When he said she could come in Nat stepped inside the office. "I hope I wasn't disturbing you Professor." Honestly since it wasn't school related it possibly could wait if he was busy, but she was hoping he wasn't. Her eyes scanned his office. Was there anything from the band laying around? That would be so cool. Seriously though she had a professor that was in a band.

How did she not know that last term?


"So Professor did you have a good summer? Do anything fun and interesting?" Her smile might have shown that she was excited to have him answer those questions and possibly ask her about her own. Though her hand held tight to that little object she was dying to show him. Did other's know about this? If they didn't they should. Maybe they could play for the school? Oh that really could be fun.

It wasn't long before Professor Marchand was opening the door to his office and welcoming him. "Hello, Professor." He smiled at the man and stood up, trying his best not to be so nervous. Professor Marchand had always been nice to the students, so really there was no reason to be feeling this way...and yet...

"My summer was, uh, it was pretty good." Oliver nodded and moved his weight from one foot to another. "I got to spend a lot of time with my friends." He was actually kind of upset summer was over because it meant moving forward with his life, but there wasn't much he could do about it now, was there? "How was your summer, Professor?" Oliver knew small talk was kind of hated by most people, but he was finding that it helped his nerves quite a bit, and he really appreciated the professor for it.

Oh. He could go into the office now, okay. "Thank you." Ollie walked past the professor and into the office, looking around at the room curiously. He never actually thought he'd end up in this office, but now that he was, he was finding it to look a little something like what he'd want his own office to look like one day, though maybe without the picture of Gaston on the wall.

"I really like your office, sir." Sir sounded weird. Was calling him sir normal? Or was it just professor???? He had never called Professor Newton ma'am, had he????? Meeting professors was hard.

Gaston was slightly taken aback when the Head Girl said she hoped she hadn't disturbed him. What kind of professor would he be if he didn't make time for his students? "Not at all, Miss Franks-Mundie," he said, smiling as he closed the door behind her. "Congratulations on getting Head Girl, by the way." He couldn't believe he hadn't told her sooner! He meant to tell her at the start-of-term feast, but the poltergeists showed up and distracted him before he had the chance.

He motioned toward the leather chairs in front of his desk, inviting the girl to sit down. As he took his own seat in the bigger chair behind the desk, he gently scooted the glass candy dish across the desk closer to his student. "Would you like some chocolate?" he offered. His bright blue eyes momentarily darted to the black and white cat perched atop the cat condo behind him, wondering how Phantom would react to Miss Franks-Mundie. The little fluffball just looked at the girl for a minute, then turned over and went back to sleep.

Gaston couldn't help but notice Miss Franks-Mundie's smile as she asked him about his summer, and he smiled along with her. "I did, thank you for asking" he replied. Was this what she wanted to talk to him about or was she just making small talk? Either way it didn't matter; he would always make time for his students. "I went back to France, reunited with some old friends, spent some time in Diagon Alley..." Though he didn't say that time in Diagon Alley was spent recording an album. Wait, was this too much information? Miss Franks-Mundie had only asked him how his summer was, not what he did. "So how was your summer?" he asked.

Text Cut: Ollie

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gissel

It wasn't long before Professor Marchand was opening the door to his office and welcoming him. "Hello, Professor." He smiled at the man and stood up, trying his best not to be so nervous. Professor Marchand had always been nice to the students, so really there was no reason to be feeling this way...and yet...

"My summer was, uh, it was pretty good." Oliver nodded and moved his weight from one foot to another. "I got to spend a lot of time with my friends." He was actually kind of upset summer was over because it meant moving forward with his life, but there wasn't much he could do about it now, was there? "How was your summer, Professor?" Oliver knew small talk was kind of hated by most people, but he was finding that it helped his nerves quite a bit, and he really appreciated the professor for it.

Oh. He could go into the office now, okay. "Thank you." Ollie walked past the professor and into the office, looking around at the room curiously. He never actually thought he'd end up in this office, but now that he was, he was finding it to look a little something like what he'd want his own office to look like one day, though maybe without the picture of Gaston on the wall.

