Ending the Reign

[Cyndi Kingsley]

Professor Kingsley rushed into the room like the hallway was on fire. She had a singular purpose and that was to rummage in the fridge in the staff room to see if she had any ice cream left. The young woman was dealing heavily with a hormone-induced need for butterbeer ice cream and she knew that she'd placed some into the freezer in the staff room when the semester began not a few days before. Opening the fridge, Cyndi rubbed her belly slightly, soothing the movements that were going on just under her navy robes. The professor still marveled every time she felt her stomach move or saw it ripple. It was odd to know that there was something moving and growing inside of her. As the fog from within the fridge settled, the professor let out a pleased sigh of relief. There it was. If this were a television show, she was sure that it would have a glow behind it and there would be music playing. At least the other professors knew better than to mess with a pregnant woman's food. Grabbing the ice cream, Cyndi popped open the top as she walked over and retrieved a spoon. Not even looking for a bowl, the professor walked over to a small lounge chair and sat down to eat.

Now that her craving was being sated, the professor could think again. She had plenty of work to do and had been really quite busy getting her first years settled and working on lesson plans. As a Head of House, she often had students coming in and out of her office for the littlest, most trivial things. This morning had been a case of misidentification of a textbook. What awaited her when she arrived back to her lounge in the common room was a mystery, so she was bent on enjoying her quiet time in the professor's area where students were thankfully not allowed.

 

[Effie Kingston]

It had been a rough morning for the Hufflepuff Head of House. Normally her students were well behaved, but today they seemed to feel like testing that theory. A rather loud argument between two students broke out in the common room. Effie was able to take care of it quickly but it still was enough to make her day rather dim. It was hard to tell what they were arguing about when she did begin to talk to them. But Effie handled it the best way that she could. Eventually they settled down and all was well. The one thing Effie did not like about students was when they fought. Children misbehaved sometimes so Effie expected that. But when they fought it was a different story to it. She couldn't stand fighting. The mess between her brothers and sisters was probably what had set that off within her. After Alphonse died things just seemed to get to her a lot more quickly than they used to. He had only been forty when he died. That as much too young. When the problem was handled Effie sent them back off to their dorms to cool off. It was probably too kind of her to do. Effie had that problems sometimes. Most of the time she was too gentle and understanding about situations to the students. It didn't matter which house it was either. Effie had times where she even found herself going easy on the Slytherin's. They were people too after all. Effie had moments where she could be more stern too. But that wasn't until it was needed. Most of the time she handled things in the sweet docile manner she always did. Effie was used to others comparing to a jar of honey, or a mouse, or something else. To others, Effie was too meek and shy. Some found it adorable, others found it irritating. But Effie mostly kept to herself. Efife was willing to assist when she was needed but other than that she liked to keep to herself. Especially around the other Professors. Most of which she was too shy to speak to. In fact the only Professor she had really spoken to all that much so far was oddly Professor Styx. The others she rarely conversed with. One day she would like to get to know the lot of them better. That was her goal for the year. That and have her Hufflepuffs win the house cup.

Walking into the Professor's common room which she figured would be empty as it normally was, Effie jumped in shock when she realized that she was not alone. "Oh goodness! You scared me!" Effie didn't think anyone would be in here. Normally when Effie came in here no one else was in here except occasionally Professor Styx as he seemed to be out and about at the oddest times. But she figured his family contributed to that. That was how she actually ended up speaking to him the few times she had. Normally she left him be though. He was so moody. Professor Kingsley though, even though they were fellow Heads of houses, she had not spoken to her much except the occasional hello. Effie was actually intimidated by her to some extent as she was with a majority of the other Professors that were heads as well. It was horrible. Cyndi seemed like such a lovely woman. But at the same time so sure and steady with herself. It wasn't until now that Effie remembered that the Ancient Runes Professor was also with child. How sweet! Effie loved babies! Effie wondered if Professor Kingsley would mind some company. Effie retrieved a container of freshly cut peaches and opened it up. Effie just loved fresh peaches and honey. "I uh....hope you don't mind me some company for a little bit." Effie muttered softly, her voice running so smoothly. Effie poured a generous amount of honey over the peaches and took her fork to the gooey fruit. Gracefully she pulled out a chair and sat herself down in it. A moment like this couldn't be passed up. Effie wanted to take the time to get to know her co-workers better. Well this was her chance to get out of her shell a little bit. It was strange how she could be so confident with her students but shy around her co-workers. "Do you know the gender yet?" Effie decided to ensue some kind of conversation as she gestured to the Professor's enlarged tummy. Effie had a child herself. She was three already and such a handful at times. But Bridgette was honestly the world to Effie. So was Rune. But Effie could not be sure of what was going to happen with him yet. It was too early to tell.​

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[Professor Kalif Styx]

