Missing Kameron had brought Maddie to the first floor, quite the trek from her preferred location up in her tower. Not a damsel in distress here, of course. Just someone who liked her bed and her Claws and her space. Hers. Possessive, she was. Still, thoughts of one particular friend who was no longer gracing these hallowed halls with his presence found her here, near the history of magic classroom. Fitting, considering his chosen profession.

Since she was here, the brunette slipped inside the workroom to have a look around. The sight of paintbrushes had her fingers drumming on her legs in anticipation as they always did when she was around such materials. It'd be a crime to make use of the lightening at this time of day and seeing as she was alone, she'd be free from distractions. Perfect time to paint.

And so she did.

Julien walked down two floors to head towards the History Professor's office, but once he had gotten there it seemed Ansley wasn't in his office. Looking around he thought maybe he was close by at least. He checked a few rooms thinking if he wasn't he'd come back with the items he had brought him from summer. With the Jars tucked under his arm he glanced in the art room.

Seeing his colleague he didn't know whether to interrupt him or not. Artist liked their alone time to work, didn't they? But this was a school and students would interrupt if he didn't. So it would be okay, plus he was bringing gifts.

Knock..knock..knock

The new school year had barely began and Rooney was already struggling with it. Usually he would have avoided involving himself in anything personal between others, but with his new badge and position..he found himself having to. The thing between Miss Hadley and Miss Katherine at the feast had shaken him because he hadn't quite known what to do and this wasn't drama camp and he hadn't been able to sing his way through it. So he'd read... Six books, actually. Cover to cover, one after the other. And he still wasn't feeling like himself or right about his place at school after this summer. Hogwarts wasn't theatre. Hogwarts wasn't the dream he had for his future.

Not that he even knew what that was anymore.

Gathering a handful of pencils, Rooney quietly set up a station in front of the window. Good lighting = good thinking. And it meant he was able to sit quietly away from the other students...well, student... in here.

Probably thinking the same thing. Quiet art time.

Ansley was determined to make some time for painting this year. It was always so difficult to find time for his own creative outlet when he had so much planning and actual work to do for his students, but he had some plans in mind to work out both and he was rather excited about that this term. His mind distracted with some of these thoughts, he set up his canvas near one of the windows and grabbed some of his paints. Perhaps not a magical painting this time, but he was rather inspired by the view to paint it.

He was just working out a preliminary sketch when he heard a noise at the door. Looking up, he noticed Julien and gave him a small smile as he gestured with his hand to come in. "Come on in, you don't have to knock," he chuckled. The room was deliberately left open during the day to allow free access. Perhaps Julien wanted to unleash a bit of his creative side too.

Hearing his welcoming Julien made his way into the room. Looking around he was impressed by it. He wasn't much of an artist himself, but he appreciated it. Looking around and taking his time coming into the room he finally looked at Ansley, "Knocking is respectful of other's space and artist are usually not ones to want interrupted, especially in a startled way. I did not want to be the reason for you to mess up what you were working on." That would have been rather rude of him and he wouldn't have felt very good about messing up Ansley's project. "What are you working on?" If it wasn't a secret or anything maybe he'd show him.


"These are for you. I hope they will work out alright for you." He placed the Canopic jars down on the table. He tried to get a few different ones so he hoped that Ansley would like them. He found them very interesting and even know was looking them over. "Wonder if the person was allowed to pick which one they'd be placed in or if that was just up to the family." Not that he'd want his Visceras in a jar, but to each their own.

He turned back to his colleague after looking at the jars a bit longer, "I also brought back a heiroglyphs, but I couldn't bring all at one time. So I'll bring that to you later." Or he could come up if he'd like. "Did you have a good summer?" Obviously he spent most of his time with family and in Egypt, but he wasn't sure what Ansley had done.

The arrival of another student did little to break the older Ravenclaw's concentration as she continued to work on her painting of the headmaster. A peace offering, of sorts. Also a blatant attempt to gain favor with the man in charge as Maddie found it helpful to have people in positions of power on her side. Hopefully he was appreciative of the arts.

