In the same muggle clothes Art usually wears, he walked down the Great Hall from the door to the staff dais, taking it all in once more. Another year had come to a close, and he was heading home to see his son become a father, and to prepare for the arrival of his grandchild. His FIRST grandchild. He stood behind his allocated chair and took a sip of water from his goblet, pulling Madame Curie out of his pocket to see if she wanted a drink. She dipped her head into his goblet and took a sip of the water as well, and scurried up his arm to take her favourite place on top of his shoulder.

It was officially the end of her first year as a Professor at Hogwarts. Kay was sorry it had all come to an end so quickly but she was looking forward to the summer and being back in the Muggle world. Decked out in an amethyst dress with matching shoes and accessories, she approached the staff table. The woman was surprised to find Art there already. She had thought she would have been there the earliest.

"Art!'' Kay greeted jovially. He was her father figure away from home. The man meant a great deal to her. Luckily their seats were quite close by so she was able to carry on a conversation. "Had a great term?'' She smoothed her dress beneath her and sat down.

The very moment that the hag was off school grounds and under MLE surveillance, the headmaster was filled with relief. Granted there had been a number of Ministry employees he had to meet with and several letters from concerned parents to respond to as the term came to a close, Sahnoun was glad that everyone was safe and that the school year was coming to a close.

Silently following some students into the hall, the man, or rather the serval (for he found going from one place to the other much quicker in this form), casually made his way between two of the tables and onto the staff dais. His tail wagged happily at the sight of the Potions and Muggle Studies professors and he mewed at them as a greeting.

It did not take him long to leap onto the chair at the centre of the table. The African cat scanned the hall for a moment, watching as more students trickled in. After a few minutes went by, the serval then shifted in the seat and Sahnoun returned to his human form. He reached forward for his goblet and took a sip from it, his gaze returning to the hall before him.

After he had gotten all his marks in and talked to the right people. Julien had left for Canada and his father's funeral. He had gotten back just in time to pack up his office for summer and head to the feast. Making sure he was dressed in his best robes he made his way to the table.

"Good Evening everyone, I hope I didn't miss too much while I was gone." Since he had been gone he might have missed all the excitement that had went on. Looking around the table before turning he wanted to make sure his nephews had gotten back as well. They both should be at their house tables he assumed. So much had gone on throughout the term and he was glad to see another one coming to it's close.

After saving the students, YET AGAIN, James was ready to head back home. Making his way into the great hall, he gave firm nods to his fellow staff members already seated at the dais. "Good evening," he said to no-one-in-particular.

And... There was no one here he cared to talk to. The Potion's Professor was a disaster, Muggle Studies' was much too perky, James was still bitter toward the CatMaster, and Primeaux... James didn't have a reason exactly... But he did not like the guy. Something about the man. Just didn't like him. Must there always be a reason?

No food fights this year, yeah?

Merlin let it be a quiet end to the term.

Walking down to the staffs table, the Divination professor had mixed feelings about this. She was relieved that her first year had gone... well. Although there were so many madness happened but at least her classes went smooth and it seemed like some of the students enjoyed it. Aside that, Sora has her own personal problems that she had to face. From the custody battle between her and the ex-fiance to preparing her daughter for school.

She headed to the seat and gave a formal greeting to everyone there. "Good evening everyone."

Another year was over and Justin beaming for reasons. He had his moment of glory saving the day with the others. Slytherin won the House Cup. HOH YEAH! Plus the anticipation on seeing his little princess back home. What more could he want? Oh right, food would be choice.

"Goooood evening, loves." He greeted everyone before taking his special spot.

So...this was it.

Giving Pebbles a lingering glance, Airey Leighton Flamsteed ascended the steps to the dais and made his way towards his seat. "Good evening," he greeted the table with a wide grin. "Quite the sight this evening. Venus and Mars are in close conjunction, within a four arc minute actually...something we won't see again until 2096. You can see them perfectly right through that window," he added whilst pointing to said window. Thankfully the stained glass window's designed offered a certain transparency in that particular area.

