A/N: It's been a week. Since everyone seemed to prefer longer chapters this is likely to be normal. But at least it's nice and long and important stuff happens.
Thank you Tish for the review of the last chapter. As the only reviewer I feel free to respond to you :) While she certainly thinks Sirius is attractive, Aine doesn't like him just for that. Though it's certainly true she has more in common perhaps with Severus. They're both interesting choices... but I have to say relationships are not definite so who knows what will happen.
I hope people liked the appearance of the Weasels.. I mean the Weasleys :) It was an event that had to occur, since with a dead man coming back to life everyone was going to find out. No one else who cared about Sirius is really around.
In this chapter the students arrive, which I know people have been waiting to happen... It's only been 28 chapters...heh. Please also remember I am terrible at poetry so the Hat's Song... well try not to judge me on that too hard. And with students means some more new characters.
Anyway, please review the story. This chapter took so long for me to get finished since I didn't really want to write too much... I want to write when I get reviews. Not trying to blackmail or anything, it's just a fact. Not to mention it helps me decide where to go based on what people think. So no cookies this time, but more reviews, faster updates.
Chapter 28
To say that I was avoiding Sirius over the next five days, would perhaps have been a misstatement. I wasn't avoiding so much, as taking great pains to not be in the same place as him. The two things are completely different. One means that you're embarrassed, the other means that you just don't want to see someone.
My great pains became so blatantly obvious that everyone noticed and remarked upon them. After all Sirius and I had arrived at the school together, and had seemed to have gotten along so remarkably well that days of avoidance and silence was like a marching band on the grounds trumpting knowledge to everyone who could hear.
Headmistress McGonagall made a point of asking me point blank if we were starting a feud of our own, which while our business, it was not allowed to interfere with our teaching. Nymphadora, or Tonks as she made the point every time she saw me (though I still admit to amusing myself by aggravating her with her real name), was concerned about her cousin. She made a concerted effort to bridge the gap between us, even though she had no clue as to what the fight was about or if there even was one. Though rather astute, she knew it would have likely been Sirius who had started it. And Madam Pince rather surprisingly suggested certain things that I never would have thought a lady of her age and personality would have even known about. Though I was surprised after finding out that she read some rather racy novels. My own personal suspicion was that she was planning an ambush on Mr. Filch, but the mere thought frightened me enough to drop the idea.
Now Severus took a rather blatant amount of joy from the situation, even if it was subdued, or as subdued as he was capable of.
"Are you of all people avoiding?"
I was sitting in the staff room when Severus asked me that question. It was finally the day that the students were supposed to arrive, and frankly I was in the middle of a panic attack. Now I hadn't been deluding myself or anything, but now, finally it was hitting me that I was in completely new territory. And that territory included people with the ability to turn me into a horned toad. I have nothing against amphibians, but it is hard to teach as one.
"I never avoid."
"Well then, you are particularly talented at being in a different place from Black at all times. I have to say it's a talent I would rather like to acquire." The Potions Professor was standing in the doorway of the room, a slight smirk on his face. "He's rather good at it as well."
That was true. While I had tried rather hard to not be in the same room as Sirius, he had also appeared to be trying something along the same lines as me. It grated on my nerves though. After all I was the one who had the reason to be annoyed, I had been the one who's personal space had been violated. Sirius had no reason to avoid me...
"This isn't about me knowing certain things." Severus stated the facts simply, not hesitation or question in his voice. Once again the damned man was seeing behind the veneer. I hated it when he did that.
"I have to say I'm amazed that you know anything." There was bite in my words, my problems with Sirius, my panic over the students arriving, and the overlying problem of Voldemort making me snap at the man. And while he was trying to goad me into revealing something, he didn't deserve my bad temper. "No, this little game of hide and avoid isn't at all about you... entirely."
I remembered Sirius's explanation for the kiss. Severus had been inadvertently responsible for this mess. All because he had to smile. But I didn't blame him. No, that was all Professor Black's problem. He got unexplainably jealous about my enjoyment over seeing Severus's mask crack. It had been a nice smile though...
