So, there was a lot of people Hadley Denaker had to apologize to for her behavior last year. It was something her therapist had suggested, but also something she wanted to do; something she was fully committed to doing too.

There was just one problem.

Everyone bloody left! Ichihara, Drapes, Primeaux, Kitridge. Everyone, except for Myers. At least she could make amends with him. Although he had been the one she was least worried about. Maybe she could write the others apology letters?

Hadley shrugged and rapped on the door. She glanced around and realized there was nowhere to sit while she waited for Myers. Maybe his old waiting area needed a waiting area?

To say that Paul Myers was hard at work in his actual office would be a lie; he was more....hardly working in the meeting space. And by hardly working, we mean he was napping.

Paul Myers was napping on a few of the bean bag chairs.

The temperature in the little room was just cool enough to be comfortable without feeling cold. And so...sleeping had happened. It was only once someone knocked on the door that he sat up, his white hair fluffed about.

"ER--COME IN!"

Hadley opened the door a peeked in. This wasn't at all what she expected. She expected a jungle or something, filled with plants both exotic and mundane. Not that she was complaining. Bean bags were great, and super comfy. She slipped into the room and shut the door behind her before taking a running leap at one of the bean bags.

POOF! She landed in the bag perfectly center, and comfortable. "I like what you did with the place." There was an awkward pause for a long minute as Hadley struggled to bring up the reason she was here. "I did Herbology tutoring over the summer," she said instead. "And Quidditch, and a play. Um, did you have a nice summer?"

Rooney was so intrigued by the note he'd received at the feast that it had completely slipped his mind that it was tomorrow and he should go and see Professor Myers. With his hair slicked back and coloured black, Rooney had dressed himself as Gaston, the character and not their new Professor. Dedication was his game.

"Professssor Myerrrrrs. Oh Professssooooorrrrr" COME SEE COME SEE.

As if they weren't going to coordinate ...

Olivia had taken great care in preparing for this little meeting today. Yes, she could've easily thrown on whatever was available, popping up to see Professor Myers in her everyday clothes, but ... Well, today was special. For loads of reasons, but that was for her to know and for yooooou to figure out.



Ah, and Rooston had already arrived. Giving him twirl, she curtsied low. "Lovely to see you, Rooston."

Oh, Professor ... They'd arrived. Knock, knock!

With a smirk as he was joined, Rooney gave Liv a little hip bump. Planning wasn't even needed and they were on the same wavelength. Now that, was the definition of best friends. He took a good look at her outfit and nodded his approval. "Looookin' good, Belle." Like the most beautiful girl in town. That made her the best, and didn't he deserve the best?

Rooney laughed lightly just in awe of their coordination and showed her the note he'd received. "You get one too?"

Digging into a basket carefully placed in the crook of her arm, because ahem Belle had one like it, she produced her own note; winking. "Professor Myers glitterbombed me during the Welcome Feast."

Olivia was such a fan of this man.

Also, there never needed to be a reason to dress up, and given the content of their notes ... Ha! Liv just knew Rooney. She'd predicted full costume.

He laughed as he got comfy once more, and Haddie was LEAPING into the bean bags. "I change it up every few months, m'dear. To make it more stimulating for conversation. Offices are dull." He nodded over to the door of his office. It was where he did his grading for the most part, and reading, unless he needed THIS place for that.

"Herbology tutoring? And how did that go?" he asked gently. "Was it enlightening? Think you'll be good in my lessons this term?" And she had more! "Which play? Did you enjoy flying?" Because Paul did not. He enjoyed plays. Not flying. NO no! "And I had a lovely summer. Very relaxing." As usual.



As expected, Paul heard a set of knocks, which of course, he knew were Rooney and Olivia. It had to be! He had been EXPECTING the pair.

Opening the door to the bean-bagged room within, Paul grinned mischievously at the two. "Why, hello...come in, BELLE. Gaston. I wasn't expecting to be graced with CELEBRITY presence today..." he teased, bowing at Liv, mostly. "Come right in."

Rooney grinned, gave his note a shake and let the glitter rain down again. Fabtastic! He was always going to thoroughly enjoy anything that got messy or resembled a fairytale land. Like glitter. Or even Liv in anything. She made a wonderful Belle, actually. She was sweet and warm and kind and gave the best hugs and it wouldn't surprise Rooney if he found her reading to animals at one point in her day. However, all of those wonderful things did not overtake his own character and Rooston made a push past Myers AND Bell(iv)e to go in first.

What? He had said 'come RIGHT in'. Right was immediate.

