Breakfast [Closed]

[Ethan Forrester]

After his daily, early-morning sprint through the Forbidden Forest in his animagus form, and a refreshing shower in his quarters, Ethan made his way down to the Great Hall. After saying good-morning to a few students, he took his customary seat at the head table and began filling his plate. He always looked forward to the food prepared by the house-elves, a luxury he didn't have before he'd become a teacher.

His entrance was always timed so he'd be present when the owls delivered the morning post. As much as he despised the Daily Prophet for its peculiar obsessions, its penchant for reporting rumors as facts, and its customary drivel, there wasn't any other daily publication with which he could keep up with the wizarding world. At least he'd be aware of the general happenings, if not the relevant and correct details. When it arrived, he gave the owl a piece of bacon before sending it on its way, then unfolded the paper and began to read while he ate. Some might think it rude, but there was efficiency in multi-tasking.

[Cassandra Lockwood]

Cassandra was already seated at the teacher’s table in the Great Hall when Ethan took a place just a few chairs down from her. She had finished her breakfast along with some idle conversation with a few of the other teachers a while ago. They had already left and she was finishing writing a letter to her parents to assure them of her safe arrival at the school and to let them know how her first few days were coming along. She had put off writing to them as she wasn’t sure if she should let them know about the dead bird and the threatening note she had received only hours after her arrival. In the end, she had decided not to let them in on that detail. There was nothing they could do, and she didn’t want to worry them unnecessarily.

Finishing the letter, which contained only fluffy details like how she had gotten settled into her classroom and quarters, and how delighted she was with the number of students interested in Divination, she rolled the parchment up and sealed it. She still did not have an owl of her own as her son had taken the family owl when he’d left and estranged himself from her. Even though the owl was rightfully hers as the new head-of-household after her husband’s presumed death, she hadn’t pushed the Ministry to find Ewing and return him to her. Being an owl that responded better to men, he had preferred her son anyway.

Not particularly wanting to go all the way out to the Owlery, Cassandra looked down the table to see if any school owls were straggling behind after the morning delivery a few minutes ago. To her luck, there was one just on the other side of the dark haired man who had sat down a while ago and was now unfurling the paper before him. She recognized the man as one of the other professors, but they had yet to officially meet.

Standing up with her letter in hand, Cassandra made her way down the table and was going to reach for the owl but noticed he was busy drinking water from an abandoned goblet. Letting him finish, she instead looked down at the open paper which she could see easily from her position over the man’s shoulder. “Anything interesting in the news today?” she asked, more conversationally than out of genuine interest. When the man turned to see who had spoken, she smiled and moved so she was next to his chair rather than looming behind him. “Hi," she said.

[Ethan Forrester]

Hearing Cassandra's voice behind him, Ethan glanced up and saw his colleague looking over his shoulder. "Ah," he intoned. He then scooted his chair back enough for him to stand and turn to face her and extend his hand in greeting. Perhaps an unnecessary show of respect, but it was one of the few things that his father had had the chance to impress upon him. "A pleasure. I'm Ethan Forrester--I teach defense," he introduced himself. "I'm also the current head of Ravenclaw," he added as that information would be useful if she ever had a concern regarding one of the students in his house.

Recalling the question she'd just asked, he glanced back down to the newspaper beside his plate and gestured vaguely to it. "None of the headlines has caught my attention; I suspect it's a slow news day with the usual sort of nonsense. You're welcome to my copy if you'd like."

"I confess I never took divination myself--I was so focused on becoming an auror at the time that I only took the bare minimum of electives so I could focus on my own aggressive training regimen. While I consider my efforts to have been successful, I know there's a lot of experiences and interesting material that I missed out on."

"May I ask how you're settling in? I recall getting lost several times during my first couple weeks on staff, but eventually the castle's layout and quirks came back to me, and now I consider it my primary home." He glanced toward the four long house tables and the scattered students enjoying their breakfasts and conversations. "I consider myself fortunate to be where I am today--I've found teaching to be profoundly satisfying. I hope we can help shape this generation so they have an easier life than what we went through."