"The students will be arriving at around 5 o'clock. Hagrid will be going to meet them and bring the first years in the boats over the lake. The other students will take the carriages so they arrive before the first years and can get settled for the sorting. All teachers need to be in the Great Hall to greet the students at 5:30. You are not the head of any house so you don't have much that needs to be done at the moment. Just stay out of trouble. If you can."
"You, Sprout, Flitwick... and who are heads of house?"
"Professor Tonks took over as the head of Gryffindor."
So I had only a few more hours to prepare for the possible destruction of my entire life. Really I love students... not necessarily children, but I like teaching them. I was likely worrying unnecessarily over this. In all likelihood nothing bad was going to happen. They might have had an edge over me, but I was still a teacher and they wouldn't use that edge, not if they wanted to win the House Cup.
My eye started to twitch when I started to remember the books and the descriptions of some of the pranks the students had played, or the attitude of the Slytherin house members toward muggles. Panic was a natural response in this situation.
"No one cares at all about Muggle Studies. The teacher is practically useless." Severus said drily before sweeping out of the room in a typical theatrical way, his robes flaring perfectly around him.
Lips now twitched up into a small smile. Severus Snape had actually tried to comfort me. It was done in a way that most people wouldn't have realized it, most would have taken it as an insult. Instead I realized that in Snape's own way he was trying to reassure me that the students weren't going to make a big deal over me, since I was teaching a class that most didn't even have to take since it was an elective. In fact I could likely go the entire year never even meeting some of the students.
The thought caused my panic to go away, instead the stubborn dragon reared it's ugly head inside of me. I was a teacher, and magic or not these students were going to be under my influence. Everyone knows that if you show any fear in a class, you'll get torn down with no warning, your body flung aside and the replacement wheeled in. All in a matter of a few seconds.
To coin a cliched phrase, I was going to show them all who was boss. The ones in my class and the ones that weren't. Since I was going to be here I might as well take the opportunity to not just teach what a pencil was for, or why a pair of bunny slippers wasn't supposed to be worn in public, but to also teach that muggles were not subspecies. Not necessarily meant in a literal way, but I was going to kick a little ass. Put some respect for us normal non magic users into them, or if that failed then perhaps I'd try some fear.
Seating at the start of term feast proved to be an interesting development. One that I was certain that the Headmistress had constructed herself. If I didn't know better then I would have thought that she was trying to stir up the pot a little but that seemed to be against her nature.
On McGonagall's right was Severus, and next to him was Sirius, and next to him... well I couldn't avoid him forever now could I? There was though the choice of turning to my right and talking to Professor Sinistra all night, but the look she was given me as she sat down suggested that if I tried then I would be sporting a new scaley look sooner then I had anticipated. Or I could sit up straight, stare ahead, and not open my mouth for anything other then food and drink. That idea though was not in my nature, it was too much like retreating.
"Sirius..." I leaned in toward him, stopping when my mouth was just a scant few inches from his own ear. Whether it was the close proximity, my breath near his ear, or just the fact that I had actually spoken to him, he tensed up at just the mention of his name. "Try and keep your mouth off of me in the future." My smile was rather open and friendly to the casual observer, but I knew that Sirius would see the steel in it as well.
"I can only promise to try Aine." Sirius grinned at me, apparently forgetting in just a few seconds that he had also been avoiding me for five days. My nails started to tap on the wood of the table. Suddenly I had the bad feeling that I had just been cornered into making the first move...
"Severus you have my permission to turn him into whatever you would like when the mood takes you." I muttered this angrily over Sirius's head to Severus who at least appeared, to not be paying attention to our conversation. But his eyes had a distinct hard appearance, and he looked rather too eager to comply with my suggestion. Though really, when wasn't he eager to turn Sirius into all matters of disgusting creatures.
The two professors had made a great deal of effort to maneuver themselves so that they were as far as possible from each other at the table. A great feat indeed since they were sitting next to each other. Each one though had moved their chairs in the opposite direction leaving a good foot and a half between their chairs. It had the adverse effect of causing Sirius to be too close to me though. I was going to take immense pleasure in elbowing him 'accidentally' during dinner. It wouldn't surprise me if the Headmistress didn't do the same thing to Severus.
