Kay had gotten this dress only just recently as a birthday present from her day and decided that she would save it for the End of term Feast. She took her time in choosing her shoes and other accessories before making her way down to the Great Hall. She expected she would be one of the first ones there and was not surprised that she actually was. Kay always had the knack for being punctual.

She took her usual seat. The positive side of being early was that she’d get to mentally run through her plans fo the summer. The woman was quite looking forward to it especially since she’d be back among her muggle students. She loved to teach at Hogwarts but she loved the other world just as much.

The headmaster made his way from his office down to the Great Hall significantly slower than he normally did. With each step, his brown eyes gazed upon each of the portraits on the walls, the doors that led to offices and classrooms, down at his feet to take in the colours of the rugs that had been laid down. He had even taken the "long" way down to the ground floor, letting the stairs take him whichever way they wanted. This was a feast he was going to cherish.

In spite of his meandering, he was surprised to see that he was still one of the first to arrive. Approaching the staff dais, he noticed a blob of purple in the seat that belonged to the Muggle Studies professor. He smiled up at Kaysha. When he was close enough and was making his way around the table to his seat in the centre, the man said with a chuckle, "Da early bird gets da worm. Lovely to see you here so soon, Kaysha." He had always been appreciative of her punctuality.

After pulling out his chair just a smidge, Sahnoun took his seat and gazed up at the sky, which featured another breathtaking Scottish sunset, as he mentally began running through the speech he had prepared.

Congratulations, Jordan Hernandez. You have survived your first year as a Professor.

Maybe he should earn a medal or something because honestly, teaching these Hogwarts kiddos who, most of them are hormonal teenagers was not an easy task. But at least it's over now... For a while. It's time to take a break from teaching syllabus, grading and any other teaching stuffs.

The CoMC professor entered the great hall along with Laurel and tried not to be disappointed with his former house since Ravenclaw did not win the house cup. "Kay." He spotted the Muggle Studies professor. "Did you dye your dress in a wrong way?" Jordan slightly joked about her outfit.

"Good evening, Headmaster Sahnoun." He politely greeted the man and headed to his throne seat.

End of term was here already!

Rosalyn had to admit that as much as she loved teaching here at Hogwarts, she was excited that the summer holidays had practically arrived. All that was left to do was enjoy a feast and head home.

As someone who loved to dress up for occasions like this, she chose one of her favourite dresses, a nice choker, and black heels because you could NEVER go wrong with black heels. Yep, she looked pretty good if she said so herself - and she was not the only one. "Hello Headmaster, Kay, Jordan." Smiling, she took a seat at the table. Now the others just needed to arrive!

"So how are you all doing this evening?" she asked conversationally.

When Gaston arrived at Hogwarts last fall, all he wanted was to be back home with his friends and family, but now he didn't want to ever leave. Sure this term had its ups and downs. He'd been attacked by the poltergeists twice, had his office vandalized and his heart broken, and he still wasn't as well-liked as he'd hoped to be, but for every person (or spirit as the case may be) who mistreated him, there was another who showed him kindness. And now he had a reason for staying.

The normally anxious and glum Charms professor was all smiles as he entered the great hall, one hand held behind his back. He saw that a few of his colleagues had already arrived, including... His heart skipped a beat as he saw Rose. "Good evening, Headmaster," he greeted the man seated at the center of the table with a smile and a polite nod. "Jordan. Kay. Rose." Each of them got a nod and a smile as well; his eyes lingered on Rose for a few seconds.

He took the long way around the table to his assigned seat, stopping at Rose's chair. He moved his hand out from behind his back, revealing a white rose. A quick tap of his wand turned the flower the exact shade of her dress as he handed it to her. A rose for his Rose. "It's going to be so strange not seeing you every day," he whispered, a slight tinge of sadness appearing in his eyes. This time tomorrow, he'd be back in Rouen to visit his parents, hundreds of miles away from her, and it was too late to change plans now.

Gaston gave Rose's hand a quick squeeze, and when he let go, there was a small card with an address written on the back left behind. Somehow he didn't think his father would like the idea of letters arriving by owl, but he'd cross that bridge when he came to it. "You'll write to me, won't you?"he asked, looking at her with pleading eyes.

Heading into the Great Hall in company with Jordan, after they had met and conversed over a cup of tea in the staff room before the feast. Laurel didn't immediately follow her colleague and old school mate up to the staff. The blond diviner took her time to look up at the mesmerizing hall ceiling and make sure she looked presentable from head to toe in her green dress, before she walked in her black high heels, towards the dais.