[Cassandra Lockwood]

“Ah, head of Ravenclaw!” she noted with a beaming smile as they shook hands. “That was my house when I attended back in the day. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ethan Forrester.” She waved her hand in polite decline when he offered her the paper. Thinking back to the threatening letter she had received and how it contained a newspaper clipping of her from the Prophet, she said, “Oh, no thank you. I think I have enough on my mind for now.”

Seeing that the owl was now finished with its drink of water and preparing to take flight, she quickly grabbed it and then secured her letter to its leg. Noting its rather perturbed look at being tasked with another delivery before having a chance to rest, she said softly to it, “you don’t need to deliver it right away. Go ahead and rest in the owlery first.” She then put her arm up and let it take flight to the large windows above, listening to Ethan describe his experience with Divination as she did so. What caught her attention, though, was what he said about training to be an Auror.

“Oh yes, I know exactly what you mean,” she said as she fluidly took up a seat next to him to continue the conversation. She still had plenty of time before her first class. “My late husband was an Auror. A very hard career to get into.”

Now that she was giving Ethan her full attention, she noticed a certain wolfish look to him while he talked… something in his eyes; the set of his gaze. However, it was an interesting observation that was neither here nor there. She nodded after he asked how she was settling in. “It’s actually been going very well,” she said. “I haven’t gone exploring, so that’s probably why I haven’t had the opportunity to get lost. Although the moving staircase did fool me on the first day. I had forgotten its little tricks.” She laughed a little then quieted when Ethan turned the conversation toward the subject of living and teaching at Hogwarts. Indeed, it was a unique job - requiring one to leave behind their home life and commit to an entire school year away. The way Ethan professed this to be his primary home suggested to Cassandra that maybe he wasn’t so sad to leave his old life behind. She could relate to that, and she suspected many of the other teachers felt the same. Voldemort’s regime had literally left families torn apart. Hers had been, at least.

“I’m so glad you’ve found satisfaction with teaching,” she replied earnestly then nodded solemnly when he professed his desire for the younger generation to face less hardship. Her thoughts turned momentarily to her estranged son, whom she had not heard from for months now. He was supposed to have started Hogwarts this term, but he was not here just as Cassandra had suspected would happen. In reply to Ethan, all she could find to say was, “I certainly hope so too.”

[Ethan Forrester]

Ethan couldn't help but smile a bit when Cassandra revealed she'd also been a Ravenclaw. He always thought it was the most respectable of the four houses, on account of its members being more serious and academically-minded, but it wasn't something he could admit openly. As a professor, he had to maintain the impression of impartiality, after all.

As she dispatched her letter, he watched her for a moment, taking in her appearance before reclaiming his seat.

He furrowed his brow as he thought back to his Auror days. "I don't think I recall an Auror named Lockwood...though I suppose it might've been before I signed on, or after I left, or he could also have been a covert operative and not on the roster," he said, not realizing Cassandra was now using her maiden name. "I'm sorry for your loss." He wasn't sure if he'd died in the line of duty or not, but he didn't want to pry as that might stir up unpleasant memories. The light had lost too many brave men and women over the past few decades, though things didn't seem to be as bleak now with Voldemort out of the picture.

"A couple of the staircases have trick steps that can trip you," he thought to warn. "Also, if one starts to move on you, you can always use the immobulus charm to temporarily freeze it in place," he suggested. "I haven't yet figured out how to coerce them to shift where I want them, though. Whatever joker charmed them to move in the first place has probably been laughing at us all for centuries--it might've been one of the founders, for all I know. Maybe their sense of humor was different in medieval times."

"I expect that if you're passionate about your field of expertise, and you enjoy working with the youth, then you'll find it fulfilling as well to teach here." He gave a contented sigh as he again surveyed the scattered students in front of them. "Being here makes me feel young again. The castle's many secrets give it a certain charm and sense of mystery that keeps things interesting."

[Cassandra Lockwood]

“Oh, of course,” she responded when Ethan indicated he’d never heard of an Auror before with her last name. “I didn’t mention that I changed back to my maiden name after he was pronounced dead. His name was Corky Lansing.” It was still possible Ethan had never heard of her late husband, and it was true that the Ministry had taken on many more Aurors after Voldemort’s reign which would make them less likely to know every one of their colleagues. Nevertheless, she nodded demurely at his condolences and issued a small, “thank you.”

