Prologue
Every year, I greet my students in the same way.
"Hello," I say to them, smiling as my put my briefcase on my desk. "I am Professor Longbottom."
Sometimes they look impressed, and sometimes they look interested, while others look politely blank.
However they look, I press on.
"I'm here to teach you Herbology," I tell them. "But if you need to talk, my office door is always open."
And then I begin to teach, while some of them roll their eyes, and others continue to look politely blank.
It has to be said, some nights I regret saying those words.