The Headmistress Starts Her School Year ^_^

[Headmistress]

Location:: Headmistress' Office
Date/Time]: Beginning of Classes, first day of school
Open

Charlotte opened the great mahogany door located behind the unicorn statue that led into her office. In her hands, she held her datebook, and other important papers she needed to go over before the end of the day. Most of said papers dealt with the upcoming "Holiday Ball" that she and Jayne had planned over the summer-when they had actually gotten together, that is.

Laying her datebook, wand, and papers on her table as she looked around the room, she breathed in the smell of sandalwood-the charm she had cast before she left for the summer still held true. It was comforting that she was able to walk into her office and smell the scent that reminded her the most of home. She checked to make sure everything was in order-the picture of her with her parents on her first day at Phoenixsong, the photo of her and Jayne when they were sixteen, the photo of her and Nate on their wedding day, the picture of her and Jayne holding Melinda and Hayden-you could see Nicole shaking her head in the background-and finally, she added a new photo-one of Melinda and Hayden over the summer. She had a rather crowded desk, picture wise. It was a good thing it was so big.

With a sigh, Charlotte sank into her large, tall backed, golden cushioned chair, and opened her datebook to see what was first-go over the seating arrangements for the Holiday Ball. Might as well get to it... she thought, pulling those papers towards her.

[Kaiden Preston]

It took Kaiden Preston quite a while to get to the Headmistress's office. He kept making stops to look into other classrooms. He saw every year in some subject or another. He couldn't help but remember when he was a younger student. He was always the little troublr maker. He would mess up potions, trade wands, add extra objects to a mix, or even do the sticking charm to the board like he did today. He always waited until the first month of school was over though. He figured that way everyone would be half way ready. He never once in his life did something this evil first thing in the morning on the first day of classes. It felt really....evil of him. he never wanted to do that again in his life. He liked *most* of the Professors here, so he did not understand why he always had to go and explode.

When Kaiden reached her office, he looked up at it. The unicorn statue seemed to almost glare at him. He smiled at it, and said, "Umm...I don't know the password. But, Professor Mclaughlin sent me..." This seemed to make the Unicorn move, so that he could enter the office. He almost turned around. Something about going into her office so soon seemed too weird for him. The unicorn the showed signs of closing, so Kaiden ran threw it.

He didn't even bother knocking. He just walked in and sat down. "Hey Charlotte." He said, and smirked, "Have a good Summer?" He threw the note onto her desk. "I know I did."

[Headmistress]

She had just put away the table settings-she had at last decided to go with eight tables with twelve people at each, and then one staff table, when the phoenix head near her door announced:

"You have a visitor, Charlotte. It's Mr. Preston. Charlotte sighed, and pushed her papers to the far corner of her desk.

"Very well, send him--" she didn't get a chance to finish her sentence, because Mr. Preston admitted himself without waiting for her office to admit him. She gave him a brief smile, although it faltered slightly with his usual impertinence in calling her by her first name. "I believe, Mr. Preston, that I've asked you to call me either Professor Hayes, or Headmistress. And I also had a very lovely summer, I am glad to hear yours was the same." she picked up the note and began reading why Jayne had sent him done.

Her smile faded as she read each line. Punching a student...rudeness...putting awful things on the blackboard...She laid the note on her desk, and clacked her teeth together once, then closed her eyes as she clenched her jaw. "Mr. Preston, I did not expect you to start your career so early. Care to explain to me what this is all about?"

[Kaiden Preston]

His hazel eyes looked into hers. "I believe, Mr. Preston, that I've asked you to call me either Professor Hayes, or Headmistress. And I also had a very lovely summer, I am glad to hear yours was the same." he smirked. "Sorry, Char, I always seem to forgt this rule. I think it was because I didn't have the pleasure of seeing you at all over the Summer. New York is just so close to where you live...we should fix that. Though, I bet you wouldn't want to meet my family..." He trailed off, and looked down. He ran a hand through his hair, and leaned back into his chair.

"Mr. Preston, I did not expect you to start your career so early. Care to explain to me what this is all about?" He smiled. "I have to keep ya on your toes, teach. I can't have you be slipping." Kaiden placed his feet up on her desk. He looked at the pictures. "I see a new one..." He saw the one of Hayden and Melinda. He kicked that over with his left foot. "That's better. I don't like that one." He took his feet off her desk, and stood up. Kaiden started walking around the office. He didn't like being in here very much. He normally got in huge trouble when he was in here.

