Absit Omen RPG

Minerva allowed her laughter to flow freely at the camaraderie her staff showed. From Camille's ribbing of Ignan, to their candid chat about their summer plans - this was something to be celebrated. Few staff members made it through term these days - and the Headmistress was thrilled to find that her staff had finally found their niche. It lifted a huge burden from her shoulders when the witch needed to be away for days at a time. At least Minerva knew the castle was safe and in good hands - even when Professor Storm had been away fighting for his grumpy-arsed life.

"Ah, what I would give to travel again - if only for a summer. Sadly I fear that's not going to be the case this year. I'll more than likely spend most of my holiday in London. I've never enjoyed city life - I suppose it's time to give it a try," The elderly witch said, lifting her glass to her lips. "I'm learning one is never too old to embark on new adventures,"

"You'll be sure to bring back pictures, won't you Professor Singh?" She asked, leaning forward for a better look at the wizard - then realizing she had completely blocked off Storm in the process, she leaned back again. "And what about the two of you? Hopefully you'll be taking advantage of the short time away," 

The night was unseasonably cool and storms threatened to break free of their chains to unleash torrential rains and unfathomable numbers of flashes and bangs across the Scottish countryside. A distant rumble could be occasionally heard above the din of voices ranging across the vast room filled mostly by hundreds of adolescents and teenagers with only a few adults mixed in. Clouds traversed quickly across the sky - obscured from view only by thousands of pinpricks of light cast by candles floating high above.

The Great Hall was magnificent as always - plates piled with delicacies, bowls brimming with soups, tureens overflowing with gravy - and beverages by the pitcher too numerous to count. It was true, the House-elves had outdone themselves this year. Even the decorations, though understated and modest, were complimentary to the overall aura of the room. How amazing it seemed to the Heamistress how one could forget about the majesty of the ancient castle they called home until it was time for another coming or going. It seemed that even the poor weather couldn't mar the bubbling excitement that buzzed about the castle.

A small smile flitted across Minerva's face as she extended her gaze across the vast room. Smiling had been a foreign feeling on witch's face for quite some time and it came as almost a shock to Professor McGonagall how effortless it was in the company of good friends and a loving atmosphere. The Headmistress of Hogwarts was proud - proud of every child sat before her, their hard work and dedication made her job worth it and she was proud of every person that sat to her left and right - the actions of her staff were the sole reason the students of Hogwarts would be leaving this year with a more competent outlook on their magical abilities and more importantly - their everyday lives.

This had been one of the most difficult years Minerva could remember in recent memory. There had been unfathomable losses and there had been joyous triumphs. The Headmistress was looking forward to a bit of rest. As her mind returned from its musings, Minerva caught the tail end of Camille and Ravindar's conversation and she couldn't help but to lean forward and look toward the both of them. "Hopefully not many new colleagues. I've just started getting used to most of you, and good conversation is hard to replace," She said jovially. "And to answer your question, Camille, it's always a bit of both. You'll want to enjoy your time off - there's a whole new batch of them before you realize. They always seem to get a bit smaller too, you'll come to see,"

Yes, announcements and awards were to be made, but all that could wait for a bit of decent conversation and a little more time holding on to what was - before some students walked out of the Great Hall for the last time. And a bit more time to remember those students that would never graduate. 

This excites me greatly!

Dora is happy to host and will certainly be milling about - though she's only as involved as the venue. She's always happy to support a great cause, but being a new mother and all she doesn't really have much time to help plan or be the activist she would like.

Elijah will happily offer his blood up for donation and it'll also be a great way for him to interact with the Department and beings he'll be working with once he graduates. It'll be a great way for him to get his feet wet and to open his world to actual vampires in larger numbers.

Minerva might not attend, being the busy witch that she is and all - but she certainly supports and will make a contribution to the efforts in gold rather than crimson

Tempest will be there if only to make sure that the students donating stay safe and to offer assistance should it be necessary.

