Two weeks.  It had been two weeks since he had first come to this miserable school, and Joćo was none the happier about it for the time that had passed.  He had spent two weeks scrubbing, cleaning, fixing, and decontaminating, battling budimun and boggarts, and in all that time and in all his countless hours wandering the castle, he had come no closer to discovering the location of the Egyptian artifacts than he had been on the day when he'd first read about them in his father's diary.

There was, in all logical deduction, only one place where they could truly be.  Aileen Reid lived in a house back in London, but the rumors that he'd been able to gather stated that her home had been robbed a few months before.  Unless she planned to keep the missing artifacts in Gringotts and thus lose all regular access to them, they had to be stored somewhere in her office on the school grounds.

Discovering exactly where, though, was a problem.  Most of the staff members at Hogwarts preferred to clean their offices themselves - or rather, Joćo suspected darkly, not clean them and simply live with the putrescent consequences - and so coming up with a reason to be inside Aileen Reid's office had been a challenge.  He had watched her as carefully as he could between the battles of his ongoing war against the acid-spitting mold infestation, trying to learn her habits.  Most days, she left soon after classes, presumably apparating back to her home in London where he gathered she lived with her younger sister.  That was, of course, not very responsible, but at least it meant that he should have a window on any given evening to explore the interior of the Runes Professor's office.

He had finally just decided to attempt it on a Tuesday evening.  If Reid had stuck around longer than was usual for her, Joćo could always claim that he had been looking for more budimun.  Analiza would have to back him up - she owed him, he thought bitterly, especially after the two weeks he'd spent cleaning her precious school so that she could maintain appearances. 

The newly appointed Caretaker had waited until after dinner to attempt his illicit exploration.  Leaving the door carelessly open behind him, he set his cleaning supplies on the ground and turned to study the immaculately cluttered office.  Rows of bookshelves stacked with volumes, an ornate desk, an elegant fireplace...all in all, Joćo couldn't help noting sourly, it was the sort of place that should have been his office.  But clearly wasn't, because Analiza had preferred to hire inexperienced twenty-something potion mistresses and oversized Muggle-loving half giants instead of securing an appropriate position for an old family friend.

Sighing, Joćo started forward to the desk in the center of the room, pulling out his wand.  If it were him, he'd lock the artifacts away in one of the drawers, perhaps underneath a hidden bottom.  Simple was, after all, always best.  Taking a seat in the professor's chair, he bent over, examining the locks as he tried to determine what sort of magic was protecting them.

Outfit

Although Ancient Runes didn't offer much in the way of dueling and combat, it was a rather fascinating subject and one Kit felt didn't get enough student attention. Much like History of Magic. The amount of students not paying attention in that class was astounding.

But, Kit was not headed to professor Reid's office because of other students. One, that would hardly be ladylike. Two, she had long given up on trying to manage the etiquette of housemates (though tying a few of them to their chairs on the pretense of aiding their posture was still tempting). She was actually here, plain and simple because she had a question about this week's assignment. It was after the posted office hours, but Kit thought she still might as well try the office, because it couldn't hurt, right?

As she approached the office, she was encouraged by sight of the open door. Excellent.

"I apologize Professor I know it's after office-"

The words died in her though when she realized that the person sitting at Professor Reid's desk, rummaging though her desk, was certainly not the professor.

"What in heavens name are you doing?" Kit demanded.

Aileen Reid had, somewhat amusingly, obviously utilized her subject matter in the defensive spells that she had placed on her drawers.  Algiz, Hagalaz, Isa...standard binding and protective runes, and nothing that Joćo hadn't dealt with before.  He smiled for the first time in weeks, holding his wand over them as he tried to decide how best to lift the enchantment. 

The lack of defenses was almost disappointing, really.  Did Reid really think that no one would dare brave the confines of her office?  Was she so secure in her own skill that she didn't bother to get any more creative?  Or perhaps she just knew the sort of dunces she was faced with here at Hogwarts.  Maybe she had yet to encounter a student of Runes who could lift even these simple enchantments.

No matter.  Whatever the reason, it would still work to Joćo's benefit.  He could lift the protective wards easily, search the drawers, and then reset them without Reid being any the wiser.

"I apologize Professor I know it's after office-"

Joćo jumped at the interruption, yanking his wand back from the drawer as a sense of panic flooded through him.  He hadn't even gotten through one drawer yet, and someone had stumbled upon him.  His heart racing, his breathing quickened, he looked up quickly at the intruder, clearly caught in the act of doing something that he shouldn't have been.  He very nearly opened his mouth to start defending himself before his brain caught up with the situation.

This wasn't Professor Reid.  It wasn't even a professor.  The girl standing before him, demanding to know who he was and what he was doing, was clearly just a student.  Joćo could feel his upper lip curling slightly as he regarded her.  She had no right to drive him out.

