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Post by Harold Masters on Nov 19, 2014 0:16:24 GMT -8
((I'd love to see EVERYONE in this, Staff, Students, House Elfs  )) November 19thIt was certainly a beautiful Wednesday morning at Hogwarts for scenery at least. The Castle and grounds covered in fresh snowfall, it was a marvelous sight but it was bitterly cold and the wind was merciless today. At the Gate house, A caravan of four carriages had been flagged through to continue to the castle. Surely the Gate-Keeper had already alerted the Hogwarts Staff to the impending visit, so a certain element of surprise would be lost but that wasn't a serious issue, it wasn't as if this was a sneak attack on the school. Seated in one of the closed carriages was the Minister of Magic himself, Walter Crane. Walter had held the prestigious position for some time now and had won the affection of even his strongest opponents, The man was remarkably likable and cut through tension with ease. It was almost scary and some jokingly said he simply bewitched those opposed to him so that they'd fall in line with him, but everyone knew that his skills as a Wizard were sub-par and that his true strengths resided in good leadership and a warm personality. There were few people who couldn't help but fall in love with the gentle old man, who seemed more like an absent minded Professor then the Minister of all things Magic. The clothes he wore looked 'vintage' even for wizarding robes, and they were a little wrinkled in places which seemed to add to his charm. But despite his warm nature, sometimes difficult deeds had to be carried out and this was one of those days. There had been complaints from Parents about various aspects of Hogwarts, From the Professors to the Food, to the accommodations and beyond, it was ridicules sometimes but he'd decided to take a look into it personally. "How do you think this will go over Sir?" Asked a young blonde woman seated across from him. That was Jennifer Tygler, his personal assistant who coordinated virtually everything. "I doubt they'll like it one bit." He responded, still looking out the window over landscape. "But this has to be done, there are to many complaints and we must get to the heart of this matter." It struck Crane with a certain sense of irony that some of the Parents complained so harshly about the fact that so many of the teachers were former Death Eaters, given that the ones that were complaining had been Death Eaters as well! And of course, There was the 'Harwood Butcher' Aka Robert Lawson. The Prophet had coined the name after authorities discovered his somewhat gruesome handy work in the town of Great Harwood. Many parents were unhappy about that still, despite the fact that he hadn't actually hurt anyone since his arrival at Hogwarts. "Of course Sir, I'm sure we'll get to the bottom of things." After a short while the Caravan stopped outside of the front gates to Hogwarts, the first group of people to get out were the Reporters from the Daily Prophet who quickly took up their positions to take pictures. "Well, Let's do this.." Walter said, as one of his guards opened the carriage door for him. Carefully he stepped down from the carriage, smiling and waving for the camera's and whomever else had already showed up. It was time for the Ministries unexpected Inquisition into the affairs of Hogwarts.. |
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Post by Rika Lefcourt on Nov 19, 2014 0:17:07 GMT -8
Post by Rika Lefcourt on Oct 24, 2007 at 1:19pm
It was somewhat ironic, that the foyer would be one of the zones Rika had declared off limits due to maintenance work. Though, in fact she had just finished cleaning the floor in the foyer, which was a rather large amount of work. Nevertheless, Rika had done it to the end. Slowly she straightened and then wiped the sweat off her forehead. Satisfied she glanced at her work. Good. No, better than that. It looked perfect. Stretching her back she stifled a yawn. This work was somewhat exhausting, but after a while one got used to it and Rika had already reached that point. How long had she been doing this now? Oh yes, a month. Well, it would soon be over. How many days remained? Ten? Twelve? She had to finish those annoying essays and give them to Winslow. She had to pack all her stuff, but that could wait for now. No, she wouldn’t miss this part, certainly not.
Going home sounded good to her. Just a few more days of putting up with the pitiful attempts coming from the students of Ravenclaw house. Then it would be over. She would not return to Hogwarts. Leaning on her mop she sighed and then took a deep breath. Oh well. Time was running in her favor. That was when an awful riot sounded from outside. What was going on now? Rika raised a brow, but didn’t move yet.
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Post by Lazerus Durnal on Nov 19, 2014 0:17:25 GMT -8
One of the infamous horseless carriages pulled up behind those of the minister with a lone passenger. He looked at the caravan and raised an eyebrow, "Well, it seems i chose an interesting day to arrive." he said to himself before stepping down from his seat. He pulled his jacket a little tighter and made his way past the other cariages, ignoring the looks from the people in them. He was here for one reason, he had been asked by Lazerus to come and he was obliged to pay a visit at least and see if the headmaster would mind an auror hanging around the castle.
