General The Professors' Table 2017 - 2018

   Mary was walking with steady steps along the corridors of the school. She had spent quite some time in her office, making sure that all of her belongings were neatly put in place and that all documents related to the affairs of the House were organized. Her responsability, which she took with seriousness required her to be efficient, something she appreciated. The cool air caressed her skin and unconsciously, she readjusted her night dress. Now was the time to go the Great Hall for dinner. Once at the door of the Great Hall, she let her eyes wonder in the room, noticing that at this time, only half of the school had arrived. She checked her watch. Early, as usual.

   She proceeded to walk along the large and long tables, nodding in direction of the Slytherins already set for the dinner. One of them came to join her, hurriedly. After answering one of his question about the classes, she watched him go back to his seat after he had thanked her. It had been so many years since the last time she was there. It was a curious feeling to be on the other side of the barrier. A small smile appeared on her lips. She finished her small walk, arriving now at the Professors' Table. None of her colleagues was there yet. 

   She picked her usual seat and, waiting for the others, took out the Daily Prophet out of her pocket. Now focused on her reading, she ignored the students chatting among themselves. It was only when she heard the sound of someone pulling up the chair next to her that she seemed to come back to reality. She lifted up her head and addressed a nod to her colleague. 

"Good evening.", she greeted politely. 

Professor Lear was having more fun milling about the students. He felt a swelling of pride in his chest every time he saw a book about magical creatures on the top of their pile of books. Those that took his idle time to read about the amazing creatures, where to find them and of course how to train them. He would stop at several tables on his way to the Professor's Table, meal time would be half over by the time he had arrived. He shook the hands of several of the students and stopped to chat with a few more. Encouraging words mostly but it took up a great portion of his meal time. It would not be terrible if he missed a meal or two. His estranged wife often reminded him of the dangers of too many egg yolks in a given week. Perhaps that was why he had an aversion to eggs, his wife. Well, former wife. She had walked out on him several years ago, taking their son and daughter with her. They fought over money mostly, they were young and thought love would be enough and it was for awhile but there came a time and a place where she... or rather they needed something more secure than an aging explorer who wished for nothing more than to travel the world and find all of the beasts this world has to offer.



It was ironic really, his wife walked out of him weeks before he made his breakthrough discovery in training a previously 'untrainable' creature earning him fame and acclaim. The universe was indeed funny about some things but he was certainly not a diviner. He was not meant to be a family man, that much was apparent. He was meant to be in Hogwarts, surrounded by these fresh, pliable minds and of course the amazing minds of his professor peers. J.J. or Professor Johnson was an up and coming youth in the magic world and he wondered if the young professor even realized this. He envied the young professors youth and a part of him wondered how much more he could achieve if middle age had not hit him so abruptly. There was of course also Miss Grey, well professor Grey, a lovely woman that reminded him of a bird. She was striking and it was hard to look away from her sometimes.



It was funny how youth was wasted on the young.



He would take a seat next to Professor Johnson and place a few pieces of rye toast on his plate and pour himself a cup of tea. He was partial to green teas since his time on the Asian continent studying some of their most reclusive creatures several years ago. He would take his knife from the table and slather a pad of butter on the still warm only barely toast on his plate. "Good Morning to you Professor Johnson, another year... I hope you are prepared, each year the kids seem to get faster." He smiled, "or perhaps I get slower!" He lets out a hearty laugh as he bites into his buttered slice of toast. Some crumbs fell onto his beard. He would brush them off before a third year from one of the tables waves to him. He would politely wave back.



"I look forward to seeing what you instill into this new crop of students. Let me know if you find any that seem promising, I have been looking for an apprentice learner among the first years to help me with my wonderful pets." He would take another bite of his toast, perhaps it was a tad dry, more of the toast ended up in his beard or on his plate than in his mouth but he did not seem to care too deeply as he brushed the crumbs away and made sure that his leather armor that he donned even in the Great Hall was pristine.

"Good morning to you two, but I don't know what you mean by another year its my first year teaching here, and stop having those deep messages they always end up with you saying your old, Your not...."



