The cushioned seats were something Dhruv could get used to. Not that they'd sat in uncomfortable seats at previous jobs. The point was, their bum was comfortable, and so were they in general as he gazed over the four House tables. They was quietly reminiscing their own time as a student here. All the good times, all the challenging times, all the frustrating times and especially, the times they had struggled with their identity. It all seemed like a lifetime ago and there was not a thing that they would change for those experiences had shaped who they was today - someone they were very proud of being.

Dhruv's gaze slunked towards the other end of the Staff Table. So far, they'd gotten along with everyone on the team. This was a good start and they looked forward to what was in store for the school year.

Ean's boots clumped through the halls as he made his way to the staff table. "Evening," He managed to his seating neighbors, it was too bad Dhruv and the other half were clear across the other side. Dhruv among some others seemed to have a bit in common with him at the last meeting and fascinating ideas worth executing and hearing again. But it was fine. No one else gritted his nerves at the moment to where he had no qualms on his seating.

So for now, Ean sent them a nod of acknowledgment across the hall. It paid to be early it seemed. Now it was just passing the time until the kids arrived and settled down.

It had certainly been a while since she had been back within the hallowed walls of Hogwarts. Well, the Great Hall at least, having been elsewhere around the castle with staff meetings and setting up her tower over the last month or so. And now it was almost time for the start of term feast and Celeste was making her way to the staff table. You would think after so many years as a professor at the Wizarding University at Edinburgh she wouldn’t have the butterflies in her stomach at the thought of teaching the younger generation, but they were there.

“Guid evening,” she greeted the two staffers already present at the table with a smile as she lifted the hem of her robes and climbed up onto the dais. Defense and Muggle Studies unless the astronomy professor was remembering wrong, the latter also a healer like her middle child. Taking note they were seated alphabetically by subject, Celeste was glad that she had come down the hall via the familiar Gryffindor table and thus was on the correct side of the high table for her spot. The older woman taking her seat and glancing up at the replicated night sky above. She would definitely need to take some time at her telescope this evening once the festivities were over.

Was it her or did the summer seem to slip by much quicker this year? Perhaps it was simply due to the general chaos that comes along with that time of year and being home with her family. It was wonderful being here and getting to teach her own children, cousins, siblings, nieces, nephews and so many others but nothing could compare with being home. That was over now however and they all had another year ahead of them to strengthen young minds.

As she made her way to her seat up on the staff dais she smiled warmly at those already present. Hello, good evening," Hadleigh gave a small nod to those closest to her as she settled down into her seat. "How was everyone's summer? Ready for a fresh new year?" Some light chit-chat wouldn't hurt while they waited for the students to arrive.

Another term at Hogwarts. After a quick check of the Ravenclaw common room, Norman made his way to the Great Hall, and he noticed two things as his bluish-green eyes scanned the dais. For one thing, he was thankfully not one of the last to arrive this time. The other thing he realized? With six terms under his belt, he’d been here longer than almost all of his colleagues; only Strum, the Runes professor, had been here when he started. What was this, three headmasters he’d worked for now? Technically four if you counted the impostor headmaster Lucien Rosier, which Norman didn’t. Thinking of that man still made his blood boil, even after six years!

“Good evening, all,” he greeted his colleagues as he made his way to his seat at the far end of the table, smiling softly to himself at the fact that the two professors who’d been here the longest were seated at the complete opposite ends of the table. Paton’s question was noted and acknowledged with a nod as he passed, though he refrained from answering. They were probably too far apart to chat without shouting across the hall, and nobody needed to be subjected to that noise pollution!

Instead, he turned to one of the new hires seated sort of near him (Ean). “How’s your first official day going so far?” he asked, making an attempt at small talk. He hoped, as he always did, that the new recruits' first feast would be better than his own was!

Celeste turned her attention back to the dais around her at the sound of footsteps coming near. “Hello,” she greeted the younger woman who was to be her neighbor, at least at meals, with a smile. Their classrooms couldn’t really be further apart. “Mine was well,” the astronomy professor remarked to the positive. “Plenty of time with the family,” which was something given how stretched apart her children were at times.