Lazerus had given few details, but made it clear that something was happening here. If Lazerus wanted his help it must be serious, and judging by this menagery of people, he was right.
Samuel passed the carriages and opened the door to the foyer. He stood for a few moments looking at the architecture and seeing if there was anyone nearby to find out where he could find the headmaster.
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Post by Casey Winslow on Nov 19, 2014 0:17:49 GMT -8
It didn't take long for the Minister's arrival to fill the halls. Mouths were abuzz with gossip about why he possibly was here, and Casey had caught wind of it and had excused himself from Evie to go check it out. She had been a little more lenient lately. It took a while for him to reach the foyer, but when he did he found it was crowded with students. Everyone was trying to see the Minister. After all, it wasn't every day he came to Hogwarts. This was all much to Casey's dismay. He needed to push through that crowd just to get to see the Minister? 'Merlin help me...' he thought as he started through the crowd of students with, "Excuse me; pardon me. Coming through." He managed it after a few minutes, only to come to the front of the group of students to find a strange man there. He assumed that he was here to introduce the Minister. Obviously, the man couldn't go in without proper introduction and protection. This man could be one or both.
"Excuse me, but what's your business here?" He couldn't give so much credence to gossip and limited knowledge of the situation. He had to let the man explain himself.
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Post by Samuel Carthage on Nov 19, 2014 0:18:26 GMT -8
After a while he was approached by a man who appeared to be one of the professors. Samuel held out his hand, "My name is Samuel Carthage, an auror, i was asked to come by Lazerus Durnal, but it seems i've arrived at a busy time. I do hope my arrival is not a burden to you." he said, waiting for the man to respond. He took the short chance to glance around, it seemed that whatever was going on was drawing a large crowd and this man seemed to be a bit on edge. Now that he thought about it, he recognized some of the people in the carriages as ministry workers. It seemed to Samuel that whatever he had just walked into was very serious and if that many ministry officials were needed, these professors could use all the support he could offer.
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Post by Casey Winslow on Nov 19, 2014 0:18:46 GMT -8
"Why don't you come with me? We'll discuss this on the way. I'm sure Jamie will be too busy with all this once she finds out, so she'll send you to me anyway." Casey began to walk quickly towards the doorway and out towards the Minister's carriages. He had to get to the bottom of this. Why was the Minister of Magic here? When the man finally came into view, he was smiling for the cameras. Wait...cameras? Oh joy! Reporters on the grounds again! Last time one had been here, she had tried to tear up his and Bridget's reputations and paint them out as adulterers. No way in hell was he going to put up with them. "What is this world coming to?" he muttered mostly to himself. Coming to a stop at the bottom of the stairs, Casey turned to the man with him. "I'm Casey Winslow, by the way. Deputy headmaster," he introduced himself, extending his hand for Samuel to shake. May as well get some of this dealt with while he was waiting for the Minister. He seemed to be being clambered by reporters.
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Post by Samuel Carthage on Nov 19, 2014 0:19:04 GMT -8
Post by Samuel Carthage on Oct 26, 2007 at 10:41pm
Samuel gave a firm handshake and turned to look at the commotion nearby, "A pleasure, Mr. Winslow. I hope that i have not come at the wrong time, it seems you have your hands full here, though i would be happy to help in any way possible." he said. How lucky he was to run into the deputy headmaster, though the timing seemed to be flawed.
He caught a glimpse of the minister through a break in the reporters, "Oh bloody hell, what is he doing here? The minister was just about the last person i hoped or expected to see here. Do you have any idea why he is here? Or more importantly why he has so many staff with him?" he posed the question to Casey.
