Opening Speech ((Main Plot))

[Abagail "Abbie" Dreyer]

Adrian walked into the Great Hall and walked down the middle of the rows of tables giving a sweet innocent smile as she pasted by the students. She nodded her head towards a few students that she recognized from the years before and smiled hopeful at the new students that she has yet to met.

She walked up to the long table at the front of the room with all the rest of the Professors and stood looking over at the audience before her. As everyone became silent, she took in the sight and let out a long breath. "How is everyone?" She asked as if it was a rhetorical question. She smiled even more and started to pace slightly in front of the Professors table.

"So I'd like to welcome everyone that is new here. It will be a great year here at Hogwarts, y'all all have so much to learn!" She paused, looking around the room to see what expressions she could pick up on. She always worked better on bouncing off the energy that she was fed. She just about always had a stunning smile, though, when angered, she could become a women that you'd probably want to stay away from. "I'd like to welcome also all of the new Professors that we have this year; students, please make them feel at home with us." She turned to look at the Professors sitting behind her as she spoke. She then focused her attention back to the audience of students.

"There will be a dance for the beginning of the school year coming up rather soon. Everyone make sure you grab a partner while you still can!" She giggled to herself, remembering the years she went here and her first dance. It was an exciting event, and one that lead to many adventures with the boy that had the courage to ask her to the dance. The boy that she would eventually realize that she fell in love with, only after all the adventures together and only after it was too late.

She always loved attending the dances, even as a chaperon now, it reminded her of her childhood years of love, youth, and the brilliant minds a-like. She wasn't always such an innocent figure. Now, as she has matured and became the role model that she has to contribute to the image of, she has lighten her mind, spirit, and the wild side of the girl that use to be one of the biggest trouble markers in the school. Not in a bad way, more of a didn't like authority, rules, or the belief that she was restricted to just the inner walls or boundaries of this school. She was always trying to escape, always trying to find some new way to sneak around and find new hiding spots for her and her friends to roam around about as if they were the keepers of the night. (It's funny how she now works in the one place she spent 7 years trying to get out of.)

Sleeping wasn't her strong suit, even today, sleeping wasn't a part of her life that she fancied much or really paid too much attention to, which is why Muggle Coffee, that she had decided she had became quite fond of, became her best friend; especially after becoming the new head mistress a few years back. Muggles always struck her fancy with their way of life. She had grown up in a completely muggle free zone and now she seemed to study them quite often and try to take up the art of their culture as if trying to learn a new language or learn a new way of living in a world not of her own.

After realizing that memory lane had stopped her speech, she looked back over the students one more time in almost a jealous stare. "I wish all of you the best of luck in finding what it is that you are looking for while you are here. I know it can be tough at times, and the stress level of everything going on within your social life structures and the classes that you will be taking on, it seems as if it takes up more time than you even have in a day. Just... don't lose yourself and always stay true to your heart." The smile that had brightly pierced her lips, was now a trace of a bold stare. She wanted to be taken seriously for once. She knew no one ever really cared about the speech or what she really had to say would be over looked by the hungry bellies and the minds traveling of young ones that are only waiting for me to leave to go back on with their lives, never realizing just everything that was going on in the world.

"It's funny how time can get lost. How the world can turn upside down and how your life as it was will never be the same again. It's weird how you thought you knew everyone around you and you believed the world to be somewhat a happy, safe place, only to be shut down by the truth of the what you never knew existed. I only hope that all of the fear and hatred of the world is over and all of you can have the youth, love, and the life that all the rest of us wished that we could have had so easily." Adrian had a feeling of sickness pass over her. It wasn't like her to get all worked up or have this feelings of something bad sneaking up on her and coming out of her verbally to an audience of people.

She felt a tenseness over take over nerve structure. "The past was the past. Don't let it affect who you are now." She lightly whispered to herself.

[Viola Grey]

Viola joined in the applause that ended Adrian's speech. She too looked out at the sea of fresh faces that were staring up at her with a mixed feeling of excitement and trepidation. It had been so long since she had been in the Great Hall and the memories of school years at Hogwarts came flooding back to her as she took in the hundreds of floating candles above the four house tables, the pearly forms of ghosts flitting around the space and the hundreds of black robed students, all fresh from their summer break.

It seemed surreal that she was finally back where she felt most at home, back teaching students what she had so coveted to learn but at the same time there was somthing nagging the back of her mind, something she couldn't quite put her finger on. Taking a sip from the goblet of pumpkin juice in front of her she put a stop to the queasy feeling that had just come over here and leant back in her chair surveying the students with bright interest. There were faces that looked all too familiar in the crowd, children of old school mates perhaps? She would be interested to see the list of names on her register the next morning.

Viola leant across the table and smiled at the Headmistress.

"A good speech to start the new school year I think." She said, with a small smile.

