BoG Board Room

[Zoe]

"Hogwarts' School for Witchcraft and Wizardy's highest authority, the governing board consisting of 12 elected members of the community, will periodically and when necessary hold meetings and events in a provided room on the school premises."

-Hogwarts School Charter & Founding Documents

It just so happens that the room the BoG has been given used to be a dusty old classroom and practice room for student use. The dust is gone, the desks have been replaced by an elegant hardwood business table, and the governors all have comfortable leather executive chairs now. The long, green chalkboard on one side of the room is all that remains of the historic Classroom Eleven, as the rest of the walls now have classic wood panelling and handsome portraits on them.

OOC: Please don't RP in here unless you are a BoG member or have otherwise been given permission!

[RachieRu]

Vanessa had known a little bit of what had been going on at Hogwarts. Her daughter, Harriet, had been owling her, keeping her informed of things. It was pretty scary, and Vannie had seen a lot during her own seven years at the school. But portals taking students out of the school, for multiple days was pretty frightening, and Vanessa was finally glad that she school had invited the board in. They needed to discuss what was going on, and what they were doing to do about it. Vannie understood that the department of mysteries was also in the school, investigating the portal, but they needed to sort out something to better protect the school. That or she would be pulling Harriet out of the school.

She headed into the board room, and glanced around, noticing that she was the first one present. That was okay, she was sure that her fellow governors wouldn't be long. For now she just took a seat, and waited for the others to join her.

[MunchyBubbles]

Alexandrina Stevens was a little worried about being here, especially with a seemingly dangerous portal on the loose and with a small baby at home, the half veela had been loth to leave.

However seeing her daughter Lily and making sure she was safe motivated the woman and so here she was.

Fancy red soled heels and all.

She smiled and nodded as she saw the other woman in the room and settled herself down into a seat.

Part of her wanted to pull Lily out and bring her home until they were sure the children were safe. Also she was a bit angry that they hadn't been informed about this before.. and that she had to learn about the portal, the missing boys and the lock down from her scared first year..

She tapped her small fingers on the table as she waited for the meeting to get started.

[emjay]

Eloise had been at the school for some time before she made it down to the Board Room for the urgent meeting. She wanted to spend a little time with her son first, making sure he was still alright, as he was her main priority and current concern. It was awful finding out that he was missing for days and, although she was so thankful that he was alright now, she knew there was something terrible going on. Something more than had initially been reported. And now the safety of the students was at stake.

"Good day, ladies," she spoke crisply to the two already present, her heels click-clacking on the floor as she made her way inside. There were still quite a few to be expected today, so she took her seat to wait. Hopefully they were prompt as she was not much in the mood for small talk.

[DuckyLinJi]

That with everything going on at Hogwarts at the moment, Daichi had been nervously thinking whether he should send his own son to Hogwarts or if he should send him to a different one. But who said that the other schools did not have any troubles for themselves? And simply tried to hide it from outsiders.

He was not completely aware of what was going on. He had heard bits and pieces at the Ministry from other parents and the twenty eight year old did hope this meeting would shine more light on the case.

Hogwarts itself seemed like it had not changed since he had been a student. He had resisted the urge to go to the trophy room to see if his Prefect Badge was still there and who his successors had been after that. Instead, he entered the BoG meeting room.

Taking off his coat, Daichi smiled at the other three people already present. "Good day, everyone" he greeted as he walked towards one of the chairs and placed his coat on the arm of it. He then sat down, straightened his dark blue tie and leaned back in the seat with his arms folded over each other.

[TeafortheSoul]

It was a good thing they were finally coming together for a meeting. It was horrible to think that friends of her own children had gone missing, that any children had gone missing - her own daughter was in the hospital wing for exhaustion from the stress and worry caused by the ordeal of seeing someone snatched before her very eyes, and she hadn't even gone missing herself! Celandine was confident, however, that the school leadership, the newly appointed Headmistress and that lovely deputy headmaster, had things in hand, or well on their way to in hand. Cela had three children at Hogwarts, in first, fourth, and fifth year, and while she was concerned, she wasn't thinking to withdraw them. It was Hogwarts. There were all sorts of things that went wrong at Hogwarts, it made them all stronger. As long as no more children were hurt!

