Where to Go? [Open]

[Professor Zoe Black]

Zoe paced the Entrance Hall, wondering where to go.
It was her free period, but she had nothing to do. She hated it when that happened.
She was thinking about going to her office, but there was still nothing to do.
All in all, Zoe was completely bored.
She walked over to the wall and leaned again.
She could hear Peeves wreaking havoc in some distant classroom.
"Finally, something to do," she said, but before she could push herself off the wall, the bloody Baron glided through both her and the wall, towards where Peeves had created chaos. Zoe shivered and then sighed, "even the ghosts have something to do."
"Talking to yourself isn't a good sign, Miss," one of the paintings said.
"Oh, shush," Zoe said in a bored tone. The painting looked offeneded.
"So rude, you haven't changed since you were at school," he said, then he walked out of his frame to exchange gossip in some other part of the castle. Zoe rolled her eyes and drummed her fingers against the wall, aimlessly.

[Professor Netta Barton]

"Zoe!" cried Netta as she caught sight of the Dragonology teacher in the Entrance Hall. She winced as she heard some crashes from somewhere to her right but wasn't overly worried. The Bloody Baron had headed in that direction a few moments before and was most likely about to sort out the situation. And it wasn't as if she would have had any effect on Peeves as it was. The Baron and bribery were the only things he paid attention too.

"How are you?" she asked her fellow teacher, who appeared to be rather bored. "Have you got a free period at the moment?" she inquired. It was the most likely reason for Zoe not to be in a lesson during teaching hours. "How are you lessons going?" she asked shortly after.

[Professor Zoe Black]

Zoe looked up as she heard her name. Yes, someone to talk to!
"Hi," she said to her fellow teaching colleague, Netta Barton, "I'm fine thank you and yes, I do have a free period, which is my excuse for loitering in the Entrance Hall," she smiled slightly as the feeling of boredom lifted a bit, "my lessons are going fine, at least, better than what the other teachers have told me about their lessons, I haven't had anyone misbehave yet, probably because they're afraid I set a dragon on them," she let out a bark-like laugh, "and, besides, I don't have any Slytherins," she winked.
She looked around again. The crashing had come to an abrupt stop, the Bloody Baron must've found Peeves.
"And how are your lessons going? good, I hope?"

[Professor Netta Barton]

"Good as well thank you," answered Netta. "No one has misbehaved in my lessons yet either. It's been outside of lessons that I've discovered troublemakers." There had been a fair amount of misbehaving this term but to her knowledge not a lot of it had been during class hours. Hopefully events like that would lessen as the term went on and the students learned that they would be punished. Or at least Netta hoped so.

Netta breathed a slight sigh of relief as the crashes ceased. The Bloody Baron had obviously found Peeves. She smiled as Zoe mentioned the students fearing the dragons. Now that was one good incentive to behave. "I usually spend my free periods marking," Netta told her colleague, "but thankfully I haven't got any yet." Netta didn't hate marking as such, but she did hate it when she had mounds of the stuff to do.

[Professor Zoe Black]

Zoe listened to Netta comment on troublemakers.
"I agree," she said.
Netta said something about marking.
"I can't mark," she laughed, "my lessons are mostly practical apart from at the end of a topic, then they do an essay on it and that's it."
She smiled, that way she didn't have to do marking all the time. She was happy with that.
Her lessons weren't like the other teachers. For one, most lessons didn't start with a ten foot dragon glaring at the students.

[Professor Netta Barton]

"Yes," agreed Netta, "the students probably prefer that. As little written work as possible always seems to cheer them up." Netta smiled, every time she set a written assignment there was an audible groan from nearly every member of the class. Some of them however seemed thrilled by the prospect. It really was interesting the different reactions she got from various students.

"Sometimes written work is unavoidable in my classes," Netta informed Zoe. "They can't learn everything about charms just by performing them, although some students seem to think that they can." This bugged Netta. All some people wanted to do was cast magic, they never stopped and thought about what they were actually doing. "I can't change that though," she commented with a shrug.

[Professor Zoe Black]

Zoe smiled.
"You are right," she said, "they prefer not writing."
She listened to the Professor talking.
"I know, I always liked Charms when I was at school, but I struggled with the written work. I still managed to get an E, nevertheless."
"The students have to take Charms, don't they? So you will get people who don't like the subject in your class, but students can choose to do my class, so I only get people who are really interested in learning that topic," she said, glad that her lesson wasn't a set lesson.