Coming up on the dais she turned her attention to man sitting in the center of the table first, as was appropriate. "Good evening headmaster," she greeted with a cheery smile. Turning to her colleagues Laurel smiled broadly and nodded to them all in turn "Good evening Kay, Rosalyn and Gaston! Is everyone ready for summer vacation?"

Going around the table without haste, she soon slipped into her assigned seat to the left of headmaster Shanoun. Leaning towards her boss, she asked "How are you tonight headmaster? You look very pensive."

Another term ending with a feast and another dining session for Justin. The fourty-two year old had quite alot to look forward to going back home and coming back here not so soon after. Especially having accomplished another term of his snake's winning the House Cup, keeping the grounds and brooms tidy. Back at his regular home was his little princess, his soon-to-be-spouse with the rest of the family and friends gathering. And yes, his colleagues here were invited to the wedding.

He had arrived much earlier than the students of course, some of his colleagues were already here by the time he arrived. "Evening." He shortly greeted each one with a grin. Was that a smug look? You bet. Nothing but goodness seemed to follow after him.

The end of term could not have come sooner for one Roderik Hirsch, who had almost been counting down the days towards this very feast. Sure, he still enjoyed his job very much but it had been a rollercoaster ride of a year and, after certain events, he felt as though he needed a break more than anything else. One that would take his mind off of things.

So, with his hands tucked deep into his pockets, the man descended into the Great Hall, a Ravenclaw badge pinned to his shirt. Unlike the feast at the start of the year, he wasn't smiling nearly as much but he also wasn't being tardy in his arrival. In fact, a glance down at his watch told him that he was just on time for this little feast.

His eyes first landed on the Headmaster, who seemed to be busy staring up at the ceiling, instead. Why? Hirsch didn't know and didn't care to know. He cleared his throat, almost as if to announce his arrival, before saying, "Evening, Headmaster." A nod was given to the man before he moved onwards. There was no need to say anything else, was there?

As for his colleagues, he gave each of them a smile and a nod in turn, except for Justin. Justin got himself a little greeting while the man was still up by that end of the table. "Congratulations on the win, Justin. You must be very proud." Although, judging by the smile on the Groundskeeper's face, he was clearly more than just proud right about now.

The Defence Professor moved onwards and took his seat between Gaston and Laurel, noting how charming Gaston was being. Surely, he wasn't planning on living up to his Muggle namesake, was he?

Looks like everyone was here already. Well not that Viktor cared about being early. As long as he was here on time which from the looks of it he was. Surprisingly even Sahnoun was here. "Headmaster" He walked on by everyone nodding to the gentleman and smirking and hello to the Ladies as he made his way to the left end of the table where he would be spending most of his evening.

His first year was not terrible. It could have been better. Next year he was going to make an effort to visit the female Newton and Kay more. Or really anyone besides Hirsch and Gaston. Probably should add Jordan to that. Scratch that just make it the whole male staff.

Oh well Viktor took his seat.

He was looking forward to the summer. No students and he had some work to do.

Had EVERY piece of man candy dressed handsomely well tonight?

Paul hadn't noticed........................ahem.

He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose as he made his way down to the Staff table, waving at his badger kiddos. He had his usual basket of flowers in his arms, and he set them down right in front of Rosalyn before taking his seat next to her. Joy wasn't here yet; pity.

"Unfortunately, these aren't for you," he said warmly. "I have a little tradition I do. I give flowers to those leaving us...mostly for seventh years...sometimes for colleagues." He sighed and moved the basket to the ground. "But I'll wait."

He waved at his other coworkers, winking at Justin from his spot. It was a pity the man couldn't attend the....THING he had planned for Hufflepuff this summer. Invitation would be arriving in the mail shortly, puffer!mates.

It was quite the term. From her understanding though, it was fairly tame. No wonder the turnover at Hogwarts was high. Things seemed to be a bit unexpected and wild.

At least her library remained intact. That was all that mattered. (That and student lives, of course.)

"Good evening." Cynthia greeted as she took her seat. "Very good to see all of you. We made it through the term." She glanced up at the ceiling and smiled to herself. Endings were always so bitter-sweet.

