From the Ashes

Who: Audrey and Z
What: A chance encounter in the library
When: Monday, January 18, early evening
Where: The library, near the Divination stacks

Z was only partly aware of her surroundings, focused on book titles. She was after a particular book on that explored the relationship between numerology and natal charts for her latest Arithmancy assignment. Z wasn't a huge fan of the divinatory side of Arithmancy, but it was interesting enough Z turned a corner and continued scanning titles. More and more of them had to do with numerology and predicting things-she had to be close.

Somewhere in there the books shifted from Arithmancy to Divination without Z noticing until she bumped into someone, knocking several books off the shelf-one of which was titled Play the Cards With Spades To Start: A Guide to Cartomancy.

Who: Victoria and OPEN (Mikey, Audrey)
What: Random interaction!
When: Monday, January 11, after dinner (so anyone can be present)
Where: Staff lounge

Victoria hadn't realised when she'd taken a teaching position exactly how exhausting dealing with large groups of adolescents for most of each day was going to be. Binns' schedule, the one she'd decided to keep to for the rest of this year, was apparently predicated on his lack of any need for sleep. She found herself envying the teachers who had assistants and wishing for one of her own to help her with the student parchments.

She was sitting with rolls of said parchments at her feet, slowly marking off errors in red ink on them, in the staff room. She might have done better at the work if she'd been in the library or in her own office, but if Victoria didn't have some adult conversation soon, she was certain she was going to throw something at someone. At least her colleagues weren't going to prattle about third-year dating drama, or so Victoria hoped.

Who: Audrey, Adam, Z, and Nate
Where: random icy corridor
When: Tuesday 22 December
What: evil mutant mistletoe! (and ice skating)

Tuesdays without Gryffindor/Slytherin 5th years were fast becoming Audrey's favourite kind of Tuesday. She was headed up to the owlery after breakfast, blissfully enjoying the freedom of not hearing William and Ellsworth bickering, and so was completely taken by surprise when she rounded a corner and her feet shot out from underneath her.

Laughter rang out as soon as she hit the ground, from a group of students who appeared to be using the hallway for ice skating. Just because the gods frowned upon Slytherins, Ellsworth was there and laughing the hardest. Audrey rolled her eyes and used a low-hanging portrait to pull herself back upright.

"All right, professor?" One of the Hufflepuffs, Susannah something, called out. Audrey flapped a hand at her.

"Yes, fine. How long has this ice been here?" She asked the group at large. Several shrugs went around. "Okay, easier question, how long have you lot been sliding around on it?"

"We just found it this morning." A Gryffindor prefect said. He looked a bit sheepish to be caught skating around in the corridor like a firstie in socks. "Prim did a spell for detecting dark magic, she said we should be safe."

Prim nodded firmly when Audrey glanced her way. She had to admit, it was more likely this was the same malfunctioning charm still causing snowdrifts in the staff room than some sort of evil plot. And it did look like an awful amount of fun.

"Yes, all right, don't let me ruin it." Audrey said. "Still, least you could do was put up a sign or something." She edged carefully back around the corner to whisk up some kind of warning.

Who: Everyone is invited to attend
When: December 20th - December 21st
Where: The Great Hall, Entrance Hall, and Courtyard
What: Yule Vigil

On the longest night of the year, all lights in the castle will be doused with the exception of one main bonfire in the Great Hall, which will burn throughout the night. The vigil is a time for reflection on the past year, preparing to face the new year to come. Those who keep it will not sleep until after they watch the sunrise.

Since this is an all-night event, feel free to start multiple threads and jump around as you wish. It's a good time for telling stories, remembering lost friends, making amends, setting new goals, and resolving to change for the better. No one is required to attend or to stay for the entire night if they do not wish to do so.

The bonfire is in the Great Hall, but the doors are open to the Entrance Hall, which will spill enough light outside that people can mingle there. The Entrance Hall is an easier place to have more animated conversations without disturbing the solemnity of those gathered in the Great Hall to reflect in the firelight. The Courtyard is lit by the moon and stars, and is a good place to go for those who feel the desire to commune with nature, or who need a breath of fresh air.

Who: Audrey and William
When: Monday morning, Dec 21st
Where: the Divination classroom
What: awkward grading discussion, ahoy!

As Audrey had begun teaching classes, she had grown fond of finding her predecessor's notes and comments among the papers and gradebook he had left behind. He had identified the third years who were taking Divination for an easy pass. He noted which students in the fifth year Gryffindor-Slytherin should be sitting as far away from each other as possible. There was even a notation for the pair of Ravenclaw NEWT students who appeared to be sitting the class largely to write a thesis on how all Seers were frauds. (There was a side note on which scholars he had guided them towards.) Every class had detailed notes on accomplishments and disasters, and students to keep an eye on.

