Gathering Information ((Alex and Bridget))

[Alexander Archer]

His quill ran lightly across the page, jotting down notes here and there on the essay beneath him. Currently he was only up to Caitlin; he still had about a quarter of the class left to go over. Looking to his watch, he gave a slight start. Was that the time, already? Quickly standing from his comfortable, though straight-backed chair, Alex shuffled his papers and set them more neatly on the desk, dropped his quill into the collection currently sitting in a jar directly beside the assignments, and turned to examine the room. It didn't look too bad... But he might clean it up just a little anyway.

Jostling here and there between objects, he picked up an item here, put something down there, and within about five minutes the place looked very presentable. He hadn't exactly gone ridiculously all-out; this was just a meeting of co-workers, afterall, but that didn't mean that he wished to look like a slob. All things considered, he also thought that perhaps given that she seemed to have some amount of intelligence and experience in the line of fighting darkness, that they might become friends, if not even allies.

Placing one last book that had previously been on his bed onto the bookshelf, he did one last scan of the room before moving to his wardrobe and promptly getting out of his teaching robes in favour of something a bit more comfortable. Shirking on some slightly flaring dark jeans and a casual button-up shirt, he slipped on a pair of comfortable, black dress shoes before checking himself in the mirror. Rearranging his hair a bit so that it looked casually thrown about, but still very good, he moved to the door a few moments later, hearing a knock that had him assuming Professor O'Neill had arrived.

[Bridget O'Neill]

Bridget arrived at Professor Archer’s third floor office with dinner floating along behind her on charmed covered trays. Noddy had gone all out with her simple suggestion of Beef Wellington and not only that dish, but an accompanying salad, a steaming bowl of baby carrots and peas, and hot and buttery garlic mashed potatoes had been sent along with the main dish. Another one of the house elves from the Kitchens had insisted on sending up two miniature trifles in footed bowls and a good solid red wine to go with the meal. A tea service also hung lazily in mid-air in the group of trays and bowls, cream and sugar at the ready. There was even a basket of silverware and dishes, so that they would have something to eat off of and with.

Bridget had dressed neatly, but in her usual almost-uniform. Sleek black pants covered a pair of boots with rugged soles, and were topped by a close-fitting long-sleeved shirt in a deep green silk. Her main wand and her spare were in their usual wrist sheaths. She had tucked her hair up out of the way in a business-like bun, and had no makeup on. In short, she looked like she was ready for a class, minus her teacher’s robes. Old habits still lingered in her life, and she wasn't interested in flirting with a colleague anyway. Why go to extra lengths with her appearance?

Bridget had brought a satchel full of books to go over, knowing that if Professor Archer was anything like her colleagues from the Guardians, they’d be talking shop before they uncorked the wine. She’d Reducio’ed all two dozen books to make them all fit in the bag. She had titles on all sorts of things, mostly from her doctorate program and ranging from offensive techniques to defensive magic. She’d also put a book about the Guardians in with the rest. She checked her bevy of floating trays, and nodded. Bridget knocked on the door politely, eager to discuss just what was going on at Hogwarts.

[Alexander Archer]

Opening the door to indeed reveal the woman he was expecting, he smiled happily before pulling the door further to allow her access to the office. "Good evening, Miss O'Neill," he said politely, glad that she had not obviously dressed just to impress tonight; she was wearing perfectly formal robes and though she looked good, it was clearly nothing she had focused on too much. His eyes spied the decadent food on offer and his grin broadened as he turned and led the way back into his office.

Clearing a few neatly stacked books from the edge of his small table, he placed them in front of his bookshelf before smiling at Bridget and indicating that their floating meal could be put down. Eager to see what was beneath the covers, he could smell the meat and subtle garlic clearly evident in the meal and it intrigued him slightly. Wanting to talk business straight away, his mind had been changed slightly after smelling what she had brought, and he set the silverware and dishes out for the both of them before doing anything else.

Noting her satchel, he assumed she had brought books to cover for the night and he pulled over one or two from the top of the stack he had only just put on the floor. Placing them on a small, spare bit of table, he held a seat out to her before taking his own. "So... dinner first, or straight to business?" he questioned, hoping she would indicate that perhaps multi-tasking was the best option.

