Althea smiled slightly in greeting but didn't bother adding to all the chatter. Was it just her or was this woman familiar? In any case it would be a relief having a decent Defense Professor again. Althea had no particular desire to do any more subbing of that subject.

... what? Althea looked up, a bit startled and a touch annoyed to be bothered so soon, but she managed a faint smile. As if she would give any sort of detail about her summer to a student!

"It was fine." It hadn't been fine. "Return to your seat now, please."

"Yes. Charms." Naturally.

"You're ridiculous, Dub." Althea assured him. And she was NOT going to tergeo his pants for him. There were some things you just didn't do, and pants care was one of those things. Besides, he had his own wand, no?

Merlin but she HATED Pumpkin juice. Even the smell. Just... it made her want to vomit.

And what was all this talk of being lit on fire by Tate and... Vindictus?

Ah. And there was Edvard.

"Edvard! Evening!" Finally; she'd never really been happier to see someone as earnest and reserved as Edvard. The outspoken, childish behaviors of her new peers made her miss Risu for a moment. "Well, I spent three weeks in Italy with Seren," she said, somewhat sheepishly as he took note of her tanner skin. "And I even caught up with a former Hogwarts classmate of mine. He's the Department Head of Magical Creatures at the Ministry now." She smiled at her recent encounter with Atticus. Nice fellow he was. He always was.

Oh good. All the new staff wasn't as outlandish and childish as the gentlemen had been moments ago. Fina gave a brief welcoming smile at the dark-haired woman a few spaces down from her. "Josephina Hadley, welcome to the Hogwarts staff." The woman seemed quite calm; into books, and she was sure that they'd get along.

And it began with the students already. "Good day to you as well, Miss Kieran. Now if you don't mind, you should return to your house table and wait for the speech." Hadley instructed the young girl in Ravenclaw Robes. "Good food and conversations await." Besides, the had all term to get to know their Professors; why rush it was something the Arithmancy Professor never understood.

William Walter Williamson. That name sounded familiar. Like a tongue-twister almost. And his initials were the same as that joke shop in Diagon Alley, weren't they? But no, that wasn't what caught her interest most. It was the subject.

Magical Creatures.

Why did all the good looking men have to associate themselves animals?

Sigh.

"Nice to meet you, Will...iam." She smiled politely, thinking way too much about ... everything.

Ah, of course Alyssa would find her way to her. "Now is not the time to worry about such things, Miss Potter. Now is the time to enjoy the company of your peers who you haven't seen for two months. To meet friendly new faces and then, of course, to enjoy the food." In other words, you'll find out in good time about the kitchens.

And another of her brilliant young Hufflepuffs. "Welcome back, Miss Wheatborn," Hadley nodded to the now second year. "We're glad to have you back, but if you don't mind, I do believe the Headmaster will give his customary speech soon and thus you should be seated at the House table."

Ah. Max. When had he arrived? She had been so distracted by the influx of young ones, she barely noticed.

Giving a brief smile and nod toward the Ravenclaw Head of House, she turned her attention back toward her Hufflepuffs. Need to make sure they behaved and whatnot. Not that she doubted Arya and Keefer's abilities to lead them, but Treyen, on the other hand...

Potion ingredients? She didn't do potions. She HATED potions. But she did understand the concepts in which he spoke of. The theories.

"Add heat... Huh. I wonder which one is the heat then." Probably the healer; females always started the fire.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lezleighd

Gemma headed back up to the Staff Table after visiting with the 'fainting' boy at the Ravvie Table...what a start to the term. Since she was up anyways, she decided she should introduce herself to the newbies at the table...even if some of them were acting as the children at the class tables...she thought with a little smirk.

She walked up and around the table. And stopped at each of the new staff members. She smiled and extended her hand, "Welcome to Hogwarts! I'm Gemma Cerulean, Muggle Studies..."

Will took out his wand to start drying his lap, his blush deepening as the Muggle Studies professor approached his chair. Merlin. All the women here looked like models...

"Pleasure to meet you, Gemma. I'm William Williamson, Care of Magical Creatures."

Quote:

Originally Posted by The1HBIC

And there was that color in his cheeks that Cece found so adorable. "You should really consider using your wand to clean up that mess too," she whispered in his ear as she walked on by.

Just like when they were students. She was still looking out for him and helping him out.

"I'm already on it," Will muttered, more to himself than to her as she was already gone. He pointed his wand at his lap and winced, hoping he wouldn't miss or.... mess up his lap or anything with his shoddy wand work. "Tergeo."