Despite having a newborn at home, Celandine arrived in a timely manner. Copernicus was with the baby right now.

"Hello everyone." She greeted, with smiles for Vannie and Alex, but she went to sit next to Eloise, putting her hand on the older woman's shoulder briefly and asking quietly, "How's Henry recovering?"

[Steelsheen]

Corin Vanderbilt always knew Hogwarts is an extraordinary place, even by Wizarding standards. But that was part of its allure wasnt it? However, tears in the fabric of space and time suddenly showing up out of the blue, students getting lost in it, and with possibly one casualty already, well that was tipping the scales towards danger levels that has the newly minted BoG Vice President genuinely worried.

He had heard that Mysteries personnel are present in the school grounds, and he intends to touch base with former co-workers, but first priorities-- which is the welfare of the student body and staff.

....because Merlin knows they've gotten enough howlers to almost permanently leave a dull ringing in his ears.

The silver-haired man pauses for a second by the door, taking stock of who was already there. Looks like most of the new guys are present, which is one very welcome piece of good news. Corin then strode into the Governor's room greeting them cordially despite the prevailing somber mood of the moment "Hello, how is everyone?"

[LilFox06]

Carter, like most of the people here he imagined, was preoccupied with thoughts of his own child. He was pretty sure it was a well known fact that his offspring was close to some of the kids that had been missing, especially that of the Ravenclaw prefect.

He took his usual seat at the table. He was glad that despite all the new face, it was still open. He nodded a greeting toward his fellow Governors, but for the most part, the quidditch player was lost in his thoughts.

[SarcasticStrawberry]

There had truly been some weird and unusual things that had happened in Caroline's years at Hogwarts, the mysterious pirate ship in the lake or the muggles that found their way on the grounds. Nothing as dramatic as being sucked into a portal. Firstly she was thankful that it wasn't one of her children, or one of her nieces.

She could not being to imagine how the three boys parents were feeling right now. She had half a mind to pull her kids out tonight if need be, and take her reminding nieces with her. Hopefully it shouldn't go that far. At least all were safe now, safely returned. Caroline's first thought was run to her children's common room and hug them tight. But right now she need to help the other board of governors to decided on what to do.

Turning to the Board of Governors room just behind Mr. Vanderbit, she nodded to him. Then to the rest of the members, Most like Celandine. like herself were mothers of children that were students here, Vannie, the mother to her daughters close friend, Daichi, who was a few years after her but she still remembered him from her time here. and Alexandrina, "Hello everyone." Eloise got a soft smile. acknowledging that she was there if her or Henry needed anything, Henry was a good friend to her daughter. She found a seat next to Carter. Hi there person from the past. Everyone was here, yes? Excpet for her sister Marilyn, Right?

[Govoni]

Marilyn, who'd been preoccupying herself with Ministry meetings and her recovering daughter, had resolved to keeping one ear to the ground with this entire situation. Since she and Carter had pulled Olivia out of school at the beginning of February, there'd been enough on her plate, rather than worrying about whatever dangerous circumstance was currently taking up residence here. It was Hogwarts. There was always something; a point of fact that rarely troubled her, as the former Slytherin liked to view these unfortunate events as part of the "educational adventure" that was Hogwarts.

Until now, of course.

Learning that Rooney Bronwyn had been among the school's latest victims... had hit a little too close to home. Despite whatever was going on between him and her child, this was a young man she'd truly come to care for over the past four years. He'd stayed the night at her house, ate dinner with them, vacationed on multiple occasions... He was like one of her own. And while she didn't need to concern herself with her own child's safety, as Olivia was, indeed, secure where she was, this newest development was completely unacceptable. Her niece and nephew aside, which Marilyn was sure Caroline had been burdened with, there simply weren't any guarantees with this new threat. Something told her there wouldn't be an easy fix, either.

Hm, having spent the better part of the morning in the Hospital wing with Tazmin, mainly to offer emotional support given her heartbreak over Rooney's quarantined state, in which Healer Reed had been very understanding, the blonde eventually made her way down to the Board meeting room. Files and tea in hand, she surveyed those already gathered with sharp, calculating eyes; nose scrunching up slightly as they landed upon Carter Phillips. It was probably for the best that they were on amicable terms these days. Considering. Also, other noted parties... Celandine and her sister, Caroline. "Afternoon, everyone." Though she was noticeably tense, her greeting held more warmth than her gaze might've.