Art had decided not to wear the faded robes to the end of term feast. Instead, he was in his every-day wear. Not one to dress up. Madame Curie was perched on his shoulder, wanting to see everything as Art walked down the hall towards the Staff Dais. He had a smile on his face as he walked past all of his colleagues. "Hello everyone. Plans for summer?" he asked the group, whoever would reply.

He was going to spend more time with his granddaughter and give her a cuddle every day!

Some minutes after she had taken her seat, Justin arrived with a grin on his face. Laurel understood him. The snakes had won the cup and her cousin was getting married this summer. So he had lots to be smug about. Smiling broadly at her uncle she called past headmaster Mo. "Evening Justin, congratulations to your snakes for winning the house cup! Are you looking forward to be married?"



When Roderick slipped into his seat next to her Laurel turned her attention to him, noting his less that cherry demeanour."Good evening Roderick," she greeted with a kind smile pursing her lips. "Is everything all right? Have you got any plans for summer vacation?"



When Viktor passed her seat Laurel looked up and greeted with a smile "Evening Viktor, nice suit! At least you dress up for the feast, many of the othe men on staff haven't bothered to do that." before he disappeared to claim his seat down the end of the table. At least he didn't seem to think that the feast was a semi-formal event when you could just come in a shirt and trousers unlike some of her other male colleagues. She was looking forward to their 'date' in DA over the summer. Maybe she could get him to be her plus-one to Justin's wedding. Time would tell.



After Viktor, Paul arrived with his arms full of a flower basket. Laurel first thought it was for all the ladies on staff, but overhearing what he said to Rosalyn she understood that it was for the leaving seventh years. A nice gesture and tradition. Waving to Paul she greeted with a smile "Good evening, Paul! No dress robes tonight?"



Hearing Cynthia's voice Laurel turned to other woman who was in charge of the vast Hogwarts library and beamed "Good evening Cynthia, it nice to see you too. We should pat ourselves on the back for surviving our first year of teaching and books in your case. It's been fun, don't you agree?"



Art arrived moments after Cynthia with his rat Madam Curie perched on his shoulder and no formal wear either. Were the men except Justin, Roderick and Viktor boycotting the dress code for the evening in order to wear just a simple shirt and trousers. Shaking her head in confusion Laurel smiled at Art as he passed "Evening Art, all my summer plans aren't all fully planned but I'm attending Justin's wedding and staying with my parents for a few weeks in our family summer home. And how about you? Have you got any plans for the summer?"

Almost immediately after she had taken a seat, the person who she had been most looking forward to seeing arrived. "Gaston!" There was a big smile on Rosalyn's face that only grew as he pulled out a white rose, which he immediately turned purple. "It's so beautiful. I love it!" Happier than ever, she magicked it through her hair. Perfect. The smile fell at what he said next, however. "I know," she whispered back sadly. She was going to miss him! At least he wasn't going to he gone all summer. "I will write to you," she added as she glanced down at the paper he gave her. "How long will you be in France?"

Her attention shifted to the seat beside her as Paul arrived. A basket of roses ended up in front of her, and Rosalyn was confused until he had explained that's they were for students. Oh. Of course. For a moment she had wondered if he was going to give some to the female staff, but giving them to the children made more sense. Besides, she didn't need another since the one Gaston gave her was all that she wanted. "Too bad Daxton won't be getting one," she said with slight sadness in her tone. The boy had caused a lot of trouble, but he was as deserving of help as anyone else. Unfortunately there was nothing that could be done about it.

Smiles were sent to Laurel, Justin, Roderik, Viktor, and Cynthia as they joined the group. "Evening everyone. Are you all ready for the summer holidays? Got any exciting plans?" Even though some of her colleagues were seated quite a ways from her, that didn't mean they couldn't talk. Rosalyn wanted to know what everyone was going to be getting up to. Of course she would be seeing Gaston, Kay, Laurel, and her uncle over the break - maybe others as well. Laurel got a nod. "I am more than ready for the summer even though I have enjoyed this term."

And speaking of her uncle, he had just arrived. "Uncle Art," she said as she gave the man a fond smile. Naturally Madame Curie was with him, as was usual. The casual attire didn't even surprise her because he was never the sort to dress up. "You will be hearing all about my summer plans as I will about yours. I know of a certain baby that won't be able to get enough of you." That was another thing Rosalyn was looking forward to. Babies were lovely and especially so when they were family.

Kay’s keen eyes noticed the Headmaster at almost the same moment he entered the Hall. She smiled warmly at him as he drew closer. She had liked him from the moment she met him. He was rather nice and easy to talk to. “They certainly do, Headmaster! I hope you enjoyed another year with us.’’