And it was well in his rights to come and go as and when he pleased. #ROOSTON

Deciding to milk the scene, as theatre brats will do, Liv allowed her wicker basket to fall to the ground, the small book within flying out and falling into the dirt. Pulling a face as Rooston made himself comfortable in the room beyond, she bent at the waist to retrieve her beloved book; dusting off its cover with her hands. Add a touch of dramatic eyerolling, as well as an exaggeratedly annoyed sigh, and Belliv proceeded inside the office.

Fixing her skirts, she fluffed them out, carefully taking a seat.

/end scene.

"Professor." Belliv smiled warmly.

Well, Rooney was always eager. He chuckled when the prefect pushed his way inside, shortly followed by Olivia. He himself flopped on a beanbag pillow thing and relaxed.

"So, as I'm sure you HEARD....the new charms professor is named GASTON." Obviously; they were both in Beauty and the Beast garb. "SOOOOO....I just thought...it'd be...amusing....if......" he cleared his throat, trying to keep a straight face. "Serenade him in the hallways sometimes. All the time, whatever you want. With...that song--" the Gaston song. Paul didn't know it. He had only recently been introduced to muggle Disney films. "Now, if he looks too annoyed, you should drop it--but otherwise, I think it's funny." Funny as HECK. "I don't believe the man capable of being mad at you two, though." Gaston seemed like a gentle soul.

'Oh, and do try not to serenade him in class. He probably wouldn't like that."

Finally comfortable and seated, Rooney turned his attention to the company he was keeping and found if much too hard not to look as smug as possible. It was all in his character, honest! And he couldn't wear a costume without being true to his homage. "No one serenades like Rooston, Sir." He couldn't quite call himself Gaston now that there was actually someone involved with the actual name. And Rooney was actually unsure whether he'd even be able to serenade or ask him story related questions without telling him outright how COOL he thought his name was.

GASTON. So macho. So full of life. It literally was the perfect name. (Bar his own, of course)

As Myers went on, Rooston found himself glancing to his partner-in-crime lady love, Belliv and hoping that she was thinking the exact same as he was. That they just HAD to do some serenading in class.

... But was it truly all in character, Rooston? Hmm? Belliv, who had taken to playing with the ends of her long braid, found herself surveying Rooston and Professor Myers both. It was an odd thing, getting into character. To properly explain the phenomenon, it was similar to adopting several personalities, and none of them being anything like your own. So, because Belle was a more studious, contemplative, thoughtful individual, Liv herself had also momentarily taken on these traits. Oh snap, a thought! Perhaps she could use this technique for studying purposes...

Continuing to play with the ends of her hair, Belliv's expression could only be described as "playfully mischievous". As if they weren't going to perform a perfectly choreographed musical number in the middle of class. Apologies, Professor Myers. This was what they DID. IT WAS SIMPLY WHO THEY WERE! "Of course not, Professor." Ahem, he was the one encouraging this.

AND SHE'D DEFINITELY BRING CHIP ALONG TO CHARMS. Just to further inspire the facade!

"You do?" She asked, looking around. "What was it last time?" What will it be next time? Did he know yet? Honestly, he should keep the bean bag chairs. They were great.

"It went well! Eden's a great tutor..." It was just the subject material, y'know? Not exactly interesting to her. "I met with her ever tuesday over the summer." As for whether or not she'd be any good in his lessons... "We shall see." And then the conversation switched the rest of her summer, and Hadley's face light up dramatically. "Wizard of Oz. I was understudying the Wicked Witch, but then the girl that got the role broke her leg while riding her bike and so I got to play the Witch!" If only the audience actually knew, right? "It was a lot of fun, but not as much as flying is." She loved being on a broom. It was the best feeling in the world. "I got my first broom this summer. Her name is Langley."

Oh good he had a nice summer too. "What did you do during your summer? Did you go anywhere?"

It was probably time to get to the point though. Hads fell back into the awkward silence for a long minute. "Um, anyway, I'm here to apologize."

Paul clapped his hands together appreciatively. "WELLLLL now you both know your missions!" he winked. "I think you know what to do. You can go on your way. Top secret stuff, though. I wouldn't want you sharing the plan...with anyone..."

Ahem.

Paul was heavily resisting the urge to chortle away.

Last term....Paul had to think. "I know I had lily-pads at one point, floating on water...um...AND a ball pit." Which had been his favorite to boot. And the students really seemed to like that one, too.

He did not know who this EDEN was but she sounded vaguely familiar..."Oh? Is she..is this person a good tutor? I'll see if reflects on your performance in my classes any. I'm sure it will, even slightly, though, if I'm honest." He shrugged. "Did you...happen to be the REASON she broke her leg while riding a bike?" he asked with a wink. He didn't think Haddie could REALLY do that, she was much too good hearted. He was teasing.

