Who's In Charge

Whilst there was some merit to the fact that Zada Forbes did have a considerable amount of power over the goings on in the Wizarding World (the Ministry did, afterall, have some hooks into its workings) the tables had an almost imperceptible shift in them upon entering the grounds of Hogwarts. Her clothing marked her as an outsider, and whilst it was true that there was a certain lever of respect that was needed to keep her happy, it was nowhere near as high as it was at the Ministry where she had her master backing up every word she said

Jess snorted and tried for a few moments to conceal a smile, finally managing to stamp it out of his system and turn an appraising eye towards Zada, coughing loudly to show his obvious discontent at being there, as well as his impatience.

"Yes, well, I think I speak for most of us here when I ask Why exactly aren't you disturbing anything? Why are we here?" He asked, starting pointedly at Zada for a few seconds before rolling his eyes and breaking the gaze.

"Some of us do, after all, have other things to do such as... oh I don't know, prepare for court hearings," he spat out, a thick layer of vindictivness in his voice.

Amelia nodded in response to Zada’s greeting, which, although using all the formally correct words, still sounded intimidating to the youngest member of the Hogwarts staff. Perhaps it was that Amelia was still not completely comfortable with her newly appointed role, or that she simply wasn’t used to being the lowest ranked person in the room. When she had been a student, she had stood out intellectually and had been physically older than many of students; in the present company, however, she was neither of those things, and she thought it best if she kept herself as quiet as possible for the time being.

Hearing a noise behind her, Amelia turned to see Jess Potter entering the room, and she mimicked the same nod of reverence she had already given to Zada and Felix. Although powerful in his own right – Amelia knew Jess was associated with the Order of the Phoenix, the leader of it if she had heard correctly – Jess never seemed to Amelia to be quite as intimidating as Zada or Barker. Perhaps it was that she had never seen him be openly hostile to her or another student. When Jess approached her, however, and moved to pull out the chair she had been holding, Amelia struggled against him for a moment in the hopes that he would allow her to keep her grips on the wooden furnishing.

No such luck…. Amelia thought as Jess yanked the chair from her grip, pulling it back and gesturing for her to take a seat. After a moment of hesitation in which Amelia looked between Jess and Zada, Amelia conceded that sitting was what was expected of her in the moment, and so she took her chair as gracefully as possible. A moment later, while Jess was taking his own seat next to her, Amelia felt a motion of air as Professor Wilson sat down on her other side, effectively locking her into place.

There’s no getting out now… Amelia’s subconscious reminded her, as though this wasn’t perfectly obvious. The former-Ravenclaw girl always felt tense in situations in which she was physically blocked in, leaving her little option of the ‘flight’ response, should she need to take it. Although she felt like allowing the panic in her gut to rise to the surface, Amelia swallowed hard and focused on maintaining a placid facial expression.

This focus was broken approximately 30 seconds later, however, because now that she was sitting, James and Zada both seemed to think it pertinent that they engage her in direct conversation. Bugger… Amelia thought, as this was a direct contradiction to the ‘sit quietly and say little’ plan that she had come into the meeting with. In a small stroke of luck, both these professors had asked Amelia a variation on the same question, so she only had to struggle to find one set of sentences that would present her as both coherent and mildly capable.

“Well, um…” Amelia began, taking a pause to collect herself before going on, lest she continue to stutter and waste everyone’s time an patience, “It has certainly been an adjustment, going from a student to a professor in only four short months, but I believe I am managing. I have been fortunate enough to be overseen in my lessons by both Professor Doyle and Mr. Grindelwald, both of whom have been… motivating forces in my attempt at adaptation.”

Ha, yeah… motivating forces, Amelia’s subconscious balked, laughing at her choice of words, They’re motivating, alright. Motivating in that if you look like an idiot in front of them, you will lose your life. Or worse, your reputation. No big deal.