“Aye…” She was ready as she ever was. Celeste just hoped she didn’t overwhelm her students forgetting they weren’t college level, though Damien assured her she would be fine. “How about ye and yours?” the older woman asked, returning the favor. “Guid evening,” she echoed with a polite smile when they were joined by another of their number but alas one on the other end of the table to match his role as the transfiguration professor. A subject always near and dear to the animangus.

Wilber Winterbottom had high hopes for his first term as Hogwarts Headmaster. His calm demeanor might not outwardly show it, but he was rather excited for the coming term and for all the children to arrive so that he could shape and guide them and impart his wisdom on them all. Educating the wizarding youth was so rewarding!

Although his knees creaked a little when he walked into the Great Hall, he walked with the spirit of a much younger man as he strode over to the staff table. "Good evening, folks," he greeted his staff at large with a kindly smile, reminiscent of one's grandfather. "I trust everyone is ready for a fantastic term." He took a seat at the center of the table and turned his eyes towards the door momentarily before looking down one side of the large table, then the other.

"Can anyone tell me how much a polar bear weighs?" The question was for anyone but he paused his gaze on his Care of Magical Creatures professor for a beat longer before looking at everyone else. Perhaps she would know, being her area of expertise. And if no one knew - or even if they did - well. He absently patted the three small bean bags tucked into the pocket of his robes. Maybe he'd have to break those out sooner rather than later.

The sound of boots echoing through the Hall had them turning their head to see Ean. They lifted their hand in greeting, unknowingly thinking the same about the seating arrangements. They had a feeling the two would continue getting swimmingly along through the school year ahead, and the others to follow should they both remain here. “Evening,’’ was his warm greeting to the Astronomy lady who wouldn’t be seated too far away from them. The duo could have easily struck up a conversation but that would be rude since the newly appointed Gryffindor HoH arrived a short while later.

“Hello. Can’t say I’m not looking forward to my teaching adventures here at Hogwarts.” Teaching was not a new career for them and they were looking forward to an easy transition into this new post. “I’ll be sure to spend a little more time out at the barn though. I was out there briefly yesterday and I saw quite a few interesting creatures.” Finishing off the sentence, Dhruv saw Carton’s arrival which they acknowledged with a nod.

As fate would have it, Dhruv winded up having a spot next to the Headmaster. Not that they were intimidated or anything of that nature. They greeted the old fellow but then arched an eyebrow questioningly. Polar bears? Dhruv hadn’t the foggiest but was willing to humour the man. They were silent for a bit {in case anyone wanted to pipe up with an answer} before rendering a wild guess. “Fifty stones, I would say.” So that was roughly about seven hundred pounds. “It may vary according to gender, however.”

Tomorrow was a big day. For most students it would be their first time on a broom, and Kennedy made sure every inch of the practice pitch was ready, and every broomstick in pristine condition. He made his way into the Great Hall, right behind the Head Master. Taking his seat, he sent greeting nods to his colleagues. “Nice evening, all--”

Oh? A polar bear’s weight?

An odd question, but a question nonetheless, thus Kennedy’s brain began the search for the answer. Polar bears were huge and heavy, what with their pelts and mass. “I’ll add ten more to Dhruv’s; sixty stones,” he replied, a crooked smile directed at his sister’s friend. Polar bears were huge and Kennedy had no idea, to be honest. He majored in Magical Law and Magical Sports, not creatures.

Ean naturally returned the greetings from Celeste and Hadleigh, some of the beautiful ladies present at the table with a subtle nod as they made their way to the other side. As for where he sat, he should've remembered to have a little snack as his stomach began to growl softly. If he was younger this would've been embarrassing as Norman joined in time to choose to ignore it, but it was a natural bodily function, "Right now, a tad slow," Smiling softly into a chuckle. He was hungry, but he could wait. "But otherwise, not bad. Have some interesting lessons planned. How's it feel being among the longest here?" Of course, the title of the longest belonged to the gentleman on the opposite end of the table.

