Whole Of The Moon

I Only See The Crescent
@shi
Outfit

Decades ago, he had only been the the Headmaster's office a handful of times and neither of those times for disciplinary purposes. Still, it had originally seemed a little daunting to change the password to his office via the Gargoyles and to speed upwards on the twisting Gryffin stairway to his office. Most of the time he'd spent in there since assuming his place there had consisted of purging it off anything to do with the Halfblood that had been instated before him. Before long it was much like Dumbledore had had it, but with far more green and with not just darker subject books but less Anti-dark arts stuff too. A bowl of mints replaced what would once have been sickeningly sweet treats, the fire was going heartily and he had taken up residence at his balcony that overlooked the grounds and had been where the fool had fallen to his death after Snape had killed him. It was a calming backdrop to his otherwise stressful job but he wouldn't have passed up this opportunity for any reason. He was the best qualified for a start... and he had his own reasons for being here. Ares needing him was just the glazing on the cake.

What he needed now was information. A far more level ground where he knew who was who, where on the great Totem Pole they sat and who he should be spending his time really looking at. As he'd been thinking for the past few days... the fastest way into the heart of the school was through his students, and from the great sea of possibles he had carefully selected his first and obvious choice. Amalthea Rowle, Thor's adopted daughter. He had a fair amount of respect for the man for stepping into his brother's shoes and being a man about raising the family, so he had it on good authority that Amalthea would be a perfect picture to represent that. Making it to Head Girl was no easy feat so already he was optimistic that she would be a great help to him. So he had sent someone to find her earlier to arrange for her to come up to his office so they could chat. If anyone in this place had their head sitting correctly on their shoulder's it was her, and he needed the information if he was going to have a chance of really seeing the picture laid out before him. So far it was like pieces of it were missing, like a puzzle, but only his students and careful observation would fill in those spaces.

He watched a thestral circle above the treeline across the lake from him and dip back into the forest gracefully without so much as stirring the birds on the branches closest to it. It was late Afternoon now, but it had been eventful. Productive. He would give the Professor's sometime to process today, let them warn each other before he descended upon them again to source any weak links. Then came the business of employing new people where he had gaps so he would have rounds of interviews to conduct soon too. Glancing at his watch he nodded to himself and leaned against the railing of the balcony as he waited for the Slytherin to arrive. He had time.

The sudden influx of pureblood Death Eaters at the school had been slightly disconcerting at first. Most of these people knew her parents, took her blood and name into account when expecting certain behaviour from her. She knew she'd definitely surprised a few people by being much more prudent when it came to blood purist views than other students with her same background, but since she had a very good reason for that, few people could fault her. Slightly more nerve wracking had been the more extreme measures she'd had to take to make sure that nobody found out who exactly she was sleeping with. It was bad enough that she'd had to cut down on how revealing her clothing was and that she was known to be close friends with Blue -who, despite being the son of a woman with distinct ties to Death Eaters and being Goyle's apprentice, was still part veela-  but having it be known that she slept around at all would be a disaster. Not that her parents weren't aware, but there was a difference between her parents knowing and the rest of pureblood society knowing and watching carefully to see how they'd handle it. Even worse, if word got out that she didn't just sleep with halfbloods but also the occasional mudblood -Syn- and halfbreed -Blue- her parents would probably be forced to cast her out of her family by their peers. Oh, how she hated using those words, though, because not all muggleborns were useless and she's once slapped her little brother -Diodorus, who she loved more than anyone else- in the face for calling Blue that term.

The school suddenly being flooded by people that posed such a danger to her social life was, therefore, unfortunate. These same people had, however, made things so much easier for her at the same time. Professor Rosier was obviously partial, Professor Kirkpatrick was as well, and now the Headmaster. All of them were friends with her father, some to a lesser degree than others, and all trusted her enough to let her handle most students' issues as she saw fit. Parrish really didn't put up much of a fight as long as she was fair and her own Slytherin Prefects followed her requests to the letter. The Ravenclaws were always reasonable, because LJ was who he was, and the Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs had their firm belief systems in place, but Syn and Parrish had always agreed to her requests in the end. As long as they weren't too outlandish or cruel, and she always made sure to keep everything acceptable even in their eyes, even if deep down it could end up very differently than they'd guessed at first. Prudence, for years on end, paid off.

