Revive and Reignite [Tag: Eirina]

Healer Posts : 65 Stats : 26 Join date : 2013-05-18

This was far more hectic than Derek had envisioned settling down to be. Sorting out the clearance for the arrival of the equipment had been complex - using the Flu network to move what he needed was an inspired compromise between himself and his boss that negated the manpower needed for the moving, freeing up interns for important record-keeping and front desk management. The house elves of Hogwarts had done what they could with the chimney, but since a fire was required for Flu powder to work in the first place, his personal distilling glasses had to be stored carefully so none of the soot got into the tubes or beakers.

Derek had braced himself for a strenuous half-hour or so of moving through the Hospital Wing's office fire-place to the designated one at St Mungo's. It turned out that it was just as well he had not changed out of his jeans and shirt into his Healer's robes: a thin layer of grime now coated him. But it was all done now and he breathed out a quiet sigh of relief as his clear blue eyes scanned the vials. Nothing was damaged and it would be easy enough to tidy up to dust and soot.

Sticking his head through the fire-place one last time, he called over the supervising Healer to report the transport was over and the Flu connection would now close. When that was over, Derek was more than happy to get his wand out and clean up. It would be best to clean up quickly now as he expected one thing or another would come up soon. This was a school after all and accidents were bound to happen if you combined magic with rough-housing and sparring. Nurse Detenae had been kind enough to clear the desk and other surfaces of medical records, documents on supply and potions.

It was nice to throw open the windows to rid the room of the smell of chimneys. Derek grinned lopsidedly as the air blasted his face while he marveled at the view. A momentary pang of nostalgia caught him in the chest but he shook it off and turned back to the office. After a few minutes of an array of cleaning charms, the office was as good as new while the glass refracted the sunlight into a muted cascade of colors. He himself felt refreshed after the dirt covering him was vanquished.

Yells and laughter from the Quidditch field wafted into his office. Derek was loath to work now with the sun shining so brilliantly, but he needed to know what sort of injuries and ailments were common to better treat them. Exhaling in a discontent huff, he glanced at the open window once more before heading over to the filing cabinets for monthly and annual reports. The healer located them neatly tucked away in the wooden drawer marked 'reports', precisely where they should be. His work would be far easier knowing that everything was filed properly. Derek grabbed several folders and stacked them on the office desk before shutting the said drawer. Now for the current inventory list... That took a while longer, but only because it was in one of the desk drawers. The chart was written in a pretty and far more readable cursive than his own. Settling down in a chair, he conjured a few sheets of paper and a quill to take notes. They seemed to have a vast variety of potions but were far less well-stocked in balms, ointments and creams. An odd distribution of resources but that would save him some time on brewing at least.

Derek continued with his work, humming under his breath.

Subject: Re: Revive and Reignite [Tag: Eirina] Sun Jun 23, 2013 7:19 pm

It was a wonderful summer day, and Eirina was more than grateful for that. All of the new professors were to move in today, and there was a prior prediction of rain that threatened to fall only a few days ago. That scared the crap out of Eirina, and made her do everything that she could to try and prevent the rain from falling. It would have been a really bad start, having a dreary day for her new staff to unpack and move in on, feeling all cooped up in the large and, to them, empty walls of Hogwarts. At least today Eirina had some hope that all of her new arrivals would receive a good first impression of Hogwarts.

She was making her rounds, stopping in on both old and new professors to check in on how they were doing and if their scheduling for the fall semester was going smoothly, as well as unpacking for the new ones. She wanted to make a good first impression, because as of late she had been loosing a lot of professors and staff members, or perhaps she simply wasn't gaining any the way she used to. Either way, she wanted to be sure that everyone that was around was around to stay.

Aside from one. Eirina was currently making her way across the fourth floor, toward the hospital wing. She had plans to introduce herself and become acquaintance with the new, and temporary, Head Nurse. Due to Lacetta's leave, Eirina had to make a special call into St. Mungos, and she was grateful for all of their help and leniency, but even though she was nervous. St. Mungos had a lot more opportunities then Hogwarts did for any Healer, and not only that, but she was certain that whoever she was sent would be extremely displeased.