Again with the obvious? Amelia’s consciousness snapped back as she tried to hold it together, noticing that as soon as she had mentioned Headmaster Doyle, the man himself entered the room. Usually, Amelia didn’t approve of his loud, lack-of-tact way of addressing just about everyone he interacted with, but in this case, it took the room’s attention off of her and onto him. He was quick to remind Zada that he was the one who held the official title in the room, which from where Amelia was sitting, might not have been the best opening move in this game of strategy, but she wasn’t about to say anything about that. Nor was she going to intervene when Jess probed Zada for her reasoning behind calling the meeting. Amelia had already spoken more than she wanted to, and if she could get through the remainder of this high-pressure situation in silence, she would consider it a most precious gift.

Felix watched with a fair amount of disinterest as the room avoided him. He was used to it, and there were more important things to observe here then what to say next in the proper order. No.. he was watching their faces, watching their reactions. The younger girl, she was nervous, Jess was annoyed, Doyle was... Doyle.. Michael was an ass, as usual. Felix stood watching calmly by the fire, until everyone had found a seat. Finding an empty one, he walked over to it, pulled it out and sat down calmly, as though he didn't mind the fact that they were avoiding him completely, afraid to either look at him, or prompt him to speak.

"So... let's get going with this thing.. why are we here Zada?" He asked his eyes glued on the woman who thought it her life goal to make him look bad, or better yet, her life goal to pretend she was better then him. Which of course was untrue, she just had more power because Grindelwald didn't want to deal with her and she used that as permission to say what she wanted and pretend she had his backing. It was obvious that her attempts at looking tougher then she was were stupid, let alone useless, as the wizarding world didn't even know her name, but as it was, he was bored, and actually had work to do in order to keep his position at Hogwarts.

Much had changed at the school that was beloved to him the most during his youth, though he could not deny that the change was well suited to the political climate. It almost seemed ironic that he chose to return to the castle he’d departed from so abruptly in his seventh year, the castle he’d escaped for fear of being apprehended by the Ministry. The irony did not end there though because the weekend prior to him taking his rooms in the school, he had been put up in the Three Broomsticks, in the very room he’d spent the majority of his seventh year in with a woman whose life had been cut short so very abruptly.

For a man with youth on his side, he had seen much of the ugliness the world could produce - and he had been the instigator of much of it. He brought the ugliness to a climax, using the jet of green light he had been so accustomed to seeing as time wore for him. Four years in Azkaban should have been enough to drive him mad. It was a shame, really, that he emerged with more bloodlust than ever. It made all that the Ministry had tried to do seem in vain. They were mistaken to have thought that anything they did for to him in Azkaban had done him any good. In fact, it had strengthened his resolve.

It was over a mortar and pestle grinding up Basilisk scale fragments that Alistair first met Zada. In the weeks after his return to the real world - or some grim misinterpretation of it - Alistair had felt rather lost. The problem of being a fugitive was that once people knew your name, it was only a matter of hours before the Aurors were knocking on the door and Alistair had been present when that had happened far too many times before. A few newspapers in the waiting room of the Knockturn Alley Healer’s practice he’d gone to in order to have his physical health determined had brought him up to date with the Wizarding World.

The idea that Gellart Grindelwald was still alive baffled Alistair to no end yet he couldn’t help but smirk at the way the man had wheedled his way back into society and, more importantly, made himself the one person the Wizarding World truly revolved around - the Minister for Magic. It seemed quite apt that his second campaign for power was shed in such a different light to his first. Perhaps attaining power by legitimate means was more effective than first thought; and that was what made Zada’s offer so much more appealing than it would have been had he not been at the practice earlier in the day.

The decision to join the witch at Hogwarts was one he would have made even if he had not known about Grindelwald and in particular, her standing with the wizard. That merely sweetened the deal. Emmaline was never far from Alistair’s thoughts but he could remember how to appreciate a woman and it certainly wasn’t difficult for him to appreciate the wealth which was Ms. Zada Forbes. She presented to him something much greater than just a job and a roof over his head. She presented a chance for something else, something that would gain him favour in other areas - namely, the favour of her master. Still, Alistair couldn’t help but bask in the additional offerings her generosity gave him. The wealth was materialistic, monetary and physical. Though he had not been found of blondes after the last one he had bedded, Zada had managed to reignite his love affair with the fair haired women of the world.

