First Day, First Breakfast (open!)

[Bridget O'Neill]

Bridget O’Neill was not normally a nervous person, but this morning was a bit different. Here she was, finally employed at her deceased husband’s old school, as a professor, no less! She’d dressed impeccably for the occasion, in an outfit that very closely followed the lines of her old Guardian uniform she used to wear. The pants were the same black as her boots, and had lots of little places to store the odd spell component or two. She wore her wand and her spare wand on the quick-release sheaths up her sleeves, under a long-sleeved silk shirt the blue of her eyes. Bridget wore her hair short, so it was down in its usual shoulder-length bob. And most important of all she wore the robes of a full Professor over her shirt. The robes were a deep black with silver trim at the hems and sleeves and the bars of her two Doctorates on the upper sleeves.

The young witch left her temporary quarters, and headed for the Great Hall. Breakfast would be the best thing right now, as her stomach forcibly reminded her. She laughed at her growling guts and took the stairs down to the ground floor, passing students in various states of wakefulness. Bridget smiled as whispers followed her path down the stairs. “There’s the new teacher!” She heard someone mutter. “I hear she’s crackin’ good at Divination.” Bridget hid a smile at that last quip, grinning to herself. She was looking forward to teaching the students, given all the various forms of Divination she’d studied over the years. Her Bachelor’s, Masters and Doctorate in Divinatory Studies were going to come in mighty handy with this crop of students.

Bridget entered the Great Hall and gazed around in admiration. The Hall was just as breathtaking as she remembered from the tour she’d taken with Sean all those years ago. Sunlight streamed in the windows as the morning moved over the land. She strode up to the Professors’ table in the front of the Hall, and took her seat, which someone had thoughtfully marked. Bridget greeted the other Professors there and settled in. She helped herself to eggs, toast, bacon and oatmeal, and began to eat neatly, with precise bites and excellent manners. She ate quickly, a habit that clearly marked her as either a former police officer or former military. She washed her meal down with some strong Earl Grey tea and a glass of pumpkin juice. Then she sat back and watched the students at the tables down below.

[Alexander Archer]

His hair scruffy and his expression pleased, Alex rubbed his eyes as he woke up, his face having been plastered to the pillow beneath him. Oh yes, he had gotten a damn good sleep last night. His mind immediately running over the events of the previous night with Gavril, he produced a happy smile before shuffling over to his wardrobe and selecting one set of his many robes, entirely black in colour and largely unremarkable. Deciding that perhaps a shower would do him some good in respect to actually waking up and becoming alert for the forthcoming day, he meandered slowly into the bathroom.

Emerging fifteen minutes later, fully dressed and ruffling a towel through his short crop of hair, he decided to leave it as it was; a sort of boyishly charming mess. Hoping to perhaps see Gavril that day, he figured his best bet was the Great Hall and suddenly found that breakfast was an excellent idea indeed. Traipsing up the stairs and into the Entrance Hall, he proceeded across it quickly before entering the feasting area, already relatively full of students; some of which looked very much like morning people, and others who were quite obviously the very opposite. Seeing a small Ravenclaw with her head in her hands, apparently asleep, he couldn’t help but produce a small smile as her friend, having only just realised, made the first attempts to try and rouse her.

Finally making his way along the back of the professor’s table, he dropped into a vacant seat, one of the few, and surveyed the options on the table before him. Looking indecisive for a moment, he pulled a platter of bacon towards him and piled some onto his plate, as well as a few pieces of toast and some scrambled eggs, before pouring himself some coffee. Finding an out of place yawn coming from his mouth, he shielded it briefly and somewhat out of time before taking that first, glorious sip of the piping hot beverage in his cup.

Having specifically chosen a seat with another empty one beside it, considering the professor of Transfiguration wasn’t present as of yet, he turned to the person currently occupying the other seat next to him. Smiling happily, he found that he didn’t actually recognise her. Odd. “Hey there, are you new?” he questioned in a friendly tone of voice, feeling as if running along a corridor and yelling at the top of his lungs about how he felt would be the most ideal situation right now. However, here he was, trying to make friends with a new staff member. There were so many coming and going, he hoped that a few would begin to stick around.

“Oh, I’m Alex by the way, I teach Defence,” he added conversationally.

[Bridget O'Neill]

Bridget came out of her musings at a greeting from another Professor at the table next to her. “Hey there, are you new?” the gentleman asked, with a smile. “Oh, I’m Alex by the way, I teach Defence.” Bridget snapped to attention at that, and smiled back. Just the Professor she’d been hoping to get in contact with! Hopefully he’d have made some kind of contact with the other teachers she hadn’t met yet. With all the rumors she’d heard flying about the school, she wanted to get some real information. And the DADA professor was usually a good source of that information. Besides, she’d wanted to meet the other teachers to get to know them. Time to start, it seemed. Good!

Bridget held out a hand in greeting. “Bridget O’Neill, Divinations Professor and new Head of Ravenclaw House.” She smiled. “I’m glad to meet you, Alex. I’d been hoping to meet with the Defence teacher and compare notes to see what’s different from what I learned across the Pond in the States.” She took another mouthful of her tea and turned back to the conversation. Alex seemed very cheerful this morning, and his mood also lightened Bridget’s. She couldn’t help but smile.

