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Post by Kiki on Sept 4, 2004 12:48:58 GMT
Kiki arrived out the front of the Headmistresses Tower and took a breath, rapping hard on the door in front of her. She smoothed down her cloak and ran a finger through her shortened hair and waited for the door to swing open to admit her.
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Post by Wilting Rose on Sept 5, 2004 8:09:00 GMT
A loud clunk unlocked the door from the other side, and it slowly swung open, revealing the brightly lit Headmistress' Tower, where Rose was sitting on her sofa, flicking through the latest Which? Broomstick.
"Good afternoon," said Rose absent-mindedly, gesturing to the plushy chair opposite while she read an article on the latest broom on the market.
After she'd finished, she placed the magazine on the small pine table beside her and looked up, smiling slightly, at the Head Girl. It had been a long time since she and Claire had taken a visit from any of the students, and she was pleased to see Kiki again.
Rose's swirling rainbow gaze fixed intently on Kiki. "Why are you here?" asked Rose, calmly placing her hands in her lap.
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Post by Kiki on Sept 7, 2004 6:30:28 GMT
Kiki stepped inside and immediately drew in her surroundings somewhat warily. The last time she'd been here she hadn't exactly been herself, and although no-one had been present at the time of her arrival, the spooky feeling still lingered.
"Afternoon," Kiki sank into the chair that was offered to her and she waited patiently for Rose to finish. She had all day and was really in no hurry to do anything.
"I wanted to talk to you," She said, trying to find the right words. "I, er," She paused, deliberately averting her gaze whilst she racked her brains to find her vocabulary which seemed to have deserted her. "I just wanted to - er - chat, to catch up?" The question was somewhat evident in her voice. She wasn't all to sure how to go about her questions and she figured small talk might be able to steer the conversation into the direction she wanted.
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Post by Wilting Rose on Sept 7, 2004 8:24:49 GMT
Wilting Rose smiled and nodded, her colourful eyes observing Kiki almost studiously. Without saying anything, Rose bent down to the side of the sofa she was sitting on and picked up her wand. Pointing it directly at the fire, she muttered, "Incendio!" before returning her attentions to the Head Girl.
"Yes, catching up sounds good," said Rose, interlacing her fingers and placing them across her lap. "I've heard quite a few mysterious things about you lately, and I would be quite interested to see if any of those things are actually true..."
She smiled gently to let Kiki know that she could say anything she liked; she was safe here.
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Post by Kiki on Sept 7, 2004 8:41:29 GMT
"Really?" Kiki asked, the heat of the fire calming her down. She wondered if that had been Rose's aim, for Ki to drop her guard.
"What sort of things?"
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Post by Wilting Rose on Sept 7, 2004 11:27:15 GMT
Rose shrugged, the warmth of the fire calming her own qualms. "Well, several things, really. A few students were concerned on your behalf - they said you were acting differently; belittling your friends and enjoying liasons with the Vampire King, I believe were the main points of that discussion."
Rose's eyes twinkled in the light of the crackling fire - she had not known what to think about the Head Girl's sudden strange behaviour, and let it continue without investigation. She had had a feeling, as she always did, that some things were not meant to meddled in, even if you were the Headmistress of a wizarding school.
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Post by Claire on Sept 7, 2004 11:57:02 GMT
Claire, ladened with brown paper cover parcels of numerous shapes and sizes walked awkwardly up the spiralling stairs to the top of the tower and to a nice cold drink and a book.
Reaching the small stone landing at the top, she leant against the door, hoping it would open of its own accord. It did not.
Turning her body she lifted her elbow to unhook the latch and push open the solid, creaking door.
Walking in sideways so that she could fit through the door, she dropped the parcels onto the floor. Her arms freed, she closed the door. Stepped from among the pile of boxes and look up.
Rose was sitting on the sofa, a magazine by her side. She was looking over at a chair. Claire squinted to see who was in it, but it's back was to her.
Walking a few steps and turning her head, Claire saw Kiki, the Head Girl, seated.
"Kiki! Hello!" Claire said, "How are you? What brings you to this height in the castle?"
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Post by Kiki on Sept 7, 2004 12:53:02 GMT
Kiki turned sharply and managed to smile at the other Headmistress. She'd never known Claire very well, but knew that she was geniune and she had always admired her for that.
