-insert awesome title here-

[Takuya Blaze]

Wandering through the crowded streets, Takuya made his way to a less secluded area. Or, at least, he thought he would reach one eventually. He hadn't seen New York this busy before, but he was usually always surprised when he made it to this place. There were a lot of people here, and quite a few of them were Wizards and Witches. Though, most were Muggles. Takuya shrugged, and wandered a bit further up. He only had time for a day or two stop, really. He needed to be at HNZ some time in the next few days for the exams to take place. He rolled his eyes, and just hoped he wasn't let down by many of his students. He had reason to believe half of them didn't even pay attention anyway.

Takuya chuckled to himself, as he made his way to a cafe somewhere in one of the plazas. He needed to find somewhere where he could relax for a little bit, and perhaps meet some people. He walked up to the counter, and smiled. "Can I get a coffee, please?" He asked, taking out the muggle money he kept out for the fun of it. He didn't like going to places like the Three Broomsticks, because it was always too busy for him, and he didn't need a headache right now. He got enough of that around the school. He payed the man, and took a seat while he waited. Hopefully it wouldn't be too long.

 

[Effie Kingston]

Effie rarely ever had a moment to herself these days because when she wasn't at home she was at the School teaching and when she wasn't at the school teaching she was at home tending to Audel and the babies. Being a mother was far harder than anyone would ever except, especially being a mother to twins. They were such fussy babies and always wanted something or another, but she still loved them and it always broke her heart when she had to leave for a little while and head to the school. But since she had been promoted to the next Hufflepuff Head of House she had far more of a responsibility than she had ever had and she intended to prove she could manage it all. Never in her youth would she have thought that she would be the Head of Her own house someday, she was definitely proud of how far she had come. But today she had no classes to teach, no appointments, and Audel had offered to watch the twins for her so she had the full day off to herself so she could relax a little. And Effie decided to spend her day off in America for a few hours, and she started her day of relaxation off with a nice walk and an iced tea.

Since Effie was French she rarely ever came here, but every once and awhile nothing could stop her from going off and visiting some new place for a few hours. 'At least here I don't have to worry about being seen by any of my students.' Effie thought gratefully to herself as she took a sip of her tea and continued to walk around and enjoy the breeze. It had only been a few minute's of walking when she stopped and noticed a face far too familiar to her. It was the face of another Professor that worked at Hogwarts with her, he taught the younger years Potions to be exact. Hoping he wouldn't mind she shyly made her way over to him. "Hello Monsieur Blaze, I didn't think that on my day off I'd run into another Professor here." She commented lightly, her French accent still intact but not strong enough so that he wouldn't be able to understand her, which often happened to some people. Oddly and sadly enough Effie knew very little about this man even if he was her Co-worker. The thing was that she was so shy and meek most of the time she barely ever got out to see the world. But since they worked together and he seemed like a nice guy from what she gathered a small conversation couldn't hurt that badly.

 

[Takuya Blaze]

Takuya chuckled to himself, he hadn't expected to see somebody here that he knew, and he definitely hadn't expected to see another Professor here. Looking up at her, he smiled. "Hey there, Professor Snow." He said, smiling. He didn't really know all that much about her, himself, and he always did like to get to know people. He wondered what had brought her out here today, though. She said she had been on her day off, maybe she had just come out here to relax. He shrugged, and wondered when they would finally bring him his coffee. Gee, they're sure slow here. He thought, rolling his eyes.

Takuya didn't have much patience, and it really showed sometimes. He turned back to Professor Snow. "You get a day off? Lucky you. I had to sneak away for a bit." He said, sighing. He hated how busy it got at that castle sometimes. It really got out of hand, in his opinion. You wouldn't think that a school like that could have somebody working all of the time. He smiled. "So you just came out here for the fun of it, then? As good as way to spend any day, I guess." Takuya said, smiling. Takuya looked up when somebody brought his coffee over, and smiled. "You can sit down, if you want." He said, chuckling.

 

[Effie Kingston]

Effie saw down across from Takuya and smiled gently, it was a little weird to hear another adult calling her Professor Snow but she appreciated that he was trying to be formal with her. "You can call me Effie if you'd like, it sounds awkward to have someone around my age call me Professor." She shrugged, as she told him shyly her opinion on being called Professor. She didn't mean to suddenly become so shy but she was hoping she hadn't offended him or made herself look like an idiot. To be honest Effie didn't know any of the Professors she worked with all that well, except for maybe a few. She somewhat knew Professor Styx but that was because her family was allied with his and she knew his wife quite well and she also knew Professor Hensel and that was because of his sister. Effie was closer to her students than the adults in this school adults but she didn't mind all that much because she loved kids. Since she already had a drink she did not order one but merely grinned softly when she saw that Takuya ordered coffee, so he was a caffeine drinker as well.

