After being dismissed from the feast, Gaston made a beeline for his office, still reeling from Headmistress Hawthorne's unexpected departure. Sure, there were some things they would never see eye to eye on and it had taken a long time to feel comfortable around her, but she'd earned his trust over the years. Now she was gone, and it was like everything was being yanked out from under him all at once. First he lost half his sight, then his daughter, and now his boss... He needed more time alone to grapple with his emotions, but time was a luxury he didn't have. His Lions needed him! The annual start of term party would be beginning soon, and they were sure to have questions in light of what happened. So after quickly changing into a less formal black outfit, he made his way to the Gryffindor common room.

To his surprise, he found he was the only one there. No matter... he was sure the students would be arriving any moment. He glanced at his watch. This was about the time he' should be putting Desiree to bed, reading her a bedtime story, singing to her... but he couldn't go home to her. He was sure the new headmaster would never allow it, and besides, he'd only end up frightening her.

Blue eyes darted sadly around the room. The student leaders had outdone themselves with the decorations this year! But Gaston didn't feel much like celebrating. While he waited, he helped himself to a small glass of punch. Then he caught sight of the lion plushes. He gave the nearest one a pat on the head, and it roared at him as he picked it up. Surely the students wouldn't mind him keeping one for Desiree, right?

Daehyun was glad that feast was finally over, and he was able to head back to the dormitories and settle in. Everything had taken an unpleasant turn of events, and he needed to crawl in bed, read something relaxing, and clear his mind. The whole new headmaster thing gave him a horrible headache.

Spotting his head of house near the lion plushies, he scurried over, but not before grabbing a mini pizza. Why, yes, he was a growing boy, and his stomach was bottomless. "Hello, professor," he said with a smile, though not as chipper as he should have sounded around professor Marchand. He was just too upset about headmistress Hawthorne, and the common room seemed like a suitable place to sulk, away from the hawk eyes of the new headmaster. "Had a nice summer?"

Tessa was still reeling from the start-of-term feast. She couldn't believe that they had all been made to stand out of respect(?!) for someone who hadn't even earned their respect by that person. It was ridiculous. Even the other Professors had to stand. She had, of course, stuffed her face at the feast as usual, but it hadn't been nearly as enjoyable as past feasts. And as she left the feast, she hoped that the common room had stayed the same. She hoped everything else would stay the same.

Little did she know that she would be doing laps every morning for the rest of the school year.

"Hi, Professor!" She greeted her Head of House with a grin and immediately pelted him with questions, not bothering to consider how he felt about the whole situation. She just wanted the #FACTS and tact wasn't something she was known for. "Did you know that Headmistress Hawthorne was going to get sacked?? What did he mean about going back to the basics and, what was is, 'adopting a new school initiative'???" Tessa assumed that, as a teacher, Professor Marchand would have all the answers. As she waited for him to answer, she grabbed one of the cupcakes with red icing and looked around. She was one of the first ones here. Funny. Tessa was never early for anything.

OOH and there was butterbeer, too. That was a MUST.

AND A TRAMPO-LION TRAMPOLINE. BRILLIANT.

And, she noticed as she returned her gaze to Professor Marchand, there were lion plushies. "Aw, that's cute, Sir," she said, referring to the one in his arms.

Rylee was beyond glad the feast was over. Changes were normal she knew that but she hadn't expected to lose two of her favorite professors at the same time AND the Headmistress. All she wanted to do was push it all from her mind and focus on the remainder of the night.

Blue eyes darted around the common room the moment she stepped foot inside. What would the welcome back party be like this term? Red and Gold everywhere. Streamers and a roaring lion banner! Was that a...

Trampoline that looked like a lion! YES!

Marchand and the student leaders did not disappoint her this year! Maybe things would be alright after all.

"Hello everyone!" Rylee greeted waving at her fellow lions. "Hello, Professor. Was your summer alright?" She smiled her eyes drifting to the stuffed lion in the mans arms. Reaching out for one of the stuffies on the table she pulled it close to her chest giving it a tight hug the action already helping release some of her frustrations. That was until the toy roared causing her to giggle instantly. "Oh my gosh! How cute are you!" More hugs for the stuffed lion!

What. A. Day.

Honestly. Abra couldn't remember having such an eventful or unfortunate first of September, not since he started at Hogwarts, and that was counting last year's panic attack at the feast. This year's feast was definitely something else, what with all that business with Hawthorne and the new guy, Scrimgeour, and his ominous speech, and the train ride before it had been eventful too. Abra had been glad when they had all at last been dismissed, and were able to head up to the relative comfort of the common room.

