A Disappointment for the Next Year

[Professor Kalif Styx]

It was not often that the tall figure of Professor Kalif Styx had come to the staff table. He took a seat next to Professor Effie Snow who was also beside of Professor Spenser. Three of the Heads of Houses had joined at the staff table. Kalif took a goblet of water and took a little sip of it. He had just finished conducting the sixth years class, and for the fourth years, he was disappointed. His onyx eyes glanced over at Effie, the small figure. Technically, she was his sister-in-law. That was something that he preferred to not remember that. Kalif said nothing, but he did nothing else but stare over the students having lunch at this period. He was not disappointed in the Slytherins has they had straightened up since he became in charge. They were in the lead of the house cup, but he could not careless. He folded his arms across his chest, and he wondered just what he was going to do about the next role models for the following year.

 

[Jonathan Spenser]

Jonathan had had a relaxing morning as he only had classes in the afternoon today. It was what he needed before he had first years in the afternoon. It was always a way to ruin his day when he had a large amount of pre-adolescent children hyped up after lunch, luckily he had a trip planned for them today so he could roam off on his own for a few hours while he let them explore. Sipping on his pumpkin juice he read the afternoon edition of the Daily Prophet. As per usual there wasn’t much interesting the paper to keep his interest but he always found it good practice to keep up to date with the news of the World outside of the walls of Hogwarts New Zealand; truth be told he was looking forward to his trip today where he could sit in the quaint cafe and read the muggle edition of the newspaper. Growing tired of the news of the upcoming elections he closed his paper with a small sigh, maybe before lunch was over he could go up and see Savannah, the school year was quickly coming to an end and had a number of things to think about.

 

[Effie Kingston]

'Oh wow this is awkward.' Effie eyed the two men sitting on either side of her and bite her lip shyly, compared to her they were both practically enormous scary part-giants or something. Although she knew better then to think that these men were probably going to harm her or anything she still couldn't help but think of these two men being very capable of it if they so desired. After a moment or so of silence Effie set down her half eaten piece of toast and allowed her different colored eyes to glance at each of the men before she decided to strike up a conversation with the two men to lighten the tension. "So to end this awkward tension, how are the both you?" Effie asked gently before she decided to take another bite of her toast. Usually Effie was not a morning person and this morning was no different but she didn't like the tension. Why had she bothered to sit here today? Her golden colored hair fell away from her face as she turned to look around her, soon she would need to get off to get on with another class and some grading that seriously needed to get done.

 

[Professor Kalif Styx]

Kalif turned his cold, onyx eyes that were glaring at the students to stare at Effie. As a Death Eater, he would have been more than happy to dismember someone, but he was working undercover, and as far as he knew, the only professor that knew of his status other than Professor Black was his own half-brother Professor Zhefarovich. The Dark Mark rested under a charm to make sure that if his sleeve came up, no one would see a thing. It was smart, but the spell wore off night after night. Effie said something about an awkward tension, and he raised an eyebrow. What awkward tension? As far as he knew, he was not enemies with the Ravenclaw Head of House or her. He more or less kept to himself. Kalif intoned in his cold, monotone voice, "I don't recall this being awkward or the feeling of a tension in the air, however, I am merely irritated." It was rather obvious what he was irritated with. But his mood was better now than it was before. Before, there was so much trouble when he wasn't Head, it caused him to make his own classes stricter. Now, he was just aggravated that he had another child on the way, Kaleb was not caring about classes, and the Slytherins as a whole... Kalif vaguely wondered if they were having the same problem as he.

 

[Jonathan Spenser]

Jonathan took another sip of his pumpkin juice as his light blue orbs scanned the mass of students that were that of the Ravenclaw student body. He never regretted being promoted to Ravenclaw Head of House, being an old Ravenclaw himself he saw it as more of an honour than a burden as it allowed him to help shape what were some of the greatest minds in the school. Ravenclaw were of course known as being the ‘smart’ ones and he never had any reason to deny that fact. Everyone he knew when he was back at school was all extremely smart, including the Ravenclaws, but as the years went on he soon saw this to not be the case as much. Being their Head of House, Jonathan had more access to the information of the students than they probably thought he had, well he needed to know information about his students from others Professors and such; it was all part of being a good Head of House. Jonathan came out of his own train of thought when he heard the voice of Professor Snow, the Hufflepuff Head of House, who was sitting beside him. Beside her was Professor Styx, the Slytherin Head of House. All we need is Fletcher and we have a set he mused to himself as it seemed strange the three of the Heads of Houses just happened to be sitting beside each other. “Tired and irritated works for me too.” he said after Styx had his say. “And you?” he turned to ask Snow.