"I really like your office, sir." Sir sounded weird. Was calling him sir normal? Or was it just professor???? He had never called Professor Newton ma'am, had he????? Meeting professors was hard.

Gaston smiled as Mr. Finch answered his question. "Yes, that's the best way to spend a summer break, isn't it?" he said; his own summer had been spent in a similar way. Speaking of which... "My summer was wonderful, thank you for asking," he replied. He was glad to see that the boy seemed to feel a bit more at ease around him. "It was nice to go home for a bit and sped time with my friends and family." He wasn't rambling again, was he?

The professor was amused by his student's reaction to his office, but he tried not to let on. He wouldn't want Mr. Finch to think he was laughing at him! Was his office really that interesting? "Thank you, Mr. Finch," he said when the Slytherin complimented his office. He didn't think it was all that special - it was just a mash-up of random things that interested him - but it was awfully kind of Mr. Finch to say so!

"Please, sit down," Gaston said, gesturing toward the black leather chairs as he took his place behind the desk. The black and white cat who had been snoozing on the cat condo suddenly jumped down, and the professor's eyes followed her as she sidled over to Mr. Finch and rubbed against his leg with a friendly meow. Gaston was shocked; normally Phantom was a bit... cantankerous toward the students, or really with anyone she felt was taking up too much of his time. He laughed. "Well, it looks like you've made a new friend!"

The professor was silent for a moment. Should he bring up the reason for Mr. Finch's visit or wait for him to broach the subject himself?

Oliver nodded in agreement to what Professor Marchand had said about his summer. He was just a student and he needed his vacation times more than anything, he could only imagine how professors felt about it. Although, if professors truly loved teaching, maybe they wouldn't mind being at the school as much as the students did. "You're welcome, I'm glad you enjoyed your summer." When around adults, Ollie always made sure to be as cordial as ever, he didn't want his mother to be disappointed...or to make the Finch's look bad.

"Oh, you're welcome." And now he was trying to figure out if complimenting someone's office was weird. The room was just very nice and well kept and the furniture was stuff Ollie felt like he might want one day...he couldn't help liking it...

Nodding again, Ollie quietly sat down in one of the chairs in front of the professor's desk and held his hands in his lap. He was gonna start attempting to explain why he was there when the professor's cat made its way out of its little bed thing and over to him. His eyes immediately lit up when the cat started rubbing against him and Ollie reached down to pet it. Soft kitty is soft. "Would it be okay if I pick him..or, uh, her, up?" The boy was outright smiling now. Animals made him happy and way less nervous just in general. And all thoughts of charms and being a professor flew out the window because it was kitty time.

She could have a seat, well okay she would sit for a moment or two. Glad she hadn't interrupted him she went and sat down. "Oh thank you sir, I will work hard at it I promise." She knew all the professors had seen her file, they knew where she started and where she was now. There was no secrets with the staff, well at least about her time with her mother. Just to sit in the office of a Professor without her anxiety sky rocketing was proof how far she had come.

Oh chocolate, now how could she say no to that. Taking one she smiled, "thank you." Opening it she popped it into her mouth. Natalia always had a sweet tooth and never said no to candy. Her eyes lifted to see a cat. "He's cute, what's his name?" She thought about Storm and wondered where he had hid himself lately. She knew he liked to explore the castle though so she wasn't worried.

France? Well that wasn't what she thought he would talk about, but she waited patiently for the band talk to start. Though it never did start. Well that was fine she could work with what he brought up. "Is France nice? I have actually never been. " Though she could now say she had been to more places on trips then she had ever been with her mother. "Oh Diagon Alley? I worked there over summer. Actually I had an internship at a record label as well as a weekend job at the music shop. Atticus's Attic, maybe you've heard of it. " He should, his music was being sold in it. "While I was putting albums away I came across this one group that I found very interesting." She finally revealed the cover insert that was in her hand, which was folded nicely enough to see the inside picture of the person right in front of her. "Why didn't you tell any of us that you were in a band?" HELLO inspiring musician right here!!

