Professor's Meeting 2043

[Katherine Alicastell]

There were many adjustments to the new year of Hogwarts, and many new faces gracing the castle halls. Katherine was amongst them, though unlike the few she had employed in her new position, she was already familiar with the castle, returning after over a decade of absence. The woman stood in the center of the professors common room, dressed in elaborate lavender robes adorned with silver studded runes, while her hair was held up in a tight bun. Her Deputy, Professor Cliffeton, was already present, and the two awaited the arrival of the other members of staff while Podrey, one of the house elves from the kitchen, prepared a small meat and cheese platter for them all to have. There was a lot to be said today, and a lot of introductions to be made. With her eyes on the clock, and her hands folded in front of her, Katherine waited. Her professors had been informed of the meeting time, and were expected to arrive any minute now.

 

[Justin Cliffeton]

Professor Justin Cliffeton enjoyed the Professors Meetings, even if that was probably considered weird to some. They were a chance for him to escape the mountain of paperwork, and neverending hordes of Ravenclaw students that needed him. He loved his Ravenclaws, and he enjoyed being their Head of House, but as with all kids sometimes there was such a thing as to much. He smiled as the other Professors arrived, and greeted them each in turn. When they had settled in, he cleared his throat, and gestured to their newest member of Team Headmaster. "Hey everyone, thanks for coming! I'd like to start off by introducing Katherine Alicastell, our new Headmaster. She'll be in charge of the school from now onwards, so direct anything you don't feel comfortable saying to me, to her." He said with a smile, and moved aside so that she could take over the rest of the meeting. It was nice not having to run one of these himself.

 

[Christelle Benoit]

Christelle, bobbing along the corridors in her swishing skirt, was over the moon for her latest job position. She quite enjoyed the views from the upper levels of the castle, and simply could not wait to get stuck in to teaching. She had been a teaching aid at two different muggle schools in Europe, but this was her first wizarding school teaching opportunity.
Finally finding herself at the correct doorway, Christelle paced cheerfully into the professor's common room, gazing about to take in her surroundings, and drink in a brief physical description of her co-workers. She held out a hand as a gesture of friendship, first to the man- Cliffeton- who had spoken- who she had learnt was the deputy head, and then to Alicastell, the head of the school. "A pleasure to meet you both. I am Christelle. I apologise if my accent is in any way confusing- I originate from France, but I have spent over ten years travelling the globe, and I see to have picked up a few other little accents along the way." Christelle gave soft laugh.

 

[Eduardo Orbon]

Professor Orbon was somehow already slightly disorganized as he was playing a bit of catch up from the prior year when he had to abandon classes for several weeks due to personal circumstances but as he had to give time to his colleagues - who seemed to change every year - to discuss the upcoming year he tried to be timely and not look as dishevelled as he felt. The man was happy to meet new professors as always but with so much to do he wished this meeting would be short and sweet but he suspected this was not the case as he leaned to the back of the room, observing for now.

 

[Professor Cyndi Kingsley]

With a smile to the their new boss, Professor Kingsley took a seat in the back of the room. It wasn't long before the meeting began and Justin stood up to introduce the woman to the group. There were a lot of new faces in the castle this semester, and Cyndi was happy for this meeting, if only to get to know them all. Once the school year began, she was often in her own world, drifting from her class to dealing with the Gryffindors who took up a lot of her time.

 

[Alaric Snyder]

Alaric entered the staff common room and took a seat. For some they were meeting a new boss, but everyone was new to him so it made no difference. He sat alone and listened to the head and deputy head as they spoke. Once all the formalities were over Alaric was sure he would get chance to get to know his colleagues a little better. He might only be a temp but he was going to make an effort all the same.

 

[Monty Pendleton]

Monty had already acquainted himself with one of the new professors, but he had yet to properly introduce himself to the rest. It would take some adjusting, he felt, to address a headmistress that was not Ava, and as he entered the professor's common room his heart twinged slightly at the memory of her. No doubt Katherine would do a terrific job, but Monty quite doubted he would ever be so close to her as he had been Ava. Truth be told, he did not want to be; he reserved his affections for Ava alone, and surely would until with him they died.

Shortly the room began to fill, and Monty made his way to greet Professor Alicastell and Professor Benoit, offering to the latter his support should she find herself in need of it. Then he drifted to the back of the room, saying hello to Eduardo and attempting to make some light conversation before the meeting commenced.