"Old," he finished the sentence for John, humor in his voice. It was a sad truth that he was younger than he looked but knowledge and power sometimes took a toll and his fine was these withered bones and form. "Don't worry... don't worry... you'll be old too," he laughed heatedly as he took another bite of his toast. "Probably," he added. "But these kids will remind you of just how not-young you are," he cautioned. It was true, the day had hardly started and the kids were buzzing about and they would continue to do so, powered primarily by sugar until sunset. The house elves would have their hands full, they always did.



"I may be younger than you but you still have"



J.J. was looking him over, attempting to glean something from the weathered Professor that betrayed his age or at the very least he would pretend to.



"A good dozen or so years"



Like a woman's weight, you always round in their favor. How old does he think I am! "58!" He did the math in his head. "Oh-ho! I think I will live longer than that." He let out a hearty laugh, his belly jiggled as he did so. "Well, perhaps not if they keep the table full of so many sweets," he eyed the pastries but he knew better, his armor was already getting a little tight around the mid section. He needed to take control of his life or at least his diet.



"Believe me I will your always talking about it even though I have only known you since the beginning of summer you have mentioned it a crap ton."



He shook his head, had it only been since the beginning of summer. Were most of these professors young like him this year. How many of them truly knew him? Remembered him? It was odd, almost disorienting to think about it. "Only since the beginning of summer, eh?" He scratched the side of his head and took another bite of his toast before he took a sip of his tea. There was no need to sweeten the hot drink, there was a natural sweetness that came from true, fresh tea leaves.



"Oh and speaking of it do you have any new pets there has been a word going around about some thing new...are these superstitions true? "



His eyes sparkled a bit, he wanted to talk about it but he would behave for now but he had the expression of an excited schoolboy when asked that question. "Cannot say much but my greatest success to date will hopefully be unveiled later this year," he confided. "There is not a creature alive that cannot be tamed and tethered," he explained in a hushed voice. There were rumors that he had tamed a Chimera, mostly statements in journals but he had yet to go public with it yet. There was a rumor that this year he would reveal his work before the Ministry of Magic and that Hogwarts students were in for quite the year. He had a menagerie of creatures, some conventional and others less so.



"You must come to the stables sometime J.J. I think you would be fascinated by what you see."

"Yeah I will be old one day and you will be there to laugh about it" 

Probably not, he was not going to live that long but optimism was good. 

"True that, a bunch of well kids i'm double there age!" 

Yeah, double. Coming from an adult half Solomon's age, that was ironic.

"But you know what they say with age comes wisdom." 

That was the old adage most certainly.

"Only 58 your still young, your not old till you say you are. And if that logic is true then your younger than I am!" 

Actually, he was forty-four, he would be fifty eight in a dozen years time. He was not going to bother correcting Johnson. It was endearing in its own way. 

"Yeah since the beginning of summer.... again this is my first year teaching here I already mentioned it haven't i?" 

"The days seem to run together after you have seen enough," Solomon admitted. This was not his first year, nor would it likely be his last. Still time seemed to work oddly in his mind at times. Had he known that and forgotten? Perhaps.

They would discuss pets, well tamed creatures. That was Solomon's primary passion. A light would seem to glow from inside of the Professor as the subject found its way back to his beloved creatures.

"Ohh so it is true you have tamed something new! I knew it.." 

"True-True!" Solomon exclaimed, he was beaming with pride. "She is not ready yet for visitors, but she is getting close indeed." He claimed. Every magician, even wizard magicians need to have a few secrets.

"I will be waiting for the grand reveal. When ever it might be. I'm not going to force you to say anymore." 

"I would love to show her off. Soon, before the end of the school year I hope," he admitted. The Ministry would be pleased with his findings. Solomon asked him to visit the stables and John's face lit up.


"Ohh I would love to. I haven't really had time to do it myself so it would be a first. Could I have a tour?"

"Of course, you and the students of course. My Hufflepuffs are going to probably be my test group soon. You should join them. I have a few creatures broken for riding and it might be a once in a lifetime experience for some of them to be so up close and personal with these creatures tamed." he would eye JJ over, he really did not seem particularly durable but he was young and hopefully fast and nimble. "You have body armor, right?" An odd question for most but Solomon asked Johnson quite casually. "If not, I would encourage you to make some," he warned. "They might be well-trained but in the end they are still wild beasts."

