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On a raised dais situated at the farthest point of the Great Hall stands a long table where the members of the Hogwarts staff sit and enjoy their meal while casting a watchful eye out on the four House tables. Each staff member has an assigned, cushioned chair to sit on throughout the duration of the feast, though the more notable out of them all is the throne-like golden chair in the centre reserved for the headmaster.

Keep in mind that you should not be wandering up to the staff table if you are not a staff member before Headmaster Winterbottom has delivered his speech. Doing so may result in the loss of house points or other appropriate consequence before you even make it back to the dorms. If you wish to speak with someone who is seated up here, you will have to wait until after the speech has been said and there is food and drink on all of the tables. Make sure to keep your visit brief though -- the staff were also waiting on the food to appear and are just as hungry as you.

For such a naturally chaotic person, Apollonia was surprisingly often one of the first members of faculty to arrive at the end-of-term feast. This year was no different, in fact the History of Magic Professor was by her lonesome when she arrived and plopped herself down on her seat to await the swarms of the students into the Great Hall.

This might’ve only been her second year educating at the school but Fergersnout was no stranger to the weird and wonderful happenings that have occurred in the past. This term however, the establishment had managed to survive relatively unscathed. No mirror personalities or magical creature infestations or, thank Merlin’s starry underpants, no Dark Wizards or Witches trying to take over. Just the ‘normal’ wackiness of a magical school.

Speaking of starry items of clothing, Fergersnout’s chosen attire that evening was a rather elaborate navy blue robe embellished with golden stars and a matching hat as had become customary for the Professor. Unfortunately there was no connection with the dear Ravenclaw’s house colours, she just enjoyed its design.

More often than not, they were among the first to the Staff Table. This wasn't a bad thing; this was just one of those opportunities Dhruv used to revel in the peace before the chaos. Chaos that they had grown quite used to and actually was quite fond of, by the way

"Good evening, Apollonia,'' Dhruv greeted cheerfully, silently approving of their colleague's chosen robes {was there a time they didn't approve}. They took their place, glancing towards the Entrance again. There might be a colleague right behind. Or maybe a student who was eager to get this Feast over with. Speaking of things ending... his fourth year as a Professor had been a remarkably quiet one. There had been one or two unexpected happenings in their life, which either left them amused or baffled.

It was one of these happenings that was on Dhruv's mind as they drummed their fingers idly on the table while they waited for the Hall to fill up.

Interesting was one of the many ways to describe how this year went. Ean as such was looking forward to the summer. Certain former relationships were mended and some... hmm.. was this the moment to think about them? With him being on the tail end of a couple snake's detective work. It did distract from the house results. The Lions were behaving well, so far. "Evening," Ean greeted Apollonia as he approached from the opposite side so he wouldn't have to raise his voice across the table.

Following in the others, Ean took his seat, clapping a hand against his seat companion's shoulder, "Hungry, too?" The drumming of Dhruv's fingers signaled deep thought or impatience. They weren't the impatient type though as Feirgrund joined in the waiting for the Great Hall to fill up.

She really needed to schedule things better at the end of term. Celeste didn’t know if it was having a late in the term activity or a bunch of nargles taking roost in her paperwork that had caused her to be working to the last minute to make sure everything was in on time. Alas as she had walked past the hour glasses, her old house wasn’t even close to being near the top despite everyone’s hard. Oh well, no one could talk of special treatment for the house of Godric Gryffindor like they had at times over the many centuries.

Dressed in robes of a deep green that tended to emphasize her emerald gaze, the astronomy professor made her way to the staff table, a smile already in place for her colleagues already there. “Guid evening everyone,” she greeted, her eyes flickering over the tables before them as she moved along the dais. She wasn’t going to say it…nope she wasn’t going to jinx it, especially since they weren’t yet on their way home, but it did feel go that it had been a relatively calm term at Hogwarts this year. “Anyone have ana interesting plans fur th’ summer?”

Tapio was seldom first to anything in the castle anymore, not since he'd moved his quarters and office out onto the grounds. But tonight he was not in a hurry anyway. He enjoyed taking his time and savoring the moment, as it were. He edged his big frame along the back of the staff table towards his place on the far end, greeting his colleagues, many of whom were already seated, as he went.

"Good evening, Celeste. No, no big plans, just a quiet summer at home with the family this year." Which was just fine with Tapio, who was missing his home and family. "Any exciting plans yourself?"

"Hello, Ean, Dhruv, we've made it through another year, eh?"

