Knock, Knock, Knockin' on the Headmaster's Door

[Professor Ainsley Hume]

After having been safely directed to the office door of Headmaster Emerindyl, Ainsley hoisted her duffel bag, took a deep breath, and knocked as politely as she could.

She wasn't really nervous about meeting the Headmaster. It was just that, after years of tutoring and being on her own schedule, under her own rules, going for a professorship would make a lot of things different. She'd have to actually get up in the mornings, for one thing.

No answer. Hmm. Ainsley knocked again, hoping the Headmaster was actually in.

[Henry the Imp]

((Just a note, you cant actually see this character… it’s a long story, and one I will be happy to explain to you elsewhere. You can hear him though, and he is quite capable of hitting you or throwing something))

The door opened slowly and a very little man with big eyes and pointy ears looked up at the woman standing outside the office. The face was calm for a moment, politely inquisitive, though of course everyone who knew Henry would have known this was to be short lived. And so when he shouted over his shoulder, “Anyone order a prostitute? Ruberagon she looks like you type,”

Henry bounced away from the door letting it open slowly on its own. The four school founders were in the Headmasters office discussing matters beyond the school while Henry had been watching privately from his position in the rafters. He climbed in a scuttling fashion back up one of the bookshelves and into the rafters, where he hooked them with his stumpy little feet and watched with meagre interest.

“I dunno what she expected to be pulling in dressed like a hag, though I guess you’re into that sort of thing aren’t you Ruberagon?”

[Professor Ainsley Hume]

Of course, Ainsley couldn't see who these remarks were coming from. The voice was annoying, one might even say impish, but try as she might, she couldn't imagine it coming from any of the four people visible in the room.

Gotta cut back on the caffeine, she thought as she peered around the door.

"Excuse me," she said, her Scottish accent suddenly sounding very out of place. "Is Headmaster Emerindyl here?"

[Headmaster Elwyn Emerindyl]

“Come on in Professor Hume, the others and I are finished,” Professor Emerindyl said as the door swung wide revealing all four of the school founders sitting in identical chairs around a circular table in the middle of the office. As the four of them stood, the table itself sank into the floor and became a part of the ancient artwork that patterned the floor.

“Why don’t you come and take a seat,” Professor Emerindyl said as he gestured for her to walk past the sinking table and chairs to the desk, which stood at the back of the circular office. There were three chairs position at it, Headmaster Emerindyl’s chair stood throne like behind the very desk he had created himself from Australian red wood when he first opened the school some five hundred years prior.

”Feel free to feed your curiosity by looking about, I daresay there are some things that stand idly in an old mans office which are unseen anywhere else in the world, especially when a great deal of them are originals and quite one of a kind,” he meant of course the art work on the walls and the thousands upon thousands of books in the high book cases. There were also other interesting trinkets, items that seemed of no value but contained immense deposits of magic.

In the corner of the room, away from everything else, and totally undecorated stood a gold goblet, wide enough to sit in, and in the centre of it, surrounded by gold dub doubloons was an Emerald, bigger then Professor Hume’s own head.

“We’re just saying our farewells, I wont be a moment,” Headmaster Emerindyl held the door open and disappeared through it shutting it behind him. Professor Hume was now quite alone with Henry.

[Professor Ainsley Hume]

Blissfully unaware of Henry's presence, Ainsley took the Headmaster's invitation to heart and began scanning the titles on the many books around the room. Having grown up in an affluent family, Ainsley was used to having a large library around the house, but some of these books were things that even the most wealthy of wizards nowadays would all but kill to own.

"Bloody hell," she murmured to herself. "What a collection. Brilliant."

[Lady Sylvia Saphricorn]

“I really feel that being ignorant in a time like this is going to cost us dearly Elwyn,” A woman’s voice broke the silence as Professor Saphricorn walked back into her husbands office leading the way a head of him. He had held the door open for her and so she had entered first looking wildly upwards in frustration. Naturally the topic that brought the four together was somewhat delicate.

”If we continue to do nothing, I don’t see how we can be granted any benefit from it, you know what is stirring as well as I, and I don’t appreciate Amberley telling you that your should take her advice over mine, you know I would not abuse our relationship to get you to do something rash,” Lady Saphricorn was somewhat upset. Just before Professor Hume had entered Amberly Ameraid had accused Lady Saphricorn of manipulating her husband.

