Dressed in sweeping black robes that contrasted with eyes of grey, a
young woman, who couldn't be older than Lupin or Sirius, stood behind the
professor's table. She was talking quietly with Dumbledore, her face
solemn. She looked as though she had just recieved some very bad news.
Harry thought she looked familiar, but could not place a name to her, or where he knew her from. He tried and tried to remember but the memory wouldn't come to him. He averted his eyes as her sad gaze began to flicker around the Great Hall.
"Wow... is that our Divination teacher, or Defense--" Kiya's words ceased as she spotted someone else.
A man, one who looked to be not much older than Harry himself, was standing somewhere near the woman. He had boyish blond hair in a pudding bowl cut, the front fringe of his hair stuck up a little bit, but it was in a handsomely tousled way. He had a rather good-looking face (according to Hermione, who was trying very hard not to break out in fits of giggles) and a charming smile. His robes were black, but he had left them open. He was wearing baggy knee-length shorts and a plain light blue T-Shirt. He had a jovial look on his face and was looking around with a reminiscent smile.
As the man laughed at something Professor Sprout was telling him, the woman turned around quickly, her straight black hair flicking out as she did so. She frowned, tapped him on the shoulder, and they began to talk, but now the man looked almost frightened.
Harry's musings were interrupted by Ron's groans.
"They should hurry," he said. "I'm starving!"
Hermione shook her head, rolling her eyes and elbowing him in the side.
"Think with your head and not your stomach for a moment, Ron," she said. "The woman looks more intimidating. Maybe she'll be our Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher! Well, either way, they look to be better than that wretched Umbridge woman."
"Aye aye to that, but I'm still hungry," Ron said pointedly. "I don't care which one is which at this point, long as--" Hermione silenced him with a look as the first years for the Sorting filed in.
Professor McGonagall walked to the front of the room, placed a stool on the floor and a forlorn-looking hat atop that. The rest of the hall fell silent as the brim of the Sorting Hat opened and began to sing it's new song.
"We all know the story
Of Hogwart's history
But for our newest brethren
So let me begin!
Long ago, there were four
Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Slytherin and Ravenclaw
To different virtues they were devoted.
Gryffindor, for honor and bravery he voted;
Hufflepuff, to honest and hard toilers;
Slytherin, ambition contained in their boilers;
And Ravenclaw, to whom pure intellect was best.
Yet one thing, I must confess
They were always friends
Up until the very end.
Take example from four fine people
And do not judge what you see,
For there is stuff beneath the shell
Virtues in people you most admire
Let your minds be open, and let the Sorting begin!"
A round of applause echoed through the hall as the first name was called to the front.
"Aaron, Joseph!"
Harry let his senses wander about the Hall, mainly back to the dark young woman. At last he remembered-- he had seen her in a photograph somewhere, with someone else he knew, but again he couldn't place who the other person was, or where he'd seen the photo. Now she was watching the slowly dwindling line and shooting looks of utmost contempt down the table at Snape, who was returning them.
"Well, we know that she doesn't like Snape," Harry muttered to Ron, who nodded.
"They're giving each other the look of death. I wonder if she went to school here with him or something? But I donno, she looks to be foreign."
That was it! A photo of herself and Remus Lupin and Sirius, looking to be good friends, at Sirius' house. That would explain why she hated Snape (well, they didn't know, but judging by the looks they were exchanging it seemed obvious), because Sirius and James most certainly had.
"Yeah, she did go here," said Harry, thinking hard. "With my parents, and Sirius, and Lupin. I've seen a picture of them with her at Sirius' house."
"That explains the Snape thing," said Hermione. "But--"
She fell silent, again, as Dumbledore stood at the end of the Sorting, smiling in his serene way, eyes twinkling.
"It is another year at Hogwarts," he began, "and we have many new among us. I welcome you all here, and bid you not to enter the Forbidden Forest, and that our caretaker, Mr. Filch, has reminded me that absolutely no magic is to be performed in the corridors outside of classes, and that there have been new items added to his Ban List, which you can find posted on the door of his office. I would also like to introduce our two new teachers for this year. Alexander Cecil--" Dumbledore gestured to the young blond man, who waved, smiling jovially, "--And Lydia Mostafa." He pointed to the young woman, who nodded and smiled almost cynically. "Professor Cecil will be taking over Defense Against the Dark Arts, and Professor Mostafa will be taking Divination. Anyways, why keep on about this when a wonderful feast awaits us? Enough of that! Tuck in!"
The golden platters filled with food, and for once, Harry's immediate action was not to start piling food onto his plate, but he frowned and focused on Lydia's right arm. A badge was pinned to her coat, and after looking at it long enough, he realized what it was. It was an Auror badge, he knew the design, but it was in Arabic, so he could not read it.
"Kiya," Harry muttered, "Can you read her badge?"
"Yeah," she said airily. "It says 'Head Auror', and 'Egyptian Ministry of Magic' above that. Awesome! She's of really high rank, Harry, which means we should be safe from any sort of attack. With her and Dumbledore here combined, You-Know-Who would be loath to step foot on our grounds! Now let's eat, I'm starved."