"Snivellus shouldn't you be out there preparing to frighten the first years into premature old age with just the sight of your greasy skin?"
"Severus." I corrected Sirius automatically, but flushed slightly at the look I got from the Potions master.
"I don't lead the first years in. That job belongs to your cousin. She seems to be rather capable of bringing herself to their level."
I wondered if I should just push my chair in between the two of them, since a fight was likely to break out if the growls from Sirius were any indication. One should never insult his family members, at least not the nice ones. Though with that man and Severus, anything could set them off. But somehow no chairs went flying, Sirius stayed seated and his growls ended.
Taking the lack of fighting as a miracle, it gave me the time to take a few deep breaths and think about what was going to occur in likely only a few minutes.
The Great Hall was decked out rather festively to welcome the students back, as well as the new ones. Banners of each of the houses hung over each table, though green and grey were the majority of the banners indicating that Slytherin had one the House cup last year. Indeed Professor Snape had pointed out to me that his house had actually won the cup for the last five years in a row. Before that he said, a note of surprise in his voice, that somehow Hufflepuff had managed to win for three years. I had to share his amazement. With no offense meant to the Badger house, I just could never imagine them winning an essay contest, much less the house cup.
There was still the random empty portrait that hung on the wall. It was an anomaly that I had forgotten to get cleared up after my tour with Sirius. I knew that the portraits in the Wizarding world could move and talk, and ever run off and disappear to other pictures of themselves. So that could be the case with this one, but if so then the person in the picture was having a long visit somewhere other then here. I had yet to see anyone in it in the week I had been at the school.
I was in the process of leaning behind Sirius to ask Severus what the deal with the portrait was, when the doors opened and in poured the Hogwart students happy to be back for another year of learning. I sat up straight and immediately went into my teacher mode. No matter how long it had been, and with the things surrounding me it had seemed far longer then reality, no matter the time it was amazing that the old instincts flared up without hesitation. Appear strong, confident, but still friendly and approachable. It's a hard balance. You want the students to like you, but you certainly can't let them walk all over you. I didn't think the sweat on my brow was helping the image.
As I watched them walk in, their school uniforms the perfect British school stereotype. It reminded me instantly of the pictures I had seen of my own parents when they were children. The only difference here were the robes each student wore, reminding me that the students walking through the large wooden doors were so different then my parents. Though perhaps not entirely. The only real difference were the subjects being taught. But the environment surrounding the teaching was rather similar.
Watching them all pile into the hall I scanned the faces, trying to remember faces and associate them with the houses they proudly displayed with their ties. It was hard to stare at Hogwart's students and not expect to see a lightning scar among the bunch of them. I couldn't help but wonder as I looked at the youthful faces, which of these students was the Harry Potter of their year? The Draco, or Neville? Hermione or Luna? None of them of course could have lives with situations even close to their book counterparts, but ever year has it's troublemakers, its bullies, its golden child, its know-it-all. Frankly I was looking forward to teaching these students, and coming to conclusions on who fit those roles.
The sight of Sirius and I at the head table caused some students to pause in their progression to the tables. No doubt wondering about the identity of the two new teachers. From what I had heard they were old hats at getting new Defense against the Dark Arts teachers, but getting two new ones was certainly a new experience. Briefly I wondered if there was someway they could tell just by looking at me that I was a muggle. Then I remembered that I had made it perfectly clear to everyone that I was never going to wear robes, instead opting to wear my normal muggle clothing. So in that respect it would be pretty easy to play the game, 'Spot the Muggle'.
"Are you excited to see the sorting?" Sirius had leaned in close to me. Not that he had to go far since he was still being childish, his chair still as far from Severus as possible.
"Sort of. Though watching an old hat yell out House names isn't as much fun as talking to it in your head." I shrugged.