As she listened to his advice on the charmed staircases, she started nodding enthusiastically as the memories began to come back to her. “Yes, yes! I remember now. Back when I attended, I memorized the times when they would shift and would avoid them at those times.” She gave a little laugh. “Couldn’t ever risk being late to class, you know.” She was alluding to her perfectionist nature - typical of many Ravenclaws. Her thoughts turned to the founding of Hogwarts as he mentioned it. “Now that you mention it, it is rather peculiar that no one has seemed to be able to undo that charm. It does beg the question of whether the magic was simply stronger than what we are accustomed to now, or if no one has put forth any real effort to undo the charms.” There were many who believed that old magic was more powerful than newer magic, an observation touted mostly by purebloods making the argument that having children with muggles was making magic weaker. Not getting into the controversial aspect of stronger vs weaker magic, Cassandra went on, “I mean, part of what makes Hogwarts so lovable is the personality of the castle.”

“Yes, I’m so happy to be back here,” she agreed as Ethan turned the conversation back to their roles as teachers. “I’ve always loved children, and I hope I can teach Divination in a way that is enjoyable to them. Although having a child myself, I know better than to expect them all to be agreeable right away - if at all. But if I could get even a few of them really interested in the subject, that would be enough satisfaction for me.” Her dark blue eyes twinkled for a moment at the happy thought but then turned dark and a little frown crossed her lips as she thought again to the threatening parcel she’d received upon arrival to Hogwarts. As she surveyed the younger man before her, the realization that he was both an experienced DADA teacher and an ex-auror began to sink in. The conversation had hit a natural lull anyway and she hesitated a moment before saying, “Say, can I ask you something?” She closed some of the distance between them as she moved forward in her chair a little, suggesting she was about to move the conversation to a more private matter.

[Ethan Forrester]

"Lansing...", Ethan repeated softly as he tried to recall the name, but drawing a blank, he shook his head. "Sorry, that's not ringing any bells either."

...

"Oh, is there some pattern to their movement that I've failed to notice? Somehow I imagined it was randomized. I suppose I'll have to pay more attention now."

...

"It's not a pleasant thought, to think wizards of our era are weaker than those of the founders' era, but I must concede that it's plausible," Ethan admitted. "But I suspect the movement is actually governed by a rune-stone somewhere beneath the Great Tower, and powered by the confluence of ley-lines--that would explain why all casual efforts to stop them have been unsuccessful. The headmaster might even know of a passage to get down there and investigate, if only to satisfy our curiosity. Stopping them permanently would actually be slightly problematic, because some disconnected landings would be completely cut off from the rest--we'd have to do some renovation to remedy that. I have to agree though, there's a certain quirkiness whose absence would be missed." Sometimes he morbidly wondered how many students had fallen to their deaths over the years because the moving staircases weren't a paragon of safety, but it wasn't something he felt appropriate to bring to this conversation.

...

Ethan arched an eyebrow as Cassandra narrowed the gap between them, not having expected a need for privacy with someone he'd only just met. Both curious and concerned now, he indulged her by leaning in himself. "Of course, anything--is there a problem?", he replied. He trusted that she'd cast a privacy charm if she felt that extra step was necessary.

[Cassandra Lockwood]

She put her hands up in feign surrender and laughed when he seemed puzzled by her comment about the staircases. “Well, it’s been a long time. I’m probably mis-remembering and we just got lucky most of the time back then.” Being newly back to the castle, she of course trusted Ethan’s knowledge of the castle far more than her own.

She listened in fascination as he described his theory of what governed the staircases’ movement. She had never really considered what kind of magic would be behind it - one just got used to living in a world where magical things happened regularly. “Ah yes, more stairs would have to be erected, or certain landings permanently blocked off, if they no longer moved.”

Although her late husband had used silencing charms for practically every conversation he had, Cassandra rarely used them. She had had nothing to keep secret. Corky was completely devoted to his job and never divulged Ministry secrets to her, and she certainly couldn’t eavesdrop on his conversations (although she had no desire to) with all those silencing spells. While she didn’t want to advertise the fact that she’d been threatened, it wasn’t a danger to her if others found out. Besides, silencing charms had a way of attracting their own attention as it could lead others to wonder what was being discussed that needed to remain private.