Kaiden knew the room very well. He could even give students a tour of it. He was, most likey, the only student to come in here almost once a week. "I'm not really in the mood to talk about it." He paused, "That Seth kid was just bothering me. I don't like to be bothered." He sat back down, and crossed his arms. "I don't know why Jayne just sent me in here. Really Char- Professor Charlotte, can't I just go back to class? I'll be good...I promise!" He gave her a happy smile, and placed his feet back on her desk.

[Headmistress]

She ran a hand through her brown hair as he called her 'Char'. She really had to find a way to get him to stop that. "I wouldn't mind meeting your family, Kaiden. Maybe they could give me more of a hint as to why you've been acting out. In fact, I'll have to make an appointment with them shortly." She grabbed her datebook and scribbled down the note. Closing her datebook, she responded to his remark about keeping her on her toes, "Well, I must admit, Kaiden, that I am always kept wary for you. But I would prefer being less wary in exchange for less visits from you. Not that I don't enjoy talking to you of course."

She opened her mouth to ask him to please remove his feet from her desk, but frowned when he moved away-after knocking over the newest photograph of Melinda and Hayden. "Could the antics detailed to me by Professor McLaughlin perhaps be related to my daughter and my daughter's friend?" Charlotte asked, watching him walk out of the chair and to another part of her office. "Please-" she stopped, he was back in the seat before she could ask him to return to it.

"I cannot allow you to return to class until we've talked this out, this is why Professor McLaughlin sent you here. And," she added with a smile that didn't have too much warmth in it, "give you your punishment. What did Mr. Ridgewood do that upset you so much? How did he push you to the point of physical retaliation?" she narrowed her eyes as he put his feet on her desk, and taking her wand, tapped his feet and vanished them. "Feet of the desk if you want to keep them attached to your ankles, please."

[Kaiden Preston]

"I wouldn't mind meeting your family, Kaiden. Maybe they could give me more of a hint as to why you've been acting out. In fact, I'll have to make an appointment with them shortly." This made Kaiden snort. "They wouldn't come." He looked up at her, and shook his head. "They don't give a rat's ass about me or what I do here." He snicked, then added, "Which is one of the many reasons they sent me here. They just write once every six months to make sure I haven't killed myself." He reached into his poket, and pulled out the letter they had just sent him. he put it on the table.

Hi!

Just making sure you haven't killed yourself yet!

-mom and others

"Isn't that note so thoughtful? Yeah. See? They don't care." He rolled his eyes, and took the note back. He shoved it into his pant's pocket again. He didn't want the letter to get lost. It was still something from his mom, so he wanted to keep it. "Hayes and Rose didn't do anything." He said, answering her last question. "Well, Rose didn't. She just kinda flirted with me....but who wouldn't? Your daughter was being an ass to me, though." He couldn't help but snear this last part. "Well...she was." He then sighed, and stated, "Really Charlotte, you have a great kid but she needs to work on that attitude."

"I cannot allow you to return to class until we've talked this out, this is why Professor McLaughlin sent you here. And give you your punishment. What did Mr. Ridgewood do that upset you so much? How did he push you to the point of physical retaliation?" Kaiden shook his head. "Jayne isn't going to care what the hell that Ridgewood boy did to me." he didn't want to talk about it anymore. "I was just telling Soren and he and Hayden had something in common and he came up to me and started to pick a fight. I can't look weak, Char. That would kill my image. It's bad enough you and Professor Jayne have me in that drama club." He took a look out the window. "I think without quidditch I'd leave." He took his feet down after being tapped.

"I just wanna go back to class."

[Headmistress]

Hearing the way Kaiden spoke about his parents, and then actually seeing the note, made Charlotte very sad. Her brown eyes filled with concern as she looked back up at him and sighed. "Very well, but I am still going to have to contact them if you act out again. I can promise you that." she pulled her datebook towards her again, and made a slight adjustment to the note she had previously written in it, and then returned it to her desk drawer, and folded her hands over the desk once more. She smiled slightly,

"I find it very amusing that you can call me 'Charlotte' and 'Char' and yet you can't bring yourself to call Melinda or Hayden by their first names." she sighed slightly when he mentioned that Hayden had flirted with him a little-if there was one thing that girl never stopped doing besides breathing, it was flirting. But what was there to be done about it? It hadn't gotten her into any trouble...yet. Charlotte was, however, not pleased to hear that Melinda had been an 'ass' to him. "I will speak to my daughter later, but let me remind you that you're the one in my office, not her."

