Truth be told, Gaston was not one for loud over-the-top costumes, but he thought it would be something the students would enjoy... well that, and he knew Rose would get a kick out of it. Oh, the pains he went to to impress those he cared about! At least this costume was fairly easy; almost all of it came from his own closet, except the vest and the long coat. Those were borrowed from a friend.

The professor-turned-pirate kept a watchful eye on the door as he awaited his students' arrival, and soon Miss Sorin-Ward became the first to show up. "Hello, Miss Sorin-Ward," he greeted her, returning her smile with a small one of his own. "Yes, I believe I am." He nodded, slightly taken aback by her offer. That was awfully kind of her! "Yes, thank you, Miss Sorin-Ward." Usually he didn't partake in the refreshments he left for his class, but he needed to be eating and drinking more to get his strength back. And besides. River would probably never let him hear the end of it if he didn't!

It wasn't long before they were joined by Mr. Ashbury-Hawthorne. The professor smiled as he saw the boy's costume. He supposed he should've seen that one coming! "Good morning, Mr. Ashbury-Hawthorne - or should I say Mr. Scamander!" he said with a slight chuckle. Bright blue eyes blinked in surprise as the boy gave him a chocolate frog, and his smile widened a bit. It seemed chocolate frogs were a tradition with this one! "It does," he agreed. "Thank you, Mr. Ashbury-Hawthorne."

He unwrapped the candy somewhat clumsily, as he was doing it one-handed. He should've known that hook would be trouble! When he saw who was on the card inside, he almost laughed. Minerva McGonagall... what were the odds of that? It was like a calling card from one Gryffindor Head of House to another.

And here was a fairy practically skipping into the classroom! Gaston beamed. These kids were just too adorable for words! "Good morning, Miss Dalgaard-Volkova," he said. "I hope you remembered your fairy dust!" He gave her a playful wink, hoping she'd catch on that he was joking. And was it just him or did this girl seem awfully interested in his costume?

Miss Morrison appeared only moments later - today dressed as a ballerina. "Hello, Miss Morrison," Gaston said, giving the girl a small smile and polite nod in reply to her greeting. "Thank you. Your costume is lovely as well." His eyes followed her as she took a seat, then strayed back to the door.

Next to arrive was a knight... either that or someone had enchanted one of the suits of armor as a Halloween prank. Gaston surveyed the figure up and down. It took him a moment to realize who was in the costume, but he smiled when he did. "Good day to you too, Sir Kimi!" he greeted the Hufflepuff, bowing slightly. "Thank you." For a moment, he worried that the boy would have trouble sitting down with all that armor on, but he appeared to be managing.

Mr. Salander's costume got a double take form the professor. He wondered if the prefect had guessed his costume and tried to match it - though he couldn't imagine how. He'd tried to keep his costume under wraps! It was probably just a crazy coincidence! "Ahoy, Mr. Salander!" he greeted, laughing a little. He returned the boy's salute, being especially careful not to accidentally put an eye out with the hook covering his right hand.

Ah, here was Mr. Severin dressed as a cowboy. Funny, that costume somewhat reminded Gaston of... He mentally shook himself to stop his thoughts from wandering back to his first term teaching at Hogwarts, to the Tacoween party, to a much happier time in his life. "And a yo ho ho to you, Mr. Severin!" he greeted the boy with a slight incline of his head. He wasn't going to embarass himself by attempting that accent, and besides, pirates didn't say howdy anyway.

Judging from the spring in Miss Swann's step, Gaston had to assume she was happy to be here. Good, that was just the kind of attitude he liked to see in his students! "Good morning, Miss Swann," he said, returning her smile with one of his own. "Thank you. I like yours too." Her flapper costume was very pretty. It reminded him a lot of another Daisy, but he didn't bring that up. The girl was probably too young to get the reference.

And speaking of pretty costumes, here was Miss Botros as a ladybug! Gaston beamed at the Slytherin girl, returning her curtsy with a deep bow. "Good morning, Miss Botros," he said. She made a lovely ladybug!

Blink, blink. Miss Summers came dressed as a pirate too?! Now Gaston was sure his prefects had planned this! What were the odds that all three of the Gryffindor leaders just happened to have the same idea? "Hello, Miss Summers!" he greeted the female prefect, laughing slightly. "Aye, love. That we do," he added jokingly. There was no harm in playing the part to go along with the costume, right?

Gaston wasn't exactly sure what to make of Mr. Botros's costume, but whatever it was, it was certainly cheery and colorful. Maybe the brightness of the costume would rub off on his mood. "Hello, Mr. Botros," he said. "Nice costume!" The thought crossed his mind to ask who - or what - the boy was supposed to be, but he decided against it. He didn't want to offend him!

Miss Diggory arrived next dressed as what the professor assumed was an updated version of Cinderella. There was something about the way she blinked at him that had him a little unsettled, though. He wondered if she sensed his sadness, but if she had, she didn't draw attention to it... which he was very grateful for. "Hello, Miss Diggory," he returned the girl's greeting, bowing to the "princess". "My, don't you look regal?"

Two pirates, a sailor, and now an octopus. Gaston was starting to see a pattern here! So what was next, someone dressed a a crocodile? Still, the professor couldn't help but admire Mr. Borzekowski-Thomas's costume. That face painting must've taken forever! "Good morning, Mr. Borzekowski-Thomas," he greeted the Slytherin prefect. "Impressive costume!"

