30 June 2009
8pm

The Offices of the Hogwarts Board of School Governors
Located on the Royal Mile near Stevenlaw's Close, Edinburg in Scotland
These chambers, located in the uppermost floors, contain offices for Governors, a large meeting chamber, and also the headquarters for the Wizarding Examination Authority

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The most urgent parliament of owls sped across Wizarding Britain to the homes and offices of the twelve School Governors of Hogwarts, all at Persepolis Zephyr's panicked behest.  As many as who could arrive in person was on their way to the offices in Edinburg, and the rest sent responses that they'd be in for the next morning's emergency session. 

Persepolis Zephyr herself had just Floo'd in from her city apartments across town.  She stepped out of the floo into the meeting chamber, dusting her robes.  She wore garments far more casual than she normally did - you could see her shoes, her arms up to her elbows, and there was nothing covering her head.  Her black, very curly hair tied up at the back.  She looked anything but like the poised and polished witch she normally was.

She was absolutely frantic!  In her hands were no less than seven copies of the late edition of the Daily Prophet, each of them with the same headline, sheepishly hidden under the 'fold' near the obituary notices.


The very moment she was joined in the room by another governor, she thrust a newspaper at him and began in.

"This is a disaster! An immense disaster! Where the hell could she have gone! Catastrophie! There's the Tournament! The owls are meant to go out tomorrow! Ó Móráin resigning and now Analiza Snark turns up missing!  This is the absolute worst timing! She'd have better be dead when I find her -!"

She clamped a hand over her mouth immediately.

"Oh Merlin! I didn't mean it!" she hissed to the ceiling, and immediately flourished her wand and mumbled old spells meant to ward off omens, evil eyes and jinxes.

Arathorn responded almost immediately to the summons. Anything to get out of the mansion his rebellious sixteen year old grandson was terrorizing, or away from his offices where he was still under investigation for the explosion of his Diagon branch of Menageries back in May. The older wizard was impeccably dressed as always in black and navy blue robes. The only hint that he may have been in a rush to get to the Governor's office was the fine layer of silver stumble across his chin and cheeks.

As soon as he entered the office a newspaper was thrust into his chest and Zephyr started to go off. Arathorn held the paper up to hide the scowl on his lips and the gentle roll his ice blue eyes made. He had seen the newspaper already and knew what kind of implications it had made. With the school year just around the corner and the Tetra Wizard Tournament there was a lot that still needed to be done and they needed a Headmaster to be able to do that. It also didn't help that O Morain decided to up and leave as well. There was no one else on staff they could suddenly appoint to the position, no one suited for it anyway. He doubted Storm would take the position even if they offered it to him on a blood drenched platter.

Arathorn sighed and lowered the paper just in time to see the woman cross herself and ward off evil spirits. He kept his jaw set this time not wanting her to know what he thought of her superstitions, "I'd hate to be the idiot who thought Kidnapping Snark was a good idea, or an easy one." He crossed the room and took a seat placing the paper on the arm of the chair. He steepled his fingers and turned his haunting arctic gaze on the woman, "Any tricks up your sleeve Zephyr? Can't imagine you calling this meeting without even a tiny inkling of what you want done about it."

Emergencies came and went in a position like Herschel's. Usually they were trivial. He had already read the article in the prophet, and as soon as he had put it down began to get dressed and prepare to leave for the governor offices in Edinburg. He had just clipped a pocket watch to his waistcoat when the summons arrived. He tucked the time piece carefully into his pocket, and took the summons from the owl. It flew off as he was reading the parchment.

Herschel seemed incapable of hurry as he carefully filed the summons away with the rest of the paperwork and official documents he had copies of. Once that was done, he went to the fireplace in his study. A pinch of floo powder, and a few quick seconds later, and he stepped out of the large fireplace to the sight of Persepolis muttering at the sky.

"What a mess we have," Herschel commented after hearing Arathorn speak.

"Snark missing, the tournament in the balance, and the chance for such an amazing cultural and educational experience teetering on the edge of impossibility..." Herschel trailed off, clucking his tongue.

"But leaping to an assumption of kidnapping?" he said to Arathorn. "It could be something else all together. We should certainly consider the worst of circumstances, but should not rule out the best of them. Snark is a woman of intelligence and a thirst for knowledge and experience- there is always the possibility she simply got distracted by some sort of intellectual pursuit." Even as he said it, the two could hear the doubt in his voice. It was unlike someone of such a professional nature not to send an owl about her whereabouts when so many things were at risk of ruination.

