Summer Get Together

[Jon Phillips]

It wasn't usually like Jon to host parties, finding the ordeal of organizing everything and later socializing to keep everything running smoothly too stressful to be worth the fuss. However his social calendar after christmas leaving little to be desired and a sinking feeling in his chest telling him he needed to keep busy lead him to organize an informal barbecue for his professor colleagues and the other hogwarts staff members one Sunday afternoon. With summer well underway it only made sense to host something to get everyone together during the holidays, and he couldn't see why any of his colleagues wouldn't pass up an opportunity to eat food, drink, and generally have a good time. It helped that Maurice was all for the idea, aiding Jon in the organization and set up of the barbecue the week prior and on the day itself. An extra set of hands to help him figure out how the barbecue worked, make the various sides, and supply some of the beer was wholeheartedly appreciated.

When the barbecue was going, the backyard of his house was set up with a table for food and places to sit and chat, and the drinks were on ice Jon smiled at all he and Maurice had accomplished. Everything was so well organized it seemed as if they knew what they were doing - a far cry from the truth when they initially decided to host a get together. Jon gave Maurice a pat on the back quickly uttering "Well done bro," before he headed to where the drinks were to open a bottle of cider for himself. He sipped slowly at his drink while waiting for the potential guests to arrive. Though it was an informal gathering and not mandatory in any sense of the word he trusted someone would show up eventually. ​

Out of Character:

For more information feel free to read the plotline topic here: http://hogwarts.nz/topic/30647154/1/

 

[Maurice Welch]

With Maurice living together with Jon, it was only a matter of time before he would know about the idea of hosting a party for all of their colleagues in their backyard. So naturally, the Herbology professor had offered to lend him a helping hand since he'd be here already. Having never touched a barbecue in his life it had taken them a couple of minutes to have it going without the use of magic, though in the end couldn't complain as it turned out to a very simple job to get the thing going. Standing next to Jon and looking around the backyard one last time to check if everything was set up correctly, the man smiled at his friend and said, ''This is all you, mate.'' winking at him afterwards. If it hadn't been for Jon wanting to keep himself busy they would probably be sitting on the couch right now watching movies or play fetch with the dog. Speaking of the dog. ''What do you reckon we should do with Bongo? Can't have him drool on our guests, can't we?'' He loved the dog but if it started drooling on their colleagues he feared they might want to leave and neither of the two men organising the party wanted to see them go surely.

 

[Monty Pendleton]

Monty wasn't a keen attender of social gatherings, but neither was he known to turn down the opportunity to spend time with his friend, Jon. Arriving as early as he could without actually being early, Monty figured he could mingle for a little while and then excuse himself if and when an uncomfortable amount of his colleagues arrived. At school, in a professional setting, he could just about manage to interact with them without having a panic attack; here, without the safety of work conversation, he felt completely out of his element. He tried to remember that his feeling as if he didn't belong was merely a consequence of the false beliefs impressed upon him as a child, and that logically he had no reason to be excluded, but it did little to help. Since ending up in the hospital wing last year, he had never quite managed to dispel the fear that his colleagues thought badly of him. Even knowing he would have to talk to Maurice put a lump in Monty's throat. Unlike Jon, he didn't know Maurice particularly well, and couldn't be sure of the man's opinion of him.

Gripping the bottle he'd brought along lest he suffer the embarrassment of being the only one who hadn't, Monty walked around the side of the house as instructed and into the open garden. Bongo, happy as ever, loped straight up to see him; Monty did a sidestep that he hoped didn't make his phobia too obvious and forced a smile toward Jon and Maurice. "Hello," he said, suddenly conscious that he might have come overdressed in his emerald-green waistcoat. Social gatherings were so stressful. As he placed the bottle down on a table, he said, "Sorry; I hope I'm not too early. How are you both?"

Dogmod approved
Pun courtesy of Annaleise

 

[Professor Matt Alcott-Ward]

Being invited to a get together with his colleagues was a nice surprise to Matt, and he had really looked forward to it. The fact that it was an informal gathering made him feel at ease, and he was happy to bring Kyle along. The girls were at home together which he trusted they could handle at their age, and he looked forward to having a fun evening with some friends. He wasn't very close to many of his colleagues, but would really like to change that. With a bottle of wine in hand, he made his way to the house with Kyle. Together they walked around to the back garden. Before this day he hadn't known the Herbology professor and Jon lived together, but their house was quite nice. He smiled as he noticed Monty there already. "Hello!" He called out happily, holding up the bottle and giving Monty a smile. "Seems like we're not very original." He turned to the hosts of this event. "Jon, Maurice, thanks for doing this." He looked over at the dog and gave it a pat on the head before placing the bottle down. He looked forward to the rest of the evening.

