You better believe that Toby was stopping by Professor Tyner Tanner's office the moment he had the chance. As soon as he'd spotted her up at the staff table on the night of the Start of Term Feast, this Hufflepuff had been making plans to head down here as soon as possible.

Which was why, a few days later when classes were finished for the day, Toby could be found approaching her office door, chipper as ever. He knocked quickly and waited, standing up quite straight and clutching at the strap of his schoolbag, though thankfully no longer anywhere near as bouncy as he was last time they'd spoken. Still beaming and just as upbeat though; nothing had changed that.

Tiara was just reviewing a note from the Headmistress requesting a meeting when she heard a knock on the door. Ah, was this her first visitor of the term? "Enter," she said, pointing her wand at the door and causing it to slowly swing inwards.

Automatic doors? Swish.

A beaming Tobias poked his head inside the office once the door was open far enough, then pushed the door further open on his own so he could step inside. "Professor Ty-... Tanner!" he all but chirped. "Hi!"

Ah, it was Tobias! She had missed his spirited personality. And yes, perhaps even the pogo stick. The word around the school was that he was involved romantically with a student from her house. Was he here for girl advice? She fervently hoped not.

The official smiled as he caught his error. "Hello Tobias! It is good to see you back in this office for a visit. Come, sit." She pulled out her wand and, with a twiddle of her wrist, made a small plate of cookies appear. "Take one if you'd like. And to what do I owe this pleasure, sir?"

Still grinning, Toby stepped inside properly and let the door fall closed behind him. He took a seat in a chair in front of the desk and took a little look around the room out of habit.

"It's good to see you back, Professor," the Hufflepuff replied, taking one of the proffered cookies. "Thanks." Omnomnom. Oh wait, more talking. Toby made sure there was NO MORE cookie in his mouth before talking, 'cause manners. "I just wanted to come say hey, and stuff." Stuff meaning 'to make sure all was okay'. He wasn't going to mention it, but last year when Truebridge had told them about the threat, and then Professor Tanner hadn't been around, Toby had immediately jumped to the conclusion that she was like in WITNESS PROTECTION or something. Y'know? But shhhh, nobody needed to know that. "And maybe tell you about how those Under-Seventeens tryouts went, if you want?"

Moar grinning, 'cause the woman in front of him had really helped him out with all that, and now getting into Quidditch after school looked like something that might actually happen.

"It's good to be seen back myself." And it was, it truly was. Hogwarts, despite its odd occurrences, was the sort of work environment that was invigorating. Tiara adjusted her position in her seat as Tobias came in and took some sweets. "You're welcome, Tobias." Those Hufflepuffs and their desserts. Especially cookies, if she recalled correctly.

She chuckled softly. "Well. Hey and stuff to you as well, dear boy." And yes, she did want to hear about the tryouts! She nodded encouragingly to indicate her desire. "Go on!" This type of conversation was one of the huge highlights of her job.

Dooooodoodoo. It was certainly warmer outdoors this time of day than it had been this time last year. Annie was enjoying fall, that was to be certain. Pumpkin spice EVERYTHING! She carried a small latte with her as she wandered toward the flying professor's office, and finally arrived at the door. After a small sip from her cup, the redhead raised her fist and knocked thrice on Tanner's office.

Here went something. She was glad she had the caffeine before she entered; she would need it.

Toby was all smiles as he finished up his cookie. What a Good Day. And what a good cookie. This was a professor who really knew how to make the students happy; with happy vibes and sweet food.

"Well," the Hufflepuff began, shifting slightly in his chair as he did. "I got onto the Under-Seventeens team, the same one as West and Mo and Theo, except they're off to play for the big teams now, I think." Moar grinning. "It keeps me busy all summer, which is great, and my grandma says it's helped me get my foot in the door to go pro after Hogwarts." Which was, of course, the dream.

Was she surprised that the badger had finished the cookie in about ten seconds? Not at all. Athletes had bigger appetites, after all. And this one used up so much energy with his general air of BOUNCE that she was actually more surprised he wasn't taking FIVE cookies.

