Sense(less) Direction

[Evan Troy]

His office was to be on the fourth floor, as would be his classroom. His classroom. It had been days since he had recieved the offical notice stating that he would be welcome to join that staff of Hogwarts as their most recent member. He was to be the Professor of Transfiguration, a class he had excelled at very much in his school days. Despite the amount of time that had passed it was still odd to find himself in a school surrounded by young beings rather than in the Ministry of Magic with the company of old wizards and witches of great importance. The first few days were dedicated to settling in to the castle, finding his way about. He didn't interact with the students too much as of yet, believing it would be more simple to merely wait for lessons to begin.

Evan payed a short visit to the library, taking with him several books when he left. On the walk up only two flights of ( moving ) stairs Evan managed to get lost. A look of confusion crossed the man's face, as being lost wasn't something he did frequently.

The Troy man looked from left to right, not spotting a soul. He tried a decent looking flight of stairs only to find himself on a completely unfamiliar level of the castle. It was the only reason he had found recently that would make him regret having not attended Hogwarts in his youth, he couldn't make heads or tales of the place. He would assume that he was headed down to the Great Hall for meal times only to be taken somewhere completely different. Such was the case now. Evan gently released a small sigh, rolling his eyes at himself as he wondered where he was.

[ Miss Hjort ]

[Felicity Hjort]

Bounce...bounce...bounce...bounce

Taking a few steps, she followed the noise, only to pause and start again. It was rather fun, though a bit pointless, but sometimes pointless fun was what was needed and she needed a bit of fun as Celina seemed to have gone missing, perhaps taken ill in bed, and there wasn't anyone else she was particularly close to, enough to spend time with anyway, other than Connor and Dante and she hadn't seen much of them lately either.

Maybe she was the problem? Likely. Wasn't that how it seemed to be lately? She was the problem, yet no one would tell her, they just avoided her instead? Kind of like at home. She knew what was wrong with her mum, and yet she was still sent off to school, and they were able to avoid her and her questions by her not being there with them. At least Drew was honest with her, but sometimes she had questions she couldn't exactly ask him to relay, to look into. They were personal matters with her mum.

Bounce...bounce...bounce...bounce

The mindlessness of it was annoying, yet at the same time more enjoyable than a number of activities she could think to participate in. It was quieter than Exploding Snaps, less hectic than the number of card games available at her fingertips, and less confrontational than Wizards Chess. This was something enjoyable, something even Sammy enjoyed.

Bounce...bounce...bounce...bounce

And again she moved toward the noise, watching her little squirrel run back and forth after it, trying to stop it, catch it, do something with it. Perhaps he thought it was a bouncing nut? Though in her opinion, it looked nothing like such. It was clear with swirls of colour through it, nothing like the hard, brown shell of most tree nuts.

Bounce...bounce...bounce...bounce

Surely he'd figure out soon enough he couldn't catch it, that it was the size of his very own round stomach, that he couldn't crack it open and find meat inside. But perhaps not. At the moment, it was just fun to watch him react to it, following, pausing, brown eyes wide and mystified as he waited for the next round...

[Evan Troy]

Being lost did not suit the former Ministry worker. He tended to know his surroundings wherever he went, and the fact that Hogwarts as a whole was new didn't agree with him very well. He turned to his left, cocking his head to the side as he heard an unfamiliar sounding heading in his direction. Bounce...bounce...bounce...bounce. He paused, not wanting at all to head towards the annoying bouncing sound. More than likely it would be a first year bored out of their mind trying to pass the time with a mindless muggle toy.

He waited, listening to find if there would be any one else passing by that he could consult for directions to find his way back to where he belonged. Bounce...bounce...bounce...bounce

Troy gritted his teeth and held his tongue as he began to walk forward in search of the source of the noise. At first he didn't see anything at all, only heard the noise increasing in volume as he walked forward in the corridor. He turned round a corner and spotted a student, accompanied by - as he suspected - a bouncy ball. What surprised him slightly was the fact that she didn't look young. Nor bored out of her mind. She looked... entertained. He smirked slightly at the sight of a squirrel sitting diligently, watching the ball bounce to the ground and back into the air. He managed to calm his facial expression into a look of mild amusement, supposing it was best to be kind to the student who could potentially help him.