 Hair up? The brightly blue-eyed girl glanced at herself in the mirror as she prepared for the feast in the Great Hall. Sure, she was running slightly later than one would hope, but she still had time, that was for sure. Hair down. She let her hair loose from her fist that held it up in a bun against her head, letting it fall down against her shoulders. Hair down it was. It suited her dark purple dress that was fitted around her hips, which she matched with a plain black robe. Both layers reached the ground, reaching absolute modesty. She was a simple type - this was a simple outfit, and it suited her in many ways.

 She grabbed her single book, which was written in her native language - French. Her dress was her house colour from her school, Beauxbatons, symbolizing that she was, in fact, Papillonlisse, if anyone paid attention to the houses of her school, they may be able to tell. She didn't mind either way, though. She didn't expect people to know. Purple was just simply her color. 

 With that, she exited her oh-so-cozy Divination classroom, where she spent most of her time despite not having any classes currently, through the circular trap door that was the entryway. She climbed down the Divination Stairway, and proceeded to make her way to the Great Hall. From what she could tell, the meal was in session currently, and she was entering about halfway through. She kept to the sidelines as she made her way through the room, looking at the influx of first years that seemed to be taking their seats now. She circled around the edge of the Professor's Table, then pulled out a seat on the other side of Professor Lear.

 "Bonjour, Professor Lear," She greeted. She had accustomed herself to knowing the professors, what subjects they taught, and if they were a head of a house or not. She was pretty sure that the older fellow with the grey beard was the Head of Hufflepuff, but she wasn't going to ask to confirm so. She leaned forward so that she was able to see past Solomon, and looked at Professor Johnson, nodding her head in his direction, "And salut to you, Professor Johnson." She grinned, then sat back in her seat comfortably, crossing one of her legs over the other. "How are you two gentlemen this evening?" She inquired, slightly adjusting herself so that she was sitting up straighter. 

       Edwina had watched Matilda's approach with interest; it was hard not to when she stood out so much among the students, who all wore plain black robes. Her view was blocked by Solomon and John sitting to her left, so her communication was mostly cut off. This was a shame really, as Edwina had long since finished her food, and generally disliked everyone around her, (Professor Mellowrose was to her right.) 

        Edwina pulled her wand out under the table and whispered something to herself, glancing around to see if anybody was watching. Looking down, she whispered again and set to work doing... something. It all looked very questionable from the outside. She set whatever that was down between her feet, and started writing something on a piece of parchment. All of the students, or at least the ones who were looking over for one reason or another, could definitely see what was going on, as the Professor's Table had no covering over it.
Finishing her writing, Edwina shoved the quill and a bottle of ink back into her bag, glancing around again to see if anybody was watching. 

       "Mobiliarbus!" she hissed, and a large bouquet  emerged from under the table, a folded up note attached to the plastic-like wrapping around the flowers. The bouquet had anything Edwina suspected the new Professor might have liked; tulips, roses, lilies and sunflowers to name of a few, though there were a lot more that most probably couldn't point out. The attached letter was quite basic, Edwina never was very good at them.

Professor, 

While I do not recognize you, I would like to extend my welcome, and hope that you enjoy your stay here at Hogwarts. If ever I am needed you will find me in my office (just down the hall from the Gryffindor Common Room, Trollope written in the door, can't miss it,) or down in the greenhouses on school grounds.

Sincerely, Edwina Trollope, three-time Quidditch world champion and Professor of Herbology at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

       Edwina very rarely closed off letters like that, usually only doing so when she was trying to impress someone. Said letter, which really only a piece of parchment folded over itself, was also decorated around the sides with colorful hydrangeas, leaving no real doubt about who had sent them, (not that there really would anyway, considering half the school had likely seen her casting the spells.)

