Attendance:

Joshua Harcroft Gabriella Dagon Emmy Darknight Brodie Skeffington Faelyn Bancroft Megan Ruiz X Saffron Padmore Sasha Schlagenweit X Beatrix Dark X Elijah Grimlish Amélie Clark Mystique Ketteridge Darcy Bloxham Ferris Quinn-Nightwing Madeline Pratt X Evie Pascal Jordyn Dimbleby Neely Woolfolk X Ferguson Amherst X Callum Knight X Orlaith Dewar             Class starts at 11:30 PM. The objective of today is simply to learn one's classmates and learn some basics of Astronomy. The students will be discussing their zodiac signs and such. (Names in italics are inactive. Attendance won't count against them. Those who have been crossed off have been excused from class and attendance will not count.) A new life had opened for Demetri as he finally settled down in his room. The tallest tower in all of Hogwarts was now his. He opened the windows and the doors to the balcony (Yes, it was cold. But what would they expect?) and instead of desks, set down lots of red, purple, and grey pillows. His class wasn't going to be doing much today, and he might as well keep them comfortable. He turned around and picked up a piece of chalk to quickly scribble on the blackboard. Take a seat. Get comfortable. Wear a jacket. Class will begin when I say so. He dusted off the chalk and gave himself a boyish grin. Demetri, for once, was actually wearing proper attire that one would expect a professor to wear. He wore a knitted sweater that was a lazy shade of red with brown stripes, and he wore newly-bought pants and polished black shoes. Heck, he even cut his hair a tiny bit to make it less trashy and brushed it some. He looked as if he could fit into the normal world. Of course, he couldn't. Demetri's thoughts trailed and he hummed a complex piano lick that he heard early in the week, he was drawing a picture of a squid hugging the moon and attacking a bunch of stars. Squids were, after all, his favorite animal. Satisfied enough, the Woolfolk boy laid down on the ground with a pillow under his head, waiting for his class to come. He hadn't slept in two hours, which he definitely wasn't used to. Demetri curled into a tight ball and listened closely to the floor. His class should surely be arriving soon.

Having a class at such a late hour was entirely too inconvenient for Callum Knight. By that time of night he was hungry again, and going to class made him bored. If he was already hungry, and then he became bored, only one thing could follow- he would begin to starve. A starving Knight was a grumpy Knight, and a grumpy Knight in class with a bunch of stupid kids (such as Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors and half of Ravenclaw) would more than likely spell disaster.

The worst part about it was that he had yet to get a shower and put on pajamas. He was still wearing his uniform, and since they were going to be in the Astronomy tower he also had a jacket, but it was much too late to be dressed in a uniform. Callum had toyed with the idea of just wearing his pajamas to class, but had decided that it would likely be a very bad idea. It would be improper and reflect poorly upon him, two things he dared not do on purpose.

Stepping foot into the room, he arched a brow at the drawing of the squid. "Are you serious?" he asked aloud, staring at the man who was curled up on one of the pillows. Callum then noticed that there were no desks. He sighed heavily and found a grouping of gray ones and settled into one. Really the colors were absolutely atrocious. Who decorated like this? The professor obviously had no taste.

"What kind of nutter draws a squid hugging some stars?" The question was indirectly thrown at the professor, as no one else was present. Still, Callum couldn't help but to voice his thoughts. He was hungry, grumpy, and tired after all. The filter from his brain to his mouth was gone. "I can't believe the people Snark is letting teach here! I thought she was an alright broad until classes started. Some people aren't fit for instruction." He shook his head, clucking his tongue. "Sleeping on the job, too, I just might have to talk to the Headmistress myself."

Not surprisingly, few students had found their way to the astronomy tower, yet.  The later class time meant that students had to tear themselves away from their relaxing evenings to drag themselves to class.  Sasha had been in the midst of struggling through more friction equations when he'd stowed his books away in his trunk and climbed up to the Astronomy tower.  They had another new professor for Astronomy.  With luck, they could manage to impart a better first impression on him than they had their new Ancient Runes professor. 

Any such hopes were dashed almost as quickly as Sasha stepped into the Astronomy tower.  He spared only a brief glance towards the one student that had managed to beat him to the tower before, quickly, looking away.  Without a word or any other gesture that might draw unwanted attention, Sasha found himself a spot on the floor and took a seat. 

But, surprised by the brash words, Sasha couldn't help looking, startled, at the Slytherin.  Still reluctant to say anything, he looked towards the professor and shook his head, slightly.  He hoped to, silently, convey that he neither agreed with nor condoned the words that were coming out of the other student's mouth. 

"I can't believe the people Snark is letting teach here! I thought she was an alright broad until classes started. Some people aren't fit for instruction."

