((A/n: Thanks to lady_yuki, Divine-Bovines, ColdFang, HBDragon, and Sarah
D.))
Disclaimer: I own the idea and any OCs that may pop up. That's about it.
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"Greetings, all of you, and welcome to a new year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."
As the headmaster began to speak, Daine turned her head towards the silver- haired mage - or rather, wizard, she corrected herself quickly. Life at Hogwarts was certainly going to be a bit odd for a while, and not just because of speaking mannerisms. The residents had seemed perplexed by Cloud and Spots, as though horses were some kind of mythical beasts - though, thankfully, there was a large paddock outside of the cottage she and Numair were to live in.
Also, many of the others at the school had been very impressed by Numair's 'wandless magic'. Daine hadn't even realized that most of those here needed a wand - in her experience, you either had the Gift or you didn't. She, too, had been the subject of much amazement when she revealed her shapeshifting talents. Here, only the most accomplished could do the same - only one certain animal, and only after years of work. It certainly wasn't a trait one was born with.
Albus continued, reminding the students, among other things, that the Forbidden Forest was named thus for good reason. This was met with resigned head nodding from the students, who had evidently heard it all before. Eventually, he turned towards their end of the table, gesturing them to stand. As they did, Daine rested her hand somewhat nervously in Numair's, below the students' view, though her smile didn't falter. She was barely older than some of those she was to teach, after all, and she was a stranger to their world.
"As you may remember," the headmaster went on, "two of our staff - Alastor Moody and Rubeus Hagrid - have found themselves unable to return to teaching this year." The few students who hadn't done so already had turned towards the High Table. "Therefore, I am very pleased to introduce you all to Numair SalamÃn, who will be teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts, and Veralidaine Sarrasri, Care of Magical Creatures. They come to us from Tortall, where life and the practice of magic are very different from here at Hogwarts, but we hope that this will be a wonderful experience for us all."
A few smatters of applause greeted this, but most of the students were more engaged in murmuring among themselves, directing confused glances towards the High Table, and in particular, the one non-human habitant thereof. Noticing this, the headmaster spoke up once more.
"In addition, this is the dragon Skysong." He nodded towards her, and Daine placed a reassuring hand on Kitten's head. "I realize that your first reactions would be fear -" This was a bit redundant, as most of those assembled remembered the First Task from last year quite vividly "- But Professor Sarrasri has assured me that Skysong is quite harmless, and also, will remain at her present size for roughly two decades now."
Most of the students were mollified, and to Daine's relief, the other teachers began to rise.
Disclaimer: I own the idea and any OCs that may pop up. That's about it.
~/-\~/-\~/-\~/-\~/-\~/-\~/-\~/-\~/-\~/-\~/-\~/-\~/-\~/-\~/-\~/-\~/-\~/-\~
"Greetings, all of you, and welcome to a new year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."
As the headmaster began to speak, Daine turned her head towards the silver- haired mage - or rather, wizard, she corrected herself quickly. Life at Hogwarts was certainly going to be a bit odd for a while, and not just because of speaking mannerisms. The residents had seemed perplexed by Cloud and Spots, as though horses were some kind of mythical beasts - though, thankfully, there was a large paddock outside of the cottage she and Numair were to live in.
Also, many of the others at the school had been very impressed by Numair's 'wandless magic'. Daine hadn't even realized that most of those here needed a wand - in her experience, you either had the Gift or you didn't. She, too, had been the subject of much amazement when she revealed her shapeshifting talents. Here, only the most accomplished could do the same - only one certain animal, and only after years of work. It certainly wasn't a trait one was born with.
Albus continued, reminding the students, among other things, that the Forbidden Forest was named thus for good reason. This was met with resigned head nodding from the students, who had evidently heard it all before. Eventually, he turned towards their end of the table, gesturing them to stand. As they did, Daine rested her hand somewhat nervously in Numair's, below the students' view, though her smile didn't falter. She was barely older than some of those she was to teach, after all, and she was a stranger to their world.
"As you may remember," the headmaster went on, "two of our staff - Alastor Moody and Rubeus Hagrid - have found themselves unable to return to teaching this year." The few students who hadn't done so already had turned towards the High Table. "Therefore, I am very pleased to introduce you all to Numair SalamÃn, who will be teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts, and Veralidaine Sarrasri, Care of Magical Creatures. They come to us from Tortall, where life and the practice of magic are very different from here at Hogwarts, but we hope that this will be a wonderful experience for us all."
A few smatters of applause greeted this, but most of the students were more engaged in murmuring among themselves, directing confused glances towards the High Table, and in particular, the one non-human habitant thereof. Noticing this, the headmaster spoke up once more.
"In addition, this is the dragon Skysong." He nodded towards her, and Daine placed a reassuring hand on Kitten's head. "I realize that your first reactions would be fear -" This was a bit redundant, as most of those assembled remembered the First Task from last year quite vividly "- But Professor Sarrasri has assured me that Skysong is quite harmless, and also, will remain at her present size for roughly two decades now."
Most of the students were mollified, and to Daine's relief, the other teachers began to rise.