"And lastly, we have a new addition to our staff. Please welcome Miss Crysta Gilderoy." Dumbledore's thunderous voice seemed to echo throughout the Great Hall.
Applause filled the room and Ms. Gilderoy beamed at her new students.
"As you all know," Dumbledore continued after the applause subsided, "Ms. Gilderoy will be filling the spot of Defense Against the Dark Arts, as it is…ahem…once again, vacant." Some of the students stifled their laughter. Harry, Ron, and Hermione exchanged meaningful looks. They all secretly prayed that their new D.A.D.A. teacher would be much better than their previous one.
"Well, from the look of her, she doesn't look like Umbridge the Sequel." Hermione said.
"Yeah, well, looks can be deceiving. Remember Quirrell?" Ron said darkly.
"Look, every D.A.D.A. teacher we've ever had hasn't been…er…normal. So let's just see what this one has in store for us." Harry said, hopefully avoiding an argument between his bets friends on their first day of school.
"Well, it looks like we won't have to wait long, because…" Hermione trailed off.
"What?" Ron asked curiously.
Hermione wasn't moving or speaking. Ron and Harry looked fearful for a moment, but then Harry grinned. Ron looked at him questioningly, but Harry merely motioned to the window. Ron looked up and grinned as well. Then Hermione jabbed Harry in the side.
"What!" Harry asked grouchily.
"The staff table. Look at Gilderoy!" Hermione said.
Harry did as he was told and received a shock. Professor Gilderoy was looking directly at the same window that Harry, Ron, and Hermione had been looking at. From the other side of the window, there was a great black dog the size of a small bear wagging its tail, first in Harry's direction, and then, to the trio's surprise, to Professor Gilderoy, who grinned right back at it. (A.N. Sirius…as you can see, didn't die in the 5th book. It was just too traumatizing for me, considering he was one of my favorite characters.)