Alessia swept threw the great hall with grace and poise. She was the first in the room, she wanted to leave a surprise at everyone's place setting. A little leather bag containing a set of runes for every professor and staff member. On a little card tied to the bag were the Word, "To a happy term, Less."

It was her way of saying hello. She looked at the headmaster's chair and decided she would sit next to it... nothing like being next to power. She sat, fixed her hair with her fingers and waited for the students to come in. She just loved looking at all the young minds she would mold... loved the first day...

My, oh my, where did the time go? It seemed that it had been only a few weeks since she had entered this very hall for last term's beginning of the year feast. How strange that time speed on so quickly.

Pulling a small rubber-band through her hair, Angela twisted it around and around until her tight curls were caught up in a ponytail fashion. She then strolled through the center of the Hall, nodding and smiling at the many students who were already seated.

As she drew closer to the staff table, she took note of a staff member already present; someone new so it seemed. Fantastic! She loved to meet new professors.

Climbing up the dias, Angela drew up a chair and seated herself, noticing a small bag in front of her at that very moment. She curiously read the tag and couldn't help but smile. What a wonderful, warm gesture.

Of course, she assumed that the woman sitting at the table with her was the same person who left the bag.

"Hello." She greeted with another smile. "Madame Angela Kohan, librarian. And you are...?" She trailed off, letting the question hang in the air.

Professor Shackleton swept into the Great Hall looking radiant and refreshed in flowing robes of candy apple red. Her hair was clipped up off her neck, with curly tendrils slipping out of the updo all around. There was a bounce in her step that hadn't been there all last term and she gave off a positive energy of happiness that had previously been undetectable for quite some many months.

Flashing a smile at anyone with whom she made eye contact, Macadrian quickly approached the Staff Table to find one familiar face and one new face already sitting at the ... WAIT. Was that woman seriously in the chair next to the Head chair? Last term, when Macadrian was hungry and grumpy most of the time, she probably would have been disgruntled by such a bold move. But today, when she felt so content, something as trivial as seating arrangements couldn't bother her.

Gracefully sliding herself into a chair giving her the best view of the Hufflepuff table, Shackleton flashed a large smile while extending her hand to the new staff member, "Good evening. I'm Macadrian Shackleton, Arithmancy Professor. Welcome to the staff." Turning her attention to the familiar librarian, "Evening, Angela! How were your holidays?"

"I'm Alessia Lupa, the new runes professor." She said reaching over to shake the women's hands, "It's nice so to meet you both, please, call me Less." Librarian... good to know... "I remember the library very well." She said smiling. It was where she would hide her first term at the school.

"Wonderful to meet you Less." Angela replied, holding out a hand to shake the other woman's. "Thank you for the gift." While she had been speaking, Angela had carefully opened the bag to reveal a set of runes. "I do hope that you enjoy being on staff."

With a pause, she turned towards Macadrian as she quite literally bounced onto the dias before taking a seat. "Hello Macadrian. My holidays were wonderful; the time passed so quickly! And yourself? May I dare say that you have quite the glow about you. What happened this past summer?" She asked with a near conspiratorial grin.

"And when did you attend Hogwarts, Less?" She inquired as the new professor remarked about remembering the library.

Peering into the small pouch sitting on the table before her, Professor Shackleton was pleasantly surprised by such a kind gesture. "It's quite a pleasure to meet you, Less. You've got a wonderful subject to teach. Thank you so very much for the gift. These will certainly come in handy, as my old set is getting a bit worn. The Raido is starting to look like Wunjo and last month when I did a casting, instead of realizing I should have been traveling, I thought I was getting a diamond! Quite silly, really." Macadrian sighed contentedly before saying, "But really, thank you again. It was very kind and generous of you."

"Oh, I couldn't agree more about the holidays passing so fast, and yet, I can't find it in me to be sad about having to come back so soon! I mean, don't get me wrong, I'll certainly miss certain things and people back home, but it is very nice to be back within these walls."

When Angela remarked that she was glowing, Macadrian grinned, "I just feel healthier and more whole than I have in a long time. Granted, I spent a good deal of the summer break in the hospital, so that wasn't very fun, but it certainly was worthwhile. And once I got out, I spent a lot of quality time with friends and family, which was amazing. And I just feel so... so... energized!" Granted, she wasn't cured. Not yet anyway. But with a little determination and some luck, she hoped she would be soon.

"Oh, quite some time ago, 2050 or so... but I was only here for three years. It was a wonderful experience..." She said to the woman.