Passing behind the Headmaster in the center, Tapio gave a respectful nod--he'd already been talking to Winterbottom at length in his office earlier in the week. Finally Tapio reached his own seat on the other side and settled gingerly down in his place. Even after six years, he never quite trusted that the chairs would hold him. "Good evening, Apollonia. Very elegant robes you're wearing this time." The History of Magic teacher always came out in style, though perhaps a few well-chosen flowers would make it even better.

Looking out across the Great Hall, Tapio looked at all the tables, the students starting to trickle in, then up above to the colorful House banners hanging from the rafters, and above it all, the magical ceiling, currently charmed to look like the clear night sky outside. This was a truly wonderful place and Tapio felt lucky to have been able to be here to have seen it.

Wilber had just woken up from a nice nap, well-rested and ready to enjoy tonight’s feast. He couldn’t wait to sample the dishes the house elves had so generously prepared, especially those delicious baked goods. The thought of cookies and pastries had his mouth practically watering already!

The old man settled into his throne-like chair at the center of the dais, just in time to catch the end of Celeste’s question. He smiled as the herbology professor passed behind his chair. “Hello, Celeste, Tapio,” he greeted the pair, his smile growing at the mention of family. “Quiet summers with family are the best kind, aren’t they?” His thoughts turned to his late wife, but he couldn't’ allow them to stay there. After all, he still had Earl. He still had his staff and many students. “I’m looking forward to a quiet summer myself. What about you, Celeste dear?”

As he awaited an answer, Wilber turned his attention to the other arrivals. “Hello, Apollonia. How are you this fine evening? My, that outfit looks simply stunning!” The two younger gentlemen were similarly greeted with a smile. “Dhruv, Ean, hello! How are you two dears?”

When enough of the staff had arrived, he gave them his customary riddle. ‘Can anyone tell me how Acromantulas stay in touch with each other?”

It seemed as if Norman had just blinked, and his tenth term teaching at Hogwarts was already over. Merlin, where did the time go?! This term had, thankfully, been one of his quieter ones, but the quiet was no excuse for complacency. Knowing this school and life in general, anything could happen at any time! As such, he couldn’t even think about the feast until he’d done his usual check of Ravenclaw Tower.

He took his seat at the far end of the dais as usual, neither the first nor the last to arrive as usual. “Good evening, all,” he greeted, nodding politely to each of his colleagues in turn.

Silently pondering the headmaster’s riddle, he glanced down the table until Apollonia’s outfit caught his eye. That color very nearly matched his own deep navy robes, but the only ornamentation he wore was a small golden eagle lapel pin. “Nice robes,” he said with a slight smile. Granted, he was no fashionista by any stretch of the imagination!

It was strange to think she was wrapping up her second term as Potions Mistress. On some levels it seemed as if she'd been at Hogwarts forever and maybe she had given her student time and several occasions she'd been back. But then it also seemed to be fresh and beaming with new faces every day. While the surnames of some might be familiar, that didn't stop the youth from forming into their own unique persons.

Being at one end of the staff dais, Amelia made the decision to walk from the opposite side to at least be able to acknowledge her colleagues on that side without shouting. "Another term for the books, eh..." She greeted, "Good evening Celeste... Ean... Dhruv..." She acknowledged, noting the absence thus far of Hadleigh, but sure the woman would be along as soon as she got the creatures sorted for the evening (and perhaps summer for some).

That was when she heard Wilber's usual punny joke. She gave a glance to Ean, figuring as he formerly taught muggle studies he might get it. "Let me guess.... they communicate via a web site." She sighed, shaking her head, as she greeted Tapio and Apollonia, next before coming to her seat between Jeorge and Norman. "Not a bad year, huh?" She said to her neighboring colleagues. "any exciting summer plans?"

Seeing Ean make his appearance immediately reminded them of the summer plans, plans which Dhruv was quite looking forward to. Their mind was already set to vacation mode. When Ean clasped their shoulder, Dhruv returned the greeting by giving E’s hand a squeeze. “I am,’’ they replied, giving their friend a small grin. All thoughts that had been on his mind took a backseat right now. “After the Feast I’ve got some last minute packing to do. For some reason, I’m lagging behind this term.” Meaning, Dhruv would usually have gotten all that packing done earlier.

One would think that Celeste was celebrating Slytherin’s win with her choice of colour in robe. “Good evening, Celeste. Visiting a friend counts as interesting, I would say, which is exactly what I plan on doing.” Even if the said friend was sitting directly on their right and they saw him everyday. “Any plans with the family?” At Tapio’s question, Dhruv bobbed their head briefly. “We did.” Not that there had been much to survive this term, unless you counted angst and all the other things that accompanied teenagers. "Hello, Norman, Amelia. Hi, Wilbur,’’ they continued, discreetly crossing two fingers and hoping there would be no dad jokes. To late! There was. “Er…” They shrugged, not really offering any thought to the question and glancing at Ean to see if he had any clue about what the answer could be. Amelia's made sense though.

