Meeting Space with Professor Myers
 

Paul couldn't lie to himself anymore; he hated his office. Well, hate was such a strong word. But really, he didn't like meeting with students in there. It was so stifling to conversation so...not fun. And so, he would keep his office the same, of course, but only spend time in there when he needed absolutely concentration grading papers or doing his own research. He would NOT be meeting with students in there anymore. Just...no.

The waiting area that had previously held those flower chairs that most students seemed to not like...was transformed into the meeting space, but the students must knock on the door to be let inside now. And he would only meet with students in here becaaaaaause there was something very special he was going to with this room.

Paul would make it different, every three months. Fun things, too. He had plenty of ideas, yes! But for now, the room looks like: THIS. It was fun to be a child sometimes.

OOC: I apologize deeply for not having a normal office .___. Have your character knock and Paul will let them in, all in this thread.

hehehe HAI
 

Come in, M'dear.
 

Paul was meditating on a lily pad. How tranquil this room was at the moment. Ahhh. Nice. SO nice. It was nice to have this weird spot. MUCH more enjoyable than a dark, old office. Pfft.

He heard the knock. Without opening his eyes, he answered with, "Come in!" and sat still atop the giant lily pad. Who would the first student to visit his office be? Hmm?

He was curious.

Kaycee entered the room and looked around. ... ... This was new.

"You redecorated." she said simply. She glanced around the lilies before hopping on to one. "How buoyant are these?" she asked bouncing around on one. Could she skip on them? Breakdance on them? These were important questions.

"Oh. And I brought you something." she added as a bit of an afterthought.

Ha! The look on Miss Richards' face when she stepped inside just about made his day. He cackled. "I have. My old office is behind us--" he nodded at the door behind him. "But it's so dull to hang out in there all the time." He stood atop the lily pad and bounced a little, water sloshing about. "Pretty buoyant." He jumped a little and flapped his arms. "See?" he chuckled. "Since it's all..charmed and whatnot. Magic, you see," Obviously.

"Is it about...plant pet?" he asked. "The thing you brought me last term? I still have it and continue to take care of it!" PAUL LOVED PRESENTS.

KATTEEEEEEE/Paulllllll!
 

"Come right in!" The Herbology professor called out as soon as the knock rang out in his lily-padded room. He dropped the stack of papers he had been reading and hopped over to the door, barefoot, and opened the door. "Come right in, come right in!" he smiled as he saw Azura.

Poor girl.

"Azura! Lovely to see you, m'dear!"

And it seemed as soon as Paul was done with one person, another arrived. He had not even gotten a chance to settle down back onto the main lily pad to finish reading when ANOTHER knock rang out in the room.

"Door's open--come right in!" he called out, plopping down on the lily pad, causing the water to ripple a little and the rest of the lily pads to move about.

Mighty Fwoopers in the inky depths!

Azura's dull purple eyes were wide with surprise as she saw what the Herbology Professor's "office" looked like. Sweet Sweet Fwoopers, please let her not fall in! She swallowed slightly, hoping to all that was lovely and gracious that she could maintain her balance while talking to the Professor!

"Hello Professor Paul." She said with as much of a smile as she could muster these days, as she slowly walked in.. and attempted to balance on the Lily pad..

"I.. uhh.. this is new." Was about all she could say.. It wasn't bad! It was just.. surprising? Yes.. She would go with that.

"It's nice to see you as well." Of all the Professor's besides Hirsch, she liked Paul the most. And she felt like he could be the one she could talk to the best.. "How are you? How was your summer?" She asked curiously as she gingerly made her way further onto a lily pad and sat down.. She wasn't taking ANY chances right now.

"Hellllllo, m'dear!" he smiled and hopped his way back to the lily pad he had claimed as HIS lily pad. "Yes...this certainly IS new...I was getting so bored with my old office. It's still there--" he nodded behind him. "Just...I want to meet with YOU all in here," he said with a shrug. "Have a--"

And she sat! Well, good. "I'm good. I had a nice summer...my partner and I went to Hawaii." He chuckled and...did not proceed to ask her about her summer. "How are you, my dear?"

A small smile actually cracked Azura's pale face as she watched Professor Paul hop back over to his Lily pad.. This was crazy.. but really.. it was what she needed right now.. Something silly.. and fun! Fun! She needed that! "Well, I like it. It's fun and new and.. exciting." Mmm.. yes. She needed to visit here more often.. That is what she needed to do.

She made herself comfortable on the Lily pad and then then listened to how his summer went. "That sounds like a fun time! Is that why you had a Hawaiian shirt on at the Feast?" She asked him and looked at him gratefully as he didn't ask about her summer.. So he knew.. She had figured most of the Professors knew..

"I'm... I.." She shrugged.. "I don't know how I feel, to be honest. Numb? I.. still can't believe it happened." She looked down at the Lily pad she was on and gently touched it with her small fingers. "Her Funeral was two days before I had to leave and come here." She bit her lip.. She wasn't going to cry.. She.. wasn't..

Okay..Maybe a little?

He was hoping the students would enjoy it; he knew HE did. Then again, Paul felt he was sort of a big kid himself most days. Nothing wrong with that, though.

He chuckled. "Ah...funny story. My trip ended..the day before term started. I got home, went to sleep...forgot to unpack and repack, and thought I had done the repacking and so...I came here with only my vacation clothes. SO yes...that's why I had those silly vacation clothes on. quite...embarrassing," he laughed a little more. "I had to get sent my real clothes early the nest morning." Milton...had wanted to kill him.

OOPS.

And...the more serious things. The things Paul had assumed she had come to talk about as soon as he saw her. He nodded, leaning back on his elbows and letting the heel of his foot touch the icy water. "It must be hard, m'dear." He was silent for a little while, watching her. "It's okay to feel sad right now, you know. But it's also okay to let yourself feel happy." While he didn't know the minute details of all his students, he knew enough about Azura. "I am so sorry this had happened to you, Miss Kennedy." There weren't words enough to comfort the girl, so why bother with them?

He stood up, quickly, almost falling into the water-----but caught himself before doing so. "I'll be right back--" and he disappeared into his old office.

And another student! Paul felt so popular these days! He grinned and called out, "Come in!" and waited patiently for whoever this was to see his NEW and improved "office," per say.

Another day another adventure. Paul Myers was relaxing on his lily pad, barefoot, playing his banjo gently. The music sounded really great in this room; the acoustics! OH the acoustics!

Azura had to at least let a little smile grace her lips as Professor Paul talked about what happened at the Feast. "Well, that's perfectly understandable. I mean, you were probably so tired from your trip, you didn't remember anything." She nodded her head as she pulled some of her black hair forward to play with as he spoke more. "Well, I thought it looked pretty cool actually. But, that's just me." Yes, Azura was trying to make him feel better.. because that is what she did. And it was the truth.. His clothes were like a ray of sunshine in the sea of black. "It made me smile, and lately, I haven't been smiling much."

She didn't mean to be morose or depressed.. it was just the truth. She hadn't been smiling much. She was still in shock.

She nodded at his next words.. "It IS hard.. I.. can't sleep much. I get nightmares.. and food..just tastes like ash.. but.. I'm trying." She really was. She was trying as hard as she could to get through this.. Alone really. The less people knew about this.. the less attention she drew to herself.

"I know it's okay to feel sad. I do feel sad.. and I know it's okay to feel happy, but.. " She shrugged as she trailed off. She had to force herself to be happy lately.. because if she didn't.. everyone would find out. And those she had told.. didn't seem to want anything to do with her..