Eventually the seventeen year old sat back, thoughtful. She couldn't quite decide if she'd gotten the man's eyes right and those were most important. Needing a second opinion, she turned her attention to the boy across the room. "Prefect." Rooney, was it? "C'mere a sec."

Ansley couldn't help but to chuckle. That was very respectful of Julien and he really expected nothing less, but it wasn't all that necessary. "That's very thoughtful, thanks. But don't worry about it. This room is free for anyone to use and I usually keep it open during the day." He had found there were several that frequented the room regularly. Ansley glanced at the sketch on his canvas and gestured to the window. "Just the view. I found it rather inspiring today." Something about the lighting, he guessed.

He hadn't really noticed what Julien had been carrying until he set them drown and drew attention to them. "Whoa, these are for me? Are they real?" Ansley picked up one of the jars to get a closer look at it. Canopic jars were wicked cool and he didn't have any just yet. "Thanks, these are great," he looked up with a smile for the other man. That was a really nice and thoughtful gift. "No, it didn't quite work that way. Each jar had a specific organ, so an entire set of them would belong to one person." Hopefully none of the Egyptian curses were true though.

Wow, really? Ansley hadn't expected him to bring him back so much from his trip to Egypt, but perhaps the other man enjoyed history more than he was letting on. "Well, thank you, that is really very kind." Wondering what exactly was on it, he was interested in seeing if he could possibly translate it as well. "Summer was nice. It went by really fast. Got a little bit of work done, but nothing as exciting as going to Egypt," he added with a chuckle. Perhaps he should make it a point to go in the near future though.

PREFECT. That was him! He was a Prefect. But he did check around the room for another of his kind - to which there was not! Which meant that...he was needed. "Prefect at your service!!" He squeaked out, stumbling from his station and further into the room. Maybe he had acted a little ahead of himself, but he was reacting to a summons. An immediate summons.

"I have a sec." And a few million more, honest. Anything for the seventh year Ravenclaw before him. "What can I help you with, Miss Maddie?" Her hair? Her dreams?

What waaaaaaas it?

So it seemed he could just come in and he nodded in that he understood. It wasn't something he would do often though, he was always one to knock and wait for entrance into places. Unless it was his children's rooms and then it was his job to not give notice when he was entering their rooms, though he did try to respect their privacy as well. "I bet the students enjoy being able to come here. I was in the music room not long ago, a splendid place to help with the creative side. " Something he lacked at least in the art side of things, but he could appreciate them. He glanced out the window and nodded. "Very nice, you have a great talent." He wondered why Ansley didn't find a profession in this, but teaching was a calling for many.

A chuckle left him as he stuck a hand in his front pocket, "Yes they are real. I wouldn't be bringing you anything fake. What kind of person do you think I am Ansley." He was joking of course, but he was a man of his word. "They were tricky to find I'll admit, but when I did I knew you would enjoy them." He looked at them closer now, "A little creepy if you ask me. I'm not sure I care to have my organs or anyone else's for that matter just sitting in a jar." He was a a person who liked traditions and enjoyed history, but this one was just not his style maybe. The jars were interesting and he liked the shapes.


He was glad the man had a nice summer, "Well we don't go often, but it was a bigger family event so it was very enjoyable." He glanced around the room wondering a few things but turned his attention back to Ansley, "If you ever get a chance to go, you should. It is a great sight to see. The family really enjoyed it. If you see Benton around he could tell you from a child's point of view. We had went with my brother and his family."

"Miss Maddie, I like that." It was polite and respectful and the brunette debated instructing the younger boy to substitute 'queen' for 'miss' but refrained for now. He was being obedient and that was enough for her.

"I'm making something for our new headmaster," The brunette informed, gesturing to the painting. "The eyes are most important but I'm not sure they're right just yet. What do you think?" Her gaze fell on Rooney and she waited expectantly. She hadn't really made her mind up about this one yet so this was a defining moment, obviously.

