reporting for duty

[CHARLIZE KENDRA GUY]

Charlize had finally decided on becoming a more active part of the school again. She had declined the invite to help chaperone the ball not wanting to dress up just to keep and eye on hormonal teenagers. So instead she had settled for patrolling the corridors two nights a week along with some prefects and a few other members of staff. It may have been small but it was a start. She was making an effort, right? The only other effort she needed to make now was to catch up with Steph.

About half an hour into her patrol, and many moving staircases Chaz was leaning against a wall and trying to keep calm. Hogwarts was not her home unlike some of the other staff members here. She had be educated at Beauxbatons and then taken up the post here. Her experience of the castle so far in the first month and a half had been her office, the potions classroom, storage, great hall and staff room. She had not bothered to venture up to the top floors since she had no business there and was now realising that perhaps that was a mistake.

Keep going down the stairs. Yes, that was all she had to do. If she kept following the stairs down she would end up back in the dungeons. Then she would just stick to the first few floors and let the others cover the rest. With the new plan in hand Chaz set off across the corridor and down the stairs. And then she came an abrupt halt. ”Ow!” Charlize looked down to see her foot stuck in a step. ”Who puts a vanishing step in a school?” She began to tug at her foot but eventually resigned to the fact that she would need to wait for the step to vanish again before she would get it back. Awkwardly she sat herself on the stairs and put her head in her hands. ”And this is why I keep to myself.” she mumbled.

tag; Fred
notes; sorry it's crappy

[EBENEZER FREDERICK FLYNN]

Frederick hummed softly to himself as he patrolled the fourth floor, winding effortlessly throughout the winding corridors. He knew quite nearly every inch of the halls [that could be known, anyway] of Hogwarts, due to seven years spent on night-time crusades upon various endeavours- usually sneaking into the Library. It wasn't until far after he'd graduated that the man realized he was probably one of the less stealthy people he knew, and that the librarian and groundskeeper had to have both known what he was doing about three times a week or so. Fred Flynn was simply considered one of their lesser problems among the student body; He wasn't even going to the restricted section in his after-hours tarriances. Why bother him?

Nowadays, he'd been familiarized with the network of hallways anew for a different purpose- Creeping out of bed to try and walk himself tired. The man did not sleep well, hadn't really since the divorce. Two years was an awful long time to have insomnia, Fred supposed, stifling a yawn at the thought. He'd volunteered to go upon these patrols every evening that there was one, figuring he'd be up anyway- Why not be some sort of productive? As head of Ravenclaw, it may have been more prudent to stay in his tower with the students. But he always left a note to the prefects of his general whereabouts, and aside, what did Ravenclaws really get up to at night? Well, except sneaking into the library.

Having spent the first twenty minutes of his shift prowling the Library, however, Frederick was fairly satisfied that it was unoccupied. He usually began there, then to the sixth floor, then down to the second- He was on evens, and knew most students assumed the patrols went either up or down. The professor liked to switch it up a bit so as to catch students on the lower floors who believed themselves to be getting away with something. [And then gently remind them they needed to be in bed, depending on what they were doing- He'd not caught anyone doing anything too terrible yet, and hadn't issued a detention for such purposes.]

Traversing the final stretch of hallway to the staircases, Frederick stepped up them almost soundlessly. As he reached the landing he glanced up at the staircase to the next flight and noted the woman perched on the edge of the stairs- and her seemingly missing foot. His eyebrows scrunched slightly in concern as he took a few loud steps to make himself known- he hardly thought she'd noticed him, head in hands and all. The man tilted his head slightly as he called softly up to her, "Madamousielle Guy? Are you quite alright?" There were only few ways to extract oneself from a vanishing step, which was to wait for it to come back 'round, or use extraneous force; He supposed she was attempting the former, but was slightly concerned. What if it this flight switched on her? They'd exchanged only a few pleasantries here and there, and he knew very little of the woman- but he did know she had very slight knowledge of the school's pathways, and felt it wouldn't do to let her get lost.