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cassirin

"I try to keep my options open. I believe certain people are like potions ingredients. Innocuous on their own, but when you put them in the same cauldron and add heat... the reaction is always unexpected." Tate was probably going to have to knock some heads together in a moment, but he couldn't be bothered just yet.

....

"Give me a second." He leaned around and made eyes at his newest staff members: Williamson and Jenkins. They both got the extreme hairy eyeball.

"I will not hesitate to light your heads on fire if this childish behavior continues." EYEBALLS.

Ah, good, his spell was working!! The excessive pumpkin juice was siphoned off of William's pants, though of course the stain remained.

He eyed the Headmaster's stink eye and swallowed. Yessir... challenge.... accepted.

He'd rather have a head full of fire than a fired head. Heh. Hopefully, though, Olly would get fired/set on fire first. HE DESERVED IT.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tegz

"Yes. Charms." Naturally.

"You're ridiculous, Dub." Althea assured him. And she was NOT going to tergeo his pants for him. There were some things you just didn't do, and pants care was one of those things. Besides, he had his own wand, no?

Merlin but she HATED Pumpkin juice. Even the smell. Just... it made her want to vomit.

And what was all this talk of being lit on fire by Tate and... Vindictus?

Ridiculous?! "It's not my fault he spilled stuff all over me!" he protested, though at least the stain was taken care of now. Dub leaned toward Thea a bit, adding, "You know any charms to remove that pumpkin stink though? OH OH and did you SEE Dash burping bubbles?!"

You're welcome, Thea. Heheh.

Quote:

Originally Posted by PhoenixRising

William Walter Williamson. That name sounded familiar. Like a tongue-twister almost. And his initials were the same as that joke shop in Diagon Alley, weren't they? But no, that wasn't what caught her interest most. It was the subject.

Magical Creatures.

Why did all the good looking men have to associate themselves animals?

Sigh.

"Nice to meet you, Will...iam." She smiled politely, thinking way too much about ... everything.

"Nice to meet you too," Will turned back toward Josephina with a polite smile. Merlin help her if Olly had gotten to her drink too...

Sigh.

"The good kind of ridiculous, Dub." She eyed his pants and tried not to eye his pants. Difficult. You know. She actually might have smiled. She tried not to do that either. "Do you trust me pointing my wand in that direction?" She raised one eyebrow at him.

Althea made a funny.

And she purposely ignored the Dash!Bubbles part. And didn't look in that direction either.

"Oh you'll be glad to know that I've met a lot of new friends and welcomed the new students who have been sorted into our House, Professor. We may also have a couple new students trying out for our Quidditch team. But you are right. We'll worry about visiting the kitchen later. I'll go back to the table and hope that the food will be there by the time I get there." Alyssa grinned at her Head of House before running off to join her friends. She definitely was hungry and bags of chips weren't going to sustain her for long.

Cece started to sip on her water as she listened to everything going on around her. What was with all these students coming up to the staff table? She didn't remember students being this bold when she went here.

She was able to ignore most of the chatter until...

Headman say what?!

He was going to light someone's heads on fire? Looking down the table she seen just who he was giving the evil eye to. Of course, the Obnoxious one and... Willy? Really? Was he a part of all that was happening up here too? Whyyyy? Why did he have to be friends with Oliver Jenkins?

Shaking her head at the situation she decided she was going to do whatever it took to make William see what an idiot his so called friend was.

"Great to meet you too and yes, one of the young boys passed out. It only took a little whiff of this..." she said holding out the phial she had put under his nose, "...and he was up and acting like his old self again." She put the potion back in her pocket. Never know when she would be needing it again. "I did tell him to stop by the hospital wing later so I could check him out properly." You know, make sure this sort of thing wasn't going to happen again.

Picking up her goblet she took another drink of the water. Merlin. This stuff tasted like it came right out of the lake. She didn't remember the water tasting this bad when she was a student here. She set the goblet back down on the table. She was starting to feel a little light headed here.

Shaking her head a little she tried to focus on what was being said to her. "Yes, I graduated from here. Well I guess it wasn't really here I graduated from since we were forced to be in two different schools during my seventh year."

Grabbing the table Cece felt like the room was spinning.

What. Was. Happening?

She was just reaching out to grab her water again but her hand never reached the goblet. Instead it fell to the table and she fell back... landing right on the professor sitting next to her (Waylon).

Out cold she was, although she could still hear the voices around her.

Just what exactly do they put in the water around here?

Whatever Medea was expecting during the opening feast, it wasn't this.