"What does it look like I am doing?" he snapped, forcing his breathing to slow, forcing himself to breathe.  This could have easily been worse, but being stumbled upon by a student wasn't close to the disaster that he had been imagining.  All he had to do was speak sharply to her and she'd run off.  "I am cleaning the office.  It is after hours, and there are not supposed to be any students or teachers about."

Kit frowned at the caretaker. That's right the caretaker. A staff member of Hogwarts and an adult to be treated with respect, but not one of Kit's instructors and certainly not Professor Reid.

She wanted to know just who he thought he was fooling. He was behind the professor's desk and looked to be completely startled by Kit's appearance. Hardly a sign of innocent standard cleaning sweeps.

So when the cartaker gave her a look that belonged more to Professor Storm, Headmistress Snark or any Prefect. Well, two could play that game. It was after hours, so Kit was not required to be in uniform and she doubted the caretaker would be up to date on who was a Prefect and who was not.

Kit stood completely straight, crossed her arms over her chest and titled up her chin slightly. She did not appreciate his tone or attitude. Prefect mode, activated.

"Prefects are permitted to be in hallways after hours," she told him firmly. True, but a misdirection of the current situation. Also known as a lie. Except ladies didn't lie, so it was a truth with a dash of misdirection. "I had a question for Professor Reid. I was not aware rummaging around desks was part of your cleaning routine."

Whatever the staff of Hogwarts was teaching their students, manners and respect towards adults clearly wasn't part of the curriculum.  Joao glared at the girl, his eyes narrowing, as his fingers itched to brandish his wand.  He would have liked nothing more than to hex her, to put her firmly back in her place and remind her of where she stood in this world, but Analiza had made it clear upon his 'orientation' that magical punishment was traditionally frowned upon at Hogwarts.  Nothing he did should stand out, so he must obey the rules.

'Prefects,' he knew, were the students who wielded power to keep the peers in line.  Joao imagined that if he had spent much longer in school, he would have been a natural choice for such a position, but it was clear now that such a system had its downfalls as well.  This 'prefect' appeared to have gotten beyond herself, acting as if her power amongst her fellow students extended to the adult world as well.  She would be in for a sorry disappointment once she graduated.

"I was not aware that a prefect would have much knowledge of my cleaning routine," he said icily, his expression furious in spite of his cool tone.  "There has been an infestation of budamun throughout the school's facilities.  I am attempting to vanquish it all.  It enjoys reproducing in cool, dark spaces," he said, waving a hand at the drawer before him.  "And you would not want your favorite professor to get a faceful of acid because you interrupted my cleaning routine, yes?"

It was a perfectly valid excuse, and he should have left it there.  But something about this little thing of a girl challenging him rankled.  He was not going to let her go without conceding his point.

"Besides," he continued, heat edging into his words.  "I would not be in here if I did not have permission.  Or do you question the judgement of the Headmistress when she chooses whom she brings on as staff, Miss Prefect?"

(OOC: I apologize. I did not see your reply for whatever reason)

---

Kit was trying very hard to control her tone and word selection. She knew that as a lady she shouldn't be snippish to any adult, even if their position was cleaning. He wasn't making it easy. It seemed to her that he decided not to be pleasant which of course only made it easier for Kit to act cold and continue the cycle.

She straightened her back a bit more and took a deeps breath at his lecture.

"I apologize if I came across as short," Kit said finally. There. She was attempting to make peace. She could at least be civil, even if she still wasn't convinced about  a budamun infestation. It was a sounds reason, but a bad start made it too easy to distrust someone. And yes, she had to question the judgement of the headmistress. After all, Kit no longer had her prefect badge and the headmistress' relation did. Hmmph.

"I was looking for Professor Reid because I had some questions on an assignment," she continued. "I walk in and find someone else going through her desk. From my perspective, it does look a tad...off."

Not to mention his attitude, but she had already resolved to try and be civil. Kit looked around the office, taking in Professor Reid's personal space with a bit of curiosity. She didn't spend much time in the office's of professors, and hadn't been in Professor Reid's at all.

"Do you know when Professor Reid will be back?" she asked. She could stay and hang around for a bit, maybe do a bit of reading while she waited. Kit stepped to the bookshelf, taking in some of the titles. Personally, she liked to take reading material tips for essays from the professors themselves instead of what could be found or directed to her at the library.

At least the girl had the good manners to apologize, though her enthusiasm was sorely lacking.  Whatever they taught the students here at Hogwarts, Joao had been decidedly unimpressed so far.  As far as he was concerned, the British professors could spend far less time educating them about Magical Creatures and Muggle Studies, which he found to be particularly useless, and put more effort into instilling proper respect for their betters.

