Staff Longue

[Laurel]

The day had been a frazzle. Being a teacher, a serious teacher, could be hard work. She liked it better when she was allowed to just play with the kids all day but that was when she was a teachers assistant in a primary school. Teenagers were fraught with drama, anger, and romance. All the intrigues that could distract from her teaching in the most negative of ways. So with her day done, Laurel retreated to the Staff Longue and sank into one of the couches there near to tears, just the way she used to in the Hufflepuff commons when she was younger. At least then she had friends to help her through it. Making friends as an adult was difficult work for which she was entirely unprepared.

[Orla Ora]

Orla was tired. It had been a long day. It wasn't usual for students to choose her class to fight in, but yet there had been something going on today, leaving one student storming off before class. It was frustrating. She hadn't seen exactly what had happened...and perhaps it was nothing, but she couldn't discipline anyone. She was halfway tempted to give every Slytherin in her class detention. She was certain the guilty culprit was in that House.

Orla sighed. She was certain that House was better in line with Vlad in charge. Not that she had any problems with Paxton, it was just that Vlad wasn't afraid of discipline. And then that stupid story in the Daily Prophet...she couldn't believe that anyone would be gullible enough to believe that rubbish.

As she entered the teacher's lounge, she spotted Laurel sitting on one of the couches. She seemed upset. Sighing again, Orla sat next to her."Everything alright?"

[Laurel]

"I guess... it's just been one of those days. Students completely misbehaving in my class and then one had the audacity to arrive late and proceed to take a nap during class. The students just don't take me seriously as a professor... maybe my cousin is right... maybe I am just too young to be a professor."

Laurel sighed and started to get into a whole fit of the "poor me" variety but she took a deep breath, exhaled and tried to let it all out of her system. She wasn't going to let this defeat her. She could make it better she told herself.

"How do you do it? Do your students misbehave as well?"

She had the ear of another teacher right here right now. If she was looking for good advice this would be the place to find it since not only was this woman a respected Professor but a head of house. Obviously she was good at her job.

[Sakari Gryvon]

With newspapers from both the wizarding and muggle world, this long haired tired old thing with creaking bones made his way to the staff lounge to burn some time before heading to his room. After all that was said and done, he felt older than he was...he'll deal with it. In hand was a cup but it was innocent, a strong tea of all things he was drinking. Some natural herbal thing to help him sleep well, no potions, no artificial mumbo jumbo added. This was one of his ideas to clean himself up. No booze. Tea. He found all kinds of different teas...should be enjoyable.

He nodded a greeting to the ladies already in the lounge as he grabbed himself a plush comfy chair and read the comics in the muggle pages first.

[Todd Vel]

Staff Lounge... why not? Can't hide in the astronomy tower forever. Not that Todd was hiding but it never is fun to be the new guy. Especially when the last guy left on such hard terms.

Once in the lounge, the decision was clear. He could either sit alone, barge in on the ladies, or join the older guy. Decisions... decisions... Finally deciding that the ladies were in a serious conversation that should not be interrupted, and that sitting alone was about as useful as hiding out in the tower, Todd slid into a free seat at the old guy's table and he too poured over a copy of the Prophet.

[Orla Ora]

(my apologies...I thought I had already replied...also I have a massive headache so this post is the best I can do at the moment...my next post will be much better)

Orla almost laughed as she listened to Laurel vent her frustrations. It was like that with every new Professor...particularly young ones. Becoming a teacher for the first time could always be a bit overwhelming the first year.

"You're not too young to be a Professor. The Headmaster wouldn't have hired you if he didn't believe you were ready for it. You have to trust that and trust yourself.

The trick is to put your foot down at the slightest issue. Don't wait for things to escalate before you start handing out the punishments."

Orla sighed.

"But there will always be some troublemakers. I have them too. You just have to take it in stride. Never be afraid to be harsh. Especially when it comes to respect. If there's a student being disrespectful...try taking 20 points AND detention. If that doesn't work take off another 10 and add another week...and perhaps an essay. Never be afraid. You're the professor. Not them."

[Laurel]

"I guess... but then they hate me... when I deal out the punishments."

Laurel was always trying to fit in but she was starting to realize she was here to teach not to fit in with the students. That made her let a heavy sigh.

"Sorry, usually I am better put together but everything has been so chaotic lately... How are you doing with everything? I mean the changes around campus and outside..."

Now she was just trying to make a friend among the staff. She'd tried to make friends with Saku but that hadn't gone so well, mainly because she was toast after a small drink so maybe she would have better luck with Orla who seemed to have a good head on her shoulders.

[Orla Ora]

Orla smiled. "They won't hate you so long as you're fair. They'll respect you as an authority figure which is what you should want. You can be friends with them after they graduate."

Orla sighed as Laurel switched subjects. "Really we should be used to so many changes by now. The staff seems to change nearly every year. The thing that...bothers me the most are when staff members leave and...seem to just disappear without a word." Of course she was thinking of Vlad. She really missed their talks together. She couldn't believe that he really didn't seem inclined to come back and visit her. That he could just disappear like that without looking back. As though nothing at Hogwarts held any pull for him. She shook her head. "What really concerns me are the events outside of Hogwarts. I mean the Order, what happened with Youngblood, the Minister."

[Laurel]

“Yea? Who do you mean? Potions or Astronomy?”

Orla was obviously referring to a certain someone but for the life of her, Laurel couldn’t figure out who. Both Morcerf and Mastersone seemed to just take off without much word. Hell, the Potions professor disappeared so stealth he was almost like a ghost drifting through walls unheard and nearly unseen. Seems Potions was jinxed, they couldn’t keep a professor for long in that post and something bazaar always happened to them. Laurel really wondered if Orla knew what happened to make the current one leave but wouldn’t dare ask so bluntly. As for Vlad, well she could understand his reasons for leaving and not returning so long as the news was fresh. People would claim the school was a danger to the very students it was supposed to keep safe.

“Did you hear? She escaped… well of course… if you heard about the Minister… shocking really.”

Laurel always did love a bit of gossip.

“The quibbler even wrote that this Lord LeFay has some sort of magic that lets him wipe the features clean off your face. Says there are several people at St. Mungos suffering from the affliction of it… You’d think if the Minister was Lord LeFay as the paper accuses… well then he would be able to do it too right?”

The only thing 100% credible, ever printed in the Quibbler was a piece on Harry Potter during the dark times. Everything else was questionable, even the HP piece had been questionable in it’s day.