Which made it all the more baffling that there was just one scant mention that William Beckett, Librarian and former Ravenclaw, would be sitting his NEWT after an independent study. Not a grade, not an essay, not even any mentions of meeting times to discuss how his studies were coming along. When Schechter had asked after Beckett's exam grade, Audrey had actually had a horrifying moment where she had to admit to the headmaster she didn't know he was one of her students.

Audrey's goodwill towards Professor Trohman was running pretty low at the moment.

At this point, she had two essay topics that should be generic enough for any Ravenclaw to tie to advanced Divination, and a colleague on his way to sit an exam. She was actually kind of looking forward to hearing what Beckett had been studying.

Who: Anyone and everyone!
When: Sunday morning, December 20th
Where: The staff lounge
What: Weekly staff meeting. Let's get this holiday party started!

"So Professor Saporta will be in charge of decorations," Brian concluded, still without any idea of how that had come about, and hoping it hadn't actually been his decision, as he feared it might have been. "Professor Smith can handle the trees, and that should put us in good stead for the end of the week. Hogwarts has a seasonal decoration charm, which I can put into effect now, that should save us all a great deal of trouble."

He cast the charm, the castle recognizing his authority as headmaster and bending neatly to his will. Garlands sprung up around the sideboard, crystal icicles glistened overhead, and a sprig of holly landed neatly on the tea tray. Excellent. "Professor Urie will be accompanying the carolers to..."

Snow began falling lightly in the staff lounge. One the sideboard, a festive wooden reindeer ornament leapt to the floor, charged beneath the table, and dashed through the door with a squeal, singing "FA LA LA LA LA," in a high-pitched festive wooden reindeer voice. As Brian opened his mouth to speak, a shower of miniature candy canes fell out of the air to rain down on everyone's heads.

"For fuck's sake," Brian said. Overhead, a candy cane wobbled loose from its perch on a twinkling icicle and smacked him on the nose. "Keep going," he ordered, pointing back at his staff, and went off down the hallway in a swirl of headmasterly robes, following the singing reindeer.

Who: Audrey and Spencer
When: sometime next week -- after the painting
Where: The Greenhouses
What: catching up

Audrey eyed the greenhouses dubiously. Most of her experiences in Herbology class had consisted of trying to keep the plants as far away from herself as possible. It was always a losing battle. At least today she could be certain no one was going to trip her into a bed of mandrakes, unless Spencer had regressed back to a first year for some bizarre reason.

You have owned your own business for three years, woman, and you are teaching a bunch of teenagers. You can handle a building full of damn plants! It sounded pretty good, but Audrey wasn't certain she believed herself. Teenagers at least didn't pretend to be stationary to lure you to your death, or look all beautiful and then spit poison. On the other hand, plants weren't likely to burst into tears or tell her she wasn't as good as Professor Trohman. And besides, she was going into Spencer's office. Just a quick walk through and she could leave the plants behind her.

Suitably mentally fortified, Audrey flipped her hair back and marched into the main greenhouse. "Spencer? You around? And is anything in here going to try to eat me?"

Who: Gerard and Audrey (the non-Tentacula one)
When: Tuesday afternoon (12/1)
Where: outside the Divination classrom
What: Welcome to Hogwarts! Please mind the blood-curdling jinxes and zombie elf remnants.

Class should be ending soon, Gerard thought, listening to the scuffling in the room overhead. The trapdoor would fall any moment, and the students would make their escape. Well. Maybe escape wasn't quite fair; Gerard hadn't really gotten a chance to meet the new professor, but no one could possibly be worse than Trelawney, with all the incense and rot. Gerard had only caught the drapes on fire once, and it clearly hadn't been his fault, but the woman had treated him like a pyromaniac or something for years afterwards. And ugh, the amount of tea she'd made them all drink, sickening. Not that Gerard didn't appreciate caffeine -- he just preferred not to drink watery, bland rubbish and then poke around the dregs for hours searching for enlightenment about the future. Surely coffee grinds would have worked just as well, but Trelawney'd acted like Gerard had suggested murdering children and poking about their entrails when he'd brought it up.

Anyway, he couldn't smell any incense or any other kind of smoke wafting down from the classroom now, so that was definitely a point in Professor Kitching's favor. He'd spotted her notice in the staffroom that morning as he'd refreshed his flask of coffee and he'd thought, hell, might as well lend a hand, right? Welcome the new staff to the castle and all, share with them the joys of living amongst bizarre curses and potential undead doom. Plus, well, it wouldn't hurt to scope things out. Very likely she wasn't a polyjuiced Death Eater or anything of the sort, but it never hurt to check. Gerard had some free time between monitoring the wards on the western grounds and his chess date with Betsy and Bob at 4; skulking around the North tower and the surrounding environs could definitely be penciled in.

He tapped his foot against the floor and pondered whether or not he had time to sneak a cigarette. There was a window right there -- but no, Schechter would probably somehow sense it and come flapping down from the headmaster's office and feed Gerard to the squid or something.