"Oh, I hope so," Ansley said in regard to Julien's remark about the students' enjoyment. The room never seemed all that crowded but there was always at least a couple students in here at any given time. And really, even if he could foster just one young person's creativity then it was worth it. "There was never a place like this when I was a student here and I always had craved it. So I thought this would be a great outlet for anyone who wanted to indulge in a little creativity. In fact, I am thinking about doing some sort of art club or activity." Nothing official of course, but he knew of at least a few students who might want to do that sort of thing. And it would be open for anyone, no matter what their skill level.

He chuckled at Julien's words, then nodded in appreciation of the compliment. "Thanks... I like to try to keep my skills sharp." There was never much time for that with teaching, but he did his best to make the time. It was important. But he could get to it later.

"Oh, I don't know, you could have brought them for the aesthetic value," he added with another chuckle. He was sure there were many duplicates, just because they were rather interesting, and he wasn't all that sure how rare authentic canopic jars were. "I really do enjoy them." He actually couldn't stop looking at them, they were almost mesmerizing. "Different culture, different beliefs," he laughed. "I wonder what future societies will find strange about things that we do now." He always found that sort of philosophical thinking to be interesting. "Egypt is on my short list of places to go see.. Maybe one day. But yes, I'll have to ask Benton and see what he thought of it. It's always interesting to get a child's perspective on things too."

Respectable as always, Rooney bowed his head to her comment and smiled. "I quite like it too." He wouldn't have minded being called 'Miss Maddie' himself, except his name was Rooney and he wasn't a Miss. Still wouldn't mind it, though. He answered to a lot of things, especially when near a stage. Character names, nicknames, job names and 'oi' were frequent in his life.

"What do you think of our new Headmeowster?" Rooney wasn't quite so sure yet. He wanted to know what other people thought. But he did give her painting a look, before stepping back and giving it another once over. "Hmm.." Well.. it wasn't...well.. "It's missing something."

Headmeowster? "I haven't decided yet," The seventh year answered, brow furrowed as she focused on the painting again. "I'm going to need to chat with him before I've formed an opinion."

It was missing something, Maddie just didn't know what. "Maybe the facial hair is off." The beard could use some work, she decided. "But the eyes. What do you think when you look into those eyes?" That was the important part.

"No there wasn't when I was here either." How old was Ansley again? He never was good with age. "You know a Ravenclaw named Daxton, don't you?" He knew the name was well known among staff so of course he would know him. "He's become a bit of a focus for me with his style of learning. With a watchful eye I think this place could be good for him, though I dont' know if I'd allow him in here unsupervised." An activity or club made him think, "I think that would be a great idea. Which reminds me, would you consider being a judge for my Charms Challenge I'm doing this year? I was thinking about starting up a Charms club for all the higher learning students, but though this might make learning a little more fun." He wanted to maybe weed out the ones not as serious about his subject as well.

That thought really made him think, yes, what would people of the future think about what they do today. Could some of the things he did daily be very foreign and weird to generations centuries from now. "Yes I could see that being the case. Maybe the way we teach will be very weird to them or the way we cast spells." He couldn't think of any rituals he did that could change much in the future. People would still put clothes on the same way or at least he hoped.

"His older sister had a baby during last term so he was spending time getting to know her, but I think he had fun as well. We are a big family with many children running around, though mine keep seeming to grow up too fast." How did he have two graduated and one almost ready to come to school. It was just unreal that he had become so old.

"One to one chats with him? What about..?" Rooney couldn't even think of something to say in passing with an adult in this school let alone time to have a conversation in close proximity with the Headmaster. Actually, Rooney had became very wary of any cat he saw in the castle in case it was the Headmeowster spying on them. There had been a cat in the Prefects Bathroom last week and he had freaked out...until he realised that it was his own cat, Pomegranate. Really..he was on EDGE now.

Rooney gave the picture another once over, shook his head about the facial hair being off. It just...didn't look finished. Not off at all. And then he looked into the eyes. "The left one doesn't look as hooded as it should.." He gave it a point, specifically to the part he meant and shrugged. "I think he looks cool, though. You're good."

