“I’m telling you, Raine,” Gabriella Dagon insisted, clutching tightly onto the robe sleeve of her housemate and dragging her along the corridor with what was thankfully little effort, “I saw him go in there 30 seconds ago.” Fortunately Raine didn’t put up a fight and moved willingly closer to the entrance of the staff bathroom under Dagon’s tight and eager grasp.  Dark brown eagle eyes were trained alertly on the wooden barrier between them and the wizard they so wished to have a ‘chat’ with.

It was rather obvious how seriously Gabby was taken her new role as the president of the Hogwarts Howler. Just 1 day into the new term, before classes had even started and she’d had a chance to track down the American boys to flirt with and she was stalking an ancient wizard outside of a bathroom with her ginger friend while they awaited him to finish his business. Yet what this eager young reporter hadn’t considered was how long it took ancient wizards to pee.  It was possible they could be waiting outside the bathroom for years! Gabriella may have been old and grey by the time she got to interview the new headmaster.

“You’ve got the list of questions?” Gabby demanded of her friend as she loosened her vicelike grip on Almasy’s robes and thrust her hand into her red satchel, reaching for her notepad and self inking quill.  “We have to get this perfect because this is my-”

The president of the Hogwarts Howler was interrupted as the door to the bathroom creaked open slowly to reveal a wizard making his way out. Without a moment’s pause, two hands grabbed the heavy camera around her neck, lifted it to her eyes and snapped the shutter closed, no doubt almost blinding her target in the process. With the camera lowered, Gabby grinned at their new Headmaster.

“Headmaster Reid! Gabriella Dagon, Editor of the Hogwarts Howler and my assistant Miss Almasy. Can we ask you some questions, Sir?”

One of the (many) issues with having dorm mates is that every once in a while, one has to give in to their ludicrous ideas. Or at least this was the rule that Raine repeated to herself internally when Gabby had gotten into the swing of things, so to speak, for her new position as the Howler editor.

Merlin's beard, that was going to be a interesting publication. The Gryffindor girls had been idly hunting about for their new Headmaster near the entrance hall when the more voracious of the two had claimed to see the wizard duck into the staff lavatory. In spite of an initial reluctance to harass the man just outside the bathroom, Raine allowed herself to be dragged over because... well, curiousity mostly, as well as amusement.

If anything, Gabby was entertaining, and the questions they had put together earlier were bound to compel the readers. Or offend (the line was very thin). "You've got the list of questions?" Her friend requested in a demanding tone and Raine rolled her eyes.

"Yes, yes. Right here," she slipped out a folded sheet of parchment from her pocket and held it precariously between her third and index finger: "Safe and sound." But just then, the door creaked open and her housemate became a blur of movement, machinery and flashing light.

Raine tried not to laugh at Gabby's eagerness to interrogate-- although she did raise a fiery red eyebrow upon being called an Assistant, of all things. Ah, well. This probably wasn't going to be an easy ordeal for their unfortunate new Headhmaster.

Herschel was none too pleased at the bright flash of a camera as he came out from the staff bathroom, he blinked a few times, and then considered the girls standing in front of him. Editor of the Hogwarts Howler? And Almasy- her assistant, as well as a prefect. Herschel couldn't help but think stalking staff members to the bathroom was far from prefect behavior, but put on a well meaning smile when asked whether or not the girls could bother him with a few questions- an interview, he assumed.

The hallway hardly seemed an appropriate spot for a newspaper interview, and he would have much preferred the girls had set up a meeting, but as he had no pressing business at the moment and he wanted to make a good impression on the students as their new headmaster, he decided to go along with things and hope that there would be no more surprise flash-bulbs on the other side of the bathroom door.

"Good evening Miss Dagon, Prefect Almasy." He adjusted the chain on his waist coat, peeking at the pocket watch attached to it. "I have a few minutes I could spare to answer your questions."

"Perhaps we could relocated to a more appropriate venue?" he asked. "I should hate for you two to startle any other staff members taking a trip to the lavatory. Some might not appreciate the interruption." Not that he did- but he would prefer them not run into some of the harsher members of staff or foreign staff with their camera and their questions.

The new headmaster was understandably surprised to be ambushed on his exit from the staff WC but this didn’t perturb the main ambusher. She continued to grin at the much older wizard, her dark eyes happily registering the attempt at a friendly smile he managed to twist his lips into. It was a relief he was smiling instead of scowling at the girls because Gabby feared a negative article about their new headmaster would definitely displease him and perhaps get them into trouble.

Prefect Almasy! Gabby made a mental note to use this bit of information she hadn’t given a thought to. She hadn’t so much as considered how helpful having a prefect so close to her when in charge of this paper could be. Raine’s arm could no doubt be twisted, and if not, Gabby vowed to annoy her mercilessly until the girl agreed to take a perfectly ‘innocent’ advantage of her position of responsibility. Yes, there was an obvious reason Gabby Dagon had never been considered as a prefect.

