Peaceful Pub and Serious Conversation

Zelia shook off her hat as she stepped into the small pub in a forgotten corner of Hogsmeade. It was a tiny place that didn't allow the students of Hogwarts into it but had a much better reputation than The Hogs Head. It was raining outside, as usual, and Zelia was soaked. It had started to pour about halfway to Hogsmeade, and she hadn't exactly been prepared for it. She took off her hat and set it on a stand near the door, the small leaves on the top moving around to get a better purchase with the changed angle, and made her way to an empty table.

She sat for only a moment before a plump waitress scooted over and took her drink order, a simple butterbeer, and shot off quickly into the back to get her the drink. Zelia ran her hand through her hair and glanced around at the other patrons. She'd made plans with Jemma to chat a little bit about the students and get to know one another. It was nice. Not very often did Zelia have a chance to talk to another adult, and sometimes you just needed someone who could hold a decent conversation and not be attempting to break everything in the Greenhouses.

Her drink arrived and she sipped it quietly, enjoying the peaceful atmosphere and gentle conversation around her as she waited for Jemma to arrive.

Jemma entered the pub, and immediately used a spell on herself to warm herself up from the rain. Awful weather, and despite having an umbrella, she still managed to get very wet. Typical for this time of year though really. She left her umbrella by the door, and looked around for Zelia, spotting her at a table and heading over to join her.

"Hi Zelia." she said, though was almost immediately joined by a waitress, who Jemma ordered a butterbeer from.

"How are you, despite this awful weather? How are all your plants doing these days? I suppose a some of them may like all this rain." she hoped the greenhouses were all OK, given recent history Jemma was worried about certain students who had been problematic and hurting some of the plants.

Zelia looked up quickly as Jemma entered the pub. She'd almost gone into a light doze as the comfortable atmosphere surrounded her, and she was quite content with her drink and quiet time. She sat up slightly in her chair and adjusted her cloak as Jemma approached.

"Hello, Jemma! Oh, the plants are loving all this humidity, that's for certain. I moved some of them out to the patio behind the greenhouses for this storm to let them have a chance to stretch a little. I swear, if there weren't students in that greenhouse all the time, the plants would be just like a bunch of toddlers to look after. They all have wants and needs, and the students are great exercise." She smiled at the waitress and glanced out the window. "I myself don't mind the weather. A bit of wet never hurt anyone, I suppose." She nodded to her hat on the stand near the door with a small smile. "Though the plants I keep with me on my hat were thrilled by the sudden downpour." She laughed.

"Hopefully, it wasn't too poor for you. How are your classes going? Anyone broken in yet to steal something? I swear, at this point, I'll need to put a troll in my greenhouses to guard it against the students." She shook her head with a sigh.

Jemma hadn't noticed the plants on Zelia's hat, she looked over and saw it by the door. Very appropriate for a Herbology Professor, plus Jemma liked the look of it too, it was the kind of thing she would do, she had some miniature crystal ball earrings she wore on occasion. Some people thought she was a bit odd for it, well they weren't entirely wrong, but Jemma didn't worry too much about what others thought of her these days. She'd wasted far too much of her life on that already!

"I'm glad they're doing alright now, especially with those problem students recently." she said, pleased to hear they were fine with the weather. "I'm not a massive fan of the rain, but nothing an umbrella and a small warming charm can't fix."

"No, the Divination Tower has been alright so far. As far as I can tell, the students are too lazy to bother climbing all the stairs and the ladder up in the tower." she theorised, at least that was her best guess for now. Though she worried it may be next, especially if other classrooms were locked down a bit more.

"I'm not sure if the Headmaster would approve of a troll on the grounds, but something definitely needs to be done. I know he likes students to be able to enter the classrooms out of hours, but there should be at least some form of vetting system for it. Unrestricted access to all pupils is clearly not working." Jemma's thinking cap was on. There must be a solution to this and she was determined to figure it out, hopefully with the help of her colleagues.