Professor Styx was not enjoying the year as it was. There wasn't a Headmaster, and he was not pleased with the new-old Deputy managed to get his position back. However his opinion was rather secret, and he wouldn't let anyone else know of his thoughts. The only moment when he was seen out of his office was when he decided to go to the Professor's Common Room to get some warm tea that he often brewed himself. It was never often when he let someone else brew tea for him. He hardly trusted the house elves here. He only trusted one and that was the one that served his family. He was picky, what could one say? Professor Styx exited his office where he started to walk toward the common room or lounge, whatever it was, with his dark robes looming behind him. As soon as he entered, he could see two people in here that he knew. One was the deputy Headmistress and Gryffindor Head of House, and the other one was Professor Snow, the Hufflepuff Head of House. He did not mind either of them. When he did converse, it was with Professor Snow more often than anyone else.

However he entered at the wrong moment, when Professor Snow asked Professor Kingsley what gender it was. What gender what was? Professor Styx then came to the conclusion that the deputy Headmistress was pregnant. What in the world did he enter? He was glad that his days of bearing children were over, and have been for a long time. He didn't like children as much as most fathers would. Professor Styx didn't know what to say during this, and thought that it was all just too awkward for him. He remembered when his wife was pregnant, and she was Hell and a half. He remembered having to pin her down before she could go outside to experiment with a dangerous plant. Instead of jumping into the conversation, which he hated to speak about babies and pregnancy, he instead just greeted with a cold tone that he naturally carried, "Effie, Cyndi." He walked over to a chair that no one was occupying, and he took his seat. He scooted it out to give him some distance from the women. There was no way he was going to get too close to them. Professor Styx was relieved that Prodan was no longer teaching at the school, but another one of his brothers that graduated here now taught here. He couldn't escape from his damn family, but at least Azerail kept to himself.

 

[Cyndi Kingsley]

Having taken a particularly large bite of ice cream that had immediately caused a sharp ache in Cyndi's head, it took her several moments to respond to her fellow Head of House. Cyndi thought that Effie was one of the nicer professors, even if they never spoke all that much. Sometimes, a person just had a good vibe about them. Putting a hand to her forehead, the professor waited for the sharp pain to subside before greeting the woman. "Brain freeze" she explained and then grinned, "Sorry for scaring you." The professor took another, much smaller bite of ice cream and savored the taste of the ice cream as it melted into creamy butterbeery goodness. She watched as the other woman joined her and shook her head to indicate that she didn't mind the woman's company. Professor Kingsley wasn't particularly keen to deal with any more students for a while, but she wouldn't mind the company of another. Taking one last bite, Cyndi replaced the cover on her ice cream and placed the spoon on top. She saw that Effie was eating something that was probably much healthier than Cyndi's option, but the young woman didn't care too much. She was pregnant and if she had a craving, she was surely going to take care of it. Besides, the young woman felt that she was generally a pretty healthy eater even if she did have a fondness for sweets.

As the door to the professor's common room opened once more, Cyndi turned her head slightly to see who it was who had entered. It was another one of the Heads, but this one was far less friendly than she thought Effie was. Surprisingly though, of the other Heads, Kalif Styx was the one she'd spoken to most. Perhaps it was because there was constantly something going on between their students what with the apparent rivalry between Gryffindors and Slytherins that seemed to exist no matter what. Still, Cyndi would not go as far as to say that she and Kalif were friends or even friendly. They weren't. They were simply co-workers who were, at times, called to work together. She didn't think that she knew a single thing about Kalif's private life other than the names of several of his family members. Cyndi nodded towards the professor and greeted him in kind. "Kalif" she stated simply before turning her attention back to Effie who had asked her the gender of her child. The professor and her husband had thought for a long time about whether or not to find out the gender of the baby and Cyndi still wasn't sure what she wanted to do. Shaking her head, the professor shyly replied, "No, not yet. I'm not sure I want to know either. I've been avoiding doing any rune readings because I'm afraid it'll somehow hint the gender." There was something about letting the pregnancy progress without knowing if a boy or girl was growing inside her that appealed to the young professor. When Kalif joined the women at the table, Cyndi looked over to where he was seated and spoke again, "Have either of you had the pleasure of passing Jonathan's office lately?" she asked, rolling her eyes as she used her wand to send her ice cream back to the freezer. She didn't think she had to explain the sarcasm in her voice as there was only one thing in his office that could cause it.