A few tears came to her eyes as he spoke.."It's okay Professor Meyers, Thanks for letting me talk to you." She said in a soft voice as she watched him get up and then nearly fall over! Azura almost stood up as well, but he righted himself and then took off.. and she was left alone.. She lay down on the Lily pad.. tears streaking out of her eyes as she looked upwards..

Finally standing was not something Dante liked to do and standing and waiting was testing his patience. Which was not that great to begin with. Dante walked into the room and was actually impressed. Better than his old office that was for sure. But now how was he suppose to get to him

"Professor Paul please tell all i have to do is just jump on over to you and that's it."

He was overthinking a bit. But you never know. Professor Paul could have suddenly got inspiration to have it become a game or obstacle course to reach his desk.

Dante would believe it.

At the sound of his voice, Esme opened the door. Immediately she was greeted with music coming from his banjo. Of course; a pond was the perfect place to play because it was so serene. If she had an instrument with her she would have loved to join in and they could play music together. As it was that could wait for another time.

"Hello, Professor Myers," she said as she carefully joined him on his lily pad. Not exactly easy when holding brownies but it was what it was. "I hope you are well. I like the new layout." She glanced around wondering if this was his new office because he wasn't telling her to go in his old one. How much work could someone get done on a lily pad? Ehhh. "I brought brownies," she said as an afterthought, still wondering how an office like this worked.

Paul opened the door a minute later, seeing Azura sniffling. He let Zelda, his collie, go, and the dog jumped right into the water and doggy-paddled over to Azura excitedly. She rested her front paws and her chin on the lily pad, trying her best to lick Azura's nose. Her tail was wagging so hard it was propelling the lily-pad a little bit, water sloshing around quite a bit from it as well.

"Remember my other dog I had here last term? Charles Fluffington? He was quite homesick...so I brought one of our other dogs, Zelda, with me...it's a muggle name," he added. Paul was under the impression Zelda was a common muggle name. "She seems to enjoy it here a lot more than he did. So..I think I'll probably be bringing her every term if I can..." he chuckled.

It was Dante!

Paul smiled at the boy and gestured him over. "Just hop right over--it's possible to fall in, but it's not deep enough to cause any harm." He was glad to see the boy....who was certainly getting older and was probably more of a MAN nowadays, actually.

"I hope you're doing all right. How was your summer? Had fun? Relaxed? READY TO LEARN?"

Esme! "Ah, thank you, m'dear," he paused his playing for a minute to wave and smile at her. "BROWNIES!" he cried, setting his banjo aside carefully. He actually picked it up again to put it in its CASE so that it wouldn't get wet by accident or anything.

"Yes--I needed a more interesting meeting space with you all. And also somewhere more interesting and stimulating for my brain to get work done," he smiled. "Just step on the lily-pads, m'dear."

Doing yoga on his lily-pads. It was relaxing. it was SOOTHING. The room echoed with the sound of his movements. Currently in downward dog, Paul didn't look up as he heard the knock.

"Come...right in....don't mind....me...." he said airily, with pauses in between his words because yoga was aalllllll about that breathing, you know? He was feeling MUCH better than he felt earlier..after the...outrage.

The professor sounded even more interesting than usual today...Ilia had come to take the eccentricity in stride though. Opening the door, the young blonde was met with an unusual sight. Yoga on a lily pad...her head tilted to the side a bit as she observed. "Hello professor. Should I come back at a better time?" Although, honestly she was intrigued by the new interior of the banjo man's office. "I see you've redecorated."

Azura pushed up a little on the Lily pad and wiped her eyes when she saw a dog bound out of the office and straight into the water!! She actually let out a soft giggle as it paddled right towards her and put it's head up on the Lily Pad and tried to lick her nose. She leaned her head forward just a bit so the dog could indeed lick at her.. getting her slightly wet in the process..

She gently rubbed the Dog's head.. "Hello there Zelda." She said as she looked up at the Professor. "Mmm, I think I remember him.. and aww, that's so sad. I hope he's better now?" She asked, feeling some concern for the other puppy before grinning.. "She's awfully adorable." She said with a warm smile.

Paul laughed and flopped out of his position, landing on his bum. Sweat beaded his brow. "No! This time is perfect, m'dear--please take a seat or..don't. Hop around, I don't mind," he said.

"Yes! The old office is still there--" he pointed at the door behind him. "This used to be my waiting room BUT I transformed it into a place where I can...meet with you all in a more stimulating and exciting environment. I was feeling so stifled in there. I quite like grading papers in here, too. I'll change up the design every two months or so," he grinned."So...what do you need, m'dear?"

Oh good, she was..at least smiling a little. His plan had worked! Even if just a wee bit.

"He is better now! I think he just missed Milton," he snorted and shook his head slightly. "I should have known he'd miss Milton, to be honest, but I THOUGHT the dog liked me more--alas, I was wrong!" he sighed and settled back down on a lily-pad near Azura.

Zelda pulled herself up onto the lily-pad with Azura and curled up, sighing in that doglike way. "You know...you can come by and see her any time you want, m'dear..."

Ilia couldn't help but giggle a bit as the professor plopped on his rear. Albiet sweaty, he seemed to be well. The thought of hopping around the room like a frog did, in fact, cross her mind. Sitting would be eventual though. The blonde was wearing a summer dress and flat sandals, so the plants should be okay.....she jumped onto the closest one light with a big smile, then hopped across a few until she was on one of the lily pads closest to the professor. Kneeling like a lady she beamed a smile up at him. That was much more fun than just sitting in a waiting chair.

"I love what you've done with the place, I almost feel like a frog." Which, the young witch didn't mind at all. Need? "I wouldn't say that I need anything. I came to visit you really."

Kaycee grinned. "Good call, Professor." she replied. She was impressed. It looks like grown ups will knew how to have fun. This was very good to know. "Offices are boring."

She grinned a little at the professor's jumping around. "I'm almost tempted to grab Kyroh to see how they hold up to break dancing." Because, why try it herself and risk the possibility of getting wet when there was a perfectly good Ravenclaw around?

She nodded and made her way over to him. "It's even in the box so you can start from scratch." she said holding it out to him. "Happy start of term."

Heh. A FROG. Paul made a small frog noise but began to laugh a little too much to continue. The room really brought out the SILLINESS in him. "Well, I always enjoy a random and spontaneous visit, you know," he nodded and relaxed his shoulders.

"How was your summer?" he was a little curious about...everything going on with her mother and with Henric...and all that drama.

"They are a bit boring, yes," he said in reply. "Stifling." Stifling to productive THOUGHT. "You could, Kaycee. I wouldn't mind," he chuckled. "As long as I could watch. And as long as you both can swim!" he gestured at the water. "It's not deep at all, though...

He took the box and squinted down at the plant's picture ON the box. "Well I'm quite excited, Miss Richards. My other one is doing just fine." He needed a name for this one. "ALSO congratulations on the badge, Kaycee! Why anyone gave you one is beyond me!" he shook his head slightly, a glint in his eye as he smirked.

And...well, it was the truth. It WAS beyond him.

Azura smiled a little as she kept rubbing Zelda's fur as she listened to Professor Meyers story.. "Well, at least this one seems to like you more." She said with a smile as she looked down at the dog.

"We used to have a cat, Onyx, he was all black and he followed me everywhere I went, I wanted to bring him to Hogwarts with me, but the summer before I was due to come my first year.. he got sick." She said as she watched Zelda come up onto the Lily pad next to her and she gently stroked his wet fur.

"He's fine now.. but he is staying with my Aunt and Uncle.. They didn't want him to get too confused with everything happening." She sighed softly as she lay her head on the dog briefly.

