Let it Snow

[Jon Phillips]

Christmas was one of Jon's favourite holidays so he always loved the yule ball, and despite being a chaperone and keeping an eye on students he usually enjoyed the night. It was all so magical and regardless of the fact New Zealand celebrated christmas in summer, the winter theme contributed to how special the night was. Being surrounded by white and blue with the ceiling enchanted to show a different season and fake snow falling above everyone's heads truly made it seem like people were walking into another world as soon as they entered the great hall. Seeing the magic himself made Jon smile wide as he looked around the room. Everyone seemed to be having fun, dressed up and dancing with their friends or partners and it made Jon incredibly happy for them. Not wanting to disturb any of the students from their magical nights, Jon quickly retreated to the drinks table and poured himself a glass of punch. He sipped slowly from the glass as he moved to stand on the edge of the room, wanting to keep a low profile so his presence didn't ruin any of the students' nights.​

 

[Olive Layton]

Olive had always tried to make sure she spent as much time with the students as she did in her office. While she loved studying and developing her potions, she missed spending each and every day with her sister, and with all the intentions behind her that she wanted to influence the lives of more students, she loved the chance to interact with them outside of classes too. Professor Layton was proud of those she'd taught this semester, and while she was looking forward to teaching her sixth years soon, she was also happy to get a chance to let her hair down.

Once she'd hobbled to the Great Hall, her eyes scanned the room for either Monty or Leda, either of which she would have enjoyed the company of. She smiled as she caught sight of her sister, but since spotting she was busy with another student, Olive didn't feel as though she should interrupt. Moving across the floor with the red skirt of her outfit gliding over the stone, the Potions Professor ended up by the drinks table when she saw a familiar face. She'd spotted him at the Professor's meeting at the start of the year but had yet to get to courage to speak to him. Perhaps he wouldn't want to given they'd known of one another before Olive had joined the school. It was a good time as any. Sliding up to the muggle studies Professor with her own glass in hand, she approached from behind, the elbow of her arm closest to him giving him a nudge in the ribs and she turned to greet him. "Hey stranger," she said with a bright smile, pink lipstick recently and carefully applied to her made up style. ​

 

[Monty Pendleton]

Monty hadn't been sure until the last minute that he would even be attending the Yule Ball this year. He loved the atmosphere, and the festivities that reminded him of Christmas at home, and the delight on the students' faces as they beheld the great hall in its snowy splendour and danced with their partners, but he found it difficult to stay very long without feeling overcome by anxiety or embarrassment. Social events were not the Potions professor's thing. He would much rather have stayed down in the dungeons with a book, or even some exams to mark. But he knew that once he arrived, and perhaps struck conversation with one of his friends, he would, if only for a short while, enjoy himself, and that the anxiety he would feel upon attending would be far less severe a feeling than the regret of not turning up to witness some of the fun.

Dressed in a dark indigo coat, and one of his favourite waistcoats, Monty slipped quietly into the hall, hugging the edges of the room until finally he spotted Jon. Just as Monty approached, however, so did Professor Layton, and immediately Monty tensed. He still had yet to summon the courage to ask whether they might be related, and he was terrified that somehow, Olive already knew, and that she was quietly judging him for not coming forward. It was ridiculous, but then so was Monty's mind. "Hello," he said, to both of his colleagues. He'd been tempted to turn around and leave right away, but he didn't want to appear rude. Still, he hardly made Olive's gaze. "They've, er - done a fantastic job with the decorations, as always..."

 

[Professor Cyndi Kingsley]

Professor Kingsley always enjoyed the Yule Ball. Everyone was typically more relaxed than at any other point during the year as they made plans for their holidays. Cyndi had plans to spend the time with family, probably a day or two at Kiera's as she was heavily pregnant and unable to travel and then perhaps a day trip to England to see her family. It would depend on Cameron's schedule since the Minister never truly had a day off. Wearing a simple dress of blood red, the woman had been off to the side, watching the children as they danced and made plans to meet during the break. Spotting a few colleagues, Cyndi made her way over, greeting them as she poured herself some punch. "Too bad it's not wine, right?" she said, a smirk on her face.

 

[Jon Phillips]

The last thing Jon expected was to be spoken to by anyone, let alone be nudged in the ribs by Olive Layton. The fright caused him to gulp down his punch too quickly and cough when some of it went down the wrong pipe. After recovering, Jon finally greeted her with a raspy voice. "Oh, Hi." Practically choking to death wasn't the most glamorous second impression he could have made on his colleague but he tried not to linger on his own awkwardness for too long as he asked. "Having a fun night so far?" It was just Jon's luck that not too soon after the question left his mouth, Monty and Cyndi also showed up, commenting on the decorations and punch. Jon nodded to both of them and smiled politely as he responded. "The decorations are great, yeah, and mulled wine would probably make this even more festive. If that's possible." Jon agreed, half joking about the wine as he sipped again from his glass. The Muggle studies professor felt slightly awkward around his colleagues, at a loss of what kind of small talk to make in a group other than making a distasteful joke about the fake weather. He eventually decided ask about everyone's Christmases, thinking it was something appropriate to say and curious to find out how each of his colleagues were spending their time for the holidays. "What's everyone's christmas plans this year?" As he waited for an answer he again drank from his punch, unsure of what else he was supposed to do.
​