"Evening," Ean greeted back to Kennedy. Conversations were great in helping distract from one's appetite. Speaking of, there was a question from WoW aka the Headmaster. Ean had no clue on the answer, so he could only take a guess. "A lot," Thinking of the two responses, Dhruv sounded sure of their response. "I'll say 55 stones," Why not go for the middle of the two guesses?

And there was the man of the hour…the head honcho himself. “Guid evening, Headmaster,” she said, returning his greeting before nodding. She was ready for however fantastic it was going to be, deciding to think positively on the issue. The young man that had graduated with her son was next and she offered a polite smile. “Aye it is,” she agreed. Nerves or now, it was an exciting time to be had by all of those gathering in the Great Hall.

As Headmaster Winterbottom posed a question to them, Celeste caught herself before she rolled her eyes having heard that one before. It was old enough to have facial hair and she couldn’t help softly chuckling as the younger professors answered more literally. It did make a touch of sense, she and Winterbottom were the older generation on staff. “Just enough to break the ice,” she remarked for her own answer.

“Evening, Kennedy.” Dhruv chuckled as his colleague dived right into answering the question. There was further chuckling as Kennedy and Ean expanded a bit on the fifty stone response. Surely there was no right or wrong answer? Dhruv was feeling quite confident in their answer right up until Celeste spoke up. They leaned forward slightly to get a better view of her. “I beg your pardon?” they asked, a slight frown crinkling the caramel brown skin of their forehead. They were confused and it was written as clear as day on their face.

Just enough to break the ice.

They pondered as they sat back. It dawned upon them seconds later and they inclined their head towards Winterbottom. “Is this one of your dad jokes? Because for the life of me! I can never figure them out.” But now, they were actually laughing quietly, even if they felt silly. It was true. Dhruv was so bad with picking up on the other man’s dad jokes and had fallen victim to said jokes a few times already. This might become a running gag for him as long as Winterbottom remained at Hogwarts.

Leave it to Celeste to figure it out though. It must be an old people thing.

Was Marilyn Sayse anxious about being here at Hogwarts again? Slightly, but the former Hufflepuff wasn't about to show it. While she would certainly miss getting to wear jeans on the regular, there was also something equally enthralling about dressing up, choosing to wear a bright pink dress under the standard black robes. Her coworkers seemed super amazing as well and her new boss? Well he had that personality that one couldn't help but be drawn into his orbit.

Speaking of orbits, she grinned at Celeste's answer to one of Wilber's infamous 'Dad jokes'. "Ten knuts say that Celeste has the answer."

Tapio was running a bit behind time this year, what with trying to shrug into his professor's robes with this awkward sling on his arm. But he was in time for the Headmaster's speech, and that was most important. He did want to catch the sorting, though. Now that he was Head of House for Hufflepuff (and how had that ever happened?!), he wanted to make sure to hear all the new students' names.

Ah--there was some slight change to the seating this year, and he found him sitting between two new dinner partners, Ean Feirgrund on his right (oh, a Healer! He should talk to him later) and Destene Frazier to his left. Muggle Studies and the History of Magic, respectively--two very interesting subjects indeed! "Good evening, everyone, I trust you had a good summer," Tapio said as he eased into his seat, trying not to upset anything on the way.

"Fifty stone?" Wilber was distracted from his delightful punch line by a serious answer coming immediately to his left. The older man frowned in consideration, knuckling his glasses back into place and doing mental maths. Wait. No. Not fifty stone. Or, perhaps fifty stone? But not the right answer.

And to his right, a higher offer. Sixty stone! Fifty-five!? He breathed a sigh of relief when Celeste piped up. "Ahem, yes, precisely so. Enough to break the ice. Many thanks, my dear Professor Gert. I was growing concerned I should have to produce a polar bear to answer our question before much more time passed. Imagine how pleased the young people would be, though." He did imagine it, all the shiny bright faces at the appearance of a magnificent arctic beastie.

