Gaston's outfit perfectly matched his mood tonight: black (well, with the exception of the red and gold tie and lion pin he wore at every feast). Merlin, this was going to be a long night! He missed River and Cami, but most of all, he missed his beloved Rosalyn. They both agreed he should return to Hogwarts this term, but still, it felt wrong to be here without her!

He peered into the Great Hall and immediately wanted to retreat back to his office... in fact, he probably would've if he hadn't seen Hawthorne already at her seat. Now there was no getting out of this... He signed, holding his hands behind his back to hide just how violently they were trembling. He hadn't felt this alone and out of place since his first start-of-term feast!

"Good evening, everyone," he greeted his colleagues, nodding politely to each person in turn as he took his seat. He kept his eyes ahead, not even daring to look toward the other end of the table, lest it be a bad reminder of his wife's absence. Not that he had anything against the new staff, of course... it was just hard.