End of the First Day Nightmares

[Uri Wise]

Elegantly sitting upon the overlarge cushy armchair positioned in front of the fire place Uri Wise took a deep breath and a heavy sip from her mug of muggle coffee. It had taken her a long time to get use to the overly bitter taste, but it had grown on her after she had experimented with different sweeteners and flavor enhancers.

None of the other teachers had yet made it to the Staff Room, most were probably still in their personal offices working on grading paper work, dealing with naughty children, or working on their lesson plans for tomorrow. But Uri liked to escape from her office, since the students had access to her there, and retreat to the one spot that was adults only friendly. Uri also liked the solace here, since most of her fellow teachers didn't come here, she got the whole room to herself.

With a flick of her wand Uri turned on the radio, and allowed the gentle music to fill the room. She turned the volume down so it was just barely audible and only background noise. Reaching over to the table were she'd put her notes down Uri started going over what had transpired in her class that day. She started making notes on a blank parchment about the direction she wished the class to take and what other spells she could start teaching the children. A small smile played across her lips as she settled in to the enjoyment of teaching and planning. Joseph had been right when he'd asked her to come to Hogwarts. It was indeed her calling. Damn the man for being right. A soft chuckle escaped her before she turned her full attention to the work at hand.

[Conny Christianson]

As Conny closed the door behind her with a click, she slouched in relief. She loved the kids and the work, but this had been her first time teaching. She wasn't used to the pace after the slow business that had come to her gardening store. She ran a hand through her dark hair as she glanced around at the staff room. 'Cozy,' she though with a rueful smile. As a student, she had always wondered what the Staff Room looked like.
While it hadn't been as a young Conny imagined, she let out a sigh of relief. Back then, she thought teachers had had it easy, with the staff room full of hobbies. Instead, it was comfy and relaxing. The music playing in the background wasn't her favorite kind, but it was more than welcome after a long day with noisy students in the greenhouse.
Conny noticed that besides the plush-looking chairs and a single other teacher, there was a pot of coffee brewing. The sight was a welcome reminder of her old life, and she let herself go on autopilot.
A she slumped down next to the Charms professor in silence, she relaxed into the very comfy chair and took a long drink. With a satisfied sigh, Conny sat in momentary silence. With another rueful smile, she cast her gaze at her fellow teacher.
"If I had known how exhausting it was to teach when I was here, I wouldn't have tried to cause my Professors so much grief."
She took another refreshing drink as she waited for an answer.

[Uri Wise]

Glancing up from the notes she was writing Uri looked over at the door as the young teacher Conny Christianson came into the staff room. Taking note of how young she was Uri simply nodded her head in greeting. Uri remembered when she was that young and starting out teaching. How naive she had been. But she knew better now. Though her first class didn't go as smoothly as she had hoped, it hadn't been all bad. The children had some fun before things got out of control, but that was always expected from children.

"If I had known how exhausting it was to teach when I was here, I wouldn't have tried to cause my Professors so much grief."

"Hind sight is 20/20 dear," Uri replied, "Nothing to do about it now except choose the path you will take as a teacher." Uri's eye's never left her notes and her hand never stopped scratching out the plans for her next class. "How did your first day go?"

[Conny Christianson]

Conny took another sip of her coffee, before laying it down, away from Uri's papers. "Well, it went fairly well, even though I had a lack of older students. Several of the ones who signed up didn't show up, however, but it let me have an easier class size to work with. Miss Dawson broke an empty pot while coming in, but that wasn't much trouble. Miss Rhay ended up running into the project though. That was a bit of a mess. Six suddenly unpotted Devil's Snare are tricky to keep control of." She rubbed her temples after remembering that bit of headache.
"All things considered, I think everything went all right, even with a bit of drama between the Lawson twins. Is every class like this?" She turned her gaze to her fellow professor. Watching Uri work reminded Conny that she still had to plan out her next lesson. But for now, it was time to relax a bit, and her coffee was calling to her.

[Uri Wise]

Listening as Conny explained all the bad that happened in her class, then ask the ultimate question, Is every class like this? with a sigh Uri thought about her own disastrous first class. Everything had been going smoothly...till that Hufflepuff...

Rubbing a hand over eyes Uri sighed heavily. "Yes Conny. Every class will be at least that bad if not worse. I thought I was actually going to have an excellent class this morning. but leave it to a Hufflepuff to ruin it all. Usually that sentence contains the House of Gryffindor and if it's really bad Slytherin...but no!! I'm hounded by a fool of a Hufflepuff. A simple lesson, studying charms moving, lifting, changing color, small cuts to repairing. One first year over does a simple pushing charm and the Hufflepuff is screaming pillow fight."

With another heavy sigh Uri turned her attention back to her lesson plans. She was writing up two. One for the start of class, something fun, and one for when everything went wrong and she had to make them do book work. The positive was that at least Uri was trying this year, working towards making charms more enjoyable and less about paperwork, studying, and memorizing. Hopefully the second class will turn out a smidgen better.

[Conny Christianson]

Conny shook her head slowly. As a former Hufflepuff herself, she felt slightly embarrassed that one of her old house had started trouble. "Good to know. Guess I'll have to show them that the first day was an exception, instead of the rule. I probably shouldn't have started out with Devil's Snare. I think Professor Harris' stores were getting low, though."
Her tone was wry as she took another sip of her cooling coffee. As she did so, Conny took a glance at Uri's twin lesson plans. She blinked in surprise, before smiling.
"Well, that's interesting. I never thought of doing two lesson plans. Has it worked for you before? So, have any tips? I don't want to seem harsh with them, but I don't want my class to gain a reputation for injuries. From what I hear, you've got a knack for getting students back under control."

[Stefanna Jermyn]

After attending choir rehearsal in the afternoon, Stefanna quietly opened the door to the staff room. As a student she never recalled where the room was or what happened within it. Now as she entered the room, she took notice of its vast openness and its cozy atmosphere. Near the fireplace were leather seats and sofas, where Conny and Uri were sitting. Heading into the staff kitchen, Stefanna poured herself a cup of tea, and whiffed the scent of the tea's aroma. Sighing, Stefanna then sat down on one of the seats near the fireplace.

Feeling the warmth of the fire, Stefanna took a sip of her tea and opened her bag to begin her marking for the day. As she took out the assignments she had assigned, she quietly listened to the conversation Conny and Uri were having. Being polite, Stefanna began to quietly mark her papers instead of joining in the conversation or interrupting. After all, it was the pure blood way, to wait until you are invited into the conversation before talking. Recalling the pureblood way her parents had taught her, she remembered her childhood.

Shaking off the thoughts, Stefanna focused on her papers. She also made a mental note to herself to contact Silas. After all, he too was a Hogwarts spy for the Seven. I want to know what Silas's assignment was here...perhaps if I am to join the conversation I can ask a few questions about him. Though I should blend in first, and talk about the first day here...before it gets too suspicious.