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alt_umbridgeIt has been quite a successful week, on almost every possible front: we can now make the changes we have so long discussed. Many of the staff seem quite glad of the change, and a substantial number of students as well.
There are some stubborn concerns. The Head's office refuses to yield to any magic or art. I cannot see how to exert additional pressure on Minerva. (Spiteful old cat, she is.) And my conversations with the Floo Network yielded nothing. I hardly recognised most of them, so perhaps the real issue is inexperience they refuse to admit. Whatever the reason, they had no success opening the floo from their end.
Truly, the castle itself is frustrating. The staircases are recalcitrant, there are new drafts all through my office. And the longstanding issues of maintenance, food, budget, and a dozen other things remain. One is forced to wonder whether abandoning the place and building a thoroughly modern wizarding school in New London might not be best.
Lucius Malfoy persists in being entirely himself. He insists on visiting Monday - some sort of crucial business. Why it must be he who is the interface to Our Lord is entirely beyond me, and always has been. He has his wand in entirely too many potions for my liking.
There is progress on other fronts, however. I will begin our plans for Defence tomorrow, and the Model Student Association will get additional instructions this week on best reporting of any teensy challenges to my proper authority. And sooner or later, someone will be an example of what happens to those who fail to meet my expectations.
The conversations with Rabastan Lestrange and Aurora Sinistra both went the way I hoped, though I regret we must look to her mother for leverage, Latimer, if needed. Her Guild Master wrote yesterday to clarify her expectations in New London (Why do they need a new textbook? It’s not as if the stars change, for Merlin’s sake.) He also implied that the Guild would be forced to protest at the highest levels if a less qualified teacher were to replace her. Foreigners, pah. And the outmoded Guild system, as well.
Rabastan has thus far been obeying the stated restrictions, but we shall see how that unfolds. I have taken the precautions we discussed, there, naturally. I would prefer to avoid any other staff changes, but of course have ideas in reserve should anyone prove more difficult than expected.
There are some stubborn concerns. The Head's office refuses to yield to any magic or art. I cannot see how to exert additional pressure on Minerva. (Spiteful old cat, she is.) And my conversations with the Floo Network yielded nothing. I hardly recognised most of them, so perhaps the real issue is inexperience they refuse to admit. Whatever the reason, they had no success opening the floo from their end.
Truly, the castle itself is frustrating. The staircases are recalcitrant, there are new drafts all through my office. And the longstanding issues of maintenance, food, budget, and a dozen other things remain. One is forced to wonder whether abandoning the place and building a thoroughly modern wizarding school in New London might not be best.
Lucius Malfoy persists in being entirely himself. He insists on visiting Monday - some sort of crucial business. Why it must be he who is the interface to Our Lord is entirely beyond me, and always has been. He has his wand in entirely too many potions for my liking.
There is progress on other fronts, however. I will begin our plans for Defence tomorrow, and the Model Student Association will get additional instructions this week on best reporting of any teensy challenges to my proper authority. And sooner or later, someone will be an example of what happens to those who fail to meet my expectations.
The conversations with Rabastan Lestrange and Aurora Sinistra both went the way I hoped, though I regret we must look to her mother for leverage, Latimer, if needed. Her Guild Master wrote yesterday to clarify her expectations in New London (Why do they need a new textbook? It’s not as if the stars change, for Merlin’s sake.) He also implied that the Guild would be forced to protest at the highest levels if a less qualified teacher were to replace her. Foreigners, pah. And the outmoded Guild system, as well.
Rabastan has thus far been obeying the stated restrictions, but we shall see how that unfolds. I have taken the precautions we discussed, there, naturally. I would prefer to avoid any other staff changes, but of course have ideas in reserve should anyone prove more difficult than expected.