Harry thought she looked familiar, but could not place a name to her, or where he knew her from. He tried and tried to remember but the memory wouldn't come to him. He averted his eyes as her sad gaze began to flicker around the Great Hall.
"Wow... is that our Divination teacher, or Defense--" Kiya's words ceased as she spotted someone else.
A man, one who looked to be not much older than Harry himself, was standing somewhere near the woman. He had boyish blond hair in a pudding bowl cut, the front fringe of his hair stuck up a little bit, but it was in a handsomely tousled way. He had a rather good-looking face (according to Hermione, who was trying very hard not to break out in fits of giggles) and a charming smile. His robes were black, but he had left them open. He was wearing baggy knee-length shorts and a plain light blue T-Shirt. He had a jovial look on his face and was looking around with a reminiscent smile.
As the man laughed at something Professor Sprout was telling him, the woman turned around quickly, her straight black hair flicking out as she did so. She frowned, tapped him on the shoulder, and they began to talk, but now the man looked almost frightened.
Harry's musings were interrupted by Ron's groans.
"They should hurry," he said. "I'm starving!"
Hermione shook her head, rolling her eyes and elbowing him in the side.
"Think with your head and not your stomach for a moment, Ron," she said. "The woman looks more intimidating. Maybe she'll be our Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher! Well, either way, they look to be better than that wretched Umbridge woman."
"Aye aye to that, but I'm still hungry," Ron said pointedly. "I don't care which one is which at this point, long as--" Hermione silenced him with a look as the first years for the Sorting filed in.
Professor McGonagall walked to the front of the room, placed a stool on the floor and a forlorn-looking hat atop that. The rest of the hall fell silent as the brim of the Sorting Hat opened and began to sing it's new song.
"We all know the story
Of Hogwart's history
But for our newest brethren
So let me begin!
Long ago, there were four
Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Slytherin and Ravenclaw
To different virtues they were devoted.
Gryffindor, for honor and bravery he voted;
Hufflepuff, to honest and hard toilers;
Slytherin, ambition contained in their boilers;
And Ravenclaw, to whom pure intellect was best.
Yet one thing, I must confess
They were always friends
Up until the very end.
Take example from four fine people
And do not judge what you see,
For there is stuff beneath the shell
Virtues in people you most admire
Let your minds be open, and let the Sorting begin!"
A round of applause echoed through the hall as the first name was called to the front.
"Aaron, Joseph!"
Harry let his senses wander about the Hall, mainly back to the dark young woman. At last he remembered-- he had seen her in a photograph somewhere, with someone else he knew, but again he couldn't place who the other person was, or where he'd seen the photo. Now she was watching the slowly dwindling line and shooting looks of utmost contempt down the table at Snape, who was returning them.
"Well, we know that she doesn't like Snape," Harry muttered to Ron, who nodded.
"They're giving each other the look of death. I wonder if she went to school here with him or something? But I donno, she looks to be foreign."
That was it! A photo of herself and Remus Lupin and Sirius, looking to be good friends, at Sirius' house. That would explain why she hated Snape (well, they didn't know, but judging by the looks they were exchanging it seemed obvious), because Sirius and James most certainly had.
"Yeah, she did go here," said Harry, thinking hard. "With my parents, and Sirius, and Lupin. I've seen a picture of them with her at Sirius' house."
"That explains the Snape thing," said Hermione. "But--"
She fell silent, again, as Dumbledore stood at the end of the Sorting, smiling in his serene way, eyes twinkling.
"It is another year at Hogwarts," he began, "and we have many new among us. I welcome you all here, and bid you not to enter the Forbidden Forest, and that our caretaker, Mr. Filch, has reminded me that absolutely no magic is to be performed in the corridors outside of classes, and that there have been new items added to his Ban List, which you can find posted on the door of his office. I would also like to introduce our two new teachers for this year. Alexander Cecil--" Dumbledore gestured to the young blond man, who waved, smiling jovially, "--And Lydia Mostafa." He pointed to the young woman, who nodded and smiled almost cynically. "Professor Cecil will be taking over Defense Against the Dark Arts, and Professor Mostafa will be taking Divination. Anyways, why keep on about this when a wonderful feast awaits us? Enough of that! Tuck in!"
The golden platters filled with food, and for once, Harry's immediate action was not to start piling food onto his plate, but he frowned and focused on Lydia's right arm. A badge was pinned to her coat, and after looking at it long enough, he realized what it was. It was an Auror badge, he knew the design, but it was in Arabic, so he could not read it.
"Kiya," Harry muttered, "Can you read her badge?"
"Yeah," she said airily. "It says 'Head Auror', and 'Egyptian Ministry of Magic' above that. Awesome! She's of really high rank, Harry, which means we should be safe from any sort of attack. With her and Dumbledore here combined, You-Know-Who would be loath to step foot on our grounds! Now let's eat, I'm starved."