"Kidnapping!" 

Persepolis hadn't thought of that, and although she had as much faith in both Analiza's nature of an abominable captive (as suggested by Arathon) and her ability to be a formidable adversary (as suggested by Herschel), she also couldn't fathom why such a driven and reliable witch could just not be found.

She watched as Arathorn Wentworth sat down and looked bored by the whole thing.  That was his problem - plenty of money and a complete lack of passion.  She narrowed her eyes at him in disapproval, very much expecting him to be far more upset about this than he appeared.  But then, he was right - Zephyr did have a few notions on what to do.

"What is this going to look like?" Persepolis said, only slightly calmer now that she had her colleagues with her.  She shook her head.

"This isn't a position of strength, not the one we really need to turn the schools towards us.  And the parents - I haven't even checked the owls yet.  They're going to be in a total uproar."

She still wasn't sitting, but wringing her hands as she paced around the open area of the room before the large table.  Her brows were furrowed deeply trying to find a focal point. 

"It's not our job to find her," she said darkly.  "Rosier's people will have to handle that.  If it were any other year we could afford to wait.  Afford ourselves a couple of weeks before ... before finding a replacement.  But we haven't got that kind of time.  We need a Headmistress and we need one now.  Merlin, the prefects haven't been selected..."

It was a strange thing to comment on, in a situation like this.  But it mattered to the students and the families, who expected things to be a certain way.  The Heads always did that - the Governors had never been involved in such internal, trivial things...

Arathorn simply looked at the man as he was spoken to. Perhaps he was one to jump to the worst of conclusion, especially given his current state of business outside of the Governor's office but he believed Herschel's words about as much as the other man did. Despite what the Prophet, students or parents may have said about Snark in the past she was not the kind of woman to just wander off to pursue some intellectual interest when she had dozens of students under her care. Snark would never have left them stranded in the middle of Egypt without a good reason and certainly would not have done so without giving someone word about it. Therefore he wasn't about to retract his assumption.

He leaned forward, despite his outward calm and general disinterest Arathorn was deeply worried about the state of things and the well being of the woman in question. He knew that Zephyr knew him well enough to know it was all an act but also knew she wasn't about to call him out on it. She was panicking enough for the both of them.

"The owls we can deal with, likewise the appointment of prefects and head boy and girl can easily be handled by our head of houses." He held a hand up to ward off any possible interruptions on that, "I know it's not how we would normally operate but given the circumstances it's something we may have to accept if we have to. What we really need now is someone to take her place, even if it's just temporary. Let every know we're still in charge and still have a cool head in all this."

"Like you said Rosier can handle finding her." He leaned back in his chair, "Any suggestions?" He looked from one colleague to the other knowing that both had a stronger opinion on it than he did.

"The parents are always in a uproar about one thing or another," Herschel said to Persepolis. "At least they will finally be in an uproar about something which matters. We can handle the owls easily enough. Standard reply, self-writing quill, and they will be momentarily satisfied. I am more worried about how the other schools are going to react to this moment of weakness."

"And Wentworth is right, Heads of House can easily help choose prefects and the head boy and girl. They know the students better than anyone. We can keep running under the guise of having everything under control. Owls to first years and supply lists can be handled without the eye of a headmistress. Hogwarts is a well oiled machine, Persepolis, it will continue to run while we work on finding a replacement."

"O Morain's resignation is an inconvenience at this point," he commented. When Analiza had been out of the country courting other schools and making arrangements for the tournament he had done a decent job at holding the school together, and would have been an appropriate choice to fill in until a proper head had been appointed- but without him, that put them in quite a pickle indeed.

Herschel settled into a chair, motioning for Persepolis to sit down. "Have a drink, it will help to calm your nerves," he said before falling silent and steepling his fingers in front of his face.

What did they have to work with? Current professors would not work. Though Storm and Austerlitz had experience, Herschel would never see a foreign graduate take the reigns of Hogwarts. The atmosphere of Hogwarts was not to be sullied by someone who would prefer to run it like Durmstrang. Many of the others were simply too young to have the proper level of experience and maturity to govern the entire school.

"One step at a time," he finally spoke. "Look at the options. We have Hogwarts staff. Heads of house include Levartian, Tawse, Trishna, and Morgan. While fine heads of house, they do not have the proper experience needed to run the school- though I'm certain any would make a formidable deputy. Those with the experience to do the job justice are not Hogwarts graduates. It will be a sad day for Britain indeed if Hogwarts is put into the hands of a Durmstrang graduate- the parents would be outraged, and rightfully so."