“Oh no, it’s nothing like that,” she assured him. “Not really, anyway. It’s just that I received a rather disturbing package on my first day and I’m trying to get any clue I can as to who or where it came from. I’m nearly positive it was meant for me, but there’s also a possibility it could have been meant for the Headmaster. Nothing serious,” she quickly added. “The usual anti-Divination stuff. Either way, I’ve tried some simple tracing spells but haven’t made any progress yet. I was wondering if you might have some ways to trace it?” As much as she would love to get rid of the dead bird and threatening note, she had held onto everything and magically preserved the bird’s body while she did her investigating.

[Ethan Forrester]

"A disturbing package?", Ethan repeated. He crossed his arms, intrigued by the mystery. "Is there anything else about the package that's peculiar? Perhaps there's something unassuming about it that might be traceable or provide a clue, such as a high-quality ink. Even a strand of hair could be useful, if you have access to Polyjuice or know someone who can brew it."

"Otherwise, assuming it was delivered by an owl...while it's difficult to track an owl directly, as the usual charms for bonding a bird to a wizard provide a certain degree of privacy, indirect methods are still possible, but you probably don't want to tip off the sender that you're investigating, and if they were worried about being tracked, they might've used a post office owl, or instructed the owl to not return in the event they were sent back with something like a letter or charmed object attached." He glanced downward and thought about the problem for a moment. "Do you still have the owl in your care? If so, then I'd suggest this approach: acquire a mouse, extract some of the mouse's blood into a vial, feed the mouse to the owl, and then release the owl. It should soon return to its owner, who may or may not be the sender. But then you can scry on the mouse's location, or perform a blood-tracking charm using its blood, which should give some useful results, at least until it's completely digested." He looked back up at Cassandra again. "Even if it's a post office owl, that could at least tell you what town they operated from."

[Cassandra Lockwood]

Cassandra listened carefully as Ethan listed off the things that came first to his mind - checking the quality of the ink, looking for hair, etc. Although she had looked all of the items over, she hadn’t looked that closely. Perhaps she should inspect the items again; maybe with a magnifying glass this time.

She found herself listening in slightly perturbed fascination as Ethan explained how she could use a mouse’s blood along with her scrying abilities to track the owl. She opened her mouth to ask how one would go about extracting blood from a mouse, but stopped herself figuring it was a moot point since she didn’t have the owl in her possession anymore.

“Unfortunately I don’t have the owl anymore. This happened a few weeks ago, so it has long since gone back to wherever it came from. It did look like a regular post office owl, though, now that you mention it.” She thought back to the generic, slightly disheveled appearance of the owl. “It would make sense for someone to use a post office owl if delivering a threat. I wish I could trace its origin but I don’t see how that’s possible now.” She paused and thought for a moment, wondering if there was some way she could summon the owl again, but nothing seemed like an even remotely viable option. She sighed and said, “well, I do appreciate the help. I’ll look everything over again really carefully and see if I can find anything else.”

[Ethan Forrester]

"Ah, that's unfortunate, though if you'd kept the owl for too long, it might've tipped off the sender that you were investigating," Ethan replied.

"The parchment is another thing to consider, if it happens to be of a higher quality, though I admit it wouldn't give any more insight than the ink," he thought to add. "If I were some random wealthy bloke planning to send a threatening message, I'd probably use whatever was convenient to me, and not go out of my way to find ordinary supplies to do it."

"Sorry I couldn't be of more help, but if you think of any questions, or you find something noteworthy later, please don't hesitate to call on me. Teaching can be stressful enough at times without receiving random threats, and I'm happy to help if I can."

[Cassandra Lockwood]

“I’ll have to take another look at the ink,” she replied after Ethan reminded her that the quality could lead to some clues. It wouldn’t be enough to reveal the sender, but any information was better than none and, as Ethan had pointed out, it could clue her into the social status of said sender.

She shook her head in protest when Ethan apologized for not being able to be of more help. “No apologies necessary,” she said, smiling at him. “I appreciate you hearing me out and letting me pick your brain. You’ve certainly given me some things to think about.”

She stood and pushed the heavy wood chair back to its normal position. “Well, I had better be going now. Thank you again, and I hope you have a nice day. See you around.” She waved and set off for the doors of the Great Hall.