Making his way through the crowd to the candidate tables, Gavin found his indicated seat and sat down. Last debate...he knew Piper was there with him this time around and he'd let Becca know about the debate, and he also knew Nate would be there of course. It was a relief to know he actually had a manager that he knew would support him.

Reaching for his glass he took a deep breath and let it out trying to calm his nerves. He didn't know why the nerves were so high right that minute but they were once again. He wasn't hungry and didn't plan on eating ice cream, and water was the only thing he knew he'd be able to force down.

She had been so busy over the past few days, that she had hardly noticed that the time had come for the final debate. Until she had been reminded (rather rudely) this morning by her phone, that is. Still, luckily, she had given herself enough time to get ready. So, it was a well dressed and prepared Roxanne that walked into Florean Fortescues. She immeadately headed to the Candidates' Tables and found her spot, grinning at the smell of coffee wafting from one of the carafes. Finally, an event planner had realized that not everyone drank those silly wizarding beverages or tea! She grabbed her empty cup and gladly filled with the coffee, taking a moment to further appreciate the smell before taking a sip.

It was after her sip that she realized that the bowls of ice cream that were also on the table were real. She had initially thought that they were one of those plastic promotional tie in decorations. Picking up her bowl, she dipped out some of the dulce de leche flavor. It was then that she remembered the last time that she had eaten before a debate. Maybe she should have it checked....? Was Aron here? That was his division after all....

After that lovely rally, it was a surprise that her good mood had carried over into the next debate. It was the last one, so she knew she really had to make it count.

Walking into the ice cream shop, Ivy smiled at those who were there already and to her fellow candidates. "Good afternoon," she said with a slightly cheery tone as she took a seat at the table. Ivy straightened out her skirt and took a look at the ice cream in front of her. Was it wrong of her to be suspicious? Because she was. Maybe she would take some later, after she was sure it wasn't poisoned or laced with some strange potion again. For now, she would just wait.

Ah yes. Today was the final debate for the whole campaign for the Board of Governors, and to Lourdes it was a relief. She had been really busy nowadays because of both the debates, board of governor events, and department life. However she did find time to organize her schedule so that it wasn't harder for her. Surely it would pay off well at the end, yes? The woman made her way to Florean Fortescue's for the last debate. She didn't really know why in here out of all places, but it seemed alright considering the food perhaps was good. She used to go here when she was still a little girl. It didn't seem to change much, if her memory was accurate. She gave each of the present candidates a respectful nod and smile before finally taking her assigned seat.

Lourdes watched the food on the table. She didn't want to eat yet, to be honest. Maybe she'll just save some for later when she did feel hungry. She wanted to make sure that whatever happened during the Hogsmeade debate did not happen again, wherein someone spiked her drink. Yes, that debate turned out really strange so making sure was going to be safe. She sat there and waited for the other candidates, managers, and the officiator to arrive.

Nolan was more than read for his final debate. He'd made a dramatic comeback during the last one, and as far as he was concerned, the next step was obviously FIRST place! He was still unsure how exactly he'd gotten to that point--he'd just tried to annoy the other opponents, talk a LOT, and be rememberable. Clearly it had worked!

"Hello everyone!" Nolan said with a broad smile as he took his seat. Man, he would NOT want to be one of these candidates right now. Nolan was just going to ROCK this debate.

Andrew arrived to the famous ice cream parlour on-time for a change, despite how odd he found it that they would have a debate at an ice cream shop. Though on the other hand, perhaps they should have fed them ice cream from the start; perhaps he'd have been less likely to miss an event had their been food.

Speaking of food, why was everyone just staring at the ice cream like it was poisoned?! They wouldn't do that BEFORE the actual election, would they? And after they'd already coughed up extensive amounts of galleons. Sliding into the seat next to Gavin - since he was one of the few he happened to meet - he gazed around at his fellow candidates, before scooping some pumpkin juice flavoured ice cream into his bowl.

"Why's everyone just staring at the ice cream? It's meant to be eaten." He announced to noone in particular, as he took a spoonful.