The two young faces up at the staff table had caused the surprise to be written all over her face. THE cause. She half expected them to up here because there was some sort of accident, but no. Just polite greetings.

She just smiled and nodded politely in return. Right. Greetings. She could do greetings.

Oh! And...

Muggle Studies. Well, she would certainly need to take at least a few minutes to look over just what other subjects were taught here at Hogwarts once this feast was over. "Medea Romanos." she replied, shaking the woman's hand, a heavy accent lingering in her words. "Defense against the dark arts."



So many young faces up here!

This one had a longer greeting though, and an eager learner from the sound of it. A slight relief to know that she wouldn't have to force at least one person to pay attention in lessons. Whatever reply she was going to say in return was drowned out by the man sitting just a seat away from her. Oh, so students weren't supposed to really be up here. The greetings were lovely though.

"Looking forvard to seeing you in class." she smiled. The man was right though. It was better to visit their office instead of visiting during this feast.

...

What now?

Eyes widened as she looked at the man. Which one was Hecate?

Quietly clearing her throat, she shook the thought from her mind. Lighting people on fire. Really. This school certainly was something she'd have to get used to, building and people included. Having taken a quick peak to the woman she had sat next to, Medea smiled as well; ignoring the little twinge of possible recognition in the back of her mind. Just as long as Miss Pyromaniac didn't set her on fire any time soon, this evening was going quite well.

Moving her gaze passed the blond woman to someone sitting just beside her, another woman. It took all her might to not become distracted with all the ruckus coming from those two men, but she was able to do it! Long enough to hear the name and greeting being said that is. "Medea Romanos and...thank you." She eyed the two men. "Is it alvays like this?"

During any meal time that is.

...

Looking up from her still empty plate, Seren flahsed the Ravenclaw a bright smile. "Indeed, I had a rather lovely holiday, and yourself?" she asked.
Her smile almost fell at the mention of Head of House, though it seemed as though this Ravenclaw wasn't about to have her head on a pike, so all was good. "Thank you."



"Welcome back Elise, had a nice holiday?" she asked smiling equally as enthusiastically as the girl was waving.



The familiar voice of Alyssa Potter reached her ears, and she sat back in her seat giving the Hufflepuff a friendly smile. "Thank you Alyssa, that's sweet of you." She wasn't sure about being lucky to have her, but they had her nontheless.



With the arrival of a Gryffindorfinally Seren had gotten herself rather excited. This Jezzabelle girl seemed rather sweet, and a potential herbologist byt he sounds of it! Oh how she loved students that reciprocated her appreciaction of all things herbology.

However.. before she even had the chance to open her mouth... Max, shot the girl down and sent her on her way. The poor dear.

Giving Max a stern look, yes a stern look... nobody messes with her lions and gets away with it. "Honestly Max, was that really necessary? Wouldn't a simple 'perhaps wait until after the headmaster gives his speech to make yourself acquainted with your Head of House' sufficed?..." Persoanlly she thought it would have. "I'd appreciate it if you didn't take that tone with my Lions in future." At least not the new ones, the last thing she needed was them owling their parents telling them they were scared of their flying instructor.

Frowning, and tapping a finger on the arm of her seat, Seren stared out at the house tables. Perhaps she'd go down after the speech and see if the girl was alright.

And just when he thought the Headmaster's throne would be a distraction.

Voices, and lots of them were coming from right in front of him, and Waylon couldn't help but be nosy and turn his head towards them. Students, he should have known. Although, he really wished he would have known when that one kid came up and started singing. He would have prepared himself and stuck his fingers in his ears to drown out her voice.

She was horrible.

But, not wanting to say what, he was sure everyone was thinking, he simply nodded and was just about to clap for her when..other things happened. This was why he hated the feasts when he was at school. So much going on and he didn't have the attention span to pay attention to any of it.

Leaning forward, he placed his elbows up on the table and rested his chin in his hands. He smiled a bit when the Muggle Studies Professor introduced herself, but before he could introduce himself back, the woman next to him started talking and he kind of zoned out after that..

..Only to come back to when he felt someone on him.

Eyebrows raising, Waylon, as slowly as he possible could, turned his head to see who it was. The Healer woman. Sleeping on, not only him, but on the job! Would anyone notice if he pushed her onto the lap of the person on the opposite side of her? Probably. Squirming in his seat uncomfortably, Waylon gently began to elbow the woman.

"Psst, wake up." And get off of him.

"I would say... putting all of them together is heat enough." He suspected that Fina was one of those oddly literal people that interpreted things exactly as stated. Fair enough... although they never seemed to get a joke.