The thing was that she'd never met the man who'd become their new Headmaster. Headmistress Wentzell, while a halfblood, had been capable at her job. That is to say, she'd been partial to Slytherins and Ravenclaws without letting it show and had kept the students safe and the school harmonious. In tumultuous times that was about all that anyone could ask for. The new man was a stranger. Oh, sure, maybe she'd crossed paths with him once or twice on a summer holiday when he'd been visiting her father, but that had only consisted of a short curtsy and an apology before going on her way. Being summoned to his office for a private meeting was very different, and slightly complicated. She'd had to go back to the dormitories and change her clothes into an even more demure outfit, still rich, still youthful, still stylish, before hurrying to the office. It was even more nerve wracking because her father had never allowed her to be alone with an adult, male Death Eater before. It'd happened once by accident and she was confident when she said that Lord Rodolphus was not a completely safe person to be around.

With a last deep breath, she gave the gargoyle the password and climbed up the spiral staircase. There, she knocked on the door and waited to be let inside.

outfit

The 'cause' was merely a front at this point for them all due to Ares' rendezvous with his halfblood skirt and the consequent family infatuation. They had all been placed not just second but possibly third to whatever it was that his friend found so endearing in his watered down blood line but for now Sebastian was content to sit back and wait. Watch. He trusted Ares- mostly because he had no real other choice- and because he was the one in the big seat supposed to be steering them all towards a better future. His appointment as Headmaster made sense in that regard so he could almost convince himself that Ares hadn't entirely forgot. And with the loss of dear ol' Aurora... maybe the bloke deserved a bit of time to get his head back to a level state. Taken out by a muggle vehicle though... that had to be a thorn in his mate's eye let alone his side. One would think it would have spurred him on further into action.

Now in a position where he was directly linked to the lads' kids and the rest of their colleagues meant that he had a slightly firmer grasp on what was going on. From what he'd seen so far Aurora Wentzell had not only been lax in her duties but had been entirely too comfortable to let the students do as they pleased. Sebastian, however, was entirely the opposite. Too many reports sat on his desk of students breaking curfew, breaking larger school rules and being general twits. In fact, some even put his dearly loved brother to shame with their lack of smarts. So why were they still here? Were their exams too easy now that even children with minds barely above that of a trolls managed to stick to the castle like glue? He stood nonchalantly, his hip slightly out to the side as he rested on it and perused the terrain laid out before his eyes pondering those thoughts. Naturally the ones who would know for sure would be his students. Past that his staff but he wasn't exactly a hundred percent sure that his 'staff' were exactly clued up entirely. There would likely be staff changes before the term began again in September and hopefully from there he could try to bring them into a better world starting from their schooling. It would be appreciated he was sure.

Head girl. Pureblood. Thor's daughter. Merely three things that had immediately stood out for him when looking over his student list at those viable to push for information. Leander was a loss for sure but Sebastian was sure that the man would be proud of his brother if he could have seen what he had achieved since the Wizard's passing. In some ways it made him wonder what his own kids would be like if he finally settled down... he was starting to push the line round about now. It would be more than time soon and currently it fell to him to continue the Flint line since Marcus apparently scared women away more than he attracted them. Whether that was intentional or not remained yet to be seen but he could be hopeful. The more Flint's they produced the further the line would go... so really his task was finding a witch who wouldn't break and waste away after one child. Like most of his family had been subjected to. He needed someone strong, someone who could withstand her title, her role and her responsibilities while living up to his expectations. And so far he hadn't found one.