"Thanks Professor Paul, I might have to do that."

Well alright. Dante hopped on over to the man which was not as easy as he thought. He had never done this and well he had said it was possible to fall in. But he made it like a boss and that was that. "I had a busy summer. Visited some graduated friends and and was happy with my exam results. Which i guess gets me excited to learn. What about you Professor. Have a wild and crazy summer yourself?"

Rocking out on his banjo and who knows, embarrassing his husband.

"Also im sure this year we will be studying some crazy plants right?"

The one thing Dante enjoyed about Herbo was all the weird and fascinating plants to be found.

"I just wanted to say hi," Esme said with a smile as she settled in on the lily pad with him. Laughing at his excitement over brownies, she handed the plate over to him - as soon as he had put his banjo away, that is. "Nice playing. It would be fun to make music with you some time." Maybe she could bring the acoustic guitar that she had gotten during the summer; it was one of the few things that she had INSISTED on taking to school with her.

Nodding at what he told her, she got herself more comfortable. "Nothing like being one with nature. Are there fish in the pond then?" Well, it was a valid question as far as she was concerned. There was something else that she wanted to ask him but she wasn't in a huge rush to do so because she was enjoying the peacefulness. Professor Myers was on to something here.

Kaycee grinned. "It's refreshing to hear you say that." Maybe that meant he would start a revolution and get rid of traditional desks in the school.

... a girl could dream, right?

She laughed lightly. "Of course. We're pretty good at performing." Award winning actually. Hydra for the win! "I'm fine around water. Grew up in Miami." So fine was an underexaggeration. She was raised on the water.

Naww. Yay for the other one doing fine. Of course, he wouldn't be much of a herbology professor if he just let the plants die.

She then laughed and tapped her badge. "Yeah, well. I was just as surprised."

Onyx the cat. Paul smiled. "Well..maybe you can bring him after Christmas break. I'm sure it would be nice to have him here, and I'd love to meet him, if so." Paul personally thought it might HELP the girl to have her cat here...but he couldn't really voice those thoughts to the girl. "Is he feeling better now?" He hoped so...

"And yeah! Zelda loves company..." he smiled as the dog lazed on the lily-pad next to Azura, finally rolling onto her back, paws up, getting cozy. "I don't understand how they can sleep like that...it doesn't look..." and he rolled onto his back himself, sticking his knees up and his arms up. "Yeah see? I don't see the appeal, Zelda..."

NOT COMFORTABLE AT ALL.

"How did you do on your Herbology OWL, m'boy? I assume well?" he asked, eyebrow raised. He'd be disappointed to hear otherwise, to be honest. Dante was pretty decent at the subject.

As for crazy plants..."Well, some crazy...others just plain COOL, Mr. Barrington. Granted, if you think about it, all plants are crazy..." just think about HOW FASCINATING THEY WERE. All that fancy stuff. Chemical changes...like photosynthesis and whatnot.

Ugh.

Paul was nerding out on the inside, but merely gazed at Dante curiously. No need to subject the boy to that.

"Saying hi is always allowed!" he grinned. "And I like the company of my students." Just to talk or to work on plant things--anything! "Did you enjoy our recording session this summer? It got a little more...eccentric than I wanted," he rolled his eyes. "Pearl can be weird sometimes." AKA, all the time.

He glanced down into the water. "No...no fishies. I thought that might be a bad idea...my dog might accidentally...kill them and all. " And that...would NOT be desirable. Obviously.

"I was never a desk guy." He shrugged. He got some flack back when he taught University...but bah on them all. He marched to the beat of his own BANJO, yeah?

Award winning? Paul widened his eyes. "You and Mr. Scabior have won actual awards for dancing?" he asked softly. "THAT'S SO AWESOME!" he burst out. "I would LOVE to see your moves! I can't dance at all!" So when others COULD dance...Paul could watch people dance for hours. It was so interesting! Such talent! He admired it so.

Paul snorted. "I bet you were!" Because HA. Kaycee Richards, PREFECT. Who would have guessed?! Not Paul!

Azura nodded, "I'll owl my Aunt to see if she'll let me. She and My Uncle are taking care of.. things."[/b] Since her Step-father had disappeared, and her real father was no where to be found.. Her Aunt and Uncle were the ones that had handled a lot about her mother's death. She bit her lip a little as she tried to push away the fact that she was pretty much an orphan now.. "If I get to take him back, I'll bring him here to meet you." Onyx was the sweetest cat in the world. "And yes, he's all better now thankfully." She said softly, she hoped at least.

She grinned down at the dog as she rolled over and lay on her back, and Azura gently reached over to pat her belly softly.. "Well.. it doesn't look super comfy.. but they seem to like it.." And then Azura's purple eyes caught the Professor doing the same thing as the dog..

And she burst into giggles.. The first peal of laughter that had been heard from her mouth ever since she had gotten the news of her mother.. She shook her head a little.. Oh Merlin it was funny!

Kaycee laughed. Desks were overrated and she completely agreed.

YES! She nodded enthusiastically. "Yes! We have. He's a very good break dancer. I've taught him to be a bit more hip hop." Which was a nice way of saying he was completely hopeless without here. (Which actually wasn't true, but she did open up the world of competition to him.)

"I'll talk to Kyroh and we'll set up a performance time." IT WOULD BE FUN! "We could probably even teach you a few basic things." If he were interested.

She poked the badge she was wearing. Yeah. Professor Flamsteed must have been on something. Oh well. No complaints.

"An E. So pretty well. " It even surprised him a little since he thought he was getting an A for sure. Failure never crossed his mind. Must be a slytherin thing or something. Who knows. When concerning Professor Paul and plants. Dante usually combined crazy and cool together since their was no distinct Dante could find.

Since he was right all plants were crazy.

"So crazy and cool plants. No gravity resistant trees again?."

Dante still thought those things were amazing.

"Also Professor are sixth years allowed in Greenhouse Four?"

"Come iiiiiin my dear!" he called out.

Paul was busy jumping on a lily-pad, making the water slosh around gently. His dog, Zelda, seemed to think it was some sort of game, trying to paw at the water against the walls.

Paul rolled back onto his butt, sitting up once more, and chuckled a bit. "Dogs do a lot of things I wouldn't find that comfortable, honestly," he shrugged. "Cats, too, I bet. I've never had a cat, but I know they do weird stuff all the time, too. Aren't cats afraid of cucumbers?" he asked softly. "I can't say much, though, because one of our dogs at home is scared of pickles." PAHAH! "But I think it's the smell of the vinegar that throws him off."

So he was doing the "distract" technique with Azura, it seemed, and so far, he was pleased with the results.

"Wow...I never would have guessed that about Kyroh...he seems so...shy." He commented. Granted, maybe Herbology didn't interest the boy, and so he only seemed shy to Paul. "But I would love a performance! Have you two thought of putting on a talent show or something? You're a prefect now, you could make it happen, Miss Richards."

And maybe...Paul would help organize ahem ahem and play a song because he was AMAZING at banjo you know?

Paul chuckled. "You liked them, eh? I have them in Greenhouse...three, I believe?" he would have to check on that. "You can always go visit them. They're getting so big though...I might have to get some younger ones soon and move them to my greenhouses back home." Where they have more room and whatnot.

"And...yes, you are. I even let OWL students in there...for studying purposes. And younger students, too, with me. What do you want to do in there?" He asked curiously. "No...experiments, right?" Because the paranoia was STRONG.

If Paul had known it was Art, he would have put shoes on.