[Abagail "Abbie" Dreyer]

Adrian seemed to stare out into the mist of young adults far too long for comfort and wasn't sure why such a sinking feeling had come over her. A non-positive side of her didn't exactly exist so why such a dreary ending of a speech? She tried to give a smile but it only came off as fake stuck up poster smile. She walked back over to her seat within the middle of the table and stood before it. "Let the feast begin!" she proclaimed loudly and sternly and with that the food appeared above the tables in front of all the students upon each table.

Turkey legs, frog legs, heads of corn, fruits, pies, and anything else you could almost think of smelled the room with such an intoxicating but beautiful aroma. She sat down and continued to stare into the vast amounts of starving students and watched as they started to stuff their faces with all the excitement, but the speech was still chilling her down to her bones.

Viola turned to her, "A good speech to start the new school year I think." A friendly remark and up boost of moral helped her find her smile once again that seem so hidden only moments ago. She gave her a small nod and a helpful smile. "I hope so..." she trailed off once again just staring into the mass of bodies before her now with a small smile but never touching the food before her, she had lost her appetite.

[Terrence Watson]

Terrence, being seated at the Hufflepuff table, looked down at his very loud, growling stomach. Having ridden the Hogwarts express for several hours, and only eaten cavity-causing sweets from the trolley, he was very ravenous. His loud grumbling made it hard for other students to hear Professor Schwartz and shot him funny looks. Shrugging his shoulder's at them, he simply whispered " I am sorry, I can't control it." his stomach seemed to have echoed all across the Great Hall and even the Fat Friar gave him a look.

Once the Professor had finished her speech all the students clapped. Terrence, not noticing the pause the Professor took, exclaimed " Bravo, Bravo, Encore." Then promptly shut up once the beautiful words, " Let the feast begin" were uttered. Glorious food appeared on the golden plates set before them. Terrence did not need telling twice to "Dig in". He grabbed 4th helpings of the treacle tart and 3rd's of bangers and mash. He was so consumed with his appetite he had nearly forgotten about the triwizard's tournament. He attempting to strike up a conversation with those in his house about it, but simply forgot he had food in his mouth, so really it came out " 'Ey Ou Ear Buot He Ournament." Hufflepuff's howled in laughter at Terrence. He just merely smiled, food stuck in his teeth, and his ear's turning red.

[Viola Grey]

The student at the Hufflepuff table stood up, exclaiming Bravo! Viola had to chuckle at the pluck of the young boy. Students never changed no matter what the generation. It reminded her of her own school days at Hogwarts, the two boys in her year level in particular which were known for, trouble-making for want of a better word.

Viola leant back in her chair and watched the Headmistress carefully. There was something wrong and yet she was not at that point in familiarity with her employer that she felt she could ask what was troubling her and offer some small comfort. She thus decided to focus her attentions on the food which had appeared on the table in front of her. She helped herself to some roast chicken and potatoes, concentrating carefully on the taste of the food. She took another deep sip of pumpkin juice and ran a hand through her hair.

It had been a long journey to Hogwarts this morning, she had taken the Knight Bus to Hogsmeade, a form of transport she didn't usually like to use but Apparition had become difficult for her recently, ever since she had splinched herself a few months ago. She absently rubbed her right wrist in memory of that day and shook the thought from her mind, quite literally.

[Abagail "Abbie" Dreyer]

Adrian watched as the students seemed pleased with the food in front of them, at least the house elf's would always be there to fill there tummies she thought with a small smile upon her petite mouth. Everyone should always feel safe within Hogwarts walls. So many spells and incarnations to fill the walls and doors with safe route within the building made it one of the safest places in the world. And the whole school was hers... it kind of felt like a lot when she realized it that way. Way more responsibility then she had originally realized when she took the job. But her vows to the students safety and learning environment was one of the few things in her life she took completely seriously. For the first time since she had stepped foot inside the building, a horribly bad feeling was being bestowed upon her, and she had no earthly idea why.

She smiled down at a Hufflepuff that found joy in the food that had appeared after the speech that she found great pride in pronouncing each year. Of the only events within the school she actually enjoyed and could do several times over if she had too, made her almost good sights for being a religious preacher of some sort, if she believe in such a thing. Oh muggles and their creativity, she thought charmingly.

She gave a small nod to Professor Grey as she caught her eye with a cup of pumpkin juice in her hands. It was a great day, and a great opening speech, other than the small bit of pessimistic views. And what was that about? She thought as the gave it again another deep thought. The food all in front of her still has given no notice by her as her mind still tried to make out the gut feeling inside her stomach.