The noise in the hall was rather less then I had expected with so many students in one place, and many excited to see each other after a summer away. Perhaps it had to do with the current that was running under the surface, a current of barely concealed fear. My history with school had been depression at going back to school, wanting to be out in the sun and spending time with friends, discussing with people everything you did over the summer. These students though were quieter, more subdued. It was undoubtedly due to the dark mark appearing, and the deaths of muggles. No matter how the ministry was trying to spin this, people were still fearing the worst. Especially students going to the school Voldemort had attacked.
"Severus..." I leaned back to be able to speak to the man around Sirius who would be unable to answer my question. "Are there students missing?"
The Slytherin head of house leaned back, his face impossible to read at my question. A small sigh though slipped past his lips and he nodded tightly.
"Rather astute. Yes, there are..." He paused before finishing. "There are a few students missing. Some parents like to coddle their children."
My lips twitched slightly and I sat forward to scan the faces again. Now that I'd identified the problem it was easier to notice the anxiety, fear, and even a slight amount of excitement on some faces. The tables seemed emptier then they should have been, even without the first years in the room yet, making me realize there were missing students. Now many people after reading the books might have assumed that the Slytherin house table would be the most gutted, all the students staying home to join their dark lord. The fact though was that no table looked emptier then the last. So Severus had been correct, the parents were likely just protecting their children. Though my cynic's nature understood that any real villains wouldn't have stayed home, they would still be here.
"You don't have any feelings at all do you Severus?" Sirius gritted out, not pleased with the other man's comments. "They're not coddling their children, they're protecting them."
Just what I needed on the first day of school, the boys to start feuding again...
"Protecting them from learning properly I suppose." Severus's voice was calm and cool, Sirius's though was the opposite as he responded.
"You should understand why they're afraid. If he comes back then he might target the school. But then you would only be afraid of that if you were innocent. If you're in league with him though then I suppose there would be no reason to worry."
Well that was a statement that was certainly going to start an argument.
"Boys. If you can't keep your arguments to the privacy of your own rooms, then please at least make it more entertaining for the students to watch. We could try dressing you both up in gaudy uniforms... make it like those wrestlers." My fingers were tapping on the wood fast, showing my annoyance easier then anything else I could say or do.
Not that he would have necessarily understood my comment, but Severus did look mildly amused by the feeling behind it. Even if I had basically been making fun of him. Strangely enough the man had no problems with me mocking him, as long as I included Sirius in that mockery. On the opposite hand though Sirius looked annoyed, embarrassed and ready to let me have it when he was interrupted with the door opening. Tonks led the way into the room, her hair a bright red, dress robes fitted well to her body, behind her about 24 young boys and girls followed her dutifully.
Everything was new to them, and they looked around in awe at everything. Amazement at the enchanted ceiling, anxiety at the sight of the teachers lined up at the table (probably specifically for Snape, since at that moment he had put on his best glare for them), timid smiles for the older students they might have known. They were led to the front of the hall, right in front of our table. I tried to put a calming smile on, but apparently a teacher smile wasn't really too calming at all. They stood nervously, shuffling their feet, as Tonks moved ahead of them and stood by a stool where the old Sorting hat was placed.
And then I had to stare as what should have been a lifeless hat started to sing... Sometimes I really wished I carried earplugs with me.
This year I shall keep this short,
to keep you on your toes.
This castle shall become a fort
to save you from your foes.
I was made to sort you
to help you make some friends
by dividing you into houses
with this I hope to mend
I have no say over what I do
but let me tell you this
things are about to happen
so unite or you will miss,
fear returns, few remain
those that do beware
So stay in your old houses
but try to think and care
or else the stones will fall
and make the dark mark's call.
To Gryffindor you'll go
if bravery is what you do
you save all that you see
and that's the oldest key.
To Ravenclaw you'll fly
if smarts is what you try
you read and read and read
That's all you need to feed.
To Hufflepuff you'll strive
with hard work and good drive
Justice is what you know
it's the knowledge that you stow.
