July 27th, 1892 — Hogwarts, Great Hall

Steliana admired the decorations in the Great Hall, thinking on the differences between Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry to Durmstrang. They wouldn't have decorated the great hall as lavishly as it was done here, or at least she believed. This was something to welcome new staff to the school and generally a social for adults and not debutants as so much of the Season tended to be.

She knew it was important for young women to find husbands, preferable wealthy men who could take proper care of them and the children to come. Steliana wasn't here looking for a husband but simply to meet her those who will be her fellow teachers come the start of the school year. So far she only had brief conversations with those responsible for hiring new staff.

Even if the event wasn't aimed towards looking for future spouses or impressing everybody at how wealthy you were, Steliana still dressed to impress. Her gown was the latest in fashion, a blend of deep red, silver thread and black accents. Her necklace, earrings and bracelets was gold with large emeralds, complimenting the colour of her gown. Steliana had her hair done up, leaving only a few locks free to frame her face and show off her earrings. She waved a fan lightly as she took in the decorations then observed the others in attendance.

"The decorations are quiet amazing, and the ceiling, simply spectacular," Steliana observed, looking upwards as the ceiling currently showing the evening sky.

ooc: Open to any staff attending the Hogwarts Staff Summer Soiree

  

Gus didn’t want to be here. Stuffy events weren’t for him, and if the invitation hadn’t told him it was a requirement for staff to be in attendance, he probably would have skipped it altogether. He’d naturally gravitated toward Basil Foxwood for conversation, although it had been polite and more work talk, so he’d excused himself to shadow Mason Skeeter. The Herbology professor had to be used to having him underfoot by now - he spent a lot of time following him around like a lost puppy at events that Hogwarts put on - but Gus felt bad hovering as much as he did.

So, finally breaking off from both of them to give them some peace, Gus found himself wandering around the soiree, pausing every now and then to admire the effort Headmaster Black and his wife had put into hosting the event. One of the professors spoke of the decorations and Gus found his own gaze lifting toward the ceiling, a light smile brushing against his lips as twinkling stars met his gaze. A shooting star burst across the sky and then fizzled out. He laughed.

“Hogwarts decorations are one of my favorite things about this school,” Gus mused as he turned his attention toward the woman; he didn’t recognize her - not that he recognized a lot of the professors just yet - but she was a face he hadn’t ever seen. She was dressed up much more than him. Gus had worn his professor robes for ease. They always go all out. Christmas with the floating candles in the Great Hall is a personal favorite, and if you get there at the right time, it snows too.” That was the only snow he didn’t mind.

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Steliana Nicolescu

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As the gentleman responded to her observation of the Great Hall's decorations, Steliana turned towards him politely. As he talked she took note he was around her age, seemed the bright eyed friendly sort which promised to make conversation interesting and friendly. The red-hair and blue eyes were a colouration she had noticed existed in plenty in Britain and she found it attractive on most.

"I look forward to seeing all the decorations as the school season progresses," Steliana responded with a friendly smile, a slight accent present in her words. The tone of her voice was deeper than typical for women but not unattractively so. "I believe we haven't met, I'm Steliana Nicolescu, the newly appointed Care of Magical Creatures Professor."

It felt strange to give herself the title of Professor but knew in time she'll get used to it. In a way it would be better than being reminded of her late husband by introducing herself as Mrs. Stefan Nicolescu, implying she preferred to be called Mrs. Nicolescu. It was enough to her mind to honour her late husband by keeping his surname.

Gus Lissington

  

Gus turned toward her with a smile as she spoke, although he couldn’t place her accent, which surprised him; he’d spent much of his life traveling the world and had lived in places he couldn’t even begin to dream of when he was a child. Whenever she was from - and he was going to find out, was going to be on his next place to travel to. Just because he was trying to put roots down (and hating it), didn’t mean he was stuck in one place.

His grin widened as he laughed as he blinked back up toward the sky; the stars continued to twinkle and he wondered how many constellations he could find. “The Halloween ones are pretty neat, but I won’t spoil that surprise.” Blinking then, Gus stepped forward to offer his hand to her. “Gus Lissington. I started last year as the Defense Against the Darks professor. It’s very nice to meet you Professor Nicolescu.” He almost wrinkled his nose at having the word professor attached to his name; he still wasn’t sure if it was for him, but here he was, attempting this professor thing for another year. He really was trying to break the habit of making a face whenever he was forced to introduce him as Professor Lissington.

“I guess I’ll work with you a bit when it comes to creatures. I brought in a hinkypunk last year and it didn’t not go over well.” He’d almost burnt the classroom down. This year he had plans that didn’t involve hinkypunks… just other dangerous creatures.

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Steliana Nicolescu

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Steliana wasn't sure she was pleased Gus decided not to tell her about the Halloween decorations or glad he did keep it a secret. A little suspense would make the up coming holidays during her first year as a Professor all the more better.

"A pleasure to meet you Professor Lissington," Steliana replied with a smile. When he offered his hand Steliana offered hers in return. A part of her was tempted to simply shake his hand as a man would but she kept it in check. Besides she was far more interested in learning more about him than risking a break in etiquette. "Defense Against the Dark Arts is an area of study I find almost as fascinating as caring for magical creatures. I expect we'll have plenty of conversations in the future."

