The Lounge. ((Professors only.))

[yelena]

Yelena Nikolaeva looked up at the large mass that stood before her; she carried a suitcase in each hand. A smile was on her face, as she pushed the door and entered. Term was starting the next day and Yelena was assuming her new position as Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor at Hogwarts, she would also be responsible for their duelling club as well. She walked towards the stair, Hagrid had told her that she was expected and that once she settled in she should make her way to the teacher’s lounge. Yelena looked at the long staircase; her quarters and office were all on the sixth floor and in Hogwarts getting to any particular floor could prove a task. At this school the stairs moved of their own accord, and sometimes it meant you had a lot further to go to get to where you want. She put her right foot on the first step and continued on, her pace steady.

A little while later she arrived at her quarters. She did not even unpack; she wanted to see her office, which had had a little accident a few days before, thanks to Peeves, the malicious poltergeist which frequented the school. She walked into her office, it was warm and welcoming in the sunlight that filtered through the open windows, revealed by the pulled back curtains. She walked to the middle of the room and made a full three hundred and sixty degree turn, “Well, needs a little work but it will do,” she said with a slight laugh to her voice. She looked at the door to the far left, her classroom lay beyond that door. “Accio trunk!” she called and a large dark brown trunk floated through the open door and settled at her feet. She then proceeded to unpack some of the things she had brought with her in order to bring a little of her personality to her office. She unpacked her artefacts from her numerous trips, some family photos for her desk, an organiser, tons of books, a rug or two and a few other things.

Yelena then went to her classroom and did the same, putting up masks, paintings and other artefacts of the being she was going to teach her students about and a few things just for decoration, such as an African mask she got from the Congo. Once that was done she went back to her room. Yelena brushed her hair back into place, she should look presentable to the other Professors, she then walked towards the teachers’ lounge. She walked up the door and waited a few moments before entering, there were a few people in there, “Good day,” she said pleasantly. Yelena wondered one thing only at that moment, how would the other Professors perceive her? Though she had a young face, Yelena was more than experienced with the subject she was hired to teach and was looking forward to proving it.

[Professor Julius Foxcroft]

Julius Foxcroft had one side of his face leaning on his left hand as he stared in front of him unseeingly. He was sitting in his office in the second floor in the east wing of Hogwarts, deep in thought, at the moment contemplating the arrival of another new year, and wondering if he dared give himself a chance to leave his secluded room and stop thinking of the depressing matters he was currently dwelling on and turn his mind to something more cheerful. After all a new year was to start to tomorrow, and maybe after two years it was time to try to forget – however impossible a task that seemed to him. With a heavy sigh he got out of his chair and paced around his room, and as he turned to look at his desk he looked at a simple wooden frame with engraved flowers, a small smile touching his lips for a minute as he looked at the two smiling people in the moving photograph. With an impatient click of his tongue Julius turned the picture the other way round and frowned. She was gone, and that was that, and oh - if only... Julius slammed one fist exasperatedly on his desk, and a minute later he had left the room.

Julius headed for the staff lounge, a place he would usually never go to except if Juliette dragged him there, and opened the door slightly, half-hoping he would find nobody inside. On the couch however were two of his colleagues and with a perfunctory nod at both of them Julius walked over to a small table where a copper kettle was placed and filled it with water from the sink. Julius got out his wand and tapped the kettle, and in an instant smoke was coming out of its spout. Julius got a mug for himself, and poured himself some tea. He placed his hands on the mug and felt the warmth radiated by it against them as he frowned again. Hadn't he come here to talk to somebody instead of sitting around with his thoughts? Now he was feeling rather annoyed that he had left his office in the first place, and decided he would be out of the lounge as soon as he finished drinking his tea. This was not to be though for the minute Julius put the mug to his lips and took a sip of the strong tea another member of the staff arrived. It was Yelena Nikolaeva, the new Defence Against he Dark Arts teacher. Julius had met her before in Hogsmeade and there had been other members of the staff present too. Julius noticed once again that Yelena looked young, and wondered how competent she would be at her job.

At her greeting Julius looked in her direction and replied, "Good day Professor Nikolaeva." It would be extremely impolite not to welcome her especially as Julius himself had been in her shoes not very long ago, so with a slightly more pleasant tone than was usual for him Julius walked close to her and said, "Welcome to the Lounge. I see you found the way here already by yourself, have you moved all your belongings to your office?" Julius tried to be more pleasant than he was at times, and thought making sure everything was fine might make her feel a bit a home. When Julius had first come to teach at Hogwarts he was not sure that he would ever be able to feel at home in a place, but Hogwarts had done a lot for Julius in his misery. Now he never the left school except rarely, preferring to spend as much time as he could with his students, and as a matter of fact the outer world had ceased to play an important part in his life.

[yelena]

Yelena turned towards the voice that had replied to her greeting; it was Professor Julius Foxcroft, “Why hello there Professor Foxcroft, nice to see you again. Thank you. I have managed to move some things into my office and in the class but none of my personal effects have been unpacked as yet. I took a bit to clean up some of the mess that Peeves made, again. That poltergeist will never learn.” Yelena was glad that she had come across someone she had already met, it made her feel less awkward. The stigma that came with her particular job was a great deal to manage, but having a friendly face was helpful. “Is that coffee?” she asked Professor Foxcroft, she wanted something to calm her nerves a bit.

“I am glad to see a friendly face. Are any of the other professors that I met before here? Or will they be later?”

[Professor Julius Foxcroft]

"No, this is tea, there's some coffee over there, let me get you some there's still some hot water left in the kettle I think," said Julius cordially. He handed Yelena the mug of coffee after pouring some water into a mug he had placed coffee in. Yelena asked him a question which made him realise how little time he had actually sat with his colleagues ever since he'd come to Hogwarts. The other two in the room had already left the lounge deep in conversation. "I don't know about that, I daresay they will, I think they usually all meet together in the lounge on the night before the first day, you see I don't usually come here much myself," admitted Julius. He quickly changed the topic. "So, where did you go to school? And where did you go after that and learn about Defence?" asked Julius, remembering that he had wondered about that during their first meeting in Hogsmeade.