It was a pity that her very last Feast was not taking place at Hogwarts. Still, she was thankful that they all had somewhere to comfortably enjoy said Feast. As usual, she was on time and was not at all surprised to find herself being the first there at the Dais. The woman made her way towards the portion of the table to locate her seat. Naturally, the Staffers had retained their usual sitting spots. She settled in comfortably as she waited on the others to get there. In the meanwhile, her thoughts turned to the upcoming free months that would be available. There was going to be many fun moments for her with Foster and Emmalyn.

Kaysha could hardly wait even though this was 'goodbye, Hogwarts'.

What a bittersweet moment.

To say he was preoccupied would have been the understatement of the century. The students may have been evacuated and all (thankfully) accounted for since that time but it wasn't the end of the story, not for the Headmaster. It wouldn't have been too far off the mark to assume this was just the beginning of his greater worry and the premature start to what was already promising to be a busy summer for the man. He was tired just thinking of everything that still needed to be done.

Decisions needed to be made, follow up with the ministry to be done, getting a proper briefing in regards to the state of the castle--his own inspection that he wasn't at all looking for. Yes, the man was quite tired already and it showed even as he moved to take his spot in the centre of the staff table.

It wasn't the Great Hall but it was the best the shopkeep could do given the circumstances and the man had been all too accommodating. The space was at least adequate. Tables were fitted for each house in addition to the staff one and the back kitchen was on loan to the elves for them to prepare the speech. All he needed to do was get the children through the night as he had this period in Hogsmeade, then on the train in the morning. After that, a large chunk of his immediate responsibilities would be behind him and then he would get to work.

As he sat, he nodded down the table to Kaysha. She'd tendered her resignation and he couldn't say he blamed her or her reasoning. The smallest of professional but distracted smiles was sent her way before he turned his gaze outward toward the empty tables that would soon begin to fill up. Staring at nothing in particular in his preoccupation, Malachi twirled his goblet over and over in his hand. Somehow he'd have to find the presence of mind to deliver the speech.

He had been proven wrong. There was a fate worse than being trapped within the walls of the stone castle and that was tasting fresh hair but living in confinement among a wizarding village was worse. Much worse.

More restless than before, the centaur's hooves tread heavily upon the floor as he made his way to the dais and the vacant space at the table meant for himself. He was certain the headmaster already saw this coming and need not consult the stars nor the sage to do so. He had fulfilled his promise and performed his services, but his place was not here. He needed to go out into the greater wizarding world and try to find his colony.

Not just them, but all the other creatures and beasts who had fled the grounds. The acromantulas, the thestrals, and others....

Passing behind the row of chairs, Thereos made his way to his spot beside the headmaster and folded his arms firmly across his bare chest. "Headmaster, a word when the tidings are shined upon?"

Well, this was... different.

It had been quite a term. Piers had experienced quite a few "odd" or "dangerous" terms at Hogwarts, both as a student and a professor, but this one may have taken the cake. As a student, despite the looming mist that made you face your darkest fears, Piers would have loved to experience the end of term in the Three Broomsticks. Now that he was a professor... Well, despite the circumstances, it was still kind of cool.

The Charms professor took his seat next to the centaur, giving a nod to Kaysha, who he noticed was quite emotional, and a different kind of nod to Trent, who he had grown fond of during this term. It was a nod that communicated 'we did it, mate', but also 'I really need a drink.'

Boy, he was ready for summer.

It was finally the end of term and while Carmine herself wasn't overly concerned about rushing home, it was clear every single one of the children were on edge and ready to go. She had company for the feast, her big black raven, Valetudo on her shoulder. He just was not comfortable being left in the house she was rooming at (with an elderly couple who were lovely but had two large dobermans that Valetudo could not abide). She had her eye on the Slytherins today: young Kaiser would not make good an escape on her watch, and she was keeping an eye on her son too, though as usual he was avoiding eye contact and shining into his seat in an attempt to avoid notice.

Teenagers, honestly.

There had been menacing, fear-inducing mist… there had been a perilous evacuation… who even knew what the current state of the castle was… Despite all of this, Barlow was in a cheery mood having just finalised the booking of his summer vacation. Sun, sea and sand, he was READY.

“Hello, hello, hello, hello, hello,” Barlow greeted everyone present and anyone listening as he shuffled his way to his designated spot at the far end of the table. He was unphased by the change of location, he welcomed it actually. He’d become quite the regular, often popping down to The Three Broomsticks of an evening. They had a rather magnificent apple pie on the menu that he was hoping would be making an appearance.