"I'll be more than happy to help out when it comes to handling dangerous magical creatures. We can even combine our classes time to time as many creatures can be considered dangerous yet still worthy of learning not just how to defend against them but how to care for them." Steliana was willing to help out a colleague when it came to handling magical creatures, even the more risky ones. Even the hippogriffs bred by her family could be very dangerous if not properly approached.

Gus Lissington

  

Etiquette. He nearly groaned for not remembering it, but it wasn’t as if he’d used it hanging out in tombs and jungles the last decade. Any women - and they had been severely lacking because apparently curse breaking wasn’t a woman’s career - he’d encountered hadn’t cared much for it. Men’s trousers, short hair, it had nearly been a shock to see what society considered normal when he’d finally returned home. Gus took her hand and offered her a smile before he stepped back; he fingers twisted behind his back.

“I guess we’re similar there. I love magical creatures, but I’m not sure I’d trust myself to teach children about them.” Gus laughed. He most certainly wouldn’t trust himself to not want to keep all the more interesting creatures as pets in some fashion, which wouldn’t go well. Where would he keep them? The Forbidden Forest? Gus had almost burned down a classroom, and if he had any type of creature he wanted to keep as a pet there wasn’t a doubt in his mind that he’d be solely responsible for burning Hogwarts down to the ground. He’d let Professor Nicolescu deal with that.

His grin widened. “Combining classes could be really fun, actually. Actually, one of the first lessons I plan on teaching my OWL students is how to defend against a Grindylow, and then seeing if there are any in the Black Lake for them to see. You’ll have to accompany us. I’m sure you can give them some nitty gritty details that I can’t.” Gus liked to give his students practical experience… hopefully this year no one will wind up in the infirmary.

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Steliana Nicolescu

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"The secret to handling magical creatures is understanding the creature itself. Working with them daily and being observant of their natural behaviors is paramount. There are so many ways a creature shows the mood it's in and learning to recognize these signs ensures accidents don't happen. Unlike humans, creatures don't typically hide how they feel which does make it easier to understand them."

"Children on the other hand, aren't much different, at least till they get older and learn from adults how to hide their emotions." Steliana wasn't an expert on children, in truth this will be the first time she would be around more than a handful. Most times she was just around her own daughter, only having others around when she held social events where other children were invited or attended similar events. "Then again I haven't had as much exposure to large groups of children as you have, giving you already have a year teaching under your belt."

"A grindylow is a good creature to start with," she agreed. "Though they can be dangerous in large numbers, they are easy to repel even when underwater. With time and training, they could be less dangerous, Merfolk have been known to tame them."

"Once school is underway we can work on arranging a joint class or two, depending on how our schedules align." She didn't think it'll be too difficult to find a time slot where they could combine classes. Or, arrange a special lesson during off hours. She wasn't sure how students would like that idea but something could be worked out. "Either way I do look forward to working with you Professor Lissington."

Gus Lissington

  

Gus tilted his head and grinned at her; he’d run across quite a few creatures during his time as a curse breaker, although there hadn’t been much time for him to buckle down and study them. No, it was having knowledge of knowing if he should apparate to keep himself from being gruesomely mauled or if he had a minute to catch his breath. Being able to know their moods - or even if they were there before he waltzed into a tomb or the cave in the jungle - would have helped a lot. Gus was sure a few of his scars had come from being bitten. “That makes perfect sense.” Gus hummed as he easily grinned at her.

“The first years are terrifying, I’ll tell you that secret, although the NEWT students try to be manipulative, so I'm not sure who I'd rather deal with.” Of course he’d let her figure out her own way of teaching and handling the students. Gus was still figuring out how to handle them, although he knew he had to be firm with them and stay on track with the lessons.

“Yeah. I don’t plan on actually getting close to them, just showing them that they are in fact, real and closer than they’d think.” Gus hummed quietly. He’d have to scope out where they were and how many, but he could do that before the lesson, easily. “But I do look forward to working with you too, Professor Nicolescu. Feel free to stop by my office or classroom any time! I’m generally there…” Or in the Great Hall or kitchen getting food, but he wasn’t going to admit that just yet.

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Steliana Nicolescu

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"Perhaps then I'm fortunate Care of Magical Creatures isn't offered to first years," Steliana responded. In truth she didn't think it would be that difficult to handle, she was a mother after all. She was very much aware it wouldn't all that long before her own daughter would be attending school. Eventually she'll face the challenge of remaining impartial when she had Isabel in her class.

Steliana took a ship of wine as she listened to Professor Lissington, thinking he was a pleasant man to talk to and easy on the eyes as well. "As do I," she smiled. "In fact I'm sure we'll get along just fine and will come up with many ways to combine our areas of expertise for the benefit of our students."

  

Gus laughed quietly. He had completely forgotten first years didn't take Care of Magical Creatures; she was missing out, as he'd be quick to say that they'd grown on him by the end of the year. He was excited to see his first years become second this year, and hopefully they'd like his lessons a little bit more than they had.

"Sounds like a plan! See you soon, Professor Steliana." His grin widened as he gave her a slight wave before spinning on his heels, wondering where in the world Mason and Basil had wandered off to.

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