Words;;538.
Tags;;Charlize.
Notes;;Better than I would have done. I'm an awful starter. xD

[CHARLIZE KENDRA GUY]

As she sat there with her foot held captive she kept her head in her hands and would occasionally pull to see if she could get it free. She heard footsteps and looked up. Footsteps meant someone was near by and maybe that someone could help her. She glanced up to the man who was approaching and the somewhat familiar voice confirmed, thankfully, that it was not a student, but one of her fellow colleagues. If it had been a student she knew she would lost some of the respect that she had gained since she had started working here. It had been hard enough when she wasn’t one of their own alumni and Chaz didn’t want to go mess it up this close to the start of the year.

”Monsieur Flynn.” Charlize greeted. She had been trying hard to soften her accent but she was not finding it to be a successful task. When he asked if she was ok Charlize felt the blush creeping into her cheeks. ”I have had better days.” she admitted to him. Well, there had been better days when she had first started and then it had gone all downhill again, hence the hiding away all over again. Every time she tried to take a step forward she ended up taking two steps backwards instead. Sure it would have been easy to blame her parents for he lack of luck in life but in reality she could have easily said no and lead her own life. Chaz wasn’t like that though. Charlize tried to keep people happy even at the expense of her own happiness.

”I don’t suppose you would know a way to free my foot?” Charlize asked him with a sheepish smile. The heat was still at her cheeks. She hadn’t really spoken to Professor Flynn and here she was stuck in a step and asking for his help. ”And may I ask why there is a vanishing step? The headmaster’s sense of humor?” Charlize asked curiously. One day her curiosity would get her into trouble but until it did she would continue to ask the questions it raised.

tag; Fred

[EBENEZER FREDERICK FLYNN]

Frederick observed her for a few moments, lips pursed as he considered his options. He could call in another teacher- yet that would risk leaving her alone, and furthermore may embarrass her. He could try and pull her out, but wasn't entirely sure he'd be able to, and it would therefore be unnecessary, unprofessional, awkward groping of a colleague. Opting for a third idea, Fred ascended the steps in lengthy strides, stopping to perch next to her on the step, about a foot of space between them. His own lengthy legs stretched out to the step below, avoiding the wrath of the one that had caught Charlize.

"There's not really any viable way to extract you aside waiting for it to come back 'round," he offered an awkward smile, unsure whether his presence was even welcome. The man groaned inwardly and cursed his own social retardation and inability to read people. "I'd offer to pull you out," he held out one of his lanky arms in example, "But I fear I'm not quite the bodybuilder. It would just end badly." Frederick had come to accept his 'nerd' physique, often poking fun at it- if you can't laugh at yourself, right?

"As for the matter of the vanishing step..." he trailed off, considering. He wasn't actually sure he knew the answer; He'd never asked, nor had he run into it anywhere in his readings on the school. "Well, just one of those things we'll never know. It's been there since I was a student- there are several, actually. It's second nature to most of the upperclassmen and teachers to skip them," Fred offered an apologetic smile, "Someone should have told you, being that you're not from here, and all." The man mentally swatted at himself for pointing that out, know how out-of-place that must make her feel. He hated doing that to people- it happened to him so often.

Words;; 320
Tags;;Charlize
Notes;; Sorry I didn't have this up sooner! I'm usually a pretty prompt replier. [/size]

[CHARLIZE KENDRA GUY]

Professor Flynn had made his way towards her and sat on the steps. Chaz wasn’t entirely sure whether she wanted him around so she would at least have company until her foot was released or whether it was best for him to go so she could stop her face from turning the unattractive shade of red. Being polite, she opted for going with the first option not really wanting to tell him to get lost. What a great way of getting to know your colleagues better. At least her face was starting to cool down.

She’d have to wait for it to come back around? Great. ”Would you know how long it takes to come back around?” When Fred had mentioned helping to pull her out she watched as he held out his arm. Charlize gave a small laugh and smiled at him, ”Well I appreciate the thought.” Chaz had not failed to notice that Professor Flynn was rather tall and somewhat gangly. Chaz observed people and from what she had seen he seemed as awkward as she was, if not, slightly more. With Steph her awkwardness was more prominent. Steph was outspoken and confident next to Charlize’s quiet nature. She and Fred had not exchanged more than a few words during meals or as a greeting so she did not know, as she was gathering now, that he perhaps had a decent sense of humor.