[Felicity Hjort]

Once more, the ball made its endlessly annoying noise as it hit the stone floor of the castle, and finally it caught Sammy's attention just enough for the animal to make an attack. The gray animal froze where it was, weighed his options, and then sprung. It was hilarious, considering he jumped on the ball and the ball hit the stone floor, only to bounce enough to take Sammy with it and go rolling down the hall, causing the creature to scamper off in the opposite direction. The blonde giggled helplessly, watching to be sure her animal was moving normally and that she wouldn't have to doctor him before she turned to retrieve her toy.

However, before being able move beyond spinning around, her light brown eyes landed on a rather nice-looking older man. She wasn't entirely sure who he was, having given up her position in the school as Prefect and not being introduced to professors or other staff until she ran into them or had a class, or sometimes someone randomly spoke up and someone mentioned something about a new person who wasn't a student. Though, she noticed she hardly recognized a majority of the students either.

The slight smile on his face, or what she assumed to be a smile, looked somewhat off, but it only added to his features as well. Flashing a happy-go-lucky smile at the man, she made her way down the corridor toward him to grab the clear ball, hoping she wasn't interrupting him, bothering him, or in his way. Honestly, it took her a moment before she could even move her feet, not sure why he was just standing there, looking almost as amused as she felt by playing with the squirrel.

[Evan Troy]

Evan tried to place a name with the youthful face, assuming that he had seen her around the castle on his several adventures attempting to acquaint himself with the vast place. He hardly recalled seeing the girl at all, let alone knowing what her name was. She didn't look familiar so he deduced that he must not know her family either. This thought eventually led him to think that she wasn't in Slytherin. Upon arriving at Hogwarts he had quickly found that he knew or had at least heard of the families of most Slytherin students.

The man's attention was diverted to another as, out of the corner of his eye, he saw the squirrel rolling running off away from where he stood. Again a humored expression crossed the man's face, leaving him look amused. Against his better judgment he smiled politely at the girl, reminding himself that he was lost and this teenager could possibly help him.

" Your pet? " He commented, lifting a hand and pointing in the direction that the squirrel had gotten off to. It wasn't very often that the man saw such small animals in the castle. There were the occasional cats lounging about and he was sure he had even heard a few croaks of frogs, but squirrels didn't seem too common.

[Felicity Hjort]

"Sammy? Yes," she answered, startled. The man had just been standing there, who knew for how long, silent as a dark night, and then he finally spoke up. She hadn't been expecting it at all, and honestly, her heart beat skipped for a moment in the frozen surprise. The expression on his face still held all the energy she felt, and she wondered if he'd ever played with a pet as such. Of course, many wizards had pets, more so than muggles she knew, but it was nice, even if a majority of those pets were cats. Honestly, she couldn't stand feline's very much, except Celina's, they were undeniably adorable, for whatever reason.

"I tamed him a while ago," she added information for no real reason, other than to keep speaking to make sure she was still alive. Random men appearing out of no where usually startled her, but lately not this much. There was something about him that just really made her slightly nervous, and she hadn't even noticed him for more than a minute. Perhaps he was merely a student's father? There to deliver a sad message? Or heal an ill child? Maybe just a visiting former student from years before. Whichever it was, he was still a rather nice-looking man.

"Do you have any pets?" she asked innocently, childishly. Maybe he hadn't had one and was so amused because he'd never gotten to play with one like she was, before.

[Evan Troy]

Even as a child Evan hadn't been very fascinated with animals. He recalled having a hawk in the days of his youth, more of a messenger than a companion. A small group of dogs were always running about the estate being chased by his sisters or vice versa, but he hadn't been one for pets himself. His deep blue eyes looked back to the girl, her words breaking through his foggy memories of long ago.

" That's quite interesting... I suppose catching him at all would have posed a slight problem, though. " He couldn't quite imagine how this girl would have the time or inclination to catch a squirrel, shouldn't she be focusing on her studies and social responsibilites?

' Do you have any pets? ' Evan shook his head, answering no. " No, no pets for me. My sons, though, both have owls. The younger of the two has a dog as well. " The dog was a recent addition to the family, one that Evan had been reluctant to agree to. They didn't need a dog and it was doubtable that his youngest son would even take care of the animal. More than likely it would be tended to by the hired hands or the maid. Either way, as long as the creature didn't get in the way, it was acceptable.

