A Sharp Sensation

2

Built-in mahogany bookshelves lined the emerald green walls of the empty room.

"These are your quarters," Aesop says, politely staying in the doorway. "You're free to make the rooms to your liking, but I would recommend that you keep Transfiguration to a minimum. This is an old castle and it deserves to be preserved as such."

You nod; the room was already magnificent, it wasn't as if you needed to change it.

"Where are the washrooms?" You ask as you peer into the next room, seeing only a bed and no washbasin or toilet.

Aesop jerked a thumb over his shoulder, indicating upwards. "Teachers and Perfects share a bathroom, it's just up the staircase and then the spiral stairwell."

You crinkle your nose at the idea of sharing a bathroom with students. "Oh."

Aesop smirked again, clearly amused by your emotions as they were clearly displayed on your face.

"I should let you get settled, supper is at six o'clock," he says warmly before turning to head up the stairs.

You turn back towards your empty room, feeling a pang of pity for the poor empty bookshelves.

"That just won't do," you mutter. "I'll have to buy books to fill you then. "

You knew it was silly to speak to the silence as if it should answer back but you didn't mind it. The bed in the next room was stripped of sheets, a clean slate for your customization. You decide a neutral white would be best for now, conjuring all your necessities with your wand.

By the time you finished, the grandfather clock that came with the room indicated it was already five thirty. You knew you should start heading towards the Great Hall for dinner, but you also weren't so sure where the Great Hall was...

After all the twists and turns it took to get you to your living quarters in the faculty tower, the way to your destination was tangled in your head. Left or right? Up this set of stairs or down? You were just about to give up and cry when a ghost floats through you, giving you chills.

"Um, pardon me," You manage to say after mustering the courage. "Might you know where the Great Hall is?"

A rather grey and depressed looking ghost of a woman peered back at her and simply nodded.

You flush shyly. "M-may you show me?"

The ghost nods again, gesturing you to follow. Down an impossibly long set of moving staircases and past a particularly peculiar statue of a man surrounded by animals, you found yourself back in the hall Matilda had shown you earlier. You turned to eagerly thank the ghost but she was already gone.

You push open the grand doors and peer into the great hall. Past the four house tables at the head of the room, all the Professors were gathered and eating with gusto. You anxiously scan the table only to find one seat empty, on the end, but thankfully it was next to a familiar face.

"Hello Mister Sharp," you say cheerfully as you approach.

Sharp looked up from his plate, a drop of gravy dribbling down his lip. He hurriedly wipes his face and greets you. "I had thought you decided to skip dinner, I couldn't have blamed you after the journey you took to get here."

You try not to grimace, thinking of the disgusting ship you took to get here. Apparition was only so good within reasonable distance, jumping continents was impossible.

"I just got lost, sorry," you explain sheepishly.

"Ah, yes," He nods. "A big castle, but you'll get used to it."

"I never imagined walking a mile to get to dinner," you joke.

Aesop rubbed his knee, frowning. "Me either."

The other professors were chattering away, the man at the center of the table certainly enjoying himself with a generous glass of wine.

Matilda cleared her throat, silencing everyone. "Phineas, don't you have something to say?"

The man looked at her blearily. "No?"

Matilda glares.

"Oh!" He shouts. "Yes, the new girl! American, Magic Theory, new Professor, yes~"

Matilda looked just about ready to blow but she took a deep breath and addressed her colleagues. "Miss (Y/N) (L/N) has joined us today, she will be our new Magic Theory Professor."

The rest of the table clapped politely but there was a solemn undertone; if the past Professor Fig hadn't passed, you wouldn't be here.

"I trust you all will give her a warm welcome and help her get accustomed to the school," Matilda says, much more warmly than when she had spoken with Phineas.

A ginger girl garbed in green robes jumps up on excitement and rushes over to give you a hug. "Welcome dear!" She says sweetly, she smelled of roses and freshly turned soil. She didn't seem to be much older than you were.

"I'm Mirabel Garlick, I teach Herbology here at Hogwarts!" She says sweetly once she released you from her hug.

"Nice to meet you," you reply, you couldn't help but grin at her enthusiasm and kindness.

Another woman, one who appeared much older leaned forward to examine you. There was something testing in her stare, as if she could read you.

"Abraham Ronen, I teach charms" A man in a perfectly purple ensemble says from his seat, "and Im positively charmed to meet you!" He says before laughing at his own joke.

You bit back your own witty retort and nodded politely. Once everyone else had introduced themselves, you felt like you'd need to take notes to remember them all.

"We should celebrate with pudding!" The woman who introduced herself a Bai says with a grin.

"Howin," The Groundskeeper, Gladwin, groaned. "You always celebrate with pudding."

The beasts professor only shrugs. "There is always something to celebrate."

After a long evening of breaking the ice, the sun has long since slipped below the horizon. Mirabel was showing you back to the faculty tower, all the while animatedly discussing her favorite plants.

"And Chinese Chomping Cabbage, I don't believe you have those in America, do you? They're quite beautiful as long as you don't touch them. The previous Herbology Professor hadn't heeded that lesson and he's retired to enjoy the rest of his life with his remaining limbs."

You pale, a plant that preyed on flesh? In a school which would soon be full of trouble makers of all ages? These Eastern wizards were certainly something...