Ayana was certain about one thing. As she looked around at the sea of young faces, she realised she was far less eager to return home than a good percentage of the student population. The staff too, most likely, and the thought didn't trouble her as much as it likely should have. The mist was such an anomaly, such an interesting piece of terrifying magic, that the thought of leaving without getting some sort of insight was hard to swallow.

Her children are fine at home, and they talk regularly regardless. Yes, perhaps the wife wouldn't be thrilled, but she hadn't been so thrilled about the other woman's decisions either so- Ahem. Regardless, perhaps she would stick around for a while.

Wrapping her light green shawl around her, Ayana greeted everyone as she sat down and quietly nodded towards her back-of-the-line fellow teachers. That underground walk to Hogsmeade would remain in her memory for years to come.

The Three Broomsticks was sort of a dark, dingy place for them to be celebrating the end of term, but Cornish supposed that beggers couldn't be choosers. They were driven out of the castle, so it was honestly nice they weren't stuck on the street eating moldy ham sandwiches.

Speaking of which... he was hungry. Could this just be over already?

A shopping date with Emmalyn for both clothing and books, another date for them to cook or bake together, a real date with Foster... These were the plans Kaysha was making in her head as she sat there. Her old job as a Secondary school teacher was once again secured. How fortunate she had been as another teacher had decided to migrate and so the spot had opened up. She was ready for the change though she would miss Hogwarts, her colleagues and most of all her Ravenclaws. As Head of House and out of respect, she had made sure she relayed to the Claws her resignation.

Speaking of her colleagues, there was Trent right now. Kay sent him a cheerful smile. She thought he looked distracted and made a mental note to tell him before she left that he was doing a wonderful job of holding things together term after term. She watched with interest as Thereos approached him and impressively asked for a word. Whatever could that be about?

“Hello, Piers,’’ Kay mouthed with a smile. He was further down the table so naturally conversation could not happen at the moment. Unless, of course, they wanted to shout. She barely had time to register the raven and its owner, Ayana and Grant when Mitchell arrived. With him sitting significantly closer to her, she was about to actually greet him. “Hello to you. All set to head home?’’

He'd caught that look Piers had shot him and returned it in kind. A drink would be lovely for him too...and his wife...and his kids but only after his wife. Just a week or so to decompress before he threw himself back into this mess. It wasn't like everything had been solved and the castle could go back to low maintenance for the summer. No. There was still a BIG issue and he wouldn't be able to rest until it was over.

Did he mention he was tired?

The man watched, eyes somewhat clouded as the others and the students began taking their seats. "Yes, of course." The man replied to the centaur. Suppose he'd be tendering his resignation too. This term had turned into a lot more than he had signed up for, surely, and with the future of the castle still to be seen it only made sense. Malachi wouldn't keep them long tonight. It wasn't the sort of mood for cheerful chatter necessarily and he suspected most would just be eager to get sleep over with so they could board the train and be done with all this. Barlow got a nod out of him, as distracted as the one the others had gotten.

After one final glance, Malachi pushed himself to his feet. He hit his goblet with his fork to gain their attention, amplifying it somewhat as he would his voice in a moment.

When everything was silent, he began. "Well, we did it." Even as he spoke there was a small twinge in his chest as he realized the sentence he'd meant as "they'd survived the mist and saw it through to the end of term" wasn't true for two students. They hadn't made it. A sad sort of look crept into the man's eyes before he refocused on the students.

"Congratulations to Ravenclaw on taking the House Cup for yet another year. Unfortunately, there is no cup for quidditch, given the circumstances that overtook us this term." But honestly, not playing quidditch had been the least of anyone's concerns with a terrifying mist on the loose. "It's the end of the year and we're all in for some well deserved rest. Use the time wisely. If you need to talk to someone, talk to someone." The castle was no more dangerous than any other in the wizarding world--magic begot magic afterall--but he'd seen these children when distracted and il-prepared. They ran toward danger. They took merry skips outside into questionable fog they were warned against.They broke down and cried. For all the dangers they'd seen, some didn't seem any more cautious or equipped. It was as if it didn't occur to them that magic was their reality and that it was both good and bad in equal parts. School was meant to prepare them for the real world and this term had shown him that many still were not. If they couldn't in controlled and safe environments with adults set in charge to protect them, how would they do on their own? It was another thought that made the man sad. He wanted them to be ready. To not take their time at school and go "oh Hogwarts was just dangerous, real life will be way better" when they lived in a magical world where anything could happen at any time.