Hearing the familiar voice of Jordan, Kay turned her head in his direction. “I was aiming for blue but I got the dyes mixed up,’’ she replied, her eyes twinkling. “By the way, you’re looking rather smart in that outfit.’’

“Hello, Rose, Gaston and Laurel!’’ Summer? Kay was quite ready! She nooded to Laurel. “You bet I am! We’re going to have a great time!’’ Together, the Muggle Studies, Divination and History of Magic Professors had made plans. It would be an all- girls outing. Then later in the summer, Kay had plans with Jordan to help her select a crup.

“Congratulations on the House Cup win, Justin,’’ Kay said to the Groundskeeper. Yes, she was disappointed that Ravenclaw had not won either Cups but she was still happy for Justin and Art.

“Good evening, Art! Congratulations on Gryffindor winning the Gobstones Cup! They were such a determined bunch.’’ She would know, as would Laurel.

The woman gave Viktor-the colleague she once had a tiny crush on- a smile as he walked by. She did the same for Roderick, Paul and Cynthia.

"Hello Laurel." Cynthia greeted. It was nice to see other people occasionally. She assumed the Professor had the same issue of feeling a bit removed from things given the location of their offices.

"We should. I'd heard horror stories and was honestly worried." she replied with a smile. "How did your term go?"

Cynthia returned Rosalyn's greeting with a "Good evening." Hm. Summer plans. While she thought her plans were interesting, she wasn't sure if her fellow colleagues would. "I plan on doing a bit of traveling. Plenty of interesting books in the world and I would like to be in the know."

"What about you? What are your plans?"

The sight of Rosalyn's smile made Gaston's own one widen, and his eyes sparkled. He was glad she liked her rose, and she'd found the perfect use for it! He watched as her smile fell and silently berated himself for causing it. "It's only for two weeks," he said. "Trust me, if there was any way I could back out of it, I would." This was going to be the longest two weeks of his life! At least he'd been able to cut his visit short, though; he was originally going to be gone a month (if not longer). Determined to make her smile again, he jokingly added, "Maybe they'll get tired of me and send me back early..."

His head jerked up at the sound of Laurel's voice. "Good evening, Laurel," he replied, returning her smile with one of his own. "Yes, I am." That was a huge understatement! He'd been counting down the days until the end of the term since the last Hogsmeade trip. It was going to be nice to have two months without worrying about lessons or poltergeists or owls - Merlin, that had been a disaster! "I think we all are!"

"Evening," he said again as Justin and Roderik arrived, nodding and smiling at each of them in turn. Sokolov also got a polite nod from Gaston upon arrival, though his smile faded. No, he hadn't forgotten the fire incident in the dueling club, but he wasn't going to let that ruin his (or anyone else's) evening. He couldn't help but notice Roderik looked a little down. Perfectly understandable, though; it had been a rough term for Ravenclaw. He shot the DADA professor a quick sympathetic look.

Gaston returned Cynthia and Paul's greetings, standing aside to allow them to get to their chairs on either side of Rosalyn. His blue eyes widened slightly at the sight of Paul's flower basket. It seemed they both had the same idea... until he explained that the flowers were for the graduating students. "I like that tradition, Paul," he said with a warm smile. "It's very kind of you." Why hadn't he thought to do something like that for the seventh years?! He could've at least given them some candy. Oh well, too late now...

Rose's next words made him sad. "I know," he agreed as his thoughts turned to the recently expelled Ravenclaw. There had to be more he could've done for the boy! If only he'd reached out to him sooner... If only he'd intervened on his behalf...

Suddenly Art's voice distracted Gaston from his self doubt, and he turned toward the potions master. "Hello, Art," he said, smiling. "And hello, Madame Curie." His head inclined toward the rat perched atop the older man's shoulder, and he nodded in reply to the question about summer plans. "I'll be back in France visiting family for a few weeks." He didn't go into his other plans yet; now wasn't the time or place for that! Besides, he had no idea how Art would react...

The students were filing in now, and the Frenchmen supposed this was his cue to take his seat, before the headmaster reprimanded him for it. "I'll just be... over there," he said, reluctantly turning away from Rose. He kept his head down, glanced at his watch, fidgeted with the bracelets on his arm... anything to keep himself from gazing longingly back at her or otherwise acting like a lovesick fool in front of the students. Merlin's bead, he was pathetic! If he couldn't handle sitting at opposite ends of the table, how was he going to survive two weeks on opposite sides of the English Channel?

