Expectations
"Is this for real?" Hermione murmured, staring fixedly at her mother seated at the professors' table.
Daphne's expression was not much better, her face slightly pale as she recalled all the illegal things she had planned to do that year, along with everything she had recovered from the Weasley twins on the train so her mother would not have caught her with it at home. And judging by her mother's look and smile, which did not quite reach her eyes, it felt like she had been caught from the very beginning.
Draco raised an eyebrow when he saw his mother, who looked at him intently for a moment before a small, almost imperceptible smile appeared on her face.
Harry, on the other hand, was not surprised that his mother was there. She was, more or less, a frequent visitor to the castle anyway. Maybe being a professor simply made things easier. What truly did not sit right with him was the amused expression on Sirius' face as he sat in the headmaster's chair.
I mean, there were far more qualified people for that position. Professor McGonagall, who was also the deputy headmistress. Professor Flitwick. Even Professor Sprout. As Heads of House, they had every right to be considered. And outside the school, there were countless options as well; his uncle Edward, Remus, even Mr. Tonks.
But Sirius… where did that choice even come from?
Meanwhile, many other students wore the same expressions of surprise at the sight of the new professors, and especially the headmaster. After all, Sirius was hardly an unknown figure. Years unjustly imprisoned in Azkaban, then freed and once again leading his ancient family to a fairly respectable standing. And of course, his striking bad boy appearance, with long hair, a long coat, and a presence that stood out effortlessly, just like every Black, making him impossible to ignore.
Other gazes lingered on the beauties present, who were now their professors. Some murmurs rose from the Slytherin table upon noticing Susan seated among the professors, as they seemed to pass information to one another, until their expressions eventually turned bitter and openly disdainful.
As if to break the strange murmur spreading throughout the Great Hall, the large doors opened once more. With them, the first-year students entered, following Professor McGonagall.
And silence fell.
McGonagall, with her usual stern expression and upright posture, led them toward the front of the Great Hall, right in front of the professors.
Everyone looked at the poor children, who were soaked from head to toe, as if instead of crossing the lake they had swum through it. They trembled with a mix of cold and nerves.
Standing before all the students, the only one who was not shaking was the smallest-looking child in the group, who for some reason was wearing an enormous coat that dragged along the floor the entire way. Harry immediately recognized it as Hagrid's coat.
His little face barely peeked out from the collar, glancing around with obvious nervousness as so many strangers stared at him.
Until his gaze met that of who appeared to be Colin Creevey, from Gryffindor.
The boy raised both thumbs with a grin before shouting,
"I fell into the lake!"
with pride, as if it were something genuinely exciting.
That nearly made several people choke on their laughter as they struggled to hold it in. The boy, very much in Colin's style, was surely his brother.
Wanda, seated among the professors, smiled faintly before moving her hand gently. Instantly, the clothes of every student in the Great Hall dried completely, drawing a light, unified surprise as they felt their bodies warm and their clothes turn soft once more.
At that point, no one was surprised when Wanda performed magic. After all, they had quite literally witnessed truly incredible things every time they saw her. Not long ago, she had separated the castle into sections, almost as if dissecting it, before pulling out an enormous serpent and killing it right in front of them. And it had not been an ordinary snake, but a legendary creature; a basilisk.
Absolute silence followed as they waited for Professor McGonagall, who placed an old, wrinkled hat on a bench before everyone.
Suddenly, the hat moved, and a mouth formed for a brief moment before it began to sing.
Harry, who had little interest in listening to the hat's song, glanced at his mother for a moment. They seemed to communicate through nothing but looks and subtle gestures before he shifted his gaze toward Slytherin, and then to Susan.
Wanda simply returned his look with a smile, as if telling him not to worry, just as the hat's song came to an end.
And the sorting began, with Professor McGonagall calling out names while holding a long parchment.
"Stuart Aclery."
The young boy, called nervously, sat on the stool as the professor placed the Sorting Hat on his head. Immediately, without hesitation, he shouted,
"Ravenclaw!"
That prompted applause from everyone at Harry's table.
The boy removed the hat and quickly ran over to them, sitting right beside Cho Chang. For a brief moment, Harry's gaze met hers, before she turned completely red and hurriedly looked away.
Which made Harry wear a slightly confused expression.
"Wow. Looks like your playboy powers are increasing. Now all it takes is a single look?" Daphne said suddenly, a playful smile directed at him.
Harry rolled his eyes, knowing that reacting would only give her the satisfaction of becoming even more annoying.
Soon enough, it was Denis Creevey's turn, and without hesitation he ended up in Gryffindor. He ran toward the seat near his brother with clear excitement and immediately started talking. For a moment, Colin, visibly thrilled, was saying something to him while pointing toward Harry, who in turn looked away, pretending to be deeply interested in the sorting of the remaining students.
One by one, the new students approached the stool with varying degrees of nervousness, while the line gradually grew shorter.
Even so, the process took quite a while. Some students were already dying of hunger and complained quietly. And it was only some of them, because Luna, Astoria, and Daphne, whenever the professors were not looking their way, took small bites of the food they had hidden inside their robes. It seemed they had saved something from the train. That earned them a clearly disapproving look from Hermione, though it was not enough to stop them from continuing to eat calmly, their cheeks visibly puffed out. Their mothers, for their part, noticed them for a brief moment and quickly pretended they had seen absolutely nothing.
At last, the ceremony came to an end. Professor McGonagall took away the stool and the hat, and then Sirius stood up once more to say a few words. Finally, what everyone had been waiting for: an explanation. Or so they thought.
For instance, the Slytherins were expecting an explanation as to why a Muggle was their professor. Others wondered why Narcissa was sitting in Professor Binns' seat, Pandora in Professor Sinistra's, or, more specifically, why Sirius himself was sitting in the headmaster's chair.
But perhaps they were expecting too much from Sirius.
He stood up, adjusted his jacket with a casually superior air, cleared his throat, and said with complete confidence,
"Eat."
Then he sat back down, just as food appeared, filling the tables of the three houses and leaving everyone completely wide-eyed.
They had no other choice but to eat.
Harry was trembling as he held back his laughter, because, honestly, he had fully expected something like that from Sirius. Daphne was pounding the table as she laughed loudly. Even Hermione covered her mouth slightly to avoid laughing. Draco wore an amused smile before clearing his throat, regaining his serious expression, and beginning to serve himself, just like everyone else.