But, time and dinner waited for no man, and the social customs of this particular illustrious institution called for a speech! "Please excuse me, my dears. I must speak to the young people now." Wilber adjusted his robes as he rose, although they still fell slightly askew. "Young people! Good evening to you, and may I say that I am most gratified to be joining you for this celebration. I haven't been to a Sorting Feast in... well, it's been a few decades, admittedly. But we are here, starting this grand adventure of a year together, eyes fixed on the horizon and stalwart in our dedication to educational greatness. Your professors are gathered here on each side of me, eager to bring the joy of their expertise directly to your thirsty young minds. I envy you all this moment, for it will never come again."

He paused, considering. "Except, of course, it will come again, won't it? Each moment in these esteemed halls is a chance to start anew, so each new day is a fresh step on this educational journey. But there is not a feast each day, and the more I blather on about the excitement of things to come, the more your stomachs rumble despairingly. My lovely wife used to remind me..." Well, no, because that wasn't pertinent and because talking about dear Clove usually choked him up.

"Eat your fill, my dears, and welcome back to Hogwarts." Wilber began to sit before recalling a crucial part of speech-making that he had overlooked. "Ah, yes, and my name is Headmaster Wilber Winterbottom. You are all invited to my office at your leisure for more informal introductions. Now, truly... you must eat!"

Now this was nice. The quiet chatter between everyone at the table was exactly what she liked. There wasn't any shouting or anyone being left out of the conversations and everyone was calm and relaxed from what she could tell. This was how each term should begin. "Family time is surely one of my favorite times as well," she smiled warmly at the Astronomy Professor. Nothing was better than being with her family every chance that she got. With that being said her eyes drifted out over the tables seeking out each of her children that were at Hogwarts. In another two years all of her kids would be here together. Now that was going to be interesting.

It's entertaining if nothing else," Hady commented in return to Dhruv. Last term hadn't been all that bad of one but it had taken some adjustments to get things to where the students could focus in lessons. Those 'powers' had complicated things for a while for sure. This was a fresh year however and that was behind them. "Feel free to stop in the barns any times, I'm fairly easy to hunt down should you have any questions or anything."

Before she had much of a chance to really strike more conversations with anyone the new Headmaster made his appearance, earning a very warm smile from her. The older man was so sweet! His question though had not only her but the entire table thinking it over. To be fair she was used to silly jokes from her own father and her childish husband (sorry Frankie but not really), that she wanted to very much agree with Celeste in her response. However, the Magizoologist side of her was already thinking very logically about this answer and she couldn't help but go along with it. "Well I would agree with Celeste on this as it has to be a joke for sure so I will not be getting into why that isn't so." A polar being heavy enough to break the ice wouldn't be a good thing. "If anyone is curious on a polar's weight however it does vary by gender. A grown male could weight anywhere between 53 to 71 stones and sometimes even more than that. The females are smaller and weigh between 25 to 40 stones usually." Quite a lot for sure! Hopefully no one minded her getting all serious for a second there!

There was the slightest laugh from her as she clammed up to listen to the Headmaster give his short but very nice speech in welcoming them all back. Now it was time to eat and that she was surely going to do and in a bit she would excuse herself to go say 'hello' to the Gryffindor table now that she was their new HoH.

Ean’s response got a slight smile from Norman. “Enjoy the slow moments while they last. They don’t happen often,” he replied, imparting a bit of friendly advice. This was Hogwarts, after all! Chaos was a given! The question made him think. Not the type to dwell on emotions, he hadn’t really stopped to consider how it felt to be here as long as he had. “Is it conceited to say I consider it quite an accomplishment?” Every term under his belt brought him closer to fulfilling a promise he made long ago.

“Good evening,” he returned Winterbottom and Escalante’s greetings, nodding politely to each in turn. Unfortunately both were seated too far away to engage in proper conversation. Devries, on the other hand, was separated by only one person. “Good evening, Tapio,” he replied. “Yes, my summer was pleasantly uneventful.” Lots of quality time spent with his daughter. “How was yours?”