 

[Effie Kingston]

Effie bit her lip. Brain freeze's were the absolute worst. Especially when they persisted. The blonde Professor shook her head when Cyndi apologize to her. "It's okay, I scare easily." Effie turned red admitting this. But it was the honest truth. She scared very easily. Of course she had moments where she could be courageous too. But it wasn't as often as most. Effie was willing to protect her students if that situation ever occurred though. Effie was timid, not weak. Professor Styx soon entered the lounge as well and Effie turned to look at him for a moment. Out of all the Professor she knew him the best. Mostly due to Nicolette and the fact that his family knew her family and whatnot. That also meant she knew he was often not in the mood to talk and be around others. So it took her a moment to build up enough courage to actually greet him. "Hello Kalif." She gave him a lively smile. It seemed like he didn't mind her or Cyndi too much, which was good. Effie tried to stay out of other people's way. That was probably why Effie knew very few of her co-workers personally. Other than Kalif. But she would love to get to known Cyndi. She seemed like such a sweet but confident woman. When Cyndi mentioned about not wanting to know the gender, Effie's eyes widened in surprise. "Really? I think that would drive me nuts not knowing." Effie hated not knowing something. When she was pregnant she found out as soon as she could what she was having. Which turned out a little girl. Maybe if she ever decided to have another baby she would try to be strong and resist the urge to find out what it was. But she didn't see her having anymore kids anytime soon. She and Rune were literally just getting together.

Cyndi's next statement made Effie lift her eyes and smile sheepishly. "I try to avoid that hallway as much as possible actually." Effie replied softly. She was sure they knew why. Effie didn't want to have to deal with Spenser as much as any of the other Head's of Houses did. He wasn't a bad man or anything, as far as Effie knew. Then again for all she knew he could have cheated. How else would he keep his students running in the front with the House cup and whatnot for all those years. Effie didn't care if she won or not, she just wanted her house to do the best possible. But their hopes were constantly getting beaten down by the fact that Ravenclaw was always winning.​

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[Professor Kalif Styx]

Professor Styx merely glanced over when Professor Kingsley seemed to be in pain, however he was not exactly bothered, nor was he concerned. Perhaps if she had not been eating that ice cream so fast, then she might not have. What was it with women and their pregnancy symptoms to make them act all funny. He was just thankful that his wife was no longer able to get pregnant and that his time with raising babies and infants were older. Lanithro was the youngest of them all. Although the only type of relationship he had with either of the women in the common room right now was anything but close. He had talked and at one point, taught when Professor Kingsley was in school, and then there was Professor Snow, whom was more like a sister to him thanks to his sister marrying her brother. Naturally he knew more than he would have bothered to know of otherwise. It was a little awkward for him to talk to two women about Professor Kingsley's certain situation, but he was not about to voice it, or even join in that part of the conversation. That was something the women should get to themselves. He wanted no part of it. This was perhaps why he was looking at his gloves, and he was thinking on what he should do to Nicolette the next time he went home. Professor Styx needed to do something, surprising, but aggravating to say the least.

However there was one part that had Kalif wondering, why? He could not even help himself when he asked, "Then, how are you doing the baby shopping?" Professor Styx did not know any mutual colors that could be suited for both a girl and a boy. And if one bought for both, well, they were just out of their minds. However this was his own opinion, and women did things how they pleased. He just didn't want to really deal with his own wife getting pregnant and going baby shopping. He was dragged everywhere half the time. He hated it, and then he often insulted her because she was wobbling too slow for him. The next thing that was brought up made him roll his eyes, quite obviously. Professor Spenser had won that house cup for Merlin knew how many years. Professor Styx never saw the big deal in it, but truth be told, he did not care either. He pointed out, "If he wants to have bragging rights for what his students did, and not him, that's his own choice. Otherwise, I hardly leave my office or my study for anything." Professor Styx cracked his wrist before he inquired, "Why do you ask, Cyndi?" Was she jealous of Ravenclaw winning? Professor Styx would like it if another house would win for a change.

 

[Cyndi Kingsley]

The professor shrugged her shoulders. Most of her family members thought she was insane for not wanting to know and she figured that perhaps sooner or later the need to know would get the better of her. "I might want to know sooner or later, but for now I'm fine with not knowing" she explained with a smile. Surprised to hear Kalif join this part of the conversation, the professor's smile widened. She knew that he had quite the experience with children. Cyndi had known one of his children fairly well and she knew that he had others. "I'm not" she stated with another shrug. "I haven't bought a stitch of clothing. I've just bought other things - bottles, diapers, pacifiers, the bassinet. I'm letting everyone else figure out what to do about clothing." She thought for a moment and then added, "and my husband can always go home after I give birth and decorate the nursery. It won't take him very long." She figured that he could use transfiguration and charms to get the room just right once they knew the gender of their baby.