Carter entered the final debate. He straightened his tie before heading up to the debate tables. Oh. Look. They were even labeled.

And so Carter found his assigned seat before looking around. Oooh! Ice cream.

He helped himself to some of the ice cream on the table. They were allowed to do that, right? He looked around to see that some of the other candidates were doing that too. Oh good. Not that he was planning on stopping. Ice cream was a perfect way to entice him to say something.

Erik slipped into the debate mostly unnoticed and made his way over to the candidate table. He silently took a seat beside Ivy and gave a respectful nod to a few of the other candidates, along with a simple, "Good day," greeting.

He was neither hungry nor thirsty, so he folded his hands in his lap and tried to look relaxed. He had dressed down for this event, as per a strategy to make himself look approachable. The jeans seemed appropriate for a round table event, no?

Ehmm. He was ready to have this election in his pocket already.

An ice cream parlor... interesting venue

Corin strode into Floreans, pausing for a moment to regard the spread before making his way to an empty seat where the rest of the candidates were already settled in. Although there was a tiny part of him that begrudged being past the age of heedlessly liberating a few of those frosty sweets, he actually welcomed the more informal setting of this debate. Reminded him of something he was discussing with his Campaign Manager and the restlessness that was seeping into him from the previous debates. He flicked his rolled up sleeves off imaginary dirt and gave a small, inaudible sigh, thoughts swirling in his head....

The final debate.

Atticus was not quite sure whether to be relieved or worried. On one hand, it was the last, which meant he didn't have to go through these much longer, and that was definitely a good thing. On the other hand though, it meant he had, for the most part, one last major shot at gaining approval and votes from the public. After this, the voting would approach before they all knew it and everything would be over one way or another, good or bad.

He had many mixed emotions over all this, but he appeared perfectly calm as he approached the table and took his assigned seat. There was ice cream there for them, but he wasn't going to have any for right now - partly due to the memory of the last time he had something edible available to them being spiked with Babbling Beverage, and partly because he wasn't particularly hungry. Perhaps he would have some later on.

Cooppsss was EXCCCCITED! Floreans was easily the BEST location for their final debate. Heck, why didn't they have it here each of the other times?!
"Greetings all!" he said as he joined the ranks of his fellow candidates. He'd noticed the ice cream before anyone else, and as a result, launched himself into it. Scooping spoons of it into his bowl, a child-like grin across his face.

... Warfield better not eat HIM for doing this...

"Ndid I mishhhh anyfing?" he asked through a mouthful of ice cream. Mmmmm... YUM. Cause really, it didn't look as though anything had happened YET, so, there was time for him to enjoy himself before he got down to business. Yepyep. Surely the public would think him a FOOOOOL if he DIDN'T eat the ice cream. It would be nonsensical.

Seriously. Ice cream was a fantastic idea. Except... Carter might get hyper and pretty much ramble long answers. Oh well. It would be worth it.

Oh! And here was his fellow former Gryffindor candidate. He gave a nod in greeting as he'd just had some ice cream.

He then shook his head in response to his question. He swallowed before answering. "Nope. Just having ice cream." he replied. Which, the older man had not missed out on. But... based on how much the guy was having, any candidate that hadn't arrived yet would probably miss out on that opportunity.

"Hello everyone..." Ian Amoroso said putting his wand on his throat. "Welcome to the final debate! Candidates, I hope you are ready to take questions from the audience. Because here they come. AUDIENCE, what questions do you have for our candidates here?"

Cooper BEAMED, at his Gryffie BoG buddy. The lad had guts, and he was pure awesomeness, such a go-getter. "Oh gooood! I'd hate to have... ya know, missed stuff." It wouldn't have been a good look. Tardy candidates would surely not do well in the polls...

He'd just shoved another spoonful of DELICIOUS ice cream in his mouth when Amoroso addressed the gathering.



Merlin's goat....