With a shrug of her shoulders she said, ”Perhpas someone would have told me if I cared to venture out of the dungeons more. I have a habit of keeping to myself.” she admitted to him. She didn’t blame anyone for not passing on the memo about the stairs. ”I think I would have preferred it at Hogwarts. The castle seems much more... animated.” Charlize said after struggling to find the word she wanted to use. ”Beauxbatons was much more static. No moving stairs. The paintings would barely talk to us.”

Then again she had spent a lot of her time in the library. When she had wandered around the castle in France the portraits had always seemed much to busy in order to talk to the student. ”I think the only time they ever spoke to us was if we stayed for Christmas and were a little too tipsy.” Charlize reminisced with a small smile. ”Sorry. I don’t mean to go on. And please don’t feel obliged to stay here if you have other things to do.” Charlize told him. He probably wanted to sleep and here she was talking to him and keeping him awake.

tag; Fred
notes; No worries. We all get busy sometimes.

[EBENEZER FREDERICK FLYNN]

Fred cracked a small smile at her response to his joke on his lack of useful muscle and shifted on the stairs, crossing his ankles and politely folding his hands in his lap; Believe it or don't, the formal position was actually more comfortable. Unsure how to proceed, he responded, "You should get out more, be more involved. The staff and students and...other various residents," the linguist was unsure how to address the numerous ghosts and paintings correctly, and was trying to cut down on his generally large vocabulary. He didn't want to keep using words most people who spoke English for a first language didn't even know, and make the language barrier worse; He spoke fairly good French, actually, but didn't want to offend her by lapsing into that as though her English weren't good enough ,"are rather high-spirited, and for the most part friendly, if you know where to look."

A slight frown creased his features then, "Not that I really figured out where to look until I started teaching. The paintings verbally abused me. Looking back it's rather humourous, but at the time I was frightened to walk down certain hallways for fear of their ire." Frederick rolled his eyes minimally, "I was a skittish child, though. Actually, I'm a skittish adult. It's all terrible, really." His voice held humour- For the most part the man was fine with how he'd turned out, or at least lamented different things now than he did about himself as an adolescent. "I probably wouldn't have survived at beauxbatons- I'd have assumed the paintings all hated me and I'd have had a conniption for the very fact of it."

His eyebrows twitched up in slight surprise as she apologized, "What? No. I mean, I don't feel obligated. I don't really have anything to be doing, I don't get to bed most nights before two, in any event. " He offered a small, unsure smile, "You'll actually have to tell me if you'd like me to leave; I shan't be offended, and I'm terrible and reading people, so I actually appreciate clear verbal directions. That step could have you immobilized for anywhere from fifteen minutes to a half an hour; I do become insufferable."

Words;;373
Tags;;Charlize
Notes;; Fred has such awkward zen. He is one with his awkward. [/size][/color]

[CHARLIZE KENDRA GUY]

She nodded in response. ”I know I should try to be more social. The students I have are nice enough. I just feel a little out of place at times.” Charlize told him. Hogwarts seemed to be constantly active. When the students were all in their common rooms the portraits and suits of armor continued to be active not to mention the ghosts. She had only really bumped into the Bloody Baron who was the Slytherin’s ghost. He seemed to have a love for the dungeons. Charlize had been rather shocked to see him roaming freely in her office but she had soon struck up a sort of relationship with him. Thinking of it now she frowned to herself. All the people in the castle and one of the only ones she had befriended was actually dead.

Charlize began to laugh as he mentioned the painting shouting abuse at him. ”I don’t think it’s that terrible.” she told him. ”I passed a painting of a knight. Sir Cadogan? He seemed rather brash. If there are others like him then I can understand why you would be afraid of the hallways. I only asked if there was a quicker way to get to the dungeons.” She had heard a few students talking about passageways but Chaz figured she would need to find them herself. ”Such a shame you did not attend. That may have been quite amusing to witness.” The first years had usually thought that the case until they began to realise they were not the only ones who were ignored.

A sense of relief washed over her as he told her that he did not feel obligated to stay. The last thing she wanted to be was a burden. ”That’s rather late considering most classes start at nine.” Chaz commented. She wasn’t trying to tell him how to live his life but just a bit curious to why he slept so late with a job like his. With a small chuckle, ”You aren’t insufferable yet, but as soon as you become intolerable I shall tell you to leave me be.” This was the most at ease she had felt in a while which was surprising since she had just been told it would take a quarter to half an hour before she was able to leave the floor. ”So what would be the record that is held for the longest time spent with you?”

tag; Fred
notes; Chaz is loving his awkwardness. What a cutie.