His favourite device on his desk flashed once, sending out a whispy white wave of vapour alerting him that someone was on their way up and he smiled to himself. So his appointment had made it on time then. The knock came as he turned round towards the door and walked over to his desk where he took his seat. "Come in." He topped up his glass and waited for the Witch to approach his desk once the door opened, standing up to greet her with a small smile tugging at the edge of his mouth and an amused glint to his eye. He did a quick scan of her- catching the engagement ring- and nodded, gesturing for her to take a seat. "Good evening, Miss Rowle. Thank you for joining me." He said lightly, retaking his own seat and adjusting his jacket sleeve slightly. "Would you like something to drink while we talk or shall we just get started?"

Amy was not particularly fond of being around older Death Eater men. Purebloods had some very strict standards to which she had to adhere, all about how to dress and who to screw and how to speak. She was not averse to these rules, she had been raised with them, she had incorporated most of them into her everyday behaviour. Her very few deviations from the rules were enough to get her cast out, however, despite how perfect the rest of her behaviour was. Amalthea Rowle was the picture perfect example of a pureblood lady. Her appearance, her manners, her academic record, her marriage. Or, future marriage. Everything anyone knew painted the exact image that she wanted to portray, but she could never shake the feeling that someone was going to realise. Considering who her fiancé's uncle was, however, she figured that it was probably better to be a bit more careful with her illicit actions. One never knew when bad luck could strike and, while she was always loath to think that anything was left to luck, one always did have to take into account the possibility of unforeseen events.

Being invited to the Headmaster's office was such an event, but one that she considered might work in her favour. Lord Flint was a very powerful person, he was a very intelligent and influential person, and he was her father's friend. She couldn't doubt the fact that she was safe around this particular man, not in a way that meant that he would protect her, but in a way that meant that he meant her no harm. After all, friendships were a very serious thing where Death Eater war comrades were concerned. Whatever he was calling her for, was not going to be harmful towards her, so she wasn't nervous about that. She was also far too in control of herself to slip up in front of him. The only real reason she could find for this was that he was only now settling in to a place that had a completely functioning system that was foreign to him. After all, Aurora Wentzell might've been many things, but she was efficient in the leadership of this school. It had its way of life and any disruption of it could cause harm in ways that could eventually influence the world outside Hogwarts. There were enough people in high places with children here, and people who were in extremely opposing positions here. An example would be the Potter brats, what were they to do in a school filled with Death Eater children? Things were tense to say the least.

Upon being called inside, Amy opened the door and stepped inside. The Headmaster was sitting behind his desk, obviously waiting for her to approach, so she closed the door and did so. She considered sitting, but as he had no explicitly stated that she could, she didn't. After all, sometimes meetings could be short enough for there to be no need of that. She didn't want to take up more of his time than necessary, particularly because her own time was precious too. She had much to study for, she had rounds to do, she had Prefects to organise, and she had work to finish for her internship. Drawing this out would benefit neither of them, so she decided she would be as cooperative yet brief as possible. Efficiency was something her family believed in, after. Do not speak more than necessary, don't do things in five steps if three will do, do not waste time or energy. One's life if short, one's skills are valuable, dilly dallying was foolish.

"Thank you, sir, but that won't be necessary." Amy shook her head, placing her hands on the back of the empty chair before the desk. "You summoned me, how may I be of assistance?"

Maybe it was the resemblance to her father, but she had always preferred Thorfinn's manner of doing things to Leda's. Her mother liked toying with people, and she was slightly vicious. If she could not allow herself to upset or harm the other then she tried not to waste her time with them at all. Thorfinn shouldered the burden of doing the unpleasant and boring things, with an efficiency that was admirable. His no-nonsense and dignified behaviour was one which she'd been taught to emulate all her life. She liked to think she'd succeeded.

"Lord Sebastian Flint, it's a pleasure to finally meet you." He began, trying his introduction for a second time. "Well if you won't take a drink, Amalthea, then I really must insist on your taking a seat. I can't rightly or wrongly say exactly how long I'll be keeping you this afternoon." Once more he gestured to the seat she now held and tilted his head slightly. "Naturally not overly long as I would hate to encroach on your time too much. Your father speaks highly of you, however, and I find myself in a position where I could use the help of someone like yourself in full candor."