Text Cut: Ollie

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gissel

Oliver nodded in agreement to what Professor Marchand had said about his summer. He was just a student and he needed his vacation times more than anything, he could only imagine how professors felt about it. Although, if professors truly loved teaching, maybe they wouldn't mind being at the school as much as the students did. "You're welcome, I'm glad you enjoyed your summer." When around adults, Ollie always made sure to be as cordial as ever, he didn't want his mother to be disappointed...or to make the Finch's look bad.

"Oh, you're welcome." And now he was trying to figure out if complimenting someone's office was weird. The room was just very nice and well kept and the furniture was stuff Ollie felt like he might want one day...he couldn't help liking it...

Nodding again, Ollie quietly sat down in one of the chairs in front of the professor's desk and held his hands in his lap. He was gonna start attempting to explain why he was there when the professor's cat made its way out of its little bed thing and over to him. His eyes immediately lit up when the cat started rubbing against him and Ollie reached down to pet it. Soft kitty is soft. "Would it be okay if I pick him..or, uh, her, up?" The boy was outright smiling now. Animals made him happy and way less nervous just in general. And all thoughts of charms and being a professor flew out the window because it was kitty time.

Gaston smiled at what Mr. Finch said. That was kind of him! Most of the students probably couldn't care less whether or not he'd enjoyed his summer. He was still a little caught off guard by having his office complimented, not because the boy had said anything wrong of course - Merlin, no! - but because that had never happened to him before. Now he understood why Rosalyn was so fond of this student!

He tried to think of something else to say to keep the conversation going, but he couldn't. He wanted Mr. Finch to like him, or at least feel comfortable around him, but deep down, Gaston was just as shy as his student if not more so. He nervously ran a hand through his black hair, causing it to stick up, but thankfully Phantom rescued him before the silence became too awkward. He noticed the immediate change in Mr. Finch's expression while he was petting the little black and white cat, and his own mood brightened. Blue eyes blinked incredulously as the boy asked if he could pick her up. That sounded like a bad idea! Phantom usually didn't let anyone but him hold her... but then she started pawing at the young Slytherin's leg, as if she wanted up. He nodded. "Yes, I think she'd like that."

Gaston laughed as he watched Mr. Finch and Phantom together. Was is strange that he was beginning to feel a little bit ignored?

Text Cut: Nat

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bazinga

She could have a seat, well okay she would sit for a moment or two. Glad she hadn't interrupted him she went and sat down. "Oh thank you sir, I will work hard at it I promise." She knew all the professors had seen her file, they knew where she started and where she was now. There was no secrets with the staff, well at least about her time with her mother. Just to sit in the office of a Professor without her anxiety sky rocketing was proof how far she had come.

Oh chocolate, now how could she say no to that. Taking one she smiled, "thank you." Opening it she popped it into her mouth. Natalia always had a sweet tooth and never said no to candy. Her eyes lifted to see a cat. "He's cute, what's his name?" She thought about Storm and wondered where he had hid himself lately. She knew he liked to explore the castle though so she wasn't worried.

France? Well that wasn't what she thought he would talk about, but she waited patiently for the band talk to start. Though it never did start. Well that was fine she could work with what he brought up. "Is France nice? I have actually never been. " Though she could now say she had been to more places on trips then she had ever been with her mother. "Oh Diagon Alley? I worked there over summer. Actually I had an internship at a record label as well as a weekend job at the music shop. Atticus's Attic, maybe you've heard of it. " He should, his music was being sold in it. "While I was putting albums away I came across this one group that I found very interesting." She finally revealed the cover insert that was in her hand, which was folded nicely enough to see the inside picture of the person right in front of her. "Why didn't you tell any of us that you were in a band?" HELLO inspiring musician right here!!

Gaston beamed back at Miss Franks-Mundie as she promised to work hard at being Head Girl. He had the utmost faith in her ability to do the job! "I have no doubt of it," he said, smiling slightly. A thought suddenly occurred to him! "Oh, and excellent job handling those pesky poltergeists at the feast!" He would've gladly sent the terrible trio packing himself, but he'd been a bit distracted at the time!

