up to anyone...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nordic Witch

Uh-Oh.

Going beat red Leo almost touched his forehead as he apologized to the Governor and new Charms professor. "I'm sorry Ivy, erm Miss, Professor Knox. I met quite a few people at the library auction last year, but I do remember your generous donation. Welcome to Hogwarts!" Her name had slipped his mind. Leo wasn’t perfect and his memory faltered sometimes but that happened to everyone. Can we change the topic of conversation please?

Ivy had to refrain from smirking as she saw the man's face turn as red as a tomato, but she kept watching him. Did he feel the pressure? Was this uncomfortable? GOOD. She gave the man a thin smile as he attempted to mend the mistake he made. "Of course you remember." It was the best donation, you know.

"Nice to see you again," she said dismissively without a whole lot of conviction and turned her attention elsewhere...



... Ah, to the young woman next to her (Peyton) that seemed barely old enough to apparate. Was this really the new Care of Magical Creatures professor? Ivy watched the woman beside her for a moment.

A few moments, actually. She was trying to figure out just how old this girl was.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Droo

The woman seemed quite nice... to her anyway. And really.... who else was more important here. She nodded to the woman. "Hecate. Please."

Ivy returned the nod. "Hecate... Pleasure to meet you." She had heard rumors about this one, but she seemed just fine to Ivy. She liked that unique silver highlight, too.



Her attention then turned to the Headmistress again as she gave her lovely speech. She could tell the redhead was trying not to say just how horrible of a state Hogwarts was in, but Ivy kept her face perfectly straight. When she mentioned being nice to the Board of Governor's members, Ivy sent a quick glare towards Bellaire at the other end of the table before looking out over the sea of children. That's right. Be NICE. They didn't want to know what would happen if they weren't.

At the end of the speech, Ivy clapped three times to be polite and then put her napkin in her lap, even though she had no intention of eating this horrible looking food. Merlin, it looked worse than her own cooking.

That was certainly a lot of ice cream, too. And she was sure it was absolutely delicious... but she wouldn't be having any.

Someone sure was distracted here tonight. "I just asked how your summer was. We can talk later though." When there wasn't four other people sitting between them, and when Hecate was less distracted.

Cece didn't remember asking Leo how his summer was. She didn't even remember encouraging a conversation with the man, yet here he was telling her about some visit to a chocolate factory. "Chocolate is over rated." And that's all she had to say on that subject.



OOC: Cece was nothing but nice and polite to Ali last term at the feast. Yes, I went back and looked.

Cattle, in Annie's office? What did that have to do with anything right now? "Mr. Firth, I do not care about rumors, nor do I care about how your cattle got in Annie's office." Did he not realize just how guilty he was making himself look by dragging up something that happened months ago?

Trying to be friendly? So that's what yelling down a table was called these days? "Welcoming a new staff member is one thing, but yelling down the table is another. If you want to talk to the woman so badly why don't you go ask Professor Flamsteed to switch seats with you? I'm sure he wouldn't mind sitting down here."

Really. Go. Ask.

"Evening Josephina," she greeted the woman as she walked by.



Oh joy. Speech time.

Cece listened to the headmistress speak and couldn't help but wonder if the woman had totally lost her mind. There was no way Cece would be reusing disposable dinnerware. Then again, with the way the food looked here, there was no way she would be eating anything here anyway. Of course being employed only part time meant she would be eating her meals at home anyway. And she would just bring her lunch to work with her on the days she was here.

Food problem solved. For the healer anyway.

"Mr. Vinteren," she greeted back. No Professor in front of his name since he was not a professor, just a wannabe fill in. "So kind of you to volunteer you time here. I just have one question for you. Not having a teaching background, what makes you qualified to teach our young students here?" Yes, Cece was aware it really was none of her business who Anastasia and the board decided to hire, but she had family members going to school here. Volunteering or not, her family the students of this school deserved to have someone teaching them that really knew what they were doing.

Yeah, she noticed Leo eye the baby bump, though she didn't say anything, instead she just continued to smile, casting a glance at the Gryffindor table occasionally.

Returning her glance to Leo, she shook her head, "Oh no no, just apples, you know... in case the feast is a bit bland," and doesn't appeal to her cravings.