Being a prefect meant helping to escort the first years safely up to Gryffindor Tower, and Abra was happy to do so; the few he'd met so far seemed an okay bunch of kids. Upon arriving at the common room, he gave the password and led the way inside, to where the annual start-of-term party was waiting for them.

"Hey everyone," Abra greeted the room at large, looking around and nodding towards everyone already there. Really, he would have liked to go up and take out his contacts - they had been bothering him even since before his little crying eye-leaking session on the train - but felt sure that as soon as he reached his dormitory he would be tempted to stay there. In the end, he decided to stay downstairs at the party a little while. "What a day." Even though he'd just eaten his fill at the feast, Abra scooped up one of the mini-pizzas and a butterbeer, and perched himself on the back of the sofa.

Stella was glad to get away from the feast and the Great Hall, what was suppose to be a day she'll never forget was a nightmare. Oh...she'll never forget tonight, it will be planted in her memory forever. She was just glad she gotten away from that madness for now, walking into the common room she gasped and smiled. It was cozy abd happy, unlike how it was in the Great Hall during the feast. Correction it was happy and cheerful until Mr. Bady Eye Stone Face ruined it.


Walking into the common room some more she seen Rylee as she smiles and waved. "Hey Rylee, crazy feast huh?" she asked sighing. Although they were at a party, she wasn't going to let that man ruin her fun! Seeing the head of house she smiled and waved at him. "Hello Professor, hope your well how was your summer?" Stella asked him. Seeing a lion stuffie on the table she grabbed one of them and held it tight in her arms giggling as it let out alittle roar. Giggling she looked at the lion " I'll call you Mr. Roarson she said giggling as she held the lion close to her chest.

Gaston kept his eyes on the door, watching nervously as the students arrived. Every time that portrait opened, he half-expected Headmaster Scrimgeour to barge in. It was only the first night, and already the man set his teeth on edge. Merlin, this was going to be a long term! He remained still, staring at the lion plush in his hand, until a student's voice jerked him out of his thoughts. As his dark head whipped around, he saw Daniel. "Hello, Daniel," he replied; he tried to return the boy's smile but he was too sad. He couldn't blame the boy for not sounding chipper... not a bit! "Yeah, nice..." Well, nice wasn't exactly the word he'd use to describe his summer, but he didn't want to burden him with his personal problems. Poor kid probably had enough on his mind already! "It was nice going back home to France." In fact, he wished he was still there!

He had barely finished his sentence when Tessa appeared and started bombarding him with questions "Hello, Tessa," he greeted; he shook his head, his expression darkening. "I had no idea; I was just as surprised by Headmistress Hawthorne's dismissal as you." If he had known, he would've done everything in his power to stop it! As for her other question... he thought for a moment. "I'm not sure what Headmaster Scrimgeour's intentions for the school are... but I'm afraid it's nothing good." He really wanted to be kind and give the man the benefit of the doubt, but something about him set off warning bells in Gaston's mind. He would say more on the subject when more students arrived so he could address them all at once.

Then Rylee and a first year with whom Gaston hadn't yet had the chance to speak (Stella) appeared. His eyes lit up as he watched the pair hugging and giggling over the lion plushes, and he couldn't help but laugh a little along with them. "Hello, ladies," he said, waiting to address them both at the same time so he wouldn't have to answer questions about his summer twice. "My summer was... alright. I spent most of it with family in France. How was yours?" He left out the details about his daughter rejecting him; they didn't need to know that. He stared blankly at the cane in his hand, lost in the memories of summer... until a thought occurred to him.

"If you have a lion plush or would like one, please take it to your dorm NOW and put it in your trunk!" he addressed the group, his eyes silently begging them not to argue. "Just as a precaution..." He would feel awful if he had to confiscate those lions after the students got attached to them! After giving the students a few moments to pick up a lion, he summoned the rest of the plushes and placed them all in his jacket pocket. Thank Merlin for the undetectable extension charm built into his jacket!

There, now at least the lions weren't in plain sight, in the event of any surprise visits. He would hand them out to the remaining students as they arrived with the instruction to put them away.. After placing the plush meant for Desiree in a different pocket, Gaston all but collapsed onto the nearest sofa as his sadness and exhaustion finally caught up to him. He noticed Abra sitting nearby and nodded in reply to his words. "My sentiments exactly, Abra!"

