Was (Claudine) about to cry? Curtis did see a glimpse of change. He had learned overtime since his transfer at the school how to detect subtle changes in other's demeanor. It was meant for him to you know, use for the benefit of others. But did one really believe he would only use it for others? He paused for a moment, incase tears did show up, he had no idea how to handle someone crying. He picked Claudine as not the type at all, so perhaps she was surprised. In any case, "No, I don't mean it." He said in an expressionless tone before three...two... one. Smile. "I'm kidding, of course you can. My dad got new pups in so he'd be chill with having someone else over to play with them." Did that relieve any doubts? It better cause he didn't extend the hand to softies.. without a price.

Cue the redirection, nicely played. "You're right, I am the expert of smug faces," Curtis replied. He couldn't deny the demeanor he gave off, it meant people noticed and took him of some interest. Banter was lovely, ain't it? One of his eyebrows rose at the next thing (Nem) said, "..And? What's your point?" Did he look like he cared who was the new Charms Professor? His dad may have sat there but it wasn't like he owned the chair. There were other chairs replaced.... speaking of which.

The loud bang made Curtis turn his head. Well, well, well..... There he was the Headmaster and... other weird-looking individuals. Everyone seemed to be freaking out automatically. He didn't get it. They weren't doing anything than trying to be intimidating and so far they were winning. But Curtis wasn't falling under the spell of intimidation, so his expression didn't change. He couldn't explain it but he felt a strange calm over him even as the Headmaster clearly showing distinctive appearance changing effects as the result of potions or some weird spell had gone rogue. He recently adopted the humor of suggesting the Headmaster reveal his true unpleasant self and... Well, here it was right before our eyes. Is this even the same person? He looked curiously at the group standing behind each chair.

This scene added to (Bella)'s next question. "Yeah, I don't blame you since he doesn't look to be in a mood right now." Step one, don't freak out the kid. Otherwise, they'd have another one screaming. "Professor Recard, two seats over to the right of him is our Head of House, she's also the Healer so she'd be alright to talk to."

Curtis did indeed notice (Lilith)'s blush before he had turned away. Telltale signs of someone having a crush on him or shy in general. Must be both. He deduced. Adding to Nem's description of the man. "He's just one who demands respect, overall." That was about as nice Curtis could put it. He didn't believe in giving anyone more power than they can execute. Also, something else was pushing him to play nice a little bit longer.

Should they keep quiet, Bella asked. "Only until he finishes speaking to us." There, now to just sit and look pretty.

At the end of Headmaster Rosier's speech, a large pile of parchment appears. Take one and get it filled out with any of the many quills made available. No need to hand it in, just get it done and it will do the rest.

OOC: Please make a post here with this form filled out.

Aboli had been here all the while. Watching, observing. She wore a blank mask, but on the inside, her chest felt like it was about to explode. Noah..both of them. Her little brother, who probably felt less fear than she. She needed to get to him, though, and was soon next to him as the speech began from the person who was NOT Trent.

She kNEW something had had the headmaster's robes in a knot. Because it HADN'T been Trent. And while she was glad to know he wasn't horrible, her gut sank at the thought of where he ACTUALLY was.

The Slytherin spoke to no one, looked at no one. She was having a moment of crisis. A moment of... well, should she go along the easiest route for survival? Most of her decidedly....voted yes. As she took one of the sheets, she made sure to fill it out first so Koko could follow suit. They were siblings, so he needed to make sure he filled it out exactly as she did. Whether he would or not...welll...she hoped so.

Since these guys seemed pretty bad, she made note to mention her biological father's....past in there. Maybe it would earn her brownie points. And her heart had sank when she saw the muggle stuff because of Noah...her Noah....Noah Nam....

She bit her lip before setting the paper down.