Tate leaned waaaay forward as the Healer passed out into the unfortunate professor beside her. Hmm. His eyes immediately went back to Williamson and Jenkins with the question... were they responsible for this?

"Can someone please handle that situation?"

"Be careful with him, Seren. We try not to push too hard, or else Max happens," Tate directed at the Gryffindor Head of House with a small smirk. His deputy was certainly rife for ribbing tonight. If he had more time, he'd probably continue in that general vein, but as it stood... his speech was all that stood between the students and their big meal.

He could be generous.

Tate stood. "Students. I'd like to welcome you once again to Hogwarts for another exciting term. For those who read the Daily Prophet, you may have seen that we are celebrating an exciting anniversary this term, and your staff has been hard at work with some events that will help us feel the true spirit of all that Hogwarts has to offer. If you'd like to help us celebrate or you have any additional idea, please feel free to share them with me via owl."

With a gesture, Tate pointed out the new staff members spread out along the table. "We would like to welcome some new faces to the staff table, as well as the new faces we are welcoming to each house table. Please do not inundate their office with greetings, but I hope you will make them very welcome in the coming weeks. Remember what it is like to be new and offer them all your support."

And now... almost time to eat? "I don't have much more to say this term, aside from the usual... don't die. Eat your vegetables. Write to your parents, because they miss you. And... be kind to each other. We're all in this together. As you begin your meal, I'd like to invite Nimma the house elf to speak to you briefly." He figured they could now eat AND listen.

Really? Oliver thought differently. "Wouldn't it be better to poison a stranger than a friend?" He was going to have to watch this one. She had that look about her. The one that said not to turn your back on her.

Seeing her spit her water back caused him to chuckle just a little. It seemed he had caused her to be wary of him. He would never intentionally hurt someone. It was all in good fun after all.

"Pleasure to meet you Josephina." See, he could be sensible too. "So I take it your the Arithmancy professor." He could be smart too. Oliver figured they were sitting alphabetically which made him number one.

Oh yeah, baby!



Oooh Thea was waving at him. Oliver straightened up in his chair and gave her an enthusiastic one back. And then watched as she helped out Willy. She was so helpful.



GAH!! Some people need to get over themselves. Oliver spared a glance at Cece as she walked passed. Was she seriously going to keep holding a grudge against him? It was tweleve years ago for Merlin sakes.

He watched as she sat down. Right next to Waylan.



Oh so his friend did remember that the feast was on tonight and he did manage to find the castle without getting lost. Oliver acknowledged his friend with a small salute and then grinned to himself. He had plans for him.



Oliver's eyebrows almost shot off his forehead, they rose so high. Who was this feisty piece of work? He grinned down at the woman. "But it's so much fun and it keeps you looking and feeling young." He looked her over before continuing. "Although I think it might be a little too late for you."



Oh William when will you ever learn?

Oliver gave his friend an innocent look. "You should probably put your goblet in the middle of the table so that you don't knock it over so easily. You know how accident prone you are mate." Most of Willy's accidents were actually caused by Oliver, but there was no need to tell his friend that. The girls seemed to love it.

Look at them all trying to help him. His friend would thank him for that one day.

"William, why don't you use your wand to clean it up?"





Well helllloooo there pretty lady.

Oliver took her hand in his and gave it a small shake. "Nice to meet you Gemma. Oliver Jenkins, Ancient Runes."

Wait! She did just say Muggle Studies, right? Yes he was positive she did. "Muggle Studies, huh? I did a few muggle sports professionally for a few years, we should exchange notes some time." Oh you are so smooth Jenkins.



Merlin's pants!!

He was getting an eyeball. From the Headmaster no less. Five minutes on the job and they were already getting into trouble.

"Er...righto...duly noted Sir." The guy was just joking right? He wouldn't really set their heads on fire, would he?

Oliver was just about to ask Willy...something when he noticed the new Healer faint and fall onto Waylan. That didn't count, right? Because he had slipped Cece the fainting fancy before Tate and his eyeballs had told them to stop.

He cleared his throat and turned in his chair and looked out at the students. Best not look at anyone, at the moment.

And then the HM was talking again but it didn't seem to directed at him this time. He was giving his speech. Oliver gave a small wave to the students before once again reaching for his goblet and then retracting his hand just as quickly. He was going to die of thirst because he had no idea if William had tampered with the bloody thing.

The young professor smiled at the new Staff member, "It's nice to meet you as well..." she said with her usual bright smile on her face...she pushed a stray bang behind her ear and then continued finishing her statement, "Do you go by William or Williamson or W squared?" she added with a little wink.