Imposing though she was, and certainly fiery, she certainly lived up to what her appearance offered. She had provided him with much more than the position he now coveted. She sated him and certainly, that same kindness (or perhaps pity) was extended on his part to her. The arrangement suited the pair of them, for now at least.

His appearance had changed somewhat from the emaciated, bedraggled man that had staggered down the slick rock that was the untitled island in the middle of the North Sea. He’d bulked out once more, a combination of sport and large meals returning his physique to what it was prior to Azkaban. He’d also used the majority of what he’d taken from his father to buy an array of new clothes - everything from robes to suits - and it was one of the suits that he now donned for the staff meeting Zada had called.

It was a black tie affair, Alistair had decided, yet he forwent the tie all together, leaving it on the back of the arm chair that was sat in front of the fireplace in his sitting room. Alistair settled on a crisp white shirt that the House Elves had laundered and a pair of black trousers with some dark shoes that had been shined, according to the elf, from dawn until lunchtime in preparation for the meeting. Alistair was appreciative but that did not stop him from snatching the clothing away and dismissing the Elves without so much as a ‘thank you’ for their efforts.

And now it was time to prove his worth, somewhat. His presence had been somewhat invisible at Hogwarts up until this point and now he supposed it was time for the staff to meet their Chief of Security. More than anything, it was imperative they knew where they stood and that certainly wasn’t in Grindlewald’s favour - for they were after all, mostly, of ‘Light’ leanings. It seemed strange that they had managed to retain their jobs but Alistair wasn’t about to question the Minister’s choice on the matter as he had after all, kept the bumbling fool of a Headmaster Alistair had read so much about in the weeks before arriving at Hogwarts. Clearly, the Minister knew what he was doing. Or at least, Alistair hoped he did.

In the past, Alistair had found that making his presence known took very little effort. To many he was an enigma, one that said very little and did very little but still seemed to have an effect on people. Once he’d become aware of the opinions people had of him, he’d utilised it. What Alistair found interesting, and even amusing, was that he was an unknown power of sorts within the school. The weeks since he’d arrived had been spent attaching himself to the ancient wards that surrounded the castle. He’d spent countless hours replacing outdated ones with something stronger and reading up on runic magic so as to understand the ancient spells the wards seemed to possess. He had yet to find the switch, the weakness in the wards that, if the proper application of magic was applied, would bring them all down. He was close though, he could taste it, and that was what was somewhat irritating about the meeting - it took his attention away from the wards. Still, it would not take long he was sure.

The door opened with a flick of his wand and he pocketed it before stepping over the threshold, paying close attention to each step he took and the way he could be perceived. The door swung shut behind him and he walked, head held high, across the room, his posture displaying that he was ever so relaxed with his surroundings. He was far from unnerved. In fact he was the epitome of calm at that point and as he neared Zada, he couldn’t help but allow a smirk to play at his lips. He breezed behind Doyle, paying little attention to the man who was supposed to hold the most amount of power within the school, and tapped his fingers across the back of Zada’s chair when he came to it. He draped his arm across the top and leaned down, tucking his face into her neck where he nipped at the skin, teasing it with his teeth before placing a number of kisses there.

“Are they always this articulate?” Alistair chuckled in her ear before lifting his head from her neck. Alistair slowly rose up from where he’d leaned over her and allowed a half smirk to take his lips upwards before spreading his gaze across the room, taking in the faces of the people there. Jess Potter. Amelia Lyons. James Wilson. Edgar Doyle. Felix Barker. Well, weren’t they a sprightly bunch? Oh, and let’s not forget the Practical Magic teacher who was lurking somewhere in the room, though Alistair cared not to find where. Truly, the most entertaining one in the room had to be the strawberry blonde who seemed to be overcome with...was that fear? Regardless of her age, she should have known better. She picked the worst place in the world to be struck with such an emotion. It was tragic really, considering they were all looking for blood.