 

[Aeon Summers]

Aeon shuffled reluctantly from his office to the professors common room after being informed of their annual meeting time. His hair was a slightly disheveled mess and he'd hastily thrown on a large and baggy Hogwarts hoodie rather than taking the time to find his usual dragonskin jacket or work robes. He wasn't scheduled to have a class until later in the evening, and he definitely had no intention of putting effort into his attire for his mother of all people. If the meeting wasn't mandatory, he wouldn't have bothered making an appearance. Already he missed Ava.

Arriving at the common room without Kida this semester, another downside to the start of the year was her temporary absence, Aeon stopped to realise that, when he thought about it, he probably should have looked immaculate instead, to prove that he was a functioning adult even without Katherine's parental guidance halfway through his teenage years. Dammit. It was too late now. Combing his fingers quickly through his hair, the wizard entered and raised his hand with a quick "Hey." to greet the others already present, already looking forward to the meetings conclusion.

 

[Dannii Merrythought]

Dannii was still a little shocked that she was once again at Hogwarts New Zealand. It seemed that she just couldn't get away from the school. She had been a student, and now a professor, again. This time she hoped that her life was stable enough that she would be able to stick around a bit longer. Now that I have a kid I really have no choice, but to be stable. She told herself. Ember being in her life had made this last year incredibly hard. She was never cut out for motherhood, and so here she was. Aemleigh was a great dad, and Ember would probably be better off with him being the primary parent. And so here she was getting ready to attend the first staff meeting of the year. It would be a good chance to meet her new coworkers, and boss.

Dannii had always preferred muggle clothing, but she tried to dress in business appropriate clothing when she did. Thank-fully she had managed to lose the baby weight in the last year, and still fit into her clothes from when she worked as a broom designer. Today she was wearing a white blouse, and knee length black skirt. Simple, but effective. When she entered the room she took note of all the faces. Names were still a bit hazy, but they would come. One man stood out from the crowd right away. His blonde hair was a mess, and it looked as though he had woken up 5 minutes ago, and come as is. The witch thought she might have recognized him from her time in school, but wasn't sure. "I didn't know this was a pyjama party. Don't I feel over dressed." She said quietly giving him a slight smirk. "Dannii Merrythought. I'll be teaching Care of Magical Creatures." She introduced herself to him.​

 

[Professor Misha Haden]

Misha was a little concerned that there was a new headmistress, especially since she was also new to the school. Misha had a way of teaching that he couldn't help but think the professor might not entirely be for. He didn't know yet how involved the woman intended to be within the day to day classes. He taught the charms course well, most of his students managed to do well. He was nervous about meeting her, but he knew in the back of his mind that it would be fine, that it would be no different than any other meeting. So he arrived at the room, and glanced at those already present, glancing at the new faces within the crowd, these were the new professors. professor Haden was just rather happy that kalif styx wasn't going to be there for a semester. The man however, just greeted those he knew before standing to the side, ready to take in any information that the deputy and headmistress wished to impart.
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[Maurice Welch]

Maurice entered the common room, happy to have been given a chance to teach for real finally. Tutoring children had been a lot of fun but it was nothing compared to the real deal. Eventually Maurice spotted his friend in the back of the room and made his way over towards him. Introductions would be made after talking with him, and Jon hopefully, who would surely show up soon. ''Hi!'' the new Herbology professor said to Eduardo as he approached the man with a smile on his face.

 

[Professor Kahurangi Josephs]

An unexpected letter from mum had distracted Kahurangi as she was getting ready to head down to the teachers meeting, and now she was running late. She rushed down the stairs, mentally cursing the castle for being so bloody big, and hurried through the halls in to the common room. "Sorry!" She breathed, embarrassed to see how many of her co-workers were already gathered, and quietly slipped into a seat.

 

[Professor Matt Alcott-Ward]

Matt felt a bit awkward as he entered the common room, but also very excited. He was finally going to meet all his colleagues, so he put on his friendliest smile as he entered the room and found a place to sit. He greeted the others there happily, though he did wonder if he was ever going to learn everyone's name. He felt like he had to introduce himself when a few of the other Professors did as well, but he would wait for now because he didn't know who to address. The ones that did were probably new here like him, he would take note of them especially. It would be nice to have a friend that knew what it was like to get started here. He smiled at everyone to hide his awkwardness, wondering if things would go smoother soon. He missed Kyle and wished he could have taken his partner with him, even if it was a childlish thought to have.

Another Professor entered right after him and apologized for being late. Whoops, did that mean he was late too? He couldn't focus on that thought because something about her looked incredibly familiar. He stared at her for a long moment, frowning. She looked familiar. But after a moment he let it go, he couldn't put a name to the face and didn't want to embarrass himself by saying the wrong one.