She felt a misty cold flow of air wave through the room. She looked around curiously wandering what might have caused it. No outlets seemed to be in site and the ceiling was still a night vision of candles and bright gleaming stars with a touch of misty foggy clouds, which was her favorite part she added, nothing look more real without a little clouds, she thought happily to herself. The air seemed to never stop and a small fog of chilly white fluffy started to form around the ground of the ankles of the students. She gave a wiry glance around the room and gave a questionable look to the professors of the table.

[Viola Grey]

The hairs on the back of Viola's neck stood up as a cold chill spread over her. She dismissed it however as a breeze from the windows and continued her conversation with the Herbology Professor on her left. She never thought she would say this but at that moment in time she wasn't the bit interested in what her collegue had to say. She nodded wearily as she helped herself to some more food. Something white caught the corner of her eye and she turned her head slightly. Something dropped in her stomach as she swiveled in her seat, the Herbology Professor droning on about some trip to Switzerland to find a new and rare plant species that lived in a specific cave in the Alps.

The white mist was barely at the ankles of the students and they seemed unconcerned, potentially not even notcing it's presence. Viola saw Adrian clock the mist too and she gave an encouraging nod to the Herbology Professor and turned in her seat to the Headmistres."

"Headmistress..." Where did she begin. "I assume you see that to?"

[Celeste Lydia Rose]

The excitement and anticipation, wasn’t as contagious as Celeste had hoped for; feeling a little sleep deprived and very social, she wanted some sort of thrill to run through her, but all she got was a very sleepy state of mind. Celeste did notice that a few of her fellow Slytherins weren't excited like the rest of the school, and that made Celeste feel a little better about not being excited.

Now sitting in the Great hall, with the whole school talking about anything and everything, Celeste wasn’t really paying attention to the Slytherin girls as they were talking about their holidays. Sarah didn’t know what she was looking for as she gazed around the hall, meeting eyes with a couple of people, before drawing her attention on the staff table. Something had caught her eye; it was the Headmistress.

Celeste listened to the speech with little interest, she heard the speech quite a few times allready, and become bored of listening . Celeste did clapped with the rest of them, half wondering why she felt like Adrain wasn't saying everything. Celeste turned back to notice that dinner had been served, food was piled everywhere on the table. Giving the whole thing a good look, her stomach hungered for something homemade. Celeste filled up her Goblet, and grabbed a piece of bread, before she settled down to start listening to her fellow housemates and their talk. Well, she tried to anyway, it wasn’t hard to forget about them, about everything. Celeste blinked into the present and started to nibble on the bread, her loss in appitate showing on her face.

A cold shiver crawlled up her spine, and she spun around thinking it was some idiot from the table behind her. Celeste's smile turned dark when she noticed several of the kids where sneering behind her. If she wasn't in public she wouldn't have hesitated to grab the kids and pinned them to the table, a wand at their throats. Celeste turned back around and shifted her body so the wand in her sleeve wasn't digging into her arm. Then she noticed the fog around her feet, and stiffened. Celeste reached down and cupped a handful of the fog and watched it slip from her hands. Risking a glance at the students, Celeste bit her lip and shook her head, could it be something bad? Then she looked up and saw Adrian, and for the briefest of moment it dawned on Celeste that this wasn't part of the plan.

[Terrence Watson]

Terrence, mid-way through a chicken leg, had a horrible look of dumbfoundedness on his face. Without even bothering to put the morsel down, he quickly scanned his eyes to the Headmistress to see if this was some event for the Triwizard Cup. Professor Schwartz's face looked very similar to his own. He then briefly turned to see if it was some dumb Slytherin just having fun. The mist slowly creeped around his ankles and began inching towards his legs.

Terrence jumped up on the Hufflepuff Bench and pulled his wand out of his back pocket. "Lumos", he yelled, pointing his wand squarely at the ground, trying desperately to see if there was a creature hiding in the mist. However, instead of clearing the fog, it simply became thicker and bulged more together. It gathered slowly in the center of the Great Hall.

[Trixie]

Trixie happened to be helping in the kitchens before the feast. Its takes a great number of house elves just to perform such a simple task, like dinner, for so many students. She taste tested, stirred, and was dubbed the official pepper shaker. She wanted everything to be just right for the students. She knew this was Mistress Shwartz's favorite time of year. Trixie loved the students almost as much as the Mistress did. Once everything was to Trixie's liking, she herself, gave thanks for the commendable job that the other house elves had done. She agreed with the other house elves that this might be their best feast yet.

Trixie quickly apparated upstairs to be near her Mistress. She did oh so love hearing the opening speech. Trixie applauded her mistress loudly and while sniffling and wiping tears out of her eyes she said vehemently in a squeaky voice, " Yes, Yes, Well done." Trixie was much too innocent to pick up the tone that the Mistress was under strain. Trixie was hidden near the back pillar while her mistress sat down to eat. She observed the children eating all the fine food they had taken hours to make. Rocking back and forth, smiling to herself, Trixie was in her own world. She was very happy with all the accomplishments and the feast.