Finally to Slytherin, you'll achieve
if power and ambition is what you believe
Deception is just a routine
but the ends can justify the means
Dark times lie ahead
but all of that aside
enjoy the sorting and feast
or the teachers will have to chide
Muggle next to wizard
everything will have to change
but for now just have some fun
and forget the hat that is too strange.
Broken clapping broke out at the end of the hat's song, though it was certainly a nervous sound. My own hands were too numb to do more then a weak touch to each other. The song was sung out of key, but that didn't take away the general idea of the hat's song. It was a distinct warning, and no one had liked it. Even Snape was scowling at the hat like he had never seen it before, McGonagall was looking shocked though not really surprised, and Sirius's eye was twitching and his hand was curled into a tight fist. Tonks was laughing at the song, trying to make the first years at ease, playing the song off as a normal one.
"Well now that it's done..." Tonks smiled at the students, holding a list in her hand. "We shall start the sorting then. I'm sure everyone else would be happy to start eating now. So first off... Lilac Artha."
A rather pretty Indian girl strode up to the chair and sat down, rather properly as well. Her dark brown hair was arranged perfectly and it didn't look she looked too pleased to have the old ratty sorting hat placed on her head, but Tonks of course gave her no choice and dropped the hat onto her head. It was only there for a matter of seconds.
"Slytherin!"
The Slytherin table erupted into cheers, while the other tables just clapped politely. Miss Artha got off the stool, a proud smile on her lips, proceeding to her table where her newly acquired house mates were sitting, and who congratulated her as she sat down.
Severus and I both clapped politely at the sorting of the girl, but Sirius next to me just grunted at her placing in his least favourite house.
"Professor Black..." I leaned in close to him, whispering in his ear. "Try not to scowl so hard at the students, you might start to look like Severus."
He just huffed softly in response, but immediately the scowl faded from his face, a smile replacing it, his body already relaxing. I sat back in my seat, once again rather amused at the man sitting next to me. He was rather simple to manipulate at times, but his uncomplicated nature was one of the reasons I happened to like him.
I watched avidly as the rest of the sorting took place. I clapped as everyone was sorted, though I have to say I was a little less avid when Hufflepuffs were announced. Really I have nothing against them. They're very loyal and hard working... but I just can't see ever wanting to be in that house. I mean a badger?
The hat usually only took a few seconds to announce which house each of the students was to be sorted into. I knew rather well though that it had a tendency to speak to each person when they had it on, but with so little time it wasn't speaking to too many people. Though there were two students who took much longer then the rest.
A rather pleasant, happy looking boy took his place on the stool. As Tonks had said his name was Kerstan Faust. Other then looking good-natured, he was rather normal looking with black hair and a sprinkling of freckles crossing his nose. When he took his place on the stool, he looked a little nervous but then almost all the students had looked anxious (except those that had then been placed in Slytherin...).
It took I'd have guessed, about 2 minutes for the hat to finally yell out that this student belonged in Gryffindor. During those couple of minutes though everyone started to look a bit worried. The teachers were fidgeting, and I was worried that my own experience of not being sorted was going to happen with this poor boy. So I was frankly enormously relieved when he was finally sorted. Sirius next to me was overjoyed, though not surprising really considering which house he had been placed in.
Cain Montgomery was fair haired and rather the opposite of the pleasant looking boy who had taken so long to be sorted. He was looking rather displeased to even be here. Just like Kerstan, the hat took a while to reach a decision.
"Slytherin!"
The young boy's face didn't change at all, no nervousness or anxiety on his face. He didn't even seem to noticed how long it had taken him versus most of the other students. Instead he just pushed off the stool and strode over to his table where he ignored the congratulations of his fellow house mates.
Comparisons occurred immediately in my mind. Two boys had stood out to me in this sorting, one from Gryffindor and one from Slytherin. I couldn't help but think about Harry and Draco. For what reason though? There was a happy looking dark haired Gryffindor boy, and a fair haired, displeased looking Slytherin. Comparisons were simply physical.
"I don't like that boy." Sirius muttered under his breath. I had to roll my eyes at that, after all he had been thinking that about every student who was placed in Slytherin.
