Beginning of Term Staff Meeting

Salazar scowled slightly at the three of them making the decision against his voice of reason. However, he would respect the rule of popular vote as they always tried to do. With four very different people trying to make one school work, sometimes one had to make concessions. And he desperately wanted Hogwarts to work out. It was going to be his legacy, after all, and if that meant conceding now and then for the sake of the whole, so be it. The scowl died just as quickly as it appeared as he sighed, nodding in agreement.

"Very well. I will admit that we all have a great many things to do before start of classes. Thus it is only prudent that we give Lady Moore's position the respect we would all wish her to show us in return." Of course, if he found her judgements sub-par, he would definitely insist on a re-test for all of them which he would gladly oversee personally. Or perhaps, they could each oversee their own house, if there were mistakes made on Lady Moore's part. After all, they could all read and write as their years of letters exchanging had proven. And then one of them would not be obligated to do it all.

But that was a suggestion for another meeting. He would give the current situation the benefit of the doubt for now.

"Very well, onto the schedule for the week then?" He asked, taking the parchment from his pocket that included his notes for what he considered would be lessons for beginning wizards. Drawing his wand, he hardened the surface, making it easier to write on. Then, with his wand, he scratched a few suggestions out as he changed his mind about their difficulty level. "I have my list here of what I believe I would like to start with, as far as all the subjects we will be teaching. Might be best to compare and see if anything matches up and then delegate the lessons to whomever we think will be best suited to teach said lesson. Is that agreeable to everyone? Or did you have another idea, Rowena?" Of the two of them, they were the most goal oriented and thus, she could very easily have a different way of doing things and that would just leave Godric and Helga to decide which method to go with.

Looking to Godric, who was now on his second pie, Salazar rolled his eyes. So it would be up to Helga then, as his friend was busy stuffing his face. Could the man think of nothing but food?!

"I have no objections," she said, trying not to preen for being vindicated by Godric. She leaned back in her chair and grabbed her goblet to take a sip of the warm wine. Once her palette was wet she tucked back into her rabbit pastry. It was only her first while the boys had each had multiple.

Rowena was curious as to what Salazar considered proper for beginning students. Clearly, some would have some knowledge of magic while others were brand new. She had her own ideas but she would give him the floor for now. She had a feeling that a few would likely need to know how to handle a wand as well.

She too turned her gaze to Helga given that Godric was busy eating at the moment. She wondered what her dearest friend would think of this suggestion. She had already shared what she planned on teaching in the first week at least, beyond that would depend on how well the students took to their first few lessons.

Godric was, indeed, on his second pie. Helga made damn fine food, something she should know by now from the way he ate it. Of course, maybe his wasn't the most refined palate as he had eaten rat before. He shuddered at the memory, not wanting to walk down that lane again.

Salazar mentioning the list of lessons had him reaching into his vest, pulling out a rolled scroll of suggested beginner lessons. While he didn't know that Rowena already had hers planned, Salazar had told him the plan of putting them all together and delegating it out week to week so he'd prepared that way. Thus, he'd drawn it up with each subject and then the list of most important spells and potions for first years to know.

Of course, the Fire-Tickling potion was on there in very first place. With all of the students he had met that had been more to non-magic parents, it seemed vital, just in case these children went home at some point. They could need it most desperately. It was the only potion he could think of that the students would need to know. There were quite a few charms and enchantments and a list of plants that he remembered helping him when he was stuck traveling with his band of brothers that might aid the students while traveling long distances that would be easily recognizable.

Also on the list was an outline of what he intended to teach his own students about Defense, so that the others were aware of his intentions. He didn't want to be accused of keeping secrets from the others.

He waved the parchment around to say that he had some so that he didn't have to talk with his mouth full, spraying crumbs everywhere and making an even bigger ass of himself than he already had. "No quill," He said in between swallows, giving her a pleading glance to read for him and do the notations. "Sorry." Then he levitated a pie over to him.

However, before taking his next bite, he paused long enough to say, "Oh, the outer wards are secure. No apparation in or out, nothing can penetrate the fence, and I even spirited away a muggle to see if they could find the place. They could not.

"Don't worry, I wiped their memory and returned them to where I found them. But I wanted you to all know everything's good on that department, in case you were worried." Then he bit into the pastry, nearly groaning with delight at the delicate crust, the rich flavor of the rabbit...If he was a marrying man, he might have offered for Helga's hand after all - just to make sure that no matter what happened with the school, she would always cook for him.

Seeing her friend not fully put out at being out voted, Helga took a small breath of relief as they continued on with the meeting. At the suggestion they could look over the lists they had all compiled for the subjects and first few lessons then delegate those out to the best suited she gave a small nod in agreement. It made the most sense after all to adjust the workload of teaching so they all had as evenly as possible as far as the lessons for the first of hopefully many students.

