a side note from soph: I'm going to make this chapter a bit longer, as I thought the last was too long, and I was quite wrong :-) it was very short...I'm glad you guys are enjoying it! I am having such a great time writing this!!
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Sariyah paced around in her office, checking to make sure that she had unpacked everything that she had packed previously. She passed a hand over her bookshelf and the books in it gave off a faint glow. She walked to the corner of the office, which had her desk in it and made sure that everything was in order on it. Her eyes rested on a picture frame standing on the desk. It held a typical moving picture of two figures, a female and a male-her parents.
She had inherited the looks of her beautiful mother; everything except her eyes, which were of an olive-green hue, and her skin tone, a light brown shade. These she had inherited from her father's side; he was a native of India. She ran her hand along the oak of the desk and shuddered slightly. The room was so cold...she looked at the fireplace and raised her left hand, concentrating on the damp logs. Immediately, sparks flew out of the hearth and a roaring fire was soon burning. She glanced at the clock on the wall and realized that she needed to be at the Sorting Ceremony and the Feast in a mere ten minutes. She exited the office, and as quickly as she could, power-walked down the gray corridor into the Great Hall, and took a seat at the head table beside a woman professor who looked like a giant glass bug and a tiny professor who smiled animatedly as she sat down beside him.
"Halloo, Sariyah! How are you this fine evening? I suppose that you've moved in alright and everything is tip-top, eh?" asked Professor Flitwick.
Sariyah smiled and answered "Everything is fantastic, Professor, my office is all situated, and I really cannot wait to start!"
"You should want to wait though, my dear," said a haunting voice beside her. The giant glass bug had spoken. "You see, I have read your planetary reading and seen it in my crystal ball many times that the wait will not be long now."
Sariyah cocked her eyebrows, trying her best to look pleasantly surprised. "You must be Professor Trelawney...I'm quite delighted to meet you." She reached out her hand.
"No, no, my dear, I do not touch strangers on the first meeting...superstitions, you know." Professor Trelawney raised both eyebrows in a very ominous manner and turned away from Sariyah.
Professor Flitwick, looking at the bewildered look on Sariyah's face, reassured her. "Don't worry, Professor Trelawney tends to get a bit-er- misty when she speaks to people for the first time. Its nothing to worry about, guaranteed."
Sariyah shook her head and diverted her attention elsewhere. She watched all of the older students file in and take their places at their House tables. She was particularly keen on the Gryffindor table, as that was her previous house. She scanned the row of black hats and her eyes immediately landed upon a certain tall, dark haired boy. He seemed to have seen her as well, as he could not break his gaze from her own. Sariyah smiled at the boy, and waved a little. The young man smiled slightly and waved back. He did not know who she was, but there was an aura about her that just made people trust her before they even knew her...and he felt that he knew her from long ago...he looks just like Lily, she thought.
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"Who were you waving at, Harry?" queried Ron, squinting his eyes and peering in the direction that Harry was staring.
"I...I don't know, Ron. I just wanted to wave, you know?" Harry had a sort of dreamy look in his eyes.
"No, Harry, you were waving at someone-who was it? Come on now, you can tell..." Hermione paused as she realized who Harry was waving at. "Was it her? The new Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor?"
Harry looked at her and nodded.
Ron squinted his eyes again in that direction. His ears burned bright red along with the rest of his face. "We haven't had a woman professor for Defense, ever. I wonder how she'll be?"
"She looks nice enough to me," answered fellow sixth-year Neville Longbottom.
"Yes...actually, she looks very nice. She's probably the prettiest professor we've..." Ron stopped suddenly, his face burned even redder. "Did I say that out loud? I really need to stop doing that." His voice trailed off and he sat down on the long bench of the Gryffindor table. Ron had voiced the opinions of most of the young men at the table, as they were all quite interested in who the new Defense teacher was, judging by their staring in her general direction.
The Sorting Ceremony finished with a bang, literally, as packages of Filibuster's fireworks went off as the last student was sorted into his house. The students were talking cheerily, glad to have returned to another year of school at their beloved Hogwarts.
The Headmaster tapped his goblet sharply with a golden fork and quickly got the attention of the students.
"Welcome, welcome, old and new students! Before we begin the feast, I have a few announcements to make. Unfortunately, due to current circumstances, the usual trips to Hogsmeade have been cancelled," (much groaning followed this announcement, but not from Harry and Ron, who exchanged a knowing look). Dumbledore continued "Please, be cautious, as we live in unsafe times...and I do mean it when I say don't talk to strangers, even at Hogwarts. We do not know what to expect nowadays, so please, just be careful. Quidditch, however, is not cancelled for the school year, tryouts for the teams will be held shortly and the regular season will start in October. And I would like you all to give a warm welcome our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Sariyah Khan." He held out spread his arms wide, and bid Sariyah to stand up. She stood up and smiled, and applause spread through the Great Hall.
"I honestly don't know who wouldn't clap for her, she just seems so...kind." Hermione had to yell over the crowd to tell Harry and Ron this. Ron was applauding too loud to hear her.
"Yes, but look! Even Malfoy's clapping...everyone is," said Harry, his eyes scanning over the crowd. His eyes widened slightly as he got to the teacher's table. "Snape looks a little..."
"Sick? He looks like he's about to hurl or something." answered Hermione. They were right though, as Snape was looking quite pinkish, not at all sallow as he usually was, it just looked like he had something that he wanted to get out; but he, to their utter surprise, was clapping as much as anyone else.
"Strange, isn't it?" asked Ron, as the clapping died down and the food appeared on the plates before them. He grabbed a chicken wing and took a large bite out of it. "She doesn't look very old, does she?"
"I heard she went to school here," piped in Neville, a large goblet filled with pumpkin juice tottering recklessly in his hand. "My grandmum said she knew who the new Defense professor was going to be, but she wouldn't tell me anything except that she went to Hogwarts."
"Well, who knows, maybe we'll end up with a monster for a teacher again! Maybe she's a vampire!" Dean Thomas had a crazed look in his eyes.
"No, I don't think so, Dean," replied Hermione. "She looks perfectly normal...but that's what we said about the last one...oh well. I guess we'll see." Hermione pulled a large bowl of fruit towards her, plucked out a green apple, and began eating it. Harry and Ron threw her disgusted looks as they started to demolish a large chocolate eclair.
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Sariyah glanced around at all of the things she missed about Hogwarts; the people, the food, the warm atmosphere; the dark cloud in her mind disappeared and she was happy, but only for a moment as she realized that the one and only Severus Snape was making his way towards her with a repulsive smile on his face.
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Please review; it will end world hunger –Sophia and Carlyn