“Duly noted.” Gabriella nodded at the suggestion that some staff members may perhaps not have been so relaxed about their bathroom stalking. The young witch understood to an extent but couldn’t help considering how prissy some people really were. It wasn’t as if she and Raine had been lurking around the staff toilets waiting eagerly for a scoop, to catch a teacher in the act.

With hands grasped carefully around the camera, Gabriella wrestled it from around her neck and dropped it into her red satchel amongst the mass of parchment covered in her rushed scrawl.
“There’s an empty classroom down here, Sir. Prefect Almasy and I can interview you in there.” Without waiting for agreement from Headmaster Reid, Gabriella twisted on the heel of her scruffy boot and began to walk down the hallway towards the classroom.

“There’s an empty classroom down here, Sir. Prefect Almasy and I can interview you in there.”

There was an enviable confidence in the way that Gabby carried herself; it was, her dorm-mate had long decided, an efficient and pointed sort of attitude. That could be appreciated. However, the redhead found herself having to suppress a sigh at the distinct emphasis of her title... she'd been wondering when the Howler hound was going to come around. Not that she minded. Raine possessed a select few moral lines, as a prefect, but none which she imagined either of them ever wanting to cross. Everything else was fair game, surely.

As Gabby turned to march down the corridor, Raine looked towards their Headmaster with an appraising but polite expression: "You needn't worry, sir," she lied evenly: "We only have a few painless questions." That part was true. A few of their questions were painless-- the rest of them bordered on impertinent, if anything.

With a fleeting, almost businesslike smile, the prefect gestured for Reid to follow her housemate: "After you, please." Not that she expected the wizard to go running off the moment they had their backs turned to him.
 

Herschel nodded when Gabriella suggested an empty classroom. "That would be a much better and more convenient venue for an interview," he agreed, falling into step behind the president of the paper. She certainly was a demanding young woman, but Herschel remembered that most of the Gryffindors when he was in school had a brash and demanding nature. They were generally very good people, though, so he rarely complained.

"I'll be happy to answer as many questions as you need answered, Miss Almasy," he said. "I'm certain that many of the students are curious to know more about me." Herschel did not mean this statement arrogantly, but genuinely. Most students knew very little about the board of governors, and if he was not a family friend or had not taken part in their tutoring while they were young likely knew very little of him.

Once in the abandoned classroom, Herschel flicked his wand at the lamps on the wall so that they would burn brightly. Another spell had a few chairs dusted off so they would be more comfortable to sit in. And finally, with a quick bit of transfiguration, he turned one of the chairs into a comfortable arm chair and settled down, adjusting his robes about him and tugging at his waist coat. "At your leisure, ladies," he said, gesturing to the seats he had cleaned.

Gabriella held the heavy wooden door to the classroom open to allow her assistant to guide the headmaster in. Once he was safely in the room without having given them the slip like she imagined he possibly wished to do, Gabby pushed the door closed and focused her dark brown eyes on him as he busied himself with seating arrangements. A dark eyebrows rose at the transfiguring, more so because he’d only made one of the chairs comfortable and not bothered with the remaining two!

“Hm.” The short witch eyed him carefully before walking to one of the chairs and sitting down on it. The wood was hard and uninvited so as she dug her hand into her bag to retrieve her parchment and quill once more, Gabby found herself wondering how comfortable his chair was. The bag was thrown on the floor with a thud and the Gryffindor very quickly scribbled a note on her page: ‘Acutely selfish’.

Suddenly Miss Dagon’s eyes were locked upon Reid. The girls hadn’t decided how they were going to go about this interview. It was their first. Who would be asking questions and who would be the scribe hadn’t been discussed but the questions had and they had been neatly written down by Raine’s hand. Gabriella had little trouble recalling the first and wasted no time in demanding it of the headmaster.

“Are you glad Headmistress Snark vanished, Sir?”

Herschel was shocked by the question posed to him- but was careful to keep his expression neutral and unaffected. He wasn't sure what Dagon was getting at by asking such a loaded question, and cast a curious glance to the prefect- wondering if she was condoning such actions, and whether or not she was fit for her position if she did. Even so, the question has been asked, and he should have expected something like that to happen after Headmistress Snark's disappearance and her failure to reappear before the school year.

The headmaster pursed his lips for a moment, then folded his hands carefully in his lap. "I do not believe anybody is glad that the headmistress vanished. I always found Miss Snark to be a very charming lady and found working with her pleasant when I was still a part of the board of governors. It is a great tragedy, shame, and mystery what happened to Miss Snark. I am confident that the DMLE is working hard to solve the mystery and to bring her back to London safe and sound. She was a formidable headmistress, and I have no ill will toward her."