Cythia and Art had arrived. Paul waved at them both, smiling at his white-haired friend. He glanced at Laurel and chuckled. "I never wear robes to the feasts if I can help it." He could finally forgo the robes for the term! YIPEEE! Not that he never wore robes over the summer--he did, certainly, but at home with Milton, they lazed around in muggle clothes.

He expected a silly comment from Rosalyn, but...instead, she said that. "Let me tell you something about Daxton Prince," he said softly, eyes serious. "That boy was a danger to himself and others. Him getting expelled was probably the best thing for him....and for everyone else," it was Rosalyn's first term here. She had no chance to SEE the damage that....child could cause. Poor thing needed help, seriously help, and Hogwarts was not that place. "He killed...a variety of valuable plants in my Greenhouses once," he murmured. "In the name of experimentation. Some of them didn't have even have a chance."

He sent a wave at Kay and Gaston. Oh, Gaston. The name still made the man smirk. He looked out a the students and tried to find Olivia or Rooney...

Speaking of the students, though, Paul thought he should hurry to give out his flowers before the speech. SOOOO he stood up and grabbed the basket. "I'll be back," he said softly, mostly to Rosalyn.

"I think purple suits you much better than blue." The creature Professor said to Kay, although he knew exactly that she didn't really dye the dress. Maybe it's just the fashion thingy that till the end of his life, Jordan Hernandez would never understand. "Thanks, although your friend doesn't really agree about that." His eyes gestured to Laurel, whom didn't stop interrogating him about his outfit of the evening. "Did I mention that you look a little bit skinnier in that dress?"

Jordan just nodded and smiled as Rosalyn came and greeted him. He still tempted to tease her with Gaston but well, since the headmaster was here already so he'd better not to do that. Speaking of Gaston.... There he was. "Good evening, Gaston." He greeted the Charms professor. He couldn't help but notice when Gaston decided to stop at the female Newton's chair and... Okay, Jordan had no idea what they were talking about but pretty sure both of them were like two lead characters of muggle romantic movie. For the love of Abraxan, it's not that the guy was about to go join the army and they're gonna be separated for a long time.

As the groundskeeper came, Jordan stood up and congratulated the man. "Congratulations for Slytherin, Justin." Those snakes were very determined students and he really appreciated their winning, even though he's a little bit disappointed about Ravenclaws. And speaking of Ravenclaws, he spotted the Defense professor looked not so happy coming to their table. It must be difficult to accept that a student had to be expelled. It wasn't Hirsch fault, that Daxton guy caused so many troubles (from what he'd heard from the other stuffs). But regardless of that, he decided to mention nothing about that to that man. "Hirsch." He simply greeted that man. He also sent a nod the other staffs like Viktor, Cynthia and, Paul and also the Newton senior who sat really far far away.

"I can hear you, Laurel." Jordan couldn't help but overheard what Laurel said to the Ancient Runes professor about suit and tie. Not that he's offended, he's just amused that his colleague who really paid attention to what the men wore to the feast.

Sahnoun's sky watching was unsurprisingly short as more of his fellow colleagues made their appearances. To all of those who greeted him, he gave each one of his trademark smiles and a bow of his head. It was a shame that the future would be different. He had really become quite attached to them all for their own unique reasons.

Those who did not greet him received the same type of acknowledgment. The African was a fair man after all.

Laurel's observation could not go unattended to. Did he really look that pensive? He supposed he did, looking up at the sky like that. More so focusing on one part of the speech he was ready to give, wondering if he was certain he wanted those exact words to escape his lips. "I'm doing quite well. Just dinking about some final touches for my speech." About whether to wait or get it out in the open. They all knew of course, though she probably knew before he had informed them all during their last staff meeting. Sometimes having the Inner Eye came with its perks.

Mohamed sat there in silence, letting the professors mingle, as he watched the students arrive to their tables. His brown eyes took note of all the seventh years, proud of them for their achievement and excited to see where they all would go in this lifetime.

Once there was a bit of a lull, the man slowly rose to his feet.

"Habari za jioni, wanafunzi!" he exclaimed loudly with a smile, his arms in the air. There was a moment of hesitation, waiting for all eyes to be staring up at him and for the hall to be silent. "Summer is almost upon us, my friends. Congratulations on surviving a year of learning and growing. Whether you realize it or not, you are not da same witches and wizards you were nine months ago." The man clapped his hands together, knowing that being a student came with its challenges ... but it also came with its rewards.