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Post by Caitlyn Forrester on Nov 19, 2014 0:19:23 GMT -8
"Mr. Minister, Mr. Minister!" called a brunette reporter who went by the name of Caitlyn Forrester and who ran the gossip column of the Daily Prophet. "Would you give a statement for the Prophet?" Considering her main competitors Witch Weekly and the Inquisitor were too caught up with the latest heart throb or the newest development on some rare, even mythical, creature, Caitlyn had little competition here. Sure, every other department also wanted an interview, but different aspects were needed for each. She wanted to get the scoop on why he was here. What happened in the school that was so horrible the Minister's attention had been drawn to it? Why had it happened? How had it happened? There was so much to learn, and she was certain she'd only have a small amount of time in which to learn it. Her questions, if she got to ask them would have to be precise and to the point. Her Quick Quotes Quill stood poised and ready above her notebook, which floated beside her, ready to strike. Naturally, with the Minister involved, some things had to be watched, but it was the gossip column and she had a few extra liberties as such. This could be interesting, very interesting indeed.
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Post by Casey Winslow on Nov 19, 2014 0:19:47 GMT -8
"Thank you," Casey replied when the other man offered his help with whatever was going on, and that was that until the tall stranger noticed the Minister. "Good questions, yes, but whether or not we'll be given answers or just another decree, perhaps saying the Minister's now in charge of the school or some sort of balderdash like that, is yet to be seen." Not completely hidden were his feelings towards the Ministry in his words. It was obvious he didn't like Ministry interference in the school, and well...not much else. One couldn't blame him, really, after the disaster with Umbridge. That would be enough to make anyone loathe the Ministry's involvement in school matters, but all the same.
"So, you say Lazerus sent you here, um...?" Casey said, realizing he didn't know the man's name. However, he needed to get at least this done before the Minister got to him. It seemed he was going to be caught up with the reporter, so he thought they should have plenty of time.
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Post by Evelyn Winslow on Nov 19, 2014 0:20:14 GMT -8
Evie and Casey both heard that the Minister had arrived but she let her husband go down first. What in Merlins beard was the Ministry doing here? Haven't they learned that everytime they came to the school to try to 'fix' things it only caused more trouble. Dolores Umbridge anyone? As soon as she finished her lesson plan Evie made her way down to the foyer to see for herself what was going on, telling the students to move along that it was nothing even if she knew none of them were going to move an inch. This was high quality Hogwarts gossip.
Evie walked out to where Casey was standing with someone else and she crossed her arms over her chest to keep a little warmer as she asked. "Whats going on?"
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Post by Casey Winslow on Nov 19, 2014 0:20:34 GMT -8
Casey looked over at Evie as she spoke, wrapping his arm around her shoulders as he realized she must be cold. "This is my wife, Evie," he told the man, looking to his wife and waiting for the two to acknowledge each other before answering her question. "Still no clue, but the Minister's here as well as reporters. Can't be good. And this guy says Lazerus invited him. What a day to choose to come, but I suppose it'll at least give him something to do." His eyes weren't on his wife but for a few moments, and his arm only remained there out of sympathy. The Minister seemed to have become much more interesting with what he was doing. There were so many questions to be answered. He wished Jamie would hang around more often. There was no telling if she was here today. It seemed that for the past month or so she had been sneaking off quite a bit. No one knew why. There were only speculations amongst the professors that maybe it was a boyfriend or two. Jamie's past wasn't exactly spotless, and as the saying went, old habits die hard.
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Post by Kyle Camden on Nov 19, 2014 0:21:08 GMT -8
The Ministry had come. That news was simply abuzz all across the school as these things tended to be. Of all times, it happened during a time when there were virtually no classes. Kyle was slightly surprised, but he had indeed received a hinted tip-off from one his friends back at the Ministry that this could be happening - he just hadn't known when. He hurried through the corridors down to the foyer, dodging crowds of students also rushing down to see. He thought perhaps he could help facilitate things seeing as he had a former connection to the Ministry and his current connection as a Professor. As he got down to the scene though, he realized that it was far too late for that. There were too many students to allow anything to happen in a calm, reasonable fashion by this point.
As he siphoned through the hoards of student, he saw several faces he recognized from his days in the Ministry (only truly about six months ago though it now seemed like years). There was Kevin Hendricks, head of the Public Relations Department, Daniel Vance, an auror currently in charge of a branch of the Magical Law Enforcement Department, Jennifer Tygler, the mister's personal assistant, and the of course the Minister himself. He was on friendly terms with many of these people, some better than others. Traveling between departments had allowed him to come in contact with so many people that he knew quite a few people in almost every department. He and the Minister had, though he couldn't say he knew him personally, had at least a few conversations during near-decade he had spent working there. He was an older gentleman, but a fair more competent Minister than some of his predecessors when it came to relations with the public.