 

[Professor Grace Holland]

Grace was nervous about this barbecue. She knew the event wasn't formal and not mandatory, but she still wanted to go. If she was going to keep working at Hogwarts for a long time, she needed to bridge the age gap with her coworkers and make some friends. She hoped Olive would be there, she wasn't that much older and very nice. But Grace knew it was also important to talk to people she hadn't really talked to before, to get out of her comfort zone and start mingling.

Still, she was very glad to have brought Dominik with her. He was someone familiar and someone she could count on. Giving her boyfriend a smile, she took his hand as they walked over to the backyard of Professor Phillips- no, Jon, and Maurice. As she arrived, she immediately noticed the Potions and History professor had brought wine. She inwardly kicked herself for not bringing something, but also thought a third bottle would probably be excessive. Should she have brought something else? But no, she couldn't let her uncertainty show. She put on a bright smile, one she had been using a lot while helping her aunt with her campaign, and waved. "Hi everyone, thanks for inviting me." She said, addressing the hosts of the party with the second statement. She wandered over to the small group. "This is Dominik, my boyfriend," she stated, just so no one would later have to awkwardly ask his name. Though there would be more people joining, so it would probably happen anyway. She just hoped no one would mistake them for someone's children or something.

 

[Dominik Milne]

Dominik didn't mind going to the barbecue with Grace at all. They hadn't seen each other since his two-week break so to finally be able to spend some time with his girlfriend again after months would be great regardless of what the occasion was. Dressed in a simple t-shirt and shorts which revealed several scars on his arms from taking care of a two-month-old dragon, Dominik smiled back at Grace and followed her into the backyard and towards the group of men. He held out his hand and shook hands with the men she introduced him to. ''It's nice to meet all of you.'' Even though Grace had told him that this was an informal gathering, to him it definitely did not feel like that. She worked with these people so naturally he could not act like his normal, goofy self like he normally did at parties, as that might give them a bad impression of his girlfriend and the people she was friends with. ''Kudos to whoever came up with the idea of throwing a party, it's a lovely day.'' He added.

 

[Professor Misha Haden]

Misha had been happy to attend a barbecue, the school was out, and he could just get wrecked on some booze outside. The man hadn't found the term difficult or anything, but he liked any reason to relax. The man had taken from his house a couple of bottles of wine, and some beer for him to drink, he didn't think he'd drink all of it, but it would be better to have it than not. He knew there would be other drinks at the event but it would be rude if he didn't bring himself. He arrived at the house and made his way to the back where he knew the others would be. He greeted the others with a small smile, looking towards the dog that Jon had with a fondness, it was a nice dog. He walked over to the two hosts, "You guys got a cooler or something?" the charms professor asked, holding up the alcohol that he had brought that would be better if it stayed cool. He had detached one of the beers and held it in his hand, clearly intending to stat on that one. He smiled at the other professors, "Hows everyone doing?"
​

 

[Jon Phillips]

It was true he and Maurice worked as a team to organize the get together, fumbling cluelessly to get the barbecue itself going until they realized how simple of a task it actually was, and setting up enough food and drink for everyone that wanted to show up for the afternoon. But Jon couldn't help his instinct to thank his roommate anyway since it surely would have been a disaster without him. He chuckled halfheartedly at Maurice returning the sentiment, although soon shook his head as he looked away and over to Bongo who Jon was sure would be more interested in the food than the guests, even if he bounded over to greet them initially as they arrived. Bongo currently sniffing around the barbecue like a glutton was proof of this. "We can put him upstairs if he becomes a nuisance but I'm sure he'll be fine outside for now." Jon commented, prepared to move the dog somewhere else or even take him on another walk if he had too much energy.

Moments later Bongo looked up from the ground and trotted to the other side of the backyard, signifying the first guest was arriving. Jon turned just in time to see Monty side step away from the dog and head towards them. "Hey!" He greeted his friend, grinning wide and sipping again from his cider while watching Monty place the bottle he brought with him on one of the tables. "Don't worry, you've got perfect timing. I'm good, we just finished setting everything up." With another glance between Monty and the bottle of alcohol on the table Jon added. "Help yourself to the food, glasses are with the plates and cutlery and things, there should be a bottle opener lying around somewhere if you need it." With that said and done Jon quickly detoured over to the barbecue to check on the food currently cooking, turning everything over and making sure it was not going to burn.

Not long after Jon returned to where Monty and Maurice were, Matt and a man Jon recognized as Matt's partner soon arrived. Jon greeted them with an equally wide smile to the one he gave Monty, thanking Matt in return for showing up. "No, thank you for deciding to hang with us, the glasses are over there with the plates." He repeated, only having yet another moment to sip from his cider before the new flying instructor also arrived with a guest she introduced as her boyfriend. Jon looked between the pair as he addressed them. "Thanks for showing up, it's nice to meet you Dominik." Noticing Grace and her boyfriend being the first guests to not bring a bottle with them, Jon explained "There's cider and beer on ice over there if you guys want something to drink." with a nod to where they could find the drinks next to the food.