She took one herself and began to munch away quietly as he began his story. Tiara nodded appreciatively at his news. Yes, she had been keeping tabs on those three already. "Busy all summer? Oh I highly doubt that." If he had truly been that busy, he would not still be courting anyone with enough sense to be in Ravenclaw. "But enough to be getting on with, I'd say. What position did they have you playing?"

As for the old foot-in-the-door policy, there was some truth in the saying. She was about to open her mouth to say so when...


Three knocks sounded upon her door. Normally she would keep whoever it was waiting, but she happened to be expecting a visit from the Headmistress this week. "Enter," she said simply. It would not do any good to keep Anastasia Truebridge waiting.

Toby only grinned. Sure, he'd been summer. He wasn't sure where the doubt came from but he also didn't mind. Just nodded along, yEP. Definitely enough to be getting on with.

"Absolutely," the Hufflepuff agreed, suddenly patting around at his pockets, looking for something he really hoped he'd remembered to bring along with him. "I play mainly play as Keeper, but when our Seeker can't play they put me in that position. We've been talking about me maybe playing as Seeker once the spot frees up this summer."

Aha, just as Toby found what he'd been looking for (a piece of parchment, neatly folded in half), there came a knock at the door. Toby glanced around, then back at Tanner.

"I can leave now if you're expecting someone, Professor," he offered with a smile. Once he'd delivered that note and stuff, there was no reason for him to take up anyone else's time.

She nodded. Yes, she recalled him having to Seek once or twice for the Summers boy. "You seemed to have the natural instinct for Keeping, almost as if you could read the Chasers' minds as to which way they would aim. Useful, to say the least." Tiara didn't elaborate on his Seeking since she didn't much remember it except to say, "And you have a solid frame without being too bulky, which works for either position." Get too small and you'd get blown and tossed by large wind gusts, after all.

"You were here first, my dear boy. You're welcome to stay if you'd like." Even if he would be keeping Anastasia Truebridge waiting.

Oh, so she could enter Her Highness' royal chambers, could she? Anastasia rolled her eyes and took a longggggggg sip of her latte before she ever touched that door handle. This was not going to be a pleasant meeting, she could already tell.

The redhead squared her shoulders and marched in, surprised to see a student there as well. Uh..... she closed the door behind her but raised her eyebrows at the Hufflepuff, and then turned her surprised face on Tiara. And? He would be going now, yes?

Toby nodded along, listening eagerly and attentively. He, of course, couldn't help but grin at what Tyner said about his natural instinct. It was always good to hear something like that from someone who really knew her stuff.

"Thanks Professor!" the Hufflepuff beamed, filing all this away in his memory for when he did more thinking about specialising in a position later. "I've had a lot more experience as Keeper, and you get to see a lot more action in that position, so I'm kind of drawn to it, I think. I guess I like... being a defender." Heh. Poetic really. "I'm still thinking it all over, really, for the future."

But uhhhh... ahem. That... that was the Headmistress. Tanner had said that Toby could stay, but... Toby could see those raised eyebrows and that glance at Tanner and... well. He could tell that the Headmistress wanted him to leave, and... yes, he would do that.

"Uhhh, it's fine, it's okay, I can leave," Toby said, turning to Tanner once again, smiling. "Just real quick though..." The sixteen year old stood and held out the folded note to Professor Tanner. "West Odessa asked me if I'd pass this note on to you." So... he was.

... "Shall I... go? ... I'll just go." Once Tanner was cool with that he'd be out of here and and out of their hair.

The boy had an interesting outlook. Many would have said that the Seekers have all the action, what with their spectacular dives and break-neck-speed chases. And it was the Seekers that got the glory. But this young man knew what he liked and wasn't tempted by that glory. She grew more fond of him every time he stepped foot in this office, she did.

Ah yes. It was the Headmistress. And by that look, she wanted it to be just her in here. Someone wasn't good at waiting their turn, apparently. But now Tobias had decided to leave, and he pulled something from his pocket from.. West? Unexpected for sure. Despite her curiosity, she couldn't help wondering why he hadn't simply sent whatever this missive was by owl to her. This seemed a strange method of delivery. "Thank you, Tobias. I shall read it straightaway after the Headmistress and I have finished our business." Surely Anastasia would not take kindly to being kept waiting by her reading this letter. "Come again any time, young man," she said with a smile.