And no, Sora, that was not an invitation to spout utter nonsense about what said conjunction meant and how it would influence the growth of his toenails or some other rubbish.

Well..the greeting was offered to everyone except a certain Creatures professos. As previously agree upon, he did not even so much as look at James as he made his way by - although the same could not be said of Pebbles who seemed to fancy the bloke for some reason. No conversation this evening as payment for the favor, roger that. It would be an easy task for the astronomer as his attention lay solely on the Gryffindor house table. A part of him wanted to say something to them, although his colleagues had no idea themselves, but there were some urgent matters holding off any formal announcement at this time. Although he WOULD make the time to go down and offer up a few roared words of wisdom before the night was out.

Setting Pebbles down on his plate for now - because Tiara was too stubborn to move down ONE seat and offer hers for the rock to rest - he gazed out at the green and silver decorations and lamented the fact that he could not see the Great Hall in crimson and gold one last time. They had clenched the Gobstones Cup, something he was of course proud of, but to see the Great Hall bursting with Gryffindor spirit...well...that was the sort of send off he would never admit, aloud, to actually wanting.

But such thoughts were not enough to remove his usual sideways grin.

There were other, more significant, victories playing in the man's heart this evening.

Well. The end of another year. It always went so quickly, but this time it had hurtled at her full speed ahead. So when she ascended the dais right behind Airey, she did pause to do as he suggested and looked up through the window he suggested. It was quite a sight, after all. And she savored the moment.

She took a seat and turned towards the man. "How are you doing this evening, Airey?" Because he looked a little less chipper than usual.

Everything was the same, okay? Everything.

Nearly.

As with almost every meal, the man arrived in the Great Hall in his usual fashion: his attire was casual, though a little smarter than usual, and his demeanour was that of a generally chill guy. You could say that almost nothing looked different about the man's appearance except for one, quite major, flaw: his hair, which was usually a dark brown, was now a dirty blonde.

Roderik Hirsch had gone blonde without his own consent.

Two words: Ariadne Grahn.

It had been quite a shock to emerge from the shower, dry his hair and look into the mirror to see someone completely different staring back at him. The hair made all the difference, you see. He wasn't usually concerned about his hair and simply let it flow the way it did but now? Now he was too scared to even look in a reflective surface, should he see the horrific blonde locks staring back at him.

And to think that the heart-shaped glasses had been bad enough.

Fine. It was fine. Whatever it was that the Seeker had put in his shampoo should wear off soon. It had to. If it didn't, he would scream need to pay another visit to that particular prankster. In the meantime, he was just going to act like everything was normal. Just pass along the table, shoot out a "Good evening," on the way and sit in his usual spot between Julien and Sora and pretend that nothing was wrong.

No Hirschy's kisses for you, Ariadne Grahn.

Leo ascended the staff dais full of emotions and with heavy feet. It was a special night in many respects. His last feast ever at Hogwarts. The following day he was going to pack everything up to go home to Cassie and Jackson. In just a week or two they were going to be welcoming their second child to the world. Leo was clad from head to toe in Ravenclaw coloured dress robes. It felt comforting to his heart as he took his usual seat and greeted his colleagues with a weak smile pursing his lips. He wasn't cheerful on this night. "Good evening everyone!"

So many emotions.

Seeing as he had provided the gift of a stellar astronomical sight, the thing that Tiara SHOULD have done to repay him was scoot over one seat. But alas, the Arithmancy professor did not and now he man was concerned with the question of whether or not to implore the woman of his - and Pebbles' - desire.

"As well as can be considering the decor," he chuckled dryly, showing his competitive Gryffindor side as per usual. "Good term, I assume?" No one had died, after all.