Demetri's body lurched and sat up, slow and lazy like a zombie. "Professor Snark is indeed a very... Alright lady." He hummed out before standing up and looking over at the boys who had joined the classroom. Oh brother. A mouthy Slytherin and a silent Ravenclaw. Demetri's lips parted and he closed them. There was probably no reasoning with the boy. He was on fire even when Demetri hadn't said a word.

"Sleeping on the job, too, I just might have to talk to the Headmistress myself."

"Hm. Aren't you sleepy, too? I have my reasons to be tired, and I'm sure all you want to do is sleep." Demetri turned to him and gave him a sympathetic look. After reaching through his drawers a bit, he pulled out a small bag of chocolate covered potato chips (Yes, he eats those) and handed it to the boy. "I think it's best to settle down for now. Class will be easier when you're relaxed." He then turned away towards the front, giving Sasha a brief smile and sitting back down on his pillow.

"Any questions so far? I know you lot don't know me, so shoot away if you want." He scruffy face formed a smirk and he rocked back and forth like a child on the pillow. He almost looked like a student, how young he was. That Devlin Matthews bloke had more of a beard than him. Demetri was nearly surprised they could tell he was the professor.

 Yawn. Fergie could think of a lot of things he would rather be doing right now - most of which involved sleeping. If the Slytherin had had his way, he would be snuggled up under a thick, fluffy blanket dreaming about shoes. But alas, life was not fair, so instead he found himself entering the Astronomy tower, wrapped up in his thick winter cloak. The nights were turning quite chilly lately.

 Glancing around, he spotted the two others that had already arrived. Callum and Sasha. Oh geez, who to sit by? What a tough decision. Not. Ducking his head and trying to go unnoticed by his own personal tormentor, Fergie shuffled his way over to Sasha. "Evening," he greeted the (adorable) other boy with a smile, and continued looking around. "...I see our new professor has interesting taste in artwork. I wonder if he is acquainted with Figaro?"

 This would certainly be interesting, he supposed. The professor was a Woolfolk, after all. Any relation of Neely's would know how to make a lesson worth listening to. At least he hoped so. Otherwise? Fergie was going to use this time to catch up on his beauty sleep.

With a slight yawn, Meg walked quietly into the Astronomy Tower. It was only the beginning of the school year, and she was naturally tired on their first day of Astronomy class. She didn't believe that she was about to sleep during the class, since she did know better than doing that. After all, not only was that rude, but it would probably be pretty stupid considering the fact that she would continue to have the class for the rest of the year. So, she may as well begin to live with such a late class.

Taking one look at the classroom, Meg was immediately surprised by the classroom appearance. It wasn't because there were no desks. Oh no, she could live without those. It was the fact that there were pillows down on the ground for them to sit on. It seemed like a rather odd way to begin to year, at least, it was to her anyway.

Noting that three out of the four people in the room were her fellow classmates, it took Meg a moment to realize that the other person was, indeed, their Professor. "Good evening Professor Woolfolk," she greeted the Professor. She wasn't entirely too happy with having a Professor that was related to Neely, since Neely was enough trouble as it was worth. Thus, she hoped that the Professor wouldn't hate her, like Neely did. Completely by-passing the Slytherin, Callum was it? She walked over to where Sasha and Ferguson were. "Hey," she greeted them both.

Demetri gave the newest arriving student a grin, "Nice night, tonight is." Which sounded a little strange when the words left his mouth, but he didn't notice. He the type of person who cared about awkward things, anyways. He continued to rock back and forth for a little bit before the student began to talk again. Demetri raised his eyebrows.

"...I see our new professor has interesting taste in artwork. I wonder if he is acquainted with Figaro?"

"Yes... I- I do." Why was he talking like Demetri wasn't even there? Oh... Right. A girl arrived and said her hellos, she had realized he was the professor. "Good evening." Demetri's boyish grin fell into place and he continued to rock and sway front to back. Before he spoke again, he stood up and walked over to the board. "As I told the other two, ask me whatever you want-" As he said this, he wrote down on the board:

Fire away your questions!

"I also hope for the rest of you to get acquainted, if you haven't already. I believe you did a bit in Divination, but... It's first class. Don't expect much." Demetri turned to the little students he had already. He was already going too far. There was only four students, and he was talking to them like there's already a full class. "Er... I'll repeat this when the rest of the class gets here." He mumbled before sitting down on his pillow, crossed-legged, and hummed the piano lick once more.

An alright lady?  Despite himself, Sasha's jaw stiffened slightly and he shifted his gaze to the floor.  Sasha wasn't generally one to think ill of someone but he was growing less and less fond of the new Headmistress by the day.  But, true to habit, he kept his comments to himself and the tension would have been easily overlooked by anyone who wasn't looking closely.  Luckily, Sasha was distracted by the arrival of a surprisingly friendly Slytherin.  A growing pattern for the year.