"I would like to congratulate Slytherin and Gryffindor Houses for securing da House and Gobstone Cups for yet another term. Your hard work and dedication is inspiring to us all and has not gone unnoticed." He clapped his hands once more.

"Now I would like to recognize our graduating seventh years. Please rise." The old man paused for a moment, waiting for their bodies to come up one by one. "Dese members of our school have made a great accomplishment over da course of seven years, one dat will open many doors for dem in da future. To all of our graduates: we wish you all da best. We look forward to da great things you will do in da years to come. Good luck, and always remember the many lessons you have learned over da years."

Once the applause ceased, Sahnoun stood there quite stiff, almost as if he were second guessing whether he wanted to continue onward. After a deep breath, the words smoothly poured out of his mouth. "I would like to make a quick announcement before we dive into da delicious feast dat da elves have prepared for us. I have had da joy of upholding da headmaster position at Hogwarts for two terms now. I have enjoyed every minute of it, especially dis additional year dat was not planned." He was sure some of them remembered that his stay at the school was only meant to be for a term. "Dough I have enjoyed my time here, as well as my past roles at Uagadou, da time has come for me to open a new chapter in life. I have decided dat it is time for me to return my focus to da International Confederation of Wizards and accept da position of Supreme Mugwump. So, please allow dis to be my farewell to you all. I will never forget you and da many things you have taught me over dose past few years. Kwaheri, Hogwarts."

The man bowed his head, his eyes watering. Sahnoun casually waved a hand, food appearing on the tables, and caught a few tears in it to prevent them from trickling down his cheeks before he returned to his seat.

Reaching under the Ravenclaw table, Rooney pulled out the large balloons he had blown up and stored under there this morning. Ready, ready, ready! He took his wand to the batch of them and levitated them up towards the ceiling of the Great Hall. The green banners were just being joined by a WHOLE bunch of brightly coloured balloons, stuffed with pink somethings or other. Ooooooh what could it BE?

As soon as they were at the perfect height, Rooney popped each and every one of them with a firecracker spell.

POP!


POP!


POP!!!!

And down upon the tables scattered pink confetti, all adorned in handwritten love notes to his ONE AND ONLY LOVE, OLIVIA LYNN PHILLIPS. Many were just their initials in hearts, others had lovely quotes from characters that reminded him of the Gryffindor and others were completely laden is SICKLY love messages.

MAKE IT POP LIKE PINK CONFETTI.

MAKE IT RAIIIIIIIIIIIN.

Two weeks was longer than Rosalyn had hoped for, but she knew that it was good for Gaston to see his family even if she was going to miss him. His parents surely missed him, and it would be selfish of her to take away their chance to spend time with him. She was about to say as much to him, when she ended up laughing. Of course he would make a joke like that though she couldn't see how ANYONE would get tired of him. The laughter faded, however, when the conversation turned to Daxton. Rosalyn knew that they shared thoughts on what had happened to the boy, wishing that they could have done more to help. Unfortunately it was too late to do anything now. She sighed and then nodded sadly when he said that he was going to take a seat. Obviously he couldn't stay with her, but she hadn't wanted him to go. She was sad about it, but they could still talk even if they were on opposite sides of the table. Glancing in his direction, she saw him fidgeting away.

Paul was saying something to her, and his words were rather shocking. Rosalyn hadn't expected the man to say something like that, but when she heard about the plants everything made sense. "What kind of experiment?" More information was needed. Even though she hadn't changed her mind on the matter, she could understand why he would be bitter. With a nod, she watched him head off to see the students. He would be back soon.

Shifting slightly in her chair, Rosalyn smiled at Kaysha. It was nice to see her friend in such a good mood. "So when are you and Ansley tying the knot?" she asked mischievously. "Am I going to be the Maid of Honor?" Smirk. No one said that she couldn't give Kay a hard time about the best friend and it was all in good fun anyway.

"Oh. Where are you planning to travel to?" Rosalyn asked Cynthia curiously. There were a lot of interesting books about the world and she had read a lot of them. In fact many of them were in her office. Too bad she couldn't fit in everything, but there just hadn't been enough room. "I plan on doing all sorts of stuff, like seeing friends and family. Kay is going to teach me horseback riding." There was something else - something that most excited her - but she was not going to get into it right now. Nope.