"Now. Anastasia. Please sit down. Is there anything I can get for you?" She looked down at the plate of crumbs on the desk, the leftovers of her Toby's visit. "Perhaps a cookie to go with your drink?" she asked, waving her wand to refill the plate.

...so the boy was leaving, yes, excellent job picking up on social cues, Tobias. The redhead gave him a cool and collected nod, not an unfriendly one, and waited for him to exit before she took a seat. Not his seat, of course. Child germs.

"No thank you, I'm nearly done with this anyway," she forced a smile and took a sip of her PSL. Now, yes, now they needed to talk about the state of THINGS. "Well, you do know why I'm here," she began. "We still have a.... pause, shall we call it, on flying..... and yet, we have a flying instructor on staff."

So where did that leave them?

Okay. Okay COOL. Toby beamed widely and saluted the professor as appeared to be his custom.

"Thanks for your time Professor. Have a great day," the Hufflepuff said. "And you too, Headmistress." Toby didn't know whether or not he should salute at Truebridge too, and settling for a polite nod and a friendly grin. "Bye!"

And with that, he made his exit from the office and went off to... do homework or something.

"You're welcome, Tobias. Have a good day." She smiled serenely, watching the energetic Hufflepuff and wondering if he would have his chance at Hogwarts this year. It looked like that would be decided in the next few minutes.

And now to focus her attention onto a more serious matter and a more serious visitor. With another wave of her wand, the newly refilled plate vanished altogether. "Indeed I do." Tiara had been dreading this inevitable chat. Despite her attempts, the Headmistress did not seem willing to reinstate the program. Therefore, it was only a matter of time before she lost her job. It was the logical step; who would pay someone to do a job that didn't exist?

The almost-former referee cleared her throat. She had a sudden vision of a snake poised to lunge, but she shook it from her mind. "Correct. Which is one of the reasons you appointed me to take on extra responsibilities with Ravenclaw House to help pick up the slack." Surely Anastasia would not take kindly to this reminder, but it was one of her only lines of defense. "Did you have another alternative in mind?" she queried.

Quote:

Originally Posted by hpluvr037

And now to focus her attention onto a more serious matter and a more serious visitor. With another wave of her wand, the newly refilled plate vanished altogether. "Indeed I do." Tiara had been dreading this inevitable chat. Despite her attempts, the Headmistress did not seem willing to reinstate the program. Therefore, it was only a matter of time before she lost her job. It was the logical step; who would pay someone to do a job that didn't exist?

The almost-former referee cleared her throat. She had a sudden vision of a snake poised to lunge, but she shook it from her mind. "Correct. Which is one of the reasons you appointed me to take on extra responsibilities with Ravenclaw House to help pick up the slack." Surely Anastasia would not take kindly to this reminder, but it was one of her only lines of defense. "Did you have another alternative in mind?" she queried.

Anastasia had been an athlete in her heyday at school, she had, and she had enjoyed flying just as much as the next champion Quidditch player. But now the topic of flying and Quidditch caused her to lose sleep at night, with this threat hanging over their heads.

"That's right," Annie nodded in response to Tiara, "and I do... of sorts. Shall we take a walk, out on the grounds to inspect the pitch?" The pitch they would most certainly NOT be using to fly around upon?!

So she did have something else for the sort-of-referee to do. That spelled some form of job security for the newlywed woman. Not that Jason didn't have an income, but living in Hogsmeade was expensive.

The pitch? She obviously didn't mind being overheard, then, if she wanted to chat in private. Perhaps her job really was secure for the time being. Surely Anastasia wouldn't take a conversation outdoors in public space if she wished to fire an employee? "Yes," she said, brightening a bit, "that sounds lovely. Shall we use the door or the window?" Tiara reached behind her and opened the large window that she frequently used to clamber out into the lower part of the Quidditch stands. She'd made this addition on her first day as the occupant of the office so she could keep an eye on students.