[Bridget O'Neill]

Bridget started and winced slightly when Professor Archer called her Miss O'Neill. Oh, he couldn't have known, dear. Ouch. Tell him and clear it up politely. "Actually, Professor, it's Mrs. O'Neill or Bridget, if you prefer. My sorrow to say, but I'm a widow." She smiled softly to take any sting out of her words, making them as matter-of-fact as possible, almost as if she was reporting the weather. Bridget followed him into the office, her load of levitating trays behind her. She watched him clear away some books and smiled. Her living space was covered with them too, in all subjects and sizes.

Bridget carefully set down all the trays, expertly making room for everything from dinner to dessert. She watched with a smile as Professor Archer took the silverware and began setting their places. She didn't blame him for wanting to dig in. Noddy's cooking smelled as good as it tasted. Her assigned house elf was one hell of a chef, and Beef Wellington was Noddy's signature dish. She saw Professor Archer eye her book satchel out of the corner of her eye and nearly laughed. Clearly, the Defense professor was torn between eating and getting down to business. So when Professor Archer asked,"so... dinner first, or straight to business?" Bridget was ready with an answer.

"How about making this a dinner meeting?" Bridget raised an eyebrow as she looked over at him, her green eyes lighting up. "I'm bloody well famished, and I'll bet we can hold a conversation better if we're not being interrupted by our rumbling stomachs." She took the offered seat, and held out a hand for his plate. "Let's fill up our plates and our minds, shall we?" Bridget took the cover off the Beef Wellington, and saw that Noddy had already sliced it. "Now, what did you have in mind to chat about first? I imagine you'll want to pick my brain about my old job back across the pond, right?"

[Alexander Archer]

His eyes widening slightly in apology as she corrected his error in titles, he bowed his head in a small movement. "I'm sorry to hear it," he said softly, returning the small smile she offered. His smile brightened slightly as she set all of the trays down on what minimal space was offered at his table. He found himself quite impressed that she managed to fit everything, actually, and the smells emanating from beneath those silver covers was enough to make him drool if he hadn't been in company or quite as neat as he was. Drool was so unsightly, afterall, even if he was the only one to see it.

Happy at the idea of a dinner meeting and his expression showing that quite clearly, he nodded in agreement with her comment about being interrupted by their own hunger. He wasn't normally a massive eater, but their dinner simply smelled delicious and he couldn't help but want to try absolutely everything five times over. As she held out her hand, he passed over his plate with a small, polite look of thanks and his eyes absolutely lit up when she revealed the bulk of the main course. "Oh, I haven't had Beef Wellington in forever," he said happily before her words reverted him back into knowledge mode.

"Well, yes actually. I'm very interested to see how the American system works," he admitted with a small smile. "I imagine it could be quite different, but I really have no idea. I've never been outside of Europe, so the closest I've come to America is in my light research on the Salem Witches Institute."

[Bridget O'Neill]

"Ah,” Bridget said smiling, passing Professor Archer a full plate and a glass of wine. “I had a friend on the Guardians who attended Salem. Good school.” She grinned, and started to fill her own plate. “I went to Merlin College of Magical Arts & Sciences after I graduated from Crossland Academy. Both of them were in Maryland, across the pond in America. Crossland covers the same years as Hogwarts does. I did a double major in Defensive Magics and Divinatory Studies at university though.”

Bridget took a bite of her Beef Wellington and sighed in delight. Noddy’s food was delicious as always. She was very fortunate to have him assigned as her house elf. “Goodness, if Noddy keeps feeding me like this, I’ll be the size of a hippogriff. Thank goodness I have time to work out every morning.” Bridget grinned over at Alexander. “Sometimes I miss the Guardians. There I always knew I’d have to run three miles every morning, so I didn’t worry about exercising on my own. Here, it’s a lot harder to remember to keep it up.”

Bridget gestured to the pile of books. “So, what do you want to pick my brain on? I’m sure they teach Defense differently here, because I found they teach Divination far differently.” She was quiet for a moment as she finished a forkful of mashed potato. “And is there anyone else I should meet around here? I still haven’t met all the Professors yet; my schedule is just starting to settle down.” She took a sip of the rich fruity Cabernet wine that Noddy had sent with dinner. “I know who teaches what, but I haven’t met them.”