He half-expected the girl to turn down his offer of chocolate - he'd heard all about that business with the hag, so he couldn't say he'd blame her for declining - but he was pleasantly surprised when she didn't. Gaston's eyes followed his student's to the cat condo behind him. Phantom seemed to have decided she was done napping and was now playing with her toy fish. "Her name's Phantom," he replied, inclining his head toward the little black and white Persian. So named because of the white "mask" covering half her face. Would Miss Franks-Mundie get the reference?


Gaston smiled as the Head Girl asked him about his homeland; that was kind of her! "Nice" seemed a a bit of an understatement though! "Oh yes!" he exclaimed, beaming with pride. "Historic buildings, fine art, beautiful countryside, and some of the best cafes in the world..." He sighed wistfully; all this talk of France was making him a little sad. Luckily Miss Franks-Mundie changed the subject before he got too homesick! So she worked in Diagon Alley? Why hadn't he seen her there over the summer? Then she said something about a weekend job. That must be why he hadn't seen her! Blink, blink. Gaston could only stare at the girl in disbelief as he heard which shop it was, and he turned slightly paler. Surely this conversation wasn't going the direction he thought, was it?

Then Miss Franks-Mundie produced a cd insert folded to show his own picture; he knew the one... him dressed in black leather and chains, his eyes heavily lined, neon blue streaks in his hair. Merlin, why did he let Lucien bully him into wearing that ridiculous outfit? He told him not to use that picture... but that was a conversation for another time. Gaston glanced down at his desk to hide the blush rising to his cheeks and the slightly panicked look in his eyes. He knew it was only a matter of time before someone found out, but the girls next question surprised him. Why hadn't he told anyone? Well, he had no idea how people might react, for one thing. "I don't know," he said with a shrug. "I suppose the timing was never right..." Seeing that Miss Franks-Mundie hadn't reacted the way he thought she might put him a bit more at ease, and he laughed a little. "Honestly, I'm surprised you recognized me in that ridiulous outfit!"

Ollie smiled even more when the professor said he could pick up the cat. Maybe he could get a therapy cat to keep him from being nervous all the time. Slowly, Oliver picked up the cat and set her on his lap and scratched by the cat's ear. For whatever reason, she liked him so so much and he was loving every second of it. The purring was defintely the cherry on top!

BUT petting cats wasn't why he had come to visit Professor Marchand. Back to the task at hand. Still, petting the cat, he sat up a little straighter and said, "Sorry for being distracted. I, um, I actually came here because, well, I graduate soon...and I'm trying to figure out what I want to do afterwards." Would the professor know all that already? Surely he wasn't the only 7th year going through this. "And since Charms is actually my best and favorite subject, I was considering teaching it...maybe. Or doing something else involving charms? I'm not really sure... I spoke to Professor Newton and she suggested I come talk to you about it." It being the mess of thoughts that was his brain. If he could just be 100% what he wanted to do for the rest of his life, he'd be perfectly fine!

She felt her cheeks flush when he brought up the feast. She really didn't think she handled them well. She just pulled her wand and tried to annoy them back, to be honest. "Thank you, professor. They drove me a little crazy last term and now right at the beginning of term they are back being so annoying. I learned that charm from Professor Primeaux. He said it doesn't hurt them, but it does annoy them. I was hoping it would enough to keep the first years safe." They were probably traumatized seeing them their first evening at school.

Oh, the cat was a she, whoops. "She's beautiful. Maybe she'll find Storm running around here and they can play. He's a bit hyper though so she might not like him." Her cat did enjoy to play and didn't just lay around and sleep usually. He started talking about France and Nat really did listen. It sounded like an interesting place. "I will have to make a point to go there one day. I do plan on traveling a lot, though I do hope it's because of touring with The Sirens." That was the goal for sure.

It was never the right time? HOW WAS IT SUPPOSE TO BE HERE? [b] "You shouldn't keep things like this. I mean I know you are the charms professor, but we really don't have a music program here and there are some of us that are aspiring artist that could use the role models and the help with that sort of thing as well. She couldn't help but laugh, "I didn't at first. I actually had looked at it probably three times before I realized it was you. I like the music. How long have you been together?" How did you get started, who was your label, how could you help The Sirens? Nat now had all the questions to ask.