Helga found herself mildly distracted as Godric made a mild scene raising his hand to wave a scroll with his mouth full. She muffled a laugh behind her lips, giving a small shake of her head at another obvious scene of Godric being well Godric. She glanced at Rowena to see if her friend had understood his quiet but bold message to ask for her help with his list. Not that she doubted her dear friend but sometimes in the face of ill manners her mind took a small step back to avoid getting soiled when the metaphorical hazards of dirt or mud was flying.

Realizing she should probably bring out her own list, Helga dug into the pockets of her apron. She pulled out a scroll and opened it only to see it was her list for the house elves and tucked it away. After finding another incorrect scroll with her list of meal ideas, Helga finally found it and set it down on the table beside her goblet. Admittedly, she was a little disorganized when it came to the paperwork side of things. Preferably she liked them where they were in her head but had been reminded on several accounts that wasn't always the best idea when things got busy with many topics needing her attention at the same time. 

Helga was about to return her focus to the subject of the first weeks schedule when a clear mouth Godric said something that made her suddenly look at him alarmed and worried. "Wait, you did what now?" She said. "You kidnapped a muggle to test the wards?" Though the means of his test was a little much, the results he had found seemed promising. She was no stranger to using test subjects for things but they were all willing participates and granted most of her need for test subjects involved food so it was hard to find someone not willing. It just seemed a little extreme to take someone unknowingly and make them a test subject without knowing what they were testing for. There had to be another way to go about it without having to go to the lengths he had gone to. "I hope the soul is alright. Even if you cleared his mind that must have been some experience to go through so suddenly." Helga said quietly after a moment, giving her head another small shake.  

Trying to return her focus to the meeting before they got too carried away into the night with how long they would be here, she reached for her scroll and opened it. For the most part her lesson ideas consisted of an assortment of helpful charms and basic transfiguration spells as well as a few herbology topics in regards to both magical and non-magical useful plants starting with those more commonly found. "Would you like to begin us off then Salazar? I'm sure we will all have some overlap when it comes to lessons so if you don't mind taking notes Rowena we can at the end see where we can delegate which lessons to who." She said then turned to her good friend beside her. She did after all have the best note taking skills and attention to details out of them all, so long as she didn't mind doing it.

Salazar cocked a single eyebrow at Godric's scroll waving, amused by his attempts to ensnare Rowena into doing his work for him. Had he not seen the man duel and, summarily, beat him time and time again, Salazar would honestly wonder what Godric was doing here. But his friend knew his magic, there was no question about that whatsoever. And he was a happy chum to talk to when Salazar needed a sounding board. And really, when in a dark mood, there were few people better to pick a person back up than Godric Gryffindor, who seemed to be bent on playing the jester.

Though there were demons in the former knight's mind, it was quite rare that he gave in to them thankfully. With all that he had likely seen, it was surprising to say the least. There had been a few dark days when it had taken all three of them to pull him out of his funk but with their combined skills, they had managed it. Hopefully it wouldn't happen while Godric was now teaching, able to put the past behind him.

Of course, just as Salazar thought that, Godric mentioned kidnapping a muggle and testing the wards. "And it worked, you say?" Godric simply nodded in response, making Salazar nod in approval. Of course Helga wouldn't care for his choice of methods but it's not like they could tell the person why they needed to borrow them for an hour or so and then go through the difficulty of apparating and not freak out completely! No, Godric had done well and now they knew that their students were safe from muggle interference. He'd even thought to wipe the individual's memory, which was good forethought. Thus, Salazar had no issues with it. Considering what the muggle might have done had they not wiped his memory...

No, much better that Godric had tested it safely and taken care of the matter without killing the soul, adding yet another dark spot in his normally bright soul.

Seeing Rowena shake her head in response to Godric's request, she then proceeded to pull out a writing implement and something to write on so she was covered. Once she had settled herself with everything in order, Salazar took a look at his own sheet to figure out where to begin. Godric looked a little disappointed but looked over at Helga hopefully. As expected, Helga took the parchment, setting it down alongside her own. Salazar had to fight the urge to roll his eyes. But then, that was why their relationship worked. Where one was weak, another could pick up the slack - around in a circle. They really were strongest together and, in the end, a lot of people were going to rue ever dismissing them as 'upstarts' and 'dreamers destined for disaster'.

"Perhaps if we go by subject, it will go fastest. For Potions, I believe there are a few that all students should know right from the start. First things first, every single one of them should know what a bezoar looks like and where it can be found and what it's use is. Of course, there is also burn healing paste, calming draught later in the year, and the Ice potion. That one, I believe, should absolutely be second on our list."

He did not know how many of his friends had witnessed a burning but as someone who had, he never wanted anyone to go through that. Ice potion was one of the few protections and he would see that every one of his students was outfitted with it when they left this place next year.

As far as she was concerned, Godric's hand wasn't broken thus he could write his own notes about the subjects they would be teaching. When Helga took the parchment she sighed and resisted the urge to shake her head. She settled a piece of parchment on the table and took out her trusty self-inking quill, which she had enchanted herself. As Salazar began she nodded in agreement about starting subject by subject.