Carefully settling her things down upon the table, Marilyn took a moment to drape her coat over the back of the chair, before neatly taking her seat. There was much to discuss. Hopefully they'd be getting right into it.

"Have you gotten a chance to speak with Katerina and Phillip?" This was directed at her sister.

[AlwaysSnapesGirl]

It was finally time for a proper meeting about the situation at Hogwarts, and Atticus was just as anxious as everyone else to see it resolved as soon as possible. He might not have any kids of his own at Hogwarts yet, but he was worried about the students regardless. Thank Merlin all students that had gone through that strange portal had returned safely. Physically, at least. Emotionally, they likely weren't out of the woods yet, unfortunately. That would take time.

In that time, hopefully, the portal would be removed somehow, and everyone would stay safe.

"Hello," he offered in greeting to all who were already present before taking his seat as well. Only waiting on a few more, and then they could start, yes?

[WhittyBitty]

There was NO WAY that Rosalyn was about to miss the opportunity to join in on the Board of Governors meeting. Not when it involved her students and a VERY real danger. Now they knew that a monster was involved. A monster who had eaten their caretaker and would have eaten Carlton, Rooney, and Henry if they hadn't managed to escape.

Nope.

She must not think about that or she would want to cry.

Instead she made her way into the board room, glancing around at those who had already assembled. Looked like she was the first staff member to arrive. No matter because she was sure that others would arrive. Definitely Gaston, and Paul was Deputy Headmaster, so it would be shocking if he didn't show.

"Hello," she said with a nod in greeting before taking a seat. Normally she would have smiled, but this was a serious occasion.

[MadMadamMalfoy]

Gaston nervously fidgeted with the bracelets on his arm as he walked into the board room. He felt very out of place here, but there was no way he could stay away, not if there was even a ghost of a chance that his presence could help protect his students. Merlin knows he hadn't been doing a good job of that recently!

The charms professor was looking a little worse for wear today. He was a little paler than usual, and there were dark circles under his eyes. The darkness of his clothes matched his current mood. How had this happened? No, how had he let this happen? He should've figured out what was behind these disappearances sooner than he did (he'd had a hunch but didn't want to cause panic)! He should've gone in after the boys...

"Hello, everyone," Gaston mumbled quietly. He offered a polite nod as a greeting but kept his eyes down. He couldn't even bring himself to look these people in the eye! Many of them were the parents of students, and he felt he owed every one of them an apology for not protecting their children.

He took a seat beside Rosalyn. He tried to smile as he looked at her but he couldn't; instead he settled for giving her hand a comforting squeeze under the table. A million thoughts, each worse than the last, ran though his mind as he waited for the meeting to start. What if this happened again? What if the next victim wasn't lucky enough to escape? What if...? His heart dropped as he glanced back at Rose. What if it was her? Get a hold of yourself, Gaston! he told himself sternly, trying to block out the thought. If he didn't, he might start crying in front of all these people, and that would never do!

[FearlessLeader19]

Kay had walked rather briskly to the Board's room. She hoped she wasn't running late. Marshmallow hadn't been keeping so well so she was tending to her. Thankfully the crup had fallen asleep so she was able to make herself presentable and then show up for the rather important members.

"Good day, everyone,'' the woman said politely. Many of the board members were already there but only a few staffers inclusive of Rose. Kay made her way to her friend, opting to take the free seat beside her. "Hi, Rose,'' she said quietly.

Now they needed the others. Surely Regina and Paul would be there soon.

[emjay]

Not long after she sat down did Eloise look up as she felt a hand on her shoulder, and she gave Celandine a soft smile. How kind of her to ask after her Henry. She knew that he was quite close with her daughter and she appreciated the concern. "He seems to be doing fine physically." No serious injuries from what she saw or was told. "I think it was fairly traumatic for him though. But I have faith that he'll make a full recovery." Even if she didn't completely know what happened to him while he was lost inside that portal, anyone might expect some sort of distress for being lost for five days, not to mention the things the boys saw. But she would see to it that he received the proper treatment.