To add on more weight to such a wonderful welcoming...they were sure to know that they were only temporary. Eirina cringed at the thought. The woman that they sent was probably either fairly new, with sass and anger all swelling inside of her, or an older woman, grumpy with being thrown aside after all of her hard years of work, simply because of her dying body. Surely she thought her body was fine, and that her mind was beyond the wit of all others. Shivering, Eirina was building her nerves up even before she could open the door to the hospital wing.

As the large, however light, doors were pushed aside, Eirina was nervous at first. She didn't see anyone, but she quickly relaxed her nerves when she say how everything was not how it was left at the beginning of the summer. So whoever was here, was here. Or had been here, at least. Actually, they probably already left, going back to complain at St. Mungos. Great, there goes Eirina's favor card.

She rounded the corner, expecting to see a desk and a wall, but was surprised to see someone standing in front of her. Her eyes opened at the realization, and was about to give a very enthusiastic welcoming, but once again she was taken about. It was no she that had been standing in front of her. It was a him.

"Oh, uh--hello! I wasn't expecting to see you there...welcome to Hogwarts!"

Well, that was dumb. Really dumb. Probably the worst thing she's done all day. She'd have to try to come back from that, but at this point Eirina had very, very much doubt that she could.

"Is there anything I can help you with?"

Healer Posts : 65 Stats : 26 Join date : 2013-05-18

Derek had grown quiet as he delved into his work. His brow furrowed in concentration, he did his best to see if anything odd was coming up in the numbers. While St Mungo's had obviously sent him to temporarily fill the vacancy in Hogwarts - and had repeatedly, if apologetically, reassured him the placement would be a short one and that he would be back to working in St Mungo's wards when Hogwarts either found a permanent replacement or Nurse Detenae returned -, he was also here to see if the rumors had any credit whatsoever. If they did, then his superiors expected him to report it and remove Nurse Detenae's certification as a professional healer. If the rumors were false, then St Mungo's would be able to remove most of the tarnish to Hogwarts' reputation and pat themselves on the back for their wise decision not to comment on the issue to the press. Sadly, the numbers did not dance before Derek's less than able arithmancy.
But it was certain that he would have to look into the source of all these potions. Since the ingredients cupboard had not depleted with the resupplying of potions each month, an external provider must have been giving them to the Hospital Wing...

His not-quite-pleasant musings were disturbed by a surprised hello from the doorway. Lifting his head up from the parchments spread out over the desk, Derek was confronted with the sight of a woman in staff robes. He blinked, just about as taken aback by this introduction as she seemed to be. Surely she wasn't the Headmistress... But no, the only one he was expecting around now would be his temporary superior. His eyes fell onto the clock by the mantelpiece before flicking back to Headmistress Naer. Odd, he hadn't thought that half an hour had passed since he sat down: he'd only just gotten down to reading.

Darn it, he knew he should have changed into his robes as soon as he was finished moving the equipment. Now he must seem too casual, a slight hue of pink rose to his cheeks. Perhaps she would think him unprofessional and far too young to be a good Healer. He supposed he would have to show he was a consummate professional despite his worn jeans and shirt. Well she certainly was kind enough if her first few sentences was anything to go by.

"Nice to finally meet you Headmistress Naer," Derek pushed his chair back, smiling as he then stepped around the desk to shake her hand. It was only really when he had stood up that he really saw her. Stunning. His polite grin wavered and blue eyes darkened for a moment before the mask slipped back in place. She was his boss - for now, a small part of him murmured - and could only be treated as such, pity though it may be.
"All the equipment is in place and I'm just settling in right now. It's been years since I walked these halls and it may take me some time to get my bearings. And I do apologize for my informal clothes... I wasn't expecting the time to pass so quickly."

