Faculty Party PV staff

Octavius looked at the Herbology Professor, a bit disgruntled after their last encounter. But.. he shouldn't hold a grudge. He wasn't his son. That little gremlin didn't know manners, and Octavius needed to be the better person.

He up towards Sarai, a soft smile on his face, a softened expression. "Thanks Sarai."

He turned towards the adult drinks and remembered the last time he truly enjoyed a drink in the midst of chaos, New Years Eve of the 2024 year.

He looked at the bottles, the range of liquor. The father of six closed his eyes to randomly select a vessel. His right hand slowly grabbed one bottle's neck then halted, Octavius deciding to grab another bottle. The bottle he grabbed in replacement was simply firewhiskey. There was nothing truly special or muggle about it, but it was nice enough to be considered an adult drink.

A drink to celebrate. A drink for whatever reason he was here. But simply.. a drink for the reason of being a drink. He just decided he'd take the bottle with him, because why not? Surely there were more firewhiskey on the table. It still wasn't his concern though.

He removed the cap to the bottle, and raised the bottle to his lips, slowly tilting it so the liquid inside would run down his throat smoothly. A sharp but warm sensation hit his mouth, his throat as it went down the pipes. He didn't bother conserving the content in his mouth (without swallowing) as he'd already drank this drink before and would not like to act like he's on some form of tasting tour again. He was going to drink, just not with the tasting portion.

──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

The soles of Samuel Reinhard Sauber's polished boots struck the stone floor in a rhythmic echo as he approached the Great Hall. The crisp lapel of his navy dress shirt catching flicker of torchlight. Beneath it, charcoal grey trousers fell in sharp, deliberate lines. His shoes, oiled leather and freshly shined, just understating enough to not look vain. At his wrist, a platinum self-winding timepiece ticked quietly. A special creation immune to Hogwarts' interference with electronics. Not merely a mark of exceptional function but also of discipline. Time, unlike most things in life always obeyed reason. It could always be measured; controlled.

In his left hand, he carried a bouquet- Yellow calla lilies and tightly furled yellow roses, arranged with his surgical precision. Something Samuel took his own time to curate. A courtesy, not a statement of sentiment but rather recognition and gratitude of the effort that had been made. One offered hospitality; the other acknowledged it. Simple.

His eyes took few moments adjusting to the floating candles and the constellations that were painted across the enchanted ceiling of the great hall. The long tables now appeared empty of students, blessedly. Instead, they bore an unfamiliar collection. Trays of steaming appetizers and a neatly organized arrangement of liquor bottles. Many of which bore labels Samuel hadn't seen since his international days among dingy places. A flicker of surprise crossed his features. Not disapproval, rarely that. He merely hadn't expected something quite so vast.

He easily found the witch.

"Professor Toussaint," he greeted her. Holding out the bouquet, stopping just shy of intruding upon her personal space. "A small token of my gratitude for you. Thank you for the invitation."

With that, he stepped back from her, his gaze momentarily flicking to the way her serpentine familiar curled around her. He offered no comment towards either. He knew it better than to project thoughts upon life choices.

Then, as if struck with some weird calculation of his own, Samuel turned his attention towards the liquor. His fingers moved with calm certainty, plucking a bottle of rum from the arrangement and holding it towards the light. "Hmm...Not Bad."

Before he could pour himself a serving, he felt a shift; intuition, finely honed from years navigating both political rooms and crossed off investigations. He turned towards the source of the noise.

Octavius Baird.

The school's nurse, former employee at Ministry of Magic. An unassuming man to most. His presence soured the air, if only slightly. Samuel remembered him, regrettably from a single incident during his ministry days. Baird had produced some posters and once Sam read them, he tore them in half and left the remains folded neatly on Baird's desk. While Samuel held no resentment towards the nurse, he wasn't sure if Octavius held the man in same regard.

He greeted the man with a simple not before returning to his drink. The rum's quiet bite settling down his throat. He stood there for a moment longer, as his eyes traced the edges of the room. Whether anyone else would arrive remained uncertain. He wasn't aware of the extent of this invites which had been sent. Most staff to his experience were busy, reclusive or too self-important.

Yet, his mind lingered. Briefly on two further individuals in particular.

With a soft exhale, Samuel lifted the glass back to his mouth, taking a slower sip this time. The warmth spread in measured degrees. He was not impatient. Not expectant, but he was curious.

─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

@Octavius Baird|@Sarai Toussaint-Fleischer|@Desislava Nenovsky|@Avery Phineas Finch

She was practically running from her tower, hair still soaking wet and a light smell of the lake still threading itself around her as she tried to make it to the faculty party on time. Truth be told, she had forgotten that said event was going on and had planned a deep dive into the Lake to perhaps communicate with the selkies. But alas, midway through her dive, she had a sudden recollection of thoughts that processed into a memory of the party occuring.