Because her son was one of the students who were missing, she thought the rest of the board members might be surprised to hear what she had to say. Eloise was not pleased about a few things and had her share of questions and concerns, but she was not planning on pulling Henry from school. At least not completely. But she was eager to get this meeting started. She returned the smile to Caroline and watched as more and more people came in. Nearly the entire board was here, along with a few of the school faculty, it seemed.

She looked towards Corin. "Might we get started?" No, she was not in charge, but they had enough time to have gotten there that this seemed to be it. They certainly didn't need to sit around all day waiting to see who else might come. Anyone stragglers could catch up. And she wasn't here for the small talk, otherwise she would have invited them all to tea. They had more pressing matters to talk about.

[Zoe]

Walking from her office down to the board room, in spite of it only being one floor below where she had came, seemed to have taken longer than it usually did. Needless to say, Regina was not looking necessarily looking forward to this particular meeting. Given the recent events that had happened, she had a good hunch about what this meeting was going to be about. She too had been the recipient of a number of owls.

The headmistress then finally entered the room, unsurprised by the amount of Board members in the room. She was, however, surprised by the lack of staff members sitting beside them. Without saying a word, keeping her face neutral, the woman found herself a seat next to her colleagues, just in time to hear one of the Board members ask another if it was time for them to get started. Her administrative instincts kicked in for a moment, but she managed to stay quiet as this was their party.

Folding her hands on the table, Regina gave Rosalyn, Gaston, and Kaysha a look before glancing at each of the Board members present. Brace yourselves.

[Steelsheen]

Well theres a lot of greetings, but barely anyone answered his question. Perhaps the lack of response is indicative of their mood eh? He knows how that goes....

He gave a smile and a cordial "Hello, please join us." to the Faculty members that entered the Boardroom. Several looked rather somber, not surprising given how events have shaped the school year. Duly noted by the former British Mysteries Dept Head.

He glanced at the brunette who spoke to him. Eloise Whittebrook, clearly his sympathies was with her. He'd be the opposite of cool if something like this had happened to Vickers. "Well, I was hoping theres a few more that would join--"

Oh theres one of them now. He stood as the head of the school walked into the room "Headmistress Hawthorne, so pleased you can join us."

He shot a quick glance at the door as the Headmistress settled in her seat. Seems like Prez Cassandra or Deputy Paul are held up, but there are plenty gathered here and many were feeling idle. They could catch up right? Of course they could.

"Lets call this meeting to order...." the Vice President spoke as he addressed everyone seated at the table. "The situation with the Portal has gotten us some..... impassioned conversations with the family and friends of some students affected by this phenomenon, some of which are seated around this table." Trying to be diplomatic with the feedback of course. The extent of the horrors that comes from howlers and personal visits doesnt really need to get dragged out here. "It goes without saying the Board is highly concerned with the status of this aberration. Can you give us an update as to what is being done with this?

Also if anyone of would like to bring some concerns out in the open, feel free to do so now."

[MunchyBubbles]

Alex nodded her blonde head and smile at her fellow Board of Governors members walked in. She was trying to breathe and keep herself calm especially as a mother of one of the formerly missing boys walked in. She felt for her, she wouldn't know what to do if something had happened to Lily. She only hoped that her son would be all right.

Her grey eyes took note of the members of staff that walked in and then whom she assumed the Headmistress was walked in..

Finally the meeting started and the blonde waited until it was time to speak before she nodded at the Vice President.. Yes she had some concerns but at the moment she wanted to hear what everyone else had to say.. Lest she propose to pull the children out of school until this Portal situation was taken care of.

Curfews and being escorted everywhere didn't sound fun for anyone... So perhaps that would be a better option and less dangerous?

She held her tongue though.. and waited.

Though that didn't stop the annoyed drum of her fingers on the desk.

[MuggleDinosaur]

After sorting some things out in her classroom Caroleena nearly forgot that she had to be at the meeting with the Board of Governors. The blonde woman made her way from the Astronomy tower down to the board room.

This was going to be an interesting meeting. Maybe she should take notes and see what it is they as the Hogwarts staff could do for the governors. Who knows. She wasn't sure how this meeting was going to go in the first place. Caroleena walked into the room. "If I'm late, I'm terribly sorry, I was getting some things ready for my lesson." she spoke with a small smile. Caroleena sat near her fellow colleagues. She wasn't sure if they had started yet or not but a general apology would be best for what was happening right now.