Elysia would donate blood - are there restrictions on who can donate? Would Elysia's half-veela blood disqualify her from donating?

It was as Minerva anticipated, Figaro was not prepared. A slim hand reached across the desk to accept the scrap of newspaper from Figaro and her eyes raked the clipping quickly. The advertisement hadn't changed in years, and though the position Mr. Sellaphix would be filling wouldn't be a difficult one, it would be a demanding one. Fetching and running for a group of people whose minds were in a thousand different directions at any given time was a challenge. It would be quite some time before Figaro would even put ink to parchment, and longer still before his name would be seen in print.

It was a long and grueling process, no less difficult than learning any skill or trade - and though Figaro had a leg up with his handling of the school's paper, would he have any clue what to do when several people were barking orders to him at once, instead of it being the other way around? Could he learn to take orders and direction without letting the Hufflepuff stubbornness out to play?

Minerva was worried, but the passion and excitement in Figaro's voice as he spoke about it brought a truthful smile to Minerva's features - and her fears were lessened. Figaro was not one that dealt well with direction and that could make him the best journalist the magical community had seen in a good long while.

"Language," Minerva admonished as Figaro finished his truthful response. "Manners are everything, Mr. Sellaphix,"

"There is honor and joy to be found in any honest labor. Your family's apothecary would not be a damning career, Figaro - you would be part of a legacy," She said, "Though I understand the desire to create your own destiny - to strike out in the world and make a name for yourself. It's a worthy dream, Figaro, and I would be unfit to be your headmistress if I didn't support you in your decisions,"

"I'll pen a letter to the Prophet's headquarters and I'll owl Mr. Cuffe personally. I daresay he'll at least give you a shot - my contributions over the years have been small but plentiful," She finished, shifting to a more comfortable position in her chair.

Minerva had already begun to wrap up the meeting in her mind - the topic she'd called upon Sasha for had been discussed. He assured her that he would be fine and though Minerva was inclined to worry, she believed the Ravenclaw more than she would have most students in his position. There was at least one every few years - that one sponge of a student that couldn't help but absorb as much as they could in their limited time at school. Some handled that better than others and the Schlagenweit child had proven himself time and again that he was up to par.

Minerva felt like her guidance had been a help in shaping the young man into the adult he had become. Satisfied with that thought, the Headmistress had begun to reach forward to pull the never ending stack of documents toward her to sign when Sasha' words registered with her and the elder witch's heart sank.

His words rang true, Sasha was insightful and brilliant - but there was little Minerva felt like she could do to help in alleviating his concerns. Though Minerva cared for her students, she was not a parent. There were programs, outside of Hogwarts purview, that assisted with the things he'd mentioned. Students attended Hogwarts for their magical education - if the school began down the slippery slope of muddling the line between parental rights and educational necessity, things could only deteriorate for the greatest institution in the world. It had been almost an impossibility to get the Board of Governors to agree that a panel on sex education - pushing them for things like banking and real estate assistance would only encourage the Board to add more scrutiny to the way the school was run - and after recent events, Minerva couldn't allow that.

One slim finger tapped the Headmistress's lips thoughtfully while she contemplated what to say. "For some adults, change can be an almost impossible goal to achieve," She began, lowering her hand back to rest atop her lap, "but that does not mean that progress can't be made. I understand your frustrations - and can offer you personal assistance with anything you need, or you can talk to Counselor Biladeau-Yukawa about programs that can help you,"

When said like that, it almost sounded like a brush-off, and Minerva surely didn't want that - so she continued,"We are changing things - and equality is coming, it is simply a slow process. Traditionalist wizards and witches still fill prominent positions in our communities and those ideals are difficult to overcome,"

She drew a deep breath and gave Sasha a sad smile and an almost imperceptible shrug of her shoulders, "Perhaps you'd like to owl around to see if there's any traction for your ideas - when you have time,"

I have a few people that could be connected to Miss Ramsay.