 

[Effie Kingston]

Effie shrugged her thin shoulders gently, she had never spoken to either of these two men face to face before and now she was suddenly reminded why. Kalif just scared the life out of her and Spenser just seemed like one of those men that wouldn't like someone so meek and shy to speak to him. "Sorry I just..well I kind of sense the irritation coming from you two. What beings you two to be so irritated actually?" She didn't like to be nosy and had a hunch that it might have to do with classes, and all the other Head of House duties but she could never be to sure when she didn't really know either man all that well. Professor Styx was married to someone she knew well but like mentioned earlier, until today she never really had a decent conversation with him. Spenser seemed a lot more friendly about it but was unfortunately in the same mood. Effie sighed when she was asked about herself and bit her lip oh so gently. She wasn't irritated like these two were but her mood could be better. "I would say more along the lines of being stressed and very tired." Recently Effie had the big desire of crawling into her bed and falling asleep and actually being able to sleep in for once, and not have to worry about sleeping as well. Although she loved her Hufflepuff students sometimes she didn't really have the mood to deal with them. Thankfully it was nearing the end of the year so the three of them wouldn't have much more time to worry about all of this stress for a little while.

 

[Professor Kalif Styx]

Kalif glanced over at Spenser, though the gaze only lasted for a second, before it shifted to Snow. Amazingly, she was sitting in the middle of two irritated males. He vaguely wondered if Fletcher would be coming and then there would be the four Heads all in one place. Interesting. Kalif had little reason to not be irritated today. Students alone were enough to irritate the Death Eater, however he failed to show it half the time. He appeared as if he had no emotion at all. He cared nothing for a lot of things in this world. He did not regret taking the position, as a former Slytherin, he knew what it took and what it did not take to be Slytherin. What he did not understand about this house was why were there students in the house that Slytherin himself was against? And why must a lot of them be rather...snobbish and showing no loyalty to anything. Kalif uttered, "Lack of representation to the house of Slytherin." Though he showed no house in his classes any favoritism, he still wished Slytherin would overrule all in the state of worthiness and all, but some still had yet to prove themselves. They would learn in time. Kalif thought that Snow had it rather easy. He had not heard of any trouble making Hufflepuffs except for one moron. But he was long gone from this school. Though he had not seen many Ravenclaws in his own class, or rather, in his sixth year class that is.

 

[Jonathan Spenser]

While Jonathan was irritated about things today he had enough experience to not let it show around others, more so his students but he could make it work among his colleagues. He only had to see his students one day a week for seven years but he had to work and see his colleagues everyday that he worked at the school and he would much rather prefer to not have any squirms between any of them as he didn’t intend to leave his teaching position anytime soon. Jonathan listened to Snow’s words and couldn’t help but feel a bit sorry for her; she looked scared in between the two of them. He nodded in understanding as to why she said what she did, he didn’t mind that she had broken the silence though as it allowed him to get out of his own thoughts which sometimes could be a scary place. When Snow asked her question he let Styx answer first. He gave the man a curious look. His answer was rather ominous and he didn’t want to get into what it meant so with a sigh he answered the question. “For Ravenclaw being the smartest house a lot of them aren’t really that bright. I mean look at the house points; we’re second to last for crying out loud.” he said with some irritation in his voice. Of course there was more to it that the house points that he had to handle on a daily bases that only the Professors that complained to him would know about. “What’s gotten you stressed out?” he asked Snow in a softer voice so as not to scare her anymore than she already looked.