But alas, he was barefoot when he opened the door. "Oh! Art!" he smiled and felt his cheeks go red slightly. "How lovely it is to see you--er--" he opened the door wider to reveal the inside of the ......lily-padded room. "Come in, then!"

Paul Myers was just...a tiny bit embarrassed.

Kaycee laughed lightly. "He definitely loosens up whenever he's dancing." That seemed a pretty common theme with Ravenclaws. There was angst and there was the thing that let them let go. It was pretty interesting actually.

She considered that. Hmmmm...

"Could we do it in the Great Hall? On the tables? That way you get a good view." AND IT WOULD BE AWESOME! Especially a Professor supported dancing on tables event.

Now was the part where you say 'That is an AMAZING idea', Professor.

Isabella took a step into the professor's meeting space and froze. Giant lily pads. The herbology professor was jumping on a lily pad and there was water and it was splashing. Why was Hogwarts filled with so many strange professors?? She took a step, gingerly, onto the nearest lily pad and put her arms out to her side for balance.

"Professor?" she said, wobbling a little because the sloshing water was making the lily pad a bit unstable. "What are you doing?"

It was good that Professor Myers didn't think she was wasting his time, but then Esme knew that the man was not mean like that. This was why he was one of her favourite Professors as well as the best Head of House. She smiled at him. She liked his company too. "Oh, I did. It was wonderful. Thank you so much for arranging it." Yes, Pearl WAS odd, but there was nothing wrong with that. "I love playing musical instruments. I inherited my mother's gift with them." Though her enjoyment didn't go beyond a past-time; her career would be geared more towards the people though she hadn't yet worked out EXACTLY what she wanted to do for a living.

Oh. Of course. "Does he like swimming in the pond?" Some dogs loved the water though of course a lot of them didn't. She supposed she wouldn't either if she was covered with a thick coat of fur. Obviously that would never happen since she wasn't a Werewolf... "I also wanted to ask you something." Just a fun little idea that she had a little while back. Maybe Professor Myers would be keen. He DID have a whimsical side after all.

Carl had not visited Professor Myers officially this year and he wanted to fix that, because 1. he was his Head of House, 2. he was a cool person and 3. he had heard the office had changed and he wanted to check it out. The only time he came to look for the Professor was last term when the Hufflepuff Study Tables were stuck on the ceiling. At least nothing of the sort had happened ... yet.

Humming a tune, he knocked on the door.

Art didn't even pick up on the blush thing. Nope, but he did pick up on the no shoes thing. He gave Paul a smile and nod, "I-I hope you're not busy?" he asked, coming in anyway and putting the tray down on the ground. He took his shoes off, and then his socks, and put them at the door. He just assumed that there was a no shoes rule in here. He wriggled his toes and looked back up. "What a grand room you have, Paul," he said. "How... how are you?"

Ilia couldn't help but giggle a little at his frog sound. As long as it wasn't too toad like they were good. Ilia still wasn't quite over her fourth year encounter, just good at hiding it. " I thought you might and it might be nice to just have a visit instead of someone wanting something. "

" It was very busy, I spent most of it at Henric's parents. They are really lovely people and I'm a bit better with muggle things now." Of course, that wasn't all of what he was asking. He was the only professor that knew of her situation. ".....she and I had a fight my second night home. She threw me out in the middle of the night...and said I was no longer a child of hers. So, I walked to Henric's and they took me in without a second thought." Yes she was happier with Henric and her freedom...but it still stung a bit.

So he did still have them. Dante just thought they were interesting and okay COOL. So he probably will be visiting them sometime in the future if he remembers. Also he was not surprised Paul had a greenhouse at his house or maybe his house was a green house. Hehe.

"So they go to your own greenhouse when they get too big?"

Cool, he had to ask because well it was a stupid thing to get in trouble over. So he could even have gotten in there last year if he asked. Good to know if it was the beginning of last year. Oh well.

"Just study some of the more dangerous plants. Have people been doing experiments?"

Because why else would he bring that up.

AS ALWAYS, Hugo had to pay a visit to Myers because...just because. And so he headed to the professor's office but to his suprise there was no waiting area. He stood there and looked around, he was pretty sure here was supposed to be flower chairs and magazines but not anymore.

Oh well.

He knocked on the door and waited for Myers to open the door.

Attempt #2 that hopefully won't be eaten by lappy
 

Paul could attest to this, yes, since he had been a Ravenclaw back in school. The angst had been strong. He could remember it. Being a teenager...well. It sucked, there was no way around it, and Paul was SOOOOOO glad that time in his life was so far placed from his current self.

Plus, he had been a dweeb back at school. Not fun.

Great Hall?

oN THE TABLES?

"BRILLIANT IDEA, KAYCEE!" he cried suddenly. He had to admit the girl was growing on him because his former dislike for her was slowly decreasing. "I could even play my BANJO in some NEWGRASS style..." was she familiar with NewGrass? Hmmmmm?

"What does it LOOK like I'm doing, m'dear?!" he called out as he took ONE final bounce and flopped onto the lily-pad. Zelda, exhausted too, crawled onto an empty one and curled up to stare at Isabella curiously.

"What can I do ya' for today, Isabella, my new little badger?" he asked cheerfully. "How do you like school so far?"

Paul was glad that Pearl hadn't been too much for Esme to handle. "And yes you......play piano?" he thought he remembered her telling him this last term...right?

"Oh! This is Zelda--she's a SHE," he said with a chuckle. "My other dog, Charles, was just not happy here.." he sighed. "But ZELDA enjoys it!" he nodded. "And she likes swimming, yes. Very adventurous dog, she is. I'd say she's a total Gryffindor," he snorted.

....an idea.

"Oh?" he asked, and he raised an eyebrow. "Well..go on, Esme."

Paul was getting nothing done. He couldn't concentrate on essays, and he couldn't get any reading done. His head was too full! He decided he needed to...meditate.

And so he was getting ready to when he heard the knock on the door! Oh goody, company! More procrastination from responsibilities! This was great! "Come in!" he called out.

Them oldies had to stuck together. He liked Art. Art was a pal. So he was soooooo happy to see him make the trek down (or up???) here from the dungeons! "I bet it's hard to get fresh air down in the dungeon, eh?" he asked.

"And no no! Not busy at all!" he gestured the man inside and went to plop down on a lily-pad. "I am grand, Art! Just grand, like my room!" he chortled. "Have a seat, my friend!"

"I don't mind helping people EVER....but yes, a visit for the sake of a visit is nice, too, M'dear," he smiled and settled back onto his lily-pad with comfortable ease. They were definitely more comfortable than he would have thought.

Ahh. He sighed and looked down. "I am...sorry to hear that," about getting kicked out. "And I am so sorry your mother is...being that way." This was difficult. He thought the mother...was being ridiculous. But it was not his job or his place to say so. So...he bit his tongue and continued, "But...I am glad to see it has...worked out, for now, even if not in the most desirable of ways, Ilia. Your mother will come around...I'm sure of it," he looked back up, meeting her gaze. "They always do." He knew from experience.

"Eh..well...not always. Sometimes I'll give them to Herbologists who have the room or want them," friends, usually. Milton didn't always like the addition of MORE plants, but alas, sorry Milly.

...ugh.

Paul cringed at the question.

"....Daxton.....Prince." And that was all he needed to say, right? Dante could catch on.

....

......

WAS A TROLL KNOCKING ON HIS DOOR?

Paul THREW it open, about to calmly tell whoever this ENORMOUS person was to take it easy on his door when he realized it was Mr. Song. ".......Jaemin, what is the matter? Are you okay? You look harried, m'boy!"

