"Good morning Professor Wellington," Dante greeted her old friend with an amused grin as she spotted the tall woman's back heading toward the Great Hall for breakfast. It was rather awkward for the pair of them, as both in school had vowed never to return to the stone enclosure. Yet there they were, about to take their places at the staff table, teaching at the place that they vowed they never would return to. At being addressed, Charna turned on her polished heel, in a whirl of blue and silver dress robes. A smile of recognition played around the corners of her mouth.
"Good morning yourself Professor Luna. How kind of you to finally turn up," Charna returned, while students of all ages milled around them on their way to breakfast, throwing the pair odd glances now and again. "You know, you could do me a great favor …" she began, to have Dante respond by raising her sculpted eyebrows in question. "… by joining me for breakfast. Shall we proceed?" This continued to the Great Hall - an ironic formal exchange of sorts, as if the pair of women were merely meeting one another for the first time, after many years of being apart, though they still teased one another like school girls. With a false smile, Charna proceeded toward the staff table. "It seems our good friend Severus has elected to join us," Charna whispered in Dante's ear. "Good morning Headmaster," Charna and Dante chorused at the same time, taking their seats on either side of him.
Dumbledore nodded, his fiery blue eyes twinkling beneath his thick half-moon spectacles. "A fine one at that, Professors Wellington and Luna," he responded dreamily, as he was rather occupied with observing the bewitched ceiling. The sun had just risen, leaving the sky in a misty blue haze. A few clouds were strewn across the sky, and occasionally a song bird would fly across the picturesque scene, fluttering serenely to an unknown destination. "It's a shame that you could not have been at dinner last night. It was rather enjoyable," he commented, still captivated by the natural beauty of a new morning, directing his last comment toward Dante. The man was a genius, as some said, but there was definitely something strange about him - after all, he was always known as the wizarding world's "mad scientist" of the age. Perhaps he lived up to his unofficial title, after all. Breaking his gaze away from the ceiling, Dumbledore inhaled. "Ah," he said, exhaling. "Can you just smell the anticipation?"
Whatever the anticipation was, it was not coming from the students. Tousle-haired and grumbling, students filed into the Great Hall for their first breakfast of the term. Ron practically threw his bag down beside him. "Ron," Hermione scolded him. "You shouldn't try to split your bag the first day of term." Though hers was filled with several more books than what was required for their courses. Apparently she had already visited the library to pick up some 'light reading' to start the term with. Harry eyed her bag carefully, and shook his head. "What's on the schedule for the morning?" he wondered aloud, while helping himself to a rather large quantity of scrambled eggs and toast.
"Transfiguration is first, then Defense Against the Dark Arts, and double Potions with the Slytherins," Hermione read, folding her schedule into her pocket, while handing Ron and Harry theirs. "Bloody great - at least we'll get to see what that Wellington woman is like … and the other one - Professor Luna, according to the schedule," Harry remarked, not so pleased at having Professor Snape on the first day back from term. Overhead, hundreds of owls streamed in, though a snowy white owl was absent from among the range of brown, gold, and black. Across from them, Neville's owl landed next to him with a brown package - most likely delivering something that he had forgotten to pack, as usual.
"What have we got on today's schedule?" Neville questioned, unwrapping and hurriedly wrapping the package again. It contained a few spare pairs of knickers. Much to Neville's displeasure, Draco Malfoy spotted him before he could properly seal the package again, and shouted the message to his fellow Slytherins that Longbottom could not remember to pack his knickers, which from a distance appeared to have brown stains in them. Neville's face turned scarlet. Ron, in the meantime, was busy glaring daggers at Draco Malfoy, and his laughing court of nasty Slytherin friends. It seemed that Crabbe and Goyle, his two thuggish cronies, had giant blood in them. They had grown at least three inches over the summer, making them more massive than ever before. "Transfiguration, Defense Against the Dark Arts, and double Potions with the Slytherins." Neville choked on his porridge.
"P-p-p-rofessor S-snape?" he questioned, turning paper white. Sadly, his other classmates nodded. There was certainly no anticipation there.
Nevertheless, Charna smiled. "Yes - anticipation. What I miss most about Hogwarts … there are so many young minds to mold," she commented, almost wistfully as she pushed a few kippers around her plate. A few students had already begun to head out. "If you'll excuse me, Headmaster, I have to prepare for my lesson - I have sixth years, first thing this morning." After a polite nod, Charna swept away from the table, followed by a murderous glare from Severus Snape. Shortly afterward, Dante Luna used the same excuse to take leave of the staff having breakfast, though her excuse was much more believable, as she had just arrived at Hogwarts that morning, looking a bit worse for wear, as if she had not slept in days.