"You are very welcome. I know how it is when runes start wearing down... It's hard to be accurate in readings, when they all look like a blur."

Professor Morgan slipped quietly inside the Great Hall stopping just inside the door. The nostalgia she felt was immediate and hit her like a ton of bricks as she glanced up towards the staff table. She hadn't been back to Hogwarts since her own graduation, many years ago, but being in this room was like coming home after a long holiday. Gracefully, she started towards the table, quietly enough that her steps made no sound. When she was only a few feet away, she stopped dead in her tracks and stared in disbelief at the ladies huddled around the table. Oh could it be? Less? Here at Hogwarts?

Not wanting to interrupt their conversation, Iliana quietly made her way up the dias and waited to introduce herself.

Angela nodded in agreement with Mac's words. Yes, she too would miss certain things and people back home; she always did. Of course, she loved Hogwarts as well and missed it each time that she left.

When Macadrian made mention of the hospital, Angela frowned and leaned a bit closer. "My goodness, Macadrian..the hospital?" She didn't want to prod much, so she simply settled for "Well, I do hope that whatever was wrong has now been fixed so that you can enjoy the term without falling ill or whatnot." She remember last term when Macadrian hadn't seemed all that well; especially during their card game. Hopefully, this term wouldn't be a repeat, though it looked far from it.

"I'm glad to see that you're feeling better than you have in a while." She commented with a sincere smile.

"Ah, I see, well at least you had some time here. It's better than nothing. Hogwarts is such a wonderful school..." She trailed off for a moment before going on. "I do hope to see you in the library, though. If you have any need for reference material on your subject or just want to peruse other material, do let me know."

Noticing yet another new face approach the table, Angela directed a glance in her direction. "Hello." She greeted with a welcoming smile. She wasn't sure who exactly had left staff, and though sad that her fellow staff members had taken a leave, Angela was excited about the new faces.

"Oh yes." Macadrian nodded seriously. "I actually left Hogwarts last term before the final feast to check into St. Mungo's. I wasn't very well all last year. Actually, to be honest, it started even before that, but last year was particularly bad. If you ever want to hear the whole story, you should stop by my office for some tea or cocoa. It's actually a rather interesting story, although technically, the story's not over yet. Still living out what I hope will be the final chapters. But anyway, I'm sure none of this is making any sense, so I do apologize for that." Macadrian chortled a bit before adding, "Thank you for your well wishes. I haven't been entirely fixed, but I'm getting there. I'll find a cure soon. I'm sure of it." She nodded fervently, before taking a sip of her sparkling ice water.

Looking as handsome as ever, Professor Vindictus strutted through the Great Hall on his way to the dias. Everything about him was too perfect - his tan, his athletic physique, his sparkling blue eyes, gleaming smile, and perfectly coiffed blonde hair. There was a definite spring in his step and he whistled a popular tune heard on the WWN as he finally took his customary seat. "Nice summer, ladies?" he asked and was completely oblivious at the moment that there were new faces at the table.

A rather large man lumbered his way through the Great Hall and up to the raised dias upon which the staff table was situated (not without difficulty). He was decked out in the most nicely tailored (fake) Italian suit he owned with a deep navy cloak flowing from his shoulders. He sort of looked like a blue Pacman with a cape. Waka waka waka waka waka....

A wide smile graced his face as he stared down the golden plates. He remembered how much food had appeared on these things back from his days at Hogwarts, and he simply could not wait to dig in. In fact, he was so distracted by this thought, that he hadn't even noticed that there were other professors already situated.

Failing to acknowledge them (quite likely giving a poor first impression), he took a seat on the far left of the staff table. He sure hoped Davie Koop would sit next to him...

Constantine sighed in a slightly depressed manner as he walked through the middle of the Great Hall, all the way up to where the Dias was with the gathering group of professors. It was depressing because he now had to endure a whole ten months without his fiancee and, now, Caleum. Oi vey, who was going to protect him from the evil kiddies now? He would have liked to say that Roma could, but she was all the way back in the hut, most likely sleeping on his bed.

He remained expressionless as he took to observing the few new faces that were already there, in addition to those who had returned. He wasn't even that excited to see the old staff, he barely talked to them anyways. They all looked like dirt disturbers to him anyways; who ever would want to affiliate themselves with them was beyond him and his shined shoes. Way beyond.

Pulling an acorn out and fiddling with it in his hand, he took a seat at the table and looked out into the crowd of students as they all took their seats and chatted happily amongst themselves.

