The Professors meet the Apprentices
Allen reached the top first and knocked on the large wooden door.
"Come in!" An older man's voice instructed and Allen pushed the door open, the others heading into the room after them. The door shut as Minerva entered after them.
"Welcome to Hogwarts. I hope you enjoy your stay here with us and that you are able to learn and rest" Dumbledore welcomed them. The headmaster was dressed in long purple robes and stood in front of his desk, a group of adults stood beside him.
"Thank you for inviting us Headmaster Dumbledore. We are grateful for this opportunity" Allen replied with a small bow.
"You are most welcome. I assume you are Mr Walker?" Dumbledore asked and Allen nodded in confirmation.
"And this must be your family." He smiled at the exorcists who looked at each other in surprise before shrugging and smiling. They were basically family at this point.
"Let me introduce my colleagues" Dumbledore continued, "You have already met my deputy headmistress. She is also the head of Gryffindor house and teacher of Transfiguration." McGonnogal nodded politely before heading over to her desk and sitting beside a set of papers which she then began to read through.
He gestured to a small man beside him,
"This is Filius Flitwick, Head of Ravenclaw House and teacher of Charms" the small man bowed in recognition. "Pomona Sprout, Head of Hufflepuff house and teacher of Herbology" An elderly woman sporting a thick apron and gloves smiled at the group.
"Aurora Sinistra, teacher of Astrology" A younger woman nodded politely,
"Septima Vector, teacher of Arithmancy" A woman with long black hair and tight lips nodded sternly.
"Remus Lupin, teacher of Defence against the Dark Arts" A wiry man in old clothes smiled warmly at the group.
"Sybill Trelawney, teacher of Divination" a woman clad in an assortment of scarves and beads gave a small sign of acknowledgement,
"And this is Severus Snape, Head of Slytherin House and teacher of Potions" A man who couldn't have been too much older than Kanda nodded curtly, his straight black hair highlighting his pale skin and skinny face.
"They will be teaching you outside of their normal lessons until the end of this school year. At which point, we will assess you and decide which subject you will be fit to apprentice in. Is this acceptable to you?" Dumbledore and the other teachers stood silently watching the newcomers, the only noise being the scratching of McGonnogal's quill.
"Um. Sure" Timothy managed and the break in silence allowed the others to gather their composure. Alma smiled,
"I think it makes sense to me. Where would we be studying?" he asked.
"We have had quarters set up for you, aside a currently unused classroom." Dumbledore answered. Vector coughed before moving forwards,
"My apologies headmaster, I must plan for next week's lessons. Nice meeting you five" she said with a straight face and nodded to the group before heading out of the office.
"We should really be doing the same" Sinistra took a hold of Trelawney's arm and seemed to be pulling the unsteady woman towards the exit.
"Of course. Thank you for meeting us" Allen smiled at the two women, waving as they left the room.
"It will be interesting to see how older magi adapt to magic that usually shows at a younger age" Flitwick eyed up the group, reminding them of Lavi analysing a textbook.
"One question professor" Lenalee piped up, "What are these houses?"
The dark haired man exhaled,
"Albus, did you not tell them anything in your letter?" He glared at the older man who merely smiled. Severus rubbed his temple and turned back to the five,
"The school body is split into four houses, each with different traits. Gryffindor, courage and chivalry, Ravenclaw, wit and intelligence, Hufflepuff, loyalty and hard-work, and Slytherin with ambition and cunning. Each house gets house points which go towards the house competition. Whoever has the most points wins." he explained. Kanda filed the information away and took a closer look at Snape. The man seemed to act older than his age, but his explanation was an understandable one. He was a natural teacher. Pomona chose that moment to look at her pocket watch,
"Ah apologies Albus, I need to get back to my plants. They'll be sprouting and I need to cut the buds" As she passed, she shook hands with each of them.
"It was nice meeting you" Lenalee told her as she rushed off. Dumbledore watched her leave and sighed,
"It's a shame they couldn't stick around longer"
Severus glowered,
"What do you expect? It's a Sunday afternoon, we have lessons to plan and homework to mark" he snapped at the man who seemed to twinkle at the gripe. Remus chuckled slightly,
"I'm sorry Albus but Severus is right this time. And on that note, I should probably mark those fifth year papers for tomorrow. I'll see you next week for your lesson" and the man nodded before heading out. Severus seemed to glare after him and Allen switched discreetly between the two men. Ah, the hate was one sided, he concluded silently. Everyone else came to the same conclusion. Allen was reminded of the interactions that he used to have with Kanda and suppressed a chuckle. Kanda caught his eye and smirked knowingly.
"So do these Houses have anything to do with our apprenticeships?" Kanda asked the remaining professors.
"Not at all, students are sorted in their first year. It's mostly a way to group the years cohesively" Flitwick answered.
"How does it work? The sorting I mean" Alma asked, intrigued.
"We have a sorting hat. It was enchanted by the founders of this place and picks up on traits within the mind of the students" Flitwick answered.
"It reads your mind?" Timothy answered, shocked.
"In a way" Flitwick agreed.
Dumbledore's twinkle returned and Kanda regretted saying anything.
"Would you like to try it?" he asked them.
Flitwick seemed excited, mumbling something about the differences of adults. Severus and Minerva looked shocked but awaited the answer of the newcomers.
"I wanna. Sounds fun!" Timothy announced. The others looked between themselves and came to a conclusion.
"Why not? It can't hurt to try it" Alma tried to sound nonchalant but the others could tell that the man was fascinated.
"Minerva could you fetch the sorting hat?" Minerva huffed but followed her boss's orders, reaching on top of a cupboard and pulling down a rather tattered looking hat.