"G'Day Claire, I was just catching up with Rose," Her smile faltered as she processed what Rose had just mentioned. Things with Ace...she didn't want to face those thoughts right at this minute. When she was alone and could process everything herself she could talk about it afterwards. But for now her wall was a secret garden and the walls were very high.
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Post by Wilting Rose on Sept 8, 2004 12:30:07 GMT
Noting that Kiki didn't particularly respond to her comment, Rose took an educated guess that it was all true, and that she still wasn't very comfortable talking about it.
"Right," said Rose, still smiling softly. "Hang on a second, Kiki, I just need to help Claire with her things."
Getting up, Rose walked over and took a few of the larger parcels from the floor, indicating to take them into the other room. "What on earth..." she muttered, her rainbow eyes twinkling playfully at Claire, and the pair of them entered their bedchamber and dumped them all on the enormous four-poster bed, currently lined with flowing satins and sheer fabrics of blue and purple.
Rubbing her hands together, Rose re-entered the main chamber, and returned to her seat, gesturing for Claire to sit beside her.
"So... Kiki. Looking forward to the new school year?"
The glimmer in Rose's eyes told Kiki that they would continue with the small talk until she wanted to say what she had come here to say; after all, they really did have all the time in the world.
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Post by Kiki on Sept 13, 2004 6:20:54 GMT
Kiki sighed.
"Well, considering that the school year this year hardly applies to me as I've graduated - or so I assume - I'm not particularly looking forward to the new school year." She avoided Rose's gaze and realised that this was probably what she'd subconciously wanted to talk about.
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Post by Wilting Rose on Sept 13, 2004 10:00:37 GMT
"Kiki..."
Rose hesitated. Was she making a mistake here? She carefully studied Kiki's face. She definitely needed to understand a few things about the Head Girl before she could feel positive about what she was doing.
"I understand. It can't be much fun for you. But..." she hesitated again, taking a sideways glance at Claire. "Well, we were wondering whether you'd consider taking another position. It's not really school-related, though of course you're welcome back at Magic Horizons at any time, as are all graduated students..." Rose smiled at the curious expression on Kiki's face. "Well, the Ministeress has resigned her position as she was unable to fulfill her duties - and we were wondering whether the position would be in your interests, at all."
Intertwining her fingers and placing them under her chin, she awaited a response.
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Post by Kiki on Sept 13, 2004 10:10:24 GMT
Kiki stared at Rose, genuinely surprised.
"Ministeress?" She murmured. "Are you sure? I mean, are there any other candidates? Do I have enough experience to your liking?"
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Post by Wilting Rose on Sept 13, 2004 10:18:10 GMT
Rose smiled warmly. "There are no other candidates. This particular position is a lot of work, and requires a great deal of patience, which I am sad to say is strangely lacking in most people nowadays."
Rose picked up her wand absent-mindedly and tapped it gently on the arm of the chair, each time emitting a few purple and silver sparks.
"I think that you, of all people here, have experienced the most at Magic Horizons. You have passed with top marks in the majority of your exams, certainly enough to be qualified for the job..." Rose paused, still smiling ever so slightly. "Of course, this is provisional. We would need to go over some things, I would need to know a few things," Rose's eyes swirled serenely, "... but the eventuality of it is that, yes, the position is yours. If you would have it."
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Post by Kiki on Sept 13, 2004 10:28:50 GMT
Kiki's head was spinning. This was really everything she'd ever dreamed of. Well, the Ministeress of the Australian Ministry of Magic was more along the lines of what she'd been thinking but this was just as goo, if not better. The only possible thing better than being Ministeress was being Headmistress, but Kiki knew the chances of her becoming Headmistress were slim.
"Sure," She finally uttered, after becoming aware that she was staring gobsmacked into space listening to her thoughts rather than answering Rose.
"Sure, what things would we need to talk about?"
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Post by Wilting Rose on Sept 13, 2004 10:35:50 GMT
"We-ell," began Rose slowly, her large eyes taking another quick glance towards Claire, who was sitting in silence, watching the scene avidly.
"You haven't been quite yourself of late, that is clear to all of us... I just wanted to make absolutely sure that you have recovered from whatever it was that caused you to act that way," Rose said, scanning Kiki's face as though searching for the cause of all the misbehaviour. "We want you, and everyone else here, to feel safe... Are you alright now?"
Rose kept her questions unambiguous - she didn't want Kiki to feel like she was probing into her personal life.
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