Such a good kitty.. Know that finger rubbing Justin did for the throned appearanced feline? It turned into a nice good soft scratching behind the ears. There was no objection, so like with his buddies he took as a positive sign. Justin continued this while observing the sorting going on.. Huh. Guess he wouldn't be keeping as close an eye on his pseudo-nephew as he watched the young lad go for Ravenclaw.

As for Julien's question, "Heh, who knows. As of now it's finders keepers." Justin unfortunately had others to look after this term, sorry to say kitty as he patted it before removing the hand. Students were approaching and yes, he saw and returned the nod from Miss Denaker, with a raised eyebrow at the attire. "Gryffindor, eh?" If she were in his house he'd have removed more points for the lack of house appreciation on top of the no uniform. But hey, not his house and some of the colleagues were already taking care of it.

So he continued lounging before- "Paaaaaaul. No poncho this evening?" Big grin for you and the beautiful-looking Divination and Muggle Studies professor. "Hello there Kaysha. Sora. Looking forward to this term?" Justin observed the exchanges going on with James. Hm. Why so grumpy? He looked like he was hiding something.. He his grin returned. He might want to watch out for this fellow grounds neighbor.

But for there was another buddy, "Evening Leo, how are you?" They needed to catch up since their last reunion.

SPOILER!!: Hady

Quote:

Originally Posted by SpiritWolfe Malfoy

Entering the Great Hall Hady did something she had never done before. Her hazel eyes sought of the Staff table first quickly scanning it for just one Professor. It didn't take all that long before her eyes to settle on the man she wanted to speak with for a brief moment before the feast began. Chances were if she waited to long she would either a) forget to go speak with him or b) get sidetracked by whatever was bond to happen during the feast.

So as it was Hadleigh walked right past her house table and straight up to the staff one. "Evening Professors, I hope you all have a pleasant summer," she offered to them all with a small smile. Rounding the table towards the one Professor whom she had come to speak with she paused in her tracks her eyes landing on that of a kitty. Sitting in the Headmasters seat. Um...well alright then. "Hello there kitty," she greeted warmly. Normally she would attempt to pet it but this time she didn't. Letting out a breath she made her way over to Professor Draper stopping beside his chair. "Hello Professor Draper...I just wanted to thank you for last term...I had a wonderful summer." Her voice was low almost near a whisper and her wording was rather vague but she knew he would understand what she was talking about.

Ah, one of his recognisable Gobstone players "Evening Miss Lynch. My summer was excellent, and yours?" Did she keep her skills in check? He could smell a nice shiny cup in the making. Just saying.

SPOILER!!: Mason

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nc.Ap.

;_____;

Was it true? Was Murdoch really not Head of House anymore?

These weren't tears of grief or sorrow, no. They were much more delightful, well they would be if someone could confirm all these damn rumours. And there was only one way to find out if the best news ever was actually true. . . go up to the Staff Dias and ask the Healer herself (or anyone else, cause Murdoch was actually really scary) And like any totally sane person would do, especially those who just LOVED authority, Mason made her way towards the Dias cause #YOLO

Wait. . . what? o___o

Role-call real quick here: Primeaux, (cute) Finch, Draper, (adorable) Paul, (hawt) McLeod, (suited) Flamsteed, (Animagi) Newton, and two women she didn't even fricken know. . .

Mason halted, her mission already forgotten, confusion written all over her face. Who were these new people??!! And why the hell was there a CAT in the Great Hall??? What the hell was going on here?

Was this seriously gonna be like last year? With all those freaky freaks freaking about? Mason really didn't hope so, that Hag almost ate some of her friends and that creepy Poltergal had watched her sleep, so noooooo thank youuuuu. Plus that doll was hella weird. . .

Wait. . . why was she here again? Oh Yeahhhhh! Mission, duh.

Justin of course would notice this. "Evening Miss Stevens. Why are you crying?" Did some mean ol' student bother her? Or was she cat phobic too?

The Staff Dais was as familiarly energized, and busy as ever, a fact that Nana's calm-desiring mind would never enjoy, but she could, she supposed. Appreciate its' never changing. Having left the Astronomer behind, Nana was making her way along the dais to take up her seat, when several things caught her attention.

One; Paul's attire was as ridiculous and chuckle inducing as ever.

Two: there was an absolutely gorgeous cat occupying what would be the Headmaster's seat.

Three: James was bickering with Haddie Denaker (because things really never changed).

Four: they had the pleasure of having two new Professors in their midst.

Five: Mason Stevens appeared to be crying, oh dear.

And, last but not least, Justine McLeod was now effective Head of Slythetin House

She had a lot of addressing to do.

"Good evening, everyone." Nana greeted, taking her seat. "Pleasant summers?" She asked her coworkers, as she took up her goblet and poured herself water. The food would not be arriving for some time and though Nana was famished, her patience (helped by the water), would not waver.

Nana's eyes darted to the cat with curiosity. "Is that a lynx?" It was certainly not an English cat. The markings were more more common to felines in African countries, she believed. Which brought her thoughts to their Transfer Headmaster. The idea was... Interesting for lack of a better term, but their suggested Headmaster was someone she was fairly eager to meet, his background seemed quite similar to her own in terms of academia and she found herself keen to hear his thoughts and to see the differences in their methods based on their regions.

