September 1st, 1974. Day 1 of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Scotland. Hogwarts. The Great Hall. 6:00 p.m.

The Great Hall was as loud as it would be if it was a High School assembly. Seems everyone had a bit of news or gossip bubbling along inside them. Dumbledore was sitting at the head of the teachers' table enjoying a small chat with the teacher next to him. The talking stopped once three loud knocks were sounded throughout the room. Professor McGonagall entered the Great Hall with a bunch of first years. The sorting ceremony was starting and the Sorting Hat started singing its new song.

I enjoyed it as I was hiding under the staff table. Showing off a secret before its announcement sounds unsurprising if you ask me. Under the table, next to Dumbledore's right, I lay in wait until the sorting was over and for Dumbledore to introduce me. There was no food yet so there really isn't any other point for me to sit on my chair.

Professor McGonagall started calling out names once the song was over. I peaked through a hole in the wood and saw how nervous these first-years are. Some were shaking, some were fidgeting when the Sorting Hat was placed on their head, a few looked like they were going to puke. It wasn't common sense that the Sorting Hat would choose the house you request to it. Most just hope to be in a certain house, and I wonder if a few people figured it out.

The sorting must be over… I rubbed my eyes, spotting Dumbledore stand up from his chair.

Dumbledore greeted everyone, newbies and all. My heart started racing. Introducing myself to the whole school made me excited but stressed and scared. Then when I thought it was time, Dumbledore crushed me with, "Let's eat!"

It took me awhile to recover from the giant drop in blood pressure. "Dumbledore!" I hissed from under his feet.

"Yes, Elizabeth?" he answered, not bothering to look down at me from his plate.

"When do I come on?" My heart beat went back to normal, but my mind isn't.

"Don't you remember?" he took a sip of pumpkin juice from his goblet. "After we eat. Just like last time,"

"Oh, I don't seem to remember since I was being chased by a dragon last time!" I reminded him, annoyed. Then I had no choice but to get back up on my seat and start eating. My stomach was growling since I came here. Keeping my head low and my hair covering my face, I hoped nobody or at least not too many people would notice me and discovered my position.

The whole hall was back becoming loud with news and gossip. I was back under the table, shivering, not because I was cold, but because I needed something to cure my boredom and help lose some calories at the same time until the announcement came.

Dumbledore stood up, knowing everyone has eaten, and silence filled the room once more.

"Now that our appetite has been satisfied, I have some start-of-term notices for you all. So I request your attention for the time being," he started. My heartbeat was increasing slowly, mostly because I don't know when he'll announce about me.

"First years, the Forbidden Forest off grounds is, as the name saids, forbidden for all students. No magic is to be used in between classes and many other things. Mr. Filch will take care of those who don't abide in the rules. Now…"

What you doing taking a short pause? I glared at Dumbledore from under the table again, knowing he was doing this to torture me.

"All of you must have gotten the course selection form that came with the booklists and the usual reminder of the beginning of the school year," Dumbledore began. Some students looked at each other and started whispering. Others just shrugged. "Well, there has been a change in the school curriculum. For third years and over, you had a choice of taking the course Care of Magical Creatures or a renewed course for just this year, Care of Other Worldly Creatures!"

The hall was filled with whispers once he finished and it seems to be the hot topic since the beginning of the feast as much as I could hear. Dumbledore continued once the hall became silent again, "For first-years and second years, you had a choice of taking Care of Other Worldly Creatures if you were to request it. It is not a required course, but having this course some decades ago, the students really love it. This class, as said in the course description, is a study of creatures not known in the wizardry world. It is an interactive class and I believe most of your parents remember taking it when they came to Hogwarts,"

Why the heck are you stalling for? I thought, rocking back and forth on the floor.

"Now, the teacher I would like all of you to welcome back to Hogwarts is a good friend of mine. She looks very young and does act her age at most times, however, I request that you give her your kind respects even the upper-years," Everyone looked at each other confused by what he meant, but I clearly understood that it was my cue.

When I stood up and faced my audience, Dumbledore announced, "Please give a welcome to our Care of Other Worldly Creatures teacher, Professor Elizabeth Tikame!"

Expected as such, I was not welcome with much applause. Talk was starting to get the better of my introduction and I knew conflicts would get in the way with me being a teacher. But I could hear most comments made about me and some of them were pretty amusing.

"What did he say?" James' jaw dropped when he saw Lizy stood up from the staff table. He didn't notice since she was hiding under the table and he was too busy eating to look during the feast. Sirius was patting Remus's back as he started choking on his pumpkin juice, and Peter sat there frozen, with a pastry in his hand about to eat it.

"Blimey…" they spoke in unison.

"And I would also like to introduce Professor Fredrick Tapflower, our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher!"

I smiled slightly and clapped when Dumbledore followed up my introduction with Professor Tapflower. Not a lot of students were clapping for Tapflower either. Everyone was too busy gossiping about me. Afterwards, Dumbledore told everybody to take a night's rest, and everyone was dismissed from the Great Hall.

As I got up from my chair, I could see James, Remus, Sirius, and Peter looking back at me through the crowds of Gryffindor and Hufflepuffs. I smiled at them and waved back before disappearing with Dumbledore and the rest of the teachers.

"I flirted with her…"

"I showed her my big ego and she thinks I was trying to steal her Eye Pea pod…"

"I can't believe I said something so stupid to her without thinking…"

Sirius, James, and Peter mumbled once they got to the boys' rooms. Remus was staring outside the window watching the crescent moon with a pained expression. He looked behind him to see Sirius', James', and Peter's expression. They were all in panic. All four of them had chosen to take Care of Other Worldly Creatures, but they hadn't realized they were messing with their teacher the whole time on the train. Only Remus was the calm one in this situation, but he was pretty shocked as well.

The last thing heard from the boys' dormitory in Gryffindor tower was their screams of regret.

"WE'RE DOOMED!"

A/N- This one is pretty short, but the next one is even longer. The Marauders got a shock, didn't they? ^^