 

[Effie Kingston]

Effie listened to the two men speak to her about what was putting them both in such bad moods and surprisingly their reasons were oddly similar to one another. They were both a bit disappointed in their houses and representation of them. When Spenser joked about them not being very smart Effie let out a soft snort and turned to look at him. "To be honest I think this entire generation has kind of lost a lot of their brains." Effie then turned to look at Professor Styx and sighed softly. "You have the most difficult House to deal with probably, I think eventually they'll mellow out...oh I hope they do. I hope my niece and nephew are not givng either of you problems." Effie muttered in at the end as she thought about her younger niece and nephew her were currently in Professor Styx's house. She sometimes wondered if those two behaved themselves when she wasn't looking and such. Theodore had seemingly grown up a lot since she last really spoke to him and young Alyssa had always been a bit more mature than the others were. Shifting a little she turned to look back to Professor Spenser when he asked her what was so stressed out. The smallest hint of a sigh escaped her lips before she tucked some of her blonde hair behind her ears and began to answer the mans question. "Well besides family problems at home. I also have been having issues with the Hufflepuff's representing themselves properly. I hard time when trying to think of the Prefects to be chosen." Effie answered with her French Accent making her words slur together just slightly. She wondered if they had an easy time choosing or if they were having just as much trouble as she was trying to think of who deserved it and who didn't. Of course she loved all her students just as much as the other some of them weren't really as deserving as others so she didn't think it was fair.

 

[Professor Kalif Styx]

To Snow's comment, Kalif smirked slightly as he soon realized that it was rather true. This generation seemed to have lost half of their brains. He had watched the sixth years from the moment they were first years in their second semester, and most of them were not very intelligent. Though to his amazement, this year would mark his sixth year teaching, and he was not about to leave the students. Someone needed to scare them anyway. His eyes went to Snow as she started to speak with him. He shrugged lightly, "I suppose. I have not had an issue with any students as far as discipline goes in quite some time." Kalif tapped his gloved fingers on his arm that was folded across his chest. Things could have been much better if he were the Head of Slytherin in his own generation when he was attending school. People seemed a lot more into their senses back then. Though when he heard about Snow's issues with being stressed out, he could not help but shake his head at the fact that the Snow's were causing her stress. Now she knew how he and his father felt. They were being pains because they were split up in two, and against one and another. Kalif could empathize with the last part as well. Picking Prefects was always a problem with him. Last year was his first time picking prefects, and he managed to pick one that ended up transferring. He needed to be more tedious with who he chose. "You aren't the only one, Effie Snow. Though when it comes to Ravenclaws, I think he will have more of an issue than either of us," Kalif stated. He had found a few people that stood out in his eyes, but other than that, his mind was not quite made up. He cannot recall any outstanding Ravenclaws in his class either.

 

[Jonathan Spenser]

Jonathan laughed softly in agreement with Effie Snow’s comment about how the entire generation has lost a lot of their brains. He couldn’t agree with that statement enough for it was so true. He was slightly relieved that it wasn’t just the Ravenclaw students that seemed to showing signs of not being overly bright as they were known for being the smartest students out of the four houses. This was something that he had pondered over in the past years that he had been a Professor but even more so since he became Ravenclaw Head of House and had worked even closer with Ravenclaws outside of the classroom. Jonathan listened to the back and forth between the Hufflepuff Head of House and the Slytherin Head of House, the Slytherins always seemed to have the worst name out of the four Houses but he had to admit that he noticed a change in them since Styx had become their Head of House; Jonathan didn’t know a person alive who would want to get on the bad side of Kalif Styx though. When Effie mentioned about her niece and nephew being in the Slytherin House Jonathan realised that they all seemed to have family members in some of the houses; Effie with her niece and nephew in Slytherin, Jonathan with his nieces in Ravenclaw and he knew Styx had a few family members in Slytherin and Hufflepuff also. “Theodore and Alyssa are nothing but well mannered in my class and always produce good work.” he reassured Effie. “I find it hard having family members in the school myself, especially when you have to discipline them.” he said shaking his head as he remembered a certain case with one of his eldest nieces, Trista, and her boyfriend last year before she graduated.