Chadwick (who goes by Wick or Wicky), is fresh out of auror training like JJ. He was a Hufflepuff in Hogwarts and is pretty flamboyant and crazy but he's also very good and serious about his job.

Minerva is the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, so even if they don't need to interact every day - bureaucratic parchment signings and case briefings and such would give them reason to at least know of each other. Other than the fact that she taught Ramsay in school.

Jacqueline Devereux is the Head of the Department of Mysteries. In the past, the DoM has had a pretty rough reputation (and though Jacqueline truly is evil, she's also not an idiot and keeps her experimentation to her personal life). Jacqueline's job is to help bring the department back out of the dumps so she's planning on trying to work more closely with other departments, so they may have reason to interact at least on a surface level.

I've normally found the practical exams easier to participate in with my student characters.

They work best if the student can write a snapshot/oneshot I feel, but if a professor is able to be very responsive I'm sure it could work like a lesson too.

I definitely feel like this is the case with classes with a high number of writers - years 5 and 7. The first, second, and third year classes are small enough that you could pretty easily manage to keep up with an exam thread - though writing classes with very few students can be a challenge.

You could also always combine exams - if you're doing a written exam, you could always group 1-3 together for a larger class size. That might cause scheduling conflicts though.

Since OWLS and NEWTs are typically conducted by Ministry officials, that might help address the missing professors.  I'd be happy to create a quick secondary ministry testing official to help with testing for those professor-deficient classes.

I like this idea, if that's something you want to do. Other professors have proctored exams for other classes in the past as well - like Flitwick giving the DADA written during the marauder's OWLs, so that's an option too. I'm also happy to have Minerva administer an exam or two if we need - though I also want us to try and make sure we don't overload everyone with a million places they're expected to post.

Quote from: Ravindar Singh on March 21, 2017, 04:26:48 PM

do I need to write an exam for all the years?

Nooo, you're ok. I think we'll spread out the exams, as we're discussing

Yeah - in the past most professors have done only one or two exams. Think of it like class expectations as a professor, you only need one or two.

What about the United States? I know it sounds kinda cheesy, but also... kinda fun? Writing our characters at the Statue of Liberty and the Grand Canyon and remembering that it's 2011, so Obama's president and things are way different than they are now.

It would be challenging, but also pretty fun I think.

I like the idea of Japan too though

Yes please!

You can put both Elijah and Elysia down - I wasn't around for the last one, but this sounds like something they would both loooooove.

Also, if anyone gets hurt, Tempest wouldn't be too upset that kids were playing a silly game.

---

Exams for the 2010-2011 school year are slated to be held on June 6-10. For some, this will be the end of their academic learning at Hogwarts. For others it just gives something else to forget about over the summer holidays.

• First, Second, and Third years will sit normal end-of-year examinations.
• Fifth years will sit their OWLs
• Seventh years will sit their NEWTs

One of the great parts of Absit Omen is that we rarely do things the same way twice. Back in IC 2009, this informative thread was posted, but since then - we've just gone about things our own way.

In the past:

• Some professors have created nifty IC written exams
• Some have had practical tests
• and some have counted long-term projects as grades

What do we want to do this time?

And how do we measure who gets what grade? Before, some professors have chosen grades based on IC class participation, some professors have left it up to the student, and some professors have discussed grades between the students and themselves.

What do we want to do about classes without current professors?

How do we make sure that all years have a chance to have at least one exam?

What else should we think about?

---

The time is now, so let's chat about it!

When the floor was opened for new topics, it seemed that most of their group had had all the serious conversation they could stand for the day. For this Professor McGonagall was extremely grateful as she was exhausted as well. Her schedule was bursting with things that needed to be done and her stamina wasn't as great as it had been twenty years ago. The cup of cooling tea she sipped on gave her the extra bit of energy she needed to get through the rest of the evening, but even delicious caffeinated beverages had their limits.