Something golden caught his attention out of the corner of his eyes, drawing his gaze from one colleague to another. The other being none other than Professor Not Sabel...and his new locks. "Nothing to be ashamed of," he called to the man, gleefully noticing the appearance of a certain librarian. "Least you're not going bald like Leobald over there."

Not to worry, Leobald, the astronomer would be out of your hair soon enough.

Har har har.

And, er, yes...good evenings and all that.

The man gave another look out at the Gryffindor house table and offered it and all sitting there a surprisingly gentle sideways smile. Roar roar Gryffindor.

Ah, there was Hirsch. "Good evening!" she called back, though it was a somewhat melancholy tone of voice that escaped from her mouth.

And there was her former Ravenclaw partner! She smiled and waved, trying to keep herself chipper. Tiara knew she wouldn't be seeing much of the man anymore, since they would not be in the same place all the time anymore.

Ah yes, she was not particularly fond of the decor, either. "I am right there with you on that one," even though they did not agree on what the decor should have been. "Indeed. No major disasters, which is an accomplishment at Hogwarts most years."

Ansley may have been just a tad late to the feast, but hopefully he hadn't been too late, like missing the speech or his food getting too cold. And by the looks of it, he was not that tardy. Not food on the tables yet, therefore no speech. Good. He didn't want to be rude.

He had spent extra time packing up his things in his office and in his art room. Depending on how his interview went, he might not be returning in September and he wanted to be sure he had the chance to clear out everything now. Of course, he wouldn't know for sure for at least a few weeks yet so he hadn't said much to many. Slipping into his seat at the staff table, he nodded a casual greeting to his coworkers. "Good evening, everyone." With his late arrival, shouldn't be much of a wait for the speech and then the food. Cheers to another successful year.

Leo's eyes shifted from one colleague to the other but mostly his eyes wen't to the Ravenclaw table that was slowly filling up with students. He aimed to go down there and pay the claws a visit after headmaster Sahnoun had held his speech and he had eaten some food. Leo was about to turn to strike up some conversation with Art when he heard Airey's voice that seemed unnaturally loud on this night joking about his name and fear. Turning to the astronomer Leo raised his brows and called over "Very nifty Airey, I must say, but I'm actually not going to lose all my hair." Cassie had found a magical shampoo that made his hair stay on his head.



Catching sight of Tiara's wave from the corner of his eye Leo put on a beam and waved back to his former Ravenclaw partner. "Good evening Tiara!" he called over. He was going to miss her usually positive but calm attitude in the face of trouble.



Taking note of Ansley's arrival on the staff dais Leo called over to his colleague. "Good evening Ansley, have you got any summer plans?" He knew what he was going to be doing soon enough. Dotting with his newborn son or daughter and just spending time with Cassie and Jackson and extended family and friends.

A smile appeared on the man's face as he watched everyone enter the hall. He even looked up at the sky above them, which was beginning to turn orange and red as the sun descended. In his own mind, he silently reflected on his term at Hogwarts. Sahnoun recalled the few hiccups that occurred; however, it was all the good that resonated with him. Soon there was a glimmer in his eye, his thoughts now shifting to the announcements he had to make.

Each professor received a quick glance before the African good up from his seat. Eyes now on the Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs, Ravenclaws, and Slytherins before him, the old man simply waved a hand over his Adam's apple and uttered the following words that echoed throughout the room: "Habari za jioni! Good evening!"

The smile remained on his face as he remained still, waiting for the chipper voices of the students to come to a stop and all pairs of eyes to be set on him.

Satisfied after a couple of minutes, the man continued. "Another school year has come and gone. As I stand here before you all at dis moment, I can truthfully say dat I see quite a difference from da group of pupils dat sat before me nine months ago. Some of you have grown a foot; others have learned some very important lessons; and I am pleased to say dat all of you survived your examinations." He chuckled, beaming down at them all. "Don't forget what you learned dis year. Keep dat knowledge locked away in your mind. You never know when you will need it."