[Alexander Archer]

Accepting his plate and glass happily, he set them up before himself appropriately and his eyes were absolutely riveted by the feast before him. Alex flicked a glance up to her as she responded to his comments and he smiled lightly. He nodded slightly as she explained where she had attended for her education and wondered just how many schools for magic America actually had. He supposed it was a large continent, and Europe itself had three or four wizarding schools, but perhaps the Americans had taken it upon themselves to develop many institutions.

Smiling lightly at her educational background, he nodded once and forked a piece of carrot. As she stopped to take a bite, he offered up the same. "I did attend Hogwarts for all of my schooling years, then, essentially, I didn't really leave. In all my time here I've had a lot of time to study though, anything that really interests me. I did have one year over at Beauxbatons as an assistant professor, which was nice, but I definitely prefer this place. Probably just because it's been my home since I started here." His last comment was a small, cast off thing, but actually had a lot of significance to him. It was indeed his only home now, and he looked at Bridget with a small hope that she might become a friend; someone he could perhaps open up to a little bit. Since his parents had quite expressly informed him that their home was no longer his, he had struggled to get along with anyone in the world.

He had begun his life a popular little child, fun and energetic. All to amount to this. With a small, distasteful smile, he bowed his head as if simply to eat and took a sip of wine. At her next comments, he smiled in a slightly sad manner, though it was practically indescernable. "Defence around here is largely about trying to prepare them for what might be out there, so that they can have the information they need to defeat anything they might come across. You can throw a Boggart at someone in a classroom as many times as you like, but it's completely different in a real life situation when their worst fear is confronting them and they're all on their own. The teaching is largely dependant on the teacher, however, rather than being strictly ruled by the school. Of course, my methods have been assessed before I took up the position; I began as the Astronomy professor before I deemed it more important for the students to have a professor of Defence," he explained, regaining some of that previous enthusiasm before he took a bite of the beef before him, a small bit of mashed garlic potato going with it.

"How does it work in America? I suppose a lot of places would find it more sensible to have a set curriculum that must be abided, and have the teacher simply know what they're talking about instead of create the lessons themselves. That's essentially how it was at Beauxbatons," he questioned lightly, taking another bite as he waited for her response.

As she mentioned the other professors, one in particular jumped to the forefront of his mind and his smile grew happily. "I personally haven't actually met all of the professors properly yet. G- Professor Romanov should be worth talking to, and there are a few students you might want to become lightly acquainted with as well. Certain Prefects, namely, especially those of your own house," he mentioned, his voice light as if there wasn't too much importance in his words. "Miss Collins of my own house you also might want to lightly reach out to."

[Bridget O'Neill]

Bridget looked up from her food at Professor Archer’s words about how Defence was taught. She frowned a bit. Was having such a vital class so dependent on the expertise and wisdom of one professor the norm? It was so different from back home! Bridget listened, hearing the intensity behind Alexander’s words. He obviously took his post very seriously. That was a good sign. Bridget felt like Archer was someone she could trust, and she needed to find people like that here.

When he asked her about how Defence was taught in America she grinned. “Defense is rather down and dirty in the States. We’re virtually paramilitary with the folks who go beyond the basics. Lots of physical and mental conditioning, offensive and defensive spells, and repetition of them to the point of near insanity.” She took another forkful and chewed on it thoughtfully. “For my Doctorate, I ended up breaking one leg, two fingers and damn near busting my skull once. Fortunately, we also stress learning to spell-cast in combat armor and using backup weaponry like swords and staves.”

After Archer mentioned the list of likely people to talk to, Bridget raised an eyebrow. She’d had mild gut premonitions about all those people, ones telling her to get in touch with them somehow. That was interesting. “Funny you should mention those particular people. I’ve had minor premonitions about the fact that talking to them would be a good thing.” Bridget eyed the Defence professor over her wineglass. “Can you think of anything they all have in common? It’s rather unusual to have that diverse a group lumped together in a premonition or any sort, even a small one.”

Bridget took a deep breath, and plunged on. “Professor, just what is going on around here? I’ve been having disturbing and vague precognitive dreams ever since I set foot on campus. And given what I was before I came here, that really worries me . . .” Bridget took a quick sip of her wine. “When you’ve been a magical detective and psychic for almost two decades and you suddenly end up having bad premonitions at a new place, you get a little more than just nervous.” Bridget fixed her look on Professor Archer, the look in her eyes begging him to tell her what was really going on.