Turning to her new colleagues, Nana offered each a small, but polite smile. "Hello, welcome to Hogwarts. I'm Nana Ichihara, Transfiguration Professor." She said, bowing her head gently in their directions and offering hand to each woman in turn. "You're Divination and Muggles studies, correct?" now it was just a matter of who was who.

"Mister McLeod, I must congratulate you." Nana said, offering the Groundskeeper a warm grin. "Were you in Slytherin House as a student?" she asked, remembering how Paul had been a Ravenclaw in his days, but had been given Hufflepuff's Head Position.

and now. Miss Denaker and James.

Sigh.

"Hello, Miss Denaker. I trust your summer was fine. Nana calmly said, taking a long draught of her goblet. "quite kind of you to drop this by... " Her long fingers reached out to deftly snatch the flyer from James' hands. "But, I think Professor Draper does not appreciate the sentiment." Nana added, trying to gently diffuse the situation and to remind Denaker that this was her teacher she was speaking to.

really James? Egging on your students? Nana internally shook her head.

"Miss Lynch, glad to be back for the term?" Nana asked, smiling warmly at the young girl. They had been training through the summer and there was a fair bit more training to go, but Nana was pleased with the Slytherin's progress.

So far no tar and feathers.

Perhaps there was hope yet.

With Meredith gone abroad, the new head had naturally employed a new Muggle Studies Professor to take her place. Glancing over at the dark haired woman and his new feast buddy Leo smiled cheerfully as he extended a hand for a shake. "It's a pleasure to meet you Kaysha and welcome to Hogwarts! I'm Leobald Kitridge, school Librarian and Ravenclaw Head of House."



Leo had been about to give Haddie a lecture but for some reason had chosen not to. It was something about the blond 12 year old girl that was off. The relief she showed when he didn't give her a speech were warning signs. Unconsciously Leo raised his left hand to touch his stained tie as he answered semi-distractedly. "They are both fine. Jackson is almost a year old already and likes chocolate ice cream."

Nodding at the news about Hadley's robes being on their way, Leo decided on the spot, flashing Haddie a smile."Stop by my office after classes tomorrow and we'll talk about things. You can catch me up on how a regular summer in the Denaker household looks like." Maybe it was instinct or experience or something else but Leo knew that he had to talk to Haddie, but not on the dais with a crowd of people present.



Hearing Justin's voice Leo turned to glance over at his mate. Smiling broadly he replied "I'm splendid this evening, how are you? Big congratulations to the HoH appointment! How was the boat ride with the first years?" Hopefully uneventful or had Justin had to fish someone out of the lake, after they had tried to visit the giant squid? It was highly possible if the boats had rocked too much.




While Leo had remained standing while he waited on a response from Hadley, then Nana had breezed past him to claim her seat at the table. Gaze turning to his female colleague at the edge of the table, Leo greeted with a smile. "Good evening Nana, my summer was very pleasant. I got married and went on my honeymoon. How was your summer? Transfigured anything new?"

That cat looked suspicious. It didn't look like a normal cat that someone's keep as a pet. Could it be...?? Yes, it could. This is wizardry world and anything is possible to be happened.

She just nodded when a fellow Professor greeted her. Primeaux, right? Sora still needed to learn their names, quickly. So he's the one who teaching Charms and then another Professor (Finch) also said hello to her. "Good evening." She replied to him. Don't mind her because Sora Yoon wasn't a big fan of small chit-chat. "Nice to meet you too, Professor Stewart." She simply said to the fellow new staffers. Seeing another staff coming (Kitridge), Sora just greeted him formally and gave a nod. "Good evening."

This student say what?

How on earth a student forget to pack her school uniforms when she's going back to SCHOOL??!! (Yes, she simply concluded that this young girl forgot to pack it to her trunk, no matter what her reason is) That's just irresponsible! But lucky that her colleague had handled this girl's situation by taking five points from her. Seeing her behavior towards a Professor (Draper), Sora made a mental note and hopefully she wouldn't see her on Divination.

Her brown eyes spotted someone (Paul) waved at her. What in Merlin's name he was wearing? It looked like someone hadn't moved on from his vacation hence he still wore an outfit which it seemed very... beach-y. Awkwardly she gave him a small wave. She just questioned a student about her lack of uniform and now there's a fellow staff who apparently didn't know how to dress appropriately.

Then there were two students walking to the staff table. One of them seemed like a typical suck-up student by greeting them and asking about their summer, and the other one simply didn't have any word to say. Maybe just observing the new faces or she was just curious why on earth there was a cat at the headmaster's seat.

Was she looking forward for this term? "Apparently so." She replied to the man (McLeod). This was her first term filling the Divination Professor position. Sora did have a teaching experience but it was just for a year before she decided to work with MACUSA. So part of her was slightly nervous, but she tried to be chilled and professional. "Yes, I am the new Divination Professor, Sora Yoon." She said to Ichihara. "It's nice to meet you."

"Yes," she said, in response to the Groundskeeper and apparently new Head of Slytherin. Interesting. "Gryffindor." The house she truly belonged to. It always surprised her how little people actually saw that. To her, it was glaring obvious.

