Wow.

She didn't expect to be summoned to a professors office quite so quickly in the term... but here she waas. With a heavy sigh, Dora raised her hand and gave three sharp raps on the door before plopping into a seat.

This was sure to be an illuminating meeting if nothing else... and she wouldn't be indulging in the coffee bar. Nope, nope. Still not doing that whole taking food or drink from Hogwarts teachers.

Satchel full of university prospectuses, Rooney Bronwyn headed up to the Charms Professor's office area from the Great Hall after dinner. He thought he would be able to grab Professor Marchand best at this time of the day now that classes were done and a lot of students were still eating food. Whether or not he was here right now was a different question. Roo would wait, though. He knocked on the door twice just to make anyone inside aware that he was out here before taking a seat and tucking into the reading of Witch Weekly.

It was a magazine that both his mother and Aunt Elodie had been mentioned in previously and with Aunt Elodie having a baby recently AND getting married soon...it was all things he thought might have been mentioned. Nothing yet, though. But he was only two pages in.

Gaston was busy in his office writing a letter to someone who he sorely missed. Instead of the usual loud punk rock music blasting from his enchanted ipod, today's playlist consisted mostly of depressing love songs, and instead of blasting from a speaker for everyone within earshot to hear, today he had his headphones on. He sighed, trying to will his mind not to wander back to the events of the summer, to that fight with his father and its aftermath.

A knock - or rather, three knocks at the door jerked him out of his sad thoughts before he could become too lost in them, and he tapped his ipod with his wand to turn it off. That must be Miss Umbridge; he'd been expecting her. His heart sank; he was almost dreading this meeting. Oh well, he couldn't avoid her forever! He opened the door and greeted the girl with a small smile, though his eyes were still sad. "Hello, Miss Umbridge. Thank you for coming," he said, opening the door a bit wider. "Please come in, have a seat."

OOC: You may post in the office now.

Not long after Miss Umbridge had gone, Gaston was back to brooding, back to letter writing, back to the depressing love songs. He was so lost in the memories of that fight and the awful choices he'd made since then that he barely registered the knock at the door. Merlin's beard, who could that be? He wasn't expecting anybody else!

He rose with a sigh, once again turning off his enchanted ipod with his wand. He opened the door, and his expression brightened a little when he saw Mr. Bronwyn in the seating area reaading a magazine. He cleared his throat quietly to announce his presence without startling the boy. "Hello, Mr. Bronwyn," he greeted him. "What can I do for you?"

OOC: Go ahead and post in Gaston's office whenever you're ready.

Daniel had been walking along the corridor, when something caught his eyes. Now this was not good what so ever, seriously if this was a doctors place, his head of house would be in serious trouble, it was a good job he had been drawing his house crest to get used to it, which reminded him, if he had to buy his robes in Diagon Alley, how did he put the crest on, did he have to be like an army officer and stitch it on himself?

He quickly and quietly walked towards the door and then he put the sign next to the name of the Professor.

Daniel looked at his handy work and smiled, now that was more like it, the door looked complete with all his HOH titles on there. He then decided the best thing to do would be leg it before the Professor saw.

Gaston had spent too long in his office and decided it was time for some fresh air. As he opened the door, he saw a note attached to it. Weird... How long had that been there? He hadn't heard a knock. Was someone in trouble? He glanced at the note, expecting it to be an urgent message, but he wasn't sure whether to be amused or humiliated by what he read.

He chuckled a little, shaking his head. Given the awful things that had been said about him recently, "oldest man alive" and "future ghost of Hogwarts" almost seemed kind! His bright blue eyes scanned the corridor, and he saw someone running away. "Not so fast!" he called after the mystery person, hoping they would stop. Whoever it was, they weren't in trouble. He knew it was supposed to be a joke.

Daniel suddenly heard someone speaking and he realized it was his head of house, well he always stopped when he was caught, turning back around he walked sheepishly back towards the head of house, now how was he going to play this.

"Hi Professor." Daniel smiled nervously at the Professor. "It's a lovely day today isn't it." He then wondered if the professor was very cross about what was said or not.

At Mr. Kennedy's suggestion, Olivia went to go find her Head of House and Charms Professor to ask him about wandless magic. She wanted to learn how to do it and she was determined to pour every ounce of her being into it. She had a feeling though that she may have to master non-verbal magic at first. Thus she came prepared to meet Professor Marchand with a notebook and several different coloured pens so that she could take several notes.