”I don’t think we should sit idly by, but if that is the decision you are going to make then-” she stopped quite suddenly when her eyes fell upon the new Professor who had entered the office just before they had left. Lady Saphricorn was so aggravated that she had barely registered the interruption. Now that she was back in her husband’s office, she felt the need to compose herself in front of company. The white silver locks that cascaded over her shoulders and down her back became still when she did.

”Oh, of course I am so sorry, you are?” she said when she approached the girl. Her midnight blue and silver robes swept across the floor as she approached the woman and held out her hand to give a ladies greeting. She noted this professor had a slight odour, it was not an unpleasant odour, anyone else would not have smelt it, but Lady Saphricorn knew the scent only too well, “You’re a potions Professor aren’t you?” she could smell it in her skin.

[Professor Ainsley Hume]

"Maighread Huminauth," Ainsley introduced herself with a nod, feeling that giving her full name was best at this point. "Though I go by Ainsley Hume, usually."

Darn, her foot was tapping again. That third cup of coffee was turning out to have been a bad idea. Oh well, no matter; three cups was what she'd had, she was here now, and she might as well make the most of it.

"I was admirin' the books," she added. "Very impressive. I've never seen a collection like it."

[Headmaster Elwyn Emerindyl]

Elwyn Emerindyl, however, had not forgotten their guest and so did not argue the point with Lady Saphricorn as they re-entered his office. He listened to each word, but merely smiled knowingly as they walked through the door and he closed it carefully behind him. He could see the new potions mistress looking at the many books his office held and did nothing until Professor Saphricorn’s tirade was complete.

”Good Morning Professor Hume,” he greeted her and held out his hand to take hers. He didn’t even know what time of the day it was, Lord Ruberagon, Lady Ameraid, Lady Saphricorn and himself had been at that round table having their discussions for many hours, more then possibly a full day and so it was not entirely obvious what time of the day it was now. Sleep meant very little when you were as old as Headmaster Emerindyl, if anything it just got in the way of more pressing matters.

Headmaster Emerindyl nodded when he listened to the admiration of his vast collection of texts, many of which you could find nowhere else in the world. “Yes, one does tend to accumulate things when you live for as long as I have,” his own eyes moved over the books shelves taking in a few titles that would never be seen elsewhere, study’s on alchemy, studies on dragons blood, personal notes of wizards who learned things no one else ever would as their studies were outlawed by the individual Ministries of magic. Elwyn had rescued these books from being destroyed when these individual wizards died.

”So, of course you will be teaching Potions here at Koalingo,” Headmaster Emerindyl said as he moved his way to his desk and took a seat behind it, gesturing for the other two women to do the same on the opposite side. He pulled a small piece of parchment out of his drawer and scrawled something on it in a loopy ancient handwriting that was not taught anymore. He folded it once and handed it to the Potions Professor, “These are directions to your quarters, I am sure there you will find further directions to your classroom, but before we bid one another good luck and farewell, tell us a little about yourself,”

[Professor Ainsley Hume]

"Well," Ainsley said with a chuckle as she took a seat, "I've done enough work with potions that I've spent most of my life without eyebrows. I've done a lot of tutorin', a lot of travelin', and a lot of readin'. The family's obsessed with time magic, but I don't mess with that stuff. I'd much rather be up to my elbows in potions ingredients. Or coffee," she added thoughtfully.

There had been a time when Ainsley had experimented with the use of caffeine in potions, but the results were something she wasn't keen to share until she worked out the kinks and quelled the tendency of such potions to explode.

[Headmaster Elwyn Emerindyl]

“Sounds fascinating, you know I have spent a lot of time with the study of time magic, a colleague of mine, Lord Secret, his and my ideas of what is and is not possible through the use of time magic differ somewhat, and at best I tire of the subject so I guess it is a good thing you do not seek to share your families quest through time magic,” He smiled before adding slightly lowering his voice as he did so, “That and also because it was outlawed in the Coolangatta Convention of 1836 here in Australia,” he tapped the side of his nose. He had in fact been at the convention and it was his deciding vote that swayed the decision to outlaw it.