Gaston glanced toward the door. He would give a few minutes for more students to arrive before giving his annual start of term speech.

Professor Marchand was... definitely not alright. It didn't take a genius to see that. Daehyun was normally oblivious to many things, but even he noticed it. Now, his only problem was that he didn't want to pry into the man's personal matters - he didn't know if he'd want to share and, if he did, he wasn't sure he knew how to offer any helpful advice. But he was there, and he could listen, at the very least.

Maybe... maybe he could at least try to distract the clearly upset man? Take his mind off his problems for a moment? They could all use a distraction, with everything that's happened at the feast... "Oh, professor! I've been meaning to ask you..." With that, he lowered his voice just a tad. He didn't really want people knowing what he was up to until he actually accomplished it. "I-I've always wanted to become an animagus... Professor Grimsbane has already given me extra things to read about for the time being..." Clearly he couldn't go through the actual training at his age and with his rather poor skills. "And-I suppose I need to be quite proficient with my spellwork as well, right?" He needed to improve, anyway. "I was wondering if you could help me with some extra work? If you ever have the time?" If refused, he would probably resort to puppy eyes. But not just yet.

Finger wiggles towards Abra when he came into the common room. Hello there!

Rylee nodded without hesitation. "You're telling me. That was by far the strangest one yet." This had only been her third start of term feast but it was one to remember that was for sure. And at least she didn't cry this time! Seeing Stella grab one of the stuffed lions and hug it to her chest just as she herself was currently doing made her smile even wider. "These are super adorable, aren't they?" Maybe if there was any extra ones she could get one for her baby nephew Saros or just give the little boy hers when she saw him during the next holiday break.

"That sounds like fun! I spent my summer with my family and pets like every break." There was no need to get into how afraid she had been at the start of break and how hard it had been to get back into the swing of her normal routine. "How is you daughter? Are you sending one of the lions home to her?" She smiled brightly almost certain that Professor Marchand would be.

Huh?! Put their stuffies away... already. Rylee very nearly frowned and asked why but something in Marchand's voice and in his eyes told her not to ask. As did the added 'Just as a precaution' statement. He had to be talking about Headmaster Grumpypants. "Yes, Professor. Come on, Stella, I can show you where to go if you like?" She would happily show the younger lioness around if she wanted.

Tessa turned her attention, however briefly, to each new addition to the party as they arrived. She greeted Rylee cheerfully when she entered. "Hi, Rylee!" The younger girl had just grabbed one of the lion toys and, simultaneously, Tessa reached for another cupcake. One was not enough. They were too tasty.

They were soon joined by more people when Abra entered the common room, followed by the newest additions to Gryffindor. Tessa hastily finished off her cupcake so she could greet them. "Hello!!!" They all got a collective grin from her. She hoped that the events during the feast hadn't ruined their days and that they would still enjoy the party. "You should all try these cupcakes. They're amazing!!" She nodded wisely. One of the first years (Stella) had just picked up a lion toy and named it Mr. Roarson. AWWWWW. So cute. "He does look like a Mr. Roarson, doesn't he?" She grinned at the girl.

Tessa's grin dropped right off her face when Professor Marchand answered her questions and a look of shock and anger replaced it. He hadn't known??? She was truly shocked. "Nothing good..." she repeated, blinking. Her inner lion was growling right now! What Professor Marchand told her filled her with a strange dread. She didn't usually protest things - she liked to be #chill - but she had a feeling that would change soon enough. Tessa wanted to ask a bazillion more questions but, looking around at the younger lions, she stopped herself. She didn't want to scare them. Especially not on their first night at Hogwarts.

She then took the opportunity to take one of the lion toys up to her dorm - for Ezra - and quickly returned to the party.

Lucas was full. FULL. When they said that that was a feast, they weren't joking. Do you know how much food he had? Food he didn't even know the name of! Food he hadn't even SEEN before. Of course, all of this made him feel veeeeeeeery sleepy as he was following Prefect Abra and the others up to Gryffindor Tower, which was aaaaaaall the way up on the seventh floor. But it's okay. That was okay when he had had lots of chicken to fill up his tummy.

He clambered through the portrait hole and into the-

..... Oh. A party?

Lucas blinked a few times as he looked around the room he'd just entered. There were a lot of people here, weren't there? He silently wished he'd had some warning about this so that he could, uh, prepare? Yeah. He didn't know how he would've prepared but he would've done something.

