Hello. I'm back, and yes I know it's been a very long time, over a year in fact. I'm not going to give you excuses as to why I haven't been writing. I'm just going to say that there have been a few personal issues to deal with and point you to my blog at under the username patwaspotterfan and let you read about it if you so wish.

I'm writing this at about 11pm in the evening, suffering from Codeine withdrawal after ten years on the stuff, with my head pounding and just wishing for the pain to go away for even one moment. So forgive me if this isn't to my usual standard. I've had this idea floating around for a while now, actually my head feels like I've taken up permanent residence inside a tumble-dryer with the 'Stop' button disabled, and I just had to get it out. Plus I'm just not feeling much like doing anything else at the moment if that makes sense to anyone. I'm trying out a new style of writing for me which I'll call backtracking. Basically, I'm going to write the story, then come back and give the history behind it later on, without which it won't totally make sense, but you can tell me how I'm fairing with that. Finally because of the way I'm feeling, I'm just going to write and write and see where the story goes, if I go off on some random tangent and start talking about the operation of Boeing 747-400 fuse pins, then so be it. Oh wait, I just did, well you'll know for the future I suppose.

Finally, I suppose I must say this in case people get offended, you know what kind of a world we live in nowadays. I've been on a bit of a language learning rollercoaster recently, and am currently stuck in Dutch mode. Therefore any references or linguistic errors which may cause offence are purely that, errors, and should not be taken seriously. In fact if you'd care to correct me that would be great. Jarroll is German of course, a word implying agreement, compliance, acceptance, that sort of thing and was often used in the military.

I thought of not doing this, simply because everyone else does and because it's good to be unique, but I'd probably get sued and honestly suing someone on Codeine withdrawal is not very kind, so I'll save you the hassle and state once and for all that I do not own any of the characters, events or places stated in J.K Rowling's Harry Potter universe. They're her, and she can keep them.

Jarroll – By Me (Well who else, unless there's someone going about pretending to be me in which case he's clearly a fake and not doing a very good job of it).

The office of the Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry looked the same as it always did, crowded with staff embers finalising plans for the forthcoming term in the few hours before it was due to begin. The glass cabinet housing the famous sword of one of the school's founding fathers, Godric Gryffindor, sat where it always did, as did the beautiful red and golden phoenix Fawkes, preening himself on his perch. The afternoon sun shone through the partially opened window onto the Headmaster's desk, old and a little battered, and with a few scratches here and there, and with the many little instruments on their spindly legs whirring away and doing only lord knows what. All in all a perfectly ordinary afternoon on September 1st, 1997. The meeting was just winding down, with only the mystery of this year's Defence against the Dark Arts professor remaining to be unravelled.

"That's all very well,", concluded Professor Minerva McGonagall, having just extricated herself from a no doubt pointless conversation with the Divination Professor Cybil Trelawney on the no doubt ecstatically thrilling repercussions of the alignment of Mercury and Mars in an inverted solar flux, "But which fine soul do we have to teach DADA this year, Albus?".

Albus Dumbledore, the old, wizened and much adored Headmaster of this fine Bastian of learning sat at his desk, presiding over this annual spectacle, his hands steepled under his chin and his half-moon glasses slipping down his nose. "Souls actually, Minerva, souls." he replied, the twinkle on those azure blue eyes on full overdrive. "I believe Mr. Vogel and Ms. Van de Haar should be joining us very shortly."

"Vogel? Vogel?" exclaimed Severus Snape, jumping to his feet, the surly, hook-nosed, greasy haired Potions Professor, and the fiend from which, for the younger students at least, nightmares were made of. "Did you say Vogel? The Vogel?"

"Do you know the new Professor, Severus?" chimed in the short, diminutive Charms Professor Flitwick, who was presently teetering on top of a huge pile of cushions to enable him to see over the Headmaster's desk.

"Yes, I did indeed." confirmed the Headmaster.

The Potions Master paled, which, for anyone that new him, as many of the staff did and had done for a long time, was a rare sight indeed. "Max Vogel is the top man in Europe for the Auror High Command! All of the local and regional departments for law enforcement report to him! He's probably the most authoritative man you'll ever meet and he's coming here?!"

A ripple of interested murmurs ran through the room. Hogwarts had become famous in recent times for its range of DADA teachers from differing backgrounds, both good and bad, but this latest appointment was clearly someone that was a cut above the rest.

"Now, now, there's absolutely no need to worry my dear Severus." responded Dumbledore calmly, gently gesturing for the younger man to return to his seat. "I have explained your, err, particular circumstances to our new friend and I'm sure you will get on just fine."

"Humph.", grumbled the former, clearly showing what he thought of the older man's faith in everything being 'just fine'.

Just at that moment, there was a perfunctoril knock on the office door, all within becoming silent and still with expectation.