There was a brief pause, as the man took a moment to observe the decorations in the room. Green and silver filled the Great Hall. The man glanced over at the Slytherin table and held out a hand in their direction. "I would like to congratulate Slytherin House on securing da House Cup dis term wit an impressive two dousand, seven hundred and twenty-one points. Your dedication to your studies has most certainly paid off!"

He paused for applause and then directed his hand toward the Gryffindor table. "I would also like to congratulate Gryffindor House. Dis term da lions took hold of da Gobstones Cup due to deir daring maneuvers and excellent teamwork. Well done!"

Another moment for applause was granted. Once the clapping died down, the headmaster took a step forward and gazed around the room for the oldest of the school's students. "Lastly, I would like to congratulate our graduating seventh years. You have successfully completed your journey at Hogwarts, and now you are about to begin a new journey dat awaits your beyond these walls. Cherish what you learned here; keep in touch wit dose you grew close to; and always follow your dreams. I wish you all the best of luck wit whatever your future may bring."

His dark hands clapped loudly as the applause sounded. He nodded toward those that he made eye contact with and flashed each a smile. When silence returned, the tall man gave a lingering glance at each of the four tables. He had one more thing to say.

"As for da rest of you, you have summer ahead of you. Enjoy your time away from school and get dose brains recharged. We look forward to seeing you next term for another year of learning and growing. Mohamed certainly was looking forward to seeing them all again. Though he was going to wait for an upcoming issue of the Daily Prophet to reveal that bit of news.

Following that last comment, Sahnoun bowed his head and returned to his seat. With a graceful wave of his hand, food appeared on all of the tables. Dig in!

"Oh hello Kay, how are you?" he asked the next person who joined the table. It had been wonderful working with her this term. Lovely woman, Art thought to himself. "Ohho y-yes very good. D-despite the uhh... hag and uhh... and all of the things that happened with it," he said with a bit of a laugh. "And how about youself?"

Art smiled at the animagi form of the Headmaster as he approached the table and got onto his seat. He'd speak to the man later, when he was in his human form, of course. Art wasn't the type to pat those in their animal form.

"Good evening there, Julien, how are you tonight?" he asked. With a shrug and a scratch of his head he said "Uh... j-just things with the hag, perhaps." Art had missed the chaos near the forest, but he'd certainly heard all about it.

"Good evening James," Art said to the CoMC Professor, who was next to join the group at the staff dais. He never felt like his conversation was welcome with the man, so Art left it at that. He also said a "Good evening, how are you?" to Sora, Justin, Tiara, Roderik, Leo, and Ansley.

Airey, who was dressed rather nicely, joined them and invited them all to take a look outside the window. How fascinating. Art looked out and took the sight in for a few moments, before turning to the Astronomer. "Good evening, Airey," he said to the man.



Having been seated in his usual seat, and taking some big gulps of water, also sharing with Madame Curie of course, Art settled back to listen to the Headmaster share his speech. Art gave chuckles and nods throughout the speech and clapped at the end of it. He never quite remembered if he should clap or not but it was a nice speech.

It was Kay's turn to chuckle. "We got rid of her at last.'' Hopefully no one would be seeing her again. Merlin... she tried to steal her kiddos. But it was all gone, all in the past now thankfully. ''I had a lovely first term and I rather look forward to the next one. Especially if you and Madam Curie are sticking around, Art.'' She rather enjoyed their company.

As the Hall started filling with more students, Kay greeted each of her colleagues and the Headmaster either with a verbal greeting or a smile. She knew a few of them would be leaving. The possibility that Ansley might be made her sad though. Would it make her a bad friend if she said she wanted him to stay even though she wanted him to be successful with that upcoming interview. "Hi, Ansley!'' she called in a cheerful voice. "Have you got everything packed?'' the woman added more softly in case he hadn't told anyone else about his summer plans.
* * * * * * *

Then came the speech and Kay clapped for the two Houses winning the respective cups. No wins for Ravenclaw this term but she was proud of how hard her old House had worked. She moved for some fruit juice when the food appeared.