Jonathan frowned slightly when Effie mentioned that she had family problems on top of the issues she had to endure of being Hufflepuff Head of House. It was always a difficult thing, balancing home life and work life, having lost some friendships over the years, he was glad however that he had found such a good friend in Savannah as he could see her whenever he wished as she lived in the school also. When the topics of Prefect arose Jonathan felt his headache starting to come back on. This year had been the hardest one as of yet since he became Head of Ravenclaw, he had almost lost hope but he had finally found a few promising students but he still had much thinking to do over it. When Styx voiced his own comments over Ravenclaw, Jonathan nodded. “Couldn’t agree more. Ravenclaw just seems to be hopeless this year. How are you finding your search?” Jonathan asked the two of them, thinking it a good idea for Heads to discuss their choices as they could all give input and still leave the ultimate decision up to the Head of House.

 

[Effie Kingston]

Effie smiled softly when the two men on either side of her agreed about her opinion on the younger generations lacking either the brains or brain cells to fully function these days. As awkward and harsh as it would probably sound coming from the Hufflepuff Head of House's mouth she honestly agreed to every part of it. The lack of smart choices plus the fact that it seemed like less and less students were able to pass themselves into the NEWT and OWL level courses of many subjects. Every year Effie swore she saw less and less students in her classes and a part of her found it severely disappointing. Then again not everyone could be as good at math as she usually was at times. When Professor Spenser told Effie that her niece and nephew Theodore and Alyssa Snow were well mannered in his class and always produced good work she couldn't help but smile again. It was good to hear that they were being successful in school. "Having family in the school is rough, even more so when they are in your own class. I'm glad to hear that Alyssa and Theodore are well behaved in your class. Usually put them in the same room and they fight like animals. I hope they are well behaved in your class too Professor Styx." Effie asked the Herbology Professor and their Head of House carefully. She knew very well that they both took Herbology for two different reasons but still seemed to be successful in said class. She really hoped that they didn't give the poor many any problems though. Especially when he looked to be in a bad mood a lot of the time. She didn't want to hear any business of them getting detention and such, especially when one was a Prefect and the other was not known for giving others trouble. When asked about finding her search she cocked her head to the side gently. "I mostly keep a mind open for those who do their lessons, are mindful of the rules, and don't get caught being a fool outside of class. I usually look for a boy and a girl in this case but sometimes it just doesn't work out. I may or may not have to look into who does well on their exams." Effie sighed and let her eyes shift over to the Hufflepuff table. She hated that only two could be chosen and the rest wouldn't have a chance but she felt that sometimes it was necessary. Not everyone deserved it and those who did should be awarded with pride. Effie had once been a Prefect and it was a lot harder than it looked to be.

 

[Professor Kalif Styx]

The whole subject of family members caused Kalif's eyes to harden to even a harsher stare than before. He would have preferred to not have anyone at all in the school know his true identity, but then again, that just made the reality of it all just more frightening. They knew that Kalif was even worse than he appeared to be. He had killed many, many times and would continue doing so, though it has become less and less frequent since he had been at the school. Kalif shook his head, "I had issues with them last year, over fighting over a matter that was none of their business, and that concerned my own daughter. Needless to say, there has not been an issue since. As for disciplining family, I honestly have no issues with it. It is just that much easier to get inside their heads and make sure it does not happen again." How he remembered when they were acting like children, and he practically told Patricia that she was not acting like the Prefect she was. It seems like those three had improved in their behavior since then however, much to his relief. Though Aleyha seemed to be improving slightly this year, the previous years, she was a nightmare when it came to fighting. Hell, Kalif had a half-brother that attended the school and he was much more well behaved than most of the other Slytherins. Kalif did not care to discipline anyone, and he would do so just like he would any other student; same blood or not. The subject crossed over to Prefects, and Kalif put his gloved hand on his forehead. There was a reason why Slytherin had a bad name, and choosing the best one out of that was hard enough. Ravenclaw was having trouble, and he almost bet that Hufflepuff would as well. When asked about his search, he waited for Snow to get hers done and over with, before he removed his hand from his forehead and resumed the position with his arms crossed over his chest. He muttered, "It is difficult. I have a son in his fourth year, and it is impossible for him to follow in my footsteps. However, I have a few promising students. I look for someone that makes excellent performance in their classes, is well behaved and a role model to the other Slytherins; regardless of gender, I look for a boy and a girl at whatever case possible." Having been a prefect and then following, head boy, in his lifetime, Kalif knew just what it took to be a rightful Slytherin. He just lacked hope for those others that were in this generation.