[EBENEZER FREDERICK FLYNN]

Fred offered a derisive snort, "I have no idea what my students are like, they're usually asleep." He understood, of course, that not many got as excited about runes as he did- in fact, the man could not remember a single instance of anyone being anywhere near it. Fallon let him prattle on about such things some of the time, but mostly when he was translating something for her history lessons and it directly related. And Schuyler...Let's not even go there. He had this tendency of bodily picking Frederick up and shoving him in closets and other awkward places when he started talking about that 'boring rubbish'.

"Ah, Sir Cadogan. He treated me much the same as he treated everyone else, aside shouting that I'd never make it in battle, being so small," A sheepish smile crossed his lips, "And I was, at the time. But I shot over everyone in third year, and sort of...stayed there. Then he challenged me to a duel; I should have never accepted." he shook his head and grimaced, as though recalling a particularly embarrassing memory. "Then there was Elizabeth Burke..." Frederick frowned slightly, "I think she was the worst. I skipped potions because of her a few times." And then he was back to sheepish, wondering if he'd offended her by admitting to have skipped what was obviously her favoured subject.

"I don't require alot of sleep, I guess," he shrugged it off. He wasn't really sure if that's what it was; Fred was always tired, but when it rolled around to bedtime, there he was again, wide awake. "Or my body can't stand me either and is pulling a mutiny. I'll tell you when I find out which." He then tilted his head to one side as though thinking, seriously, " I think that the longest record was four hours and twenty three minutes- not that I was counting- and that was on my honeymoon. She was sort of obligated to try and be around me."

Words;;335
Tags;;Charlize
Notes;; Well, somebody has to. xD[/color][/size]

[CHARLIZE KENDRA GUY]

Sleeping student were not common in her classes. Mainly because her classes alternated between theory and practical every other week. She knew that Fred taught Runes and it could be rather draining. She had opted out of it after her first week feeling that it just wasn’t for her. ”I assume you know some of the Ravenclaw students though. You are their head of house, no?” Charlize asked him. The heads of house seemed to deal with any minor issues their students had and Charlize had sent a few people to them after she had caught them in some sort of dispute.

It was odd to think that Fred had at some point been smaller than he was but it obviously made sense. ”That had been his condition. Duel him or he would not tell me. Looking back perhaps it would have been easier to duel the man.” Charlize mumbled. If she had done so she might have been back in her quarters by now. ”And may I ask, what’s the story behind Elizabeth Burke?” Charlize asked him. Her head inclined to the left slightly as she waited for his answer.

”I’ll expect a full report when you do find out. I’m sure the ministry will be interested.” Chaz told him. ”Which reminds me I have a deadline with them.” She pulled a muggle pen out of her pocket and jotted a date down on the palm of her hand before putting the pen away again. ”Either way, you seem to function fine so it can’t be that bad.” Charlize concluded. ”Obligation doesn’t always make people stay. At least you had a honeymoon.” There was a small twist in her stomach. She’d visit Nathan over Christmas. Maybe he would be grateful for her company. She shook off the feeling and gave him a smile. ”I shall make it a goal to last longer than four hours and twenty three minutes.” she joked.

tag; Fred

[EBENEZER FREDERICK FLYNN]

Frederick considered his position for a moment before replying, "Yes; I am their head of house as of this year. I know them, but not really as students. I try to make my classroom involved, but it's...difficult," the very idea was foreign to him, as entranced as he was by the subject matter, "and none of them in other houses really get to see me as anything more than a professor. I try to be somewhat open and approachable to my house, though." He chewed the inside of his cheek in silent thought; He'd always been bothered by his relationship with the students he headed. He felt like he wasn't relateable enough, at times, though he hoped this was mostly due to his newness to the position. Practice makes perfect and whatnot.