"Evening," Sasha offered Fergie in return.  Glancing towards the drawing, Sasha tried to suppress a laugh but all the effort accomplished was forcing the laugh into a quiet snort.  "I ... you can't," Sasha started in a slightly hushed tone, habit making him feel paranoid about speaking ill of any professor.  But, his voice dropped to a slight whisper.  "- at least it was drawn on a piece of paper, right?"

Did he have any questions?  He didn't think he did - at least not until Megan joined them in the Astronomy Tower.  Megan had just called him ...   Wait!  Sasha's attention snapped to Megan.  Professor Woolfolk?!  Had that ... Had he missed that somehow on his schedule.  Quite suddenly, he had a question.  "You're related to Neely?" he asked, uncharacteristically bluntly. 

Figaro was quick on the draw.  "You were a student! You're Demetrius! You were in sixth year when I was a first year.  In Gryffindor, right? Ha - you get to be a teacher now?  Gotta say, mate, that's weird."

He'd barged in as if it was 11:30 in the morning, still in uniform and with a reserve of energy barely depleted.  He'd taken some pills from 'Jack Spade' guaranteed to get you through a night of studying, or keep you up for Astronomy and beyond!  He didn't sit down like his classmates; instead he dropped his back, picked up a couple of pillow, and went to have a closer look at the squid.

"New constellation?" he turned to ask the young professor.

"You're related to Neely?"

Demetri's smile abruptly faded. Neely. Cornelia. The devil if it had a name. His teeth clenched and he turned towards the boy. "I believe I am related to Cornelia." An unrecognizable growl escaped Demetri's lips. He was so happy, he had forgotten Neely was even in the same school. If it were up to Demetri, she would be across the world in America, where she can get obese on transfat and die of nicotine overdose. Demetri's eyes dropped to the floor. He was happy without the money, wasn't he? Demetri has gotten plenty of money since his famous discovery of the planet Minotauria. He didn't need his father's dirty money.

"You were a student! You're Demetrius! You were in sixth year when I was a first year.  In Gryffindor, right? Ha - you get to be a teacher now?  Gotta say, mate, that's weird."

Demetri's spirits rose ten-fold. Though he hardly recognized the boy, he gave him a smile as if they knew each other for years. "You'd be right!" The boy was really awake for being up at midnight, and he wasn't uppity like some of the other students. Demetri could already tell he would like that boy.

"New constellation?"

"No... But that would be cool, wouldn't it?" Demetri chuckled, "There is, however, a sea monster constellation... Cetus," He began, "Though people call it a whale, it used to be known as a sea monster... It's known to have been the sea monster that Perseus rescued Princess Andromeda from. Or the whale that swallowed Jonah in the bible." He paused for a little bit before speaking again, "I'm sorry. I should be taking attendance..." Demetri got up and grabbed his roster. "Could you all tell me your names?" Of course, He wouldn't know any of them.

Outfit

Yawning widely, Maddie made her way to her least favorite class. She was a hard worker and took school seriously, but dammit did she hate Astronomy. The stars and planets were interesting, sure, but when you were sorely in need of sleep, they were considerably less so. And why did it have to be up dozens of stairs? By the time she got to the top, she was practically dragging herself!

Rubbing her eyes, she sighed morosely. She was a mess. No makeup, her hair was pulled back into a messy loose ponytail and she looked like she hadn't slept in days. Thankfully she had heard the new Astronomy teacher said they could wear jackets and she had donned her favorite hoodie on the way up. Pulling up the hood, she snuggled into it before entering the classroom.

Glancing around, she was very disappointed to see that none of her friends were there. Knight and Amehurst she would avoid like the plague, Schlagenweit and Sellaphix she didn't know well enough to chat with in her current state of disarray, which left Meg and the tall blond guy at the front that she swore was a seventh year. She chose Meg, though she didn't know her well, because she didn't want the cute young guy seeing her messy hair and tired eyes.

"Hey Meg..." She said amicably, sitting next to the Ravenclaw and resting her head in her arms "... Whose the cute guy? I swear I have seen him before..." She whispered, nodding towards the blond.

Callum was surprised when the professor handed him a bag of potato chips. He arched an eyebrow, unsure if this guy was for real. He was going to be easy to walk all over it seemed. He'd never actually had a chocolate covered potato chip, but he figured they were worth a try. And the professor had to have been smart. Callum would keep his mouth shut as long as he had something to eat. Talking and eating at the same time was incredibly disgusting after all.