"I doubt Xiomara would have interest- though she has been with Hogwarts the longest. Apart from Xiomara the only professor to have been with Hogwarts longer than a year would be Professor Reid. I am not sure that Aileen has the appropriate temperament or experience to be in charge of Hogwarts."

Herschel paused to pull a cigar out of a coat pocket. He levitated an ashtray toward him, clipped the cigar, and lit it. Smoke swirled from the tip, circling his head. "Which leaves us with little choice. Do we appoint a current professor who is not ready for such responsibility, do we appoint a non-Hogwarts graduate, or do we search outside of the halls of Hogwarts for a suitable replacement?"

The wizards were right.  The owls, the prefects, the parents - they were trifles for now.  Well, the concerns of parents were never trifles and Persepolis always tried to take them seriously.  After all, they were all on the same team, they just all had different ways of going about their mutual goal.  The Heads of Houses could easily be called upon to choose next year's prefects, and their offices could handle the start-of-year owls.

She sat down as Herschel suggested and sighed.  A few taps of her practiced wand and a subtle uttering or two and she summoned over glasses and a decanter filled with an amber liquid.  The three old Governors were now all sat in a room that was more used to accommodating over a dozen.  In moments of abject, existential lucidity such as this moment, Persepolis felt very acutely that it was she and a handful of others responsible for a great deal of important things. 

Yes.  The trifles would wait. 

It felt as if Herschel was reciting a list both she and Arathorn were well aware of, but the benefit of saying it out loud was important.  He ticked down the list, front top to bottom, in order of suitability and when he was finished they came up short.

The three choices laid out before them were far from ideal.  "The post requires grooming," she said, pursing her lips.  "It always has.  There are none among the current staff who're qualified - either that or they're far too controversial to lead the school now of all times."

She poured herself a finger of whiskey and sipped it. 

"And it will absolutely not to do have any of the foreigners in the post - you might be able to Imperius me to consider it in any other situation, but with the Tournament? Merlin - it would be just absurd."

Persepolis leaned her tired head down so that she could massage the area between her eyes.  When she was out of the public eye she tended to relax into more plain-speaking terms, and get more down-to-business.

"I just... there's no time to vet an outside candidate.  We had the entire summer and Madam Snark was already interested in the post.  And her situation was unusual - she was the first Head Hogwarts has had from the outside since, well I don't remember his name, but you know who I'm talking about."  She fluttered her fingers dismissively.

"The devil we know or the devil we don't... I'd just do it bloody self," she said a little sardonically, "if I was at all qualified.  Hell, you should do it, Herschel," she mumbled, and punctuated the barely-spoken suggestion with another drink from her glass.

Arathorn nodded along with the list of potential candidates and much like he had already concluded (as he was sure Zephyr had) they had little to no options left. Just finding suitable Professors the past year had been a trial in futility all in it's own. They had already had to replace eight Professors this year alone, four of which had to be further replaced. Not to mention the fact that they still had a few spaces open to be filled before the next term started. Now all this mess with Snark, it made them look incompetent at the very least.

Thankfully Herschel was able to coax Zephyr into calming down and soon the three older wizards were seated. He glanced at the empty chairs and wondered what was so important that the remaining Governors weren't present. They couldn't even get their own Governors to respond to an emergency meeting, no wonder they had a hard time picking suitable Professors.

Arathorn lifted his ice blue eyes when Zephyr began to mumble to herself, "You know that's not an entirely bad idea." He looked from one Governor to the next, "Herschel you should take the post. How better to show the parents and the general populous that we're on the matter than to appoint one of our own. The people know you, they can relate with you. You've been a tutor, an educator, you've been a Hogwarts Professor twice now, in different positions and you've been doing the apparition lessons for over a decade now." He leaned forward once again, "We know we have no options within Hogwarts halls and at a time like this we can't trust any outsider, especially one we plain just don't know. We'll be seen as fools, incompetent fools who are just throwing someone into the snake pit because there's nothing better we can do but," He turned his arctic gaze to Herschel, "We appoint someone the public knows, someone who has been working for us for almost a decade and has a rich history within Hogwarts herself and we save face in front of everyone, even our little foreign friends who are gong to be coming next month."