As it were, he gave everyone in the room a sheepish smile and a small wave before concentrating on something bigger: the common room itself. Emma was right: it was beautiful! His green eyes widened as he took in everything from the banners that changed words every now and then to the comfortable sofas that looked like a great place to take a nap and then to-

"Is that PIZZA?!"

Sure, he was full, but there was always room for pizza, right? He..... was just going to grab some of those and then some of the cookies over there and and....

..... this was feast number two. An after-feast.

As moody as he was at being put into Gryffindor, Jó couldn't help but be impressed by the sight that met him when he entered the Common Room after the prefect. A trampoline was the epitome of cool, even if the plushies barely got a glance. He was making his way toward the trampoline when he heard a very loud voice proclaiming that there was pizza.

If magic hadn't existed, pizza would have been a magic word. Jó's head snapped in the direction of the voice, noting that it was [b]another first year[/i] whom he'd noticed at the sorting, but whose name he hadn't been paying attention to. That didn't matter, though, for they were sure to be dorm mates and if this kid liked pizza as much as he did, then they were also sure to get along great.

So his direction changed, and he made his way to join the other young lion helping himself to pizza. At the feast, he'd been too busy sulking and hiding behind his sunglasses (which were now pushed onto the top of his head) to really pay attention to the food, so this extra stuff was the best thing ever.

"PIZZA."

It hadn’t exactly been a hard decision to slip away from the group of Gryffindors heading up to the tower and the annual house welcome party. Stasya had things to do, and she’d been grateful for her own decision to have kept her usual school bag with her instead of having it in her trunk. It meant she had parchment, and therefore it meant she didn’t have to wait to write the letter she so wanted to write after the insanity of what had happened during the feast. She’d practically been composing it in her head as she’d finished eating, and she’d stopped in the entrance of the owlery to write it, before tasking one of the school owls to deliver it to Professor Hirsch. Only then had she headed back down to the common room, and she’d been surprised to find that she’d arrived later than Professor Marchand, catching the tail end of his announcement about the lion plushies as she’d slipped through the portrait hole into the safety of the common room. At least, she’d thought it was safe.

Now she was second guessing that idea, but she still wanted a plushie to give to Demyan next time she went home for a visit. “I’m sorry I’m late, Professor Marchand. I had a letter to send,” she said to the head of house apologetically as she made her way over to where he was standing. At least it appeared that everyone had made it up safely. One positive thing, out of what seemed like too many disturbing things. She figured the professor could ask about the letter if he wanted, and she’d given little waves toward the others in the room.

Plus, she remembered she had promised to tell Tessa about her summer sometime.

Start of the term party? No thanks.

Zoryn Amari Spinnet was BEYOND this. She couldn't be seen hanging with a bunch of plebeians. Also, she was a SIXTH year.

The Gryffindor finished climbing through the portrait hole, took one look at this place up and down, then one look at MARCHAND up and down, grabbed some pizza, and left.

Nope.

#ByeFelicia.

If anyone needed her, she'd be in her dorm.

Stella looked over at Lucas and giggled. second fest huh? she asked him nodding at the food he had. She was going to have some cupcakes and cookies as well, they looked delicious! "Hello Lucas, isn't this common room awesome looking?" she asked him looking around once more. She couldn't believe how big it was, it was warm abd cozy as well, something she liked and was glad for. The Headmaster seem cold and mean, it was nice to have something nice and cozy.


Turning to Rylee she nodded and giggled. " Yes! They're so cute and cuddly! she said looking down at her stuffed lion. Looking at Professor Marchand she nodded and smiled. "I'm glad you had a good summer Professor, my went great!" she said happily. Looking down at her lion she bit her lip, Professor Marchand was right, she didn't want to lose Mr. Roarson at all not when she just got him!

Stella looked at Tessa and smiled at her before nodding. "He does, he really truly does!" she said looking up at her. " The cookies looked good as well, it all looks delicious!" she said looking at all the sweets frowning. " I'm Stella by the way and love being a Gryffindor!" she said happily hugging Mr. Roarson. Was she a hyper little first year? Maybe so, but hey which person wasn't being a first year?

Lucas was on his way to grabbing pizza and making a tower out of the slices he’d collected when out reached...... an arm. An arm belonging to an older girl (Zoryn) who clearly wanted some pizza as well. He withdrew away and stepped to the side, not wanting to get in her way, and watched as she grabbed the pizza and......