Interesting. Little Bella needed to reign in her emotions, did she? The older girl understood the need for this all too well. She nodded. “I get that. Don’t forget to take a few deep breaths.” She was just speaking from experience here. And no, Curtis. She wasn’t going to cry. It was more likely to catch her crying when she was frustrated. Dark eyes narrowed at the seventh year. “Why would you want to play with my emotions like that, Thompson?’’ This was followed with a chuckle. “Okay, you can count me in for a visit.’’ Was she enthusiastic? You bet. “Thanks for the invite, by the way.’’

+ + + + + +

Claudine could feel panic rising up within her. However, being Claudine Blaze, she did her best to mask it by pulling on that neutral expression she usually wore when necessary. But in that moment, she wanted Heath. Instinctively, her gaze was over at the Ravenclaw table searching for him. Claudine knew that he would be worried for her too. “It’s not,’’ the fifth year replied to Lilith, very much distracted.

The larger distraction came in the form of that man giving what appeared to be the opening speech. A very cold and mean opening speech. Headmaster Rosier he wanted to be called? Claudine could do nothing but stare at him. Even the food did nothing when it appeared to improve her worry. The girl wasn’t even hungry now. Instead, she scanned the stupid form. It was only after a few minutes did she start to full it out. Who cared if they supported Muggle stuff? The question sent a jolt through her as she thought of Heath once more.

Quote:

Name: Claudine Blaze
Age: 15
Year: Fifth
House: Slytherin
Date of Birth: 31st July, 2088
Blood Heritage: Pureblood

Parent/Guardian(s) name(s): Camden Blaze {Father}
Do your parents work at the ministry: No
Do your parents support muggle upliftment: *shrug*

When was the last time you supported muggle upliftment? Don’t remember.

Did dating a halfblood count as Muggle upliftment? She bit her lower lip, more worried for Heath than herself.

Moose's foot under the table was not stable. He was trying to keep all his anger contained in his right ankle apparently as it just made his whole right leg bounce up and down. If he were any taller than a Twelve year old he was sure it would be shaking the table underneath him. What was all this for!? Why take over a School full of children?! What kind of flex was that? Oh cool you get to command a bunch of pre-teens and teenagers! Magic yet again confused him even more and he hated it for that.

Magic brought him here, Magic was now why he was under threat by a cruel-face-melting-head shapeshifting-Headmaster.

Moose hated Magic.

There it was done. The Parchment was filled out. With lies and with half-truths. It would take a real idiot to not come to the conclusion that Muggle Upliftment had to be something sinister. He was no History of Magic expert, but it just felt bad. Next time he'll pay more attention in that class.

So Moose lied.
He would never admit his real name, and any chance to keep his parents and his little sister out of harms way from this terrible magical world he would not give their real names. It was a good thing he really had no clue what it was his parents mundane and boring jobs were. Lastly, lying about his blood status. He thought back to his conversation with Kinsay on the train. He was still annoyed with her, but the brief thought of her made him turn his head toward the chaotic Gryffindor Table where she was at.
He felt great pride in his ancestry from the muggle standpoint, but for now he was pureblood.
and that sent chills down his spine.

Finally.

This face was an improvement. Why'd the Big Man hide it for so long?

No. Really. Why did he hide it for so long? Things to think about.

Pretty much the only thing to think about, as things stood. It was pretty obvious what was happening, but the Big Man hadn't gone into any real detail as to why. Not yet, anyway. This form might be a little more enlightening.

Nem had to wonder if anyone would be stupid enough to try and lie on it, lie to a group who had (they had to admit) been sort-of-smart-enough to take over Hogwarts, despite the fact that the Big Man had quite clearly not been the Headsman for some time. If the Neo-Alliance (great name, real illuminating) could wrangle that, they could do background checks, and if they detected a lie during those checks, well... one look at the Gryffindor table should be an oh-so-subtle indication of the outcome. But... what were they thinking. Of course there would be someone stupid enough. Most kids in the room, and half the staff probably, were stupid enough, but only some would have any real need to cover something up.

Wondering if they'd get to see the outcome of when such lies were detected, Nem took a form, and did not show any hesitation in filling the entire thing out, clearly and comprehensively.

