It wasn’t long before the first student arrived. “Good morning, Miss Holmes,” Professor Marchand greeted her, returning her smile. He was a little taken aback by her question though. Perhaps he should’ve made it clearer that the benches were meant for the students. “Oh yes, of course! Please have a seat.”


And here came another Slytherin, this one much younger than the first. And he was bouncing; that made the professor smile. “And a good morning to you too, Mr. Lewis!” he said. He had to stifle a laugh at the boy’s reaction to the treats. “You certainly may; please help yourself.”

Then one of the Gryffindor prefects arrived. Gaston was glad to see him; he was beginning to wonder if the other three houses would be joining this lesson. Not that he would’ve minded teaching just the Slytherins, of course. “Hello, Mr. Salander,” he returned the greeting. His eyes followed the boy to the trunk. Well, he supposed it was only a matter of time before someone asked what was inside. “You’ll find out soon enough.” He may or may not have given the prefect a knowing smile.

Next to arrive was a Hufflepuff girl – and a polite one at that! “Hello, Miss Kramer,” the charms professor replied, inclining his head toward her.

Here was another Gryffindor. “Good morning, Miss Bailey,” Gaston greeted her. He couldn’t help but notice the way she was looking at the benches and trunk. All would be explained in time!

Ah, here came the Head Girl! The charms professor gave her a warm smile as she passed him. “And a very good day to you, Miss Franks-Mundie!”

“Hello, Miss Paton,” Professor Marchand greeted the next arrival. He half-expected the girl to make a beeline for the refreshments and was slightly surprised when she didn’t. “Please, help yourself to some refreshments,” he offered, gesturing toward the table at the back of the room.

Now here was a cheery one! Gaston eagerly returned the young Gryffindor girl’s smile; this was exactly the kind of attitude he liked to see in his students. “Hello, Miss Spinnet,” he said. It wasn’t often that students wanted to high-five him (come to think of it, he couldn’t recall that ever happening to him before!) but that didn’t stop him from high-fiving her back. This just made his day!

The charms professor was a little taken aback when Mr. Kennedy thanked him for the heating charm but smiled nonetheless. Now here was a polite young man! “Good morning, Mr. Kennedy; you’re quite welcome,” he replied. “I am quite well, thank you for asking. And you?”

Another Ravenclaw and another student eyeing the trunk – not that Gaston minded that at all. In fact, he was impressed by his students’ curiousity. He just hoped they wouldn’t be disappointed when they found out what was actually in there. “Good day to you too, Miss Valentine,” he said with a small smile.

The professor had to stifle a laugh at the way Miss Griffel practically sang hello to him. The thought briefly crossed his mind to sing a greeting back to her, but he quickly decided against that. The students didn’t need to hear his terrible singing! Instead he simply said, “Hello to you too, Miss Griffel.”

Gaston inclined his head politely toward the new arrival. “Good morning, Miss Stevens,” he greeted her. He couldn’t’ help but notice that this particular student didn’t seem at all interested in the refreshments or the trunk in the middle of the room. Oh well, to each their own…

And here was Mr. Merriwether. “Hello, Mr. Merriwether,” Gaston greeted the Gryffindor boy, returning his wave with a small one of his own. His eyes followed him to the refreshment table, and he smiled a little. Somehow he had a feeling that would be the boy’s first stop.


The other Gryffindor prefect arrived shortly after Mr. Merriwether. Gaston immediately noticed how bundled up the girl was and wondered if his heating charm needed strengthening. “Good morning, Miss Summers,” he said with a slight smile. “Are you quite warm enough?”

Here was another bundled-up student. Now Gaston was really starting to worry that his spell had worn off! Or then again maybe not… “Hello, Miss Delgado,” he greeted the Hufflepuff. “You’re very welcome. I hope you’re warm enough.”

“Hello, Mr. Keir,” Professor Marchand greeted the Slytherin boy who just arrived, but he walked right past him without saying a word. And were those earphones? The professor was slightly offended but chose not to say anything about it. Maybe the kid was just having an off day… happens to everyone once in a while.

Miss Darcy’s mood was quite a stark contrast from the previous arrival, and Professor Marchand was very glad to see that. He returned the girl’s wave and smiled at her. “Good morning, Miss Darcy,” he said. “You’re most welcome!” Such politeness!