Subject: Re: Revive and Reignite [Tag: Eirina] Fri Jun 28, 2013 10:48 am

Eirina watched as his cheeks faded into a pink, and immediately felt embarrassed herself. She made an awkward situation out of something that she was thinking, which was purely her being judgmental, and now she made the new guy feel embarrassed, probably by her speech and how off guard she had sounded. She wasn't a poor Headmistress, and she didn't want to start the questioning of her authority all over again. She needed to collect herself, and quickly. She didn't want to jeopardize anything about her title.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, as well, Mr.Noble."

Eirina felt a little uncomfortable calling him Nurse Noble. It just felt odd, seeing that he wasn't just male but also the double 'N' was just odd. She didn't display her emotions on her face, however, as she maintained a smile and shook his hand. Eirina went from looking at his hand in hers, to his face. He was handsome, but so were the rest of them. Everyone had to be attractive to someone, after all. At the mentioning of his attire, Eirina looked him over, taking in his very casual clothing. Not that she minded, it was still summer after all. If she had the opportunity, she would be dressed in her casual clothing, too. In fact, she usually was, but seeing that all new professors were currently moving in, she had to appear presentable, as the authority of the school.

"I don't mind, there's no need to apologize to me. Although, some of the students may not recognize you without them, once the school year begins of course."

Healer Posts : 65 Stats : 26 Join date : 2013-05-18

He retained his grin as withdrew his hand from hers and slid his hands into his jean pockets. The cadences of her speaking were oddly formal. Unless in front of patients, Healers generally referred to each other by first names and his boss had a very creative vocabulary of Glasgow swears when it came to the spilling of coffee. But Derek knew that he would be working at Hogwarts for the foreseeable future and teenagers should be set good examples, etc etc. Honestly though, as long as the students steered clear of the Hospital Wing's supplies and do-not-disturb patients, he couldn't care less about the language they used to describe a particularly nasty burn.
Back to the matter at hand though, he would very much prefer that the population of Hogwarts called him by his first name. Derek did not care for the alliteration of "Nurse Noble" at all. It made him feel like a character out of the Rocky Horror Picture Show.

"Call me Derek." It was at this point when he realized it may not have been his presence in the Hospital Wing that had surprised her. The Headmistress had mentioned to his boss that she would be stopping by to meet him around this time. It was likely that she was expecting someone different, after all, it was a common jump people made in assuming that most Healers were women. That same mistake would likely be made by the majority of the students at Hogwarts which made it all the more important that he wore the proper set of robes while on duty.

"I'll wear the robes." he nodded, the twitch of his lips belaying the seeming solemnity of his words. "Is there anything else I need to know about this position? It's been a while since I attended school here..."

Subject: Re: Revive and Reignite [Tag: Eirina] Wed Jul 31, 2013 7:23 pm

Was there anything that he needed to know? Well, first of all children could be very, very cruel, and with magic involved, no one could possibly know what to expect, so surely many of those children would end up in the wing. Oh, and of course, let's not forget those who are trying to get out of a test or two, causing their own boils to appear and swell up. Then there were the students who were accident-prone and really just needed a safety bubble put up around them.

Eirina wasn't going to dare to voice any of those concerns allowed. Not to someone so new, and she was sure he'd learn very, very quickly. So, instead, Eirina gave the biggest, fakest smile that clearly spoke of all the drama, even though not a word of it left her mouth.

"No, I can't think of a thing."

She paused for a bit, wondering a little bit about Derek, after he mentioned his school years and all. She had the files on him, of course, but since when did she ever look at those? She could have easily seen when he had attended Hogwarts, his grades, his house, everything. But, being Eirina, they were untouched, sitting on her desk, and would probably remained untouched until she threw them into a pile that simply looked right.

"What year did you graduated from Hogwarts? If you don't mind me asking."

She through in the 'If you don't mind me asking' a few moments after her first question, kind of with a shake of her head. She didn't want to come off as anything but professional, even in a casual conversation. But, she also didn't want to make it seem like she was interrogating him, either. Just some small conversation, that way she can get to know his personality more than the information he gave her. It was easier to learn how to handle people that way in certain situations. After the small chat, she'd be on her way, hoping off to a new professor in a new classroom, teaching a subject that they have never taught before, just had a talent for. That was an entirely different issue, and Eirina could already feel the headache just at the thought of it.