Paul had had a busy, hectic day and was...a little frazzled when he opened the door to see the Slytherin prefect. "Hugo! Hello there, young man--come right in--don't fall in--"

He smirked to himself.

He what? Harried? What? HE DIDN'T KNOW WHAT THAT MEANT. Jaemin immediately brushed aside his thought about that, however, because it was not important. What was important was the fact that he'd FINALLY gotten THE PROFESSOR to answer his door. It felt like he'd been standing there for YEARS. YEARS, PAUL. He had PLACES to BE.

The small boy held the shoe loosely in one hand and stared up at the professor, blinking a bit more rapidly than normal. "Professor, are there flowers in the greenhouses that are iridescent? Are there any that make glitter? Are there flowers like that?"

Quick, Paul. QUICK. Fast answers. FAST.

He was officially..concerned. Jaemin seemed out of sorts. Actually, he seemed MORE than just out of sorts.

"...As of right now, no, m'boy...I'm very sorry--why?" he asked quickly, wondering what in Merlin's beard was going on! "Just the color-changing roses...not any...iridescent ones or glitter productive ones.." though now he wanted them to exist O___O they sounded BRILLIANT.

Kaycee sported a WIDE grin. YAY! THE PROFESSOR WAS ON BOARD! Which meant it was ALLOWED! She was half tempted to run out and find Kyroh right then. THEY HAD A PERFORMANCE ARRANGED. ON TABLES.

HOW AWESOME WAS THAT?!

She made a mental note to have someone hold her mirror so the boyfriend could watch. He'd be so proud.

"What is NewGrass!?" she squealed. She was still excited. Whoops. Hopefully that didn't sound like yelling.

"It sound like hip hop, right? I need a beat."

Oh nooooooo. NOOOOOOOO. The small boy stared at Professor Myers for a long minute, entire body going entirely still before he gave a rather violent twitch. If there weren't flowers there like that, then this was UNHELPFUL. UNHELPFUL, PAUL. And he was WASTING TIME. HE HAD STUFF TO DO. The boy looked around hurriedly, eyes not focusing on any one thing in particular. Nope. Nope. Noooooope.

Without another word, Jaemin turned and bolted, headed back toward the school.

Paul nodded. "NewGrass has a beat to it. It's related to...eh, hip hop, I'd say," Paul was not too "hip" in his mind, but he tried. And failed, most times. "But yes, tell Mr. Scabior about it and we'll arrange it. It'll be such fun!" he wanted to show off the students' talents as much as possible. He just had suuuuuuch talented ones...

"How long have you been dancing, Kaycee?" he asked softly.

...was he sick?! He was looking around in a very seizure-like way and Paul was extremely concerned. So when the boy took off, Paul shouted after him, "JAEMIN WAIT--" but the boy didn't stop for Paul.

And so Myers TOOK OFF after him, regretting his decision to be barefoot at this time.

Immensely.

Ah that makes more sense. Dante did not think Professors made enough money to get giant personal greenhouses. If they did they would stick around more than one year. Oh will that was interesting. Daxton Prince was experimenting in Paul's greenhouses. Well not like Dante was surprised or anything. The kid was not creepy but well he was different. Dante still liked him though. He did not talk too much.

Dante nodded.

That did explain everything.

"Wow he actually made you angry"

Now Dante wanted to know exactly what he did. But well now did not seem like the best time to ask.

Kaycee nodded slowly. As long as there was a beat, she was sure she could work with it. She had plenty of practice after all. She nodded and made a mental note to go have a chat with Kyroh as soon as this was over.

"I started when I was six. I grew up in Miami, I learned there." she replied. "I actually was home schooled before we moved here so that I could travel and compete." And yes, she was that good.

Actually made Paul angry...PFFFFFT. The Herbologist grumbled to himself before nodding at Dante. "It takes a lot, yes. But it happens. Now don't YOU try it, Mr. Barrington," he said, pointing at Dante accusingly. That was the last thing Paul needed right now. His screechsnaps still weren't behaving right....sigh.

"Is that all you need, Dante?" he asked raising his eyebrow.


Paul nodded, impressed. "And so now...since you go here, you can no longer compete, then?" he asked softly. That sort of seemed...unfortunate? He wondered if that made Kaycee sad at all. "But Miami...wow. That's...the temperature there is very hot, isn't it?" he asked with a smile. Paul Myers had never been to Florida before. He liked warm weather, though, so he was sure he could handle the Miami heat.

"How old are you now?" She was...a fifth year? A sixth? Merlin, his memory was failing him. Old people forgot things sometimes; he was sure Kaycee wouldn't care about his forgetfulness.

Dante did not really want to see Paul angry. So yeah no plans on doing that.

"Don't Worry i don't plan on it." And he guessed that was his queue to leave. Since he was basically said what he wanted to and well he had nothing more to add. "Nope that's it. I'll see you in your class Professor"

Dante got up to leave.

Smiling, Esme nodded slowly. "I'm musically gifted." She wasn't saying that to BRAG; just stating a fact. She was very good with instruments in the same way that her mother was. It would be amazing to have jam sessions with Professor Myers and she hoped that he would take her up on it at some point. If Hogwarts had a band she would have joined it gladly.

OH! It was another dog. A girl dog. Esme laughed. "Was stuff from last term too much for him to deal with?" Animals were supposed to be able to sense paranormal events and there had certainly been a lot of those with a poltergirl - or whatever she was - on the loose last term. "Hopefully Zelda does better with Hogwarts." As in hopefully things didn't go insane this term. Unfortunately they probably WOULD. "Does she go swimming in the lake?" Or was that too dangerous with the Giant Squid?

"I was wondering if we could have a Skittles fountain placed in the common room?" Because... did she REALLY need to give an explanation? It was rather obvious.

Kaycee nodded. "It's fine though. I still have time over breaks." Time that she definitely takes advantage of. "I even got to teach a workshop this past summer." Which was fun. She made Kyroh come to support her.

She laughed and nodded. "Yeah. I miss the heat. Especially when it starts to get cold." And when it stays cold. The cold in general was awful.

... how old was she now? Professors only had to keep track for seven years. It couldn't be that hard. Especially since she sat OWLs last term. "Sixth." Should she ask how old he was next? Or was that rude?

Good. Paul was glad SOMEONE didn't want to see him angry. UNLIKE Mr. Prince, it seemed. Dante was a clever boy, though. He was a Slytherin; he could stay out of trouble. It was one of their traits, right?

"I'll see you around, Dante! Take care, m'boy!" he called out as Dante left.

Paul nodded. "I think so..poor Charles. When we got home for the summer, he was much much happier, you know?" he smiled a little. He KNEW Charles would not have liked this lily-padded room at all. The dog hated swimming and he hated water, which also meant baths were a HUGE NO.

Dogs. Such silly little creatures, but Paul loved them.

"She hasn't had the chance yet, but I think I'll take her out eventually, m'dear." Just to get some of her energy out, too, it would be good. Maybe even Draper would want to join with Merlin...heh.

....a SKITTLES fountain? Lucky for Esme, Paul was familiar with this muggle candy. They were rainbow and beautiful and had little S's on them and tasted like fruity HEAVEN. Paul smiled a little. "Well........I don't see why not. But I'll have to find one...and rent it out...or something......" Or buy it. Hmm. He smirked as he thought. "We'll see. I'll try to make it happen, Miss Darcy!"

"What age did you teach, Miss Richards?" Paul asked curiously. "I imagine teaching dancing is much different than anything I've ever taught, though. Dancing is probably more difficult...Merlin. Good for you!" he smiled.

