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+------- Thread: Staff Table (/showthread.php?tid=1037)
Staff Table - Galen MacLean - 04-29-2026
Staff Table
The Staff table is situated at the very back of the room on a platform. Everyone sits side-by-side so they can see the students.
RE: Staff Table - Maddox Barlowe - 05-02-2026
Was it just him, or had the summer gone by too quickly?
One minute he was helping to see the children off on the Hogwarts Express for the break, gearing up to move into the new home he and Julia had purchased, and the next...he was being handed a baby and told to meet his wife in the library later to help her get a few last-minute things in place.
How Julia continued to find work to do, with all the assistants she had, was beyond him.
The common room, his classroom, their children – even the creatures – needed his attention. Their no-longer-new creatures professor was taking longer to adjust to the quality of care and management required over in the paddocks. Maddox wouldn't go as far as saying he didn't...trust the man, but further observation was unfortunately necessary.
By the time he slinked into his seat at the staff dais, he was ready for the night to be over, BOTH babies to be asleep and his soft pillow beneath his head.
There was just the matter of the actual feast first and a sorting that only seemed to get longer every term. It was nice to know that the wizarding world was healing and that the school's population had recovered, but this was...excessive.
"Let's get this out of the way early this year," he said, clutching his empty goblet between his index and middle finger and swaying it idly from side to side. "If you're going to be a cult supporting piece of shit, just let us know by November. We can still recover that early." Maddox saw an uncomfortable shuffle or two coming from somewhere down the left side of the table but paid them no mind. Not everyone appreciated his, at times, dry and direct humour. It went without saying, he didn't interact with them much beyond school functions.
"If you're going to take children, let it be Blackwood's problem, not mine." Aim for the Slytherins.
It was unlikely. An entire term had passed by peacefully since the last major mishap. But, on the off-chance someone had decided that things were going too well, it bore saying.
His head lolled to the side, his attention narrowing to his wife as she took her own seat.
"We can't both be betting Ravenclaw," for Kathryn, of course. As the summer had gone on, they'd had a conversation or two about where the little girl would go, indulging speculation on the quiet girl's behalf.
It hardly made for good gambling if they were on the same page.
"So I'm willing to bite the bullet and say Satan's second cousin could be in Slytherin. What do you want for it?"
RE: Staff Table - Julia Barlowe - 05-02-2026
She hardly had time to entertain her own thoughts these days.
It seemed a never-ending race to the next month, the next big event, the next unexpected wrench in all her carefully-laid plans. Julia had never been a woman that had flown by the seat of her pants or even allowed spontaneity to take the reins in her life. She'd always been put-together, rehearsed, anticipating what came next before it did. Calculating, some may call it.
She just preferred an easy life.
Her now-husband had seen to it that all those meticulous plans and her structured day-to-day life had been thrown out the figurative window. Now it was relative chaos. A toddler, an infant, two girls that were equally moody and put-out albeit for different reasons, and a teenaged son that seemed hellbent on affecting the natural healthy arrhythmia of her heart, she was, in a simple word, tired.
After handing off the two little ones to the house elves for the evening, and fussing for a good three minutes about how Jude needed to be burped immediately after eating, otherwise things got messy for everyone, she had relented and made her way down to the Great Hall for the annual Opening Feast.
"Let's get this out of the way early this year. If you're going to be a cult supporting piece of shit, just let us know by November. We can still recover that early."
"Now, now," Julia tutted as she took her place next to Maddox, a habit not due to marriage, but set in stone over years of avoiding the others. Tucking her robes beneath her and crossing a leg over the other she gave him a look that would seem scolding but held plenty of amusement, "Let's not go planning ourselves another Wizengamot trial before our first night is over. Evander still needs his bath."
Despite the positive outcome of Maddox's early in the year, two of his codefendants hadn't been nearly as fortunate, and Julia didn't fancy testing the will of the universe so soon after it had given them mercy.
She glanced to the side her eyes lingering on Galen for a moment. It seemed only yesterday that Ruby had sat in that very seat, and while she didn't have any particularly fond feelings for the former-Headmistress-turned-Azkaban-prisoner, she understood well how everything could have turned out differently.
"We can't both be betting Ravenclaw."
Honey-brown eyes turned back to meet his lazy blue, her lips curling upwards only slightly. They'd debated a bit, what house their daughter would wind up in at the end of the day. Julia already knew. Her girl was a natural Raven. Quietly curious, eager to learn - at least all the subjects her mother presented to her - and wildly intelligent, despite her silent demeanor.
"So I'm willing to bite the bullet and say Satan's second cousin could be in Slytherin. What do you want for it?"
"Stop that," she said, playfully slapping his leg as she watched the first years file in. "I refuse to have you malign our daughter before she’s even had the chance to disappoint us properly."
RE: Staff Table - Gideon Blackwood - 05-06-2026
Gideon arrived at the staff table only after the last of the first years had been Sorted and directed toward their new houses. By the time he crossed the length of the dais, the familiar hum of staff conversation had already settled in around him.