In came Miss Potts wearing her regular uniform instead of a costume. That was fine. The costumes weren't mandatory; they were just for fun. Gaston could certainly understand not wanting to dress up, but the thing that caught him off guard was the lack of a greeting received. For a moment, he wondered if he'd done something to make the girl angry, but he couldn't think of anything. She was probably just distracted or having an off day. "Hello, Miss Potts," he said politely.

Miss Cambridge's costume earned a smile from the professor. The scientist costume was a perfect complement to the girl's personality! "Good morning, Miss Cambridge," he said, inclining his head toward her. "Thank you. You costume is nice too."

Another theme seemed to be emerging in the costumes. First Cinderella, now Belle. The class was turning into a who's who of Disney princesses! Gaston smiled as Miss Paton appeared, bowing to her just as he'd done for Miss Diggory. "Good morning, Miss Paton," he greeted her, "or should I say Princess Belle?"

Gaston chuckled a little at the sight of Miss Burton's burglar costume. Now here was one of the most original costume ideas he'd seen yet! "Hello, Miss Burton," he returned the girl's greeting, smiling slightly. "Interesting costume!"

If Gaston could read Miss Kenning's mind, he would've agreed with her that it was ridiculous. He was only dressed up for the students' enjoyment. The way the girl was looking at him made him a bit uneasy. He half-expected her to say something snide, but to his surprise - and great relief - she didn't. "Good morning, Miss Kenning," he greeted, giving her a slight smile, but he was a little caught off guard when she said he looked well. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he couldn't help but wonder if that was meant as a backhanded insult, but he was going to give her the benefit of the doubt and take it as a compliment. "Thank you. I like your cat ears by the way."

Gaston couldn't help but get the idea that Mr. Winslow was not happy about something as he arrived to class today. The darkened expression did not go unnoticed, and he was almost positive he heard faint grumbling. What was that about? Had he done something to set the boy off? He wracked his brains but couldn't think of anything. "Hello, Mr. Winslow," he said, dropping his gaze to hide the sadness in his eyes as he gave the boy what he hoped was an encouraging smile. "Thank you."

And here was another student walking into the room without so much as a hello. Gaston was beginning to wonder if he'd unwittingly done something to make his students angry. He sighed quietly, trying to push his feelings of self-doubt out of his mind. "Good morning, Mr. Westwood," he greeted politely.

It took Gaston a moment to figure out Miss Holden's costume. At first he thought she was just dressed as a smile black cat, but then he realized it was more likely a modified version of Catwoman. The curtsy got a little chuckle from him, and he bowed to her in return. "The pleasure's all mine, love," he joked, once again playing the part of the pirate captain.

Blink, blink. Who was this? The professor immediately recognized the character as the Wicked Witch of the West, but it took him longer to place the student behind the green paint. "Wicked costume, Miss Phillips!" he exclaimed once he knew who it was. "I'm impressed." Okay, so maybe impressed was a bit of an understatement!

Now who was this? Gaston's blue eyes surveyed the latest arrival up and down. He knew the character, but he was yet to recognize the student. Well, maybe if he got a closer look... "Princess Rapunzel, what an honor!" he said, bowing just as he had for the other princesses. It was only then that he caught sight of the badge, and his eyes widened in disbelief. "M-Mr. Bronwyn?!" he stammered, barely managing to keep his voice down. "Is that you?"

Here was another student who'd opted not to wear a costume. Oh well, no matter. Gaston wasn't judging. He nodded in reply to the Slytherin boy's greeting. "Good morning, Mr. Blaze," he said, smiling a little at the compliment. "Thank you."

Gaston had to pretend to cough to stop himself from laughing out loud at the sight of Miss Toussaint's costume, lest he incur the wrath of the student who inspired that costume. "Good day, Miss Toussaint," he replied, waving back at the girl. He didn't even want to know what would happen if he dared to call her Miss Kenning! The compliment earned the girl a small and a bow from the professor-turned-pirate. "Aye. Thank you, love," he said jokingly.

And here was yet another princess! Gaston couldn't help but beam as he saw Miss Sparkes... and was she skipping? "Hello, Miss Sparkes," he greeted. He noticed how quickly the girl's excitement seemed to ebb at the sight of him, and it made him feel worse than ever! He was inwardly berating himself for letting her see his sadness when her voice jerked him out of his thoughts. Something for him? What was it? He glanced down just in time to see her set a cup of cider on the desk in front of him and managed a small smile for her. These kids and their acts of kindness never failed to touch his heart! Her next words threatened the tenuous hold he had on his emotions, and he had to bite his lip and blink several times before he could speak. "Thank you, Miss Sparkes," he said quietly. "A hug would be nice."

Gaston had barely enough time to recover from the sudden rush of emotion when Miss Peale greeted him. "Namaste, Miss Peale," he replied, carefully imitating the girl's gesture of the slight bow and pressed palms. "Yes, thank you for asking." He gave her a small smile, though it didn't quite extend to his eyes. "Well" wasn't exactly the word hed use to describe his life right now, but it seemed inappropriate to burden her with his troubles.

The professor was about to start the class when Miss Kramer arrived. Was it just him or did something seem off about her today? And he wasn't thinking of her costume - or, more to the point, her lack of one. That smile she gave him looked awfully forced. Had he done something wrong? "Good morning, Miss Kramer," he said politely, returning her smile with one of his own. Maybe she'd feel better as the class went on? Or so he hoped...