I had to say that I was rather hungry by the time the sorting was finished, so I was further disappointed when Headmistress McGonagall stood up to say a few words before we could eat. I recalled in the books that Dumbledore had done the same thing. His words though had always been odd, strange and most importantly...few. Somehow I doubted that McGonagall was going to be similar.
"Welcome to all, whether this is your first year or your seventh. For those returning I shall apologize for repeating what you may have heard before. Certain things still apply from year to year. The forest is completely off limits to ALL students. I realize that in the past it has become... fashionable to journey into it as part of a test, but it is a dangerous place. If you're not killed in the forest, your punishment when I find you after will make you wish you had been."
That made my eyebrows raise, and I noticed all the first years seemed suitably frightened by the threat. The older students though seemed unconcerned, some even rolling their eyes. What this little test was intrigued me. Knowing what I knew about the forest, it wasn't called Forbidden for no reason. Any place with abnormally large spiders, a giant, and aggressive centaurs was certainly not high on my places to visit, even on a dare. Granted a giant and centaurs I felt I could deal with, but anything with more then four legs I just felt rather uncomfortable around. Uncomfortable as in, I would be running in the opposite direction from it. But children always seem to think they are invincible, always testing their boundaries, so hearing that some were brave enough to venture into the forest didn't surprise me. Undoubtedly it was mostly Gryffindors and Slytherins... the former due to their unbearable tendency to dive into anything, and the later due to their usual need to prove they were better then the rules. I just couldn't picture students of the other two houses to do anything so stupid.
"We also have two new teachers, as I'm sure you've all noticed by now. Taking over the now vacated position as teacher of Defense against the Dark Arts will be Sirius Black." At his introduction, Sirius had stood up and swept a rather elegant looking bow to McGonagall before taking his seat again. His name had caused a certain current of chatter amongst the students. It shouldn't have surprised me, he had been touted as one of the worst criminals for ages hadn't he? Not to mention being Harry Potter's godfather, and of course the one little fact of his apparent return from the dead.
"As well as Professor Black, we have a new Muggle Studies teacher, Miss Aine MacKinnion. Now something you should all know is that Miss Mackinnion is in fact a muggle herself, the first muggle teacher we have ever had."
I stood up at my own introduction, smiling brightly at the students in front of me. If I had thought they had been surprised to hear Sirius's name, hearing my own introduction had been more surprising. Being more surprising then a man come back from the dead was slightly flattering... There appeared to be some in the Great Hall who were less then pleased that they would have a muggle teacher on the premises and who were making their displeasure audible. Many seemed just surprised.
"Quiet down." The Headmistress's voice held such absolute authority that immediately the hall quieted down so that no one was speaking anymore. "Whether she is a muggle or not, she is a teacher and therefore will get the same treatment as all the other teachers. If I hear about any incidents otherwise, then I will be very displeased." The eyes behind the glasses sparkled dangerously, and even I worried about how I treated myself. The woman had an iron control over this place.
"As I am sure most of you are aware, there have been reports of some unsettling things happening."
My eye twitched as she started to speak of the events, already expecting to hear things I wasn't going to like.
"While the ministry is adamant that these events hold no threat to the students, I am aware that some parents hold different opinions, hence our lower numbers this year. Since we want to make sure you will be as well guarded as is possible, the Ministry has decided to place an auror on duty at all times."
Apparently he or she was not on duty in the Great Hall since I didn't see anyone out of place. It wouldn't have made much sense if they had been here anyway. With all the teachers here, there wasn't too much need for greater protection.
"Same as every year, there are certain things that are banned from use within the grounds. The list for it is on show in Mr. Filch's office. Now I expect everyone to do their best this year as in every year previous. Quidditch shall begin next week. If you're interested in trying part contact your head of house. Keep in mind though that first years are not allowed to play, with very rare exceptions."
Likely that had to do with the more famous rare exception of Harry Potter. Must be hard to enforce the rules when everyone knew about someone who had broken them and gotten away with it.