....... left? She left. She was gone.

Uh. Were they allowed to do that?!

He shrugged and went back to the pizza tower he was assembling. Or pizza cake, because of all the layers. It was only when he’d placed a third slice on top of the other two that he noticed someone (Józef) standing near him and saying something about pizza. But this time, it was someone he KNEW. Or sort of knew. The sunglasses were very very familiar.

He didn’t really know what to say - and really didn’t want to mention that it was better to see the boy’s face properly - so he just lifted the layers of pizza up and said, "It’s a pizza cake!" Geddit? GEDDIT?

(he got it, right?)

Second feast? "You could say that," Lucas said, smiling at Stella, "Hey! Yeah, it is. I mean..... those armchairs look big enough to nap in. And that fireplace and.... it’s beautiful." It was just a shame that they had to take so many stairs to get here.

"Oh, hey, I like your...... uh, the lion toy." That’s what it was, right?

Stella laughed. "You're silly Lucas, with your pizza tower cake." she said laughing. "Careful now don't make it as tall as the Gryffindor tower or Headmaster won't be too happy about it!" she said jokingly. She was glad she had a friend in Gryffindor she could joke with, although it was when the Headmaster wasn't around and they were safe here. It was sad that the only place she felt safe at right now was here, in her common room that was warm and cozy. It would probably be the only place that was warm and cozy with the Headmaster sucking the fun and Happiness out of everything like a dementor.


She nodded and smiled. " I know! I could easy take a nap in them after a long day!" she said honestly. She could see herself spending alot of time here. " The fireplace is beautiful it's inviting and cozy, I feel at home here now." she said looking down at her stuffed lion. "Oh thanks! There's alot more on the tables, it growls as well, isn't that cool?" she asked him.

"Hi, Tessa!" she grinned at the older girl only turning her attention onto Stella when she spoke again. "Yeah they are super cuddly." One of the reasons she liked it so much. Rylee smiled still clutching the stuffed lion and headed towards her dorm room to put it away liked Marchand had told them all to do.

Coming back from her dorm a few moments later, the third year went straight for the punch getting herself a cup full. Might as well get a little pizza too before those were all gone. With her snack in hand she glanced around the room taking in all the decorations once more.

"Anyone want to try out the trampoline with me?" she called out to anyone listening. Once she was finished eating her snack that's where she was headed next.

Gaston knew he wasn't fooling anyone; he was always useless at hiding his emotions! When Daniel said he'd been meaning to ask him something, he half-expected him to pry. Luckily, that wasn't the case. The request for extra spellwork got a slight eyebrow raise, but the professor nodded. "That's certainly a lofty ambition," he replied. He'd never gone through the animagus training himself - it sounded much too painful - but he would be happy to help. "Of course. Just come to my office when you have free time, and I'll give you some spells to improve your concentration; that'll come in handy with your training later."

He managed to return Stella and Rylee's smiles with a tiny, slightly sad one of his own as the girls talked about their summers, but his smile vanished at the mention of his daughter. "Yes, I am," he replied, staring absentmindedly at the lion in his hand as his thoughts turned to the little dark-haired girl in Hogsmeade. He wondered if she missed him as much as he did her. "She's... fine, thanks for asking." Well, fine wasn't the right word, but he hadn't the heart to tell her that his baby girl was afraid of him.

Gaston saw the grin vanish from Tessa's face, and his heart dropped. He felt awful for worrying her, but he couldn't leave her in the dark. It was his job to be honest with his students! He shot her a quick apologetic look but before he could say anything else, Stasya and Zoryn appeared. "Hello, Stasya, Zoryn," he greeted. He nodded in reply to Stasya's explanation; it seemed perfectly reasonable to him. "I understand," he said, and his voice dropped as he added, "Did anyone catch you?" He wouldn't be surprised if the new headmaster made a big deal over her not coming directly to the common room.

He was going to offer Zoryn a lion plush, but she was gone before he had the chance. He couldn't blame her for wanting to go straight to her dorm; it had been a rough night for everyone! In fact, part of him wished he could be alone in his office right now. Before he had much time to dwell on that thought, a couple of first year boys (Jozef and Lucas) came in. "Hello, gentlemen," he greeted, giving each of them a wave. "Welcome to Gryffindor!" He pulled a pair of lion plushes from his pocket. "I don't suppose you'd like one of these, would you? They're yours if you want, but please take them straight to your dorm."