Hearing more footsteps a short distance away Jon looked over to see Misha with alcohol in hand. When the man asked where ice was Jon nodded to where the drinks were again, indicating where he could put his own drinks to keep them cool. "Just over there next to the food." He responded. Now that the introductions were over thus far and everyone hopefully knew where everything was, Jon was happy for Misha's question asking how everyone was doing. "I'm great, been busy organizing this shindig for a little while so it's nice to relax and drink." After answering the question himself Jon turned his attention to the group wanting to hear their answers. He was curious to see how everyone's breaks were thus far, and how their Christmases went if it was one of the holidays they celebrated. ​

Out of Character:

Sorry for the long-ish post, just had to catch up on everything

 

[Maurice Welch]

He nodded at Jon's words and hoped that Bongo would keep it at sniffing around the barbecue because the dog was too sweet to be kept upstairs. Maurice smiled when their first guest arrived and saw that it was Monty. Although Maurice never really talked to Monty, Jon had told him enough about him to know that the Potions professor was a nice man to have around. He didn't have to do much of the talking cause Jon took it upon himself to tell the guests where they could find everything. He didn't actually mind that Jon was talking more than him if he was being honest since it was his friend who had made sure that everything was here. ''It's a pleasure to have all of you here.'' Maurice told the group of people and smiled at them. He was happy to see that more and more people were arriving and knew that tonight would be loads of fun. ''I'm fine.'' He told Misha. ''I've been busy tending to the Wiggentree.'' Maurice pointed towards a potted tree on the other end of the backyard. ''Bowtruckles have finally come to guard it, so it's a bit difficult to collect its bark.'' He secretly hoped that one of the Care of Magical Creatures professors would stop by so he could ask them for help on retrieving the tree's bark and avoid getting attacked by the little creatures guarding it. He chuckled at the sight of all the bottles the guests had brought along and happily put the three bottles in the cooler on the table instead of letting the guests do that themselves. While standing next to the table, the Herbology professor turned around. ''What can I get all of you?'' He asked to the people who did not have a drink yet.

 

[Ryder Warrick]

Ryder had been teaching a couple of years at HNZ but he still wasn't very social when it came to his colleagues. He'd spoken to Olive as the pair were closer in age than some of the others and he had spent some time with his course partner Jon, who happened to be co-hosting the party he was attending. It was a nice idea and it gave Ryder chance to mix his two worlds by introducing his wife to his colleagues. It was a lovely warm day so Ryder dressed casually. With a six pack of beer in one hand Ryder made his way into the garden of his colleagues home where BBQ was. A few people had already arrived which Ryder was glad about as he hated being the first to arrive anywhere. "Hey all," Ryder greeted everyone as he set aside his beer. "This is my wife Alex," He said introducing Alex to the group.

 

[Alex Warrick]

Alex had to admit she wasn't all that surprised when Ryder told her they had been invited at a Hogwarts' professors get-together. She was grateful to know partners had been thought of too, however, and she smiled at her husband as they finished getting everything ready and apparated to their destination. Alex thought the place had been decorated nicely. The blonde was curious to meet Ryder's colleagues, they seemed nice from the way he sometimes spoke of them so she couldn't wait to see them. When they went to the garden, where everyone seemingly was, Alex quickly looked at everyone and then her gaze flickered to Ryder as he introduced her to the group. "Hello everyone," she greeted with a smile, masking her surprise when her eyes landed on a girl and boy around her age. So she wouldn't feel like the youngest person there, after all.
​

 

[Professor Kahurangi Josephs]

Kahurangi was trying hard not to be nervous about the Professors get together. Although she had been well intentioned when it came to making friends in her new workplace, she hadn't followed through very well, and was a little embarrassed to think of how little she knew about her colleagues. This would hopefully be a good opportunity though, to socialise a little and make some friends in the workplace. She had spent yesterday doing some baking with Mum, and had a nice tray of cupcakes and a bottle of wine to contribute. It looked like the party was just getting going when she arrived and she smiled a little nervously, relieved that Matt and Monty were here, so there were at least a few familiar people to make conversation with. She greeted Jon first though, not wanting to be rude. "Hi Jon, thank you for the invitation. I brought some cupcakes and wine, I hope that's alright."