And there was Professor Ichihara...Great. This wasn't gonna effect her chances of starting Animagus training this year was it? Hadley closed her eyes, mentally chiding herself for being an idiot. Haddie's expression soured noticeably at mention of her summer being fine, because, "No. Not really." The words were muttered under her breath, but beyond that no answer was given. Instead, the girl changed the subject, nodding to headmistress's chair and the cat perched in it. "Actually, I think it's an African wildcat, or a serval..." Because Africa, and it's cats, were of great interest to her. Even more so and longer than her secret love of Greek and Roman mythology.

At the chiding over her teasing of Drapes, Hadley sighed and nodded quietly. "Yes, Professor Ichihara."

SPOILER!!: Kitridge

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nordic Witch

Leo had been about to give Haddie a lecture but for some reason had chosen not to. It was something about the blond 12 year old girl that was off. The relief she showed when he didn't give her a speech were warning signs. Unconsciously Leo raised his left hand to touch his stained tie as he answered semi-distractedly. "They are both fine. Jackson is almost a year old already and likes chocolate ice cream."

Nodding at the news about Hadley's robes being on their way, Leo decided on the spot, flashing Haddie a smile."Stop by my office after classes tomorrow and we'll talk about things. You can catch me up on how a regular summer in the Denaker household looks like." Maybe it was instinct or experience or something else but Leo knew that he had to talk to Haddie, but not on the dais with a crowd of people present.

A small smile spread on Hadley's face when Kitridge talked about his son. You could almost feel the love and pride he had for the kid like it was heat radiating off of the man. Good. "I would love to see photos of him sometime." Maybe it was all the babysitting she did since moving to London, but Hadley Denaker was growing a soft spot for kids. She herself would probably be a terrible mother, but kids were adorable none-the-less.

The expression on her face once Mr. Kitridge addressed the situation at hand was a mixture of unpleasant tension and relief. She was still grateful for not getting a lecture, or having to discuss things in front of the entire school. But not so thrilled about not getting off without talking about it at all. Oh, well, she had pretty much expected it since discovering her robes or school clothes weren't in her trunk. "Yes, Mr. Kitridge," she said with a nod. All-in-all, it was going better than expected, so there was that.

Quote:

Originally Posted by RandomRaven

"Yes, I am the new Divination Professor, Sora Yoon." She said to Ichihara. "It's nice to meet you."

Wait...New Divination professor? She wasn't going to eat them was she? Without thinking Haddie took a step further away from the new Divination Professor, which in effect, was a step closer to Kitridge.

It seemed that someone had spot in James' drink already. Pity, the man's bad moods were typically funnier. Paul merely smiled. "I forgot to unpack from vacation. Real clothes to be sent shortly." Hopefully tomorrow. He had...plans for his first lesson. Like, he NEEDED that wardrobe. A costume. Ahem. "You are dressed well as ever..."

Julien had arrived, and Paul waved to him. He hoped his fellow had had an awesome summer! And Leo! Hello LEO! Paul waved so eagerly it looked like he was flapping, trying to fly away or something.

"Please, call me Paul." he said with a smile to Kaysha. He heard her say her name to someone else..interesting. "Oh, you'll fit in grandly! It doesn't take much to fit in--" he gestured first at Airey, who seemed to be...well he HAD just been under the Gryffindor table and was now..shooting towards the entrance of the Great Hall, and then he gestured at his own attire. "It's a bit of a mix-up. I normally don't dress oddly at all." Right. Because ponchos were not odd. "I see we have another new person--I'll go tel her hello--you have a lovely night!" and he was OFF to wave at...this new Divination professor.

She was already better than the hag -_____-

"Hello, m'dear! Sora, right?" names were hard, okay? "I am Paul Myers, Herbology professor--" he smiled and offered her his hand. It was so nice to see fresh, young faces! But it was also nice to see Art's old face as well.

And a CAT. That was such a weird step to take, wasn't it? Paul didn't question the cat being their Headmaster. However, he merely thought the governors thought they needed some feline guidance. Maybe it was an extremely clever cat...regardless, wow. A cat as headmaster. Paul wasn't sure how to discuss a raise with a cat O_o

Nana got a friendly wave from the jolly professor, and JUSTIIIIIN! "No, no poncho tonight, I'm afraid!" It was a tragedy.

Needless to say, this feast was vastly different from the previous one he'd attended at this institution. For one, Airey was out of there quicker than people could say 'space'. Then there was the matter of the lack of a food fight And lastly, he had his glasses back! Which meant that the contact lenses were ditched as soon as he had the opportunity.

It was about time, really.

So, looking sharp, Hirsch made his way into the Great Hall, his hands tucked into the pockets of his trousers to match his generally cool demeanour. Some students got their smiles and even a wave but otherwise, the man headed right up towards the staff table to take his seat.............

.................. near a cat.

Not even your regular cat, more like a lynx that belonged somewhere in the desert. He cast a curious glance at the cat before slowly moving onwards to turn his attention to the others. It wasn't the weirdest thing that this castle could spew out so he wasn't fussed with its appearance, really. Instead, he addressed the other professors already up there. "Good evening, all. I take it you all had a great summer?" Politeness, you see. Especially needed in front of........