As she focused on Elizabeth Burke he groaned inwardly- Why had he even thought to mention it? Ah, well. "I'm Muggle Born," he explained, glancing over at her for an instant to gauge her reaction to the knowledge, "I didn't grow up with any of these pretenses of the Wizarding world, had no idea about the supposed importance of blood in the slightest. Elizabeth's portrait harassed me for fact of my parentage every time I entered the classroom. I wasn't the only one, of course; But the way she spoke, I felt that being muggleborn was an extremely horrendous thing and that I shouldn't be out and about in the general public." Fred offered up another smile, mostly to give the effect that the story didn't bother him, "I was wrong, of course, but very bothered about it at the time. Looking back it's all very silly."

His smile widened to a sort of grin, " That's not really necessary, I wouldn't wish it upon you. As it were, the longest running contender in that particular area put a restraining order for quite some time," He really wished he was joking, and tried to give the impression that he was. His divorce had been a particularly nasty one, through no efforts of his own, " as for Obligation...No, I suppose it doesn't accomplish everything. But it can accomplish enough, if the terms are right."

Tags;;Charlize
[/color]

[CHARLIZE KENDRA GUY]

”I imagine it can be challenging to try and make Runes incredibly engaging.” To Chaz, as wth most subjects, you had to have an interest in what you were learning. She had a few first years this year who would tell her that potions was pointless and she would simply agree and wait to see if their choices in a few years time would reflect their opinion now. ”I think you come across as approachable.” From what she had heard when she had passed students they had vendetta against him. Or her for that matter which made her feel more at ease with them all.

The fact that he was muggle born did not bother her. Blood status had never meant much to her or her family. Nathan was a muggle and she had been relatively comfortable living with him and behaving like him. She had abandoned magic for some time. ”Being pureblood is nothing great.” she commented. The only difference she saw between purebloods and muggle borns was that at the beginning they knew little about the Wizarding world. ”We all let things get to us when we are young.” Charlize said. She made a mental note to hunt out the portrait and see if the feelings were still the same.

”A restraining order? I’m beginning to think there are more sides to you than you let on, Monsieur Flynn.” Chaz teased him. ”I’m certain that at times it accomplishes nothing.” She gave a soft sigh. Obligation in her case accomplished nothing but still bound her. Divorced or not she felt like she owed it to Nathan to visit him since no one else was likely to. The stairs swung around and Chaz felt the pressure surrounding her ankle release and she smiled and pulled her foot away quickly. ”Well well, it’s nice to have my foot back.” She rubbed her ankle which was looking a little sore and slightly swollen.

tag; Fred

[EBENEZER FREDERICK FLYNN]

The man chuckled softly, "Yes, well. Everything got to me when I was younger. As I said, skittish," he waved his hand vaguely in attempted reference to their earlier conversation. A yawn escaped him- Fred was always, always yawning- as he commented, "I feel like I'd rather be a plain-out Muggle than a Pureblood. Maybe I'd feel better if I'd grown up knowing what I was."

His face coloured slightly at her next bit of commentary, "N-no, I'm a mostly static individual, I swear! Having a multi-faceted personality takes so much effort and too many people-skills, I'd never accomplish anything as such." Frederick tried to play it off with an eyeroll, then. As though he weren't all up in a tizzy. Biting the inside of his cheek again, he let the commentary upon obligation go by the wayside; as was often the case, he had no idea what to say. He simply didn't know her enough to say the right thing, and was fairly certain he'd say the wrong one even if he did.

As the stair released, Fred stood unsurely, tilting his head as he gazed down at Charlize. "Are you alright to walk? I mean...You know. I can assist, if you need, if you like." His cheeks were reddening slightly again, and he thanked the sweet Lord above for the low lighting in the area. He hoped that, if re-incarnation were a viable thing, he'd come back as someone less awkward around...well, the general population. He'd been doing well to this point, even.

Tags;;Charlize
Notes;; Gahhh, this post is such crap.

[CHARLIZE KENDRA GUY]

He did say he was skittish so it was no surprise that he had been sensitive to situations that he faced. To his next comment Charlize asked him, ”Are you glad you are a wizard though?” During her time at school Charlize had made friends with a muggle born girl who wished more than anything to just be normal. As far as Chaz knew she had finished school and was now living her life as if the wizarding world did not exist to her. ”There are times where I think being a Muggle would be much simpler than being a witch.” Truthfully, she wondered whether if she separated herself from the wizarding world if she would be able to live like a Muggle.