From the AUDIENCE. As in, THEY were speaking? It was OPEN? .... This would be interesting, and certainly, it would be the BEST debate yet. Out with a bang for sure. Sitting forward in his seat, Cooper swallowed his mouthful of ice cream, eagerly awaiting to see what happened next.

She'd been down at the General area, just having a quick chat with Dash and assuring Kyroh she would have some ice cream with him after she was done with the 'boring talking stuff', but now Althea slipped into her assigned seat with a quick smile and nod for her fellow candidates.

Those that were left anyway.

She was a little more casual today, given that they were at Florean Fortescues and despite impervius charms she hardly wanted to end up covered in ice cream... and well, she wouldn't put it past some of the contenders. She hadn't helped herself to any ice cream though, and now it was time for questions, so she simply waited, interested to see what would be asked by who, and how many questions she'd have to respond to.

Montgomery Hart eyed the podium that he was supposed to be standing behind from the crowd suspiciously. No one had told HIM that he was supposed to be standing the entire debate. He doubted there was a chair to rest his old legs. It didn't even look sturdy enough to lean against. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out the letter that had been skimmed numerous times, searching for how long this debate would last, and folding back neatly with a sigh when no precise time was found.

At least there was ice cream. Maybe if he ate enough he wouldn't be so put off by the podium.

He patiently watched each candidate take there seat, examining them even closer than he had the podium, then flicked his dark eyes over to Ian when he spoke up.

Now was the time to take his place he supposed.

"Thank you, Mr. Amoroso." Monte stood finally and approached the podium casually, giving a nod to all the candidates. Leaning against the podium carefully, he tested it while raising his voice to address everyone. "Greetings and salutations all, I am the officiator of this final debate. My name, Monte Hart." And that was all those who did not know, needed to know. "These are our candidates, who of which I'm sure you are all familiar with. Now lets us begin with the first question." His eyes settled on the young woman that was braving the first question.



"A fair question Miss Carter." He smiled and motioned that she could lower her hand. And very important considering history and how they would have to deal with such situations. Monte turned his attention from the former Head Girl to the candidates. "Your responses, candidates?" In no particular order, please.

After Ian had begun his speech and welcomed everyone to the debate. Gavin's attention was drawn to the audience. He quite agreed with the way things were being done! The audience should finally get the chance to ask questions! When the first question was put forward to the candidates by Louisa Carter, Gavin's attention was drawn to her.

Merlin it was just like if there was a time turner used and there was an accident. Very close to his own heart, being he'd worked in the time room for a few years!

Rising to his feet he pushed his chair back. "I believe the witch should be taken to Azkaban for a time. Showing her that, there is no tolerance for dark or cursed objects. I'd say she should be there a good six months or more for her first offense, and if she or even he continues along that path that the sentence is extended each time."

Giving a wry look he shook his head "Sometimes just being there for the child is the best form of help a person can give them. Quite often all a person needs is assurance that it won't happen again to them. Making sure they feel safe and doing everything in our power to ensure this won't happen again. I believe personally that items should be checked as they appear in the school. Including when students arrive at the beginning of the school term and packages that arrive by owl post."

Althea listened to the first question, initially with a smile when she recognized Louisa, a former student of hers, and then with growing seriousness and regret at the question.

When it was her turn to speak up, she did so clearly.

"I believe whole-heartedly in the skills and expertise of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement in our very own British Ministry of Magic, so, as I am no expert myself, I would not interfere with the punishment, rather entrust MLE to do what is needed to be done." Pause. "However, as far as the traumatized students were concerned," Because this question wasn't completely hypothetical, Louisa, we are entirely aware, "I would have liked to see support via St Mungos and perhaps if necessary, engaged the services of a counselor or mind-healer, for those students who felt they needed further after care, given the unique circumstances surrounding that particular event."

She added, "I believe the Board of Governors in fact arranged a similar service for at least one of the students some terms ago after a kidnapping when an illegal dueling ring was uncovered in the Forbidden Forest. It would be useful to have funds allocated to such services as required."

Which was actually another lovely example of why it was important to have a healthy relationship with the Ministry, and in particular those departments charged with the safety of the Wizarding World.