Paul missed the heat, too. Being able to wear t-shirts and shorts and SANDALS all the time?! Hawaii had just been the best for that reason alone! "I enjoy light snow. I don't...like when the snow gets heavy. So I feel you there, Kaycee." He assumed it didn't snow in Florida.

Sixth. "I asked how OLD you were, not your year, m'dear!" he chortled and shook his head a little. "I don't remember why I was asking, though. So." He had a reason, like, ten seconds ago. But it was gone. Poof. His memory was failing him; he was old.

Oops, forgot Isabella was here...
 

"I think it looks like you're making waves?" she said, heaving a sigh of relief when he stopped bouncing. She would have started getting seasick if there had been waves for much longer. She probably should have asked why he was splashing rather than what...but at this point, she was no longer worried about the splashing.

"My mother said I had to introduce myself to my head of house," Isabella said matter-of-factly. She wasn't one for introducing herself to professors otherwise. Keep your head down, avoid being noticed, that was her preferred method of going to school. "I think she'd be especially keen on me introducing myself if she knew you were the Herbology professor, too, sir. Mother works with plants," Isabella explained.

"It's so wonderful here!" Isabella said excitedly. "Everybody is so nice and classes are more interesting than my old school." Though, to be fair, Isabella hadn't had many friends at her last school, and hadn't really had time to get acclimated. "And I love being in Hufflepuff. It's so easy to get along with everybody."

"They were 9-18 year olds. Youth workshops." Kaycee explained with a nod. "They were separated by experience level." So, it was fun. She got to see all ages and experience levels.

Kaycee nodded. "Yeah. I miss that weather. I guess it's not to not be sweating all the time though." She'd take the sweat over freezing though, truth be told.

Meh. She shrugged. It was close enough. "16 currently. I'll be seventeen in a few months." She then blinked. "Wow. That was rapid memory loss. You should take vitamins."

Here comes the bride, all dressed in...clothes.
 

*sways to the sound of wedding bells*
 

We are gathered here today,
 

Paul chuckled. "Yes yes...I was. My dog seemed to like it--" he nodded at Zelda. "Ahh...your mother is into manners and things, then?" he asked with a flicker of his eyebrow. His mother was never like that, but Milton's parents were the type. He remembered Milton having to introduce himself to all his professors back during University days. Paul thought it was weird; however, it did get Milton's name on their radar. So maybe...it wasn't all that weird, and somewhat smart.

"What is your mother's name, m'dear? I know a lot of people in my field of work..." especially if she was a private greenhouse owner. Ahh. Plant people. All so different, yet....alike in their love for greenery.

He smiled. "The classes here are....extremely interesting, even if a little difficult sometimes. What do you enjoy most so far?" he asked. He did miss having a regular for one reason; it was hard to offer tea and cookies in here. Hmph. "

"You...taught people older than yourself sometimes?" He asked, head tilted slightly. Interesting. He didn't know how he'd feel...though, when he was a professor at University back in his thirties, he taught an old fellow here and there. It still felt very odd, though.

PFFFFT. VITAMINS. "I'll have you KNOW, Miss Richards, that I am perfectly healthy WITHOUT vitamins!" he exclaimed and then glanced at his watch. "I...have a floo call to make to Milton. If you will excuse me---come see me with Kyroh about that performance, m'dear!"



Paul had been waiting...all day for this meeting. All day. He'd even made cookies for the occasion. Raspberry and white chocolate almond cookies. Mhmmm. He heard the first knock and BEAMED as he opened to door to see Rooney.

"HELLLLLLO, m'boy! Welcome! I've been waiting to see you alllllll day! You look spiffy, you know? I always think you have a spiffy style, Rooney..." Paul was chittering away, and it was to remain above suspicion, but in fact it probably gave him away to his guilt.

Ahem.

"Come right in! I'll just--"

THERE WAS BLAISE. Paul looked at them both and then just SIGHED.

"I want BOTH of you in my office-----meeting space----NOW." He was stern enough so that neither of them would argue. "Mr. Bellaire, I am not afraid to use magic."

Isabella looked at the dog. Hmm. She supposed dogs might enjoy the swaying of a lily pad on water, or at least tolerate it better than people. She wasn't a dog, so she couldn't say for sure. She'd take Professor Myers' word for it, though. Isabella shrugged when he asked about her mother. "I think it's more that she wants to make sure I don't get left behind in classes. And to make a good impression, even though I'm not top of my class," Isabella explained. And to be honest, Isabella highly doubted she'd ever be top of her class. She wasn't as good at the book learning as some people in her family.

"Juniper Melo, that's my mother," Isabella said. Oh, she hoped Myers didn't know her mother. That would be embarrassing, he would probably have heard stories about her as a kid or something. "She works at the Ministry now, but when we lived in Peru she ran a greenhouse. Do you know her? I thought she'd have said if she knew one of my professors."

Isabella grinned as Myers asked about her favorite class. "I like charms!" she said eagerly. "It's very practical." She paused, then asked, "Do you have any tips for first years? I think I'm getting used to it here, but I've still got a lot to learn!"

Paul nodded. "Understandable. I hope you're keeping all right, then?" He could always help her in Herbology if she needed it; granted, if her mother did plants then Isabella was probably at least knowledgable about them. "Pffft. Don't worry about being top of your class. That won't matter once you're out of here." It was true!

He couldn't recall a Juniper Melo right now. "I...don't think I know her, especially if she ran a greenhouse in Peru for awhile...yeah. I wouldn't know her." Interesting. Now Paul WANTED to meet her...only because he loved meeting his PEOPLE.

Charm was a good subject, yes. As for tips......."Hmmm. I think All I have to say about that is...don't give up if you fail the first time. Magic...is hard...and if you give up...you'll never know your full potential." Something he wished he could get through to Mr. Bellaire.



Paul eyed them both..and sighed. "I won't really use magic, Merlin, I just want you two to go INSIDE My meeting space--" and like little ducks, Paul pushed gestured them inside.

To the lily-padded room.

Paul took seat on a nearby lily-pad. "Sit or stand, I don't mind either one. But we are going to TALK things out, both of you. I don't want another MEAN exchange of words in my class. Ruins my vibe and the vibe of everyone else--" he sighed again. "Now, Rooney. Why don't you like Mr. Bellaire? And Blaise, why don't you like Mr. Bronwyn?"

Paul...was not a counselor. At all.

Ahem.

Paul was already frustrated. But he stretched out on a lily-pad and stared at the ceiling, kicking off his shoes into the water. "Whoops," he said, but not really caring. They were crocs anyways.

"Nope, both of you have to still just a bit longer, I'm afraid," he said, letting out a sigh. "Blaise, what you say would make anyone dislike another person. Especially if it seems to have no real root to the problem..." he didn't sound mad at all; more curious. "Rooney, please, I know your mother told you that--my mother used to tell me the same thing all the time. But to tell me how you feel about Blaise--or rather, why you dislike, you don't have to be mean. You can be...diplomatic." He continued to stare at the ceiling and closed his eyes. "So tell me, Rooney. Why do you dislike Blaise? I'm curious. I like you both. I don't see anything wrong with either of you."

But he'd get to that in a minute.

Hugo didn't have to wait much and the door opened. He looked inside "Professor, what...happened in here?" it was so COOL though. He jumped on one of the lily pads, "Why you changed your office?" he didn't mind but yeah, this was unusual for a professor's office.

Well, this was normal, considering it was Myers' office.