 

[Jonathan Spenser]

Jonathan didn’t really mind having family in the school as Juanita’s girls were all generally well behaved, did well in class and were overall pleasant girls; it was just that one incident with Trista last year that made him fear that something could easily go wrong at any time when it came to family. From what he knew he was lucky that he didn’t have as much family members within the walls of Hogwarts than his fellow colleagues had, with Kalif even having his own children as students; that was sure to cause some tension, Jonathan imagined. Jonathan laughed softly when Effie commented on her niece and nephew; it sounded like a normal and healthy brother and sister relationship as far as he was concerned, especially for twins. Jonathan was surprised to hear that the two Snow children that behaved perfectly fine in his class were somewhat opposites in Herbology. Fighting? He was surprised that fighting still occurred among the older students. He was most so surprised that Patricia had been caught in the crossfire of the fight and by the sounds of it was involved in it too. He wasn’t aware of this before when he was approached by her about becoming an apprentice but let it go as she had proved herself more than enough and that the situation probably wasn’t all that big considering there were no punishments given. Jonathan listened to the other Heads points on what they looked for when choosing the Prefects for their own House. He agreed with them on every point, a positive thing he thought when practically all Heads were ‘singing from the same hymn book’ as the old muggle saying end. While Jonathan agreed with them on said points he found it hard to choose his Prefects based on their performances in classes as Ravenclaw were slightly notorious for not attending many classes, one only had to look at their position in the race for the house cup to see this. “I agree whole heartedly. Fortunately this year I’ve managed to find a few diamonds in the rough, I just hope they do not disappoint me.” he said with a tired sigh.

 

[Effie Kingston]

Effie figured that Kalif would treat his children the same as everyone but she didn't expect him to come right out and say that his son wasn't following in his footsteps. She was going to assume that he was talking about Kaleb since she hadn't seen him have any other child in the school besides Patricia Styx who was also a fellow Hufflepuff. Effie herself was lucky that she didn't have any children inside the school because she wouldn't exactly be at all easy on them, she would expect even more of of them. "It must be hard having your actual children at the school. Speaking of which, It's probably not much of my business Professor Styx but, how are Niccy and the baby doing?" Effie asked as she raise an eyebrow gently and turned to look at the Herbology Professor. Nicolette had pretty much been around ever since Effie was a little kid so she knew the woman quite while. The last time she saw the golden eyed woman she was pregnant and not in a very good mood from what it seemed. Effie's different colored eyes shifted to Professor Spenser for a moment before she smiled shyly. She had no idea if he was married or had children so she was a bit afraid to ask him anything of the sort. Being shy and meek made it hard for her to have conversations with people she knew nothing about. She used to be much less shy back when she was in school herself, she was actually one of those really popular girls. Everyone liked her and she had no problem with anyone either. The talk of Prefects continued and Effie listened to both Professors so carefully. They both had been at this longer than her because it was her first year as the Hufflepuff Head of House. She could only hope that those she chose were okay. "I'm sure the people you two chose will be good choices. You two have been at this longer than I have so I'm hoping I make a good choice. The end of the year is coming up so fast. Professor you should be proud that Slytherin is so ahead in points. All the other houses need to be whipped into shape." Effie commented softly as she cocked her head to the side softly. A small small left her lips. She knew that Professor Spenser would probably agree because his house was just neck-in-neck with hers.