"I'm surprised you don't have the day off yourself. Let me guess, you have exams or grading to finish?" She smiled softly, for the last semester all she had were Fifth and Seventh Years and they took their exams at the end of the year so she was free was exams until next Semester. She did have a bit of grading to finish up but she had enough time to deal with it later and allow herself to take a small break while she still could. "I have no exams, and I trust my House to keep out of trouble for a little while. Usually I don't get breaks like this but my husband offered to watch the babies for a day so now I actually have a break." Effie answered once again softly, she couldn't help but wonder if Takuya had a family himself to keep an eye on or if he lived alone wherever he lived at. Usually when you lived alone it was easier to get a moment to yourself. However Effie thought she liked having a family better than she did being alone.

 

[Takuya Blaze]

Takuya smiled at her, she was a generous kind of person, and easy to get along with. He shrugged, and chuckled. He didn't mind calling her by her first name if she wanted him to, but otherwise he liked being formal. Perhaps he was strange like that, perhaps he was just nice, or perhaps he was overdoing things. He didn't know which it was, but Takuya was a formal person, even when he was in his shop serving a student. Perhaps he was old fashioned like that? He didn't know, he didn't care. "Well, if you wish for me to call you Effie, then you can call me Takuya." He said, chuckling. He didn't mind which ever way, she could call him Takuya, or anything else, he'd just like to get formalities out of the way anyway.

Takuya noticed her smile when she noticed his drink. Did she drink coffee, as well? Takuya usually stayed off the start, he had enough trouble sleeping, without adding the stress of coffee. He sighed, and took a sip of his drink. The only reason he was drinking it right now, was because he didn't want to fall asleep. He smiled. "Yeah, I have a lot of marking to do. The exams just keep on pouring in." He said, sighing. He may have only done Second and First years, this semester, but that actually made it worse. There were so many first years, he had to put a whole day aside for them. He didn't like having to do that, though, because he usually liked to get some other things done in his days.

Takuya smiled weakly, "Yeah, I wish I had the day off though. There are that many first years to look after it's not funny." He said, sighing. He smiled brightly, "Yeah, considering you have Hufflepuffs, it shouldn't be hard for them to stay out of trouble. I was a Hufflepuff when I was in school." He said, chuckling. He could remember those days, they were funny to him. "That was nice of your husband, and it's nice to see you out here. Somebody I can talk to. I thought today would have been boring." Takuya said, chuckling slightly. He didn't know how long she'd stay for, though, so it could still be boring.

 

[Effie Kingston]

"I didn't know your name was Takuya! Thats such a unique name!" He replied to him softly as she brought her straw up to her lips and took a quick sip of her iced latte that was doing wonders in helping her relax as she spoke to her co-worker. Honestly yes she was very addicted to any type of coffee and she wished she so dearly wasn't because she went a little insane when she didn't have any for quite some time. Pushing the thought of Coffee aside for moment she refocused onto the man's name, she had never heard it before and found it to be a rather odd name to name someone. Effie's name wasn't exactly common around here but then again she was originally from France so of course it would be a little strange for someone who wasn't French or someone who had the name themselves, unique names were awesome regardless though. It was almost funny but she hadn't really ever noticed this man before even though she had seen him countless times through the halls and at the Feasts. Maybe it was because she was so shy but still she felt really bad that until now she had never bothered to speak to him or even drop the slightest hello. It made her seem like a horrible Hufflepuff Rolemodel.

When Effie hear Takuya say something about the exams just rolling in she nodded in agreement. Even though she had no exams right now because the Seventh Years and the Fifths took their Exams at the end of the Year when the next Semester did happen to roll around she ended up being busy a lot more often than she would like to be. Both the OWLS and NEWTS were tasking exams to grade, especially when there was a lot of them. "Marking can be so irritating. Luckily you don't have to deal with the OWL's and NEWT's. Those are a real pain in the side." Effie commented softly, her different colored eyes glanced gently at Takuya. Hoping that he didn't think that her job was any harder than his because handling the first years was a tough enough job as it is. They required much more patience and teaching to get the concept of the lessons plus they seemed to have a small issue with plagiarizing these days. Effie loved kids though, especially her two babies who were as sweet as pie when they weren't hungry or needed changing. She could only wonder what kind of people they would be when they were all grown up and ready to live on their own without the care of their mother. When Takuya mentioned that he was a Hufflepuff Effie raise a brow at him before she smiled softly.

"You were a Hufflepuff too? So was I..obviously. They are very well behaved kids but they can have their moments too." Effie rolled her eyes, it was foolish to think that Hufflepuffs were nothing but weak and spineless because they could cause trouble just as much much as any of the other houses could. Not usually as evil and spiteful as some could, but they weren't all that innocent. So far Effie had no trouble and honestly she was pretty proud of them in doing so. Takuya's last comment made her blush a little because he seemed pleased with having her around to talk to him out here. It was rare to have someone actually want someone like her to talk to them. "What about you? Any family or anything to watch over?" Effie asked him gently. She didn't know if he was married, if he had children, siblings, or parents. The only thing Effie no longer had was her parents and thats because they were both killed off when she was maybe in her early twenties. She used to be lonely with just her siblings always beating down on her but now she had a husband and two babies to keep her company.