In short, Althea believed in making the most of the skills which people had, and looking for the right kind of help from outside rather than presuming that she knew best just by dint of her position.

The young lady who asked the question looked familiar to Nolan, but he couldn't be sure if she had been there during his time. But she had a very excellent question - the safety of the students had been jeopardized a number of times in the past few years, and nothing had been done to stop it!

"Thank you for your question Miss Carter, you bring up an excellent point that none of us can ignore - the safety of the students HAS been in jeopardy over the past few years. To help students who were effected by these breaches in security, no matter what their degree of involvement in the affair was, I firmly believe counselling is the best option. Getting everything out and in the open and having someone to turn to, knowing that they will keep things confidential and will be unbaised, is sometimes the best medicine. If extra attention is needed, we can call on the support staff at St. Mungos to help. Students should know that if they feel at all disturbed by anything in the castle, they should seek help. It's not a sign of weakness nor an embarrassment to seek out counseling - we are there to protect them, and that includes their mental well-being after events like this happen."

"Now, to prevent this from happening," he said, moving his weight from one foot to the other, "We should definitely look into establishing more security around the school. The Ministry is growing, and from the looks of things, Magical Law Enforcement could have enough staff on hand to form an extra security group for the school. Again, this is speculation on my end, but even one or two extra wizards can make a huge difference in the security of our school. Finally, we must insist that ANY students who see ANYTHING suspicious need to speak up! Report it to the Headmistress or your head of house--don't stay quiet in this matter. The sooner the board and staff and security are informed of what is happening around the school, the sooner help can arrive and prevent anything from endangering the students. Thank you," Nolan said with a smile before taking his seat again.

Once more, off to a great start! Hehe.

See people, former students were worried about Hogwarts' security as well. And what she was about to say should be both unsurprising and a testament to how much she was working to being a good department head. "I agree with Althea. Our Magical Law Enforcement office is one of the most competent in Europe and therefore prepared to dole out whatever punishment the Wizengamot should decide upon." And Roxanne wasn't just saying that because until very recently she had been a part of that department, either. She truly believed it. Though she also knew that despite what Nolan thought, the MLE DIDN'T have enough people to form a team like that. But, that hadn't even been the point of the question anyway, so she just gave him a 'what are you on about, anyway?' look and continued on. "I also agree that the affected students should be seen by a qualified counselor, on De Talone's dime, of course. She felt the need to steal something very valuable, time, from those students, so it's the least that way too old brat could do." Okay, so she may have let her anger at the woman color that last statement a bit. So sue her.

If there was one thing Corin could appreciate about the sweet spread was that it was colorful enough to be aesthetically pleasing, and it was in this pleasant distraction when he heard Secretary Amoroso starting the proceedings, his attention shifting to him and then to Hart, the host of this hour’s debate. It wasn’t before long that the first question was asked, and Corin brows raised when he recognized who asked it-- Louisa, the ginger former Head Girl, she gets a small pleasant smile, for old times sakes.

But her question was an interesting one and Corin hand braced his chin thoughtfully. He had memories of that event, a ring side seat if you will, and he can still remember the conversation that took place in the Headmaster’s office as if it was yesterday. And to think he nearly touched that orb himself. Shudder.

“Well...in order to address your first comment there Louisa...” Ms Carter? No, too formal for a setting like this, this wasn’t a B&W party after all “....it must be said that the steps that must be taken has to depend on the challenge presented. I always believe one must come up with an applicable solution to a specific problem, just because something worked on a previous problem doesn’t mean it would work well with the next one.”

“Now on your question about the uh... chronologically-gifted witch...” which he would actually want to meet face to face, he was curious like that “... first I would like to know up to what is the extent of her abilities—to customize her punishment. For example, does she have the ability to create any object into an instrument that can steal someone’s time... or she doesn’t need an instrument, does she have the ability with her mere contact or presence? If so then naturally you wouldn’t want to incarcerate her with anybody else including fellow inmates—otherwise she’d just be feeding off of them—and that’s not much of a punishment.” if anything it was a gift to her own private banquet.

“However, if she doesn’t have the ability to steal time just as herself, then perhaps having her spend her days amongst those who doesn’t have that much time left in the world would be a more fitting penalty—the old, the dying, those on death row-- to be constantly surrounded by those who will forever be a reminder to her that time is not hers to keep.” He wanted to add something else—a very Ravenclawish suggestion, but he decided to keep that to himself. For now.

“And as for the affected students....” Ravenclawish instincts popping up again. Shhh. “.... it must be quite an experience for them after having gone through all that. I had wondered if they were given counseling or some kind of support group to address their issues—different people deal with trauma different ways, they ought to have professionals and family and friends to help them come to terms with what happened to them.”

The first question asked about the woman and the orb Erik had read about. He hadn't known she was going unpunished until now.

"I vould suggest a lengthy sentence in Azkaban, as vell as a fine or some kind of reparations to the effected students," Erik answered the young lady, training his blue eyes on her and only her. His answer sounded similar to the other candidates, obviously, but how was he to differentiate himself when there only seemed to be one correct answer?

Perhaps with the second part of the question. "Traumatized students should be allowed a few days away from vhe school, if vhey need vhem, to be counselled by family and friends. Perhaps support groups could be set up in vhe various," teams? Four groups of the school? Vhat were they called? "houses, as vell as vhe suggestions of my fellow candidates here." He nodded, and went back to her first somewhat indirect question.

"I vink, personally, vhe best steps to haff in store for similar challenges vould be steps of prevention. Tightening the school's security must be a priority. Having vhe contact information of counsellors should be secondary. I'm sure I speak for many parents and professors vhen I say ve all hope our children are safe vhen ve send vhem off to school. Now ve need to make vhat hope a reality." Erik gave the young question-asker a small smile and settled back into his seat.

Next question, please.

Carter frowned slightly when the question was brought up. He was, of course, glad that it was brought up, it was a serious issue, but at the same time... it was a little uncomfortable to talk about.

He listened at the other candidates, but zoned out a little when Althea spoke of what happened during his second term. He quickly took a few sips of water to distract himself. Better water in... than out of his eyes.

"Hey Louisa. Thanks for the question." he started, trying to keep his voice steady. Deep breath, Carter. Deep breath. "I do sincerely appreciate the question. My little sister was actually one of the students in the incident Miss Carter here was referring to. I also had several close friends, including my wife, that were involved in the kidnapping that Althea was referring to."

He ran a hand through his hair. "I wholeheartedly agree that this is something that needs to be addressed. I'm going to skip over the punishment bit, if you don't mind. I've stated before I'm not a politician. And you might not be able to tell this, but I'm a far cry from law enforcement." Which, was probably pretty obvious looking at him. "I'll leave the punishment to those whose job it is to decide that."

He then cleared his throat. "I believe there needs to be an exact system in place for cases like this and what happened during my second year at Hogwarts. I believe parents need to be informed. I believe all the students as well should be aware of the situation. And in terms of the aftermath there needs to be a widely available" he gave a pointed look at Althea before turning his attention back on Louisa "form of counseling available. I didn't know that anything was offered in prior terms." Of course, he'd been sure to talk to everyone that he could. That's actually how he and Destiny first became close. "As far as I'm concerned, anything that happens on school property is the school's responsibility. Meaning, someone needs to followup on those directly affected and even offer help to anyone that may be uncomfortable with the situation."

Not everyone left to their own devices as what was going on currently.

"In conjunction with this topic, I think there needs to be better care taken in what exactly these students have interactions with." Security measures needed to be taken to stop bringing strange objects and strange people in contact with the students.

Althea nodded seriously at this. "I absolutely agree. While prevention is obviously better, I would like to see sensitive situations followed up on, where the overall mental wellbeing of students is taken into account, for those who require it and request it. Perhaps even an investigation into past occurrences within the school which still clearly have an impact on those who were students at the time could be considered by the board in the long term."