Herschel paused again, looking at the prefect for a long moment before focusing his attention back on Gabriella. "If you wish to ask a more specific question in relation to the Headmistress' disappearance, I would greatly appreciate if you manage to pose the inquiry with more tact."

It was a sort of reassurance to be conducting the interview behind closed doors, away from the prying eyes of Hogwarts finest gossip mongers (although its biggest culprit was probably set next to her). Raine didn't think it was good if their interviewing... techniques got out until the first Howler was published. Business was better if one could catch future interviewees by surprise.

The prefect sat down lithely beside Gabby and unfolded her sheet of questions before taking out a tiny stack of clipped-together parchment, for notes. She glanced over at her friend, smirking slightly when she had noticed what was written on the other girl's parchment. Acutely selfish, indeed. No holding back then.

She was just about to hand over the interview questions when Gabby shot out the first one, nearly causing Raine to choke on her own breath. Merlin, it was too soon for so loaded a query! An incredulous, bordering on reproachful stare was directed at the housemate. "Watch it," she mouthed silently when Reid had finally glanced away from her face.

But in good form, the Headmaster responded. He sounded more like a politician than he did a teacher. Raine scribbled this down, having now decided not to meet the wizard in the eye while he spoke. Her cheeks were slightly red... not in embarrassment but in vexation. They should have led up to this question. Shocking him would put him on his guard for the rest of the interview.

"If you wish to ask a more specific question in relation to the Headmistress' disappearance, I would greatly appreciate if you manage to pose the inquiry with more tact," Reid's tone wasn't pleasant.

Raine glanced up now and, before Gabby could say anything, gave her friend's shin a subtle but decisive kick. "Of course, Sir," she said with a polite countenance. "Do you, um..." the Gryffindor paused to rephrase the question in her head: "Did you approve of the manner in which Headmistress Snark ran this school?"

Content-wise, it wasn't any nicer. But it didn't sound as aggressive, at the least.

Herschel looked at the prefect with genuine surprise when she asked another question about the former headmistress. He frowned again, and sat up straighter in his seat. "Headmistress Snark was a very capable headmistress, and had I disapproved of the way she ran Hogwarts then there would have been some level of intervention from the Board of Governors."

"The Headmistress was attempting to steer Hogwarts in a new and great direction, and I am honored to follow in her footsteps and attempt to live up to the legacy she wished to leave behind."

The headmaster paused again, inspecting his nails for a brief moment. "When I arrived at Hogwarts, the staff she hired who remained behind seemed to be very competent individuals. I trust her judgment in her hiring decisions, and trust that she did a good job with the students. It was the headmistress who prepared for this great tournament which will be a grand moment in wizard history- for the entire wizarding world, not just for Hogwarts. She was a woman with drive and determination to make Hogwarts the best that it could be, and there is nothing about that which renders itself to criticism."

"Though I may have differing methods, it does not mean that her methods were wrong or that mine are correct. It simply means that we are different individuals with differing methods and processes when it comes to governing Hogwarts. It has no bearing on my opinions of the Headmistress as a person, nor is it in any way an intentional contradiction to her capabilities as headmistress."

Headmaster Reid sounded every bit the Politian. He took Gabriella’s loaded first question and twisted his answer like only a professional could. Gabby liked Analiza Snark. She felt compelled to with their connection but she knew most people didn’t. Most of Hogwarts and the public didn’t agree with the headmistress and her choices and methods for running the school. She’d been under the perhaps misguided presumption that this Reid fellow felt similar and was glad to step into her shoes and take the glory of leading Hogwarts for himself. Who wouldn’t?

Gabby was scribbling down his words when Reid turned on her, informing her that she needed to use tact when asking such questions and Gabriella looked up at the headmaster, blinking.

Tact.

Tact was a word this young Gryffindor had no comprehension of.

Next thing Gabby knew as she was staring blankly at the headmaster was that she was being kicked in the shin. Her features screw up and head span around to face Raine, locks of dark hair flying over her shoulders.

"Did you approve of the manner in which Headmistress Snark ran this school?" Almasy asked after delivering the violent blow and sucking up to their headmaster like only a prefect could. Attention was turned back to Reid and the longer he spoke, the longer she stared at him, the more she became convinced he was better suited to being a wizardiny Lawyer or sticking to being a Politian. The wizard spoke in riddles that she swore didn’t lead anywhere helpful!

“So...” Dagon began, scribbling her last couple of words on the parchment resting on her lap, “in what ways would you say your method’s are different, Sir? Do you believe they’re correct, Headmaster?” The witch presumed plentiful uses of ‘Sir’, ‘Headmaster’ and anything else respectful would make him think of her as more ‘tact...ty’.