She turned her attention fully on Derek, just so that he head wouldn't preemptively explode.

Healer Posts : 65 Stats : 26 Join date : 2013-05-18

So just typical medical drama it seemed. What was the funniest thing though was how the elderly - or those rich in years as he had been repeatedly told to call the hugest complainers to their faces - seemed to suffer similar ailments to children and teenagers for the same reasons. Boredom, desire for attention and wanting to get out of doing something appeared to be shared primary motives for suddenly contracting hard coughs that had no origin in physical or even psychological ills. It was amazing at times how much will power people would use to do nothing at all. From the exasperated and tooth-baring grin, Derek gathered that the Headmistress agreed Hogwarts students were no different from any other teenager on this front. He definitely would never be bored here with all the dramatics to say the least. He gave a faint smile of comprehension.

"Of course."

Derek had gathered by now that the Headmistress regarded her position to be a complex balance between comradery and professionalism. She was very polite - even now, asking him quite kindly after him when she could just have walked out after making sure he was there - but also held herself at a distance enough to make it clear that they were colleagues first and foremost. It would only be decent of him to be equally so for now and maybe earn her friendship later. That was how he had made most of his friends at St Mungo's after all and here, he hardly knew anyone.

"Oh, I don't mind at all," Derek's blue eyes lit up and his grin blossomed again. Maybe he would walk out of this with a friendly acquaintance or friend after all. "I graduated in 2092 from Hufflepuff and played as Chaser on the House team."
He ran a hand through his hair as he glanced out the window facing the pitch, momentarily distracted by the sudden memory of having played on the very pitch he had heard laughter and cheers from through the open windows. Derek came to in a moment or two though and looked at the Headmistress again.
"And you?"

Subject: Re: Revive and Reignite [Tag: Eirina] Thu Aug 01, 2013 10:21 pm

Eirina was clearly shocked when she heard not only the year of his graduation, only three before her, but also that he had been part of the Hufflepuff Quidditch team. She'd have played him, for sure, not that she'd remember. She wished that she could of course, but her memory that far back wasn't the best, especially with someone who wore a helmet the only time she ever interacted with them, probably with little or few words. Especially back then, with the super hyped up Eirina who payed almost no attention to any detail at all. Eirina was surprised if she could remember much of anything from those days in her life. She was pretty much a mess.

"Well I won't give you any hints as to how old I am, but I was a chaser and beater for Slytherin," She paused before continuing, trying to make sure that she didn't come off as indecisive, "They switched me around a lot."

She also avoided the truth. She was a chaser, a pretty good one at that. Or, well, she was good at getting the quaffle to the other end of the pitch. Not necessarily getting the points, but hey, if she could get it over there, there were plenty of other Chasers that were there that would help her get it in. So, she had been chaser for a good couple of years, and then there was the year. The really, really big year where everything seemed to just die on her. Eirina and Vincent had broken up, she had sent him flying across table after table in the Great Hall, and she was angrier than ever. Because of that, her captain changed her position to Beater, and damn was Eirina the best beater during that season. Her pent up anger was unleashed during those matches, and she just dominated the pitch at that time.

She smiled, fakely, but something that was unquestionable, it was clearly something that shouldn't be targeted for more conversation.

Healer Posts : 65 Stats : 26 Join date : 2013-05-18

Well that certainly dampened his initial attraction. Derek managed not to frown but the combination of her forced smile with the knowledge of what house she had been in did make him wonder about his initial impression of her. It was probably true that there were some kind Slytherins and he didn't want to jump to conclusions yet his past experiences with Slytherin house members were never more than tepid. At the same time, the Headmistress had quite a good reputation in the Wizarding world if you ignored occasional 'scandals' in the Daily Prophet. And at least she seemed more honest with her emotions than most Slytherins. She did little to blunt the edges to her grimaces.