Cool? She didn't want him to look cool. She wanted him to look dignified and mindful and smart. Maddie considered the left eye critically and then dipped her brush in water before touching it to her palette. "Thanks for your input." Her words were said distractedly but sincerely, none the less.

"I want to know his take on leadership. What it takes to be a good leader, how he got to where he is now, what great minds he admires..." She'd actually written quite a long list of questions to ask, if she were to score a sit down with the man. "You're not curious?" She paused what she was doing to glance at the younger claw, eyebrows raised.

"Yeah.. You're..welcome?" Roo still stuck around just to watch how she changed things around, pulling up another stool. If Miss Maddie really wanted him to get away then he'd go back to his own station, but he was intrigued by her art here and...this conversation, honestly. Maybe Miss Maddie had a point about conversing with their new leader. Maybe it was a more important thing for him now that he was a Prefect. Maybe it was more important to her because she was a seventh year now.

"I'm supposed to be a good leader." Or something like that...

"Do you think he would have an opinion on what it takes to be great?" Not just great AT something, but great at everything.

It didn't really surprise Ansley that there were few creative outlets when he was a student either. Julien was at least a few years older than him and he wouldn't expect that there were arts classes or clubs in the past that one day just stopped. As far as he knew there were none save the occasional seminar or activity within an academic. And that was fine but it was in the past and he hoped to help bring things in a new direction. Or at least supplement things.

"Prince, right?" That was the only Ravenclaw Daxton that immediately came to mind. Sure, of course he knew him. He nodded thoughtfully as his colleague spoke. "Yes, I've learned a little bit of sign language over the summer that I hope will help with communication." He didn't know more than basic signs, but he was hopeful that it would make things a little easier this year. "Maybe it would," he said, looking around at some of the supplies. Art was often therapeutic. "But yes, I agree. Some degree of supervision would be required." He had heard of several detentions for the boy because of property destruction. He certainly wouldn't appreciate that with his supplies or materials.

"Oh?" A Charms Challenge sounded really interesting and he was kind of honored to have been asked, even if he wouldn't call himself advanced in the subject. "That sounds like a fun idea. I'm sure the students will appreciate it. And sure, I'd love to be a part of it." Judging charms cast by children wouldn't be too difficult, right?

A new baby was always a nice thing. "Well, congratulations. How exciting for your family." He supposed that made Julien a great-uncle then? It was still great for him. Not that he was planning on having children of his own any time soon, so he supposed he couldn't completely relate. "They always seem to grow quickly, don't they?" He could at least see this with his students.

Come Monday evening right after dinner was finished Hady headed on down to her dorm to grab her sketchpad before making the walk to the Artist Workroom. She was more then ready to show Ansley what she had been working on this past summer and even more importantly to see what he was ready to teach her now.

Entering the room she cast a quick look around noticing that the Professor hadn't arrived just yet. That was alright it gave her a few moments to collect her thoughts and prepare for the lesson. Setting her sketchpad down on a table Hady pulled a purple butterfly printed hair scrunchy from her right wrist and quickly ran her left hand through her hair before pulling it up into a semi messy ponytail. She was now ready to get to work..all that was missing was the Professor.

So he wasn't the only one that was concerned and doing some extra summer work on this child. It was interesting that they hadn't fully had a meeting in regards to him. That was a good thing that they had received what info they had on him, but more would be helpful. "Finding something that makes the boy tick would be helpful, but everything I try seems to push him further away. He doesn't take help easy that's for sure and he's at that age where pride is very much in the way." He remembered those days. "Sign language might be a great thing. If we could only get him to trust a little to learn what he needs I think he could be very successful." He had to wonder what all was going on with the boy that they weren't aware of. "He has been known to make things inappropriate and on the wrong places so supervision would be best." He'd even do that if it would help Daxton.