It had her racing back across the lake, through the grounds, into the castle, up the tower and then repeating the cycle but in reverse.

She apologized to the students she practically ran over as she booked it to the event. She knew it wouldn't bode well if she had simply skipped it, given the nature of her job. But she still attempted to make a good impression on the colleagues she didn't know very well.

Desislava came to a stop in front of the heavy doors and attempted to regulate her breathing before entering the evening soiree. Once she had composed herself to a point of stability, she ran a hand through her damp tresses and entered the Great Hall with as much grace as a slightly damp and ruffled mermaid researcher could.

Upon entering, she was greated with a graceful scent of delicious goodies that lay a-plenty across the Staff table. Thankfully, it seemed that there weren't many other staff members present, which made her feel better about her arrival. And though she had no care for the apperance of her hair, she hoped that she at least looked presentable enough in terms of stature to her colleagues.

The two she recognized, Sarai and Samuel, and the one she didn't but from his demeanor she could only guess, where the only other bodies inhabiting the room at the time. Samuel had already found his way to the bottles, and Sarai who seemed to be preoccupied with the growing baby in her abdomen. Desislava smiled to herself and swept through the break in the tables up to her friend.

"Apologies for my tardiness, but your invitation was most welcome." Desislava spoke with a gentle tone. Her eyes drifted to Sarai's stomach and she gently outstretched her hand with a small "May I?

She wasn't much of a naming seer, but there was definitely something about this baby that she could sense would bring great happiness to Sarai even more so than just the fact that another member would join her family. She wasn't sure if Sarai would allow her to comment on her baby's potential future but she extended the offer anyway.
─────

The still relatively new caretaker would poke his head into the Great Hall, surveying the room and those who were already there. He had done very little interacting with the other faculty aside from Sauber and Makaio since he had taken this position. Not necessarily out of avoidance but a simple hyper focus on his new job. There was a lot he could find to busy himself with.

Frankly, he was surprised to receive an invitation to this event from the herbology professor. In all other facets of his life, he was either the center of attention, in the middle of a crowd of people, or a shadow, jump scaring people as they suddenly noticed he was even in the room. He had expected to go rather unnoticed here, "janitor" being a rather unnoticed job in general.

Following his head into the room, the metamorphmagus came fully in and looked around for the hostess as he quietly guided the great door closed. Etiquette was a part of blending in and so the avoidant Finches had taught him well. He hadn't quite traded in his curly, dark green hair but he had morphed the curls into something more sleek and tamable and had traded his regular green robes for a black, button up dress shirt and nice, tailored black jeans. He had also brought a small, navy box tied with a golden ribbon that contained the finest Spanish chocolate that muggle money could buy. Etiquette.

As he scanned the room, Avery picked out the nurse, the divination professor who was above him in the North tower, Sauber, and, finally, the herbology hostess. Avery couldn't help but notice the development of the herbology professor's stomach, but knew better, as a man, than to comment on it himself, though he did notice the divination professor's outstretched hand towards it. It was obviously a topic that he could be draw into when he walked over there. The Spaniard gave a simple smile and a nod to the nurse, and a wider smile and a wave to Sauber as he passed them on the way to the ladies.

When he found an opening in their conversation, he gave a small bow to both and held out the box of chocolates to Professor Toussaint-Fleischer with both hands.

"Thank you for the invitation, Professor. It is nice to have a moment to actually speak to you. I admit I've been a bit busy adjusting to the job." He said with a bright grin as he righted himself from his bow.

"It is also nice to have an opportunity to speak to you, Professor," He continued, turning slightly to address the Divination professor. He one hundred percent should have tried to do something to remember anyone's name, but that opportunity was already passed. He would have to pick everyone's name up later. "I've been meaning to invite you and the Runes professor to tea since we share the same tower, but I haven't had a moment." He finished with another small bow.

The pitter patter of little claws could be heard scratching across stone floors, at least if one had the ears to hear such subtle details. The slender creature darted his around students, narrowly avoiding being stepped on several times. In his short time in this stuffy old castle, there was no speedier way to travel than by mongoose. It was the perfect way to avoid crowds and squeeze through tight spaces that the normally larger than life Transfiguration professor would find otherwise impossible to navigate. On his way to the faculty party he had been requested to attend he found very familiar feet.

‘Ah…Mr. Finch!’ The little furry guy squeaked to himself. He trotted along behind the caretaker, having to double his efforts every other step to keep in step with his current prey. When they arrived he dashed under a lovely clothed table filled with all kinds of treats for the party. He watched from his vantage point as the other faculty socialized, waiting for Avery to decide what he wanted to do.