Text Cut: Ollie

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gissel

Ollie smiled even more when the professor said he could pick up the cat. Maybe he could get a therapy cat to keep him from being nervous all the time. Slowly, Oliver picked up the cat and set her on his lap and scratched by the cat's ear. For whatever reason, she liked him so so much and he was loving every second of it. The purring was defintely the cherry on top!

BUT petting cats wasn't why he had come to visit Professor Marchand. Back to the task at hand. Still, petting the cat, he sat up a little straighter and said, "Sorry for being distracted. I, um, I actually came here because, well, I graduate soon...and I'm trying to figure out what I want to do afterwards." Would the professor know all that already? Surely he wasn't the only 7th year going through this. "And since Charms is actually my best and favorite subject, I was considering teaching it...maybe. Or doing something else involving charms? I'm not really sure... I spoke to Professor Newton and she suggested I come talk to you about it." It being the mess of thoughts that was his brain. If he could just be 100% what he wanted to do for the rest of his life, he'd be perfectly fine!

Gaston watched apprehensively as Mr. Finch picked up Phantom. He half-expected his cat to scratch or bite, but to his surprise and relief, she let the boy put her on his lap. That was so unlike her! She usually disliked the students. Maybe she sensed the boy was shy... or maybe it was just the female students she didn't like. Whatever the reason, he was glad his cat seemed to put Mr. Finch more at ease. Why couldn't she be this sweet to all the students?

Of course, Rose had told him the reason for Mr. Finch's visit, but he would wait patiently for the boy to tell him himself. He was practically beaming with pride when the young Slytherin said he wanted to be a charms professor. It touched his heart to think that one of his students might one day follow in his footsteps. This conversation suddenly reminded Gaston a lot of one he had when he was a student at Beaubatons, except now he was on the other side of it. He had to take a deep breath before he could speak and inwardly berated himself for getting so emotional. "There are a lot of opportunities involving charms. You could be a charms developer for the Minsitry or a private company," he said. That career path hadn't been his cup of tea, but he wasn't about to dissuade his student from it! "Take as many classes on charms theory and development as you can at university. They'll help you whichever career you choose." He paused for a second. Now he was going to tell Mr. Finch exactly what his own charms teacher once told him. "But the most important thing about teaching isn't something you can learn in a book. A good teacher needs patience and compassion for all his students."

Gaston looked back at Mr. Finch, trying to gauge his reaction. Had that been helpful?

Text Cut: Nat

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bazinga

She felt her cheeks flush when he brought up the feast. She really didn't think she handled them well. She just pulled her wand and tried to annoy them back, to be honest. "Thank you, professor. They drove me a little crazy last term and now right at the beginning of term they are back being so annoying. I learned that charm from Professor Primeaux. He said it doesn't hurt them, but it does annoy them. I was hoping it would enough to keep the first years safe." They were probably traumatized seeing them their first evening at school.

Oh, the cat was a she, whoops. "She's beautiful. Maybe she'll find Storm running around here and they can play. He's a bit hyper though so she might not like him." Her cat did enjoy to play and didn't just lay around and sleep usually. He started talking about France and Nat really did listen. It sounded like an interesting place. "I will have to make a point to go there one day. I do plan on traveling a lot, though I do hope it's because of touring with The Sirens." That was the goal for sure.

It was never the right time? HOW WAS IT SUPPOSE TO BE HERE? [b] "You shouldn't keep things like this. I mean I know you are the charms professor, but we really don't have a music program here and there are some of us that are aspiring artist that could use the role models and the help with that sort of thing as well. She couldn't help but laugh, "I didn't at first. I actually had looked at it probably three times before I realized it was you. I like the music. How long have you been together?" How did you get started, who was your label, how could you help The Sirens? Nat now had all the questions to ask.

Gaston chuckled a bit. He could certainly relate; the poltergeists hadn't just driven him crazy last term, they nearly drove him to resign! He could tolerate a harmless prank here and there, but he drew the line at turning the staircase into a slip-n-slide. "You're very welcome, Miss Franks-Mundie," he replied, pretending not to notice the girl blushing. She was being entirely too modest! He mentally kicked himself for not thinking to give her house points at the time. He raised an eyebrow as she mentioned Professor Primeaux, who he assumed must've been his predecessor. "Oh? Well, Professor Primeaux sounds like an excellent teacher." He hoped one day some of his students would consider him an excellent teacher.