As for this strained grin in particular, Derek sensed it signaled the end of this line of polite inquiry. It was clear that this was personal territory the Headmistress didn't want to go into at the moment. With that realization, he felt a spasm of sympathy. Hogwarts had been years ago yet he seemed to have forgotten for a moment that people were people and not emblems of their house. With that in mind, he returned her faked smile with a genuine one of his own.

"Maybe we can try shooting some time then. It's been years since I've been able to play on such a great pitch." he hurried to add: "If you have time and want to that is."
What little he remembered of playing Quidditch at Hogwarts was fond and happy. He had been lucky enough to be sorted into Hufflepuff and have a team that could support him. Playing here would bring on the nostalgia certainly, but also help to sharpen those memories. What did the grass feel like underfoot after flying for hours? How did it feel like to become dizzy with the adrenaline of making a tricky shot?

Subject: Re: Revive and Reignite [Tag: Eirina] Fri Aug 02, 2013 7:02 pm

Derek had proven himself to see very nice. He spoke well and seemed professional, even when he was calm and casual in their conversation. Eirina thought that he would, indeed, do very well at this school. The kids, even though many were very unpredictable, should have liked him. Hopefully not too fondly, as that is why they were in the situation that they were in now, but Eirina didn't even want to think about that. She just pushed it out of her head, continuing to look at the positives.

He was probably good at his job, too. She couldn't imagine St. Mungos sending her someone who was low par to represent their hospital, let alone to take care of children. She was sure that he was very good, probably over qualified for the job. But, even so, Eirina just could not get over the fact that they sent over a man. She knew that healers were a lot of men and women, it was a very equally distributed job between the genders, but the fact that they sent a man over here. A nurse at Hogwarts was traditionally a woman's job. St. Mungos surely knew that, and there must have been a reason for it, right?

Until she then thought, her job was usually that of a man's. Headmaster was more common than Headmistress, in practice. She realized her mistakes, and then she got upset with herself for them. Hadn't she been fighting these stereotypes for years? And here she was, thinking on exactly the stereotypes that she so hates. Well, she was going to stop those thoughts, and stop them fast.

"No, no, I couldn't. I was all adrenaline as a teenager, I don't even know if I could mount a broom anymore."

She laughed off the idea of flying so easily. Her body wasn't what it used to be, her adrenaline wasn't what it used to be, everything since her years in hogwarts had changed. There was absolutely no way that she would ever, ever find herself on a broomstick. Not now and probably not for all the years to come. That would be ridiculous.

Healer Posts : 65 Stats : 26 Join date : 2013-05-18

Derek found himself to be oddly satisfied when the Headmistress burst into laughter. It was nice to have people around him actually enjoy themselves and not have to feign things for the sake of courtesy. It was one of his characteristics that probably led to his love of healing. When someone goes from being ill to being healthy - or even less ill - the spark of relief mixed with joy was the best cocktail he could ever have, even if it only lasts for a second. Even if they were laughing because they didn't believe they were capable of something. Personally he thought that she was just being modest, but Derek decided that now was not the time to push. Besides, it may be a way of saying "no" to him without down-right saying that she didn't want to play Quidditch with him.

"The offer remains open though," he shrugged, smiling slightly. "And I won't be a flying marvel either: I'll definitely embarrass myself with my shooting for a while."
That didn't bother him much though. Even though Quidditch itself was a competitive sport, the most rewarding thing about it was working with your friends towards a common goal. Technique and skill were nothing without that and he was still in contact with most of his team. On that line of thought, he should send them all owls about his new position with some pictures of the grounds and castle. None of them had visited in years.