 

[Kyle Alcott-Ward]

Kyle usually enjoyed parties, but there was something nerve-wracking about a barbecue with Matt's colleagues. It brought back memories of his own lackluster perfomance as a student, and though most of his old professors were long gone from the school and there was no chance the few remaining ones would remember his awful academic performance, the thought of running into Professor Styx or Weasley as an adult was a distinctly odd one. It would be nice to get the chance to finally meet Matt's colleagues though, and he did his best to focus on that aspect of the party, greeting the hosts politely when Matt did. There was a lot going on and Kyle mostly stayed silent by Matt's side, trying to guess at which professors taught which subjects, contented for the moment to stay quiet and let Matt talk to his colleagues.

 

[Jon Phillips]

Jon sipped from his bottle of cider as he listened to Maurice talk about the potted Wiggentree in a different part of the backyard, not minding hearing about it again because it was something his friend was so interested in. He would have liked to drink more of his cider and listen to his other colleagues chat about their holidays but when Ryder, and a woman Jon assumed to be Ryder's wife arrived and spoke to the group he greeted them instead, wanting to keep up with his responsibilities as a host. "Hey guys, its nice to meet you Alex." He said, smiling as he looked between the pair. Not long after that Kahurangi arrived with cupcakes and thanked him specifically for inviting her. Smiling wide, he responded with "No problem, and that's awesome, food goes on that table so you can put your cupcakes there if there's room," while waving in the general direction of where everything was. Fortunately Kahurangi reminding Jon about the food helped him remember the food still on the barbecue, and he turned to check on it just in time to realize everything was done cooking. He turned the barbecue off and plated it all, moving everything to the table. When that part was finished he headed inside the house, returning with a plate of grilled vegetables he and Maurice made earlier. Placing the vegetables on the table as well, he turned to the group. "Alright, this is everything, dig in if you're hungry. We cooked the vegetables separately so they're vegetarian safe." The table now had an assortment of different meats, salads, and grilled vegetables. With Kahurangi's cupcakes he was confident there would be something everyone was happy to eat. ​

 

[Kennedy Pratt]

Kennedy was very pleased and not surprised to receive an invitation from Jon and Maurice for a get together at their place over the summer break for all professors and their partners. Kennedy had briefly considered inviting Alaric to be her guest to the get together, since the two had recently reconnected after such a long time and things seemed to be light and cordial between them, but decided against it in the end because it might complicate things. Plus she preferred to use this time to get to know her colleagues better. Kennedy arrived at the location and carefully walked through to where she could hear faint chatter and then walked into a garden where a few of the professors had already gathered. She didn't want to be the first one here but now she definitely felt a bit late, though she looked around and saw the food was just being offered. "Hi," she greeted them at large with a bright smile, and then walked over to Jon and Maurice since they were the hosts. "I brought key lime pie," she said, holding it out for Jon to take. She had considered bringing wine or beer as well, but considering the guys, she figured they would have that well covered, so she focused on making a dessert instead, another thing one could never have enough of as well. "And this is for your home," she said, holding up a small potted Moly plant. It wasn't as if they were having a house warming party, but Kennedy felt she should bring a gift anyway, and bringing a plant that warded off dark magic seemed perfect for a home. As a Herbology professor, Maurice might already have one around here somewhere, so it was more the gesture that counted, and if not it never hurt to have some extra protection for their home.​

 

[Maurice Welch]

Whilst getting drinks for everyone who had replied to him, more people arrived at the party. It was nice to see so many of his colleagues outside of work hours, as he didn't get to talk to some of them due to the amount of work for his classes. He nodded at the woman accompanying Ryder and said, ''It's nice to meet you.'' Then Maurice turned to Kahurangi and smiled at her and what she had brought with her. He doubted they would run out of alcoholic drinks tonight. He watched as Jon put all the food on the table. He only realised now how hungry he actually was. His smile widened when Kennedy arrived and walked over towards his colleague and friend to greet her back. Maurice took the potted plant she was holding up to inspect the plant from up-close and smiled again. ''Thank you very much, Kennedy.'' the professor said excitedly as he looked back up at the woman.

 

[Jon Phillips]

Jon turned away from the group of other guests just in time to see Kennedy arrive. He greeted the hufflepuff head of house with a wide grin, accepting the key lime pie she offered. "This looks great, thanks Kennedy!" He said, still smiling as he looked over to the table, figuring out where he could place the dessert. Key lime pie was an American dish Jon had only previously heard of in films, never actually having the opportunity to try it himself, so he was excited to change this as he moved around a few of the plates to place the pie in a free space on the table. When that was organized Jon stepped away to let everyone help themselves to the food, resuming drinking from his cider after picking it up from where he left it near the barbecue. There was once a small worry in the back of his mind that the get together would turn out to be a total disaster, as that would be just his luck, but it instead seemed to be going well so far. He and Maurice were definitely better party planners than they made themselves out to be. ​