Isabella nodded vehemently. She did not need help in her classes. Maybe next year, but not yet. "Yes, sir!" she said. "It's a lot of hard work, but I always get it eventually!" She giggled when Professor Myers said that being top of the class didn't matter after school. Someone should tell her parents that. Then, when Myers said he did not in fact know her mother, she let a silent sigh of relief. It would be weird to have her head of house know her mother. Too, too weird.

Magic is hard. Isabella tried not to laugh as Myers made up some tips on the spot. Generic, but still accurate. Especially since Isabella usually did fail the first time when she tried new spells. "Thank you, Professor," she said as seriously as she could. "I will keep trying my best." She would never admit it, but Isabella was glad she'd heeded her mother's advice to visit her professor. He was much less intimidating now that she'd seen him in his natural habitat.

"I should let you get back to making waves for your dog," she said, turning to go. Hopefully he would wait until she was on solid ground if he wanted to bounce on the lily pads again, though. Otherwise she'd probably fall in.

How sad. Esme wondered how much Professor Myers was missing his dog. She herself missed Lucy while she was away at school. "At least he's happy at home. My dog loves being at home too, but she misses me and my sister when we are away. Sometimes I wish that she could come to Hogwarts with us." There WERE special circumstances where other pets could come to the school, but for one thing she didn't think that her mother would let it happen. Dogs needed a lot of attention and it would be hard to give when they had to deal with classes and homework. Of course knowing that didn't make things any easier. At least there was Sparkle, who went with her just about everywhere.

Swimming in the lake sounded like a lot of fun though she had never done it before. "When it's nice and warm maybe we can all swim in the lake!" Sounded pretty fun to Esme, squid aside. She had never been in the water at Hogwarts before and there didn't appear to be any real danger in trying it out. No one had been dragged to their death as far as she knew and if Professors were around things should be extra safe. People had been swimming in the lake for ages and she wanted a part of it at some point.

Anyway Professor Myers was amazing.

"Thank you so much, sir. You really ARE the best!" Imagine there being a Skittle fountain in the common room. It would be absolutely amazing. Even though she wasn't huge on candy in general they were among her favourites because they were fruity and delicious. Juno would be hearing about this later for sure!

It was all so quick!

One minute, he could tell Rooney was legitimately trying to explain why he did not like Blaise. Paul didn't even get a chance to referee, reply, or anything. Because BLAISE BELLAIRE APPARENTLY KISSED CHARLOTTE KETTLEBURN. Merlin, they were young. Paul's love of gossip had this information instantly filed away, but STILL.

THE DRAMA.

He wanted a TV show purely based off of Hogwarts drama happenings. It would never happen, but you know, a man could dream.

He quickly raised his wand and lifted the boy out of the water and onto an empty, large lily-pad. He immediately began a drying spell, sighing. "I am so sorry, Mr. Bellaire. I do think you upset him though..." Paul was not aware that this was Blaise's goal OR that Blaise had won any sort of "battle."

"Are you okay?"

Sigh. He felt just awful for Mr. Bronwyn.

Paul laughed. "I...well it's still back there!" he nodded at the door behind him. "But it's so dull, sitting in an office all day, you know? SOOO I made this area the meeting space with you all. I'll change it up a lot...I already know what I want next in here."

Hehe.

But that would be a surprise.

He flopped back onto a lily-pad and tried to relaaaaaax.



Isabella seemed like such a nice young woman. He just smiled over at her while she spoke. "Anytime, m'dear. I'm so glad you're in Hufflepuff. You're going to make a fine badger," he said with a nod. "And I'm sure that you'll do just fine in school. Tell your mother you visited me, all right? So she can have some peace of mind." And not nag her daughter to pay him a visit anymore!

"All right! Stop by any time, okay? My door's always open! Well not physically but metaphorically, yes of course!" he chortled to himself.



"I think it would just so hard to have a dog while here at school...as a student, you know?" he said with a sigh. "Cats require work, yes, but not like dogs. I feel dogs would get very lonely." Maybe that was why they weren't allowed. "But my Zelda seems fine, so I'm quite happy about that." T h a n k M e r l i n.

Well. Paul didn't know if HE would ever swim in the lake. Sure, he waded in the shallow part to collect different seaweeds and other things for his composts, but...swim. He couldn't imagine it. There were so many THINGS living in the lake..."Maybe I'll take Zelda. Who knows." It was much too cold right now, obviously.

And...now Paul had to find a skittles fountain.

Well.

Okay.

"Just be patient...I promise I'll make it happen before the term is up!"

Professor Myers had a point and it was the same one that her mother had made a few terms ago. Esme had been a sad First Year during her first ride to Hogwarts but she had understood it was for the best; didn't mean that she had to like it. "I thought that special allowances could be made with permission from the Head, I guess that was just a rumor." Too bad but it was what it was. Not like it would have really made a difference since she wasn't allowed Lucy in the first place. Maybe only staff were allowed. At least she could see Professor Myers' dogs. "I would like to meet her!" She seemed like a happy dog which was always nice.

Nod. That was probably for the best. "The Giant Squid hasn't pulled anyone down to their watery deaths, has he?" Maybe a bit melodramatic but Esme wanted to know. She hadn't HEARD anything like that so it probably wasn't true... but it didn't hurt to ask. As far as she knew he could just as easily be the nicest squid in the world.

"I promise that I can be patient! Is there anything I can do to help?" SHE DIDN'T KNOW. It was nice to offer though. Her parents had taught her well.

Eh. Paul could be wrong. "I thought the headmaster...yes..." he shrugged. "Whatever the case-I don't think a dog would enjoy staying in a dorm very much." Unless it was a small dog like a poodle or...something. He checked his watch, though, and GAH he was running late for a cup of tea with Art--Paul stood up and sighed. "I'm afraid I must kick you out--you can meet Zelda another time, I promise!" he smiled.

"And no no, don't worry about it! I'll get it to happen! At some point..." maybe after Christmas break?

Sleeping.

Poncho Paul was SLEEEEEEPING HELLO.

He was all the way in his actual office sleeping, too, and he of COURSE didn't hear the door until...he jerked awake and ran from his office, through the lily-padded room, and threw open the door to see James.

He was bleary-eyed, yawning, and half asleep. "Y-yes?" he asked softly, sure that he had BED BREATH.

It was about TIME. Geez. Some people actually had WORK to do. Unlike Poncho over here, some members on staff actually took their jobs seriously. He waited impatiently, still as he stood behind the closed door. Waiting for all the scrambling on the other side to stop and for the door to finally--

OPEN.

Was that so hard?

.... "You look miserable, Paul," like he had just woken up from the dead. Also, his breath smelled like the dead too.

But anyways, Poncho's unruly appearance was not the purpose of this little visit. This was a crime scene. And James intended on catching the man red handed so he had to get past the hippy in question to enter the office and find the evidence for himself first hand.

With the one goal in mind, James marched right in (sort of pushing Paul in the process as he passed). "AHA, Just as I suspected you--" Wait a minute. There were three things wrong in this scenario.

1. Merlin was nowhere in sight
2. This was exactly not as James suspected
3. "WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?????" With hands thrown in the air, gesturing that the THIS in question meant WHAT THE HECK DID PONCHO DO TO HIS OFFICE???? ... Was Poncho a frog in a formal life because that James wouldn't find hard to believe.

Miserable was not the word Paul would have used. Honestly, he was just TIRED. James had awoken him from such a peaceful sleep...still rubbing his eyes, and he snorted. "It's my meeting space...an office stifles the conversation, James," Paul said as if James should have just KNOWN this, duh.

"Why...in Merlin's beard...are you banging on my door, anyways?! I was c-c-catching on sleeeeeeeeep--" Paul said mid-yawn, stretching his arms above him. "You seem simply jovial today." Ahem.

