New Year's Eve was a time that most people spent with friends or loved ones- ringing in the new year in style. He had considered, however briefly, attending the gala at St. Mungo's. He was, however, painfully aware of the fact his sister would likely not take kindly to his presence at her Big Event. Whether it was an open invitation or not, he knew that he would be promptly uninvited upon his arrival. Besides, he did need to get things back in order at Hogwarts. He had managed to find his way back into his old teaching position- something he was glad for.

He had actually missed being an instructor. And without the pressure of being Deputy Headmaster, he was capable of living outside of the castle- in his comfortable home in Hogsmeade. He'd still be able to take care of his son. And his nanny didn't mind the shift in hours.

At the moment he was back in his old classroom. He had to set it back to sorts. Declan preferred his classroom to be set up in a more traditional way. He had decided to forego the assigned seats for now (for the most part, at any rate). Instead he was grouping students, as he had before, by house. Each row of desks would cater to a specific house, with one row specifically for the visiting students. (He was actually looking forward to meeting the visiting students.)

He was swishing his wand back and forth as he continued reorganizing the desks into neat rows. Then he set about charming the chairs behind the first row of desks to be gold and yellow- he dismal colors of Hufflepuff. They would still be sitting in the front. Just because he'd had one or two wit redeeming qualities did not excuse the likes of Sellaphix.

Hogwarts Castle had quieted over the past few days.  The students had slowly dispersed here and there for the holidays, and even those other professors who had stayed at the school had been less than present.  Atash knew that many of his colleagues had plans for the evening in preparation for welcoming in the new year, and he assumed that except for some of the more sober, he would be alone in the ancient castle that night.

That was what he had presumed, and that was how he had liked it.  He certainly hadn't expected to find anyone bustling in an empty classroom on the fifth floor when he passed by in the hallway. The mage didn't recognize the man who was busying himself about the otherwise empty classroom.  The half-giant who had been teaching the Hogwarts classes on magical creatures had left the school, but as far as Atash was aware, there had been no announcement yet as to who would replace him.  This, then, had to undoubtedly be the answer to the mystery.

He paused for a moment, watching as the wizard set about enchanting the color of the chairs, and then politely cleared his throat.

"That is a novel use of the color scheme."  He offered the other man a polite, though slightly dry smile.  Durmstrang had its own assigned colors for the different strata, as well as expectations for where each set of students would sit, but he never would have expected to compare the members of Hufflepuff House to the Oberteil.

"I apologize if I am interrupting your work," he said, giving the new professor a quizzical look.  "I don't think I've had the honor of making your acquaintance yet, so I will have to appear embarrassingly ignorant for the moment.  Are you joining the staff here at Hogwarts?"

Declan was startled to hear a voice from the doorway of his classroom. His knee-jerk reaction was to jump, and he immediately chided himself for being incapable of better hiding his surprise. He tilted his head at the man, unfamiliar with his face. Judging from his accent, Declan assumed he was from one of the foreign schools. But which one? His accent was not the sort he'd immediately associate with any visting institutions. It was not distinctly American, nor was it Scandinavian/Russian/German in tone, and it most certainly lacked the delicacy of the French accent. Perhaps a new gameskeeper or something of the sort? No, he was dressed too nicely for such a position.

He realized he had been staring for a few moments, without giving response, and that it was terribly rude. Declan did not need to offend some new member of staff or visiting dignitary. "Not at all interrupting," he finally answered, stepping forward to properly introduce himself to the man.

"Yes, I am. Returning, more precisely. I was the creatures professor last school year." He did not feel the need, at the moment, to explain the short sabatical from Hogwarts. "I am glad to be returning, however. There is no telling what sort of a mess that giant made of my classroom and my students." Apparently he did not feel quite as compelled to hide his distaste for Hagrid. Half-giants and half anything else for that matter, were people he did not think of as fit instructors.

"Declan O Morain," he finally said by way of introduction, holding out his hand, tilting his head up to look him in the eyes. Eye contact was an important part of social interaction- to display one's social dominance and confidence. There was no reason to appear to be weak willed by looking at the floor. His height was always a disadvantage, but he often pretended that he wasn't dwarfed by the entire staff and half of the student population.

He flicked his wand again and went back to changing the chairs, coloring the second row in crimson. "Color coding the rows," he explained. "My version of assigned seating. Hufflepuffs at the front, they tend to cause the most problems during instruction. Best to keep an eye on them."