The professor of Muggle Studies spoke up first, asking for a list of supplies including batteries, light bulbs, and a leaf blower. A request for a field trip to an internet cafe followed the peculiar shopping list and though the thought of allowing students off campus so soon after the tragic murders and kidnappings gave Minerva anxiety, a school was about education - field excursions were part of that.

After she approved the request, with the stipulation that at least two professors were present, the Divination professor started speaking and Minerva had to stop herself from sighing. Tea leaves and card reading were hogwash in the elderly witch's opinion and if she had the approval of the Board of Governors, she would have done away with the post long ago. Sadly - the people who sat on the board felt that the class was important which meant that Minerva had to sit and listen as the diviner informed her that they would need a substitute for a week in May - because the cards said they would be sick that week.

Thankfully the room was blissfully silent when the professor finished speaking. "Right then," Minerva said, rubbing her forehead. "I think that's enough for today - thank you all for coming. Don't forget to let either Professor Storm or myself know if you'll be available for the holiday,"

Hey there! Welcome to AO! I'm Michael and I also have a ton of characters around here. I have a few that Jonah would know of, even if he has no reason to interact with them. Anyway, here's my list:

Minerva McGonagall - canon character, Hogwarts Headmistress and Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot - Minerva is an all around badass. If Jonah's the type to stay in constant trouble Minerva would probably know him.

Tempest Sage - is the Hogwarts Healer currently. She has three children in Hogwarts (though none of them are played IC) and is a super lovable and playful witch. She's talented and can be no-nonsense when it comes to stupidity, but she truly cares and doesn't ask too many questions when students come to see her. If Jonah ever gets into a duel or falls off a broom or whatever else, she's the witch to ask for.

Maxen Whitman - is the only Slytherin character I currently have. He's a third year and a total Purist snot-ball. The Whitman family is rather large on AO (though not many of them are active right now), so Jonah would at least know of Maxen. Maxen probably wouldn't like him though, simply because he's a muggleborn.

Elysia Hughes - is half-veela and the Captain of the Hufflepuff Quidditch Team. Though they might haven't had much of a reason to interact (with the difference of houses and years), but Jonah would know of Elysia at least because she was one of Hogwarts' champions in the Tetrawizard Tournament last year.

Elijah Grimlish - is a seer and is convinced his father is a vampire. He's in Ravenclaw and is also set to graduate this year, but I'm not sure that they'd have had many reasons to interact.

Anyway, I've been a bit busy with RL stuff lately, but I love new members so if you'd like to write I'm totally open - just might be a little slow on replies for a few days!

It was a struggle for the elder witch to keep from rolling her eyes as the staff began to voice their concerns. Minerva breathed in deeply as the newer members gave their opinions on how things should be done and the headmistress nodded regally once the healer finished her almost offensive tirade. It was still a shock to Minerva that there were always new faces around the table – always differing opinions that needed to be taken into account.

Even after she’d returned to the castle as Headmistress at least Minerva had had the well-known voices of Rubeus, Xiomara, and yes… even Sybil. Now it seemed as if almost every face was a change from term to term. Differing opinions, Minerva had to remind herself, were actually a blessing. As her staff had just reinforced, sometimes a fresh set of ideals could make you stronger and better prepared.

“Well put,” Minerva said simply in response, “We will review our own security measures, anyone with ideas on improvements may bring them to me, and when I am satisfied I will contact the Department of Magical Law Enforcement to enquire as to any additional improvements they may find. Satisfied?” She asked, giving a small smile toward the rest of the table.

“If that’s all – I think that covers the main topics on our agenda for now. Does anyone have any other items we’ve yet to breach?”

The small talk couldn’t last, Minerva knew. Knowing it, however, didn’t change the fact that it was unsatisfying to turn the conversation to matters of importance. Importance was all Minerva knew as of late – everyone had something to speak with her about, and it was always something of great import. To whom it was important Minerva still didn’t know at times. Though she didn’t allow those sour thoughts to impact the way she dealt with her students, and never would. That’s why when Figaro started speaking about his accomplishments with the school newspaper, Minerva listened intently and gave the young Hufflepuff her undivided attention.