 She shrugged her shoulders down slightly as she tucked pieces of her curly brunette hair behind her ear. She wasn't in the mood to eat - her emotional wounds were much too fresh for that. That same day, she had received an owl from her parents that wasn't the most pleasant, and she'd been a little bit off since. Her parents hadn't been truly angry with her before, and she wasn't quite sure on how she should be reacting to it quite yet. Thus, she was mainly neutral, her shiny, golden plate poised on the table in front of her, with a fork and knife to one side of it. It was all polished frequently, anyone would be able to tell if they had looked well enough.

 Matilda proceeded to tune out the gentlemen next to her, and instead decided to focus on the amount of students that had come that year. Yes, the lot of them were mainly first students. That was one thing that the French professor was able to point out. Thinking back to her first year, she never did remember having this many peers. Perhaps there were reasoning behind it. She wasn't sure, considering she had been keeping to herself for the majority of her time here. She was always cooped up in her classroom, doing... hobby kind of things.

  She leaned her elbow on the table, then her head in her hand. She was so unoccupied that it pretty much hurt her. She was almost wishing she had brought one of her com- No. No one must find out her collections, especially ones that could be as embarrassing as her own at first glance. Of course, she herself didn't think of it as embarrassing. In fact, she was quite confident about it.. until someone pointed it out. She could just die when that happened. Of embarrassment. Only in that moment, though, because she definitely wasn't embarrassed about it. Not one bit.

 Suddenly, movement from the corner of her eye caught her interest - it appeared to be flowers, with a card attached. And they were coming Matilda's way? She was slightly stunned once the flowers stopped in front of her, and didn't continue moving further. She curiously looked down the table, then reached to take the bouquet, noting the different flowers in the bunch. Tulips were actually one of her favourite flowers - lavender being the first.

 She picked the card - or, rather, a piece of paper that was folded in half, out of the bouquet, resting the flowers on her lap as she unfolded the paper. 

Sawyer's elbow slipped and his sleeping face stopped an inch above the table, nearly plummeting face first. He sat up and looked around, rubbing his eyes immensely. He looked beside him, a young witch. Confused, he looked around. Aha! Sawyer remembered he was at the sorting ceremony and first meal of the year. Leaning back, he released an irritating yawn loudly, close to Edwina's ear. He then leaned forward, looking at Edwina's face. "Have we met? You're new but I know you..." Sawyer spoke to her. Perhaps he remembered her for being a student, or maybe for Quidditch. He turned to face her, his eyes looking exhausted. He wore a short, dark robe which ended mid thigh, and beneath he wore baggy leg-wear which was tied off mid calf. Tight black socks met the trousers and had slipper-like shoes. The only skin visible was above his shoulder, which his long, scraggy hair covered a lot of. His sleeves were dreadfully long, the tips of his fingers barely reaching out of them unless he pulled them back. From the sleeves hung long, flat pieces of material. 
Sawyer had a deep, voice that struggled to get enough effort from the professor to make words audible. His eyes were locked to Edwina, sociable enough to not care for awkward eye connection. 

A tour it is! Solomon would continue his banter with J whilst the other professors came to the table. Tardiness was intended for a great many things, mealtime was not among them. 

Professor Barrows entry was not one to be missed. The female form was something Solomon still appreciated. He, however was not falling over himself unlike the casenova *cough* he meant friendly fellow Professor. 

"Bonjour, Professor Lear."

"Ban-Jay-oar Professor Barrows," he replied with an atrocious accent. French was certainly not his mother tongue. 

He would then return to his conversation with Johnson. "Armor is an absolute must!" Solomon exclaimed. "My students are rather good at making their own," Solomon continued. "It is one of our earliest lessons -- safe animal handling." As opposed to the unsafe sort it was certainly a preferable ends.

Out of the corner of his eye he would see a bouquet manifest. Really, on the first day? You would think that some of these Professors were teenagers in wearing the hides of slain adults with their hormones. A morbid thought yes, but no less accurate. "Ah ha J.J.! You will see now Professors in their native habitat. Note their relaxed postures." He would gesture towards the bouquet of flowers and the note and add, "and this here is the initial portion of the human mating ritual. Note how the woman dresses brightly much like the plumage of a bird to display their form in hopes of attracting a mate." Yes, he was making fun of his fellow professors on the very first day.