Shreya gave each of her coworkers a warm smile as they approached the table. While she usually was one to start a conversation, she had made it a goal for herself to spend most of the feast simply listening and observing. She wanted to get a good sense of her coworkers personalities before the start of the term.
A nod was directed toward the healer as she joined them. Shreya detected a bit of irritability behind the smiling facade of the History of Magic professor, mostly because of her exasperated comment toward Finneas. Perhaps she was just having a bad day.
June was another one who had been at Hogwarts at the same time as Shreya, so the herbology professor received a friendly wave. Shreya made a mental note to organize a mini-reunion for her fellow Hogwarts friends-turned-professors.
"Good evening Norman," she said as the Transfiguration professor took his seat next to her. Ah, a finger trap. That's what Finneas's strange contraption was. Shreya chuckled a bit at Cassie Kitridge's snaps. It was nice to have someone so excited and bubbly on staff. "Lovely evening, indeed," she replied.
Professor Williamson's—er, she supposed she should call him William now— entrance left Shreya a bit stumped. How was one supposed to act around their own former professor? They were colleagues now, but it would take a bit of adjusting for Shreya to view him as an equal. Perhaps Finnease and June felt similarly. She decided to direct a warm wave his way.
"Why thank you, Neva," Shryea replied. "I hardly ever get to wear these things anymore, so I figured today was enough of a special occasion." On a stroll around the castle a few days ago, she had passed by Neva's office and was thrilled with the way it was decorated. Shreya had a feeling that she would get along well with the Charms professor.
Turning back to her former housemate, she responded, "It's marvelous to be back. I am so looking forward to meeting all the students." And it looked like Finneas was still stuck in his finger trap predicament. Unfortunately, Shreya wouldn't be much help in that department, unless she could just send a diffindo charm toward it. Perhaps June was more familiar with the strange things.
"Oh, Bali seems absolutely stunning. Did you have a nice trip?" Shreya chimed in, overhearing Camilo's comment to the herbology professor. She loved to discuss traveling, and Bali was on her list of places to go. "I heard that the snorkeling there is amazing." Though Shreya couldn't imagine breathing through a tube when you could just cast a bubble-head charm.
A glance around the staff table showed that everyone was present except for the headmaster, which Shreya found to be a little rude. Even if he did like to make a separate entrance, he should be there by now. Being this late was a bad example to the students. Not to mention how hungry they must all be. Poor souls.
As if to answer her thoughts, the doors banged open, and she watched curiously as the man basically stomped to his place at the table, without a word of greeting to any of them. A bit taken aback by this incredibly rude behavior, Shreya raised her eyebrows, trying to gauge if her colleagues thought this was typical behavior. But before she could make a judgment, she was squinting at the Headmaster, detecting the faintest bit of bubbling underneath his skin.
Shreya gasped. She could tell those signs from anywhere. Polyjuice potion. As he transformed, it became very clear to Shreya that the man at the center of the table was most certainly not the headmaster. |