After a few more minues, Gaston glanced around the room. Now seemed as good a time as any to address the students. With a quiet sigh, he forced himself back to his feet, leaning into his cane. "Your attention, please..."he said, pausing for a moment until all eyes turned to him. "For those of you who are new, welcome to Gryffindor! My name is Professor Marchand; I'll be your Head of House and Deputy Headmaster this term..." Or he would be unless the Board of Governors found a way to oust him alongside Hawthorne! "If you ever need anything at all, my door is always open." And that applied to all the students, not just the first years!

"I won't interrupt your fun long; just a couple of quick announcements," he went on. "First, there are a number of staff changes that our new headmaster forgot to mention..." His voice dripped with sarcasm as he said the word. Seriously, the man didn't find it necessary to pass along that information?! "The new faces are Professor Davis, Arithmancy; Professor Sabra, Ancient Runes; Professor Wishart, Herbology and Professor O'Hara, History of Magic. The new Heads of House for Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin are Professor Noble, Professor Stewart, and Professor Kennedy, respectively. Defense Against the Dark Arts was supposed to be taught by Headmistress Hawthorne; I presume Headmaster Scrimgeour will be taking her place there as well. Please pass this information along to students in other houses, if necessary." He hoped Ingatius, Kaysha, and Kalen were having the same conversation with their students right about now, but just in case, he wanted to make sure no one was confused.

He sighed. Time to address the elephant in the room... "As you saw tonight, Headmistress Hawthorne has been..." What word should he use? Fired? Ousted? Banished? Overthrown? "... replaced. I assure you the other professors and I had no prior knowledge of this." His mind searched for the right words to say next. "I don't know what our new headmaster has in mind for Hogwarts, but as much as I'd like to give him the benefit of the doubt, his actions so far give me pause. For your own safety, please don't make him angry! There's no telling what he's capable of, and... I just don't want anyone getting hurt."

He swallowed hard, his eyes once again darting toward the portrait hole. "Headmaster Scrimgeour wants you to get plenty of rest tonight, but we can still have a little party," he said. "Enjoy yourselves, but please keep the noise level down - we don't want to attract any unwanted attention, if you know what I mean." The last thing they needed was a somebody paying them a surprise visit! "Bedtime is in one hour." And with that,
he plopped back into his seat on the couch.

Anna walked into the Gryffindor Common Room just in time to see professor Marchand offering some lion plushies to a few first year boys. She quickly looked around and was happy to see that everything still looked nice for the party even after that crazy start of term feast. Who knew what other orders had been given out before they even managed to get to their Common Rooms, after all.

She had eaten plenty during the feast, so she decided to stay away from the refreshments offered there for now - although the mini-pizzas did look enticing. Sitting somewhere nearby them, she listened to the man's short speech and took a mental note of all the new professors and Head of Houses. That sure was a lot of new people. She couldn't help but wonder if the turnover had been because the Board of Governors had already been planning to do that all along. "Why didn't they just..." She muttered, letting her voice trail off as she wondered why wait until the actual feast and why make a ridiculously big scene of it AND WHY the now former Headmistress hadn't try to argue her way to stay. Did that letter look THAT official? Anna had all sorts of questions but she didn't want to bother professor Marchand with them all. One, because he probably didn't know the answer to those questions, given what he had said in his speech; and two, had people SEEN him? He looked terrible. Ill, even.

The Captain shot Stas a meaningful look because that had been the topic of their discussion at the Gryffindor table before the dramatics began at the dais.

Anyhow. That was supposed to be a party, wasn't it? Anna got back up and nodded at Rylee when the girl asked about the trampoline. "Me! Let's do it!" She said, sending a friendly smile to the younger girl and rushing to the trampo-lion.

Rylee's smile faltered as her head of house's own small sad smile vanished when she mentioned his little girl. Oh, no. She hadn't meant to make him sad! He must really miss her when he's here at Hogwarts. It was really nice of him that he always sent things back home to her so she knew he was thinking of her, like the way she sent gifts home to her nephew, Saros. "That's good." A little smile returned to her face at hearing that the small girl was doing well.

The young teenager couldn't have been more happier right then at hearing Anna agree to join her on the trampo-lion. "Awesome!" Returning the older girls smile and removing her shoes she rushed over to hop up onto the trampo-lion bouncing in place a few times to get the feeling of it. Might as well enjoy the night. Who knew what tomorrow would bring.