............ ah, new professors!

A half-smile, half-smirk spread across the man's face as he turned to greet them individually. "Welcome, welcome to Hogwarts. I'm Roderik Hirsch, the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor. It's nice to meet you." And he went to sit by one of them (Sora Yoon) since that was their assigned seat. Needless to say, the man was happy with this arrangement. At least the woman didn't bring with her a foul stench and an questionable appetite.

#justsaying

"Congratulations on the new Head of House position, Mr Mc- ..... Justin." Old habits never die, do they?

Seated, the man looked over the table at the students present, a little confused by their presence. Was seeing their professors more important than food? Because if so, the man was flattered, really, even if they weren't specifically here to see him. But, again, confused. Each of them (Miss Lynch, Miss Denaker and Miss Stevens) received a smile and a nod from the man, who simply sat back and enjoyed the display of sass and general fun-poking that was made at James.

If only he had popcorn for this.

So. Every year, she was determined to get to the feast on time. And every year, no matter what, there was always something that came up to actually make her late instead. Her colleagues probably just expected it at this point. How odd, given that she was normally extremely punctual!

No matter. She was here now and she was determined to have a good time!

Friendly wave for you, Hirsch. They had business to discuss for later on in term, but perhaps now was not the time for that. She spotted Leobald and also gave him a beaming smile. She was happy for the man, and even happier with his recent proposal for a certain academic activity. Then there was.. the cat?! She.. didn't even want to know at this point.

Then there were the students. Specifically Miss Denaker.. and that shirt. Tut tut, no house pride! Hadn't Ravenclaw just pulled off a double-whammy in wins last year? Tiara was offended by it, but she understood the desire to stand out. She merely pursed her lips and took her seat, wondering where her astronomer neighbor had gotten off to.

Kaysha didn't like this girl's tone. Hadley, she heard someone call her. "I believe it's still Professor Moxley to you, young lady. And you shall find out soon enough, the answer to your question.'' Julien had been right to deduct the five points but if it had been her, she would have taken ten or twenty. But she knew she would have gotten to the bottom of why Hadley had worn casual clothing instead of robes first to see if she deserved that amount of points loss. "Please see to it that you receive your uniform and robes as soon as possible.''

"Yes, I quite am. I have a few exciting lessons planned for the students and I can hardly wait to get started,'' Kay told Justin. "Any advice for a newbie?'' Also, the woman was perturbed by the stillness of the cat despite the scratching it was receiving. That's definitely an Animagus, she thought. But whose?

"It's nice to meet you, Nana. I'm Kaysha Stewart the Muggle Studies Professor.'' What welcoming colleagues! Except for that man over there talking to Hadley. He seemed so... cold. "You can call me Kay,'' she added to Nana. "How long have you been teaching here?''

Kay shook the hand offered to her. Another older male staffer with charming ways. She surely appreciated this. "The same to you, Leobald.'' This man was interesting because he was the Librarian and the Head of House for Ravenclaw. "I was Sorted into Ravenclaw when I attended here. Do you think I could take a look at the Common Room sometime soon? I'd like to relive my seven years.'' They had been some of her best years.

In all honesty, Kay was amused at Paul's get up but she thought that it suited him. "This look suits you, Paul. I bet no one else could pull it off.'' She laughed lightly at the sight of the other Professor (Airey). "He's a peculiar one, I can tell.'' Possibly the students were on the verge of driving him crazy. "Thank you! I'll visit the greenhouses soon and I hope you can give me a tour. See you around.''

Oh, wow. Who was T H I S guy? He looked mighty fine in those glasses. Kay mirrored the smirk, resisting the urge to bat her long lashes. This was neither the place nor the time to be flirting. DADA, huh? Pretty impressive. "Hi there, Roderik. I'm Kaysha Stewart, the new Muggle Studies professor. Thanks for the warm welcome.''

It took everything Cece had to make herself leave her twins to come back to work, but here she was, walking to her seat for another year as the school healer. Just the healer though, not as the Head of Slytherin House. As much as she hated giving up that position, she did it for her children so she would be able to spend more time with them. She knew Justin would do a good job keeping an eye on the snakes, and if he needed her help, well, all he had to do was ask. He did sit right next to her at the staff table after all.

Speaking of...



"Good evening Justin." she greeted. She then looked at the little snake standing there in front of them. "Making them cry on your first day as Head of House I see," she commented with a grin. Not that it took much to make that one cry.

Not noticing the cat or anything else going on at the table, Cece took her seat. Was it time for her to go home and see her babies yet?

Hadleigh's gaze fell upon Professor Finch for a second as she looked over the Dais assessing whom was still present and whom was new. She gave him a small grin and a nod of her head in return to his. After speaking with Professor Draper she would be moving around the table to take up just a moment of the other mans time. There were a few things she wanted to tell him and she was also curious if she would continue her studying with him weekly.

Ooohhhh! The did have a new Professor. According to what she had heard the women say she was apparently the new Muggle Studies one. Professor Stewart? Had that been what she had said? Hady thought so. Anyhow she sent a small smile the womens way. Best to be polite.