Yet, despite her smiles, Bridget was uneasy. She’d had troubling dreams last night, vague and elusive, but all too unsettling. But for someone who was a Seer, it was an all too familiar sign of trouble ahead. “I imagine my interest in Defence is a little unusual for a Divinations teacher, but I’m a retired Guardian, the American equivalent of your Aurors. While I’m here teaching I might as well fill in the gaps in my own education as well. Could we meet later to discuss that?” Bridget was suddenly all professional. “At your convenience, of course.”

[Alexander Archer]

Noticing the smile that rose onto her face as he introduced himself, he was instantly glad that she seemed friendly. He always hated having niceties thrown back in his face; especially from people he worked with or saw on a regular basis. As she returned the introduction, he smiled happily. "Head of Ravenclaw, congratulations! I had a little bit of trouble getting to become Head of Hufflepuff, myself, but I got there eventually," he said with a small laugh.

Slightly surprised, but not displeased, that she jumped straight to work, his expression became more thoughtful. Noting that she said she was from the States, he wondered at the sheer amount of Americans based in this school; he knew they had Salem, but perhaps it didn't quite measure up to the infamous Hogwarts. "I'd be happy to get together some time! I'd be incredibly interested in how things are taught over in the U.S," he replied with another smile lingering on his charming features.

"Oh no, I think it's good for everyone and anyone to be interested in Defence, especially now," he added. His expression faltering slightly, unsure as to whether that last part was really necessary so early on in Professor O'Neill's Hogwarts career. Surely she might have heard something about the happenings around here already, though; or perhaps even seen something - she was the Divination professor, afterall.

"I'd love to share some information, what about tonight? My class finishes at midday and I have some things to attend to after that, but I should be free from about four o'clock onwards. We could meet in my office, or yours, if you prefer." He was, to tell the truth, both excited at what information she might have to divulge about the American system, and slightly anxious as to where she might stand in the war should she realise what was going on. She had said she used to be the equivilent of an Auror, however, so he deemed it a good start and took a sip of his coffee.

[Bridget O'Neill]

Bridget smiled at Alex’s congratulations at her being named Head of Ravenclaw. “Thank you,” she said, her eyes sparkling. “I was rather surprised myself, but I like it there. It actually feels like home, my little suite.” She took another swallow of her tea, and nibbled on a slice of toast. When Alex expressed his interest in picking her brain about the Guardians, Bridget nodded eagerly, trying to empty her mouth to reply. She brushed some crumbs off her sleeve and turned back to him.

Alex’s response to her request to meet surprised her. She thought she’d have to wait for at least a day or two, but Alex seemed almost anxious to speak to her. "Oh no, I think it's good for everyone and anyone to be interested in Defence, especially now," he said. Bridget’s internal alarms went off, and she would have dropped her teacup if not for her immediate mastery of her reactions. Bridget looked over at Alex and saw his expression falter. Oh, good gods, she thought to herself. Maybe those dreams aren’t something to brush off. Sounds like something deep and possibly dangerous is going on around here. Blast it.

“Tonight would be perfect, if you can spare the time, Alex. And if you think there are any of the other Professors I should meet . . .” Bridget let the sentence trail off. “I’d really appreciate it, honest. Being the new person around here puts me at a disadvantage in knowing what’s what.” Bridget tilted her head thoughtfully. “How about your office, around six, and I’ll get my house elf Noddy to make us dinner? He does a mean Beef Wellington with baby carrots.” Bridget was eager to have this meeting, suspecting she was finally going to get some answers to her many questions.

[Alexander Archer]

Nodding happily as she commented on Hogwarts feeling like home, he understood completely; for Alex, it was not only a home away from home, but more like his first choice of housing. Given the current circumstance with his family, he did tend to avoid gatherings and spend the holidays and such at the school. Choosing to focus on something that didn't make him quite so

His smile reformed lightly as she nodded eagerly and indicated that she was indeed free tonight. Raising his eyes as she mentioned any other professors she might want to meet, his thoughts scanned the staff members he was acquainted with. Given the frequent upheavels in the school and the common appointments of professors who then quickly moved on, as well as the significant lack of teachers for quite a few subjects altogether, he couldn't think of many. Most of the people seated at this very table, in fact, he couldn't name.

Gavril of course springing to mind quickly, there was only Professor Sparrow that was really left, and he had only had one brief, very embarassing encounter with the Potions professor. That didn't mean he wouldn't mention her, though, and Gavril, well... He didn't want to come on too strong by immediately getting him to meet the people he met; she might be a professor as well, but it still felt a bit awkward. "You could try and find Professors Sparrow and Romanov, who teach Potions and Transfiguration respectively. I haven't had a whole lot of contact with either of them, though," he replied.

Laughing lightly, he agreed. "No, it's never easy being new." Nodding with a bright smile at her suggestion of where they meet and what time. "That sounds great, I'll see you then! I have to be off, though, I've got a class to organise," he said happily, grabbing his coffee and leaving his breakfast largely untouched as he stood from the table. "See you at six." Walking back down the Hall, he headed off to his Defence classroom.

[Bridget O'Neill]

(OOC - shift this story to the DADA Professor's Office now?)

[Alexander Archer]

((Ooc: Sounds good))