Closed New Year, New Me

[Professor Angel Castillo]

Angel dropped his trunk in the middle of the entrance hall, taking a moment as he entered the castle to just enjoy his new surroundings. The big door and hall were all pretty impressive, though he couldn't help but think everything seemed a tad quaint compared to how things had been back at Ilvermorny. Still, one couldn't say no to getting to live in a castle for the foreseeable future, assuming he didn't put his foot in it anywhere along the way. Though, Angel had to lament that he would probably be spending most of said future out in the dinky herbology greenhouses.

For now, he was content to take in the sights of the castle while he could, breathing in and shooting a pair of passing students a charming grin. His arrival was turning a few heads, which suited him well enough. He had to make an entrance while he had the chance before he was forced to while his days away out in the greenhouses for the rest of the year. Setting a foot on his trunk, Angel pulled out his pocket watch, aiming to look every inch the dashing explorer type he was hoping to come across as. These kids wouldn't know what hit 'em.

 

[Tristan Collins]

Tristan wasn't sure what the point was of exceeding expectations anymore. He was considering dropping a few classes, only taking what he needed for his future career. But then maybe he would look lazy to his future employer, and he definitely didn't want that. Perhaps he could let Kauri take on the brotherhood by himself? It hurt to think about, but Tristan wasn't being given free reign anyway. His meeting last year hadn't gone as well as he had hoped, and he thought Kauri should carry the burden of the club more since he was actually de president. He wasn't sure yet what he wanted to do, but he definitely didn't want to try as hard as he had so far.

The boy was making his way out of the great hall after breakfast, his expression still stormy. He hadn't been content, and he hadn't felt the need to pretend to be happy. Especially not where Jerara could see it. Tristan jumped a little at a noise, then noticed it had been someone dropping down a trunk near him. It was an unfamiliar man, probably a new professor. And Tristan watched with a slight frown on his face as he placed his foot on his trunk and pulled out a pocket watch. It was... an odd sight, almost like he was posing. But perhaps he was simply lost, or late for a meeting. Tristan decided to engage, mostly out of curiosity. "Excuse me, sir. Are you lost?" He asked. Even in his annoyed and grumpy state, he wasn't going to stop being polite to professors. At least to their faces.

 

[Professor Angel Castillo]

Angel straightened up as one of the students approached him, one of the older kids he'd guess, going off the facial hair and prefect badge he could see. Though you could never be sure with teenagers these days. He shot the kid a grin, snapping his pocket watch closed. "I sure hope not," he answered lightly, surveying the hall conspicuously again, "I can't imagine there's a lot of magic castles tucked around New Zealand, but then again, I could easily be wrong about that,"
Angel took a moment to observe the student's face, attempting to gauge if the kid was catching his joking tone. He wasn't too worried about the students not liking him, he found he was generally likable enough, probably not as uptight as some of the students might be used to. "I'm one of the new teachers this year, Professor Castillo. Wanted to enjoy the grounds a bit before I skulk off to the greenhouses and forget there are real people out here." He offered with a smile, just in case the prefect was approaching him out of some concern for security rather than his apparent innocent curiosity or politeness.

 

[Tristan Collins]

Tristan was a bit guarded with professors, and tended to be a bit more formal with them. So when the man grinned at him, Tristan shot him a measured smile instead. The smile grew a bit at his words, and he glanced around. "I meant lost within the castle, unless your office is in the entrance hall, sir?" He asked him, keeping his voice polite even as he joked a little. He wasn't even sure if the man was a professor with an office. He could very well be a new groundskeeper or librarian, but Tristan thought those people didn't tend to walk into places like they owned the place. The man clearly thought he had some authority, whether or not that was actually true remained to be seen. He quickly confirmed Tristan's suspicions when he told him he was one of the new teachers, and from the rest of his words Tristan understood him to be the new Herbology teacher. Still, it couldn't hurt to ask, even if only for the sake of politeness. "You're the new Herbology teacher then?" He asked with a small smile. "I'm sure the mandrakes aren't all that different from some first years." He added, another small joke. "I'm afraid I don't take Herbology myself." He said apologetically. "But I could tell you where the professor's common room is, if you wish?"

 

[Professor Angel Castillo]

Angel was surprised by how hard it seemed to be to read the prefect's face. He was polite enough, even joking along with him, which Angel appreciated, but these was an underlying sharpness in his manner that reminded Angel a bit of himself. At the very least this kid was clever and he knew it.
"You know, I might prefer having an office here rather than out in the grounds, though it might be a bit drafty. But no, not lost yet at least. Can't say the same if I go up any of those stairs though," He said, finally stepping off his trunk to lever it up a bit with him as he spoke. Angel nodded, laughing at the student's joke. "I dare say mandrakes might actually be easier," He countered, making a mental note to brush up on his mandrake care. It might actually provide some pointers for kid wrangling.
Angel considered the kid's offer to show him around, the professor's common room sounding a lot more appealing than the dreary greenhouses. "Ah shame, you're missing out on some very advanced uses of dirt by your age I'm sure, but that sounds like a plan," He said cheerily, banishing his trunk with a lazy flick of his wand. Hopefully any students in its path had the wherewithal to move. "Lead the way..?" Angel trailed off, realizing he still didn't know his helpful guide's name.

 

[Tristan Collins]

The new professor seemed quite at ease in a new place, and Tristan was starting to feel like his help wasn't very necessary. But he couldn't help being curious, and it could never hurt to leave a good impression. "It's a bit tricky at first," he said, gesturing to the stairs behind him. "But you'll get the hang of it." It was the same sort of thing Tristan would have said to a first year, and that thought amused him for a moment. It pleased him that his joke about the mandrakes made the man laugh, and he smiled. "I'm not so sure about that, I think mandrakes were part of the reason I dropped Herbology, if I'm honest." His offer to show the man to the professor's common room had been a calculated one. It wasn't far away, so didn't require a lot of effort from him, but was still something helpful. He watched as the man banished his trunk, then nodded. "I'm Tristan Collins, seventh year Hufflepuff prefect." He said, reminded once again that he couldn't say he was head boy. That certainly would have sounded a lot better. "And you're in luck, professor. You don't have to go up any of the stairs to get to the professor's common room. It's on this floor." He gestured in the right direction, then started to lead the way there.