Finally getting to the front of the crowd, and certainly unable to do much to control this, Kyle resigned himself to stand where he found Casey and Evie, standing with another man he vaguely recognized. A name didn't come to mind, but they had crossed paths several times back in the Ministry... an auror he believed. So he was here with the entourage then? It certainly was quite the spectacle by this point. He nodded hello as he walked up and gave a slight sigh. "Well I'd say this got out of hand..."
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Post by Casey Winslow on Nov 19, 2014 0:21:20 GMT -8
"I'll say," Casey agreed, looking over his shoulder towards the students in the foyer and some standing on the steps behind them before back to Kyle, whom he hadn't realized was there until he'd spoken. "Hopefully the Minister will have the decency to wait to speak with us about why he is here until we're comfortably in Jamie's office. Speaking of which, I wonder where she is. Not out again, I hope? That would be embarassing." Ugh, how stiff speech seemed right now. It was like a habit, something one did because he'd done it so many times before and was expected to and for no other reason at all. To be honest, he really didn't want to be here right now, hadn't since he realized it really was the Minister that was here, but it was duty that held him here. It was duty that held him to anything anymore.
But honestly, why was the Minister here? What if it really was a decree like the one he'd mentioned sarcastically just minutes earlier? What did that mean for them, for him? Thankfully the psychiatrist appointment had been before things got worse when he could still fake and it hadn't become known by anyone but him and his wife or he was afraid he'd be unemployed, and they'd be forced to move out of the castle because he was too unstable or something. What if the Minister sense something? What if he was fired? He had to be able to support his family or he was worth nothing to them at all. He already felt that way, but such a thing would make it feel a hundred times worse.
Clearing his throat lightly, he forced himself to look over at the stranger and force an awkward smile. "I'm sorry to keep you waiting. He must be in class or I'm sure he'd be out here with the rest of us, uh..?" Still no name, and that made Casey feel uneasy about matters because it seemed like any time he'd tried to get a name out of him someone had interrupted. If the man was actually trying to keep his name secret, he had sheer luck on his side for such a thing to have happened twice in a row. But now, hopefully he'd manage not to dodge it because it would at least calm some of his anxiety that the arrival of the Minister had caused. Where was Kara? Kara would be nice to have right about now. Had she known about this, though? Maybe not. He'd trust she hadn't. She wouldn't hold something like that from him. He had to have at least one person he could trust or he would go crazy, especially considering he wasn't one hundred percent trusting of his wife.
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Post by Samuel Carthage on Nov 19, 2014 0:21:40 GMT -8
Samel inclined his head toward evie, "A pleasure, Mrs. Winslow. I am Samuel Carthage, an auror and old friend of Lazerus, but do not worry, i have not come with this mob, i simply came at the request of my friend." he said. More and more people seemed to be adding to this crowd. It worried Samuel that such a large entourage was here and such a situation was never good where the minister was concerned. He had the feeling that something bad was about to happen.
"Wait, i think i might know what is going on. I overheard something at the ministry before i left about an investigation of Hogwarts. I just didn't think much of it until now. Do you have any idea why they would investigate?"
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Post by Kyle Camden on Nov 19, 2014 0:22:02 GMT -8
Samuel Carthage... the name and face matched up when he said it. Kyle's brief period in the Magical Law Enforcement department, having been brief and simply just a desk job, hadn't allowed for him to get names down. The question he put forth though made his face sink and his stomach lurch a little bit. What else could it be other than the "death" of John they would be investigating? And Kyle, as the last person to see John and the only to "witness" the event, would almost certainly be questioned... and even worse, perhaps suspected? The strange conditions of the event had not escaped him - he was the only witness of it and thus they could only go on his word. His word was credible - at least he thought so. He'd have dozens of people standing up for him he was sure, but that wouldn't necessarily stop them from interrogating him. And what methods might they use for that? The fact that Kyle kept professing the fact that Death Eaters would not return, and that he now claimed they had killed a man made him slightly suspicious. Kyle thanked himself for learning Occlumency so efficiently; it might keep John's secret safe from uses of Veritiserum or Legilimency. It was almost required of him for his line of work back in the days of the Order. Still... if that truly was why the Ministry was all here making such a scene, it did make him slightly nervous. "Yes, actually... We lost one of our Professors to a Death Eater Attack... But surely the Minister wouldn't need to get involved in such an investigation... it must be something more than just that."
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))