[Felicity Hjort]

A small giggle escaped as the blonde recalled the chasing she had to do in order to get a hold of the squirrel, and in the end, it wasn't even she that caught him. The hours of games were actually a sorely missed sport for the blonde, especially now when she had so much time on her hands. But, now and then Sammy seemed to think of the same, as he gave way to chase and Felicity was left with no other choice than to round him up after a long day.

"I wouldn't really know about the actual catching part," she explained her giggling. "I chased him long enough, but my friend was the one who caught him and presented the little guy to me as a gift. He's been quite fun, and it didn't take long to convince him I wasn't out to hurt him by any means, just enough free nuts and he was content with sticking around."

A large smile splayed on her lips as she also recalled the mounds of shells found around the dormitory, surprisingly, there weren't too many complaints.

"Do they attend Hogwarts?" she questioned, glad for the opening. This would determine why the man was wandering the castle floors without a guide. Was he a new professor or merely a father looking in on his children?

[Evan Troy]

Evan had to think of this as a learning experience - it was his first one on one interaction with a student outside of his own son. He observed for the most part, noting that although the girl had been relatively hesitant about him at first that she was perhaps relaxing, or at least appeared to not think of him as a threat. Which, of course, was rather good. He needed the trust of the students first and foremost.

His mind seemed to be on two tracks, one following the conversation with the young blonde, the other going through a small list of what information he might gather. Small conversations such as these, even as senseless as they might be, all had potential to be infomative in one way or another. Squirrels, however, didn't prove to be too interesting in that aspect for Evan. He made sure to pay attention though because it was slightly intriguing in a way.

" Well, I can't think of a finer way to find a pet. " He smiled slightly and gave a small nod of his head. " My sons? Ah, one of them does. Emeric Troy of Slytherin House. I'm Evan Troy, the new Transfiguration professor. " His smile remained in place in a friendly manner as he mentioned first his son's name and then his own.

[Felicity Hjort]

Tilting her head to the side, she didn't quite understand the man's logic. Running around mindlessly and catching wild animals was a fine way to find a pet? Her dad certainly wouldn't, and didn't, agree with that statement. While he hadn't told her the blonde she couldn't keep the animal, he hadn't been pleased when she told him how she'd originally found him...and just how he'd been made hers either. The fact Lucas, well a boy in general, had given him to her was unacceptable in most terms, but so were all gifts of any sort. Ib would rather his youngest daughter trek all over and possibly hurt herself in the process of catching an animal than to have one presented to her as a gift by any one of the male population.

Glad for the new topic of conversation, Felicity didn't recognize the name. Perhaps he was much younger than she? And being as he wasn't in her own House gave her reason to not thoroughly even recognize his name.

"New Transfiguration Professor?" Felicity asked carefully, having heard van Aller had left on short notice, and she wondered if the man knew why. "So you'd be the third one we've had since I started then..." So many Professors in such a short amount of time, it was dreadful really.

[Evan Troy]

All in all he didn't believe his own statement, but then again he wasn't fond of pets, either. They took up time for the most part, made messes and were generally an unnecessary expense. He didn't mind his sons having animals just as long as he didn't need to take care of them or tend to them in any way. He wasn't home often enough to deal with little things such as that. Now that he was at Hogwarts, though, he would have to deal with other people's critters running about. This first instance, with the girl's squirrel, was perhaps going to be the most interesting.

Evan nodded his head, knowing that not many students had heard of him yet. He was the most recent professor at the school in a long line of interchanging adults that came and went, it was only fair that he give the students some time to adapt to the new settings.

" Really? How long have you been at the school? " It was rather pitiful that the school would have to go through so many teachers, but it was his hope that by him being there things would be forced to change.

[Felicity Hjort]

"Two years," the blonde answered with a beaming smile. "I started fifth year and now am in my seventh." Stating the obvious was a specialty of hers and it wasn't about to fail anytime soon. But she wasn't about to state that she'd also been made the school newspaper editor, a prefect, was on the quidditch team when she'd never actually played before making it, or any other little achievements of the sort. Honestly, she thought it a bit ridiculous that when she was so new she could be given so many titles in such a short time.

"Did you attend Hogwarts?" She'd noticed that most professors had, though she wasn't sure if it was that only previous students could be hired, or if it was just a tendency. Did it work that way for all schools? She couldn't ever remember having a professor in public school who had attended her school while school-aged. But maybe because there were supposed to be fewer magical schools it was different. She wasn't sure.