Hmm, well he supposed that ended their conversation unless they traded a few jokes about their flying abilities but somehow the Headmistress didn't strike him as someone who would do that. Not to mention that she was very busy with her duties as Headmistress and the Hospital Wing was just one stop in a whole line that she had to make. But really, he hoped he wouldn't have to constantly address her as 'Headmistress'. Derek knew that he should have inquired more about his boss but it didn't seem that important at the time in comparison to moving all the equipment. Valerie had made sure he also understood the importance of how the Triwizard tournament was handled by him. The reputation of the school and St Mungo's was at stake if he mistreated the Champions or their foreign classmates. He'd tried not to be hurt even though he understood what his boss meant: she would never imply that he would mistreat a patient but she did want to remind him of what would happen if there was an accident he could be blamed for.

"Sorry for keeping you from your rounds, I really don't want to be too much of a bother." the man shifted his weight to one side as he wondered how to phrase his question. It would really determine what sort of working relationship they would have during his time here. "Would you like me to call you Headmistress Naer or by some other title..?"

Subject: Re: Revive and Reignite [Tag: Eirina] Tue Aug 06, 2013 11:32 am

Eirina smiled at seeing the genuinity of the man that stood before her, and nodded her head in understanding. He seemed really, really nice. And for some reason that just didn't feel right to Eirina. Not that was was criticizing him or anything, he was fine the way he was, but it almost made Eirina suspicious of something, but she didn't know what. It was just her gut acting funny, and her gut was very, very wrong very, very often.

"I'll keep that in mind if I ever decide to go, thank you."

It seemed like their conversation was ending, and Eirina was now running through her head all of the stops that she had to make. She did miss the new Care of Magical Creatures professor, so she'd have to go back and visit her. Hopefully she could help her out before the school year started, because there were a lot of things to do that she wasn't sure how long they'd take. She knew they'd have to be able to get creatures in order to teach the classes, but they'd also have to find a source...this was just too much work.

She hardly heard Derek's question when he asked, and he wasn't keep her from her round? He was part of her rounds, so, how could he even think that? Another thing that made her gut act a little funky as it seemed to take a giant breath and refused to let it out. What was up with him and this awareness or kindness or whatever you wanted to call it?

"You're not keep me, but now that I think about it I probably should try to finish today before the evening hits."

Eirina watched the man shift his weight in a nervous fashion, and that automatically grabbed her attention, her eyes fully looking at his. Her gut did a little hop, or she thought that it was her gut. What was he so nervous about? And then he asked, and she almost wanted to laugh at her feelings, but she maintained the face she had before. What should she call him? She didn't know! She didn't even know what others called her. Probably hag or something...

"Whatever you like, I can't really think off the top of my head what the staff calls me, but in front of students I am Headmistress or Headmistress Naer, just as you will be Nurse Noble or Head Nurse."

Healer Posts : 65 Stats : 26 Join date : 2013-05-18

Well he'd given it a go at least and now he was reasonably certain that they would work well enough together. Admittedly, they probably wouldn't come across each other much in their day to day work and duties, but it was good to know that they would be fine if they had to. Derek would have to find other Quidditch enthusiasts amongst the professors. He wondered if they would have enough to form a team to play against students. Now that would be fun. But then he'd have to worry about who would heal them while he played and all tha-
When she met his eyes and gave her reply, this line of thought was swiftly brought to a halt. Fortunately, he did manage to come up with a coherent response. This was why he knew that he would never have been a good Ravenclaw. Unless it came to healing, Derek was pretty sure that his thinking on his feet was quite laughable.

"Of course. Have a good afternoon then, Eirina." he nodded. He decided to settle for calling her by her first name when not in front of students then. That's how Derek referred to all his colleagues anyways. When you're in surgery, you don't ask for Healer Schaeffer to please pass you the sleeping draught, you told Larry to pass the damn draught. This was a bit of a different situation, but the sentiment still applied in a much calmer and thoughtful manner. Besides, it was a smooth and easy name to say with all its rolling vowels.

"And please just promise me you won't call me Nurse Noble." Derek appealed to her with an embarrassed grimace. It was one thing to not mind being called Head Nurse, but another to sound like a 17th century nun from a bad historical fiction novella. Not that he had anything against nuns, just bad novels.