When Fred began to tell her that he did not have more than one side to him really she cringed inwardly. He seemed to be quite het up about it and she felt like she would have been better off not saying anything. ”People skills are exactly my forte either.” Chaz said. If the hiding away didn’t tell him that in the first place she had just verbally admitted it to him. Charlize did not have a high opinion of people in general and teamed with the fact she almost constantly got herself into awkward situations with her clumsiness and choice of words she knew it was best to just stay away from them.

Charlize pushed herself up off the step and gingerly put weight on her foot. She winced. It wasn’t too bad but she was not comfortable with it. A broom would have been useful. Turning to him she gave a smile and said, ”If you wouldn’t mind just helping down to my office I would appreciate it greatly, Professor Flynn.” She could have gone on her own but if she fell or got stuck on another flight of stairs she knew she would be there for the rest of the night and that was not a thought that amused her. So in this case she would swallow some pride and accept his offer for help. ”I promise that any future meetings between us will involve me being less of a burden.” After all, how much of a problem could she be in the staffroom or at breakfast?

tag; Fred
notes; Mine's not much better.

[EBENEZER FREDERICK FLYNN]

Frederick mulled this question over for a moment, considering it seriously. It wasn't that he hated being a Wizard, precisely. He hated what it had done to his marriage and subsequently his relationship with his daughter; he hated constantly feeling like he didn't belong, or that he was somehow less-than. But he loved the feeling of acceptance he received from the general wizarding world, finding that there was usually at least some small niche which overlapped the mess of magical humanity that was Fred. "Not glad, so much. But not really unhappy...It's hard to explain. it's more like...A feeling of acceptance," he grasped for words, trying to pull them from the air when they just weren't available to him.

He scoffed slightly, "Yes, well. You're pretty. That would pose a general distraction from any lack of social skills on your part." There was a beat skipped before the man reached up to pinch the bridge of his nose, realizing his statement, " Please just...disregard any of the drivel that falls from my mouth. It's late, my brain is deteriorating, I'm not trying to be a creep, It just happens." He seemed rather exasperated with this turn in conversation, having not intended to hit on her in any form- He'd totally given up on anything of that sort with anyone, ever- but his mental filter wasn't on the proper setting at present.

"All awkward creepiness aside, how would you like to go about this? Do you prefer to be assisted by support, or would you rather I simply carry you? I might not be able to wrench you out of the step but I'm fairly sure carrying you wouldn't be an issue," he noted with certainty. It took a considerable amount of force to free someone, but he didn't need to be that strong to support someone of Charlize's stature. "I assure you it's no trouble at all," Frederick noted, " Helping damsels in distress is the job of the big strong hero." This last jab was in total deadpan as he flexed one skinny arm.

Tags;; Charlize[/color][/size]

[CHARLIZE KENDRA GUY]

Charlize found herself nodding at what he said. Acceptance must have been nice when you once had no idea about this side of the world. Time had moved along and most people were accepting of muggleborns. They had made more strides in the wizarding world than some of the purest families. ”I guess being magical has its pros and cons.” Charlize said. Lucky for her the pros did often weight out the cons and so she was not declaring herself a Muggle yet. But it wouldn’t take much to tip the scales.

Her cheeks began to heat up at his comment and Chaz dropped her gaze to the floor. ”I..It’s fine. It’s late.” Charlize agreed. It wasn’t that she didn’t appreciate what he had said. If she wasn’t awkward with people she may have been quick enough to compliment him in return, after all he was a handsome man. Instead she resigned to saying, ”You aren’t a creep. I know creeps. You don’t even make it onto the creep-o-meter.” Realising that she was probably babbling Charlize closed her mouth and just stopped.

She once again tested her weight on her foot and winced slightly. Charlize then chuckled, ”I think just some support will do.” Charlize confirmed. It wasn’t that bad. ”How many damsels in distress do you come across on your patrols?” she asked with a laugh. Her hand moved to the banister to help her as she took a careful move to the next step downward. Once back in her office she would whip something up to calm the pain and swelling. By the morning it would look like nothing had ever happened.

tag; Fred
notes; Nah it’s cool.