Sighing, my fingers started to tap across the wood even as my stomach made quite an audible growl. She was now going on about some very boring rule concerning exactly what kind of quills could be used. Since I was not really a quill user, the entire topic was boring me. I didn't think that I was the only one feeling that judging by the not so subtle yawns from most of the students, and a few teachers.
"Minerva, you're boring the children. I think I might be seeing some wasting away waiting for food."
My head snapped up and I stared at the once empty portrait on the right far wall, where now an old man sat calmly smiling benignly at the Headmistress who was rather a deep shade of red. Next to me Sirius looked with strange recognition at the portrait. I only discovered who he was when one of the students reacted to his presence.
"Dumbledore! Where have you been?"
"Young man, where a man goes is his own secret. But if you must know I have been at a rather delightful party in the portrait of Bacchus Delight. Even the monks made an appearance at it."
A party in a painting called Bacchus Delight, with my limited knowledge on that Roman God, that must have been one hell of a party. Especially if it had kept him away from his own portrait for the week that I had been here.
"Albus, what I say in my speech is not boring." McGonagall said a little displeased with the critique. "But I suppose I can let everyone eat." With that she sat down and still miraculous to me, food appeared on the table. Rather eagerly I tucked in, too hungry to care too much that Dumbledore had appeared.
Once my stomach was suitably filled, I leaned across Sirius to get Severus's attention, my curiousity flaring up once again with the disappearance of my hunger.
"Why is his portrait in here?" I nodded in the direction of the old Headmaster, who was now chatting with one of the ghosts. "I thought they had place it up in McGonagall's office up with the rest of the former Headmasters?" I should have paid more attention during my own visit to that office, I might then have noticed the lack of presence by the most famous Headmaster of Hogwarts.
"It was his own request." Severus placed his fork down, not that he had been too enthusiastic while eating anyway. For once Sirius wasn't glaring at Severus for even speaking, instead he was interested in what he was saying. "He wanted to be around the students. His original request was to somehow be placed at the Quidditch pitch, but McGonagall was firmly against that. She thought he might be distracting during games, or risk his portrait being stolen. So he's in here. Now he can irritate us more often."
I sat back once again, finding the answer to be rather in place with my own knowledge of the eccentric Headmaster. He had gone to great lengths to protect his students, including the incident of his own death.
At the end of the feast, the prefects led the first years back to their dormitories, leaving the teachers to go back to their own rooms on their own volition. I watched as the first years followed out, dutifully behind their prefects, or at least most of them did. The fair haired boy who had taken so long to be sorted hung back a little longer. A wrinkle appeared in my brow when I realized that I was getting a lingering stare from the boy that was quite a bit unsettling, the hair on the back of my neck raising. The feeling broke off though when the Gryffindor first years started to exit the hall. The boy, whose name was Cain, quickly left to catch up with his own house.
"Tomorrow classes start. Excited?" Sirius had stood up, and now stood waiting for me to follow. During the unnoticed incident with the student, Severus had already gotten up and was now making his way out of the hall. As if I ever would have expected him to wait for me to finish.
"It will certainly be an experience. For the students as well as me."I joined Sirius standing now, and together we headed down from the dais toward the doors. "I don't have as many classes as you though since first and second years don't take my class." Saying that I felt a little relieved that I wasn't going to have to deal with that rather unsettling boy.
"I'm looking forward to my first year class with Gryffindor. The students I saw were interesting looking." His smile turned to a frown though. "Too bad the class is with the Slytherin first years as well."
"Sirius, try and at least attempt to be fair to them." I glared at him as he rolled his eyes. "You're such a child."
"But you adore me." Quickly he bent down and gave me a quick peck on the cheek before dancing away from me. "Good night."
"I told you to keep your lips away from me!" My voice cracked a bit as I yelled that out, having to control my own urge to smack the man.
"I said I would try darling." With that last statement he strode off, leaving me by the stairs to the dungeons. As I descended them, I couldn't help my feet from stomping with a rather annoyed reaction to the man, as was starting to become a normal habit. All I wanted was to go to bed now and get enough sleep to prepare for my first day teaching.