"Milton and I didn't do anything, really. I toured with my band a little bit...but other than that, a pretty quiet summer for me." As opposed to the summer before when he and Milton had gone to HAWAII! What a difference.

At her words, Paul's blue-grey eyes met hers with confusion. "Apologize? What for, m'dear?"

Lily pads? Hadley glanced around trying to picture it. Huh. The ball pit, though, she was disappointed she'd missed that one. Maybe he could bring it back one day, sort of a greatest hits, or something. And then tell Hads it was there so she could have fun.

Everyone loves a ball pit right?

"Yeah," Hadley nodded. "She was good. Tried to make it more interesting than...um, nevermind." Somehow, reminding a Professor that his subject was boring didn't seem like a good idea at the moment. So, yeah, nevermind.

Hadley Denaker gave Myers the flattest stare she could muster, and held it for an obscenely long time. "No! Of course I wasn't the reason she broke her leg." And she quite objected to the insinuation, thank you very much! Hmmph!

"Oh." A quiet summer was good too. Yeah. She nodded to that.

"Um..." Hadley scratched her head and refused to meet Myer's eyes. There was a spot on the ground, a small mark really, that became instantly fascinating. It kinda looked like a dove in a nose-dive. Huh. "For my behavior last year. And yelling at you about giving me fake mandrake leaves."

The badger teenager ran as fast as he could to Professor Myer's office. He had things to tell him because he hadn't told him yet. HE HAD TO KEEP HIS FAVORITE ADULT PROFESSOR PERSON THE NEWS. GOOD AND BADbut mostly the good because he was all happy and more like himself unlike last term. Professor Paul could have told him that girls were just horrible and dramatic well except Miranda, Kat, Juliette and Tim because the last three warned him and he continued to not listen.

The third year made his way into the seating area and took a seat. Brady was just really happy and bouncy right now but he had to sit there and wait. He was considering barging into his office but he didn't want to lose his house points because of this.

He raised an eyebrow. MORE INTERESTING, EH? "You don't find my classes interesting, Miss Denaker?" he asked, thinking of the lesson last year with the shrinking potion and the giant roses?! Hmph.

Oooohhhhh. "Well. It was to be expected," he said simply with a small shrug. "I did trick you, I imagined that you would be a big angry with me. But it was for your own good, m'dear," he said. "No harm done, no foul," he smiled. "Okay?"

Because he really wasn't mad at all. And she certainly still shouldn't feel bad about it.

Paul was in his little bean-bag chair area reading a muggle newspaper, something in Italian, which, for the record, Paul didn't know, but he could get BY with it.

And in came a student.

And in SAT a student.

Paul blinked. "Hello, Brady.....how can I help you today, m'boy?"

Bradson jumped out of his seat and on to the floor when he heard Professor Paul's voice. "Holy moly!" The Scottish boy said. "I didn't see you there Professor Paul!" Was he still allowed to call him Professor Paul? Was that still a thing?

The third year got back up and sat back in his seat. The badger looked over at Paul. "Question one, is it okay if I call you Professor Paul?" He's been doing that since his first year but he had never really asked him if it was okay to do but he was never given a point reduction because of it.

He was going to tell him his good news but maybe he should start from the beginning...a.k.a the day before his birthday. The day that actually ruined his birthday really.

Paul cackled, slightly. "I know." He sat up straighter, but still basically lounging on the pillow. He was very curious to know why Brady was here. Brady didn't come to his office just to discuss any old thing, and he rarely came to discuss lessons.

Brady always came with some sort of dramatic news. Paul adored the visits because it felt like Brady was filling Paul in on stuff, and Paul did love being in the know. "Yes, of course you can call me Professor Paul, m'boy, people have been doing it for years!" And he hadn't said anything as of yet! And he didn't much mind, either. Professor Myers, Professor Paul...Paul...whatever floated their boat, really.

He raised an eyebrow at the boy, though. "Did you rush all the way here to ask me that?"

Bradson shook his head. "Not really but that question did just pop into my head. I mean I don't really have any other questions for you but I have some things to catch you up on." The bad first before the good. He wasn't going to get with the bad because that was just the wrong thing to do.

He knew that he wouldn't have minded him call him Professor Paul. He was just laid back and really cool like that. Brady shrugged at him and smiled.

The third year looked at the older man. "So you remember how I told you I had a crush on Azura?" The Scottish boy was pretty sure everyone knew how he felt about Azura for the last six months or so.

Paul merely nodded. He liked being caught up on things, yes. "I do remember you mentioning it, yes..." he smiled. Young love.

So innocent. SO beautiful.

"And?" he asked, gesturing for more. The child was creating such INTENSE ANTICIPATION from Paul...MERLIN. "Go on!"