He was glad others felt the same about the Charms Challenge. It could be exciting and the thought of a new way for the students to learn made him even more excited about it. "I'll divide it up between different years so they have different challenges, but I think it could be an interesting term with the competition. They will be winning a charmed item and a little celebration in my charmed room. " That could be fun for the students or at least he hoped it would be a good motivator. "I'll send you the information and what charms will be used for the first challenge." He had to ask the others, but it was good to have at least one nailed down as a judge.

He was proud of his family, all of his family. Even if Reagan was a bit of the wild child in the family, he still was proud of the woman she had become. "Thank you, she's a cutie. Not a bad baby either." Which was nice, his own had given him a run for his money when they were infants, especially the girls. "Do you have any siblings or nieces and nephews?" He knew he didn't have any children of his own, but wasn't sure about the rest.

Every so often, Maddie would pause what she was doing to consider her work with a critical eye and then she'd be at it again with the fixing, blending, adjusting. The younger boy's advice seemed to have sparked a new sense of purpose in the brunette and the painting really had improved already.

"I think so, yeah." All leaders seemed to have their own take on what it meant to lead and inspire greatness in others. "I think you should decide if he's the sort of leader worthy of having his advice followed before you take anything he says to heart, though. That's what I'm going to do."

Ansley had a few things to take care of Monday after class, so he was running a little late. Not more than just a few minutes, but he wasn't surprised to see Hadleigh already in the studio when he walked in. Though he wondered if she had gotten there earlier anyway, knowing her work ethic.

"Hope I didn't leave you waiting too long," he smiled at her as he gathered a few of the supplies to bring over. Hmm, it was awfully messy in this room. Looked like not all the students were cleaning up after themselves when they were done creating. He'd have to enforce that a little more strictly, he supposed, plus he'd have some extra cleaning up to do tonight. Sigh.

"Ready to get started?" He set up the easel and set out the supplies. Now, what to start with? A review? Maybe that was best since it had been several months.

Ansley nodded. He could agree with everything that Julien was saying. "I suppose everyone has their own approach to learning.." But Daxton did prove to be difficult to reach. "I really feel that there should be more intervention but there seems to be such few resources." And really there was only so much that they as instructors could do. They had hundreds of other children to teach and enrich as well. "Well, we'll see... I think it will be a start, at least. But I only know some very basic." It would be nice if there was some sort of aide, someone who was more qualified to work with specialized needs. And yes, he knew all about the boy needing supervision.

Ansley listened as Julien presented his ideas for the charm challenge. It made him slightly envious that he hadn't thought of something to do himself relating to his own subject. Maybe it wasn't too late though, even if he wasn't sure what he would do just then. "That sounds great, I think the students will really enjoy it. A little healthy competition while learning, and I think they will just have fun too." He really thought that was the best way to learn something, to have fun while doing it.

He smiled a bit as the other man spoke about his family. He didn't have his own kids that he could relate so well, but he did have family and he knew how endearing they could be. "I have a sister, and she has one of each. All muggles though." Did Julien know that he was muggleborn? Not that it mattered to him, but it always made him feel like he had to hold his family at arm's length sometimes.

Miss Maddie was surely talented, there was no denying that. Rooney was completely in awe of her brush use and didn't more during from his perfect spot to be watching without interfering. It was never anyones place to interfere unless asked. "The left nasolabial fold isn't as defined as the right. Only slightly. Unless...you were going for that." Just another thing he'd noticed. And there he went...interfering without being asked. What an idiot. He supposed her last question stuck still for as long as he was sat watching and ignoring his own work over there.

"How are you going to decide that?"

Since Professor Finch wasn't in the room when she had arrived Hadleigh went ahead and pulled out her sketch book. Quietly flipping through the pages and taking a moment to look over each one she evaluated her own work. It was a simple way to pass a few minutes alone while she waited and one she didn't mind at all.

"Evening Professor," she greeted warmly lifting her head from the book when Ansley entered the room. "Not at all I'm always few a minutes early." Habit. One she couldn't break if she tried but really found no point in wanting to anyhow. Closing the sketchpad she watched him gather up some supplies and then set up an easel.

"I am. What will we be working on today?" Most likely a review which wouldn't be a bad idea this week.