Herschel poured himself some whiskey as Persepolis began to pick up his line of thought. She was right, the post did require grooming, and controversy on top of the worries of a tournament was not something the governors needed. And the idea of putting a head in charge of the school who couldn't handle that level of controversy...

"It would certainly lessen the respect which an institution like Hogwarts deserves," Herschel said when Persepolis seemed to agree with his opinion of not having a foreigner in charge of Hogwarts. "Absurdity aside it is simply inappropriate."

But moments later Persepolis' off handed suggestion that he take the post was quickly backed by Wentworth. His qualifications were listed off by his colleague- who made a very convincing case. Herschel had been dabbling in education for a very, very long time now. It was something he was good at, and something he was passionate about- something he had left to join to the board of governors and look after the larger interests of Hogwarts.

"A flattering offer, to be sure," Herschel began- speaking slowly, deliberately. "But it is not a decision which should be made in haste. Though I would be more than happy to aid in whatever way I can, and would love to be back in the halls of Hogwarts- I do not make such important decisions at the drop of a hat, Wentworth."

"What happens if Snark turns back up?" Herschel asked. "Is she to be denied her rightful post as Headmistress of Hogwarts? If her disappearance is outside of her own control, it would not be entirely fair to take away from her something so prestigious." He frowned, puffing away at his cigar, and draining his glass of the whiskey.

"And further, will the professors respect one who is not their own?" he asked. "No doubt they are expecting one of themselves to be promoted if Snark doesn't turn up. Though it is true none are qualified, they have paid their dues so to speak. And my stint at Hogwarts was a short one- five years in total..." Herschel knew, even as he spoke, how ridiculous his protests sounded.Fairness was not really something that could be a part of the equation at this point- they were in too much of a jam to worry with it. And now he found himself caught between a rock and a hard place.

"That will leave the governors with two positions to be filled, then," he said, motioning to Persepolis. "They're going to think our department has delusions of grandeur. Minister of Magic and appointing one of our own as head of Hogwarts."

Wait, what, pardon now?

Persepolis's brow knit as not one but two of the wizards sitting in the stoic old board room was agreeing with her flippant suggestion.  A suggestion she hadn't actually thought over - it as just an easy fix she'd thrown out onto the table in a moment of attempted levity. 

She to Arathorn and then to Herschel.  They were serious.

"You're serious," she asked. 

They were.  She tried not to seem too skeptical, but as soon as she let the words sink in, she realized they were true.

Herschel was a very good candidate. 

"Analiza Snark turning up before the first of August is the best thing that could happen and would solve all our problems - I wouldn't turn away a prodigious boon like that for all the gold in Gringotts," Persepolis said, dismissing any concern for complications that would result from their missing Headmistress returning.  "It's simple - if she turns up, we'll count it a blessing and sort it out after we celebrate.  But we should move forward as if..."

There she was again.  Considering the worst.

"As if she will not be available in time."

She sighed sharply through her nose, and looked at Herschel through narrowed eyes. 

"Do you want it, Herschel?  If we're all taking a flight of fancy let's step off the carpet now, but if you want it, Herschel, if you really want this? I think we should take you seriously."

Inside, Persepolis had complete faith in her old colleague.  He was good.  Wise, easy to trust.  A natural leader.  But she wasn't going to get her hopes up unless she had a solid reason to consider him a real candidate.

Herschel wasn't sure how to respond when Persepolis asked if he really wanted it. He was fairly certain that he did- but he hadn't the appropriate amount of time to consider the situation, time to go over it again and again before making a proper decision. "Hogwarts has always held a special place in my heart," he said simply. It was a bit more emotional than he usually spoke- but it was true. "When I was an educator in those halls they were the best years of my life."

"Of course, I do need more time than a hastened discussion among the Governors to fully make a decision," he stated simply. "But I cannot argue against my own qualifications- all arrogance aside, of course. And I do believe that I could help take Hogwarts into a new era. You and I share many of the same beliefs of what we want out of the upcoming school year, Persepolis. There is no doubt that if I were at the helm those things would be accomplished to my standards."

He fell silent again, staring into his glass of whiskey. "I cannot make such a weighty decision at the drop of a hat, I hope both of you can understand this. But I shall consider it. I do believe I would very much like being Headmaster of Hogwarts. I do believe that I would do the job well and that there would be less backlash and disagreement if we appointed one of our own..."

"However, I want to be sure before I agree that it is what I want and what is best for Hogwarts."

