Alpheus Arrives Closed

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ALPHEUS was pleasantly surprised as more students continued to arrive, clearly interested in meeting and greeting. Not a stranger at all to speaking to lots of people, the new Professor kept the smile on his face, and gave each person who spoke the time, offering a response in turn. He really enjoyed social interaction, and he couldn't deny that kids were super talkative, so it worked out for everyone!

"So, is wearing it as a guy really that weird?" Alpheus said to Anatole, eyebrow raised with mild concern. "I guess I didn't really take notice... I kind of saw it, liked it, and tried it out. Oops?"

The new Professor glanced down to his nails again, making a wry face, wondering if he should change it. But then, over time, he had come to like the style and it suited the overall look Alpheus was going for - whatever that was - and it wasn't like Muggle stereotypes applied to Wizards, right? Perhaps.

"Lipstick, Aurelia? Can't say I have," Alpheus said with a laugh, as he looked to the girl who seemed to hate Anatole. He suspected this was a trick question, but went with it anyway. "What is it? I'm hoping not something that stops people from talking... that would kill me, maybe not literally, but it would definitely slow down my attempts to chat!"

And then a ghost appeared, making the blond man's eyes widen.

What the--!?

And proceeded to speak, the pale skin and dark rimmed eyes staring into the Professor's soul, like something out of a horror book. It took Alpheus several moments to realize he wasn't interacting with a spirit, rather a student with some kind of sickness or disability... and immediately felt sorry for him, nodding as he gave his introduction, listening keenly.

"Hey, good for you, kiddo," Alpheus said, as he reached out and patted the pale kid's shoulder. "Kaegen, was it? Keep your chin up, and whatever's the matter, I'm sure magic will find a way to make it better. Here, this is for you!"

Alpheus reached into his back pocket, and produced a magical photograph of himself, which was signed in a gold ink. The photo shifted between smiling and pointing and winking. If the pale boy was close to keeling over and succumbing to his sickness, the least Alpheus could do was give him something to cherish in his final days. What a shame, the lad seemed interesting, and hopefully the nurse would be able to cure him...

Yeesh...

And that's when a nearby Hufflepuff spoke, a Prefect by the look of her, as she mentioned something about lip paint and eye powder. Now those Alpheus was aware of, and wondered if the girl was speaking about the lipstick from before? Perhaps so, but what was guyliner? All of these terms, obviously Muggle, that Alpheus had no idea about! It was a shame he was a pure-blood, his youth and younger adult years separated from the Muggles for the most part, save the odd interaction and shopping spree.

"Guyliner?" Alpheus said, tapping his chin. "I'm a little busy at the moment, miss Hufflepuff Prefect, maybe we could talk about some fashion items later? Maybe visit my office, after I set up of course?"

Hufflepuffs represent- again!

Then suddenly a young lady stepped into the hallway, moving in front of Alpheus and introducing herself.

"Oh, it's a pleasure to meet you, Verla!"

And then she continued, explaining a seemingly delicate situation about a bowtruckle named Oliver, and her being told she couldn't keep him by other Professors. It seemed Alpheus wouldn't even have time to unpack his belongings before being required to make some decisions as a faculty member, and he raised an eyebrow at the girl with the creature concern.

"Uh, I see?" Alpheus said, his hands on his hips as he considered. "I'm not a creatures expert, but I have read more than a few thousand books that discussed them and other topics, and I know from some of that reading that bowtruckles can be prone to violent outbursts if in confusing or threatening circumstances... why did the other Professors say you couldn't have Oliver? Was it because of all the kids around? Do you know how to care for one?"

Alpheus grimaced, shaking his head.

"I can ask, sure, but generally a new Professor can't overrule senior staff on his first day... so I can't promise anything, Verla. Maybe see me later in my office, after I've had a chance to settle in and speak to other members of staff?"

Turning to the blond Hufflepuff girl, who had asked about nail polish, Alpheus smirked at her comments. At least she was honest, and spoke her mind, which the Professor could respect; so many students tended to try and suck up, and Alpheus would know, he had done some of that in his own schooling years!

"Well, thanks for the information, Lucy," Alpheus said, grinning. "I like to think I'm free to express myself, and if that means being weird, then so be it! If you don't have to bend to social norms, then don't, I say... be yourself."

The entourage was about ready to move again, with Alpheus looking to Anatole for a second time and smirking.

"I really need to keep going, so I can begin unpacking," He said, before pointing forward and starting to walk, the trunks moving again behind. He looked about with his next words, addressing everyone who was coming along. "But you're all welcome to join us! Talk to me, what's been happening? How's your first year been at Hogwarts? Anything interesting?"

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In the now semi-crowded hall, Frost skipped along with the group that was showing Professor Wordsworth to the History of Magic classroom. Bouncing along right next to the Gryffindor boy, Anatole. She didn't know him. Not yet at least. 

The girl knew most of the new people though. Hm, let's see. There was Serena, everybody knew Serena though. Some Ravenclaw boy named Kaegen. Frost knew him because he was the referee for the pickup quidditch game a while ago. Khris and Lucy she had met at around the same time. And Verla, that was her name, wasn't it? She saw her briefly at the Great Lake. 

Most of them were talking about muggle fashion things. Like "lipstick" and "guyliner". The ginger had no idea about any of that. This man, Professor Wordsworth, seemed like an interesting guy so far. I mean, the guy wore a cape, for goodness sake. But there was no doubt that he was one of the coolest people Frost had ever met. 

Tapping the Gryffindor boy on the shoulder, she smiled. "It's 'Anatole', right?" Might as well introduce herself to him. She couldn't just stand there like a weirdo and stare at them as they talked. That would be creepy. "I'm Frost, but you can call me anything you'd like, I guess."

Lucy had said it was weird for the professor to wear "nail polish" and Anatole had said it was adventurous. Frost had never heard or it before. Was it rare or something? The girl stared at the professor's hands.

"Well, I happen to like the way 'nail polish' looks on you, Professor Wordsworth. It's quite unique, I think." She grinned up at the blonde man. It was true! Albeit she had never seen it on anyone before, so she didn't really know what it was supposed to look like.

"Um. Does this, uh, 'nail polish' come in a different variety of colors? I don't know much about muggle fashion things, but I think it would be cool to have different colors of it." Well, it seemed impossible to not ask questions. 

Anatole seemed to have had many adventures from the First year that might be interesting. He was even talking about some already! "Anatole, if you don't mind, would you tell us about some of your First year adventures? I mean, you're a prefect, you must have something cool to tell?" The words seemed to have fallen out of her mouth before she even got to think.