By the time he had finished speaking, Minerva’s right index finger tapped her lower lip in thought as the Headmistress sat comfortably in her seat. A moment of silence fell between professor and pupil as Minerva collected her thoughts on what Figaro was asking. It was true that in most cases a letter from the Headmistress of Hogwarts as recommendation could go a long way, Minerva just wasn’t completely convinced that this was one of those cases.

Minerva McGonagall had never been one to mix well with the media. She’d always been a witch of action, not words – and felt the praise she was given was unnecessary. Since taking on the added duties of Chief Warlock she’d been more involved with media outlets, sure, but she hadn’t gone out of her way to make an impression on any reporters, good or bad. Most of them knew her, or at least of her, so there was some pull, Minerva supposed.

“The Howler has indeed seen some improvement under your leadership,” Minerva began, bringing her hand back to rest atop the desk. “Though – Mr. Sellaphix, and don’t think me rude here,” She said, trying to think of a delicate way of broaching the topic, “wouldn’t you be more satisfied working for Witch Weekly? Or The Daily Snitch? Healer Sage’s sibling is the editor of the Snitch, I believe. I’m sure she’d be happy to put in a good word, as would I,” The headmistress took in a deep breath and continued.

“You have what it takes to be a fine editor, but The Hogwarts Howler has been a bit of a gossip piece lately, has it not? Distributing the publication in the loo was quite ingenious, I will admit – but are you up for hard-hitting journalism? It can be a difficult and dangerous career path,” She said – now pausing as a tea tray landed softly on the desk between them, “Have a cup of tea,” She finished, lifting one of the steaming cups and curling her fingers around the surface to feel the warmth.

“Do you have anything prepared? Any articles of headline worthy news?” Minerva asked kindly. She truly was not trying to upset Figaro or make him give up on his dreams, but being equipped for the struggles was one of the things Hogwarts was supposed to instill in their illustrious students.

A soft peal of genuine laughter followed Sasha’s reply. Minerva was almost surprised by the sound herself – so unexpected it had been. The headmistress covered her mouth in a girlish manner and attempted to cover the sudden mirth with a cough – only partially succeeding. “Time-turners come with great responsibility, Mr. Schlagenweit – and though I’m sure you could handle it, I’m afraid we won’t be trusting the Department of Mysteries with the safety of our children for quite some time yet,” She said, thinking not of the kidnappings, which could be pinned down to a couple of insane individuals, but of the new head of the department.

 Jacqueline Devereux had been a professor at Hogwarts once upon a time. Minerva had been against her appointment then – as a member of the Hogwarts School Board of Governors, but that had been during the leadership of Headmistress Analiza Snark. Snark’s views differed severely from Minerva’s own, but she’d been a proper leader in her own right. That did not mean, however, that the current Headmistress would trust Devereux with a shoebox – much less the safety of one of her students.

“And I’m sure you’ll find, Mr. Schlagenweit, that life outside of Hogwarts can be quite refreshing,” She said, “Or so I’m told,” she finished with a wink. Though she’d lived some years away from the castle, Hogwarts had always been Minerva’s home.

“Though you needn’t worry,” Minerva continued, “You’re a scholar – I have a feeling you’re not quite finished learning yet,”

“And you won’t have spells tossed at you daily, monsters jumping out to prepare you for anything – you may not be prepared for some aspects of your future, but no one ever is. Even I haven’t the faintest idea of where life might take me. I just took on a political position,” The word was dropped with distaste, political. “Life is always a little scary,” perhaps telling a young adult that life was always unexpected wasn’t the best idea – but Minerva believed firmly in telling students the truth, even when said truth wasn’t always what they wanted to hear.