As she walked into the seating area, she glanced around here, taking in the sight of the leather couches and coffee bar and magazines. Wow. This was very nice. She wondered if her own brother would have something like this one day when he became a fulltime Professor at Beauxbatons. That would be so cool! Olivia knocked on the door and then headed over to the coffee bar to make herself a cup of coffee. Yum! Adding a little chocolate to her coffee, she took her delicious concoction over to the leather couch and took a seat.

Gaston half-expected the culprit - or more accurately, who he believed to be the culprit - to keep running, but he was relieved when they stopped. He really wasn't in the mood to go chasing after students today!

He almost laughed when he saw Mr. Moore coming towards him. Judging by the boy's sheepish demeanor, he'd say he was correct in thinking this was the person behind the note on his door. He couldn't help but notice the first year's nervous smile and returned it with one of his own, but he cocked a suspicious eyebrow at the boy's words. If he didn't know better, he'd say he was trying to avoid the subject! "Hello, Mr. Moore," he replied, "Yes, I suppose it is a rather nice day."

It looked like he was going to have to ask him point blank. "Is this your handiwork?" he asked, jerking his head toward the sign on the door. He wasn't angry about it; he just wanted the boy to be honest with him.

When Gaston returned to his office later, he found another student waiting for him. Merlin's beard! How long had she been here? He hoped he hadn't kept her waiting long! Some Head of House you are, he silently berated himself.

"Hello, Miss Holden," he greeted the Gryffindor girl with a small smile. He always liked the girl, even back when he had her as a student at Beaubatons. Funny that they both wound up at Hogwarts... "Sorry for your wait." His smile grew slightly wider at the sight of the beverage in her hand. It was nice to see her enjoying his coffee bar! His expression turned quizzical at the sight of her notebook and pens however.

"Please come in," he said, unlocking the door and opening it wide. "How can I help you?"

OOC: You may post in Goaston's office when you're ready.

Daniel listened as the Professor spoke, it seemed he knew what he was playing at trying to avoid the subject of the sign, he thought about lying and saying he had nothing to do with it but he had been brought up better than that, so he stood there as the Professor spoke. "I know right, it's a great day."

Daniel thought about going down the whole no comment route and asking for his lawyer present before speaking but he had a funny feeling that the jig was up and the Professor was onto him and the fact that he had been the one to put the sign up.

"I did Professor." Daniel looked very nervous now. "Are you mad?" He didn't want his head of house to be, because he was such a cool Professor.

Gaston wasn't sure whether to laugh or scoff as Mr. Moore went on about what a great day it was. A classic case of trying to avoid the subject if he ever saw one!! Luckily he had enough restraint to do neither and just stood there, arms crossed, as he waited patiently for the boy to tell him the truth of his own accord.

He half-expected the boy to lie, and he raised a skeptical eyebrow, gently prompting him to come clean. To his surprise and relief, Mr. Moore confessed much more quickly than expected. It was only then that Gaston noticed just how nervous the poor kid looked, and he felt horrible for intimidating him! He smiled a little, hoping that would reassure him. "Mad? No," he said. "it's all in fun, right? And besides, I've been called worse..."

His voice dropped, and there was a roguish glint in his eyes as he joked, "Though I'll have you know I'm only the third oldest man alive. Professor Myers and Mr. Baldvinsson are the oldest..." Technically River and Hirsch were older than him too but only by a year or two, and Mr. Moore probably didn't need to know that. "...though I don't think either of them would like a sign on their door," he added quickly. He didn't want to give the boy any ideas!

Daniel looked as the Professor said he had been called worse and he could tell there was something in that statement that hurt the Professor, now he was feeling a little bit sad about playing the prank on him. "You alright there Professor." Daniel wondered what he should do, should he hug him, pet him, find out what the matter was.

"Of course it was Professor, I think your the best Head of House here and a great Professor." Daniel replied, okay so he hardly knew the guy but he had throw a fun start of term party and he knew when someone was playing a joke.

"Do you need a hug?" Daniel whispered nervously. "My father says that when your sad, a hug can do wonders and it did when I was smaller and sad." He then thought about something. "Who's called you worse and I hope they were joking, it's not nice to be impolite to people." There was a difference between having a joke and being rude.

"Okay Professor, I won't tell them that you just told me they were over one hundred years old." Daniel gave an innocent whistle. "Only kidding." He still was curious about the whole worst thing.

Gaston's bright blue eyes widened slightly as Mr. Moore asked him if he was alright. Was his sadness really that obvious? He supposed he shouldn't be surprised... he was completely useless at hiding his emotions! So what was he supposed to say? He hadn't the heart to lie to the boy, but he didn't want to worry him with his problems either. So he gave the only answer he could. "I will be," he said, giving him a small reassuring smile. At least he hoped he would be. Maybe. One day.