Leo was about to turn his attention towards Art when his friend addressed him directly. You could always count on good old Art to make sure you didn't sit there with just your thoughts for company while you waited for the speech and the food to arrive. Managing a smile he turned to left and said "Evening Art. I'm okay, just feeling a bit emotional that's all. How about you?" Which wasn't hard to understand given Leo's decision to leave and not come back in September so that he could be home with his family.



Kay spoke to him just before Headman Sahnoun stood up to hold his speech. Leo waited respectfully to respond until the senior man had said his piece to the student body. Even if Ravenclaw hadn't won either of the cup's they had finished in a proud second place in both. Leo was going to tell them that after he had gotten some food in his stomach. Helping himself to the food he glanced sideways to look at Kay. "Good evening Kay, I'm all right. Just not feeling very chipper tonight. I'm going to down to the claws in a bit."

Focusing on his steak, potatoes nd gravy Leo ate in silence for some minutes. When he was done he stood up and said "Excuse me everyone, I'm going down to the eagle table." And with that he descended from the dais.

Tiara was not all that hungry. Her mood was less than celebratory, to be certain. She managed meager waves to her colleagues that greeted her at various points, plastering on a smile that hid her inner turmoil. The Headmaster's words washed over her, and the several bursts of applause eventually brought her back to her senses.

Should she go down to the Ravenclaw table? Her food's imminent arrival did not bother her. But no, she wasn't sure she could bring herself to go down there with Leobald. Too much sadness.

So instead, she stayed put next to an also not-so-cheery Airey Flamsteed and just picked at her food. No, Tiara was definitely not the life of the party tonight.

Offering Tiara a bit of a dry chuckle, he took another glance out at the green and silver tapestries. Cecelia would have been pleased to see this sight along with finally being handed the opportunity to make him dress up in some absurd attire. He still thought his pink fairy princess choice for the Healer had been by far her most sophisticated look at a feast. "Indeed. At least no one died or had their soul sucked out," he nodded a bit too casually.

Airey bowed his head as the History of Magic professor and Arthur made their way up to the dais before the librarian drew his attention and......apparently had once again completely missed the astronomer's dry sense of humor. Before he could properly respond, however, the Headmaster - who should find a rather large box of lint rollers outside his office later - stood to make his speech.

AND he was actually listening this time since he was not cowering under a table in full fledged feline fear.

You have successfully completed your journey at Hogwarts, and now you are about to begin a new journey dat awaits your beyond these walls.

No truer words could have been spoken this evening and Airey couldn't help but give Pebbles an almost teary eyed sentimental look as an uncomfortable constricting feeling resurfaced in his chest and he felt that absurd burning sensation behind his blue eyes.

Speech over, the Astronomy professor did something he had almost never done during his career in education at Hogwarts. He actually SAT and had his dinner without interruption. Once his plate had been emptied, a considerable less amount than the Gryffindor Head of House usually consumed, he took a peek at his sundial watch before venturing another glance towards the Gryffindor house table.

And all the discomfort came flooding back.

And then he made the mistake of taking a sideways glance at Tiara, Ravenclaw female, who to him looked as though she were on the verge of tears.

Nope.

He was not equipped to handle this situation. At all.

Rising, Airey turned scooped Pebbles up and dismissed himself from the table with a salute and a happy summer to all.

Pausing just before he exited off to the side, and another look towards the Gryffindor house table given, he saw himself as an 11-year-old boy sitting there on his very first day at Hogwarts...so full of wonder and uncertainty. That same wonder and uncertainty remained...but it had also matured. Or so he would elect to believe.

With an unusually soft smile upon his features to any who happened to glance his direction, he offered the entirety of the Great Hall one final Vulcan salute. "Live long and prosper, Hogwarts," he whispered before departing.