𝐔𝐧𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥

The Staff Meeting

Blanche was so focused, in fact, that she had lost track of time. She had been working all day, adjusting her notes and putting them in order; finally, they were almost ready. The daylight was leaving place to the faint light of dusk, and she was about to light up the candles when an alarming awareness suddenly hit her. If it was so late...

The meeting. Oh, Merlin.

She frantically gathered her documents, accidentally hitting the quill and spilling black ink all over the table. Oops.

As she rushed down the stairs, she greeted the chatting portraits with a quick nod; she was literally speeding towards the Great Hall, and when she eventually got there, her heart sank. It was deserted, and that meant only one thing: she was late for the Staff Meeting.

She ran to the Library and stopped in front of the enormous, closed door, panting; she tried to regain her composure before making her entrance, but her distress was nonetheless obvious when she did.

The Library was as ample as she remembered, with its majestic shelves towering all over and a series of wooden tables scattered in its enormous space. Every member of the staff was already seated at one of them, the nearest to the entrance. At the head of the table was Minerva, right next to a vacant seat on her left, and Snape, who was sitting on her right. Flitwick was nervously standing right in the middle, with his back turned to the door.

"Good evening. I apologize for being late."

"Don't fret, dear, we've just arrived." Minerva pointed at the chair next to hers, smiling reassuringly, and she felt the staff's eyes observing her as she took her assigned place.

"...Twenty minutes ago," added a quiet but firm voice, that of course belonged to Snape. He sat there with a lowkey smug expression, staring at her with an impenetrable, void stare that implied some unspoken words: We were waiting for you, Professor Less.

Blanche wanted to disappear, but instead, she maintained her self-control and didn't reply.

"Now, where were we?" Minerva asked, turning to Flitwick. "I was illustrating the Charms programs, as usual." He looked surprisingly nervous talking in public, and while his witty nature made him charming, his aversion to the group's undivided attention was evident: after all, he was a Ravenclaw, so that shouldn't have been that unexpected from him. He had a calm character that went well with the Charms' chair, as he probably had to see unfathomable performances from the students, but it seemed to cause some problems when it came to taking the spotlight. After about twenty minutes, as he concluded the presentation, he said: "I think that it would be useful to introduce extracurricular activities to allow the students to gain extra credits. Merlin knows that some of them would need it." He sat down. It was clear that he was giving Sprout the opportunity to submit her idea, and she took it immediately.

"My turn!" she yelled with a bit too much enthusiasm, then added, lowering her voice, "I mean, it's my turn," she said, lowering her voice and clearing her throat. She tried to look calmer, but her enthusiasm was refreshing, and that view made Minerva smile. "As Filius suggested, I intend to present a new project: it would be an all-student-managed garden, to consent autonomous experiments of the Herbology teachings. I'd make it completely optional to incentivize the students' motivation, but of course, I'd need your approval." She turned to Snape, who looked deeply disinterested in what was going on and almost bored, and added: "It would be a great display of our cooperation, as it could be useful to you too, Severus, since they could grow very much needed ingredients."

He took a moment to reply. "Pomona, must I remind you that this is an academic institution, not a recreational center? I do not plan to dedicate my valuable, not to mention limited, time to this... initiative," he uttered slowly, spelling out each word with contempt, "Moreover, it would occupy way too much time, as the students' diligence is already quite scarce. As a matter of fact, I intend to request an extension of the Potions course; the two could barely coexist."