Gemma shook the man's hand and then listened intently to his reply. She cocked her head slightly to the side when he mentioned Muggle Sports, "Well, is it Oliver or Olly...or what would you prefer..." she asked the question in the middle of her statement but continued on excitedly, "i would love to exchange notes..." she said with a little smile...maybe a little flirty smile but you could never tell...wow there were two many cuties at this table this...year...she focused back quickly. "what sports and where?" she asked knowing that she would be able to learn where he was from by what sports he played...plus she was interested in what level he considered professional...
Gemma smiled at the new staff member, "Well Ms. Romanos, it's nice to meet you...let me know if you need anything..." she said quickly as she hurried to her seat as she heard the Tate starting the Opening speech.

Gemma was fixing to reply to the Healer but her thoughts were jumbled when the Healer fell over into the lap of another new Staff member.

She hurried around the table and kneeled down to help sit the Healer up. She reached in the Healer's pocket and pulled out the bottle used on the Ravvie earlier. She opened the top and waved the bottle under the Healer's nose hoping to wake her up.

She looked up and down the table trying to figure out what the cause of this was.

SPOILER!!: Thea

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tegz

Sigh.

"The good kind of ridiculous, Dub." She eyed his pants and tried not to eye his pants. Difficult. You know. She actually might have smiled. She tried not to do that either. "Do you trust me pointing my wand in that direction?" She raised one eyebrow at him.

Althea made a funny.

And she purposely ignored the Dash!Bubbles part. And didn't look in that direction either.

...and that was a smile. "Oh, all right, as long as you approve." Willy winked at her and gestured toward his pants hopelessly. "You know I've never been anything but below-average with.... well, wandwork." He gave her a pleading expression, even if her joke had been... punny.

"Please?" He trusted her. For now.

SPOILER!!: TATER

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cassirin

Tate stood. "Students. I'd like to welcome you once again to Hogwarts for another exciting term. For those who read the Daily Prophet, you may have seen that we are celebrating an exciting anniversary this term, and your staff has been hard at work with some events that will help us feel the true spirit of all that Hogwarts has to offer. If you'd like to help us celebrate or you have any additional idea, please feel free to share them with me via owl."

With a gesture, Tate pointed out the new staff members spread out along the table. "We would like to welcome some new faces to the staff table, as well as the new faces we are welcoming to each house table. Please do not inundate their office with greetings, but I hope you will make them very welcome in the coming weeks. Remember what it is like to be new and offer them all your support."

And now... almost time to eat? "I don't have much more to say this term, aside from the usual... don't die. Eat your vegetables. Write to your parents, because they miss you. And... be kind to each other. We're all in this together. As you begin your meal, I'd like to invite Nimma the house elf to speak to you briefly." He figured they could now eat AND listen.

Will let out a tiny snort at the Headmaster's speech, though he did applaud heartily. Har har food time!

It was then, whilst he was looking over toward the Head Tater, that he noticed Cece slumped over onto Waylon. Er.... was something going on between his friends that he wasn't aware of....? Awkward......

SPOILER!!: Dead Man on Fire

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mell

Oh William when will you ever learn?

Oliver gave his friend an innocent look. "You should probably put your goblet in the middle of the table so that you don't knock it over so easily. You know how accident prone you are mate." Most of Willy's accidents were actually caused by Oliver, but there was no need to tell his friend that. The girls seemed to love it.

Look at them all trying to help him. His friend would thank him for that one day.

"William, why don't you use your wand to clean it up?"

William just GLARED at Oliver. He WAS using his wand to clean it up and he WAS accident prone. THANKS BUDDY. Just notify the rest of the staff and oh, the students while you're at it that your BEST MATE sucks at life.

THANKS PAL. REALLY. THANKS.

Oliver was SO going to be dead by the end of the night... better check his sheets for a lethifold before he went to bed...

SPOILER!!: Gemma

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lezleighd

The young professor smiled at the new Staff member, "It's nice to meet you as well..." she said with her usual bright smile on her face...she pushed a stray bang behind her ear and then continued finishing her statement, "Do you go by William or Williamson or W squared?" she added with a little wink.

Haha good one. Will let out a dry little chuckle but returned the wink. "I like W cubed, actually, since my middle name unfortunately also follows the letter trend." He smiled again and couldn't help but overhear Olly offering to 'trade notes' with her or some other nonsense...

Hitting on the staff already, Oliver? No surprises there.