 

[Professor Kalif Styx]

Kalif shook his head at Effie's statement. It did not really matter to him that his kids were attending school with him. "My children know what is expected of them thus it is not hard having them in school. Nicolette and the baby are doing fine. She is ecstatic over having a girl this time." Kalif allowed his eyes to roll. He did not mind that he was having another child, but he hoped that this would soon be his last. He was about tired of having them. Having them grow up was a lot better so that they could fiend for themselves. Amazingly, he had spoken to Effie without even looking at her. Instead, he was glaring down a Slytherin that looked like they were about to do something horrid but they had changed their mind. Kalif turned his attention back to the other two Heads and he pointed out to Jonathan, "Never get your hopes too high. Though I am sure that you will choose the best for your house." Kalif had only picked Prefects once, and Jonathan had more experience with picking Prefects than Kalif had. "I have only been at this Head thing for one single year, so I don't have much experience. When it comes to house points, it is not what I normally would be proud of. It does not concern me much actually." Kalif shrugged lightly, "I don't know how Slytherin is ahead to be honest." Kalif wondered about Slytherin half the time. How were they ahead? Kalif was amazed with how ahead they were. Kalif turned his head away from the Heads as he recalled that Gryffindor were in dead last. He had to admit, he rarely saw a Gryffindor in his class, so it was a no wonder.

 

[Jonathan Spenser]

Jonathan couldn’t relate to Professor Styx when it came to having children in the school as his only child was fully grown up and he had couldn’t see himself having any in the near future; not that he didn’t want them but he needed to at least have a girlfriend before that could happen. Although if he were to ever have kids in school while he was still teaching in the school he would more than likely have the same standards as Professor Styx was and the same as any Professor would in their situation; he already did it for his nieces so he would have no bother doing it for his own kids too no doubt. Jonathan wasn’t aware that Styx and Snow knew each other in any way other than being colleagues at the school but when Effie enquired after a woman and her child and based on the Herbology Professor’s answer, Jonathan assumed that Niccy must be his wife and she must be pregnant. Little things like that amused the Professor as it was interesting to here about some people’s personal lives, especially when they worked together. Jonathan was about to give Professor Styx his congratulations on his new child but instead decided to hold off on it as the man didn’t seem all that interested in the topic of conversation anyway. Jonathan listened to the older mans words of advice and nodded his head to show his understanding of his words. So far he had been lucky in his Prefect choices and they had all done a good job with the role he had gave them. Although he always kept in mind that it may not always be the case, remembering how one of Professor Styx’s choice of Prefect had left almost as soon as she had gotten the title, it was a shame for it to happen but alas it had. Jonathan could understand where Effie’s concern was coming from, remembering the first time he had to choose Prefects he had worried about so much more than he did anytime after it. “I’m sure you’ll do just fine as well. You know your house better than anyone.” he said to Effie in a reassuring tone of voice. Jonathan nodded his head to show that he agreed with Snow on the point of house points. Ravenclaw were doing a bad job but then again, at least they were doing better than Gryffindor. “Next year is always a new year.” he said with a small smirk, thinking of it as a challenge but he didn’t say anything as he could never tell how things were going to pan out.

 

[Effie Kingston]

Effie snorted when Kalif told her that Nicolette was ecstatic that she was having a little girl this time. She wasn't going to bother to try and tell him about weeks ago when his wife came over and pretty much brought hell on the entire Manor. Mostly it was between her and Alphonse but anyone that got in her way was pretty much snapped at or threatened. Poor Leon looked like he was about to wet himself by the time she had left. "I'm really happy for her, though her mood swings are a little scary." Effie commented under her breath as she reached to take a sip of her drink and finish off the last of her toast. She found it amusing how Kalif was able to talk to her and glare at some student both at the same time. This is probably why they were so well behaved, even she had to admit that he was a little scary. Okay well really scary actually. The only thing that seemed to keep her from being terrified of him was the fact that he worked with her and he was married to someone who had practically raised her. Though she thought they were a good couple sometime she wondered how Nicolette and Kalif managed not to kill one another, apparently they argued like it was no one's business. Effie glanced at the clock quickly and sighed when she realized that she had a bunch of papers and things that needed to be graded before exams went and got started. Although she loved teaching there were times when she'd love to take those papers and set them on fire so she would never have to grade them. "You know what else is interested besides Prefect Selections? The whole Head Boy and Head Girl thing, it's always an exciting thing to see. Buuut, sorry to cut this short gentlemen but I need to head out and get some stuff graded. It was lovely speaking with you." Effie stood p from her seat and dusted her robes off before she smiled softly and headed away from the Staff table and towards the direction that would lead to the Arithmancy classroom. Graduation and then sorting would be soo which was also very interesting most of the time.