Quote:

Name: XANDER NEMESIS UPSTEAD
Age: 15
Year: FIFTH
House: SLYTHERIN
Date of Birth: 1ST APRIL 2088
Blood Heritage: HALF-BLOOD

Parent/Guardian(s) name(s): REBECCA OLIVIA UPSTEAD (MOTHER)/JACOB DALE UPSTEAD (FATHER)
Parent/Guardian(s) occupation(s): PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION SPECIALIST (MOTHER)/AUROR & YOUTH MENTOR (FATHER)
Do your parents work at the ministry: YES/YES
Do your parents support muggle upliftment: NEVER MENTIONED

When was the last time you supported muggle upliftment? NEVER HAVE, NEVER WILL

They had identified a couple of issues here. Maybe three, depending on how sharp Ez was and how liable he was to totally flip out if he came to the same conclusion as Nem about Becca, and if Pax didn't get him to chill. Generally though, in terms of issues and risks, it was hard to say, still being in the dark on a lot of things. That was the most irritating part of all this, not having a full and complete idea of every single component. Nem thought that maybe having two parents in the Ministry, one of those in law enforcement, might be the biggest obstacle, but if it was only a case of securing bargaining chips (regardless of whether kids or parents or both would be the chips in question), they weren't too concerned. If it meant being taken out of action at once, that was more of an issue. Unless, to all intents and purposes, they went over to Rosier straight away.

Speaking of which, would the Big Man still be up for giving Nem those extra lessons this year? Nem would have to ask, but not right now. Now didn't seem the time, somehow. At least the wrathful feeling had totally subsided now, that was something.

Well, whatever. They'd have to wait and see, about all of this.

And think. Thinking was Nem's forte, obviously, and already, an idea or two was forming.

Curtis' pearly whites briefly flashed while (Claudine) chuckled, it was fun teasing her. "You bet, it's going to be a fun time." He juuuust will have to owl remind his parents about the visitor. Though they'd be cool even if he forgot to do so.

----

Curtis was calm still. He listened, essentially it was confirmed that this was not Trent. Did he die?.. No, he said indisposed. Curtis didn't really like Trent, but this wasn't right. Staring blankly up at this new Headmaster Rosier, they were recruiting. Recruiting.... Curtis was not a team player at all and didn't like to follow anyone. But given how he was left alone now in this castle, he was going to have to survive. He'd be fine just avoiding them all together then.

As soon as the parchment was passed down to him, he stared at the questions. My parents... Then it hit him with the muggle related questions. His expression briefly hardened... Are any of them Legilimens? Surely, it'd be difficult to focus on every single individual in this room. But from here on, he would have to not talk or even think about either of his parent's lineage if he wanted to slide on by. After a moment, his expression went back outwardly neutral as he scribbled the information as truthfully and finite as possible.

SPOILER!!:

Quote:

Name: Curtis Angelo Fuller
Age:17
Year: Seventh
House: Slytherin
Date of Birth: 29 January 2086
Blood Heritage: Half-blood, magical parents

Parent/Guardian(s) name(s): Pierson Fuller & Javier Thompson
Parent/Guardian(s) occupation(s): Doggy Daycare Owner & Magical Veterinarian Chief of Staff, respectively. Previously, Hogwarts Professors.
Do your parents work at the ministry: No
Do your parents support muggle upliftment: Never been discussed with me.

When was the last time you supported muggle upliftment? I wouldn't know, I support myself first and foremost.

Lilith icy blue eyes briefly locked with Nem’s when they signaled for quiet. She nodded and placed a finger on her lips, mirroring them. Understood. In this case it was smarter to remain quiet and not attract any attention. Unlike the lion people.

The Slytherin's small frame gave a jump when a boy a few tables away went down. Her hands slipped down to her lap, under the table where if needed, she could reach for her wand. This was all so startling. Has Hogwarts been ambushed? It must be. This was an AMBUSH and she was in the middle of it. Her heart hammered away as the not-Headmaster-Headmaster spoke.

