Noble smoothed down his robes, and took a long sip of coffee from his travel mug whilst he waited for the students to arrive. The first to enter was one of the quiet Slytherins, and he nodded at her greeting. “Claudine,” he responded, noting her gaze fixed on the supplies in front of him. She had nothing to worry about. Probably.

…and another quiet Slytherin soon followed, though the face he pulled probably spoke volumes louder than words. An amused smile briefly graced Noble’s lips. “Good day to you too, Kaiser.”

It was certainly interesting that the Slytherins seemed to arrive earlier nowadays than they had tended to at Hogwarts, where their common room was decidedly closer. “Hello, Fiona,” he replied as he watched the next first year Snake wander in and take a seat. Should he be concerned about the nervous look that crossed her face?

“I do hope so, Avalon,” he replied. Though, honestly, the look she gave soon after didn’t reassure him very much. Had someone forgotten to do her homework over the Christmas holidays?

Noble did, in fact, know about her suspension. One, it was part of his duties as a professor to do so, and two, it would have been rather amiss of him to ignore her lack of attendance without reason. For the moment though, he paid no closer attention to her than he did any of the other students coming in. Though she might find herself under Noble’s watchful eye if she continued skulking so low in her chair at the back like that once the lesson properly began. He’d never been too keen of those trying to hide.

As much as Noble was relishing the abundance of natural light in his classroom, he’d gotten the sense over the last few months that others felt differently. Jillian was one of those people, though perhaps it might be due to the larger physical distance to the potions classroom instead. Whatever the reason, he appreciated that her enthusiasm towards practicals remained. “Hello, Jillian.”

Fortunately for Eiji, the chance of him finding bean bags or a juggling clown in one of Noble’s classroom was zero. In fact, Noble rather looked down on any of his colleagues that thought beanbags had any place in a classroom, finding them only to encourage fidgeting and lolloping – neither of which were particularly conductive to learning.

By now, of course, Noble was well accustomed to the Slytherin’s silence, offering him a nod in return. He had a sense the fifth year might enjoy the investigative nature of today’s class.

Next into the room was Daila, and there was a faint glimpse of a smile at the curious look on the Hufflepuff’s face. “Hello, Daila.”

Funny, Alexandre thought that really…since Noble tended to associate the third year himself with mess. Enthusiasm in spades, but completely chaotic when it came to his workspace. Perhaps he might do a little better today, though Noble somehow doubted it. The boy might find himself late to break time though if there was so much as a drop of ink left on the currently spotless bench. “Hello Alexandre.”

Noble returned the Prefect’s nod, watching him go to his usual seat for a moment before the classroom door opened once more.

The Ravenclaw looked as alert and on top of things as ever, and Noble got the distinct sense that the NEWTs student felt ready to move on from this place. Perhaps she was, and she was an able potioneer, but there was plenty of the curriculum to cover before then. “Hello, Tina,” he greeted in reply.

Perhaps Noble did intend to look angry, perhaps he didn’t…who could really tell? He did look a tad bemused as the Gryffindor caught sight of the bottles at the front though. “I’d suggest getting your quill and ink ready, rather than worrying about mine, Lucas.”

After all, if they did have a test, it was much too late to do anything about it.

From the nervous Gryffindor to the overly excitable one. “Hello, Cecelia,” he greeted as he watched her move to her seat. He rather hoped that there were fewer wrong moves and even less potion explosions today.

“Let’s hope so,” he replied to the Ravenclaw as she took her seat. He’d noticed she’d not quite been herself since being suspended, and the pointed staring out of the window suggested the Christmas break hadn’t done much to help.

Phoebe got a very professorial look at that question. One of those disapproving ones accompanied by a grumble.. “Why don’t you find a seat and sit on it, Phoebe, and give me chance to start the lesson…and then maybe you’ll find out.”

“I think you mean afternoon,” Noble corrected with a glance to the clock, as Patrick made his way to his seat. Hopefully that didn’t mean the seventh year had lost track of time in the library and skipped lunch. Concentration was a key part to success in potioneering.