A pizza cake?

It took Józef a moment, but he grinned (sort of) when he eventually got it. Not too big a grin, but enough that the other kid wouldn't be dreading sharing a dorm with him for the next seven years. Seven years. Merlin, that was a long time. He decided to take another couple of pieces and stack them up, just as the other boy had. "I'm Józef." He said, almost as an afterthought. It would help with life if they got off on the right foot.

Or something like that. A cool person had allies, after all.

Turning to the Professor with his stack of pizza, Jó found he didn't mind being referred to as 'gentlemen', but he did mind being offered a plus. With a facial expression that said he thought they were stupid and annoying (how did you get it to shut up), the first year shook his head. "No. Thanks," the latter word almost forgotten. Did he care that he'd been rude? No - he hadn't actually noticed.

Pizza was in his mouth, now, as the Professor made his announcements, but he didn't say anything. ALL of the Professors were new to him, and he didn't care about the other Heads of Houses. As for the woman getting sacked, or whatever, he'd found that mildly amusing but, again, didn't care too much: it wasn't like he had loyalties.

Gaston slumped into the couch, looking like a snowman melting in the sun. He was too lost in his sad thoughts to pay much attention to the party going on around him. He just wanted to go home to the comfort of his wife and daughter where he could mourn Headmistress Hawthorne's departure in peace, but he couldn't. He was on his own to deal with his emotions.

He was only vaguely aware of the trampo-lion roaring in the background. Periodically, his eyes would dart toward the students jumping, then to the portrait hole. No sign of the heartless headmaster yet, thank Merlin! Was it too much to hope that they could end this party without him making an appearance? He sighed, taking a long swig of punch. Suddenly Rylee's voice jerked him out of his thoughts, and he looked at her, returning her smile with a small sad one of his own. She had no idea...

So it appeared Mr. Kowalski didn't want a lion plush, judging by his expression. That was fine; taking one wasn't required. The boy's reply earned a slight eyebrow raise, though Gaston's expression softened at the added thanks. At least he'd remembered his manners! "Alright," he replied, replacing the lion in his jacket pocket. "Enjoy your pizza."

As Gaston looked around the room, he saw that at some point, Anna had arrived. He mentally berated himself for not noticing her before! "Hello, Anna," he greeted, never leaving his seat on the couch. "Congratulations on getting quidditch captain." That reminded him, he hadn't yet had a chance to congratulate Abra. He meant to visit the Gryffindor table and speak to everyone at the feast, but the new headmaster's arrival put the kibosh on that.

He watched Rylee and Anna on the trampo-lion; he was glad to see his students happy, even if he was not! After a few moments, his attention drifted to the refreshment table. He was too preoccupied to be hungry, but those cupcakes did look awfully inviting. With a wave of his wand, he summoned one and caught it in his free hand. He was too exhausted, physically and emotionally, to even walks across the room. Maybe the sugar would give him some energy... Peeling back the paper, he slowly nibbled.

After some time, Gaston glanced at his watch again. Over an hour had passed, He'd better send these kids to bed soon, or Scrimgeour would never let him hear the end of it. Forcing himself up from the couch, he waved a hand for attention. "I'm afraid that's the end of our party," he said; he couldn't help but breathe a silent sigh of relief. At least they made it through the night without someone crashing the party. "Let's get the room cleaned up and you ready for bed. Lights out is in fifteen minutes!"

With a wave of his wand, the streamers vanished, and the banner detached from the wall, curling into a neat roll. The cookies, cupcakes, and other foods stacked themselves into boxes, which floated into the professor's waiting arms. He would store the leftover food in the bistro on his way back to his office. After one final look around the room and a quick "good night" to his students, he turned and disappeared through the portrait.

OOC: That's the end of out start-of-term party. Thanks for playing, everybody!

Ryan was totally lost, this castle was huge and he just couldn't figure out where everything was. He was sure that if he stayed mainly in the common room he couldn't get lost right?

He looked around and sighed even this place was weird. Why couldn't he be back home in his own bed and back at his old school with all his old friends. Maybe it was time to try and figure out what the best course of action was.

Going over to a chair he sat on it and starting to think about where he should go. The Lake, that big forest that looked intimidating, saying that so did the lake so maybe nether of them would be a good idea. Bed was probably the safest place in the whole school but he wouldn't be allowed to sleep all day right, well accept for Lessons. So what was there to do that wasn't scary.