Related to Neely? Hrm. And he used to be a student? A Gryffindor, no less. Well that certainly explained a lot. Callum didn't have any questions. He had no desire to find out anything more. He just wished they'd get to some practical learning so that time would go by quicker and he could get to his dorm and go to bed. Hardly easy to go to classes the following day without a proper night of rest.

Swallowing the chip he had just stuffed in his mouth- (those chips weren't half bad, surprisingly enough) Callum sighed. Wouldn't it make more sense to go down the roster and see who was who? That was how a normal teacher would do it. Then again, this guy wasn't normal it seemed, and a bit too young to be taken seriously as a professor. Yes, Callum saw that there might be a problem seeing this guy as an authority figure. Especially if he didn't improve. "Callum Knight," he stated matter of factly. No need to state his house, even without the uniform it would have been obvious.

As Meg settled down on a pillow, she heard Sasha as Professor Woolfolk if he was related to Neely. It probably would've been a wonderful thing if he wasn't related to Neely, but she highly doubted it. To her knowledge, Neely was the only Woolfolk, now besides this Professor, with that last name. It definitely wasn't common at all.

At any rate, Meg kept her eyes down as Sasha asked. The new Professor certainly didn't act as Neely did so far. That had to be a plus, right? She certainly hoped that he wasn't anything like Neely, for her own personal sanity. She heard the sound of another person, this time talking at a fast rate. That distinctive voice couldn't have been anyone else, but Figaro. But, the new developments that he brought with him, clearly separated the Professor from Neely.

The Professor couldn't be like Neely, since he was apparently in Gryffindor while at Hogwarts. Neely was characteristically in Slytherin. Naturally, Meg wouldn't remember their new Professor when he was at Hogwarts, even if though it was for a two years difference. She barely knew anyone when she first came to Hogwarts, and since she was a muggle-born, she knew essentially nothing when she first came to the castle.

Meg looked up, as the Professor seemed to not like being related to Neely. Certainly that was an encouraging sign. Hearing Professor Woolfolk admitting that he should be taking attendance, she responded with her own name, "Megan Ruiz...Ravenclaw," she added quickly. Right after that, Maddie sat down next to her, and greeted her. "Hey Maddie," she greeted her fellow fifth year, who she didn't really know too well. "The cute guy is our Professor," she whispered back with a slight giggle.

Neely grinned, ready to offer up a parade float wave to Sasha I-Saved-A-Drowning-Student-And-I’m-Neely’s-Boyfriend-Hands-Off Schagenweit, but the tiny Slytherin nearly went face first into the (luckily very pillowed) floor when her mascared gaze landed on Hogwarts’ newest professor.

“OhmygollyGodric,” she whispered in a single breath, her lips parting in disbelief as she steadied herself in the doorway.

Demetrius. Woolfolk.

Stumbling further into the room, Neely raised the back of her palm to her brow and swooned dangerously. “I’m ill. I think it’s contagious. I need to go to the Tul-- nurse,” she murmured loudly, to no one in particular.

Then, with a dramatically ridiculous fall onto a set of pillows very near Sasha’s lap, as well as that of the fabulous Fergie, she appeared to pass out. Of course, it was graceful, and she made sure that purse was intact, and that her books didn’t crush her delicate figure or wrinkle her pretty (short) skirt. She counted to ten in her head before peaking through one eye like a pirate.

Almost immediately, it became clear the question was a mistake.  Sasha blanched and he dropped his gaze when the new professor turned towards him, teeth clenched.  How was he to know such a question would be met with that degree of ... animosity.  Though, he had to be honest - if the professor had had any other last name, Sasha wouldn't have dreamed of asking about his family.  "I'm - I'm sorry, sir.  It was none of my business."  So far, this semester was proving to be off to quite the unfortunate start. 

Sasha was immensely grateful to Figaro when his question diverted the professor's attention and he let out a long, slow sigh.  He glanced sideways at Ferguson and offered a slightly apologetic half grin. 

Sasha glanced up as Neely stepped through the doorway and offered a slight grin but the grin faltered at the obviously shocked expression on her face.  So, she'd not been expecting this change of staff anymore than any of them had.  It wasn't hard to see the news wasn't welcome. 

He made an attempt to reach out and catch the Slytherin as she fell to the pillows with the usual Neely-graceful flare.  It still marveled Sasha that he could identify the usual Neely-graceful flare.  Sasha leaned forward and made an awkward attempt to straighten something.  It seemed the right thing to do.  "So,... you're surprised?"  Sasha asked, needlessly, when one of Neely's eyes fluttered open.  Nothing like asking the obvious. 

Sasha reached towards Neely, offering his arm to brace against to help herself upright or to help her upright (he could never imagine how girls navigated the world in those skirts) whichever seemed to be appropriate.