Quote:

Originally Posted by hpluvr037

So she did have something else for the sort-of-referee to do. That spelled some form of job security for the newlywed woman. Not that Jason didn't have an income, but living in Hogsmeade was expensive.

The pitch? She obviously didn't mind being overheard, then, if she wanted to chat in private. Perhaps her job really was secure for the time being. Surely Anastasia wouldn't take a conversation outdoors in public space if she wished to fire an employee? "Yes," she said, brightening a bit, "that sounds lovely. Shall we use the door or the window?" Tiara reached behind her and opened the large window that she frequently used to clamber out into the lower part of the Quidditch stands. She'd made this addition on her first day as the occupant of the office so she could keep an eye on students.

The door or the window? Anastasia let out a short laugh at that question, but then she saw Tiara actually open the window behind her and she quickly shut up.

????!

"I prefer the door, but maybe that's just me." She gave the official a thin-lipped smile and stood up to make her way out to the pitch. Who used WINDOWS for exits? She certainly never had, except for that time her office had been flooded and she'd been FORCED to use the window to rescue herself and her shoes!

As suspected, the Headmistress did not appear to be the 'exit through the window' type of person. No matter. Leaving the window open, Tiara said, "Then after you, Headmistress." The woman probably liked to be the one leading the procession rather than following, after all. "Nox," she said whilst pointing her wand at the lights.

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Narrator

Though the growth of the sinkhole began to slow down, it didn't stop before it reached the stands. The second set of goal hoops had long ago succumbed to the collapse, and now the stands themselves began to tremble.

Shake, shake, creak, creeeak, snaaaap SNAP!

The first section of bleachers came down and disappeared into the black hole. Like a set of dominoes, the rest of the stands began to fall, section by section. In less than a minute the stadium ceased to exist, having given way to the sinkhole that by now had reached its final size.

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Bunz was ON the broom for sure now, flying for her life. She zipped down the passage, tempted to close her eyes for fear but not wanting to miss the turn into Tiara's office. She leaped off the broom just in time as what sounded like ALL of the STANDS went crashing into the sinkhole too.

FOR THE LOVE OF MERLIN!

Annie somewhat rolled into the office and dragged herself up into a chair, still nervous that THIS place was going to collapse too. "That was insane," she breathed, peeking toward the window to see what it all looked like now. "I think we should just head up to the castle to talk. This changes EVERYTHING." And they needed to block off the pitch and make sure no students fell into the hole and the press would probably hear about this too and they should test the ground around it to figure out what went on and GOODNESS.

"We should get Archie out here." Yes, the groundskeeper. FINALLY they HAD ONE.

Archie had been tending to his cabbages, minding his own business, when someTHING or someONE had caused an absolute ruckus on the grounds. His grounds. It meant he had to STOP his important gardening and do... well, his job, he supposed. The crash had definitely come from the direction of the Quidditch pitch, and he didn't need to get too close to notice that IT WAS GONE.

VANISHED????!

WHERE HAD THE QUIDDITCH PITCH GONE? After rushing a little closer to the area, his eyes widened at the humongous hole in the ground which had apparently engulfed the entire pitch. Well... he wasn't getting any closer to THAT.

Instead, he scurried off to the nearest professors office, which was Tanner's, as fast as his tiny feet would carry him. Archie didn't even bother knocking. Ain't nobody got time for that. He gaaasped a breath of air as he opened the door and exhaled it in relief when he saw Anastasia. "OH.... good, you're here..." BREATHE. "Did you... did you see the...?!?!" Archie held one hand up on the door frame and wiggled his other hand around frantically before using it to mop his sweating forehead, "... the Quidditch pitch... It's GoNE." He squeaked.

O_______O

He needed a sit down.

So. She landed in her office, though she wasn't sure why. Annie had actually hopped on the broom, surprisingly, and led them... "Why are we stopping here?!" she practically yelled in her fear. "Surely this can't be safe." Ever practical, the former Ravenclaw. "Yes, the castle. Good idea."

But it appeared that wasn't going to happen yet. "Good gracious, Archibald. Of COURSE we saw it. We were almost WITH it." And he was too, if he came running toward a giant growing hole in the ground. "Headmistress, are we going to the castle or not? We could be in danger here as well."