 

[Sydney Melbourne]

Sydney was rather relive when the new school year started again, her side job as an independent healer was fun but teaching what she loves and fight for was more her heart was. So, when an annual meeting for Professors was announced, Sydney left her classroom. It was half stocked of ingredients but it can wait. Upon arriving at the Professor's common room, she stopped by the doorway, startled when she saw someone rather looks familiar. The Potion's Professor calmed herself down as she entered the room. Smiling to the old and new Professors and took a spot at the back of the room. This was the first time that she even forgot that she's part of an organization who causes chaos once in a while. When their cost isn't heard by the Ministry.
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[Jon Phillips]

There were many changes that year, a new headmistress being one of them, and an entire horde of new permanent and temporary professors being some of the others. Meeting new professors wasn't out of the ordinary for the beginning of every year and Jon knew he would need to introduce himself to each of his new colleagues in due time, but had been too preoccupied with lesson planning that day to mentally prepare for being social or even to realize when he was supposed to be on his way to the first professor meeting of the year.

He quickly neatened his shirt and pulled on a blazer as he walked out of his office, managing to arrive to the meeting just in time. Jon didn't want his first impression on his new boss and colleagues to be one that depicted him as disorganized so he had been relieved when he wasn't late. He watched and listened politely as Professor Cliffeton introduced the new headmistress. He then sighed and looked around the room, noting the new faces in the crowd before his eyes fell on Eduardo and Maurice standing near the back. Jon smiled, adjusting his tie as he approached his friends and greeted them. "Hey guys. Did I miss anything before the introductions?" It was so surreal yet amazing to learn that Maurice had been hired as the new Herbology professor. Knowing that he had another friend to work with made Jon look forward to the upcoming school year more than he was already, if such a thing were possible. There were many changes to get used to but all of them had been for the better thus far.​

 

[Wren Louise]

Wren, as usual, was already present in the room when the Professor's meeting started, though it was more serendipity than a calculated decision. He spent a good portion of non-class time snoozing in the teacher's lounge. When he opened his eyes, he was surrounded by his co workers who were being attentive to who must be the new headmistress. Wren gave them all a dopey smile and wrapped his blanket tighter around him. There were plenty of old faces, but plenty more he didn't recognise, and he was happy to observe them unless they came to introduce themselves. The Frenchman was a friendly fellow; he'd have no problems chatting to his newer colleagues.​

 

[Kennedy Pratt]

Kennedy had been up in her office revising lesson plans when she lost track of time and noticed the professor's meeting was due to start any minute now. She quickly abandoned the various scrolls of paper and freshly brewed cup of tea on her desk as she hurried out the door to make it on time. She cursed the castle for being so big and her office for being in the furthest tower away. When the Divination professor finally made it to the ground floor, she took a moment outside the door to catch her breath and smooth out her clothes and hair and then slipped inside. She leaned against one of the walls in the room, a decision she could come to regret since she was in heels and she didn't know how long the meeting would be so she could be standing for a while, but for now she was not in pain. She smiled at Eduardo and Jon from afar, keeping her distance from the Astronomy professor because she didn't want their professionalism to be compromised and then carefully looked around the room at the other new professors, Alaric being one of them. As Kennedy looked around she made a mental note to get to know more of her colleagues because she felt she didn't know many of them too well, old or new, so she wanted to change that. After a quick sweep of the room, she focused her attention back on the new Headmistress, interested to see how she would run things because from her demeanor alone she seemed very different than the previous Headmistress.
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[Arvo Tuuri]

Why the meetings had to be on the ground floor, Arvo couldn't imagine, but the pint-sized, elderly professor (with a bad hip, he'll have you know) eventually made it to the meeting and wandered through to fetch himself a cuppa anything available. His pointed features gave the impression that he was feeling a little grumpy, but that couldn't be further upon still mulling over the news of a new grandchild. To say he was chuffed would be an understatement, and after he had a cup of tea in his hands, all was right with the world. Seeing Monty in conversation already, he left him be with a greeting wave and plopped himself beside Wren, who looked (unsurprisingly) like he had just rolled out of bed. Arvo had the sneaking suspicion that Wren hadn't yet got out of bed. He gave the younger professor a chipper greeting as always and offered him a biscuit.
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[Professor Landon Carter]

Landon was looking forward to another year of teaching. The man was easily bored during the holidays without having to do any work and was more than ready to get back into it. He gathered around the professor's common room and waited for their annual meeting to begin. It began by the deputy headmaster introducing the new headmistress and Landon smiled and waved at her from across the room. She seemed quite different to the previous headmistress and Landon had hoped that was a good thing. He walked around with a cup of coffee in his hand as he greeted all of his colleagues who seemed quite happy talking amongst themselves. When he was done, Landon sat on one of the lounges, watching everyone mingle.