”I know it is not outlawed in other countries though, so being that you are indeed foreign I don’t accuse your family of breaking said law, as it does not stand for them,” he smiled with a genuinely friendly composure, he couldn’t help it, he had spent a great deal of time working on outlawing time magic experimentation in Australia and was not about to let it slip back in just because someone did not know about the law, “So you like potions better, I have to admit that in my lifetime I have had little use of potions, though on occasion I do find they work better, though I daresay my knowledge of potions would be humbled by your own expansive education,”

”Another lover of coffee,” he smiled looking across at his wife, he knew she had no use for coffee, she always had vast deposits of energy at her fingertips and often commented on his coffee drinking habits, he smiled at her knowingly.

[Professor Ainsley Hume]

"Oh, aye?" Ainsley raised an eyebrow with a smile at the mention of this law regarding time magic. "I almost wish they'd do that in Scotland. You'd think they'd have learned their lesson after what happened to Desmond Phineus. My ancestor," she added, remembering that, due to Desmond Phineus' accident, there remained very few who had actually heard of him. "Poor sod--fellow, sorry--basically negated his own existence. Fortunately, he knew what he was doin' when it came to paradoxes, or else the rest of the Huminauth family might've gone along with him.

"I find potions much safer," she continued, leaning back in her chair. "I'd much rather be without eyebrows than without a lifespan."

[Lady Sylvia Saphricorn]

“So anyway,’ Professor Saphricorn interceded feeling that while the conversation was all very interesting, they were getting away from the point of the meeting, “You’re classes,” she started, smiling all the while though unable to completely hide the fact that she was still angry about the discussion the founders were having before the interruption, there were more pressing matters going on in the world and why she did not seek to insult the new Professor, she needed to get things moving so Elwyn could not escape her input on what should have been happening at Koalingo besides the obvious teaching of students and welcoming of new Professors.

”You can begin them as soon as you are settled in, the house elves were instructed the moment you accepted the position, so the class itself is ready and raring to go,” she said with a smile, it was genuine and she did not mean to come across rude, though she was hurrying the very brief introduction and quasi-interview as quickly as possible, ‘So apart from that, what do you imagine your first lesson will be involving, ensuring of course, you are aware of Australian magical laws and the limitations you will have as a Professor while you teach here at Koalingo Academy?” she did not believe this was too much to ask of the new Professor, surely she had a lesson plan ready.

”Your classes will be mixed, you wont be teaching specific house groups, generally potions is an elective class above the third grade so you may find a vast array of students from all houses attending your classes,” she smiled waiting for a reply.

[Professor Ainsley Hume]

((I'm experimenting with Ainsley's accent, so let me know if she's too hard to understand.))

"You dinna ha' to worry about the legalities," Ainsley assured Professor Saphricorn. "I read up on it. Fairly understandable, though a wee bit too much tae take in all at once.

"As for the first class, I always try tae start with somethin' easy, get tae know the students strengths and weaknesses. I've got a list o' where each year ought tae be at the start; I'll work from that."

[Headmaster Elwyn Emerindyl]

“Fantastic,” Lord Emerindyl said to the woman understanding his wife’s insistence on getting the meeting over and done with. He didn’t have anything more to add and was happy enough with Professor Hume’s response and so smiled at her and clapped his hands with enthusiasm, “Well said, I think then if there is nothing more…”

He looked at his wife as he said this, he didn’t think there was anything more she would like to add, but also knew that it would be rude not to, at the very least, offer her the chance, “Well then, welcome to the team, and if you have any questions at all please do feel free to drop in,” he said as he raised from his chair.

“I do think I will see you at meals anyway, we dine in the Golden Hall, but should you require it, meals can be taken in your office, just let the house elves know,” he smiled and watched her for any possible response. The meeting had come to an end.

[Professor Ainsley Hume]

Seeing that she was in danger of overstaying her welcome, Ainsley stood, as well.

"Thanks," she said in reply to the Headmaster's offer to answer any future questions. "I'm lookin' forward tae teachin' the kids."

With that, and a polite nod to both the Headmaster and Lady Saphricorn, Ainsley left the office. She hoisted her duffel bag once again and headed off to get her things in order.