Ah yes, quiet summer… the woman nodded in reaction to Tapio’s plans as he joined them at the table. About to comment, Wilber had spoke up and took the words right out of her mouth, their fearless leader having seemed to be on the taller man’s heals in arrivals. “Aye, they certainly can be,” Celeste remarked in agreement. As for her own plans…” Depends oan whit one deems exciting.” The astronomy professor was well aware not everyone would care to take some of the expeditions she had taken over the years for her field. Well maybe expeditions was a bit too…adventuresome a word when one was in their sixth or seventh decade. "Thir is a trip to Iceland in the works."


Ah there was one transfiguration professor joining them. “Guid evening Norman,” Celeste greeted the younger man before nearly snorting at the riddle being posed to the staff table. Having caught herself, she chuckled instead as she took a sip from her glass. Only Wilber could get away those he did. The woman knowing the answer, she kept quiet to see if the younger set caught on and Amelia didn’t disappoint. “Aye…I believe ‘at tis correct.”

Visiting friends certainly could be interesting. “Aye…they ur definitely involved in th’ summer.” Especially the husband who was still getting used to the time apart during the school year though they usually tried to meet up on the weekends if they could. Damien would certainly be pleased his snakes won once more. “Which cuid be both quiet an’ interesting with th’ grandkids underfoot an’ a experimenting potions master spouse.” A bemused look on her face as she briefly remembered one particular moment.

Tapio was pondering the headmaster's riddle when he heard Amelia's answer. Tapio didn't quite get it. A web site? Was that something peculiar to Acromantulas? Oh well, Magizoology wasn't his field of expertise; he'd ask Isla about it when he saw her later.

Tapio caught the mention of Iceland all the way at the other end of the table. He had fond memories of the study trip he'd been on there years ago. Not everyone thought of gardens when they thought of Iceland, but the small country actually had a number of fine botanical gardens. "Oh, Iceland! Lucky! It's a beautiful place with stunning scenery--and if you go in the summer, the Mountain Avens will be in bloom all over, a fine sight!"

"Evening Celeste," Ean greeted. Seeing her dressed in green after Apollonia's choice in blue. Suddenly, he wondered if perhaps he should've gone with one single color. Oh well, no use changing unless others happened to follow suit. Instead he smiled softly from the grasped Dhruv returned, "I hear you, I just have the Hospital Wing left to close up," Though this was a conscious choice incase any medical emergencies came up before the students departed. But it was quicker packing things there versus unpacking. "Need any extra help with the packing?" Probably not, but he enjoyed helping his mates.

Summer plans? "Just spending some time with my kiddos and having a friend stay over," Mental nudge, nudge there before another greeting came his way. "Ah, Tapio, indeed. This year had went quite smoothly." He nodded, especially in comparison to some terms.

"Evening Norman, Wilbur, Amelia, " He greeted each just as the Headmaster took their rightful spot. "I'm doing quite splendid, how about yourself?" And there was the joke. While he was fluent in muggle references, the creature part was the main mention that stumped him. But it did take one of them to kick in his thoughts on the joke. The web. "If it's going where I think it is, sounds like Amelia got it. The ancient World Wide Web, a relic of the late 20th century," An educational joke was nice.

Hadleigh was running a bit behind this evening as those at the staff dais may have already noticed. Not only did she need to check on all the creatures but she had checked on everything in the Slytherin common room as well. And it was safe go say that she was very proud of them all for securing the house cup for the second year in a row. It was a wonderful feeling being their Head of House.

Making her way into the dais and then towards her own seat, Hady smiled at her fellow colleagues and the Head Master. "Good evening, everyone. How are you all tonight, well I hope?" From what she thought sounded like some upbeat tone of voices, she assumed they were well and ready to get on with their own summer breaks just as she was.

Pulling out her chair she settled herself down into it, hazel eyes scanning the Great Hall for many familiar faces in the tables below.

It would amaze Apollonia to learn that her colleagues thought so highly of her more unusual taste in attire for she had never considered herself to be particularly ‘in fashion’ nor did she ever dress to be in line with the trends of that season. In fact she’d be flattered to hear compliments from her younger and arguably more current fellow faculty, even if they weren’t wholly genuine.