 

[Katherine Alicastell]

As the professors made their way in, Katherine joined Justin in greeting them, recognizing very few from the last time she was at the castle, which was to be expected after a decade. It did come as some surprise to know Kalif was still teaching, but the man was on sabbatical, leaving her to deal with his Slytherins. A slight frown touched the woman's lips as a few of her professors ran a little late, and indeed some were still missing, but having waited long enough she decided to move on with the meeting. "Thank you, Justin. It is a pleasure to be back. And thank you all for coming. I'd like to start off by also introducing the other newest additions to our staff. Please give a warm welcome to Matt Ward, who will be teaching History of Magic, Maurice Welch for Herbology, and Dannii Merrythought for Care of Magical Creatures. Filling in temporarily for Defence Against the Dark Arts is Alaric Snyder, and for Transfiguration, Christelle Benoit. Though their stay here is short, I trust everyone to ensure they feel welcome all the same." The Headmistress gestured to each of the newcomers in turn as she spoke, and with introductions now over, she moved the topic along. "Now, since Professor Styx will be absent this semester, I'll be taking care of any issues regarding Slytherin House until his return. On that note, don't forget to also keep an eye out for and reward particularly good behaviour from students, whether in or outside of the classroom, to ensure they get the recognition they deserve and continue to act in a positive manner." It was something she had not seen enough of during her time as a professor. Some students who followed the rules and received very little to show for it often decided it was not worth doing.

"This year, I am looking to focus more on safety around the castle and it's grounds. Given incidents in recent years, some parents are no longer comfortable sending their children to our school. With magic will always come it's dangers and misuse, but we need to limit these incidents as much as possible and ensure a safe learning environment. Any students caught in areas they should not be in, such as the Forbidden Forest, should be receiving harsher punishments to ensure they aren't found doing so again, and to discourage others from doing the same. We can't be everywhere at once, but if we want parents to be comfortable sending their children here, we need to be more vigilant and take the necessary steps. I don't want to see warnings. If a student breaks a rule, they should be punished for it." Katherine wasn't going to sit by and allow another student to drown, or be attacked, or get lost within the forest. The students of the school needed to learn to respect authority. Rules were in place for their benefit, whether they liked it or not. "As the year progresses, changes may be made if I deem them necessary. For example, this common room is a place to relax and socialise with other members of staff, something I do encourage. It is not, however, a bedroom." The woman turned to face the man wrapped up in blankets as she said this, having initially not noticed him when she prepared the room, until the others had arrived. She was not the least bit impressed. "If you have been told in the past to make yourself at home, please ensure you do so within your own quarters, and not a public area. I understand some of you reside here overnight, but using this space to sleep is not appropriate. What you all do in your own time is up to you, however I expect a level of professionalism, especially during a work related meeting. I don't want to see this again. That being said, if anyone does have any issues or concerns of their own about the way things are run, or of any changes made, do come see me as I'm happy to discuss it." She clasped her hands together as she finally finished. Some people may not agree with her stricter approach to the school, but she wasn't here to make friends. From the sounds of it, Ava had been too lenient during her time as Headmistress. There was a standard, and she expected it to be met. "Are there any questions?"

 

[Aeon Summers]

"You mean you didn't get the memo?" Summers responded to the woman whom had commented on his attire with a grin. She looked somewhat familiar. "At least I didn't bring my bed along here with me. Check out him." The wizard nodded his head in the direction of Wren, cocooned in a mass of blanket. "I'm Aeon, by the way. I teach Transfiguration. Did you go to school here? You look like a girl who was a year or two below me." He queried. She wasn't the first student he recognised from his youth to grow up to become a teacher, but every time he encountered a new one, which was oddly often, it reminded him of how quickly time had passed.

His mother soon began the meeting, and Aeon shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot. The last thing he wanted were stricter rules, having been on probation once since he'd started teaching already. Given their relationship however, he was curious as to how far he could push the boundaries, and whether or not he'd be treated differently from the others. Katherine didn't appear too concerned about befriending everyone, already calling out Wren on his habits, and Aeon wondered how she'd act if it had been him there instead. "I hear she's part-dementor. She's come here to suck the fun out of everything." Aeon mumbled to Dannii while the headmistress rattled on about rules and regulations. He didn't know what to expect from this year, but so far, it didn't look too enjoyable. Already he missed Kida, and though the woman covering for her seemed polite, she couldn't replace his cousin.