“Hello, Miss Carden,” Gaston greeted the girl who arrived next. He watched as she quickly made a beeline for the refreshments, smiling slightly. He knew holiday treats would be a good idea! He thought he overheard her say something to Miss Paton about a monster. No, no monster in the trunk, Miss Carden. This wasn’t DADA class.

In walked another Slytherin. The professor was beginning to wonder if the students had planned to arrive two from each house at a time; he was definitely seeing a pattern here! “Good morning, Mr. Westwood,” he said with a smile. He waited for the boy to sit down and was slightly taken aback when he didn’t. “Please have a seat.”

Well, so much for the students arriving in pairs idea. Here was the third Slytherin in a row! Gaston couldn’t help but notice this boy’s wide grin at the sight of the refreshments, and he returned it with a smile of his own. “Good morning, Mr. Thomas-Borzekowski,” he replied. “My day’s been fine so far, thank you for asking. What about yours?”

The charms professor was almost expecting the next arrival to be yet another Slytherin, but it wasn’t; it was Miss Guidry. He smiled at the Ravenclaw girl as she passed. “Hello, Miss Guidry,” he said.

Was it just him or did something seem a little off about Miss Umbridge today? Gaston was pretty good at picking up on people’s emotions. The thought crossed his mind to ask the girl if something was bothering her but decided against it. He didn’t want to embarrass her; she could always come to him later if she wanted. Instead he just gave her an encouraging smile and said, “Good morning, Miss Umbridge.”

Here was Miss Holden, a student Gaston remembered well from his days as the charms teaching assistant back at Beaubatons. He beamed back at the Gryffindor as she smiled at him. “Good morning, Miss Holden,” he returned her greeting. “You’re quite welcome.”

Ah, here was Miss Phillips! The charms professor smiled at the girl but his expression quickly changed. He couldn’t help but notice the lack of enthusiasm in her greeting – and the fact that she hadn’t tried to call him by his first name. Odd… that wasn’t like her at all! “Good morning, Miss Phillips,” he said. “I’m very well, thank you. How are you?”

It seemed Mr. Ashbury-Hawthorne had forgotten to say hello to the professor on his way in. Gaston understood; he was probably just distracted by the treats. Nonetheless he greeted the Hufflepuff warmly, “Hello, Mr. Ashbury-Hawthorne.” He couldn’t help but smile as the boy raised his cup and thanked him. “You’re very welcome.” His blue eyes blinked in surprise as the kid offered him a chocolate frog, but he hadn’t the heart to refuse. “Thank you, Mr. Ashbury-Hawthorne; of course you can.” Was it bad that he hoped the card wouldn’t be Balfour Blane? He didn’t collect chocolate frog cards, but he sort of wanted to hold on to this particular one. He unwrapped the candy, and sure enough… “I’m afraid it isn’t Balfour Blane; it’s Albus Dumbledore instead. Do you want that card too?”

The charms professor was watching the door waiting for more students to arrive when out of the corner of his eye, he saw Miss Umbridge smack Mr. Ashbury-Hawthorne’s hand. He sighed exasperatedly, wondering what he could’ve done to make her think he’d actually poison his own students. He could understand having an off day, but this was crossing the line. “Miss Umbridge, that was entirely uncalled for,” he said, crossing the room to the girl, “but since I believe your heart was in the right place, I won’t dock points this time.”

He shot her a warning look, then turned to Mr. Ashbury-Hawthorne. “I promise there’s nothing wrong with the cocoa,” he assured the boy. And just to prove his point, he poured himself a cup and took a long swig from it. See, nothing bad happened to him.

Gaston beamed at Mr. Botros as he came in. The boy seemed to be in much better spirits than he’d been at the feast, which the professor was very glad to see. “Hello, Mr. Botros,” he said, returning his student’s wave, and he watched as the boy helped himself to some cocoa.

A Slytherin girl arrived next, and Gaston politely returned the smile she gave him with one of his own. “Good morning, Miss Penrose,” he replied.

It was almost time for class to start when Miss Kettleburn came in. Gaston gave the girl a friendly smile and waved back at her. “Hello, Miss Kettleburn; you’re just in time.”