Introductions


This takes place one week before the start of the term.
I know it's October, but hey.

Today was the day. The big day. After years of struggling and bad decisions, it was time for the first good thing to happen to Cece in a long time. Almost ten years had gone by, and she was stepping onto Hogwarts ground again. The trip was... nerve wracking. It was a flying car ride with a ministry employee that felt like it took years. He was nice enough, but the pair didn't have much to talk about. As they grew closer, Cece could feel her heart racing. Her nerves only continued as she began to imagine the worst possible scenarios. What if she began drinking again? Would she be a good influence on the students? What if she wasn't cut out to be a teacher at all? maybe a parent would even demand she be fired because of her past. Cece closed her eyes and tried to calm herself down.

All to quickly the trip ended. They arrived on the grounds of her old school, this time as an adult. Cece stepped out of the car and took a deep breath. There was no going back now. The car pulled away and she was left standing there with her luggage, which wasn't much. Cece never had much for spare cash, and though her wardrobe is important to her, it was certainly not her first priority.

The castle was exactly as she remembered. It seemed a lot bigger back then, but even now it was still pretty big. The feel of the magic in the air was indescribable, so different than the life she lead in Canada. Cece closed her eyes and took another deep breath. It was time to dive into her new life, head first. The students hadn't arrived yet. Cece had about a week of the castle to herself, along with the other staff members, before the Hogwarts Express showed up. This was a good thing, as it gave her a chance to learn the way around again, and adjust to her new home before she had to jump right into teaching. Of course, Cece assumed that the professor training her would let her observe to a while before she was given any kind of responsibility, but that was still to be discussed. Though she hoped this would be a week of relaxing and adjusting, Cece knew that this week would be full of planning and formalities and preparations for the upcoming year. Who knows what it will hold in store?

Though the air was still fairly warm from summer, the air inside the castle was significantly warmer. Oh how magic makes everything much more comfortable. Here, Cece was to wait for someone to show her to her room. She wasn't sure who this would be, probably the care taker, but who knew? Silently Cece ran through a list in her head of everything she needed to do before the students arrived. Unpack. Explore. Get to know her new coworkers, or at least introduce herself. Discuss with he headmaster anything he'd like her to do, or well, whatever. Plan out the year with her supervising professor. How son would she be allowed to give it a shot? Would she get to share with the students her experience as a dragon wrangler? Then the worries set in again. Would her supervisor like her? Would he make her observe for the entire year? Had she gotten rusty since her days in school? Her work with dragons only applied to dragons... and then there was all her years of partying and general irresponsibility.

"Oh, god." