Headmaster's Office

[DaniDiNardo]

Well, it's an office.

There's a desk, there's bookshelves, the walls are lined with portraits of past Headmasters and Headmistresses as is the custom. Nothing out of the ordinary here.

On the large, wooden desk sits several pictures of a woman with a bright and enchanting smile. Some pictures had (if you asked the Headmaster) the cutest children ever to be created in the history of man's creation. One picture contains these beautiful people and Trent himself. Not all the pictures are still. The little girl in one picture blows kisses occasionally and the little boy who is clearly the older of the pair occasionally breaks into a grin in his own frame. It was his mother's grin, could you tell? Did you need a closer look? Don't smudge the glass and don't leave fingerprints, that's just inconsiderate. Look with your eyes and not your hands.

This is usually where you'll find the Headmaster, getting through some important paper work or making plans. It's of course, not a guarantee he'll be up here as the man does have a habit of wandering. Sitting still for hours was never his strong suit.

If you wish you speak with him, approach the stone gargoyles and have yourself a nice wait. They're not likely to let you in without the password and only the Headmaster and his staff are privy to that bit of information. Don't break them trying to force your way in anyway. They've been here since long before you were born and won't appreciate that kind of abuse. There's ways of trying to let yourself in that would prove to be less a nuisance--not that you're encouraged to. Whatever you've got to discuss with Headmaster Trent can't be THAT pressing. What's a five minute wait?

[Lucien Rosier]

Lucien nodded, neither impressed nor disappointed by the response. At this point, there were things that were simply expected of Upstead. Excellence was the only thing the man would accept. Busy man as he was, to think training would’ve been all for nothing would not have gone over well.

“Good. You’ll be aiding to maintain order. This goes both inside and outside of your lessons. I trust by now, you don’t need to be told what is and is not acceptable behaviour.” There had been enough examples all term.

“Use spells at your discretion. If they oppose, you can refer them to any other member of the squad. I’ll inform them of the changes to avoid any...future inconveniences.”

This was not the time her hiccups.

“Are we clear?”

[Felixir]

"Right, sir. I've been paying attention." An understatement if ever there was one. Nem's mind briefly flitted back to the morning they'd watched Williamson flailing, twitching, and then slumping pathetically on the ground. Yeah. Paying close attention. "Does that go for everyone, or are staff for you to deal with." Surely there were no members of staff who were still stupid enough to risk anything, with so many residents of the castle effectively being held hostage, but it was probably worth finding out exactly what level of power the Big Man had in mind here.

And, going briefly back to an earlier point. "Speaking of the other members, and of disguises, am I likely to see what's under those hoods." Nem did not expect the Squad to be made up of anyone they knew, but the juxtaposition here had not, at any point, been lost on them. All this time, their own face had been out in the open, while their true intentions had been shrouded in shadow. For the Inquisitorial Squad, the opposite had been true, and yet Nem was now shedding their own version of disguise to join them. It was almost funny, and Nem figured that the fact they could see that, even just objectively, was probably a sign that they could regain at least a toehold in everyday life. Jury was still out on if they even wanted that. "Not that I suppose it matters, in the grand scheme of things."

Nem glanced again at that pin Rosier had picked up, taking just a moment to think on the entire situation, and how it had all worked out. When they looked up into the Big Man's face and spoke again, it was with that same dispassionate voice, and while wearing the same empty expression, but for the reappearance of a very subtle glint in their eye.

"Crystal clear, sir."

[Lucien Rosier]

Lucien considered the question a moment. Did staff count? It made no difference to him. "You can remind them of their place. If they fall in line, fine. If not, you can proceed in the way you think most effective." There was no more hand holding. Upstead would now have to consider each circumstance and show critical thinking.

As to the hoods, "You'll see what you need." And nothing more. Lucien saw no need. It did not matter who was under the cloak. They were still his law around the castle and Upstead was now a part of them. There were no special meetings, no introductions or initiations, just another day around the castle with work to be done.