He finished with the lifting of his glass and smiled slightly again, averting his eyes to allow her time to either take the invited seat or to decline again without the feeling of being scrutinised. Thorfinn was a good and trusted friend of his and the word he gave was never taken lightly. If he had glowing things to say about his daughter then Sebastian would take them as gospel until shown otherwise. As it was so far he was getting a good feeling about how this encounter would pan out. She was a canny witch from what he'd been led to believe thus far with her head screwed on the right way upon her shoulders. Really, with everything he had heard taken into consideration, there was very little room in which for her to leave him disappointed by the end. It wasn't impossible... but so far implausible. It would just have to remain to be seen.

"With the... untimely... death of our former Headmistress, Lady Wentzell, I've come into my position back here in Hogwarts with somewhat of a disadvantage, you see. That being; I am not previously acquainted with most if not all of my staff and the students too are a mystery. One that you are going to help me solve, if you would be so inclined." His meeting earlier with Kirkpatrick had went fluidly. In fact he had a hunch the pair of them would become good mates in time if things continued down the same path they were heading. Garnet... he wasn't going to entertain that thought currently. Copeland too was really a conundrum at this point. The others went unchecked for he had only so many hours in a day and only so much inclination to fill them with getting to know new people most of whom had decided to black mark him before he'd even shown his face. Oh it was understandable, and their judgement was arguably well placed, but he did so hate assumptions based on no more than a surname and a family history.

"What I have brought you up here to ask you about, and hopefully discuss, is what you know of your Professor's and your peers and their abilities that you have witnessed within this school. In the truest form of honesty you can muster. For a man to know who he is employing and to make sure the future's of the students he has under his protection flourish and have the best chances possible, he must know whether they all fit or if they do not."

"The pleasure is mine, my Lord." Amy did so not enjoy passing frivolities and pleasantries. She was raised by Thorfinn Rowle, after all, and he hated social interactions of any sort. It wasn't that she was not at the Headmaster's disposal, but she preferred how Aurora Wentzell had handled their relationship. She'd called for Amy, asked her questions or made her requests, and Amy was free to go. Promptly, quickly, and no time was lost. She supposed that a first meeting with the new Headmaster who happened to be her father's friend did merit a somewhat more languid meeting. In the end, it was understandable that he would want a more cordial relationship, so she obeyed and took a seat before the man's desk, crossing her legs in a graceful motion as she took her place. "My father flatters me greatly. I will do my best to be of help."

Few things happened in the student body that she was unaware of. That was not because she herself was a gossip, but she knew quite a few people who were. Alice and Blue, in particular, were very fond of knowing what went on in the castle. Parrish always left the stricter control of the Prefects to him, since he preferred to be the nice Head Boy. He also handled the scheduling, the written reports for the professors, while Amy herself made sure the students and Prefects and the discipline were handled correctly. She could work with Parrish, she had found, because she'd grown used to him. Otherwise she would've had her Slytherin Prefects doing practically everything. That would've been a particularly unfair monopoly of the Prefect authority, to be quite honest. Blue, Truly, Edmund, and Amelia were the ones she trusted most, after all, when it came to doing what they had to do.

"I know little of the Professors' private lives, my Lord. Other than the bare minimum learned through school gossip, that is. I don't know what would interest you from all of them, other then how likely it would be for them to make trouble. I believe our Headmistress rooted most of them out, though a few like Professor Fawley, Copeland, and Garnet might still intervene if they believe certain students are being treated... unfairly. Particularly if they belong to their houses." Not that it was a certainty, of course. She said they might not that they definitely would. Copeland was together with a Death Eater's daughter,  after all, though she had no idea how that worked. According to the rumour mill Garnet had closer ties to the regime than previously thought, and Fawley's family had a long history of not meddling so she might take after that side of her blood. Who knew? She knew it could happen, on occasion, but nothing was ever set in stone, not when human behaviour was concerned. "Most of the students pose no issue, however. In Slytherin there's only two I could name which might cause trouble; Virell and Silvers. One on the run from his Death Eater father and the other convinced that she's descendant from Slytherin. Imogen North might... get involved if Virell is, they've been dealing with her arranged marriage as only lovestruck teenagers can. The Ravenclaws are mostly too far up in the clouds to bother with anyone, the Hufflepuffs have a few mudbloods so they might become rowdy if those in particular are harmed but they're otherwise rather meek. Of the Gryffindors... a mudblood, Riley, is the main issue in that house. Even the children of the supposed heroes from the last war don't really get involved with any trouble. She's more of a prankster than an outright threat, however. She likes to be contrary. Is this what you're looking for? I'm afraid the students are uncomplicated and there isn't much to say."