Zada was pleased to see Alistair finally arrive. It was his arrival she had been awaiting. She gave just the very slightest smile of satisfaction as he entered and greeted her affectionately. "Apparently so, Darling," she said, her gaze fixed on the bunch in front of her. "If you still truly had any effective power here, Mr. Doyle," Zada said, deliberately not using the Headmaster title with him, "You would have called this meeting and not me. However, since this school is under the rule of Gellert Grindlewald, you now work for Gellert Grindlewald, and thus, you work for me. As do the rest of you.

"Therefore," she kept her voice as smooth as silk but she knew they would not have reached their positions if they were not wise enough to see the deadly serious intent behind the silk and grace, " I'd like you to meet Hogwart's newest employee. This is Alistair D'Eath. Some of you are clearly old enough to remember his student years here. He is the school's new Chief Security Officer. He answers only to me and to Gellert Grindlewald. He was hired by Minister Grindlewald and only he can dismiss Alistair. Mr. D'Eath will be ultimately in charge of all...well, shall we say, safety and security matters...in regards to students, the staff and of course the castle and the grounds. Mr. Barker has been doing a fine job but he can hardly be expected to be everywhere at once. Therefore, Mr. Barker, feel free to carry on as you have been unless you hear otherwise from me.

"The rest of you, Mr. D'Eath will be 'assisting' you in some of our more recent compliance issues with students and other staff. if you have some issue with him, you should feel free to take it up with him or with me.

"Oh, and by the way, the south tower has been refurbished. You will find Mr. D'Eath's office and my own on the fourth floor of the tower. We both have quarters on the fifth floor. The sixth and seventh floor are exclusively reserved for Minister Grindlewald's use, at his pleasure, and therefore is completely off limits to everyone. You should be aware that the protection enchantments for fifth floor and above are quite nondiscriminating and deadly indeed. Take care that you and your kiddies do not find yourself in such danger. I would hate to...lose...any of you, Mr. D'Eath is able and empowered with dealing with anyone on these grounds as he sees fit." Grindlewald had given Alistair a free reign to choose to either leave someone alive, jail them in Azkaban, hand them over to Barker to torture, or simply kill them, or whatever else he deemed fit as a consequence for defiance to Grindlewald's decisions. It did free Zada up to be other places at will to handle other matters related to helping Grindlewald gain more power over the wizarding world.

"You will find that the rules and policies here have changed a bit and will continue to change at the decision of Minister Grindlewald. I expect that you will be able to conduct yourselves accordingly if you mean to keep your posts? If not, say so now. This may well be your first and only warning that carries such precious little consequence. You will find Mr. D'Eath here has far less patience than I do."

Zada was taking her own sweet time in getting this meeting started, which was having varied effects on the staff members. Doyle was getting snarkier, Jess and Felix impatient, and Amelia was getting more nervous. The longer she had to sit under the watchful eye of the rest of the staff, feeling significantly inferior to every person in the room, the more she felt her stomach twist itself tighter and tighter into knots. She was focusing now on her breathing, and on keeping her shoulders back instead of curling them inward in a defensive posture that would have made her mother shudder. Although every crisis-averting bone in Amelia’s body was willing her to get out of the room as soon as possible, Amelia knew she needed to pull herself together and stay put.

Mind over matter, mind over matter, mind over matter… Amelia reminded herself, succeeding at least in restraining herself from fidgeting or showing any outward sign of her desire to get out of the room.