[LilFox06]

Carter nodded in greeting to his the sisters. It was always... interesting to run into those two. Of course, he didn't mind the powerhouses in a place like this. Strong minded people were needed to supervise a school, especially one that their children attended.

He narrowed his eyes slightly at the two professors that were sitting extremely close to each other. No doubt there were reassuring hand squeezes under the table. Not exactly appropriate given the setting, but he chose not to respond.

He waited through Corin's introduction and shot his glance back over to the newly appointed Headmistress. Yes. Please. Tell us what you've been doing. He, like many others, had many concerns, but he'd wait until after the Headmistress had the chance to explain herself first.

He then glanced as another professor entered the room, but it was just a quick side glance, disapproving of the interruption, before his attention was back on the Headmistress.

[Zoe]

She had to admit it: these Board members did not waste any time getting to the bare bones of why they were there. That was something that Regina appreciated. Though, the fact that they had summoned them all here because of an influx of owls and howlers seemed a bit unnecessary. The woman was positive that stranger things had happened there before. Even whispers of some of the school's more dangerous occurrences had managed to travel across the pond in the past.

Her thoughts quickly went elsewhere, however, when it was stated that they were concerned with what was going on. All eyes had turned on her. The headmistress's face still remained neutral, deadpan. She was choosing her words very carefully in addition to mentally preparing for the responses of the agitated parents and relatives of students currently in the school. She could only imagine what the finger-drummer had to say...

Not standing up to maintain an equal position with everyone sitting, Regina made sure to look at each individual Board member present while she spoke. "I understand that many of you, in addition to countless parents and guardians, are greatly concerned about what is currently going on here at Hogwarts. While the situation has been and continues to be unpredictable, it is important to understand that numerous measures have been taken for the safety of our students. The occurrences that have happened have not been taken lightly.

"After several students first returned from the other side of the portal in November, all students, with the exception of prefects, were forbidden from going anywhere near the portal as a safety precaution. A number of students described the world on the other side, mentioned seeing the presumed remains of our caretaker, and expressed the belief that a monster resided in that world. Since then, the prefects and my fellow colleagues had been patrolling the area to keep tabs on the portal and make sure no one foolishly went through it again."

Pausing for a moment, the woman remembered very well how unwise that handful of students had been. As for the other encounters, well... "Our efforts seemed to be working until smaller portals started appearing at random. Two students, Junia Botros and Henrietta Kramer, were first taken when the students returned from holiday. The girls were in the alternate world for nearly a day and fortunately came back to us without being harmed. Rosalyn and Kaysha were present at the portal when the girls returned.

"The next group of students to be taken, just recently, were Rooney Bronwyn, Carlton Lewis, and Henry Whittebrook. The very moment I was notified of their disappearance, the school was put under lockdown. Students were taken to their common rooms, where they remained under the supervision of their prefects and Head of House until the next day. New school rules were soon implemented -- prefects and professors escorted students to and from classes; the school curfew was changed to 6 PM; and all students needed to stay in their respective dormitories post-curfew. When the boys did not return as soon as we had expected, I contacted the head of the Department of Mysteries. When several Ministry employees arrived, so did the three missing boys, who were taken to the hospital's quarantine. Since then the Ministry has taken samples, extracted memories, and the like to analyze while we here at Hogwarts have continued our efforts to keep everyone safe."

With all that said, Regina sat back in her chair, her folded hands now resting on her lap, and waited.

[MunchyBubbles]

The finger tapping stopped as the headmistress spoke and Alex kept her grey eyes focused on her.. Carefully taking in her every word before she locked her jaw and took a breath.

Breathe Alex, just breathe. She thought to herself as she started to count to ten in her head.. But the blonde woman had just had a baby, and she might have been still a little hormonal from that..coupled with the news she had just heard.. the half veela was just about to lose it.

She raised her hand a bit, getting people's attention as she started to speak.. she didn't stand.. She didn't want to draw too much attention to herself.

"Do you mean to say, that this Portal has been in this school since November, has sucked up five children and has had more kids inside of it.. and we are just finding out about all of this now? " The blonde's voice was crisp..