His patience was running low with the young Avery who seemed not know what he was doing. Finally he chose to approach Sarai and hand her a box of chocolates before scampering over to the metamorphmagus and quickly and deftly climbing up his leg, in a spiral figure, to rest comfortably on his rather scrawny shoulders. He sat there perched as if he were a trained pet. His brown eyes blinked at Sarai and then over to Avery and widened at the box of chocolates. Makaio let out a few squeaks and tugged at Avery’s ear. He squeak a greeting to Sarai as well.

Interacting with: @Sarai Toussaint-Fleischer and @Avery Phineas Finch

Actions: Makaio is a cute little mongoose :3

Open to other interactions as well!

Akeem's boots tapped against the floor steadily, each step echoes in the corridor on his way to the Great Hall and the torchlight flickered along the wall while casting shadows that melted into the inviting glow that has spilled through the open doorway and his fingers fussed through his collar of his indigo robes. He let out a small sigh and smoothed a stubborn crease—this was a necessity than a habit to him—and his flair for looking composed. He was not late per se but he preferred to arrive when the atmosphere had settled and conversations had turned mellow and at the moment, intentions could be read without any interruption.

Akeem pressed open the heavy mahogany door steadily and with grain of warmth beneath his palms. What greeted his wasn't the usual noise of the Great Hall—no swirl of student voices. Instead, it was calm and very curated. The long tables gleamed under the candlelight with his sister's careful touch. The dishes piled with Caribbean cuisine and bottles of liquor were placed on the table. The Haitian man's brows lifted in quite appreciation as he made a beeline where liquor was and poured himself a half glass and he took a sip as if he was always awaiting it.

He took his place beside the Professor table and rested his hand elegantly on the dark wood, he would not rush conversations nor force small talks, he would simply be present waiting someone to join him. It was pleasant to see the other professors had already arrived, he acknowledged their presence.

— Open to Interactions

“It. Has. Been. Ages!” Caradoc's voice exclaimed across the hall as he entered. His footsteps tapping closer and closer to the group. Why did the distance between the door and their table suddenly seem so awkwardly far? He just kept his big smiley face on for the entire ride until he stood next to the latest arrival.

“Ages, I tell you, since we've had a nice little staff party going on.”

The Head of Hufflepuff was dressed as he usually was. Some white and dark green chequered shirt with a comfy looking beige jumper on top. Dark brown corduroy pants and a matching pair of leather shoes underneath. He seemed to think to himself for a second. Visible titling, his head in the air as if a memory swooped by. Maybe the last time he really interacted with a group of staff was when they all nearly died in the dungeons. Oh well, no time like the past. A killer party is still a party, after all.

Doc nodded and smiled his way past most of the folks present. None of them he was particularly familiar with. Seemed like his old gang was either retired, dead or downright lame. The latter he mainly attributed to Marcus. God, that guy could be a buzz kill. Maya wasn't there. She had been an occasional drinking buddy. And there was no way Nora would attend any of these voluntarily with him present. Possibly for the best. The two of them could get out of hand with too much booze between them. Not sure that he felt like singing and dancing before this lot.

“So…” Caradoc whistled around with both hands resting on his hips and his eyes swaying from one person to the other. They briefly lingered on Avery and quirked an eyebrow at the kid. Him, he did seem to know. Though he could not quite place him. Or he was mixing people up again. Over the years, all people half his age started to look alike.

The others however… Phew. What a bunch they were.

He clasped his hands together and gave them all a big grin.
“Who did the Necromancer bring to the Ball?”

interacting: @Caradoc Browne & @Avery Phineas Finch
open to all interactions

Today, Ruckus hoped "fashionably late" would add some style points to his overall demeanor. He had nearly forgotten the herbology professor's invitation to Great Hall for a faculty get-together. He had been lost in all the hubbub of his transition from caretaker to flying professor.

He was dressed in his best vest (only one missing button and a small hole he couldn't see on the back of his shoulder) and his best trousers (un-hemmed and faded coloring as if they had been used to walk through shallow water many a time (spoiler: they had)). And he had a stinky wheel of cheese under his arm. Sarai was supplying the refreshments, and he had grabbed something from his own snack stash as a hasty gift. He hoped she had a wide palate.

He walked in when the Head of Hufflepuff had started the beginning of a joke. Ruckus quietly slid into place next to Avery, the very young man who had taken his old job, and supplied Caradoc a nonchalant answer: "Whoever he could pull together on short notice, probably limb by limb."

He hoped that would be enough for the cheerful Hufflepuff to strike up a conversation with him. He had somehow avoided the man thus far in his Hogwarts career, which was a shame—almost all of the school's faculty were nauseatingly young.

Speaking of which, he turned toward the young caretaker. "How's the old castle? She treating ye well?"