The door to the room opened again, and the staff turned as a group to watch a tall, dark-haired man enter the room. There was something about his visage that reminded Amelia of someone she knew, but with her mind so focused on maintaining calm, Amelia didn’t have the mental faculties to worry about that mental inclination. Instead, her eyes merely followed the confidently carried man as he crossed the room, moving behind Zada’s chair and wasting no time in demonstrating the nature of his relationship with the most powerful woman in the room.

Well that was…. Obvious, Amelia’s subconscious commented, wrinkling its mental nose at the sight of the public display of… Amelia would have said affection, but it seemed distinctly more like lust. Outwardly, Amelia was blushing at having witnessed what she considered to be an intimate, private moment, though the newcomer had made no attempt at subtlety. With the same brash confidence, the newest addition to the staff meeting commented on the fact that no one else in the room had said anything upon his entrance, though Amelia wasn’t the least bit surprised by this. Anyone who could approach Zada Forbes, lust physically after her in front of a room full of people, and live long enough to even make such a comment was not someone people were quick to question.

Zada’s answer to the man’s question was brief, and she made no mention of his uncomfortably (at least in Amelia’s case) physical greeting. Then, she launched into what Amelia would have called “commander mode”, if she had had the capability or courage to speak at all. She quickly dismissed Doyle’s assertions that he was in charge, reminded the room of her connection to Grindelwald (as though they needed reminding) and finally introduced the mysterious man who had entered the room with as much swagger as Zada always did.

So that’s the connection… Amelia identified, having heard the man’s last name. She had gone to Hogwarts with his son, Damien, though the boy had been a few years younger than she was. The family resemblance was strong, now that she had a name to put with the face, and Amelia was not surprised to discover that this man would be playing a role within Grindelwald’s regime. He was intimidating, just the type Grindelwald preferred, and he came from good, pure wizarding stock, which is why Damien had achieved the level of respect he had within the Slytherin community.

The description of Alistair’s position was somewhat vague, as Amelia was finding all of Grindelwald’s new changes to the regime had been. No one seemed to know exactly what the new minister’s goal was, but Amelia was growing slightly unsteady in the sea of quasi-definitions and shadowy descriptions of roles and regulations. Amelia was a woman of strict definitions and she valued the security that came with knowing exactly what to expect. In the case of Alistair, Amelia was fairly certain she would never be completely able to predict what to expect from him.

Amelia did not allow her eyes to linger too long on Alistair, save to incline her head in deference to him and his new position within Hogwarts. Yet another authority figure to mind in the hallways… Amelia thought, adding this to the increasingly long list. It seemed she had even less authority now than she had as a student. At least then, she had outranked at least some of her peers. Now, she was at the very bottom of the totem pole, and she was finding she did not like that position very much at all.

Looking back to Zada, Amelia took mental note of the changes to the Hogwarts South Tower, reminding herself to post something in the common room about this so no Ravenclaw students would unwittingly find themselves at the mercy of Alistair. The redhead swallowed hard at Zada’s closing remarks that Alistair had less patience than she did, because from what Amelia had observed, Zada had very little herself. Still, she knew that this warning was a gift, as far as Grindelwald and his regime were concerned; they could have skipped it altogether, and the staff would have been in much worse shape. At least now Amelia knew slightly better where she stood.

“I think that is all… quite clear,” Amelia managed, after convincing her mouth to open despite her self-preservation instincts telling her to keep it closed. Both Zada and Alistair were scanning the faces of the collective faculty, and Amelia felt too much pressure to say something to keep quiet as she had hoped to. She added an enthusiastic nod to her words, just to make sure that the two most powerful figures in the room knew she wasn’t planning to cause any difficulty. That seemed safest.

Michael was, silently, rather amused by the whole business. He pasted a poker straight look on his face and looked at Doyle deliberately, with just the slightest glint of laughter in his eyes. He liked Doyle, and this deserved a cup of tea when this was over. Maybe some of the fresh dark chocolate truffles Michael had made instead of sleeping last night.