"Ah, I think you know quite well that my summer was very nice, seeing as how Fabian and I spent a great deal of ours with you and Janey, Ethan and the most adorable little boy I've seen since Ethan was born!" Macadrian laughed before asking, "How is Taylor doing? I can't believe he's already five months old! Where does the time go?" Though the thought of time passing her by normally evoked in her a sense of longing, at this point in time, she could be nothing but genuinely happy for Max. It didn't hurt that as soon as she'd seen that little boy, Macadrian fell in love and vowed from that moment to spoil him rotten.

Max chuckled at his cousin's reply. "It goes by too fast," he grinned and then his jaw dropped. He noticed the new staff members. "Who are these people?"

Iliana smiled back at the warm welcome and reached out to shake her hand. "Hello! I'm Iliana Morgan, the new Care of Magical Creatures professor. It's a pleasure to meet you." she said sincerely. She glanced around, smiling at all of the people that had arrived and wondered how on earth she would ever remember all their names. She picked up the small bag from the seat in front of her and read the card. Aww! That was just like Less to be so sweet, She thought as she sat down.

Macadrian glanced left and right, then shrugged. "The only one I actually got a chance to speak with was Alessia Lupa, Fabian's replacement as the new Ancient Runes professor. She was nice enough to give everyone a little gift too. And she prefers to be called 'Less.' Other than that, your guess is as good as mine. Though, I suppose it would be prudent to get to know them all, huh?"

Macadrian spotted the Groundskeeper approaching the Staff Table, though he didn't seem very interested in his destination. She smiled pleasantly at him as a sign of acknowledgement, then turned her attention back to glancing up and down the table at the new staff members. There sure were a lot of them!

As the students settled into their respective tables and waited for the glorious, delicious food to appear upon their plates, a sharp, steady sound echoed across the Great Hall. It was the echo of a pair of pointy Prada stilettos, marching with a purpose into the large banquet room.

Wearing the heels was none other than the new Herbology Professor, of course, for who would suspect a woman who spent nearly all of her time outdoors to be dressed so fashionably? She was absolutely stunning, or so she thought, in cream-colored robes with a golden fringe that perfectly matched her shoes. In Anastasia's opinion, there was nothing wrong with making a fashion statement - there were so many moldable minds here, after all, that were surely dying for her to teach them a lesson or two.

At long last, Anastasia reached the raised dias and gracefully took a seat near a handsomely dressed man. As was her custom, Annie's intense blue eyes roamed up and down over his frame before she smiled approvingly. Hmm, what could he possibly teach with shoes so shiny? And then she saw it.

An acorn.

Now why on earth would a grown man be playing with an acorn....in yet another setting that involved food? Her thoughts darted back to a certain occasion in the summer, which was really the last time she'd seen an acorn. Had this man really been there? No time like the present to find out.

"Hello," she said brightly, sticking her hand out towards the man to get his attention. "I'm Anastasia R. Bunbury, the new Herbology Professor. May I ask what your name is?"

"Thank you so much..." She said giving the woman a smile.

Whoa! Hot man three o'clock!

ooc: Wakawaka - I peed my pants!

Ok... not so hot man... at 8 o'clock. She nodded back to him.

Whoa! Another hot man! 7 o'clock! This school would have been SERIOUSLY distracting when she was a student... She smiled to herself... it wasn't too far off till the full moon, she just needed to breathe and smile. That's it. Sit here and look pretty.

With a quick 'you're welcome' directed at Less, Angela smiled and greeted Max as he stepped up to the table. "Hello Max, how was your holiday?"

Listening intently as Mac recounted the many obstacles that she had seemingly faced over the past year or so and was still in the process of facing, Angela couldn't help but feel a flicker of admiration for the woman. After all, it did take quite a certain strength and determination in refusing to let something beat you down.

"I do believe I'll take you up on that offer. Perhaps, before classes move into full swing, I'll be able to make a visit. It would be rather nice as I don't believe I've seen the inside of your office." She remarked with a laugh of her own. "Of course, of course." She agreed with the determination that Mac would find a cure. "And, of course, if you feel that you need any sort of material from the library in your search for the cure, I'll gladly lend a hand."

"Iliana?" She repeated. "That is a very unique name." So Magical Creatures professor...she would be taking Fabian's place. With a soft, though inaudible sigh, Angela briefly reflected on the fact that Fabian had left Hogwarts. It was he that she had been the saddest to see go. "It's wonderful to meet you. I'm Angela Kohan, the librarian."