Norman blinked, unsure what to make of the new headmaster’s question. Well, that was awfully vague! Wouldn’t a polar bear’s weight vary based on its age and gender? And what did that question have to do with anything? His guess was along the same lines as the others’ (Dhruv, Kennedy, and Ean), but he saw no point in repeating their guesses. It was only when the new astronomy professor (Celeste) spoke, that it occurred to him. Just enough to break the ice… Oh my-! He thought. Is this another one of his jokes?

Apparently so, if the headmaster’s following remarks were any indication. Merlin, that was going to take some getting used to! Norman was much too serious for all these dad jokes! While the joke itself sailed over his head, the thought of a polar bear in the Great Hall got a soft chuckle from him. While he knew the headmaster was likely still joking, he could always ask him to transfigure something into a polar bear (or some other creature) should he ever really need one for a demonstration.

His usual stoic expression back in place, Norman turned his attention to the headmaster’s speech. He noticed that the man didn’t finish his sentence after mentioning his wife, and he couldn’t help but wonder… Had Winterbottom lost a wife too? There was a faint glimmer of understanding in his eyes as he looked at the man. While he was no more likely to pry into the boss’s past than he was to reveal his own, if his guess was correct he could sympathize.

But that was a thought for another time. As food appeared, he stopped fidgeting with his wedding ring - when had he started doing that?! - and filled his plate, periodically glancing at the Ravenclaw table for any sign of trouble.

Dhruv was one hundred percent certain that Hadleigh was being honest about teaching here being interesting. Interesting was good because that meant there were bound to be challenges. “I’ll be sure I’ll have questions,’’ they confirmed, one quite slipping their mind at the moment; a question that perhaps would be the most important one.

Perhaps the joke wasn’t such an ‘old people’ thing if Marilyn was agreeing with Celeste. After all, Marilyn was a couple of years older than they were. It was a dad joke then! Dhruv resisted the urge to roll their eyes in amusement at Winterbottom. “Evening, Tapio. That arm feeling at least a little better now?” It couldn’t be easy moving around with the hindrance that was a sling.

The speech proved to be quite a motivational one. It brought them back to some of the best they had heard during their seven years as a student under Headmistress Truebridge. They couldn’t help but feel sorry for Winterbottom; his body language when he mentioned his wife did not go unnoticed. But with the speech eventually done {and they couldn’t deny they were too happy it was time to consume a healthy portion of food.

Tapio chuckled softly at the headmaster's joke, then fell silent while he made the obligatory speech. Afterwards, he nodded and smiled down the table at their new headmaster--he was too far away to talk to without shouting. Tapio wanted to make sure the man felt welcome. He got a sense of melancholy when Winterbottom got to the part where he mentioned his wife--something sad there, then. Tapio didn't know what he would do if anything happened to Isla, and felt a rush of sympathy.

"Oh, very nice, and rather exciting. I spent some time with the boys in Amsterdam (Boys! he'd have to stop calling them that, they were becoming young men now)) And then I went to join Isla--that's my wife, you know--who was on a magizoological expedition in Japan. Fascinating country, that! But the last week, I went and got myself bitten by a kappa, unfortunately." Tapio gestured slightly with his bandaged arm by way of explanation.

"No, it's still a bit swollen and slightly red--I think it may be a bit infected, I'll have to see Ean about it, I expect." Despite the cumbersomeness of his hurt arm, though, Tapio had managed to get himself a large plate full of food, which he was enjoying greatly despite any discomfort he may have felt.

How about that? A not so serious question. Perhaps Ean needed his own dad card revoked for failing to detect the dad joke within...... Naah. They were easy to redeem as he nodded slowly with a smirk. "Good one," Also major points to Celeste for spotting it before them and to Hadleigh for the extra information.