At that moment, the Headmaster rose which meant that it was time for the speech. The Great Hall fell silent as everyone listened to what the man had to say. Rosalyn smiled at the updates and clapped where needed, but then her face fell. He was leaving?! To say that this was shocking was an understatement. Somehow she had felt that he wouldn't step down - at least not for a few more terms. Now she was sad all over again, thinking about how much she had liked him as a boss. Time to say goodbye.

With a frown, she turned her attention to her plate so that she could dig in... when there was a series of loud POPS! and pink confetti and pieces of paper began to rain down everywhere. Curiously, she reached for one of the pieces of paper and smiled at what she read, momentarily forgetting about the recent announcement. "Isn't young love wonderful?" she said to Kay. Not every student would have made such a public declaration of affection. Rosalyn found it sweet.

As more and more of his colleagues arrived, Hirsch gave each of them (Viktor, Paul, Cynthia, Kay, Gaston, Jordan) a smile and a nod. He couldn't help but notice how different Gaston's smile was in comparison to the others, how sympathetic it looked, and was mildly grateful. Thanks, Gaston.

Both of the Newtons got themselves a response that consisted of more than just a facial expression from the Defence Professor. "I think I might spend some of it in Germany with my family. Maybe travel around for a while, while I'm at it." Had he thought about it yet? Not entirely. "What about the two of you? Any plans?"

Laurel got herself even more of a response from the man, mostly because she was sitting right next to him and so, it was just easier. Besides, they had had an entire year of getting used to this arrangement and considering the fact that she hadn't demanded a move, he was going to assume that she didn't mind the arrangement either. "Evening, Laurel." Was everything alright? Hm. "I think I'm ready for the summer, to be honest. A trip back home should do the trick." Family, after all. And he had a baby niece he needed to see. "What about you? Anything exciting planned?"

It was nice to sit back and watch the events unfold while waiting for the speech. He didn't have to contribute much, apart from to Laurel and the Newtons, and he certainly didn't have to put on a face. Instead, he simply looked across the Great Hall and tried to ignore whatever else was going on at the table he was sitting at.

Despite this, however, his ears picked up on words floating over from the other end of the table. A name, actually. Along with 'danger', 'expelled', 'best thing' and 'killed'. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to shut out as much of that conversation as possible. But it was as though nothing of that conversation could be stopped or his mind didn't want it to be stopped. Either way, his mind had started racing, replaying some of those words over and over again.

When he opened his eyes, they, almost instinctively, found the Ravenclaw table. He'd need to go down there to mention something. Maybe. There was that debate going on in his head as well, even though he knew, deep down, that many of them probably knew of the events already. He'd been up to the Tower with Daxton to oversee the packing process so to those that had been in the common room at the time, it probably didn't come as a surprise as to what happened.

Before he could dwell on this, Sahnoun was making a speech and so, his green eyes shifted towards the Headmaster. The man had his entire focus, apart from when he mentioned the seventh years. It was only then that Hirsch looked out towards the graduating class, especially Zeke, Frankie, Hady and Dante. It was........ going to be weird, that was for sure.

But then Sahnoun was mentioning something about his last dinner here and so, Hirsch looked over at him, a small frown in place. He didn't expect the man to stay forever, sure, but this wasn't exactly great news, was it? Or was he just being selfish? He could feel happy for the man but it was going to be weird not to see him here as well.

A small applause was given at the end of the speech but was cut short when a loud popping sound made him look up at....... was that........ confetti?!

Confused, Hirsch eyed the falling pieces before taking one up using his wand - constant vigilance - and opening it up to read.

Regret. Regret at having read what he had just read settled in. This wasn't any random pink confetti: it was a love note and one that made him feel veeeeeeery awkward. Whatever happened to staying blissfully unaware of his students's love lives? Was this the new version of romance? Because if so, he was going to stick with his usual methods, thanks. No falling confetti love notes from him.

Speaking of, Hirsch brushed off the remaining heart-shaped confetti off of him, even doing a hair ruffle in case some were stuck up there.

He did not get paid enough for this.

*GIGGLES*

Moving from the Puffer!Pods table, Storm floated to the adultsies

"WHEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!"

Still had some water balloons, the polter!kid tossed one to the broody adult (Gaston) and the handsome one beside him (Hirsch)

SPLAAAAAAAASH!!!!!!

He blew some raspberries and off to another table!