The Head Boy would likely be called into his office before the month was through, but Thorfinne had assured him that if anyone was going to be of help it would be Amalthea. And as she spoke, he was inclined to agree with him. She was very... to the point. Though she had misunderstood slightly on the aspect concerning the Professor's, he made a careful note of the student names she singled out for him and compared them to his noted from Nicholas Young. A few matched up, and he made a note of that to look into later. Problem's couldn't be left unchecked, they needed to be taken care of if they were to progress. Virell... had to be Finn's lad, Kit. Silvers he didn't know- had never heard of, and for their to be imagined ties to their fallen Lord it was a point of interest. Riley, the mudblood mishap would be dealt with in due time when he could bring himself to do so without anything untoward happening. Didn't want to tarnish his vision so quickly. If need be, he'd pass it off to someone else. Not Copeland. He had a feeling he would let it slide.

"Actually, I was more interested in their abilities as Professor's, rather than their opinions and stance on today's politics. That is already being dealt with I assure you. No I mean, are any of them lacking in their jobs? Are there problems concerning any of them? Do any of them shirk their duties?" Nicholas had mentioned how little he had spoken to his Head of House and that simply wouldn't do. He was disappointed in Davina, really, considering it was the lad's OWL year and he should have had discussions on his career and class choices for the next year. Not to mention he was a Prefect. He saw more of the school counsellor for problems than he ever saw his Head of House but for things the latter should have been dealing with. It was really rather odd. Still, the fact that Amy had mentioned that those three staff members played favourites- while not unexpected- was also rather disappointing. Sure, everyone had favourites... but making it obvious enough for other's to pick up on was not only careless, it was unprofessional. Was he surprised by Copeland? Hardly, he had met the man earlier that day and already knew that he seemed like he cared a little too much in places. Garnet was just a problem, plain and simple, though unfortunately he would have to keep her unless Ares could convince Raymond to let him sack her without something happening to him.

"Kit Virell, Eris Silvers and Imogen North; all points of concern for you. Therefore, concerns for me also. Can I ask what exactly Mr Virell is doing that is so concerning? Miss Silver's as well?" He let North slide, he knew firsthand how teenagers and their romantic lives often clashed with life where it really shouldn't, and the drama that usually came out of such situations. For them, their entire world and person was being personally attacked so they would rise to the highest of their defenses sometimes over something as small as a seating plan. In this case, an arranged marriage preventing them from staying in their childhood affair. No doubt they believed their lives were ending, to be replaced by never-ending darkness if "fighting to the last breath" didn't work out for them. The gossip mill would be loving them. At least it would end soon; North would be graduating so her marriage would be this year. Tragic. "Things on that scope will fix themselves out, I'm sure. Teenage romances are entertaining like that." He commented distractedly, cross referencing a different sheet of parchment before looking up again.

"Pranks, within reason and on a small scale, can be allowed so long as they aren't overly disruptive. But you're not the first to bring... Miss.. Riley to my attention. I will have someone look into it this week." He definitely wasn't going near that one. No, he had other things to be getting on with that didn't involve the Mudblood's just yet. "So on a general whole, no glaring issues that I should concern myself with? Thank you."

Pushing away from his desk, he lifted his drink and strolled back over towards his balcony. "On a different note, I've been hearing about your engagement to Lance Carrow. A fitting arrangement, from what I've heard. I'm sure you'll work well together to whatever ends necessary." He sipped his drink and turned to look at her again. "I trust you're satisfied with the arrangement?"