The no-longer-vacant seat beside him became occupied, "Evening Tapio," Ean gestured. He did notice the mark on him but did feel like pointing it out right away. Especially when the speech came ahead from Wilber. The poor man, he thought. How long had it been since the tragedy and incident? 5 years? The senior class were first years when it all took place. If he were closer seated, Ean would've likely reached out to rest a hand on the Head's shoulder in comfort. But alas, he held his respect intact. Maybe Dhruv or Septima got it covered.

"Too right you are," Ean replied to Norman. Some of his own memories of this school as a student were a testament of the slow moments being meant to enjoy. Conceited? "Not at all, I'd say you have more the right to feel that way," If not even more so, "Shows how respected you really are," Nodding firmly in his belief on the matter.

With the food finally arriving, Ean could tuck in and silence his hungry gut. From the corner of his eye he did notice Tapio seem indicate signs of discomfort. "Everything good?" He asked aloud. He could be talking about the food.. or more than the food. Depends on the interpretation if he felt comfortable to discuss. He was here.

Celeste turned her attention to her colleague beside the headmaster when Dhruv begged her pardon. “Just one option,” she mused with a slight shrug, letting Winterbottom do his reveal. Smiling once he was laughing, catching on to the amusement. And then the charms professor between them chimed in, playfully betting on her answer being the right one. Now this was the camaraderie that made her more comfortable within her work environment. And when her neighbor agreed with her while also answering the question like only a Creatures Professor could, she couldn’t help adding to the laughter. “Very interesting to know,” she remarked truthfully.

Yes, she could do this.

“Guid evening,” the astronomy greeted the late comer who was hard to miss with a polite smile. Thankfully the man having the luck to make it just in the nick of time…for the answer and the opening speech. “Yer welcome, Headmaster,” Celeste remarked with a nod, a slight eyebrow raise at the thought of a conjured or transfigured polar bear making the evening more interesting. Instead, the man settled for his words that set the feast alight as the house-elves magic appeared for all.

There was a touch of sadness at the end that made Celeste glance once more at Wilbur once he settled back but she said nothing as it was not the time or place to go there. Instead, she added food to her plate and enjoyed the good moments, her gaze every once and a while passing to the house tables especially her former one.

Ah the memories.

Javier had remained silent in his chair throughout the feast, watching the sorting ceremony in interest so he could take note of the new first years - and of course his new Slytherin students. The new additions to staff were all pleasant enough, some of them were even familiar to him in some regard, like with Gert...but he still hadn't said much than a few pleasantries of greeting as he had sat down. It wasn't anything personal, he was just tired. Truthfully, he was a little sad as well not that he'd ever admit it because Camila wasn't here this year. She was away. At university. He had a CHILD in UNIVERSITY, except that meant that she wasn't really a child anymore was she? She was an adult...

His thoughts were interrupted as Winterbottom - want an unfortunate last name, who'd want a last name with the word BOTTOM in it, honestly? - began the obligatory start of term feast speech. Or perhaps rambling was a more accurate word...because that was what he did. Feeling just a smidge uneasy after that speech, he looked to his plate and started to pile it high with food, quite ready to be done with this so he could go get a good night's rest in his hut.

When she had said that Hogwarts was interesting that was the best word she could come up with without making it sound like everything was peachy or simply pure insanity. Interesting was a good way to sum up everything as a whole. She was sure if this term was anything like last year or so many previous terms (even though she hadn't been here herself her children and other family members had been), they all would be kept on their toes. "I'm always happy to share any knowledge that I have with anyone that wants to know." Whether that be the students or her fellow professors. In this moment she had been extending the invitation onto Dhruv but she was hoping to get to know everyone else better as well.

Turning towards Celeste, Hady smiled. "When it comes to creatures I'm your person for all kinds of information." Useful or not depends on who was listening. If she wanted to, she could talk for hours and hours. But wasn't that the case for most of them when it came to their subjects?

"Ah, well, no, not exactly," Tapio replied to Ean's question. "Got a kappa bite in Japan just before returning and it's still giving me some trouble. I think it may be infected. I was planning on seeing you about it later." Tapio wasn't worried about it, not exactly, only it was interfering with his getting things done. He hoped it would be better before his delivery arrived in a few days.