Herschel sighed when they pressed on with the questions relating to Headmistress Snark. "I believe that both of us did what we considered to be best for the institution. My intentions are to make sure that Hogwarts remains a place of safety for Wizarding students and an institution which provides an excellent education." He could really use a swig of whiskey or scotch right now. "As far as our methods differing, that is something that all students will come to learn and discover as the year presses on."

"Do either of you have any questions which relate to something other than the Headmistress?" Herschel asked. "I have said all I intend to on the matter. You may ask more questions about the situation, but I assure that you will continue to get the same answers." Well rehearsed answers for the Prophet and for parents who sent concerned owls about how Hogwarts was going to change in the school year.

"If you have no curiosities about anything apart from my opinion on the Headmistress, then I believe this interview is concluded. I am a busy man with many things to attend to as the school year begins, ladies. I certainly hope you would not intentionally waste my time."

Raine exchanged glances with her housemate as Reid responded to the question. They weren't going to get anywhere here. Gabby appeared to be fixated on Snark's disappearance but the former Headmistress was already a hot topic and it was plain to see that nothing new was to be extracted from this interview. Yet.

Or at least such was implied by their Headmaster as he reproached their narrow focus.

"I certainly hope you would not intentionally waste my time," he told them. Well that would make it rather difficult to continue pursing the subject. The fact that he didn't want them to was enough reason for Raine to want to keep on it; only they'd hit a wall for now.

The prefect glanced down at her sheet of questions. "Of course not," she replied crisply: "We wouldn't dream of it, Sir." They were going to have to take another route. No mind.... there was the rest of the school year to get to the bottom of Reid's actual opinions on Snark.

"Do you think you could tell us why you would make a good Headmaster?" Raine looked back up at wizard with a candid expression: "Just to give the student body and the, ah, foreigners, a rough idea of what to expect from you this year."

He smiled when there was finally a question which did not offend his sensibilities. "I would be happy to answer that particular question," Herschel said- a trace of a smile coming back to his features. It wasn't that Headmaster Reid liked to toot his own horn, but he did want the students to know his particular qualifications and exactly why he thought that he would be a decent headmaster. Apart from the fact the governors had little to choose from and he seemed the best fit for the emergency situation.

"I shall try to be brief, but a wizard with my age and experience has much to list. I was a prefect in my fifth and sixth years at Hogwarts, and was Head Boy in my seventh year. I also received eight newts."

"I discovered that I enjoyed educating others while working for the Department of Mysteries. I trained new members to the department, including tutoring for the art of animagi transformation. After I realized my skill in education I began tutoring in my spare time. Educating the children of wizarding families prior to Hogwarts, and offering transfiguration and animagi tutoring to those qualified and capable. Which means that since about 1965 I've been educating- which is more than forty years at this point."

"During the 1989-1990 school year I taught Defense Against the Dark Arts here at Hogwarts. I also taught Transfiguartion for four years- from 1998 to 2002. I left Hogwarts to join the Hogwarts Board of Governors. My experience the last seven years on the Board of Governors has given me the chance to learn the administrative side of how to run Hogwarts and how to address parental concerns and immediate issues."

Herschel paused for another moment, giving the two girls a chance to catch up on their note taking. "However, for your purposes, you may prefer a short version. Easily summed up as having over forty years experience in education, tutoring children of all ages, teaching the art of animagi transformation, teaching at Hogwarts a combined five years over two different courses, and seven years on the Board of Governors. Thus, I believe my past experiences and qualifications and having lived through much of wizard history is what will make my stay here as Headmaster a successful one."

"Have you ever seen an animagi transformation up close?" he asked.

After the mild reprimand from Reid regarding their topic of questions, Gabby fell silent and scribbled about his lack of willingness to cooperate and answer all of their questions upon her creased parchment. Raine asked the next question and dark eyebrows tweaked up when the headmaster basically informed they he would try to be brief to he thought he was too amazing to keep the reasons short.

Short wasn’t a word Gabby would use to describe it and lips pursed as she watched the old wrinkly wizard with a lack of interest. She wanted gossip, what he thought about the school and the teachers and what excited stuff he could do for the school. She didn’t want descriptions of the group of bearded old codgers waiting for the grim reaper that was the Hogwarts Board of Governors.

He summed up and Gabby frowned, counting in her head before he asked them a question.

“No.” Came a blunt answer before she pressed on, dark eyes travelling over the Headmasters face and then his robed figure sat in the posh chair he’d conjured for just himself. “That’s a lot of experience, Sir. So you must be what....80, 90 years old?” In the muggle world he’d have been a pretty skilled coffin dodger!