Amy knew that the Headmaster was a friend of her father's. It didn't mean much to her, since she knew it wouldn't come with special allowances or anything of the sort. She had gotten the position of Head Girl this year, and the position of Prefect in her fifth year despite her name and her blood and everything that came with it under Durant's rule. Of course, Headmistress McGonagall had been rather more neutral on the matter when it came to students, so as long as Amy had perfect grades and didn't 'seem' to be prejudiced towards other students, she had been a perfect choice. One which her house respected, one which worked, and one which no students had complained about. Not really. Amalthea Rowle had gotten her position in a system that was meant to be hostile to her kind, and she had of course kept her position when the system changed. Aurora Wentzell hadn't been much different to McGonagall, really. Not in her treatment of students, at least. There had been more allowances for purists, of course, but not many. The woman was a halfblood herself, so there hadn't been much room for such behaviour. Amy had always made sure to seem neutral, despite her internal feelings. Here, now, she still maintained her air of supposed neutrality. Not a lot, because it was an effort she no longer had to put in, but she had only a few months left in which she would prefer the relative peace of letting the Prefects deal with their own miscreants and she herself only sign off on their patrol routines. A sudden change in demeanour towards the entire castle was more trouble than it was worth, at the moment. Shecould,however, further help the professor.

"Headmistress Wentzell did quite a job in changing the faculty members. We changed Transfiguration, History, and Alchemy Professors when she came into power. Professor Kirkpatrick is less loved by the students and he does have a very preferential treatment of his own house, that is to say us Slytherins, but there is no actual fault in his classes. Professor Garnet has a rather neutral veering towards light view on History of Magic, however she's still better than our previous professor. She is adequate, I suppose. Professor Gerbert is... well, I suppose he's fine, from what I've heard. I do not take Alchemy. Prefect Wentzell, however, does. He will know best how this current professor compares to the previous." This was a rare chance, really, because the Headmaster was trusting her to give a truthful account of the teachers' aptitudes. She could, of course, throw someone under the metaphorical bus. Then again, she very much doubted that the Headmaster wouldn't double check with others, so the truth couldn't be stretched too far. That was why all she had just said was accurate. What she hadn't said was... so far not the worst of things. "Professor Copeland, of course, is also very partial towards his students, but as a teacher he'd quite competent. Counsellor Edgecombe is, from what I've heard from the Ravenclaw Prefects, incompetent at best and somewhat malicious at worst. Professor Jameson is fine, and Dubois is fine as well. MacMillan is very good, McAllister... I haven't had the pleasure, my flying teacher in first year was different. From what I hear of my little brother she's... boring, but everything that doesn't include causing some level of harm is boring to Diodorus so it's best not to take his word for it. I assume he meant safe."

That was all she had to say on the teachers. It was true that most were fine, and she hadn't mentioned Lord Rosier for a reason. She was perfectly fine with him. Nothing he taught was out of this world, nothing she hadn't heard of before -with her mother, she had heard of a lot- so she personally had no quarrel with the man. There were whispers about him torturing another student, but most said it had been Silvers. While she couldn't condone him torturing a student, especially an underage one, she was hard pressed to care at all about the girl. The principle was one things, but putting it into practice was another.

"Quite so, Headmaster. I'm glad to be of service." Oh, her role as a pureblood lady was quite a fixed one. Especially when speaking to this man, but she couldn't say it was foreign to her. She knew how to behave, she knew her manners and her poise was natural. There was nothing to be criticised about her, not by their society's standards at least. "Lancelot is quite compatible with myself, yes, Headmaster. The engagement is adequate, and we're preparing to have the wedding in the summer. Before I begin my classes at Lufkin. We'd be honoured if you were to attend." What else could she say? It stood to reason that The Lord Flint would be invited. Daughter of The Lord Rowle? Wedding of the future The Lord Carrow? The personal touch was etiquette, because wether she was honoured or not he would still be invited. Not that she minded. In this case it would be an honour. The Headmaster was... pleasant.