If she wasn’t scared before, she was now. The source: those darn forms. Not once in her life has she cared much about her blood status. Until now. If these people were some sort of dark wizards hungry for magical blood, it frightened her that she might expose her mom. Her mom who’s pregnant. Lilith shook her head. It’s not like she could lie. All of her information was already within the school system. They could look it up.

Technically uplifting could mean physically lifting someone else, sooooooo. That’s on them if she didn’t provide the answer they wanted.

Voicing her opinion about the Sorting Hat had been set aside. Cornelia, like everyone else, was quite distracted with the sudden newcomers. Maybe she should have had a stronger reaction to everything that was going on, but the first year didn't know any better. She literally knew a handful of people, and not a single one of them was an adult. Did it matter to her that there were more of them in the castle? Not really.

When Claudine mentioned something about a Polyjuice Potion, her interest was temporarily taken away from everything that was going on in the Great Hall. To be quite honest, she hadn't heard of it before. Then again, she was only eleven and still had much to learn. But the name of the potion was stored away in her mind. Even though the whole face-melting thing was nasty, she assumed looking like someone had to be useful for things. That was something appealing to her.

She then heard Isabella whisper, which caused her to look around the room again. This time she paid attention to how those at the other tables (since the professors were clearly not going to do anything) were reacting. "I ... uhhh ..." Catching sight of what was happening at the Gryffindor table solidified her quiet response back. "Yes. We just need to lay low and not be like those idiots over there."

Not another word came out of Cornelia's mouth. Her blue eyes focused on Headmaster Rosier who was now speaking to them all. While he spoke, she tried to make sense of it all. Try being the key word there as she was clueless. Neo-Alliance? Agenda? Join them? ... This girl had questions. What was a Neo-Alliance? What did they have to do to join their group? Were they allowed to wear jeans or track pants on Fridays? On Wednesdays did they wear pink?

All of her important questions were left unanswered. Instead quills and parchment appeared. Without saying anything, she filled out the form the best she could. Maybe, once things settled a bit, she'd ask her questions. Right now didn't seem like the best time.

Text Cut: Form

Name: Cornelia Hemlock
Age: 11
Year: First
House: Slytherin
Date of Birth: 1 July 2092
Blood Heritage: Pure-blood

Parent/Guardian(s) name(s): Nicholas Hemlock, Evelyn (Travers) Hemlock
Parent/Guardian(s) occupation(s): Curse-Breaker, Artist
Do your parents work at the ministry: No.
Do your parents support muggle upliftment: I don't think so.

When was the last time you supported muggle upliftment? I haven't. Never met one before.

The last few questions on the form were ... well, she didn't know what to think of them. Cornelia didn't linger on those thoughts for very long. There was food on the tables now, which she was happy to help herself to.

Oh Merlin’s beard this night was not turning into what she had expected it to be. It was supposed to be fun and joyful, not terrifying. Bella registered Claudine’s helpful advice and she noted who Curtis pointed out as Professor Recard, their head of house. She was though now not in any state to give either of them a reply more than a weak thankful nod before headmaster Rosier gave his opening speech. The panic in her chest started to rise in unison with her fear as the mean and cold speech progressed. Bella wanted her parents, but they weren’t there so she wanted Apollo. Turning her gaze to the lion table she worried for her best friend. If only she could sit with him.

Quote:

Originally Posted by form

Name: Isabella Eloise Connolly
Age: 11
Year: First
House: Slytherin
Date of Birth: July 20th 2092
Blood Heritage: Pureblood

Parent/Guardian(s) name(s): Sophie Connolly (Mother) Gordan Blum (Father)
Parent/Guardian(s) occupation(s): Ambassador to Norse Countries (Mother) Primary School professor (Father)
Do your parents work at the ministry: Yes and No
Do your parents support muggle upliftment: It has never been discussed with me

When was the last time you supported muggle upliftment? I don’t even know what this is, so never..