Who had peed in his cheerios?

Well.

That was certainly something to hear yelled through the door, and it startled Paul quite a bit--and something ELSE startled him as well. He had never taken down the charms from his Greenhouses after the Daxton incident in the very beginning of term--so.........they were going off. And it seemed lots of students had decided to spend their evenings in there--which was odd, to say the least, and Paul had just grabbed his wand to go check on them when he heard KITTY NEEDS THORNS.

Well...

Paul opened the door and squinted down at the girl CRAWLING towards his door. "Kitty--Miss Valentine--get UP--what in Merlin's name is going on?"

*makes this the same TL for my sanity*
 

Paul was still dealing with Kitty, but when he heard the knock, he opened the door and quickly stepped OUT of the lily-padded room because the last thing he needed was a...odd-acting student to fall into the water in his office.

Merlin.

He took Kitty's hand because he didn't know what else to do and raised an eyebrow at Fiyero. "Yes yes, m'boy? What is it? Miss Valentine is behaving VERY oddly and I need to tend to her--and check on my Greenhouses--so make it quick!" he said worriedly.

Thorns. Why did she want thorns?! Paul's eyebrow twitched.

Ransacked dorms?! Rose plant? RUINED? Paul blinked and felt overwhelmed and like he might keel over and died right this minute.

Only...he didn't.

"Fiyero...take Kitty to the Hospital Wing. I'll come meet you in there soon--I have a feeling my GREENHOUSES are being ransacked as we speak--" just a terrible awful feeling like that ;___; "We can talk about getting you a new rose plant later, m'boy, okay?" He smiled nervously, but reassuringly nonetheless, and shuffled off to check on the Greenhouses.

LOL James Draper eating CHEERIOS? Not likely. He'd leave that foolishness to Poncho Paul. If Poncho was a cereal he'd be cheerios. Maybe cornflakes.

.... "........" What? Was he being serious? An office stifles the conversation??? Students knew what they were signing up for, Paul. The very terms 'office visit' implied an office. Honestly, what a fool. "Right." Would it be rude to point out the fact that he was being utterly ridiculous? "And your... Lilpads are meant to do what exactly?" Because James didn't see how they would help in "unstifling" conversation. Case and point. Judgement may have been oozing from his tone. But well, he had held back his tongue for the most part.

"Awfully late in the day for a nap, Paul." To point out the obvious. "But now that you ask, my dog is missing. And I know you know where he is." So there wasn't any point in trying to deny it. The hippy might as well just give in now.

Well, wasn't it obvious? "The lily-pads are supposed to make conversation STIMULATING and interesting. And the students can jump on them while we speak--thus increasing their focus and positive energy." He gave a little bounce on his lily-pad, splashing James' shoes with the water in the process.

Well oops.

"It's never too late OR too early for a nap, James. The concept of time doesn't even really exist, you know? Time is a human-made thing." Did James understand that?

....

"Merlin is missing? Well--now that you mention it--Zelda isn't around..." his heart plummeted into his stomach. "THEY'VE BEEN DOG-NAPPED!" Whatever the ransom, Paul and Milton were willing to pay! Paul shuffled out of his meeting space-----still barefoot------and ran for his garden, because they'd certainly see foot prints out there or around the greenhouses, right?!

No actually, it wasn't obvious. It was ridiculous. James scoffed. The only conversations the lily-pads would stimulate were conversations surrounding the fact that Poncho Paul Myers was in fact, a lunatic. "How..." Stupid? "interesting," was the word he settled on knowing very well that Poncho would find a way to make anything sound like a compliment. As long as the man didn't try to force his hippy dippy ways upon the rest of the staff members, James didn't care what the man chose to sit on. But he did gave a hard glare upon the splashing at his leather shoes.

DO you mind, PAUL?

............................................... The more Poncho said, the more James wanted to walk away. If his eyes didn't manage to roll to the back of his head by the end of this entire conversation, it'd be a miracle.

Aka: No comment.

Dog-napped? What a ridiculous-- But what was so ridiculous about it would have to wait because Paul had already bolted for the door. Seeing no sense in urgency, as dog-napping was A HIGHLY ILLOGICAL explanation for this, James casually sauntered behind choosing to take his time in following the man out of the door.

Where exactly was he going? Not bothering to close the "lily-pad room door' on his way out, James followed the hippy to wherever they were on their way to.

She'd considered loitering around right after class, but had thought better of it, mainly because, well, duh, lunch was being served in the Great Hall. Herbology was clearly hungry work for a second year like her, and she needed her sustenance. She also didn't want to run the risk of no seconds on one of her favourite meals.

But after a good helping (or three) of bangers and mash, she'd doubled back round to Myers' office, er, meeting place-space-thing to ask him about something that had been bugging her. Because clearly, she was missing out on some nugget of information that would make sense of whatever Myers had been wearing and talking about in lessons. She knew others got it, so why didn't she? Surely it wasn't just some elaborate joke at the second year's expense?

She knocked lightly on the door, before shoving her hands in her pockets and rocking lightly on her feet.

Knock knock knock.

Paul had taken off his costume already and donned some sweatpants and a comfortable t-shirt. He was actually in his OFFICE, reading the some second rate newspaper since the Prophet was still.......not back yet. Sigh.

The meeting space separated his office from the door Sam was currently knocking on. If his dog hadn't looked up in the direction of the knock from TWO doors away, Paul wouldn't have heard it! Luckily he did, and so he folded up his paper and made his way from his desk into the next room, the ball pit meeting space room.

He swam through the ball pit and got up on the little "dock" before opening the door, smiling when he saw little Sam. "Hello, Sam! Didn't get enough of me in class today?" he asked, chipper as ever. "Come right in!" and he gestured her inside!

She continued to rock back and forth, hands still in her robes pockets, when the door open. "Hi Professor!" she greeted, a distinct look of relief sweeping across her face when she saw he'd changed outfit. That ma-hoosive hat must have been getting annoying, no?

"I wondered if I could ask y-" she continued as she stepped forward to enter the office, only to cut off short when she saw inside. She hadn't seen anything close to like it before. "Er, Professor...what happened to your floor? It seems to be covered in balls."

For the record, she did nothing! Hands were still very much in her pockets, thank you very much. No pranks going on here.

Paul nodded, waiting for the question. Which, apparently, he'd have to wait longer for. He chuckled. "Oh, I know, m'dear!" And he suddenly fell backwards into the ball pit, then did a backward swim stroke through them. "I can't have a normal office! It's just TOO DULL!" The five year old that was trapped in Paul's body really appreciated the ball pit YAH.

He threw a ball at her, CACKLING as he dipped under a whole bunch of them.

HAHAHAHAHAHA

"Yeh knew?" she replied incredulously. And then she saw the Professor falling backwards, only reacting too slowly to do anything other than wince and start to call out "Profess-!"Seemingly, all was okay though. Apparently this was meant to be the opposite of a dull office, though at the moment, it seemed very much like yet another concept of Myers' she didn't understand.

The Ravenclaw nervously dipped her foot into the ball pit as if she was checking the temperature of the water at a swimming pool. The balls were light, she could gather that much, and she started lowered herself down further when a ball was throw at her. He head whipped round to where she'd last seen Myers on the surface of the balls.

"Oi, dat's no fair, Mister!" she called out, picking up a ball in her left hand as she scoured the pit for a hint of movement. She'd be throwing it at him as soon as his head reappeared.

Patience was the game here...and, at the same time, she miiiight be starting to see quite how awesome a ball pit could be.