Cyndi nodded sympathetically when she heard Effie's response. She often tried to avoid that hallway as well, though it wasn't always possible. The professor hated to admit that she was jealous of Professor Spenser, but she was. She just wanted to have that trophy in her office for one year. She knew that her students could do it if they put their minds to it...and if they could stay out of trouble. That sort of thing was easier said than done though. Listening to Kalif, Cyndi looked down at the table. She knew that Professor Styx didn't roam around the school much. Whenever she needed to find him, she knew where to look. It was never a difficult task to locate the professor. "No reason, Kalif" she sighed, "I was just wondering if either of you was as tired of seeing that trophy in his office as I am." The pregnant professor made a face and then smirked. "I've half a mind to start finding reasons to take points from Ravenclaws...it's too bad I have too much of a conscience to really do it without reason."

 

[Effie Kingston]

Out of Character:

Sorry it took so long.

Effie almost felt envious of Cyndi. Having a baby was so wonderful. It was easy to remember back when she was pregnant with her little Bridgette. There was an actual glow to her back then. It seemed like Cyndi was having that glow as well. When the subject of Spenser grew more in depth Effie actually blushed. A part of her felt bad for talking about this because Spenser was fairly nice to her whenever they had spoken. But a part of her was also upset that his house kept winning all the time. Was it too much to ask for that one year the Hufflepuff's would take the house cup? "Yes." Effie admitted shyly. She flushed even further when she realized that she had said it loud enough for both of them to hear. Effie did feel bad. But she might as well be honest. After all, it would appear that both Kalif and Cyndi agreed and whatnot so her opinion might be safe. "I'll admit it. I'm tired of Ravenclaw winning all the time. I could care less if Hufflepuff lost another year, I just wish some house would win other than Ravenclaw." Effie did want her house to win. But she would be happy either way so long any house but Ravenclaw won, she wouldn't care all together. It was bad thinking so negatively but losing over and over again did put a downer onto Effie's shoulders. Was it so bad to desire a change every once and a while. Especially if it benefited her?

"If my memory isn't failing me right now, there is one particular Ravenclaw that has continuously lost points for that house. That wasn't your doing was it Cyndi?" Effie was referring to the Ravenclaw Sixth year named Annalie Darkhart. The one that had a knack for finding trouble it seemed. In Effie's opinion she was just brat. Effie didn't think Cyndi would do such a thing but the situation was just too perfect. She just had to. Cyndi wouldn't have bribed a student to lose points for a house. No but the idea was nearly brilliant. Too bad it was awful. "Perhaps he cheats or something?" Effie flushed. "Nevermind. That was an awful thing for me to say." Effie felt bad. He was a good man. He wouldn't lower himself to that level. Would he? Effie didn't think any of the Professor's would. But the thought still occurred to her. Or maybe he just had really driven students. Effie wish she knew what made the house so successful. It would be a useful tip to know.​

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[Professor Kalif Styx]

Professor Styx hated the fact that there were so many children in the school, but there wasn't a way to stop it though. He might have been a father, but it did not mean that he would enjoy it. "Suit yourself," muttered the Death Eater with his eyes averted down to the ground. He didn't know what it would be, but he didn't care either. He did not teach Cyndi for that long, but it was long enough to know that he had seen her graduate. It was somewhat eerie to see a former student beside him, with child, when all he could remember was that young Gryffindor Prefect. Her next response made him narrow his onyx eyes upon her, doubting her sanity, but well, that was on her. He was not here to judge at all. In fact, he was wondering why he was here. Oh yes. To get away from the brats. Good thing Nicolette was never like that or else he would have gone mad. Professor Styx prayed that the subject would be changed other than from babies, and alas, here it had, and to house points. He shrugged his shoulders because he really did not give a rat's ass. That was his opinion, and he doubted that anyone in this room would share it. However even Effie's response of her being tired of Ravenclaw, it was shocking. He gave it some thought, and hell, he would like to see something other than that damned color of blue.

"To be honest, I don't care about the trophy and all. Although one can only see that blue banner so much before wanting to set it on fire," noted Kalif before he could catch what he said, showing that he was a little violent with his thoughts. It could make him seem more of a threat. However her threat made him smirk ever so slightly. "I could assist with thinking of reasons if you like. Students that don't have their uniform on correctly could be a good reason." Especially with the boys and the pants hanging off of their rears. It seemed like it was a fad that would never go away. Although Cyndi was too good. He figured Effie would be the same way. "That was Blaze, Effie. I preferred it when he was a regular professor, but alas. Let him pick on his favorite little student, Darkhart." Professor Styx rolled his eyes, and it was obvious that he had a dislike toward Professor Blaze. Whomever did not after that one professor's death was beyond him. Then again, there was hardly anyone in the school that he did actually like. He didn't mind the two women before him though. His eyes then landed on Effie, when she said that Spenser cheated, and then that it was an awful thing to say. Professor Styx pointed out, "If you are going to say something rude or mean, don't apologize afterward. Get a backbone or students will walk all over you."

Out of Character:

Way for me to be so late.