His smile grew when Mr. Moore complimented him. A nasty voice in the back of his mind reminded him that the boy could be lying, just trying to flatter him, but he didn't want to believe it. "Thank you, Mr. Moore," he replied. "That's the kindest thing anyone's said about me in a long time."

If Gaston was taken aback by the boy asking about him and complimenting him, he was completely floored by what he said next. Not many students had ever offered him a hug! The initial shock soon subsided and gave way to other emotions, joy at seeing a child being so kind but also overwhelming sadness as he listened to Mr. Moore talk about his father... because it reminded him of what his own father had never done for him. He stood leaning against the door, trying to will the tears not to well up and the lump to stop forming in his throat. He couldn't allow himself to fall apart in front of a student! "Your father sounds like a very kind man," he finally said, hoping against hope that his voice wouldn't break as he spoke. A lot kinder than his own anyway... He didn't trust himself to say more, so he nodded in acceptance of the boy's offer for a hug.

Normally Gaston would've laughed at what Mr. Moore had said about the other professors being over a hundred, but now he was too wrapped up in his own emotions to even register what was being said. He looked up as he was jerked out of his thoughts. "I'm sorry. What was that, Mr. Moore?" he asked. Hopefully the boy wouldn't mind repeating it.

Daniel could tell there was something bothering the Professor, he smiled when the Professor nodded his head and Daniel gave the Professor the best hug that he could. "Professor, want me to send a howler to someone?" He was sure that someone had been nasty to the guy and he wasn't sure why but he felt compelled to act.

"I'm good at sending howlers." He said again, just in case the Professor went for his idea. He let go off the Professor after a few moments, and went over to a chair and plonked himself in one. "Come on Professor, someone's been mean to you, I can tell." Yeah he might only be eleven but he'd seen the look many times before. "I don't like when people are sad, and when people are mean to my friends." Yeah Daniel was calling the Professor his friend.

Daniel heard the last remark but his mind was racing away with the problems the Professor had. "I'll tell you later." Yeah at the minute they had bigger fish to fry, like finding out who is so mean that the Professor seemed to be scared. "When I say your the best head of house, I mean it." He wondered if the Professor would sit down or not.

Gaston was sure his heart would burst as Mr. Moore hugged him. He adored all of his students as if they were his own children, but the ones who went out of their way to show him kindness had a special place in his heart. He hugged the boy back but pulled away before too long. This child was going to make him cry if he wasn't careful!

As sad and conflicted as he was, he managed a small halfhearted chuckle as the boy offered to send a howler. The thought of his muggle father's reaction to the red envelope screaming at him was pretty funny! "Now that would be funny," he said, "especially since my father has no idea what a howler is." His blue eyes widened slightly as he realized too late what he'd just said. He hadn't intended to tell the boy who was picking on him; it wouldn't be right to burden him with his problems.

Gaston sighed sadly as he sat down beside Mr. Moore. Well, the secret was out now. "All you need to know is that a lot of people have been mean to me for a very long time," he said, giving the boy a slight smile, "and when people say awful things about you for that long, you start to believe them..." His expression darkened, but what Mr. Moore said next had him staring in utter disbelief. Did he really just say what he thought he said? In ten years of teaching, no student had ever called him friend before! He smiled warmly, though he kept his head bowed to hide the tears in his eyes.

Mr. Moore was assuring him he meant what he said about him being the best head of house, but all Gaston could do was nod in reply. "I know," he said when he'd finally found his voice. He was starting to feel a little better now. He knew there were still a lot of people who disliked him and it still hurt, but at least this kid liked him. That was a start. "Now, no more worrying about me," he said with a smile. "It's the head of house's job to worry about the students, not the other way around..." He even laughed a little. "So what were you saying before?"

Daniel was in shock when the Professor said it was his father that was being mean, now his father was amazing and if he could Daniel would share him with the Professor, but that would just be a little bit weird, he watched as the Professor sat down next to him. "Sometimes, parents just say things that they don't mean." Daniel had been told off a few times by his parents. "But you have to remember that no matter what they do love you." Daniel was sure in his own way the Professor father did love him.

Daniel wondered if he could send the howler or a letter to the Professor house asking him to be polite and nice. "Well all I can say is how rude!" Daniel thought the Professor was amazing and he had just had an idea, he was going to see about getting the house to throw the Professor a nice party to say thank you for everything he had done for them.