“Good evening Dhruv” she smiled down the long table towards the first of her colleagues to join the brigade followed by a repeat of the same to Ean as he sat by the DADA Professor and lastly to Celeste as she took her mantle on the opposite end to the table as Apollonia. As for summer plans, the History of Magic Professor was never one for planning. “I shall just see where the river takes me” she chuckled. Sometimes quite literally back in her younger days. A river could lead to a whole plethora of fascinating discoveries.

Back to the acknowledgement of her robes as Tapio joined beside her. “Oh these old things? I’d completely forgotten I had them but they felt fitting to the occasion. A whole year without any hiccups felt like it deserved something a little special.”

Merlin. Had she just jinxed it?

Wilber always came to the occasion with a compliment for his staff and a joke to match. “You do flatter me” she flicked her wrist towards the Headmaster in a mock modest sort of way. She’d have to have a think over the joke however as this one simply wasn’t coming to her, perhaps the answer being too Muggle orientated. Or not as Amelia appeared to have it under control. “Ohhh!” she chuckled mostly to herself before sending a nod and a smile towards Norman. “Almost a perfect match” She commented over their chosen colour palette.

Finally a wave of a greeting to Hady down the other end. Had she forgotten anyone?

Ahhh...so that was what it was. Good thing he'd found out before he made a fool of himself with his wife and she laughed at him (though truth to tell, he rather enjoyed that--maybe he'd ask her anyway, just to hear her)

Celeste definitely sounded like she had her hands full for the upcoming months. But it would be a nice change by having her family around, Dhruv supposed. They couldn’t help but chuckle at the mention of grandkids. “They’ll probably keep you busy with their shenanigans.” And as an afterthought added, “Your husband too.” It must be interesting and somewhat entertaining to not know what surprise either would bring as the days come. “I hope that river takes you exactly where you need to be, Apollonia. Sometimes not having plans turns out to be the best strategy.” Yes, that had been learnt from their experiences.

Speaking of changes, this summer was going to be quite a different one for Ean. Reflecting on that time, Dhruv was certain there would be none of that hurt Ean this time around. “Look at you being all caught up with things. Since you’ve offered, sure. Why not?” The DADA professor grinned. “That gives me a chance to be a little extra lazy.” It was only a joke, people. They were the furthest thing from being lazy. “Good evening, Hady.’’ Dhruv leaned forward a bit so that they could catch her eye. “I was beginning to think that you may not want to come join in the Slytherin themed celebration.” Oh yes, they too were very proud of the Snakes, Slytherin having been their House during their student days at Hogwarts.

Wilbur sat, serenely watching the students’ tables. As he awaited answers to his riddle, he greeted the new arrivals. “Good evening, Norman.” His gaze followed the transfiguration professor. Not one for jokes, was he? No matter. He had other ideas to get him talking. “How are you this fine evening? Got any fun summer plans?” Dhruv had no guesses either? Now that was surprising!

“Hello, Hadleigh dear!” Wilber greeted, beaming. “I’m quite well, thank you. How are you?”

The potions mistress’s arrival got a warm smile from the headmaster. “Good evening, Amelia. How are you, dear?” he chuckled softly at her answer, an answer with which Celeste agreed. “Ho, ho! You two are on the right track.”

Wilber shook his head. “No flattery at all, Apollonia. Just honesty,” he replied.

He beamed at Ean. “Glad to hear it, Ean dear! Me? Never better,” he said. Oh, finally someone said it! He clapped his hands. “The world wide web, yes! You’ve guessed it. Well done! Now if you’ll excuse me…”



The headmaster rose from his chair and spoke, “We’ve reached the end of another term at Hogwarts! Soon you’ll have a well-deserved holiday full of fun, friends, and family, but first we have one last night of celebration. Before we tuck into this wonderful feast, let’s take a moment to reflect on all you’ve accomplished this term. First, congratulations to this term’s House Cup winner. Let’s have a round of applause for Slytherin!”

Turning toward the table on the far right of the room, he led the school in clapping. A few moments later, he resumed his speech, “Our next round of congratulations goes to our graduating class. While your journey at Hogwarts may be coming to an end, your journey in life is just beginning. Spread your wings and fly, little phoenixes!”

Wilber led another round of applause for the seventh years. “Finally, let’s have a round of applause for all of you. Congratulations on all your hard work this term!” After one last round of applause, the headmaster waved his hand, and plates of food appeared on the tables.

“Have a wonderful holiday! I look forward to seeing some of you again this fall, Now it’s time to eat, drink, and be merry little chickadees!”