She set the paper down with worry. When the food arrived Bella helped herself to a full plate of food, more to quench the hunger she felt than anything else. She was too scared and just wanted to go to bed and cuddle up with her stuffed snake.

Violet felt a chill go up her spine as the man who'd been posing as Malachi Trent finished his speech. She had known there was something odd, something very wrong with Trent all last year! This thought was followed by a flash of rage at every single grownup at Hogwarts--she had tried to tell them, many of the other students had tried to tell them there was something wrong and none of them would listen, they just dismissed them as silly children. Now look what had happened--if this went badly for the faculty, it served them right!

But cooler logic soon replaced that fault--if things went badly for the faculty, they would undoubtedly go much worse for the students. And Violet was afraid--she knew this man's name, knew something of the "Neo-Alliance" and their Pureblood supremacy notions, and she was worried about what would happen to her. She was a half-blood--she had told that to to many people to try to pretend otherwise, and she was not sure what that would mean for her. Of course, her wizarding family was an old, proud, Pureblood clan, and not without power, so maybe that would be enough to protect her. Or maybe not.

Violet was glad now that she'd made all those notes detailing Trent's odd behaviour and the strange happenings at school last year, and that she'd had the foresight to leave a copy in her room at home, sealed in an envelope that said: To be opened in case something happens to me At the time, she just wanted her family to know what was going on in case she was eaten by Acromantulas or possessed by a demon or something, but she'd never dreamed of anything like this. Would her grandfather bother to go looking for it if something did happen? Surely her nosey uncles Hamlet and Heraclitus would go through her things when she wasn't there. At any rate, if she disappeared in a suspicious accident and the school tried to cover it up, hopefully someone would find it and avenge her.

Dimly in the background she could hear various degrees of uproar from the other tables. That was not good, not smart. They were at a disadvantage right now, what they needed to do at the moment was just keep their heads down and get through this wretched feast without attracting too much notice, or trouble. (Merlin, why couldn't they ever enjoy just one dinner without some catastrophe!!)

Violet pulled a form off the top and numbly slid it towards her. She felt sick with dread as she read some of the questions. She had no idea what they were going to do with this information, but her mother's elopement with a Muggle years ago had been too widely gossiped about to try to lie about her blood-heritage now. She would just have to do her best with the rest.



There--that was pretty good, and the best part was, it was really all true--on the surface, at least. Being deceitful was easier if you used the truth whenever possible, Violet had found.

Delaney immediately got the feeling that this man. The one with the peeling face. Was not friend, but foe. Obviously. The same could be said for the ugly looking people who have spread out around the room. The first year glared at the man at the head of the staff table with contempt.

New management? The Neo-Alliance? DISPOSABLE???

Her anger became redirected from this phony headmaster to the scrolls that appeared on the table. Homework on her first day…. But before she could become to upset by this she was struck with fear. What the heck was muggle uplightment? What did these people want. Would her mother and Wesley be safe? Delaney tried to take deep breaths as she filled out her form, willing her hand not to shake.

Name: Delaney Whittle
Age: 11
Year: First Year
House: Slytherin
Date of Birth: November 11th, 2091
Blood Heritage: Half Blood

Parent/Guardian(s) name(s):

Father: Theseaus Whittle
Mother: Jocasta Freud (Nee Adderly)

Parent/Guardian(s) occupation(s):

Father: Ambassador-at-Large (Committee for Forein Relations in the Department of International Magical Cooperation)
Mother: Unemployed/Stay at Home (previously Botanist)

Do your parents work at the ministry:

Father: yes
Mother: No

Do your parents support muggle upliftment:
They’ve never mentioned those words to me before

When was the last time you supported muggle upliftment?
I’m eleven, I don’t know what that means. I have no opinions on the matter.

There. Technically.... everything she wrote down was true...

Fiona was feeling very subdued as she listened to Headmaster Rosier's speech. She dare not utter a single word as she looked at the form that she had placed in front of her.