“If you’re going to be a cult supporting piece of shit, just let us know by November.”
Gideon snorted softly at Maddox’s remark as he pulled out his chair. “November?” he questioned dryly. “Optimistic of you. Let's give them till at least the start of January.”
Straightening the front of his robes, he lowered himself into his seat. Term had just started and he was already exhausted. Granted, he had just wrangled an entire castle’s worth of eleven year olds without incident. A personal achievement, really.
See, he’d make a great father of a horde of little ones.
“For the record,” he added while reaching for his goblet and taking a long pull, “if anyone is planning treason, kidnapping, ancient curses, or dramatic public betrayal this year, I would appreciate a schedule in advance. I’ve recently acquired a wife and child. I prefer my catastrophes organized now.”
With a smile, he leaned over and kissed Rose’s temple, finding her hand under the table. Lacing his fingers with hers.
A glance slid toward Julia and Maddox at the mention of Kathryn, then looking at the Ravenclaw table to find her in the sea of blue.
“Slytherin would’ve built character,” Gideon remarked mildly. “Though admittedly mostly through struggle. The dungeons do sometimes qualify as hostile territory. Best keep her in Ravenclaw.”
There was the faintest trace of amusement in his expression before his attention drifted toward the students settling in.
The castle felt… different this year.
Not quieter. Merlin knew Hogwarts would never be quiet, but lighter. Less like survival of the fittest. It was still strange, sometimes, to realize he was happy.
Married to Roisin Blackwood. Father to Fiona. Surrounded by people he trusted, well a few at least. Years ago, the idea would have felt impossible.
RE: Staff Table - Roisin Blackwood - 05-07-2026
Rose took a long drink from her goblet – red wine. The bitter liquid made its way down her throat as she watched the sorting hat decide the fate of the new crop of firsties. It was only a couple of terms before her own daughter Fiona would be there to find out what house she would belong to, and she and Gideon had yet to begin taking bets on that. Often times she could see her following in her own footsteps much like Rose had followed in her mother’s by joining Hufflepuff.
But the older the girl got, the more Rose wondered if that would be the case. And what exactly her reaction would be if she was sorted elsewhere.
Gideon finally finished the sorting, and joined her at the staff table. She smiled at him, thankful for his presence next to her. She didn’t mind sitting next to the Headmaster, but it felt a bit awkward. She often felt like the man didn’t care much for her, and it wasn’t lost on her that he was still calling her by her maiden name – Byrne.
She supposed she couldn’t blame him for that. There were now two sets of professors who shared names.
The man was so dry most of the time, she could only imagine him shaking his head in disapproval of the decision of the unions between the different houses.
But Rose really didn’t care. Her blue eyes found Kathryn amongst the Ravenclaws as the others around her discussed the girl’s fate. Honestly, she was relieved. Kate was attached to Julia in a way that the girl would struggle if she’d had any other Head of House. At least her mother would be there to help her get situated into the new routine.
“Ravenclaw will be good for her, I think,” she smiled, and looked over at Julia. What an unusual extended family the four of them made. She squeezed Gid’s hand under the table and shifted in her seat a bit to lean on him. She wasn’t ready for their first night apart, as the return to Hogwarts meant she wouldn’t be sharing a bed with her husband for a while.
“I already miss you,” she whispered to him with a sad look in her eyes as Galen stood to give his speech.
RE: Staff Table - Galen MacLean - 05-07-2026
Galen sat silently at the center of the staff table, his blue eyes skimming the students. He paid close attention to the new faces, attempting to gauge who may cause problems this term. He hoped none would.
This was his first Opening Feast as Headmaster, as last term he came in once term was underway. The staff felt tighter this time around – though that was perhaps because he fully trusted each and every one of them. Last term, it had been his predecessor that had hired them. It had been up to him to remove anyone he didn’t see fit for their roles, or who wasn’t trustworthy.
Gideon took his seat on the other side of Byrne – Blackwood, really, but it was too confusing with too many professors having the same surnames. Just as Laurence would always be Laurence.
Once the Deputy was sitting, Galen cleared his throat and rose to his feet, drawing the attention of the room to himself with his militaristic presence. “Good evening. For those of you who are new, welcome to Hogwarts. You will find that it is an exceptional institution that will ask more of you than you think you are capable of giving. For those of you who are returning, you already know what is expected of you. I trust you have not forgotten over the summer.”
A beat. Some announcements. “We still have some auror presence on the grounds, so get used to seeing them around. Also, Prefects are no longer to patrol outside; their patrols have been moved indoors for security reasons.”
Would any of them argue? It didn’t matter.
“Regarding duelling club and quidditch. Both activities remain suspended. We are working toward a resolution, however I will not speculate on a timeline at this point.”
Galen truly hated the speech at the beginning of each term as a student because it was highly inefficient. The more administrative updates could be pinned on the bulletin boards in the common rooms instead of highlighted here.
“Enjoy your feast,” Galen said and took his seat. He lifted his glass, and the tables were immediately covered in food.