Zaria rose from her position on the couch and stood on a square red footstool in the center of the room to raise herself slightly, the better to see everyone. Forgoing a spell this time, she decided to just talk louder than she normally would. “Thank you all for coming, I know you must all be busily getting ready to go home after another year. This won’t take long, but I thought it important to do this. I have a few things I want to say, so please bear with me.” She cleared her throat quietly and appeared to be gathering her thoughts.

“First of all, I would like to say a HUGE thank you to everyone who participated in classes, homework and finals. I know how much hard work it has taken, and I, as I’m sure the rest of the house, appreciate it very much and am proud to call you true Lions.”

“Next, I would like to recognise Anna Greingoth, Cale Newell and Alexis Chosen for being exceptional leaders this year as your Prefects and Quidditch captain. Without them my job would be much harder, so I personally thank you for you efforts.”

She motioned to the points tally on the notice board. “At the moment, though with a late surge it might change… fingers crossed it doesn’t… we are in the lead for the House Cup! That is fantastic! In particular I want to mention Astrid Deschain, Anna Greingoth, Cale Newell, Jillian McGuffin and Allie Johnson.” She looked at and gestured to each student as she said their name. “These 5 student have earned over half of our points on their own, an outstanding achievement! I would like you all to congratulate them individually if you can.”

She paused momentarily and looked up briefly at Arienh sitting on top of a bookcase at the back of the room, before looking back at the students. “Winning the cup this year would be particularly special to me. I am very sad to announce that I shall be leaving Hogwarts this year. I have been teaching here for 16 years, and I have been Gryffindor Head of House now for 12 years, so it was a particularly difficult decision for me to make. I will miss you and the school terribly, but I wish you all the best for your futures, whatever you chose to do." A smile appeared on her face, but it had a hint of sadness to it despite her efforts. "So how about a big cheer for all of your House mates!" She stood down and slumped back down on the couch waiting to join in the cheering.