 

[Olive Layton]

Olive hadn't expected Jonathon to begin hacking after making her presence known, although she did suppose that there were probably more graceful ways of approaching an old acquaintance. She crinkled her nose a little with her smile at his eventual response, taking a sip from her own glass. "We'll I've managed not to fall over yet, so I suppose that's a plus!" Olive's evening had only just begun and she would have been able to answer that much more accurately in a few hours time. Olive turned to see Monty arrive, and while he'd always seem to be perfectly civil around her, she still felt as though he'd been holding back from her slightly, especially when they were supposed to be teaching the same subject. She wanted to approach him for advice on the best methods of giving a demonstration on preparing the ingredients for Polyjuice Potion, but Olive thought she may be disturbing him. It didn't escape her notice either that the man only looked at her colleague, had she done something to offend the man? Luckily she avoided having to speak to him as Cyndi approached them. Since taking up responsibility of taking care of Leda, Olive had never actually tried alcohol before although it wasn't something she would willingly admit in front of her colleagues, feeling as though it was something she should have experienced before she was half way through her twenties. As they talked among themselves for a moment, Olive perked up more at the next question. "Usually Leda would stay with me over Christmas at our parents old house, although since that longer seems like an option it's probably better if we stay here during the holidays." Olive wasn't exactly sure how she was going to keep her twelve year old sister preoccupied for a week, but at least she wouldn't be the only member of the family by herself. "What about yourself? Heading home for the break?" she asked, curious to see who else she'd be able to impose herself on in the days to come.
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[Monty Pendleton]

Monty smiled, relaxing slightly as Cyndi shortly joined the professor trio. He laughed at her remark about the wine, responding with a subtle look that said, I couldn't agree more. A little alcohol went a long way loosening the Potions professor's nerves. The topic of Christmas plans came up, and Monty was pleased Olive jumped to answer first, giving him the opportunity to think on his reply. He wondered how Olive and Leda's circumstances had changed so that they could no longer return to their parents, but it seemed inappropriate to ask. Besides which, he wasn't yet ready to open the door to conversation between himself and his colleague. "Spending Christmas at the castle can be quite enjoyable," he said. "I'll be at home, I expect. My daughter's just had a baby, so I've been back and forth for the last few months. What about you?" The question was directed at Cyndi, though he was interested to hear Jon's plans, too.

 

[Ryder Warrick]

Ryder was glad that it was almost the Christmas holidays because it meant he would get to spend a few uninterrupted weeks with his new wife. Despite looking forward to the holidays Ryder was excited for the Yule Ball and he wanted to use the event to get to know more of his colleagues as so far during his time at the school he hadn't branched out much further than his subject partner and the odd interaction with Professor's he bumped into. Ryder made his way into the Great hall and immediately spotted a small group of Professors and after grabbing himself a drink he proceeded to join them. "Jonathon, Olive its good to see you," He began smiling at the pair of Professor's he was familiar with. Ryder then turned to Professor's Kingsley and Pendleton. He wasn't all that familiar with the two but he knew that Professor Kingsley was an impressive and respected woman and Professor Pendleton was a very well liked Professor among the students, he had heard all about him from his cousin Felix. "Cyndi and Monty I believe, its nice to see you both in less formal circumstances,"

 

[Professor Cyndi Kingsley]

Professor Kingsley listened quietly, sipping at the far too sweet punch as she did so. She didn't know the woman wrll at all, only seeing her on those occassions when she stole down to Monty's for a cup of tea and a chat. Seeing that Monty was directly addressing her, the woman brought her cup down slightly. "Ah, I think it'll be a quiet holiday for us. My sister-in-law is pregnant and on bed rest, so I imagine we'll be heading over there to celebrate." She smiled, nodding her head at the man who'd just joined them. Cyndi hoped someone else would address him so she'd have the opportunity to hear his name without having to embarrass herself or him by asking.

 

[Jon Phillips]

Olive was the first person to answer his question, so Jon turned his head towards her, listening intently. He then turned to Monty and Cyndi to hear their answers, finding it interesting that both of the older professors had family members that were either pregnant or had just had a baby. He nodded along, smiling, although was interrupted from answering the question after it was returned to him as his subject buddy appeared, greeting everyone. "Hey, Ryder." Jon said, smiling towards the other muggle studies professor. "We're just talking about each other's plans for the holidays." He added, cluing Ryder in to their conversation so he did not feel left out. "I am going to head to Boston to spend time with my family, it's always fun to have a white christmas even if it means traveling." Seeing his family at all was worth traveling for, and sharing a holiday with them only made Jon more excited to celebrate christmas. He was glad that the other professors were spending time with their families one way or another as spending time with family was truly what christmas was all about.​