"It was wonderful, thank you," the female snake answered. Adding a moment later as an after thought to Mr. McLeod, "Congrats on becoming our new Head of House." Yes she had taken notice.

There was another one of her Professor addressing her now. Hady smiled nodding her head, "I am Professor." She was more then ready to get back into the swing of things and continuing more fully in her training with Nana. The training had continued over the break but not as often as she would have liked given her internship.

Everyone else was easily met with either a small nod or a slight smile. Her attention was once more returned to Professor Draper.

Suddenly, without warning, the cat stood up on all four paws and let out a loud cry. Those at the back of the hall were unlikely to hear it, but the staff and those with attentive ears at the front of the four House tables surely would have heard. It was time.

The pattern of the serval's fur began to expand, its ears grew small, its body quickly increased in size. Mere moments later, the African wild cat that was casually perched on the chair was no more. Now standing, looking out at the students, was a tall man clad in an orange-patterned cotton top. He smiled at those who had watched him return to his human form. Standing briefly in silence, he waited for those students at the dais to return to their seats before speaking.

"Good evening. I would like to welcome each of you, old and new, to Hogwarts. Before I introduce myself, it has come to my attention dat dere are two new staff members dis term: Professah Yoon, who will be teaching Divination, and Professah Stewart, who will be teaching Muggle Studies. Please join me in welcoming dese ladies as dey each begin deir journey here at dis legendary school."

He clapped his hands together, shifting his posture first toward Professor Yoon and then at Professor Stewart. He gave each woman a courteous nod of his head before he faced the students again.

"As you all can see, your da'ling Headmistress Moxley is not standing in front of you today. Da International Confederation of Wizards has arranged an exchange program for da headmastahs and headmistresses at each of da eleven major wizarding schools to promote international cooperation and broaden our own pedagogical perspectives," he explained with a warm smile, pausing to let his words sink in. "My name is Headmastah Sahnoun, and I taught alchemy at Uagadou School of Magic for twenty years before I became headmastah several years ago. Even dough I am far from my homeland, I am so glad to be joining you at Hogwarts dis term."

He paused again, only this time to feel his stomach churn. The smile on his face grew wider, knowing that everyone else must have been just as hungry. A low chuckle escaped his lips.

"I am sure dat you all have grown tired of listening to an old man ramble, so I will leave it at dat. Welcome to Hogwarts, and ready yourself for a year filled with many learning opportunities. Now, let us eat ... or, as we say at Uagadou, hebu kula!" The man then clapped his hands together and took his seat as food of all varieties appeared.

Her brown eyes noticed that the trouble maker student kind of stepped away from her. Oh right, she had heard about the Hag that tried to teach divination. Did that girl really think that she's gonna eat her students? Pffft... She's pescetarian.

Oh, here comes the Herbology professor introducing himself. "It's very nice to meet you, Professor Myers. By the way, I like your outfit. It's very appropriate for the feast." The divination professor sarcastically spoke to him. Then more staffs coming to the table, Sora just put on her best smile trying to look nice (except maybe she's not really the nicest person ever in the world). There's one good-looking Professor guy sat next to her. Okay, she admitted that he's quite charming and good-looking but she's not gonna be fooled by that. Big thanks to Kevin that makes her had a difficulty to trust a man. Huh.

The suspicious cat who had been sitting on the headmaster's seat suddenly turned into a human. See? He's an animagus, Sora had kept that theory in her mind. Once the headmaster introduced her and Stewart's as the new staffs, she stood up and bowed formally. Don't worry, guys. I'm a pescetarian, eating students is definitely NOT my thing.

And now... Could she enjoy the meal peacefully?

His stomach growled to remind him the food wasn't there yet and more students were starting to join their table. Where ever the Headmaster was he hoped he'd be there soon. The man didn't seem like a late person at their staff meeting over the summer.

"I'll bring them by your office in the morning." He figured they'd leave here and not want to do anything but go to their offices, so morning would be better. "Have a nice summer?" He assumed everyone did, but hoped Ansley did.

Hearing Leo's words Julien looked toward the man, "Your wife predicted us a good term?" He had been at the wedding this summer and the woman looked very nice, but he wasn't sure he believed in the seeing stuff. To each their own though. The new muggle studies professor got a smile.

Looking at Haddie he hoped she learned her lesson with being prepared for school. He nodded and turned back to the rest of the school watching the sorting. A chuckle came with Justin's words, "So do I get to take claim since I was the first one to find our friend?" He could use the cat in his classroom. It could be good for some charms this year and order in the room.

As other professors came in he waved to them a small greeting, but then something was happening. The cat started to move and....

oh

The cat was the Headmaster. Touche Sahnoun touche. He could have respect for the man for making an entrance like he did. "Well I guess I could throw out my thoughts of using the cat in charms this term." He chuckled to himself before raising his Goblet. "You come in style Headmaster that was impressive." He was liking this man already.


Now food!

"Ah Justin, I hear a congratulations is in order! Yes, yes, grand job, fantastic!" Art was saying. He nodded "Well I-I hope it will be a great evening. I don't, uhh... I don't want a repeat of the end of term feast. I wonder if the Blood Baron has the poltergeists under check..." he was thinking out loud.