"Professor it's okay to be sad and talk about things." Daniel was always around to talk to people. "You come and find me whenever you want a chat Professor." He then heard what the Professor said and smiled. "It's everyone's job to worry about each other, Hogwarts is like a big family, the staff and the students are all in this together." or so Daniel thought "Oh that, all I said was I won't tell them that you just told me they were over one hundred years old."

Abey was trying. He was trying really, really, really hard, actually, and even if nobody believed him or everyone thought he was being overdramatic or that he needed to get over it, that actually didn't matter, because Abey was trying.

Like right now, for example. Right now he was trying really hard to keep his tears firmly in his eyes, even though it went against his very NATURE to hold any of his emotions in for any amount of time. He was also trying to be brave, and had made the journey here to the third floor ALL ON HIS OWN, without anybody to come with him. But mostly that was because he was certain he would start crying if someone tried talking to him.

... Which... might make talking to Marchand a little tricky actually.

Well... one step at a time? Yes, actually.

Wiping at his face with the sleeve of his robes, just to make sure there were NO SIGNS OF CRYING ON HIM (except he absolutely had red and puffy eyes and he was absolutely still sniffling every few seconds and his voice had a thickness to it that gave everything away), Abey came to a halt outside the office door.

Deep breath in..... and out........... and in............................... and out..... okay...

It was fine. It was just a professor's office. Just his head of house. It was fine, it was fine... wibble.

Abey raised his small fist, and knocked on the wood of the door, so gently that it could have easily been missed.

Gaston couldn't help but notice Mr. Moore's shock and felt horrible for letting it slip that his father was the one being mean to him. But what he said next threatened the already tenuous hold he had on his emotions. He knew the boy was only trying to help, but it only made him feel worse. If only that were true, he thought sadly. There was a time when he believed his father really loved him, but now he saw that love was just an act.

Still he hadn't the heart to argue, especially not when the boy had been kind enough to comfort him. He silently nodded, wiping his eyes, but he couldn't help but smile a little when Mr. Moore compared Hogwarts to a family. He was right about that... or at least that was the way Gaston always saw it. "I may just have to take you up on that offer, Mr. Moore," he said with a slight chuckle, but his expression quickly turned serious again. "And the same goes for me. If you need anything at all, just come find me."

The comment about Paul and Haraldur being over a hundred got a laugh from him. "Thanks. I'm sure they'd never let me hear the end of it if you did!" he said. "Now run along - and remember what I said about not leaving them signs!"

Gaston was holed up in his office, wallowing in his own sadness. He missed his father; he missed the love of his life, but there was nothing to be done for it now. His enchanted ipod blasted loud angry music in his ears, but it did nothing to distract him from how alone he felt. The music was so loud that it drowned out the knock on the door. It was only when his cat started pawing at the door that the thought occurred to him that there could be someone on the other side.

He opened the door and saw Mr. Botros waiting on the other side. It was obvious that the poor kid was trying not to cry, and that made the professor even sadder! A momentary panic gripped his mind. Had something catastrophic happened, or was the boy just sad? Either way, he was here to listen. "Goodness! What's the matter, Mr. Botros?" he said, looking at him with concern.

Gaston's heart went out to the poor child, but the thing that touched him most was that he'd come to him with whatever was bothering him this time instead of Rula or Junia. He wanted to hug the boy but he didn't want to overwhelm him. And it seemed he wasn't the only one. Phantom sauntered over to Mr. Botros and started rubbing against his leg with a plaintive meow. Gaston shook his head, "Don't mind her," he said gently, picking up the little black and white Persian. "Now, come inside and have a seat." He opened the door a little wider to let his student inside.

OOC: You may post in the office whenever you're ready!

As soon as Noelle left Professor Stewart's office, she was heading to her HoH's office. She figured he wouldn't be around the common room and best to catch him in his office where he has a quill to sign her form.

Keeping the form tucked under her arm, Noelle headed to his office and knocked.
Knock
Knock
Knock

Hopefully professor Marchand was in. She was going to get him to sign the form and then head to the Headmistress' office before going to owl her mom. She wanted to be able to get this all done before the days end, and unfortunately, it was closer to curfew time.

Gaston was sitting at his desk, filling out order forms for some of the shops in Diagon Alley. The holidays were fast approaching, and he wanted to make sure all of the gifts on his list would arrive in time. He had just finished a form for Sugarplum's when he heard knocking on the door. He jumped slightly, and apparently he wasn't the only one who'd been startled. Phantom, who had been snoozing on her cat condo behind him, jerked up and gave a disgruntled meow.