The Headmaster leaned forward in his chair, his elbows propping him up forward.

"Now, if there's nothing else, I believe you have work to do."

[Felixir]

"Understood." That went for both matters. All information heard, acknowledged, and safely filed away. Critical thinking, as it happened, was one of Nem's numerous strengths. They had no doubt in their abilities there. They had no doubt in their abilities at all; self-doubt was utterly pointless.

Nem could do what the Big Man asked of them, and would exceed his expectations in the process of living up to their own potential, finally. But they didn't say that, didn't tell Rosier they wouldn't let him down, because it wasn't really necessary. They were of a similar mindset, in some things at least, and Nem knew he didn't need to hear them say it.

Standing up, Nem reached out a hand, palm up, to take the pin. There was a pause, in which they studied Rosier's face for a moment, before speaking again. "You know, sir, I wasn't certain I'd ever encounter someone who'd accept what really I am without trying to change it, and without me having to play a part." It hadn't actually been their intention, coming out with something like this, but the timing was more or less right; the parallels between their situation and the greater good goal of the Neo-Alliance was suddenly striking. But the Big Man knew by now that Nem was not a sentimental person in the slightest, so this was the first and last time they'd be saying anything like this to him. "Thank you for accepting me. Into your organisation, and in general. I won't forget it."

But yes, Nem had work to do, and wouldn't you know, a sudden motivation had started to bloom within them once again.

[Lucien Rosier]

For the briefest moment, the man's expression softened. It had always been clear that Upstead was not like the others. Lucien suspected there must have been some amount of rejection of self in order for them to have any semblance of a normal time in the presence of the others. This lot...they were something else. Most of them didn't have what it took for real survival.

Not surprisingly, he hadn't been wrong. Just as quickly as Lucien's expression softened, it returned to it's often neutral appearance.

"You'll always have a place in the alliance so long as you wish to continue and I don't require you to be anymore than you've already shown." What they were was perfectly fine with him. Convenient. Useful. It was a lot more than he could say for the larger Hogwarts population.

"There's nothing wrong with you."

[Felixir]

After a life of carefully scrutinising every word, gesture, reaction, and micro-expression from those around them, Nem was not the type to let the little details pass them by. They caught the subtle change that came over the Big Man's features - like a passing shadow, gone again swiftly enough that they might have even imagined it - but pretended not to have noticed. Instead, they simply nodded in acknowledgement, finding they had very little to say.

For years, Nem had known what society viewed as the 'right' and 'wrong' type of person, and were aware of exactly where they supposedly fell in that binary, but they also knew it was utter nonsense. People valued honesty, but if Nem had been honest from the start, if they had refrained from acting as someone they weren't, they would never have made it as far as they had, especially not while held in reasonably high regard by others. If they had always refused to apologise or express the compassion or remorse that, in truth, they did not feel, their honesty and integrity would not have worked in their favour. If anyone but Rosier had seen their ruthlessness and their potential, there was no doubt that they'd have tried to stamp it out. Nem did not regret who or what they were; it made them stronger, and they had no desire to 'fix' that which was not broken, nor to be accepted by those who couldn't see that.

They knew the terms thrown around about people like them, because they had heard a couple first hand, and even more about the Big Man. But Rosier wasn't a monster, and neither was Nem, even if they lacked his adherence to a cause.

There were no monsters in this room.

"You're right, sir. There's nothing wrong with me at all." And the world could jot that down. Out of the shadows, into the light. Et cetera, et cetera. "And I do I have work to do. Thank you for seeing me."

[The Narrator]

In all the chaos that ensues, a blast hits the wall that houses the Headmaster's office. The Headmaster himself has already gone to attend to the matter but the damage is done all the same. Shelves are blasted--as is the desk holding the mirrors of a certain few students.

With a loud shattering noise, the mirrors fall to the ground.

With the magic broken, the students are now free to witness what might be the end of the world as they know it.