The hustle and bustle of the hall as the students and staff began to eat pleased the man. It reminded him very much of the opening feast at Uagadou. After putting a fork-full of food in his mouth each time, Sahnoun couldn't help but look at each of the four tables and then up at the impressive enchanted ceiling. Whoever did that was a genius, and he was certainly going to charm the ceiling at the African school when he returned.
His ceiling-gazing was soon interrupted as a number of the staff addressed him. Had he fooled them by coming the feast in his serval form? The headmaster chuckled, realizing that he should have at least gave them a warning before the feast.
"Are you doin' alright down dere, Art'ur?" he asked his Potions Master, concerned that the man almost had a heart attack.
Then the charms professor spoke up. The African man, after taking a quick drink from his goblet, grinned at the compliment he received. "Why, dank you, Julien. I can say dat I just had to take advantage of such an opportunity. At Uagadou, staff and students are always taking animal form, so it is not an uncommon sight as it is here."
Next up was the school librarian. Sahnoun gave the man a wave of his hand. The toast certainly was not a necessity. But he quickly grabbed his goblet anyway and joined the man. "Dank you, Leobald. Dat was very kind of you." He took a sip of his drink and set it down as the librarian continued speaking. The headmaster's eyes brightened at the man's curiosity. "Ugandan English. I was born in Algeria and spent my university days in Egypt, though I have lived in Uganda for most of my life," he explained with a nod of his head, thinking back to his days as a student and his many years of teaching and administrating.
Catching sight of some of the other professors looking at him, the man gave them a warm smile back before returning back to his food. He had just taken a single bite when the house-elf appeared. He quickly swallowed his food and bowed his head. "How doughtful of you, good elf. Dank you very much."
Once the little creature left, Sahnoun finished eating the food on his plate and even helped himself to one of the cookies that had been given to them. Again, he looked out at the students seated at the four tables. He hoped that their bellies were full, for the feast was about to be over soon. |