Well, at least we're getting somewhere on the issue of why he was sent here...and that explain why Melinda would have been rude to him if he insulted Hayden. "And what did you say that Hayden and Soren had in common? Personally, Mr. Preston, I could care less about your image. Because once you're in here, all that melts away...and you're just another kid in trouble." When he mentioned 'that drama club' the smile returned to her face. "Well, you'll be surprised to know that Professor Hazlett thinks you are wonderful in 'that drama club'. She even expressed a desire that you'd audition for the spring musical...And as for Quidditch, keep this up and you may find yourself without that. And I will keep you in this school...but I cannot let you go back to your previous class...which brings us to your punishment."

[Kaiden Preston]

Kaiden watched the Headmistress's eyes look worried. "Very well, but I am still going to have to contact them if you act out again. I can promise you that." Kaiden laughed out loud at that. "You can call them whenever the hell you want. My mom will be drunk and passed out, and my gay step father will be cheating on her with a neighbor...again. But please, go ahead. Maybe one of my ten year old sisters could come and met you. Oh wait...they have no idea what the hell a Wizard even is. I love being a Mudblood." He pointed his wand at his feet, and made them come back. "I'm good with magic." Kaiden said and looked into her eyes. "There isn't a spell I found I couldn't do yet." He smirked at her, and pointed his wand at the picture of Melinda and Hayden. He flicked it, and he made them look like monkies. "Much better."

"I find it very amusing that you can call me 'Charlotte' and 'Char' and yet you can't bring yourself to call Melinda or Hayden by their first names. I will speak to my daughter later, but let me remind you that you're the one in my office, not her." Kaiden shook his head. "You won't speak to her. You hate me. You'll tell her she did a good job!" he got up again, and walked around. He did this when he was getting angry or confused. "I call you Charlotte because I like bugging you." He then looked at her, and glared. "I call your daughter and her sidekick by their last names to bug them. It's all about the image." He always went back to the image.

"And what did you say that Hayden and Soren had in common? Personally, Mr. Preston, I could care less about your image. Because once you're in here, all that melts away...and you're just another kid in trouble." He continued to pace around her office. "I said they were wearing the same eye...stuff." He couldn't help but knock over a cup of pencils that seemed to have kids on it. "I hate kids." He muttered, and heard her speak again, "Well, you'll be surprised to know that Professor Hazlett thinks you are wonderful in 'that drama club'. She even expressed a desire that you'd audition for the spring musical...And as for Quidditch, keep this up and you may find yourself without that. And I will keep you in this school...but I cannot let you go back to your previous class...which brings us to your punishment."

When she was talking about Professor Hazlett, he shook his head. "I'm just in it because Jayne is making me..." As she went on, it was the taking away quidditch that made him sit down. "But I'm the best on the team! Jayne knows this!" He looked..almost hurt. "Professor you can't take that away from me..." Kaiden could feel himself falling apart, and tried to pull it all back together. "Punishment? Go ahead. Nothing scares me. I've done it all. I must say, I did rather like the one when I got to kill bugs...could I do that again?" Kaiden rolled his eyes, and stood up again. "I don't even want to go back to class anymore. They're doing Boggarts. I don't want them to see mine...." Kaiden picked up the chair, and turned it around. He straddled it, and looked at her again, his hazel eyes not showing anymore signs of weakness.

[Headmistress]

Charlotte clacked her teeth twice as Kaiden continued to be rude to her, her daughter and her friend, and just plain in general. If he pushed her much further, she was going to snap and just ask him to leave the school...but judging from the description of his homelife, that wouldn't be a good idea. "I will do as I please, Mr. Preston. Whether your mother and step father choose to or not, I will meet with them to discuss your behavior, which I do hope improves, or it won't just be Quidditch you'll be losing." she said sternly, flicking her wand and returning Hayden and Melinda back to their normal selves. "And I'm sure a great many would appreciate it if you did not use that word."

"I would also advise you, Mr. Preston, to not tell me how I'll treat my own daughter. I will speak to Melinda, and it won't be to tell her that she did a 'good job'. And I hate all of my students exactly the same-I don't hate them at all. Do not assume that you are at all special in that respect." And there we are back to the image again. Was school really like that when she had been? Probably, but Charlotte wasn't really one to care about 'image', she was more concerned with making sure rules were upheld. But was that an image in itself? She decided to save this food for thought for later, there were other problems to deal with right now.

"Well, clearly that wasn't a good idea, then." she righted her pencil cup with a wave of her wand. "You hate kids? Stop acting like one, Mr. Preston. Because I do not find knocking over a pencil cup with stick figure children on it at all helpful to your precious image." As he ranted on and on about his fear of losing Quidditch, she was almost tempted to tell him that that would be his punishment. But no, he needed the Quidditch to occupy his time in a constructive way, so that was going to have to not be it. He enjoyed the responsibility of Quidditch, and it was when he was at his most well-behaved. Charlotte stood up, and lowered her gaze sternly upon him.