Elise shook her head slowly. "I... I ran away from home," she said, but regained her cheeriness a moment later.

"But I came to congratulate you on getting Head of House, even if it's not us," she beamed. "And I kinda hope Gryffindor gets the house cup."

No that was like betrayal... But this was Professor Bentley. She was awesomeness in its extreme.

Max overheard those words and a loud gasp escaped from his lips.

He sat there like a stone statue and stared in disbelief at the young Ravenclaw girl.

Seeing at the Headmaster had finally made his speech, Kurumi thought that now was the more appropriate time to go up and greet with the school staff. Stepping away from her lions for just a moment, Kurumi made her way to the staff table with a medium sized box in her hands. She had tried something a little different this term with her cookies and had gone with a silly sculpture method along with some small cakes. Nothing too fancy since she had assumed that the house elves had everything back in tip top condition and didn't want to have anything that would take away from what she HOPED would be a delicious feast. The tables had been clean, so that was a start to be sure.

The Headmaster had mentioned that Nimma would be making her appearance as well, which was perfect since Kurumi wanted to see if she actually wanted or needed the help that Headmaster Tate had assigned the prefect to at the end of last term. Summer was a long time and she hoped that the baby house elf had grown and matured enough to not go on kleptomaniac sprees through the castle.

Starting at one end of the table with an unfamiliar face (Professor Jenkins) beside the familiar one of Professor Hadley, Kurumi bowed to this section of the table. "Good evening, Professor Hadley," Kurumi smiled as she reached into her medium sized box for some smaller ones containing the results of her experimentation and her brothers' dare and a small cake. "And...welcome to Hogwarts, professor."

Her gaze and box giving continued, bringing her to stop in front of Professor Roslund. "I hope you enjoyed the train ride, Professor Roslund," she said, eyeing him slightly and glancing at Professor Schirmer. The two sandwiched a new professor the one who looked like he liked hugging trees and she bowed to them all before handing out a box to each. There was another new professor beside the Charms professor, and Kurumi offered her another bow with a smile before setting a small box in front of her as well. "Good evening and welcome to Hogwarts," she said to those new faces. "My name is Kurumi Hollingberry."

Moving along to Professor Vindictus and the Headmaster himself, Kurumi set the boxes out on the table and greeted them both. "Good evening," she said with a slight hint of nervousness. Vindictus always did intimidate her, so she didn't linger too long and headed towards Professor Bentley, passing two more unfamiliar faces as she did with a brief greeting and introduction of herself.

FINALLY she found herself in front of Professor Bentley, her new Head of House. While Kurumi had already said her congratulations in an owl over the summer, it deserved being said again. "Professor Bentley! I suppose that I can now officially welcome you to Gryffindor," she giggled, setting a box in front of her. "I am really looking forward to working with you this term and already have a few things I would like to run by you, at a later date of course." She was bubbling on the inside with excitement. She really couldn't wait for the term to get rolling. Kurumi was also concerned about that plant she had saved...it was acting strangely and had the odd habit of trying to pull all of Walnut's fur out with its little leafy stem-arms.

Kurumi froze for a moment, before hastily putting a box in front of Professor Scabior. "Professor Scabior, I am looking forward to attending your lessons this term." LIES sort of, but it wasn't because of the subject matter...he was just scary.

Now reaching the end of the table, all three women with familiar faces, Kurumi set her wrapped sweets down and bowed once to each of them. "Professor Cerulean, Professor Lafay, Professor Magnus, I am looking forward to another term with you."

Seren rolled her eyes lightly. The old man always had a way of 'happening', so why should she restrain herself? No. If Max wanted to play with fire, then fire he shall receive. "I'll bear that in mind," she said lightly, but at any rate, if her Lions were disrespected, then there would be hell to pay.

Good thing it was speech time. Making herself comfortable she settled to eyeballing the Gryffindor table, they had best be behaving and listening to Tates words carefully. Seren wasn't all too concerned though, the Lions seemed to be an altogether good group.

Clapping her hands together lightly at the end of the speech, Seren then poured herself another cup of tea. Nimma was going to speak? Well that was different. No doubt it was regarding the fiasco which occured the previous term, oh no, Seren had not forgotten.



Peering down over the endge of the desk, wide eyed Seren considered what Elise had just told her. Run away from home? ... and so cheerful? That meant all was well now, yes?
"Everything is alright now though, yes?" she asked, just to be sure.