"Do we have the time for me to think it over?" Herschel asked his colleagues. "I do hate making such a huge decision in a rush. The last thing Hogwarts would need is to go through two headmasters in a matter of a month if I decide I made the wrong decision after a couple of weeks."

Arathorn watched the discussion with his eyes narrowed. He could see that now that the idea was out there it was blossoming in Herschel's mind to the point he was sure his colleague would not be able to turn away from it. If he needed time for that blossom to become overbearing then Arathorn was more than willing to give that time to him. They had already concluded that many of the minor tasks could be carried out by the Heads of House and as a joint effort many of the others could be completed by the Governors themselves. At the moment there was no need to have a Headmaster appointed immediately. Herschel could have all the time he wanted, Arathorn already knew what his answer would be, there was no chance the other man was going to walk away from an opportunity like this.

A soft chirp sounded at Arathorn's wrist. The older wizard shrugged up his suit sleeve to reveal an ornate looking wrist watch. The watch itself while at times would display the time as a regular watch would, also had multiple hands displaying the faces of those dear to him and where they were at the moment. The chirp had been to alert him to the fact that Xavier's hand had moved from OUT to IN TROUBLE. He grumbled under his breath and turned to his colleagues as composed as ever as he rose to his feet.

He placed a hand on Herschel's shoulder, "Take what time you need old friend," he turned to them both then and added, "If you'll excuse my abrupt rudeness there is another matter I can't leave unattended." He nodded and headed for the door, "You'll make a fine Headmaster Herschel." He spoke before heading out the door and apparating down the hall.

"Right yes.  Time.  Of course," Persepolis said quietly.

But Arathorn suddenly made his leave and the tone of the room changed.  They'd been so engrossed these last few minutes in the emergency and now they had to see off Arathorn in some sort of pleasant way.  The late time seemed obvious now, and the idea that very little at this point could really be done.

"Oh! Yes, of course, Arathorn.  Farewell."  The reputation of Governor Wentworth's ward Xavier Tawse was not a secret.  Had Persepolis's own children not been grown, she might also have had family to attend to this evening.  But the single old auntie she was now, her engagements could all wait in line behind the Board.  She offered him a stunted little smile.  "Well said."


And Persepolis and Herschel were left alone in the large room, sitting nearby each other at the big table.  A few moments of silenced passed before she spoke to him again.

"So like Arathorn.  To propose an absurd turn of events, convince us it's a naturally perfect notion, and vanish in a puff of smoke leaving us wondering where our heads are."

"Funny that I need time when we haven't any to spare," Herschel commented. "But I am certain I will come to a decision sooner than later. Taking care to make the correct decision without making it in haste is important to me." It was also important to Herschel that he do what was right for Hogwarts- even if that meant not allowing himself to take the position.

He nodded when Arathorn announced that he had to go. "Very like Arathorn," Herschel agreed with Persepolis.

"Hopefully not too absurd," Herschel added. "The notion is a very charming one, I must admit. The idea of me being back at Hogwarts in any capacity is a charming one. This still leaves us with the matter of a deputy," he stated. "If I decide to take the position, we shall have to choose the correct person."

"But that is a matter for another day. I shall consider it carefully and will be in touch with you and with Wentworth very soon about my decision." Herschel rose from his seat, carefully adjusting his clothing. "There is nothing more we can do here, Persepolis. It is best we get some rest and get ready to face the days ahead. The number of owls will be endess, I'm certain."

Persepolis stood as well.  She felt unsettled having to leave the headquarters without something written in stone, with options still hanging in the air.  She wanted a tidy solution for Herschel to take the post.  Well no - what she wanted was for Analiza Snark not to have gone missing.  Wanted her to appear back with windswept hair and a suitably grim and exciting tale that a witch like Snark seemed to always have.  But it was folly to dwell on that.

What she had to dwell on was if she could get behind Herschel Reid.  But a little soul-searching would prove that Herschel was an excellent option.  He was her ally and nearly always they were in accord about what was to be done.  Not usually so with Snark, nor with Greyfriar.  Perhaps things would turn out alright in the end.

Standing now, she began to gather herself to go home as well.  She adjusted her hat, and confirmed she had her wand. 

"You'll let me know as soon as you're ready," she said, not really a question.  "Time presses on us and I'd rather have an answer than nothing at all."

All set to go, she paused and turned her head.  "I have faith in you, Herschel.  Sweet dreams, yes?"