"For each of your offenses, there will be one punishment, a total of five detentions. For arriving late to class, you will clean out the Green Houses for one afternoon. For vandalizing Professor McLaughlin's chalk board, you can spend two afternoons before Quidditch practice gardening, and let that chalk upon onto your image. For punching Mr. Ridgewood, you will spend an additional two afternoons helping to mow the grounds-without magic. I think by the end of all of this you'll become quite acquainted with all manners of plants. I shall not give you a punishment for insulting Mr. Daein, because I feel as though it was a one time thing, do not make me wrong. I strongly frown upon bullying. I don't want to see you in here again, or I may find myself ordering you to audition for the spring musical. Do not go back to class, you may remain in your Common Room until the second class."

[Kaiden Preston]

"I hate when you do that with your teeth. It's really annoying." Kaiden wasn't even really paying attention anymore to what the Headmistress was saying. Something about meeting with his parents. He shugged, that was until she said something about losing quidditch. "...or it won't just be Quidditch you'll be losing." He rolled his eyes. "You don't scare me, Charlotte." He glared at her, and listened to her continue. "And I'm sure a great many would appreciate it if you did not use that word." Again, he rolled his hazel eyes. "What word? Mudblood? It's just a word. It's not my fault if you don't like it. I'll say whatever I damn well please. Or are you just prejudice against people like me?" His words were full of wickedness. It was cold and icey. Not that Kaiden really cared.

"I would also advise you, Mr. Preston, to not tell me how I'll treat my own daughter. I will speak to Melinda, and it won't be to tell her that she did a 'good job'. And I hate all of my students exactly the same-I don't hate them at all. Do not assume that you are at all special in that respect." He chuclked. "I never assume, Char. You know what happens to those who assume..." He snicked again, and watched her. She seemed to be in thought about something, not that he cared at all. It was probably about her goody-goody daughter. "I really don't like your daughter...or her friend. Do you have a problem with that? Are you going to tell me who I can and cannot like now? Hmm?" He didn't really even care if she answered that or not.

"Well, clearly that wasn't a good idea, then." Kaiden burst out laughing as he said, more or less spelled, "N-S-S." He smirked, then kind of listened to what she was ranting about. Not that he minded. He was too busy thinking about something...else. Something that he had been thinking about for about six years, now. He let her continue to rant to him, though. He had got a turn, now it was hers. Kaiden liked to disrespect people, but he thought she needed to get out whatever it was that she wanted to say.

He listened to Professor Hayes tell him what his punishments were. After he one she said, he smirked even bigger. "Aww, come on..." Kaiden said when she was finished, "That's too easy. I'm not that ditz, Rose. I know how to do yard work. Who the hell do you think does it at my house? As for the Spring musical, go ahead. Just because I try out doesn't mean I have to do it well. Face it, Char. You can't win!" Kaiden burted out laughing again, and rocked back and forth in his chair. Do not go back to class, you may remain in your Common Room until the second class." He stood up, and smiled. "Fine by me. If you don't mind, I may stop at the Great Hall, first. I never did have any breakfast. I can't behave on an empty stomache. It's been real, and it's been fun....but it hasn't been real fun." He paused for a second, "Permission to leave...hitler?" he chuckled, and looked right into her brown eyes.

[Headmistress]

"Then tune what I do with my teeth out, you seem to have an easy enough time doing that with things I say." she replied. "I am not at all prejudice against "people like you", if I was, don't you think you would've been expelled first year before you even had gotten sorted?"

Charlotte leveled her gaze at him as the conversation turned, once more, to her daughter. "You are free to hate or like my daughter...but you do always seem to enjoy telling me how much you dislike her and Hayden." a glimmer of a smile flew across her face, before it returned to the "stern Headmistress" expression she had been accustomed to wearing while she was dealing with students in her office. "I'm glad you find your punishments to your liking, as they are the stepping stone for the punishments for the entire year. First we start with yard work, and then we'll see what else needs done around the school." she gave him a little smirk of her own. "I never realized what a good free labor possibility you might end up being."

She sat back down, and folded her hands. "Oh no, you won't be going to the Great Hall, straight to Brightstar Common Room, or I'll add on more punishments. I may even make you do well in an audition for Professor Hazlett." she pursed her lips as he called her Hitler. "Permission to leave granted."

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