Ethan Truebridge had been tempted to take a seat at the Slytherin Table- just to check to see if his name was still etched into the underside of his favourite chair- but he did quite like the idea of being able to stare out over the masses the students and perhaps take a few guesses over which would be the best in his classes and which were no hopers history challenged.

He felt a little shady after not having found an appropriate wand to replace Betsy at Ollivanders. He had taken a trip to Gregorovitch's Wand shop instead and come away marginally satisfied- though he had suspicions that Loretta would be a handful. He adjusted his stunna shades and made his way slowly to the staff table, casually sliding himself into a seat and stretching his legs out comfortably in front of him.

He looked down and blinked a bit upon seeing a little bag with a note on it;

He made a vaguely curious noise and undid the drawstring, having to lift his sunglasses up to peek inside. Runes. Interesting. His last set had been swallowed by a Nundu. He flicked his head so that his glasses dropped onto his nose and reached inside the little bag with one finger, hooking out three runes and laying them in front of him. Raido, Ehwaz, Sowelu.

Zan mulled over this for a moment; Journey, Change and Spiritual Awakening. He snorted; Gavin would go gaga over that one. Still- it was positive enough. Truebridge picked up the three runes and juggled them with one hand for a few moments before placing them back in the little bag and pulling the drawstring tight again.

Ethan turned his head slightly upon hearing a familiar voice. Bunbury? Herbologist! Herbology Professor. Interesting. He let the low hum of various conversations and introductions wash over him; quite forgetting to introduce himself.

Catching her smile, he returned a small one before returning his gaze to the rest of the table and then finally, back out into the crowd. He was still twiddling his good luck charm in his hand, jumping a little and dropping the acorn on the table as a hand appeared out in front of him and voice was made heard.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BanaBatGirl

As the students settled into their respective tables and waited for the glorious, delicious food to appear upon their plates, a sharp, steady sound echoed across the Great Hall. It was the echo of a pair of pointy Prada stilettos, marching with a purpose into the large banquet room.

Wearing the heels was none other than the new Herbology Professor, of course, for who would suspect a woman who spent nearly all of her time outdoors to be dressed so fashionably? She was absolutely stunning, or so she thought, in cream-colored robes with a golden fringe that perfectly matched her shoes. In Anastasia's opinion, there was nothing wrong with making a fashion statement - there were so many moldable minds here, after all, that were surely dying for her to teach them a lesson or two.

At long last, Anastasia reached the raised dias and gracefully took a seat near a handsomely dressed man. As was her custom, Annie's intense blue eyes roamed up and down over his frame before she smiled approvingly. Hmm, what could he possibly teach with shoes so shiny? And then she saw it.

An acorn.

Now why on earth would a grown man be playing with an acorn....in yet another setting that involved food? Her thoughts darted back to a certain occasion in the summer, which was really the last time she'd seen an acorn. Had this man really been there? No time like the present to find out.

"Hello," she said brightly, sticking her hand out towards the man to get his attention. "I'm Anastasia R. Bunbury, the new Herbology Professor. May I ask what your name is?"

"Er...hi," he replied back, eyeing her stretched out hand. Was he supposed to shake it or was it just thrown out there to get his attention? "I'm Constantine. Constantine Masterson," he was still fighting with himself to shake her hand. He figured that he would keep his hand to himself for the moment, at least for now.

"I'm the...old groundskeeper," he continued, finishing off his reply to her question.

"Good! I'm glad to hear it. I love company and you're more than welcome in my office at any time. Though I have to admit, it isn't very special. I think some redecorating may be in order..." Macadrian contemplated how she could improve her office for a moment before returning her attention to Angela, "And thank you for your offer to assist my search. I very well may take you up on that offer, as I can certainly use all the help I can get." And with those words uttered out of her mouth, Macadrian had a revelation. The cure to her illness would be found in no time if she simply enlisted the help of her colleagues! Some of these people were the greatest minds of the time and were certainly some of the best in their fields. If anyone could help her get to the bottom of this, it would be them!

"Ooo...nice," he murmured as his cousin spoke and then cleared his throat. Vindictus stood up and flashed his award winning smile at the new female staff members. "Ladies, I'm blinded by such beauty that I see before me. Please, come sit over here so that we won't grow deaf by shouting our words across this massive table." At the same time he kicked Neo's chair. "Be a gentleman and scoot over," he said under his breath and kept smiling.