Art caught the nod from James and nodded back. "Good evening James." And then Tiara joined them, and she got a "Good evening Tiara, how are you?"

Art found that quite funny. He let his body be taken over by a big chuckle at the thought of this cat eating his limbs. "Well we could make it a project. A limb growing project," he said through chuckles. Good one Julian. Art had to remove his glasses to dab at the tears that had collected after that laugh.

"Ohhh hello Miss. Denaker!" Art exclaimed, looking at one of his students. "Madame Curie is just excellent, thank you," he said, getting her out of his pocket to show Haddie. "She got a little frightened from the... the cat there, but uhh... well I tried to tell her she'd be okay. H-how was your... summer?" he asked. He didn't even notice that she wasn't in uniform. Nope, this man was oblivious to those things. At least the other professors were there to enforce those parts of the rules.

"Sora Yoon," Art repeated, looking towards the new Professor. Of Divination! Art wasn't interested in the subject, but he respected it. Of course he'd respect anything with an academic side. "It's v-very nice to meet you, I am Art. Art Newton, I teach Potions here," he said, offering his hand to shake.

Art couldn't just let his silver pal get away with a wave. He walked on over to Paul and gave him a wave. "Paul! Have a nice summer, did you?" he hoped so anyway. He was about to ask if he was excited about meeting his new badgers, but avoided it. Just in case it triggered more... feelings.

And they were soon joined by another student. Another bright young student. "Good evening to you too, Miss. L-Lynch," Art said with a smile. "I trust your summer was jolly good fun?"

"A portrait?" Art asked, his eyebrows impressively high. "Well that's-that's superb! D-did you bring it here?" he asked Ansley. He didn't know much about art, but he enjoyed it. Being his name, and all.

"Good evening Leo," Art said happily. "Well did she?" Another Diviner, he knew. But the gesture was kind. "Good to know, I say," he chuckled. "How was your summer?"

"Kaysha Stewart, okay, Kay, I'll-I'll remember that one," Art said. "Well fantastic to meet you! W-welcome to Hogwarts. You'll have to join me for some tea in my office at some time, I'm a muggle born, I think I will... well, I know I will love a conversation." He nodded.

Ahh and another one! The staff dais was very full by now, and it made Art happy to be back with his colleagues. "Good evening Nana," he said with a smile. "Summer was g-good, and I hope yours was as well?"

"Roderick! Good evening," Art had to pause for some water. His mouth got terribly dry now days. Talking really did it for him. And he hadn't seen these people in a few weeks now, he was just wanting to say hello. "Summer was wonderful, and yours?" he asked.

"Good evening Cece," Art greeted the very own Hogwarts Healer. He still hadn't managed to head to the infirmary just to have a little look through everything. He had missed the hospitals, but he wasn't entirely sure this woman would be... okay with him poking through her ward. Well, he'd settle for a chat. "How are you?" he asked.

+++++

AND THEN...

"GREAT SCOTT!" Arthur cried, jumping half out of his skin. He felt a vibration in his pocket. Poor Madame Curie was trembling violently. "Shh my dear, it's okay," Art said, placing a protective hand over his pocket. It wasn't anthing to be frightened of, although it had been a GREAT shock and surprise. There was now a MAN where the cat had been, and once Art's heart fell into its natural rhythm, Art gave out a vew loud chuckles.

The Headmaster.

Yes, Art knew. He clapped loudly at the welcoming of the two new students, and was quite comfortable being between Nana and Kay. Art clapped at the end of their Headmaster's speech and repeated his words. "Hebu kula!" to both Nana and then Kay, holding a glass up in toast to both ladies. Whatever that meant. He'd have to ask him later, preisely, for its translation. But for now, it was time to eat! He would have to visit the Headmaster soon, because he had a few strands of silver himself. And those silver stallions had to stick together!

"I'll see you tomorrow afternoon then Hadley, now go back down to the claw table before the new headmaster arrives to give his speech." Leo instructed softly. He was hungry and he bet that Haddie was too. When she had left for the eagles he could finally claim his seat. Leo was thinking about doing that sooner when he spotted how eagerly

Paul was waving at him. It almost looked like he was trying to swat flies with his hands. Beaming broadly at his dear friend he called over "Evening Paul, did you and Milton have a good summer vacation?"

Moving his gaze away from Paul it ended up landing on Tiara who incidentally was flashing him a beam. Leo returned it with genuine warmth as he thought of their shared academic event that wasn't that many day's away now that the year was kicking off.



Leo was slowly making his way to take his seat and pass the cat which he still thought was a leopard when he was stopped by the arrival of yet another colleague. Turning to the be-spectacled DADA professor Leo beamed. "Good evening Roderick. I had a great summer. Getting married was definitely a highlight. How was your summer?" Hopefully it had been equally great and pleasant.



Finally Leo slipped into his seat at the table, just in time to shake hands with Kyasha. "You were a Ravenclaw? In what years did you go here?" He asked equally curious and excited. It would be nice to share his dinners with a fellow eagle by his side. Pulling his goblet towards him Leo poured in a few drops of water that he drank up to quench his thirst. Start of term feasts always led to a lot of talking and exchanging of pleasantries.