[Professor Netta Barton]

"Yeah, it's a set lesson," confirmed Netta. "It's good in that it covers things which most people will find useful in later life but some just hate it." She shrugged, unless your lesson was optional like Zoe's you were always going to get people who didn't like the subject material. There was no way to get round it. Not everyone had Netta's passion for Charms.

"What have you covered with your classes so far?" she inquired. Netta knew very little about Dragons. Dragonology itself hadn't been a choice when she was a student and she hadn't taken Care of Magical Creatures, preferring instead to choose Arithmancy and Ancient Runes. She'd read about dragons but had no first hand experience.

[Jerran Maladene]

As the Minister needed to talk to the staff about something he headed with paperwork into the school as he looked around. Students laughing to him as he looked to them. Some with wands in there hand. "Don't ever try to hex me or joke with me or you will have a problem."Jerran said. He then walked further as he bumped against a person as the papers felt and he got on the ground also.

He got up as he looked to the person that he bumped into. It was a staff teacher. He pulled her up giving his hand as he then looked to the other Professor that was standing there. "Sorry."Jerran said.

[Professor Netta Barton]

Netta stood up slowly, brushing her robes down. She looked up to see who had been the cause of the rather unfortunate collision. The Minister of Magic. Now that was a new spin on an old event. "Not a problem Minister," she said as she bent down to pick up some of the numerous papers he had dropped. "But you should really pay more attention to where you're going," she told him more in a more serious tone before smiling to show that she didn't mind really.

"And may I ask what you are doing here?" asked Netta, genuinely curious. Jerran as Minister of Magic visited Hogwarts more often than previous Ministers had but it still wasn't the most often of occurrences.

[Jerran Maladene]

"I was looking but some students thought they could Hex or take a joke with me so I needed to get on my gaurd."Jerran said looking to Netta. He grabbed the rest of the papers and looked to Zoe and then back to her. "I need a meeting Hogwarts or atleast you must watch out but we are in danger."Jerran said. "I think there is a spy in the Ministry people get missing all the time and there are DE escaping out of Askaban just like the Dementors."Jerran said.

"Dark creatures getting away trying to revenge look out."Jerran said. "This is serious."Jerran looked with not a smile just a serious look and not really happy. "We need to be careful and protect the students I am not with the Order anymore but I think the Ministry is beeing controlled by someone else they don't listen anymore."Jerran said.

[Professor Zoe Black]

Zoe listened to the Minister.
"Do you think there is going to be a war, again?" She asked, her childishness coming through. She shook it off.
"Have you alert the Headmaster of this, Minister? As he is leader of the Order, he needs to know as soon as possible."
She thought about what Lucinda had told her up on the Tower, about how worried she was about her father. We'll keep him safe, she told her, although she knew she couldn't hear her.

[Professor Netta Barton]

"The Headmaster should know of course," commented Netta seriously. She paused for a moment before adding gravely, "However, I do not think we should discuss Order matters so openly, particularly if things are as bad as you are making out." Netta was deadly serious. Even though those around them were all under age many already held loyalties to a certain side. Some had even signed up whilst still at school. "If you want to discuss such things properly I would suggest going to a more private location." There could be ears everywhere for all Netta knew.

"How have you been holding up at the Ministry then with all these events?" she asked politely. If things were as bad as they seemed then this would be one stressful time to be Minister of Magic. Netta did not envy him in the slightest in that respect.

[Jerran Maladene]

"The Headmaster doesn't know anything about it I think I haven't seen him in a while."Jerran said looking to Zoe. "I have been so busy now with this I can't do everything."Jerran said. "And then Chaplin has been missing"Jerran whispered. "Ok now we really should go away maby Staff Room with all the staff?"Jerran asked.

He turned around to see students walk by looking to the three. "Walk further there is nothing."Jerran said looking to them. He didn't know what to say to them but this was not the problem now. "But that is really difficult and I am trying to do everything but there is something that is not going to work."Jerran said. "I did this job to make everything in one piece but now piece for piece it is going to break."Jerran said.

[Professor Zoe Black]

Zoe's heart missed a beat. Chaplin.
"Minister, may I ask, by 'Chaplin', I suspect you mean Kade Chaplin, the Auror?" She asked, dreading the answer. Her thoughts suddenly shot back to Lucinda again.
Her thoughts were reeling, her anger building. If her suspicions were right, then she had been wrong to doubt Lucinda.