[Alyssa Lockwood]

Alyssa was sitting at the Slytherin table with the rest of the Slytherins. She was sitting across from Celeste she was in the same year as her. She was listening to the head mistress speech whenever everyone else clapped she had done the same. She had said something about a dance. “Ugh.” Alyssa murmured to herself. Who was she going to go with? Or was anyone going to ask her? This was bad Alyssa didn’t want to go alone she wanted to have fun actually. Alyssa looked over at Celeste. She noticed something was wrong. “Hey are you okay?” She asked as some of the other students behind her were sneering over at the Slytherin table at Celeste.

[Avery Wixon]

Avery sat silently as she heard the speech from the headmistress. She had heard this speech five years no but this time it was different. There were times when she just trailed off. Wonder what that is about? Avery though to herself. Then she realized it was none of her business. She was a student and she knew not to go meddling in others business especially when they had the power to expel.

After she heard the words dig in, Avery noticed a boy she was sitting near literally did that. She laughed but seeing the food in front of her eyes. Made her want to do the same. Instead she piled her plate and ate everything one bite at a time making sure not to choke on anything. Noticing the boy try to talk with his mouth full, Avery laughed. "Maybe you should try swallowing that before you talk. Were not going anywhere." she said to the boy.

Avery reached out to grab a treacle tart but when she was bringing her hand in her elbow hit the goblet. Luckily it had been emptied moments before. As she reached down to pick it up she noticed a white fluffy mist wrapping around her ankles. A chill ran down her spine, as she sat back up she shrugged of the event. Maybe it was part of the feast, although she wanted to believe that something deep down told her it wasn't.

[Anton Levski]

Anton Levski, Bulgarian Gameskeeper, sat on his rightful chair atop the grand table for the Staff. He looked like a little child in his large seat. Probably from the Gameskeeper from Harry Potters time. His eyes on the Headmistress, Anton payed little attention. He didn't need to pay attention. He worked here; he would be listening to the same speech for ages to come. If, this wasn't his first and last time here.

When she finished, Anton clapped just like everyone else, then feasted upon what was on his plate. It was absolutely delicious. Eating quickly, Anton had looked up just in time to see Adrian's soft and almost carefree face turn to fear. Anton glanced down to the floor where all of the students ate. Why was the fog there? "Adrian?" he looked up at her, wondering if she knew what was going on. Was this part of the plan?

[Abagail "Abbie" Dreyer]

Adrian staying as still as she could, watched as the fog appeared to become more thickly laying the ground. It started to rise slowly and she realized as it grew that it wasn't much more time before more people realized it was there. Oh, no no no no... she thought. It was the first day back! Nothing bad is suppose to ever happen on the first day. It's the day things go smoothly and it's the day that she could smile and be herself and not worry about anything because nothing has happened! But here, on the first day, a misty fog is forming? From what?

She turned to see Trixie standing near by and unaware of anything alarming. She looked to her and her cute doll like statue and gave her worried eyes. "Trixie..." She said towards her to get her attention without worrying anyone else. She bent down from the table to face the creature face to face and more alone then saying so blunting in front of the rest of the school. She didn't want to raise alarm if she didn't have to.. "Can you see where the fog is coming from?" She said sternly pointing under the table towards the rest of the room.

She looked to see a few students already realizing it and giving her looks. One hufflepuffle jumped up and was already with his wand out. Ah, great... what to do.. what to do... She Stood up and put on her smile that always relaxed everyone and showed no fake resemble to anything bad. "It's alright, just a little adventure added to set the mood!" She proclaimed as she looked back to Professor Grey who had asked moments before of the mysterious fog. She was hoping it would sell, but since it was something never seen before, she knew the professors in the least would realize it wasn't a true statement. She walked past Professor Grey and gave her a nudge to follow her along. She needed to escape the students eyes and try to find the source before her fake calm tone would prove to be false.

[Viola Grey]

Viola ran a hand through her hair and continued to scan the Great Hall and the students. A few had begun to notice the fog and it seemed that it only got thicker with spells. She glanced sideways at the other Professors, most whom thought that it was some kind of Start of Term spectacle, she even heard the Herbology Professor exclaim to the Professor of Divination that the Headmistress had outdone herself this year. However Viola could see from the corner of her eye the Headmistress was not impressed.

She felt her pass by and nudge her to follow. With as much decorum and calm that she could muster she excused herself from the Herbology Professor, muttering something about the bathroom and followed the Headmistress. There wasn't anything she could think of saying so she ran through vanishing and transfiguring spells in her head, wondering if anything would decrease the fog. The problem was she had seen one of the students use a simple lumos spell and it had gotten thicker.

Lost in her own train of thought she followed closely behind the Headmistress wondering what she was thinking.