"Also, you say the kids may have found bones of the caretaker, whom I'm assuming is missing? Am I right? " Her grey eyes didn't leave the Headmistress.. "And yet this school is still open? Do you really think curfews and going in groups is really going to protect the students?" She asked as she swung her leg down from here it was resting in the other, both of her expensive heels were now resting on the floor. "Especially if, as you say..the portals open at random now."

"Hogwarts is a superlative institution there is no denying this, but when it comes to the safety of our children, I think it should be closed down until this portal situation has been dealt with!"

She took a breath "And perhaps next time, you should inform us sooner so I don't have to hear about a scary Portal from my terrified eleven year old who wrote to me saying she was afraid that a portal with an evil monster in it was going to get her while she slept! "

Alex leaned back in her chair but the anger in her voice was clear. "Does that sound like my daughter feels safe to you Headmistress?" The question ended in a bit of a snap as Alex leaned back in her chair..

[RachieRu]

Vanessa had told herself that she was going to take this all with an open mind. As members of the board they should have all been pretty knowledge about the school's past, and thus should have been aware of all the previous events that had happened at the school. Things had been a lot worse and the school had not closed, and that was the stance that Vanessa was going to take. The school had to at least try to sort things out before involving outside forces. If it hadn't been such a worrying situation and everyone had been involved, it could have looked very embarrassing for the school.

She raised an eyebrow at Alex's comments. "Alex do I need to remind you that many situations similar, and worse than this have taken place at the school and it has still remained open" She pointed out, her gaze glancing to Cela. She could remember a lot of what had gone on, even if some of the worse events had happened after she had graduated. She had also had two of her children just attend and graduate the school. Whilst she was concerned, she also knew that the school would be doing everything that could do protect the students. She also believed that if parents were that worried the simple option was to just pull their child out of the school.

"Whilst I protecting the children is of upmost importance, I do not think closing the school at this point is the way to go forward" Because she believed that would just provide more fear among the wizarding community. "Rather than placing blame, or being angry, we need to do our jobs and come up with a strategy to protect the students, and help with the finding the cause of this problem"

And lastly, Vanessa turned to look at Regina. "And Headmistress. I thank you for everything you have done so far in trying to protect the students"

[TeafortheSoul]

Celandine would see if Eloise would like to have tea with her after, they could discuss poor Henry a little more then. But for now, the former Ravenclaw was listening as people began to speak up, as the headmistress addressed them.

"I believe in Hogwarts too, and I have faith in you, and your staff, Headmistress." Celandine said, taking her turn. "I wouldn't have three children attending the school if I didn't. I appreciate the measures that have been taken but I think it would empower the children more, and make them feel less helpless, if there were some more practical solutions put in place. Emergency procedures. There's plenty of spells that could potentially help them if they were confronted with one of these sudden portals isn't there? To stick themselves or tie themselves down, or to send up a caterwaul or alert to let others know of the risk. At the very least it would make them feel like something is being done, and make them feel less powerless after all. Could there perhaps be a seminar organized for the children, an assembly of some sort, where they can be taught what to do if they find themselves in the situation my daughter found herself in, with her friend," She nodded at Eloise and gave her a commiserating smile, "being sucked into a portal right before her eyes?"

Cela wasn't one to just complain. She'd much rather offer up practical solutions, along with her support, just as Vannie had just said. Not that she didn't understand Alex's concerns, but truly, was anyone here surprised that something like this might happen? The specifics couldn't have been predicted of course, but there was always something, and this wasn't even as bad as things that she remembered from her own time here.

"We need to empower the children. Teach them what to do in an emergency." In addition to the curfew, that was.

[WhittyBitty]

Almost immediately after taking a seat, Rosalyn was joined by Gaston and then Kaysha. Both got small smiles, though Gaston also got a small hand squeeze. Not much though, as this was a very serious matter and a time for them to focus entirely on the matter at hand.

Regina arrived soon after, and it was time for them to get down to business. Honestly she was going to remain silent on the matter unless there was something that needed to be said; this was the Board of Governor's party after all. Her attention was momentarily diverted by the arrival of Caroleena, but she didn't give much mind to it as there were more pressing matters to be dealt with. Her focus was entirely on what they would do about the portal business.