Nodding with a sideways glance at Kay he said "I'm sure that a visit can be arranged sometime this week. The Common Room hasn't changed much over the years but I'll let you be the judge of that. Maybe you'd like to accompany me sometime over next few days when I make my daily visit to the eagles?"



Cece's arrival to the dais did not go unnoticed. Turning his attention to the blond healer Leo greeted. "Good evening Cece, did you have a good summer?" They were both parents now and long time colleagues. He was though not going to ask her why she had given up her head of house position. It was probably not an easy decision to make.



Leo was glad that he was sitting down when the cat gave off a loud cry and then changed into the form of their new headmaster. Animagus transformations always unnerved him when he wasn't prepared. Listening attentively to the whole speech Leo was glad for when it was over and the food arrived. His stomach had by then been growling of hunger quite a few times. Ugadou? Hebu kula?

Unsure of what that foreign expression meant or where the Ugadou school was located geographically Leo focused on filling his plate with food. Pouring some cold pumpkin juice into his goblet he raised it as a toast in the new headmasters direction "Welcome to Hogwarts Headmaster Sahnoun! Nice traditional speech! What English dialect do you speak if you don't mind me asking?" It just slipped out. Leo was curious and he bet that his colleagues were too.



With his mouth full of steak and gravy and strips Leo didn't immediately answer Julien's inquiry. Swallowing the food down with some juice he said. "Yes, she did. Cassie's predictions are sometimes uncannily accurate." They could also be totally wrong but that was another story. "But anyway, did you have a good summer Julien?" Leo would leave the explaining of the fine art of seering to Julien to the new Divination professor.



Turning to Art, Leo was going to answer something lengthier but all that was heard was a muffled. "Yesssss she did..." since his mouth was full of delicious food. Swallowing Leo asked with a warm smile "Did you take Divination in your youth Art?" Who knew maybe the potioneer hid a passionate diviner? "My summer was splendid. I got to visit the Easter Isles with Cassie. It was quite extraordinary to look at those statues. Did you go anywhere on your summer break?"

“Thank you! You can always call me Kay.’’ She could tell that she and Art would be getting on very well. Very well indeed. “You are? Lovely! Tea and a discussion on things Muggle seems to be in order then.’’ Possibly the could even plan a joint Muggle Studies and Potions lesson.

Kay saw the Slytherin student (Hady) looking curiously at her and gave her a warm smile in return. All would be found out soon enough. She had no doubt that the new Head would explain everything. But where was he? Surely he would not turn up late to such an important Feast. She stole a glance at the cat once more, her suspicions climbing.

*******
“Yes, I was,’’ she told Leo, resuming their conversation. She was rather pleased to meet today’s Head of House. “I attended from the years 2072 to 2079. I must say, I really did enjoy my seven years here. I had great friends and Professors.’’ She still kept in touch with some of them but Ansley was the only one she spoke to frequently. Kay was very happy about that offer. “I would love to! Thank you so much. I would love to meet those Eagles though I must say some of them are quite the characters.’’ She told him about the incident at the Gryffindor table and how she had told the wrong doer to visit him.

After returning to the Staff table from the Gryffindor one, Kay sought out the Healer. “Good evening. Cece, is it? I’m Kaysha Stewart the new Muggle Studies Professor.’’ She offered a hand to shake. “There was a situation at the Gryffindor table where a boy’s nose was injured. I’m not sure if it was broken because he says he’s okay. However, I told him to check with you if the bleeding doesn’t stop but possibly you can check with him? His name is Noah.’’
*******

Was she surprised when the cat transformed into God an African man? Not to say the least was the answer since her suspicions had stuck with her. The more she thought about it, the more she became convinced that a cat would not just occupy the Head’s seat. Kay laughed softly as Art exclaimed in surprise at the transformation. His reaction was priceless.

Her blue eyes watched in him fascination as he began his speech. What a way to make an entrance, she thought. Kay was impressed. He spoke of the Head swap which was the reason she was here since Professor Moxley had been moved to another school for now. When her name was called along with Sora’s, Kay stood up, a friendly smile on her face, to wave in the general direction of the four House tables. Then she directed her attention back to the new Head and returned the nod. One for Art too since he was toasting her and Sora. Wasn’t he just a dear?

It was that time of the Feast again for Torrance to go up and greet his Uncle.

Well maybe it wasn't really time to do it. There never really was time to. he'd be seeing Uncle Julien for about the next 10 Months while here so he could technically wait until tomorrow to see the Intimiduncle

But as the same as it was as Last year Torrance had an Ulterior Motive to come up and greet him...Where last year he thought he could prove a distraction for the Food Fight he was now up here just to get a closer look at the Headmaster.

"Hi Uncle Julien" Torrance said with a smile on his face to the Charms Professor. His attention staying on him for a split second before Torrance so rudely just turned his head and starred at the Headmaster formerly known as Cat.

Well, Pretty Hirsch had arrived, Paul could see. Good good. And the new Muggle Studies professor was just so nice! He was left with good impressions all around, even if Sora seemed so uptight for a Divination professor. Much less loose than Cassie. He missed Cassie, and figured he'd have to send her some letters soon and some clothes for the baby!