A light blush crept into already glowing, tanned cheeks. "Thank you...I really appreciate that." And indeed she did, and as much as she would have loved to turn to Max and give him the eyebrows, she didn't. No poking the old man on a matter like this. She at least had manners. "I'd like it very much if we could, but at any rate I'm sure it will be a very enjoyable term, and at the end of the day that's all that matters."

She wasn't about to say out loud that Gryffindor would do everything within their power to be victorious. It was sort of obvious.



She did however sense some bad bad bad mojo coming from Max's end. Whoops?



AHA! The arrival of her cookiegirlPrefect. "Kurumi, so good to see you, and thank you for the warm welcome, I look forward to working with you also. Feel free to see me at any time, I am usually available." And she would always make herself available to the students, regardless of which house they were in.

Seren eyed the medium box Kurumi had placed in front of her. Merlin how she loved baked goods! "Smells as good as always," she said smiling. Though hopefully it wouldn't be the only thing worth eating at this feast... unlike last term.
"Enjoyed your holidays?"

Jayden walked up slowly to the staff table after the Headmaster's speech. "Hello there professor, enjoy your holidays and the new gloves?" She asked cheerfully, a huge smile forming on her face. Professor Bentley was by far one of her favorite teachers, especially since she was the one who taught Herbology, which was quickly becoming one of Jayden's most favorite classes.

Things had the potential to become extremely awkward indeed, but Seren shrugged it off.

"Jayden," she greeted brightly with a nod. "I most certainly did, those gloves were very handy, thank you." And nothing excited her more than new gloves... or seeds, or dung, or trowels... oh the life of a herbologist!

"How were your holidays dear? Get up to anything exciting?"

Seren sipped her tea.

And that was how proper, mature adults acted. With the introductions and nice to meet yous. But of course, she doubted that some the new professors needed to introduce each other, that still didn't mean they could set poor examples for the students.

"So ... did you attend Hogwarts as a student?" Or was he like some of her other both former and present colleagues, whereas this was his first time in the castle.

Fina nodded at the now third year as she rambled about having met new friends and been welcoming. Very good and Hufflepuff of her. She smiled though when she ran off to join her friends like a good girl. There would be plenty of time for chatter throughout the term.

Hearing a noise down the table, Fina tilted her head and glanced sideways down the table. Huh? Oliver HAD poisoned the healer?! Oh no!

And she witnessed it too and didn't warn her. Does that make her at fault too? But no, she didn't know what the Runes professor added to her goblet. For all she knew, it might have been non-fatal.

Hopefully.


Distracted by the passed out healer, Fina barely heard the woman two seats down from her speak again. "Huh? Oh. Nice to meet you, Medea," Fina smiled apologetically, focusing back on her end of the table, making mental note to ask Oliver in a moment or two about what he put in her goblet.

"Like what? With the professors acting like wild animals? No." She said sullenly, but wondered if she meant the students. "But the students coming up to meet us and socialize? For some bizarre reason, yes, they seem to think that if they get to know us, they'll earn a better grade." Or something.

Oh. All the new professors together created heat? Well, she supposed that made sense judging from the firecrackers that seemed to go off in the last ten minutes.

Oh good, the Headmaster was giving his feast and even mentioned his usual 'don't die'. So that meant the food was coming! Thank heavens, as she was quite starved.

Wait, Nimma wanted to talk to them? Interesting. Once Tate finished speaking, she turned her attention back to her neighbor, taking a tortilla chip as she did. She was sure the elves put the chips there as tribute to Maya, but no matter, as they were quite tasty.

Poison a stranger than a friend? "Well I suppose so, but personally, I'd rather refrain from poisoning anybody." But yes, when he put it that way. "So you did poison the healer?" Fina asked in a low voice, arching an eyebrow.

Why would the Runes professor have interest in harming the Healer, was beyond her.

"You take it well," she said, scooping some potatoes and rice onto her plate now. "Arithmancy Professor, Hufflepuff House Head, and Gobstones Advisor."

"Runes though. Tough subject."

Taken aback at the sound a familiar, yet sweet voice, Hadley turned from Oliver toward the young face of the Gryffindor Prefect. Though she wasn't so young anymore; she was a fifth year! Oh Merlin, time flies. "Evening, Miss Hollingberry," Fina replied back, as the prefect handed her a small box containing their seemingly customary treats. Opening it, she gasped softly. "Oh, oh. It's lovely. You've outdone yourself. Thank you." She smiled, eying the house colors on the small cake.

"My holidays were wonderful! I went on a vacation with my family to Hawaii!" She replied excitedly. So many good memories had been had there.."I also got a ton of shopping done, and invested in quite a few nice Herbology books and dragonhide gloves!" She added, her cheeks growing pink with excitement.

