There was something eerie about Hogwarts during the summer. The portraits and ghosts still roamed the halls, but the lack of students made the castle lifeless. Still, the castle intrigued Themis and gave her the idea that the castle was a metaphor for her own life. She gave it thought but let that thought disappear into the recesses of her brain. Metaphors gave meaning, but they were fanciful, unsubstantial things.

This summer, Themis walked these halls with a different sense of belonging. In the coming term, she would take up the mantle of Gryffindor Head of House, an honor she wished Uncle Horace lived to see. How the man with an antagonistic relationship with magic would feel was uncertain, but Themis trusted he would be proud of what she had built for herself.

While she often walked the castle to burn off energy during the day, Themis’ climb to the fifth floor had a different purpose today. Rumor, the lifeblood of Society and the school said that one of the new professors was moving in today. The professor, the portraits whispered, was in the Alchemy classroom with a ‘creature.’ Curiosity propelled Themis into a classroom she’d had no use for as a student. Shuffling from the attached office drew her attention, and Themis found herself observing an interesting sight and the tall gentleman with it. He had changed since they were children, but the various sketches she saw in his classroom and now strewn about the office assured her that some traits were unwavering. “I see the portraits were correct in their gossip. Welcome back to Hogwarts, Professor Griffith.”

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