Now who could that be? The professor laid down his quill and got up to answer the door. He smiled when he saw Miss Summers waiting on the other side. "Hello, Miss Summers," he said, opening the door a bit wider. "Please come in. What can I do for you?"

OOC: You may post in the office now.

Emmeline bounced along the corridors more erratically than usual as she headed to her Head of House's office. She was a lot a little nervous, because she'd never been inside a professor's office before. Unless the hospital wing counted as Mr. Healer's office.

Memories of why and how she'd gone to the hospital wing in the first place flitted through her mind, but she tried to banish them. Hopefully Professor Marchand wasn't still sad about that. It was hard to tell, though, because the Charms professor often seemed sad to her. Which was a shame, really, because he was very nice for a grown up.

Knock! Knock!

The first year rapped politely on the office door before plopping down on a couch in the seating area outside it. She had two reasons for coming here today, but she was trying to think only of the maybe pleasant one. While she was waiting, she drummed her fingers on her knees and tried to think about good things, like Sirius. She wished Professor Marchand had cute dogs for her to pet like Mr. Healer did.

Gaston was at his desk, his nose in a book that he'd recently checked out form the school library. The story was so engaging that it had managed to distract him from the sad things going on in his life... the fight with his father and that disaster of a class. He was just getting to a good part in his book when a sudden knock at the door jerked him back to reality. With a sigh, he closed his book and set it on the desk before going to answer the door.

The doorknob turned, and he peered into the waiting area to find Miss Sparkes sitting. Memories of the butter incident came rushing back to him, of hearing her cries and seeing the burn she had, and a fresh pang of guilt gripped him. He may not have cast the spell, but it happened on his watch, which made him responsible. He smiled at the girl, though he had to drop his gaze to hide the emotion in his eyes. "Hello, Miss Sparkes," he said. "How are you?" And by that he was asking if she'd recovered form her burns. "Here, please come in. Have a seat." He opened the door a bit wider to let her into the office.

OOC: You may post in the office any time now!

With the IMPs, brother duties, girlfriend duties, friend duties and homework, Levi hadn't found the time to make it to Professor Marchand's office. Until now. He hadn't actually gotten the details of what his parents' behaviour at the viewing area was during the first challenge, but he knew them well enough to know it probably hadn't been pretty. Apologies were needed, mostly likely.

He knocked on his head of the house's office door. While he waited, Levi helped himself with some hot coco and picked up a copy of what looked like a muggle magazine.

Gaston sat behind his desk, a mug of coffee in one hand and a quill in the other, as he stared a the blank sheet of parchment in front of him. He'd been meaning to write a letter to his old friends for days now, but he wasn't sure exactly what he wanted to say. He fidgeted with his quill as he searched for the right words, but before anything came to him, there was a knock at the door. Oh well, it looks like it would have to wait until later!

He set his quill down and went to answer the door. As he peered into the waiting area, he saw Mr. Kenning sitting there with a magazine and a hot cocoa. Just the person he was hoping he'd run into! He'd been meaning to congratulate the boy for quite some time, but other things going on had distracted him. "Hello, Mr. Kenning," he said, beaming at his student. "Congratulations on your performance in the first challenge! You handled yourself admirably." A late congratulations was better than none at all, right?

He opened the door wider to let the boy into the office. "Please come in. How may I help you today?"

OOC: You may post in the office now!

Zoryn had VERY important business to discuss today. Actually no, she ALWAYS had VERY important business to discuss and today was no exception.

Which is why she marched (dutifully) all the way to the Charms classroom (which was a long march from the Gryffindor Tower) to talk to her Charms Professor (who also happened to be her head of house) about the very important matter (that honestly wasn't even all that important) at hand. AHEM. And it all started with a VERY purposeful knock on his door. This whole entire interaction would be about confidence. And Zoryn wasn't gonna let her falter. She was reaaaaaaaaaaaaaaally good at pretending like she knew everything and reaaaaaaaaaaaaaaally good at getting what she wanted. So that's how she planned to leave this conversation. Still pretending to know what she was talking AND having gotten what she wanted.

If all of this was confusing, just wait until she started talking.

Annnnnnnnnnnyways.

Knocking. With purpose.

And once she let her knuckles tap-tap-tap on the door (four times, to be exact), she waited. Zoryn didn't even bother sitting down on one of the couches. 'Cause to be honest, she wasn't really sure how to sit confidently. Instead, she stood directly in front of the door with her chin held SUUUUUUUPER high.

VERY important business was about to take place.