Such a little junior Herbologist she was....

"How did you spend your holidays, Professor? Anything new or exciting happen?" She asked curiously.

Oliver deftly ignored the glares he was getting from his friend. Oh it was alright for William to pull a prank on him but he didn't like it when the tables were turned.

And seriously what did he have to complain about? He had Thea, nursing his ego. Oliver wouldn't mind being in his friend's spot right now.

The Muggle Studies professor was flirting with him. The night was looking up. Leaning forward, Oliver gave her a charming smile. "I don't mind. Oliver, Olly, OJ, whatever you like."

Goodness, she was a hard one to keep up with. "Surfing mainly. But I've tried my hand at a few other things. You could swing by my office, I have some books in there." There was just far too much to go over here at the feast.

"Did I say that?" No he was pretty sure that he had not said that he had poisoned the Healer. "But just to clarify, no I didn't. I know her." Oliver chuckled and then inclined his head towards Cece. "She'll only be out for a few minutes." Then maybe she might be nicer to him.

Oliver raised his eyebrows and there was a hint of a smirk playing on his lips. "Very impressive." That was totally something you wanted on your CV. "Not so tough." he said with a shrug of his shoulders. "I like to dabble in other forms of magic. Divination is another favourite of mine." He looked at the food on the table and picked up a bowl of potatoes and put some on his plate.

"So if you had to pick any other subject to teach, what would it be?"





Oliver's gaze immediately fell on the badge the girl was wearing and his nostrils flared slightly as he inhaled deeply. A Prefect. He supposed now that he was a Professor, he was going to have to be nice to the Prefects.

Oh how he, Willy and Waylan used to give the Prefcts such a hard time when they had been at school. "Thank you Miss Hollingberry." He looked at the cake she had put forward and then looked back at the young girl. "You didn't spit in it did you?" Because if she had then he would give it to Waylan. That man would eat anything.

Gideon followed Kurumi up to the staff table. The Lion table feeling a little constrained at the moment and the 5th year needing a distraction from his whirlwind of a sister and the inevitable drama that would likely insue now that Elektra was back at Hogwarts. That is...if what had happened at Hogsmeade and elsewhere was any indication.

He didn't speak at first, meerly listening to what was being said and awaiting his turn as he decided what to say. "Good evening Professors...Headmaster," he greeted when his mouth finally opened up to speak, giving a polite nod to them. Gideon was debating adding a welcome to the new faces, however what Kurumi had said to Professor Bentley had brought him up a little short.

Work with her?...welcome her to Gryffindor?...some ideas to run past her?

Wait...Professor Bentley was to be their head of House? So Madam Donovan really was gone.

"Um...congradulations Professor Bentley," offering the woman a genuine smile despite him seeming hesitant. Granted he would miss the librarian but the herbology professor was a favorite of his own as well. If it was indeed true, he would look forward to working with her for certain.

Hawaii... such a beautiful place, and definitely on her list of places to explore. "Oh that sounds lovely, I'm so pleased you had a good time. It makes coming back to school so much easier... being rested and relaxed." Good for the mind and soul, even if it was a little hard to leave paradise.

And shopping! Seren definitely approved. "Oh good good! there's nothing more satisfying than a new pair of gloves. I take it you'll be all set and ready for classes then?" Ravenclaws usually were.

A cheeky smile lifted up the corners of her lips. Her holiday? ... yes it was magical. "It was amazing. I've kept myself busy... travelled to Italy, Wales and Australia, but it was easily one of the best holidays I've had in a while."



Watching the odd expression on Gideons face as he seemed to process her exchange with Kurumi, Seren held her breathe. Was she about to be rejected like snakegrass in a bed of chinese chomping cabbages?

.... no... it appeared she wasn't.

Allowing herself to inhale and exhale normally, she returned Gideons smile. "Thank you dear, I'm rather looking forward to this year. Hopefully I'll do Gryffindor justice."

"Yes! It was absolutely wonderful! I had such a lovely time, my family is totally planning to do it again sometime, at some point!" She replied cheerfully as she nodded in agreement at the professor's statement about it making school so much easier to come back to.

"Oh yes, definitely ready for classes! I cannot wait!" She replied excitedly. She coudn't wait to get her hands on some of the plants and to take in the smell of dirt.. and dung. Jayden really was one with the plants. Working with them made her truly happy.

"Oh! How nice! I quite enjoy Wales! I visited there last Winter when I went to stay at Caelius Ashdown's manor."