Blue eyes blinked confusedly as the girl mentioned Storm. Surely she didn't mean the poltergeist, did she? He was sure Phantom wouldn't want to play with him at all! Then it occurred to him that Miss Franks-Mundie probably had a cat with the same name. "Storm is your cat?" he asked, laughing a bit when she said he was hyper. "Phantom is just the opposite. She mostly lays around the office all day." Well, except for that little jaunt in the treehouse last term... "She might like him though; she usually gets along well with other cats." It was people she didn't like!

Gaston smiled as he listened to Miss Franks-Mundie talk about her wishes to travel with her band. He hoped she would get to visit France one day; he knew she would enjoy it! "I'm sure it'll happen for you one day," he said. Maybe he could get Lucien to pull some strings and help the girls... "You- all of The Sirens - are very talented. I should've told you at the reception last term, but I got distracted." Broken hearts and poltergeist antics tend to have that affect. He hoped she would pass the compliment along to her bandmates.

He was shocked by what Miss Franks-Mundie said next, and all he could do was stare silently at her for a moment. The idea of anyone considering him role model seemed preposterous! "Y-you're right," he finally stammered. "I just wasn't sure how the students would react." He was sure most of them would probably find it weird for a bunch of old geezers like him to still be dressing up and playing rockstar. Now it was his turn to blush when the girl complimented his music. "Why, thank you, Miss Franks-Mundie." Should he tell her he wrote the lyrics himself? No, that might sound like bragging. She could always look at the insert and find out. "We started when we were students at Beaubatons," he answered her question, "about twenty years ago." Merlin's beard, saying that made him feel so old!

Yes, he had been a good professor though Nat was always a bit scared of the man. She wouldn't have admitted that to anyone, though. Well, maybe Kelly, Tim, and Lily, but not many others.

OHMYGOD!!! Did he think... no, he couldn't have, though. "Yes, he is my cat. He was here before that stupid, annoying, ridiculous child thing." Did you even call that Storm a child? He was just an annoyance. UGH Natalia really disliked those three. "There is really no way of vanishing them from the castle sir? Like no spells or no ghost around here that could trap them in something? Wasn't Miffy brought in by the hag with a doll? Maybe we could trap them in other dolls and put them in the room of requirement." That would be a perfect place. Make sure they are never found again. Though the professor was talking about his cat being laid back so her rant about Peeves, Miffy, and Storm was not where it should have been. "Yes, my cat would probably try to chase her around or something. At home, him and my pygmy puff are always running around the room." Well the puff was more bouncing, but he got the idea.

"Oh it's alright. Once the cake started being thrown I left pretty quick anyway." Though she had gone to find her boyfriend at the time who had just up and left while she was singing. "Are you under any record labels, sir? I interned at one this summer. I was hoping to get our foot in the door a bit with them. Any advice on how to get a record deal so we can get under a label?" She was all ears because that was her main goal now. They had done camps, they had been playing small gigs, and got 3rd out of 75 in the talent competition this summer. Yes, she could honestly say this was the next step for them.

"Did you know The Dead Kneazles started in this very castle? Nigel Barrington and West Odessa both had badges too." Yes, her father had reminded her of that when she felt people would think she wasn't wrockstar material being head girl. "That is such an inspiration to know that you started when you were in school as well." Oh man, see more reasons to keep at this and know it could work. Plus buttering him up wasn't to bad of an idea either.

While listening to the professor talk, Oliver continued petting the kitty-cat, enjoying the nuzzling and purring coming from her. With each purr, Ollie considered getting a cat more and more. He had always been around dogs, and he loved dogs, but this cat was something else. Why hadn't his family ever gotten a cat before??? MAYBE HIS BOWTRUCKLE AND HIS CAT COULD BE FRIENDS! He was going to make this happen.