Potions were not necessarily her forte, though she knew quite a bit about it. It was more theory over practical application. There were a few she did know by heart, and he named them off. She saw it as a matter of practicality to know them thus she nodded as she wrote them down. Her handwriting was neat and flowing, much like the way she presented herself.

"I see no issue with those as the first choices to start with," she commented. There were other useful potions but those did seem the most important for the times they were in. The others could wait for now. She underlined the ice potion as a matter of extreme importance.

Godric had finished his pie and was considering a fourth when it became his turn to speak. "First of all, thank you, Helga." He said, grabbing a rag from his pocket and wiping his mouth quickly. "I agree with all but maybe the calming draught. For those gifted with the ability to do potions, it might be an easy one but for me, I found it a very difficult one indeed. Perhaps we can discuss it again, based on their performance near the end of the year but personally, I would think that would be a good one for next year perhaps.

"One I do know that would be of great help would be the simple Wiggenweld potion. I know it's a considerable difficulty to always get the ingredients but it's relatively easy, good for those minor injuries, and a burst of stamina when you need it. Truly a well rounded potion that I believe would well serve our students. Also, Swelling and Deflating draughts would be excellent as it might be a while before they learn the growing and shrinking charms. With all of their things being ported around...I just think it might be a good substitute." He shrugged, not sure what else to say on the matter.

Yes, he definitely wanted them to have the wiggenweld potion though and he was willing to debate that out with the three of them if necessary. Unsure of what the results of his proposal would be, he held off on the fourth pastry for now, just wanting to see how things went down in that area.

Helga looked over her notes as well as Godrics double checking the listed potions brought up. While she did agree with the assembled list so far she had a question or two rise up in her mind considering the different potions they had brought up. "I must disagree with you this time Godric, I think the calming draught is one we should try to teach this year. Perhaps not immediately but it should be included as its usefulness to help with calming one down and although it has a shorter list of ingredients it teaches a good lesson in balance when making potions." she said, glancing around the group. She paused on Godric at the end and gave her brother in law a small smile. "Though I do agree in that they would do well in learning wiggenweld potion as things can turn a little dangerous or tiresome with everything they will be learning this year. No doubt we could see if Miss Gudrun could assist in that lesson as her knowledge related to the matters of healing could be a good addition to the class." 

She glanced down at the two scrolls in front of her again, then remembering her other question raised her head back up to look around at the other three. "Speaking of ingredients, did we receive the shipment of potion supplies yet? If not we should make a side note to see if Miss Gudrun has any available stock in her family's clinic we could purchase until the supplies arrive." Helga asked. While most of the supplies she had needed for the kitchens had arrived, there was some delay in the plants for the herbology garden and many of the plants hadn't arrived until that morning. She had been thankful the school healer had offered to help with setting up the garden with a few house elves. Once the meeting was done she would have to remember to go check on them to see how everything had gone.

Salazar added the Wiggenweld to his list as he had not had it. While he felt it unnecessary to do, since they had a healer on hand, he would give this one up as well for the sake of something else he wanted later. He had a running track in his head of how many times tonight he had conceding so he knew how many times he could feel justified in pushing back and insisting. He'd been told that friends did not keep score but then Godric had the tendency to remind him of the eternal dueling score between them so obviously that was not the case.

When Helga brought up the supplies issue, Salazar scowled though it had nothing to do with her. "I have had words with the apothecary twice now and no, the last shipment has not come in. I will be going to speak with them very bright and early tomorrow morning before the students arrive. I will find our missing supplies and have them here in time for the first lesson. You have my word." He assured them all.

With the first few lessons agreed upon, the quartet delegated it two potions for this week and who would take the lessons. It was a short conversation luckily as there was a great deal to go over yet that evening. Yet it had to be done - at least this first week's lessons and the general course of where the year would go and how it would end. It was a long meeting, considering the early hour they would all be required to get up the following morning but for the sake of their students, each and every one of them was dedicated to making this work to the benefit of those attending Hogwarts for this initial year.

Sitting back in his chair, Salazar levitated one of the pastries over to himself. It was thankfully still warm and just as good as the one he'd had before they had started. "Well then, sounds like we have an excellent, well-rounded start for everything." He said as they finished with Herbology. "I really think we are ready for this." He gave them a rare smile. "We are ready for this. We can do it - as long as we stick together, right?" He looked to each one of the faces looking in turn at him. 

Rowena carefully blew on the ink that was still wet on her parchment as Salazar spoke. Once it was dry enough she carefully rolled her version of events up before tucking it into one of the pockets she had sewn into her dress. In the other rested her wand. She tucked the quill away as well, glad that she had enchanted it so it wouldn't leak ink everywhere.

She agreed wholeheartedly with what he said and she nodded, feeling the pounding beginning behind her brow. She had been wearing the diadem for too long and it was taking its toll on her now. Ah, the price one pays to be extra brilliant. She offered a slightly forced smile to her companions, her expression softening despite the discomfort.

"We are stronger together than we are apart," she said knowing the truth of her words. They made up for each other's weaknesses with their strengths.