"I'll be honest, the castle's in bad shape based on reports I've heard and the few visits I've made to the outskirts. September's a ways off and we'll be doing all we can but...it's a little too early for promises." The Headmaster didn't need any overly optimistic kiddos going home and spending the summer swearing everything was alright just to be crushed when there was no Hogwarts Express on September 1st. It was best they be prepared for all eventualities.

"Whatever comes of this, let's use this experience to grow. For the seventh years who are leaving, this is it. You'll be out there. No more hopping on the train and chattering about the homework you forgot. I hope your time here has shown you how unpredictable the wizarding world can be. To those returning..." He didn't know if they'd be returning, but best leave that out for now, "I don't say constant vigilance because it's a cool catch phrase I heard some bloke mutter on the knight bus, it's real. We're not muggles. We don't go to a muggle school. That opens us up for higher stakes. That said, we've got magic and we're learning more and more by the day. There's a reason for that." Most would not grow up and make the decision to live a muggle life so this was something they had to learn to deal with at different scales. "Let's not get down or discouraged. For the most part, this mist was handled well. You stayed away when told, you evacuated in orderly fashion and kept the panic to a minimum--which kept mistakes to a minimum." Did they see how that worked? "There were no reckless and il-thought attempts at breaking out. Common sense prevailed." And because of it, they had made it. "Let's resolve to keep getting better. To greet whatever comes our way with the resolve of wizards who understand magic and how to live with it." It wouldn't be easy, especially not for the younger ones still more accustomed to the safety of home and mum and dad, but that was partially what wizarding school was for.

"I won't keep you much longer. Know I'll be working closely with the ministry to get this all sorted. In the mean time, let's eat." The Headmaster clapped his hands and the food began appearing at each table. The man sunk back into his seat, not all that hungry but glad to have gotten that part behind him.

Simran wasn't feeling like much of anything today. Neither did she feel like eating, nor did she feel much like chatting. Her saree was a deep indigo, that despite its glimmer every time the gossamer caught the light, remained a sombre colour to mark a sombre day. It was always a sad day, when a teacher could not save their student. In this case: students.

A doubly sad occasion.

Her age seemed for the first time apparent as she listened to the speech, exchanged looks with her colleagues, and sighed at her plate. They would have to be strong for the children, and she would have to keep her chin up despite it all, so she clapped where appropriate, and smiled where necessary, but after all of it, heaved another silent sigh and started eating slowly.

Piers caught Kaysha's greeting and smiled at her from down the table, nodding her way with a small wave. She was nice. And seemed to be a good teacher. Her presence would be missed when she didn't come back next term.

Before he could think about next term any further, his attention was directed towards the Headmaster who had just stood up to give his speech. And it was... well, it was rather melancholy. Piers knew he probably didn't mean to make it that way, but given the circumstances - the castle under siege to an entity they didn't know how to fight and the two missing students who... well, were still missing... He wasn't sure how he'd make a cheerful end of term speech considering all those things.

One year back and he wasn't even sure if he'd have a job to come back to in a few months. Who knew what was in store for Hogwarts?

Settling in on his hooves and electing to remain silent around his temporary colleagues (though none seemed particularly talkative), the headmaster's speech did little to quell the forming storm within the centaur's chest. The night was dark and full of terrors and it was only upon reaching this wizarding settlement that Thereos had be able to gaze upon his beloved stars. A map was present within their glittering beauty, but a long path was unwinding before him.

The appearance of food, wizarding two-legged one's food, did little to settle his stomach.

"I will be leaving tonight, headmaster," he explained firmly as he pushed his plate away, having no intention of dining this evening in this establishment. "Now if you will permit it so." And his head turned sharply to look deeply into the man's eyes. "I must find my colony and the others. Here there is no place for me. It has been an honor serving, but the sun is setting and I must follow the horizon."

He had overheard many younglings speak of Hogwarts being their home, but he wondered how many of them realized how preposterous their sentiments were. How shallow. Tomorrow they would all board the crimson engine and return to another civilization. Another roof over their head. Another home. The mist merely a temporarily inconvenience. They had not been uprooted. They were not refugees.

How simple and narrow-minded the minds of humanity could be.