He did feel pity for the young Professor Lyons who was rather looking like she had been tossed into the lions. He looked at her with the same relaxed, unworried look on his face in an effort to reassure her. Lyons had a roomful of friends that, by far, outnumbered Forbes, D'Eath and Barker. After all, there was Lyons herself, and he was certain she was no slacker when it came to her own skills, else she'd not have gained her post in the first place. Second, there was Wilson who Michael knew well enough to know that, without a doubt, would defend Lyons before he let harm come to her. There was Potter, who would never allow it. Doyle, he trusted, would assist rather than miss out on the chance to put someone who had openly attempted to intimidate him in her place. And then there was himself. And there wasn't a single chance that Michael would let Amelia Lyons be the victim of Zada Forbes' need for entertainment. After all, it did seem that the woman had a boytoy that she could be diverted to, perhaps.

"Is that all, Forbes?" Michael asked.

"As a matter of fact," Zada said, "No, it isn't. There are two longstanding terrorist groups here in the school. The Potters Army faction and the Dark Followers faction. The Minister has outlawed all terrorist factions. No matter of those groups are adults or children. From here on out, anyone found to be a member of those groups will either serve detention under Mr. Barker, or will be subject to Mr. D'Eath's judgement. And any adult found to be assisting them will be relieved of their post and sent to the detention center in Azkaban.

"Oh, and by the way, I presume that none of you belong to such groups," she said with a sickeningly sweet tone, reeking of an overabundance of sarcasm. "I would so hate to have to put any of you fine professors in the detention center in Azkaban prison. I know how dedicated to the dear children you all are. So I can presume that any time Mr. D'Eath wishes to be able to find you, he will have no issue finding you on school grounds, unless you have prior permission to be off school grounds, am I correct?"

Jess cocked an eyebrow as another man entered the room, overdressed much as Zada was and reeking of the sort of aura that seemed to accompany every tom dick and harry walking out of the Ministry atrium these days, something which made each of them seem just a little less intimidating than the last, and making each of the last seem that much less intimidating.

Of course, it didn't help matters that the first impression he gave to those who were seated in the room was that of a snivelling, overly sexed up teenage boy, eager to worm his way into the arms of the person he deemed most powerful in the room, and of course when she reciprocated it just made her look funny.

"So what you're saying," he said after a slight pause and with a slight smirk, "is that this guy," gestured Jess, "is pretty much Barker here but with added... benefits," he said, glancing at Zada's neck for a moment before grinning.

"Well, welcome to the staff boy. And Forbes," he said, rising in his chair and making his way to the door, "I work for the students, not whomever's crack it is you're kissing," he told her, a tinge of his Australian humor coming to light.

"If that is all, I shall see you all in the Great Hall during breakfast tomorrow, cheerio," he said, sharing a look with Wilson before striding out of the room.

Felix couldn't shake the fact that there was hostility in the room. Hostility that wasn't only directed at him, but the new kid, and Zada, he never actually assumed he'd be paired under the same category as Zada, but he couldn't say he wasn't pleased. When Jess spoke and left though, he couldn't help but smirk. "Does he need a detention too?" He asked with a laugh, before shaking his head. "Personally I'm not sure why people assume my detentions are horrible.. I mean... my children write lines... Umbridge did no worse.. and yet... I feel as though there is hostility towards my punishments.. I've made them do the same things that any other teacher would do." he said with a smirk, his eyes resting on Amelia Lyons.

The girl was weak, and nervous, and pathetic, they shouldn't have allowed a girl of her age to teach in a school undergoing major changes, but as it was.. he enjoyed watching her reactions, they were.. comical. So he smirked at Zada and nodded at her. "Is that all then? It appears that Jess has left, and in my opinion a meeting is worthless unless the entire party is here... and I have grading to do. soo... if you do have anything else you wish to speak to me about... I will be in my office." He said with a nod and stood up from his chair, smiling at the group. Why couldn't they look at him like a normal human being, just because he tortured people, didn't mean he couldn't be pleasant when he wasn't destroying someone's life.