 

[Takuya Blaze]

Takuya smiled when she started talking about his name. He didn't think it was all that interesting, but then again, her name was interesting to him. Where he came from, he hadn't heard a name like that before, and for her to have it, and not talk about it all that much, and not even seem to care about it. But then again, where she came from, it was probably a common name. He thought about her last name. French, probably. You don't really hear the name Snow from anywhere else. Takuya shrugged, his name was common where he came from, though it probably sounded a little strange to her.

Takuya chuckled, "Where do you come from, with your name?" He asked. Takuya heard her change the topic to grades. He was thankful that he didn't have to do OWL's and NEWT's, he really wouldn't have a social life if he had to do them, and that would annoy him to no end. He liked having time to himself, and he enjoyed being able to get out today. Albeit if it was with another Professor, he still liked to be able to get out and spend time with some people. He shrugged to himself, and wondered what she would be doing if she wasn't out here today, and whether or not she would just have resigned herself to being at home.

Taking a sip of his drink, he smiled. "No, I don't think I would like to have all that extra stress put on me from having to mark exams all day long, especially NEWT's and OWL's." He didn't want to have to think about what it would do to his life, if he had to mark those. He sighed, and chuckled. "Yeah, I was a Hufflepuff. Though, I wasn't really that much of a troublemaker myself. So, I guess that was why I was put in that house. I'm big on enforcing rules now, though. I have no idea why." He said, shrugging. Takuya had only busted a couple of people for doing bad things, though he found that funny.

 

[Effie Kingston]

Professor Blazed asked where she had come from with her name and everything and Effie couldn't resist cracking a shy grin any longer, most people asked her this question because they couldn't figure out where her odd name came from. "I cam from France, so my name is French. If you think I have a weird name some of my siblings are even worse." Effie's thought shifted from her name and names in general to the thoughts of her brothers and sisters, she had so many of them because of a Minor Baby Boom in the Snow Family back in the early 2000's. A few of them no longer lived in the Manor though, like Noah and the three that were exiled long ago for trying to cause trouble when they weren't given special titles in the family. But others like Alphonse, Anastasia, and Leon all still lived there and their names were a little weird too. However despite the group of them all being split up and in different areas they would all return someday, it's been said that there's a curse on the Snows, your born in that Manor and you'll die in that Manor. Effie was not sure herself how it worked but so far it had been proven to be right except for a select few but most of the descendants who were born inside the Snow Manor had also died there. It gave Effie chills just thinking about it. "What about you? Where are you from?" Effie asked trying to refocus her mind onto something else other than dying in the very own place she called her childhood home. Besides she scarcely had an idea about where Takuya might be from anyways since his name didn't sound like it was French one bit, he could easily be from New Zealand itself but she probably wouldn't know if he was because she didn't know very much about people from the place itself.

"Eventually you get used to grading them and it gets easier and faster for you to grade them." Effie stated softly, her first year was a mess because it took so long for her to grade all of them as well as other Exams on top of it. But now it wasn't as hard and she was flying past the Exams and homework as well. It all got easier over time and she planned to be here for awhile so hopefully it would be easy as pie by the time she was here for awhile. "Just wondering if you had any relatives in the school. My niece and Nephew go to Hogwarts as well as a lot of other random children from my family, more will be along soon. It's always really funny when you have a family member in one of your classes." The only one she really taught at all was Theodore and he was a much smarter kid than everyone gave him credit for. It was not that much of a surprise to her that he got Prefect but what had surprised her a little was that he beat his sister over it. Soon Doriano, Romaine, and Aphrodite would be attending Hogwarts soon and she'd have a few more family members of hers to teach.

 

[Takuya Blaze]

Takuya smiled at her, as she told him about her name, and said that some of her family had stranger names. His family, had some very funny names, and he liked to remind them of that most of the time. He was mean to them, in that way, because he had a really strange name himself, and a lot of people liked to remind him of such. He sighed softly, and wondered exactly how many siblings she did have, and whether or not all of them had funny names. Takuya knew better then to tease other people about their names, but anybody who was related to him, or was a really good friend, then he would tease them all he wanted to.

Takuya chuckled to himself, and wondered whether or not she actually had siblings, or children, at the school herself. She didn't look old enough to have children old enough to attend Hogwarts, so that threw that out of the running. "I have somebody who should be transferring into HNZ, next year. I hope so, anyway. My younger brother." He said, smiling. Dimitri would be a fine addition to HNZ, and he hoped that he would be able to teach him. Takuya smiled when she said that she did indeed have family members at Hogwarts. He thought it would be funny to teach Dimitri.

"Yeah, well, I don't really like spending days and days and days on marking exams, and marking OWLs and NEWTs would just take the life away from me." Takuya said, chuckling. He knew very well that he would probably be extremely bored having to do it, and he probably wouldn't be able to find much help.