"Whether or not it looks a tad off," he said sorely, echoing the expression with disapproval, "it is not your place to judge.  No one could possibly enter this school without the permission of the Headmistress, and Analiza would not grant permission to anyone she did not trust.  Such as me," he added, eyeing the girl again as if he could intimidate her into backing out of the room under sheer force of his gaze.

But the impudent girl showed no sign of leaving.  Joao let out an irritated sigh, flexing his fingers around his wand.  Unfortunately, cursing one of the students would probably not be what Analiza counted as 'lying low.'

"No," he said shortly.  "I do not know when she will be back.  I do not know where she is.  It is not my responsibility to track each and every staff member who works at this cursed school - although," he added sourly, "any professor who spends so much time away from her office cannot be putting very much effort into her teaching.  If you want to know where Professor Reid is, perhaps you should owl her yourself.  Miss...?"  He left it hanging as a question, as he gave the girl a threatening look.  "You have a name, do you not, Miss Prefect?"

By the sounds of it, the caretaker was on good terms with the headmistress, though Kit had to wonder how good if the man was a caretaker and not a professor. Surely that was a more desirable position.

"I realize that the school has excellent security," Kit said, still doing her best to be polite. Ish. "Though some of the student body put their magical talents to...less than desirable exercises. Posing as member of the staff to try and find essay marks or test answers would not be a stretch."

She could think of at least ten students she would suspect would do exactly that given the proper resources. Somedays she could feel like she was in a school for five year olds.

The caretaker wasn't helping manners. He was as dour as ever, this one. Kit took a book from the stack and began examining it. Surely professor Reid wouldn't mind, would she? She wasn't thrilled about the caretaker asking for her name and was trying top put off answering. If he told Snark, the headmistress would of course immediately know Kit was not a prefect any longer and had been acting like she still had her badge. So she decided to go with answering his other questions.

"Well I'm here because I would like supplementary information for class," Kit said. "I find it all very fascinating, but sometimes lessons move a little slow for my interests. I just wondered if she had asked you about the infestation if she might have mentioned when she'd be back."

Oh Nana Branwell. Such a fine upstanding example of a lady and a woman, but her drilling of ladylike decorum were going to get Kit into trouble as they it had made it virtually impossible for Kit not to answer a direct question with anything less than the truth.

"I'm Kit Branwell. You are Mr. Encantado, correct?" she asked. Maybe he would forget her exact name or better yet not mention this to Headmistress was. Kit didn't know what the penalty was for pretending to be a prefect but Gryffindor couldn't really afford anymore setbacks. "Do you know much about runes, Mr. Encantado? Perhaps I could just borrow a book from the professor and leave her a note..or owl as you suggested and I'll be able to get out of your hair."

She put the book she was looking at carefully back where she had found it, adjusting it just so so the tome looked like it had never been disturbed. She glanced back at the caretaker, wondering how someone with such distaste for the school and its staff had come to work here. She was also wondering if she could get herself behind the desk to get a better peek at what he had been doing.

He did not know when the professor would be back. He had every right to be within her office. They had been over the basic gist of the conversation a dozen times, or so it seemed, and still Miss Prefect Branwell did not leave. Joao could feel his sense of irritation growing; his nostrils flared as he eyed the girl, synthesizing her last request.

"Does Professor Reid often let you take things from her office without asking?" he replied snippily, ignoring her inquiry about his own name. If she knew enough to supply it, then she shouldn't be wasting his time here. The longer he took to get into that drawer, the more likely it was that Aileen Reid would interrupt him before he had completed his search. "If all you want is a book, I believe the library supplies those, does it not? See Master Morgan. I am certain that he enjoys having his evenings interrupted by students."

The entire situation had just become galling. He was here, stuck with his cleaning supplies, while this girl kept him from accomplishing what he had come here to do. It was as if she, like all the rest of Hogwarts with its needy suits of rusted armor and its infernal Bundimun infestations, was out to foil every effort that he made. Joao hated these students. He hated this school.

It irritated him too that the girl saw fit to question his own knowledge of Ancient Runes. It was the same sort of superiority that he saw with the Hogwarts professors; because he was stuck working as the Caretaker, it was as if he couldn't possibly have any skills or knowledge beyond those necessary to wash the windows and scrub the floors. For not the first time, he wished that Analiza had been able to find him a more suitable position; if she had just invented a subject for him to teach or fired one of her current staff, he wouldn't be stuck in such a humiliating situation.
 
"And my experience with Ancient Runes is considerable," he said with what could only be described as a sniff. "Possibly because I do not spend my time lingering around empty offices waiting for professors who are not going to soon return. Owl her a note, and I am certain that she will get back to you as soon as she can, Miss Branwell."