Ooohhh! Hadley had noticed!
"Thank you! We're just thrilled!" she chimed, a hand on her belly.

That was what she was referring to, was it not?



Seren observed the Gryffindor table carefully as Annie presented her start of term speech... the lions were behaving themselves, or so she hoped. She only turned her gaze to the headmistress when she mentioned the washing and caring of the 'dishes'. She didn't envy the children... or herself. Though for the most part, she ate in her living quarters, with real plates and cutlery, so all would be well.



The instant the food arrived to their plates, Seren had lost her appetite. Merlin it looked foul... what was that? She picked up her plastic fork thing and dug it into a goopy mess. Was that supposed to be mashed potato?

"Erik," she repeated with a nod, she was about to introduce herself, when she realised he already knew who she was, being on the board and all.. not to mention having bid on her at the auction last term.
"I had a lovely summer, thank you," she replied, smiling genuinely. "I trust yours was equally as enjoyable?"





Pulling her bag onto her lap, she opened it and fished out two red apples, and placed them on the table beside her paper plate. She may need to stock up on some supplies, owl Aron to send her a care package or two as well... or alternatively she'd be dining in Hogsmeade fairly frequently.

She beamed at the Librarian...he always had that effect on her...."O Hawaii!!! That would explain the brown tint to your skin...tanned looks good on you..." she said with a little nudge and wink. "Where all did you visit in Hawaii?" she asked thinking of all the amazing Muggle -places to visit. She had always wanted to visit Hawaii...great surfing, sun, and history...yes there was the nerd in her.

She took a little drink of whatever liquid was in the cups and then said, "O, I went the opposite direction and visited Alaska...I took a quick little Muggle cruise up there...it was just beautiful!" she said reaching into her little pink bag and pulling out a picture of her on the back of the ship with a glacier in the background. It wasn't a moving picture but she hadn't wanted to risk taking magic pictures in the midst of all of the Muggles. She held out the picture proudly.

She drifted away for just a minute from her conversation with the Librarian as Erik walked in....she didn't want to beam but she didn't want to be nonchalant so she tried for the middle ground....she tilted her head slightly to the right and gave him a little wink and nod as he walked up to the table.

After he took his seat and there seemed to be a lull in the conversations/shock of him sitting at the staff table, she smiled and leaned forward in her chair to see him and said, "Well imagine that suit walking into the Great Hall as a teacher..." she said jokingly, "and as the History of Magic teacher...our students may be in trouble..." then she finished teasignly, "You know that's my old stomping ground, so if you need any pointers or some personal tutoring...I'm more than willing to pencil you into my schedule."...yes she could be coy...and playful...and yes there was a little bit of flirtation in there....

She beamed with the nice words of the Headmistress and just nodded as she said, "Thank you, that means a lot!" and it did. The woman had amazing fashionista characteristics that quite often Gemma found herself coveting after.



The professor stepped back a little bit with the woman's reply and her daggers shooting from her eyes....had she imagined that look...but that doubt disappeared as the woman ignored her hand....who was this woman...Gemma was horrible with names and remember people....should she know her. She quickly searched her little file cabinets in her head and then she remembered her slightly...yes this woman knew Erik...well maybe....but why would this woman be so acidic towards her...

Not wanting to cause a scene she held up her hands and said, "Well, just thought I'd point out the obvious. And Welcome to Hogwarts!" she said sweetly but with a little bit of sarcasm in her voice....in her opinion this wasn't the best way to make first impressions.
She raised her right eyebrow to try to figure out if the woman was joking or not....why was she so hard to read..."Nope, happily, I can't claim credit for these..." she said picking up the fork and looking at it. "Must be another side effect of the budget concerns..." she said with a little roll of her eyes.



Gemma eyed the food with a little bit of disappointment and her stomach followed with a loud growl. She pasted a smile on her face though because she figured that the staff table should have a united front on this little predicament and she knew if she showed a bad attitude that the Blue table might follow. She picked up her plastic fork and reached for some food but stopped mid air when the ice cream arrived. And with that her fake smile mixed into a normal smile and she quickly piled ice cream onto her plate and began eating happily.