And in terms of the things Professor Marchand actually said, Ollie considered each thing, surprised he'd never even considered being a charms developer...he kind of just assumed charms...existed. But then the professor continued talking about what teaching is all about and Oliver really felt like he could do that. Not that he couldn't be a charms developer, but would that even be fun?? Maybe he'd have to go ask around the Ministry to see if he could shadow someone for a day or something...was that even a thing? "I think....both of those sound interesting...but I kind of think anything with Charms is interesting." So really, the professor was probably right about taking as many charms classes as he could to decide what he wanted to do. "To be a professor, do you get to practice teaching before you graduate from uni?" Like student teaching or something? Because with as she as he was, he didn't know if he could just enter a classroom without any practice and GO FOR IT. That wasn't him at all.

"Oh! Also, which uni did you go to?" Just out of curiosity, of course.

Gaston felt silly for thinking Miss Franks-Mundie was referring to the poltergeist, but he smiled at what she called the little floating terror. That was putting it mildly! Her question caught him a little off guard, though. He thought for a moment. "I doubt it. There have been many attempt to expel them in the past, some of which with disastrous results," he said. "Poltergeists are created by chaotic energy, so the only sure way to get rid of them would be to get rid of that energy and in a school full of teenagers, that's going to be difficult. The school would have to be evacuated indefinitely..." He considered her suggestion, and his expression changed slightly. "Maybe you're onto something... though I wonder if the poltergeists might be able to use the room of requirement to their advantage and require a way out?" He was probably not the right person to ask; this seemed more like Hirsch's area of expertice.

The thought of Storm (Miss Franks-Mundie's cat, not the poltergeist) chasing Phantom around made him laugh out loud. "Oh my, she wouldn't like that at all!" he said. Phantom only moved on her own terms, she was stubborn like that. "She'd probably hiss and swat at the poor thing if he did that!" He was curious to see what a cat chasing a pygmy puff would be like, however. Maybe he should get Phantom a puff of her own to play with... No, he decided; she'd just see it as a rival for his affection.

Gaston nodded as Miss Franks-Mundie mentioned the cake throwing. He'd left around that time himself, though for very different reasons. Then the conversation turned back to the band. "We are," he replied with a slight nod. "Alchimie Records - it's an independent French label." He didn't expect the girl would've heard of it. He blinked dumbly at her next words, though. Advice on getting a record deal? He had no idea! He didn't even know all the hows and the whys of getting his own record deal; Lucien handled that! "Keep doing what you are now; it's a great start," he said after some thought. "Send demo recordings to as many places as you can, and if the big name record companies turn you down, try an independent label instead. But most of all, don't get discouraged. It took us twenty years to get a record deal."

His interest was piqued by the bit of trivia. He'd heard of the band before, though he thought they'd picked a rather morbid name. "Really?" he said, raising an eyebrow. "That's impressive! I was never lucky enough to hold a badge in school myself." Blink, blink. Had she just said what he thought she said? All Gaston could do was stare at the Head Girl in disbelief for a minute, too touched to speak. He'd been called a lot of things before but never an inspiration! "Thank you, Miss Franks-Mundie," he said when he finally found his voice, beaming back at her. "That's very kind."



Gaston continued to watch Mr. Finch and Phantom. He hoped his cat hadn't distracted the boy so much he forgot to pay attention to what was being said! Oh well, it was no big deal if he was; he could always just repeat it. Luckily that wasn't necessary however.

The dark-haired Frenchman beamed back at his student. This boy reminded him so much of himself at that age! He had to quickly push the memories out of his mind before he got too emotional. Not in front of the students, Gaston! he inwardly chastised himself. Mr. Finch's question was a bit unexpected. Merlin's beard, did he forget to cover that? "Oh goodness, yes!" he replied. It would be unreasonable to expect someone to walk into a classroom and just wing it! "Almost all universities have student teaching programs. It might also be helpful to start out as a teaching assistant so you can get the feel for teaching without having all the responsibilities at first." He himself had been a teaching assistant at Beaubatons for eight years.

And speaking of universities... Gaston was a bit taken aback when Mr. Finch asked him about his alma mater. That wasn't a topic that came up very often in his conversations with students! "I attended the Monvoisin University of Magic," he said. "it's one of the most prestigious wizarding universities in France. They have an excellent student-teaching program." Was that bragging? He thought it sounded like bragging!