Art and Justin and Leo--Paul would speak to them later becaaaaaaause the cat was now a human and the human was apparently their Headmaster! Well cool! Paul smiled at the man and wished he would have, you know, talked to them before giving his speech. It seemed like such a distant move to Paul, who was used to being so social with everyone. Some people just work differently, Paul... he thought to himself.

He dug into his food. But before he could get TOO far into his salad, he glanced at his badger table...hmm.

He needed to visit them soon. Make sure they were behaving and whatnot. Not that he thought they weren't--he had a good bunch. But there was some little first years he thought he needed to greet and make them feel welcome!

*POP*

Tippin's arrives ats the masters and mistresssss tables he does, Tippin is happy that new studentiesys were heres............... Tippins makes yummy cookies for masters he does.

Tippin bows makes sures no cookies escaspes.

"Tippins makes specials cookies for yous" Tippin places cookies on tables bows aways to leaves, maybes he can go sees some the studentiesysss.

"Ah, Arthur, good evening!" she said cheerily. "I am quite well this evening, quite well. And you look to be as such yourself, if I may say so."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Well, Arthur certainly had the most.. um.. pronounced reaction to their new Head's arrival. Tiara hadn't had so much of a glimpse of the man up until this point, and apparently Arthur was in the same boat. Good to know she wasn't alone.

Tiara was glad to see Leobald, and he looked better than she had ever seen him. She supposed that marriage had worked its wonders on the man. Tiara completely understood that. Just a few years ago she had been plagued by a mysterious aging illness, but she was sure that her own marriage had rejuvenated her and brought her back to health faster than anything else could have. "Say hello to Cassiopeia for me!" she called to the happy man.

Ooohhh! "Tippin, good evening!" she said to the kind, thoughtful elf. The elves had enough on their plates the night of the Welcoming Feast, and yet he had made time for a special treat to give the staff. She took one, munched on it a bit, and nodded in approval. "Excellent, Tippin. Thank you!"

No matter what chaos of the students coming up to the table was starting to cause Julien was not going to help but laugh with Art's comment. He liked the man's sense of humor. "Really this could be a duel lesson. I could show the charms to use to help the growth and you could show the potions used to grow back the bones and muscles." It really wasn't a bad idea.

He had to wonder if Leo's wife always predicted stuff and if she did how much of it was true. No need to think more about it though, because they were at the feast and whatever was going to happen would. "I did we went to Egypt as a big family. It was nice to see them. How was the honeymoon?" They had went to one of those didn't they?

As he was filling his plate a voice he new very well was standing directly in front of him. Without taking his eyes off his plate he sighed, "Hello Torrance. How was the train right here? You didn't lose Benton along the way I hope." Benton was very capable of finding his own way but having an older cousin was good.

He was distracted by the smell of cookies.

SPOILER!!: Tippin! <3

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tippin

*POP*

Tippin's arrives ats the masters and mistresssss tables he does, Tippin is happy that new studentiesys were heres............... Tippins makes yummy cookies for masters he does.

Tippin bows makes sures no cookies escaspes.

"Tippins makes specials cookies for yous" Tippin places cookies on tables bows aways to leaves, maybes he can go sees some the studentiesysss.

Cookies were the one thing that Kay missed from the kitchen. Hogwarts's cookies were some of the best. "Thank you,'' she said to the helpful elf. Don't mind if she ate one or two. Or three. She did have a strong fondness for House elf cookies after all. Her plate of food that she had been half way through sat in front of her forgotten at the moment.

Was it possible she could get a few more of these from the kitchen for her office. Not for herself (not really) but for the students who may visit her. No doubt that they would like some treats. She surely needed to ask the elves for some. Anyway, Kay sat in her chair munching very contentedly on the cookies, her keen eyes sweeping the Hall.

Aaaaand cookies. COOKIES. Paul slipped out of his seat, re-buttoning the top button of his Hawaiian shirt, and took one cookie from Tippin as he straggled towards the Badger table. Merlin knew, his nerves couldn't handle too much food anyways. Not that he was NERVOUS at these feasts--he got entirely too excited.

Too excited to function. TETF, what Milton called it.

And he had left the banjo behind today, seeing as last opening feast Cece had MURDERED broken it. Hmph.

Torrance's attention stayed focused on the Headmaster for as long as he could muster...he just wanted to stay here and listen to the guy talk. The his Uncle responded. Being raised by this man meant that no matter what distraction Torrance would pay complete and full attention to him. His head jerk back at Uncle Julien and his eyes fixed on the Intimidatingly Bald Man. "Train was fine. I sat in the Middle waiting to see if Benton came by but I didn't see him."


Wait...was HE being ignored. He glared at the Charms Professor then crossed his Arms. The young Lion was gonna get him good. "It's Rude when you don't make eye contact during conversation Uncle."

Haha YEAH! He was the Man of the Family now!

Now he get's to sit in Uncle Julien's Study at home and read all his boring books and draw doodles on all of his important papers and maybe he could grade Homework now too. His eyes moved over to the Ravenclaw Table and thought how could totally be the better student between him and Kate Moss now. THE not-really there POWER WAS SURGING THROUGH HIS VEINS!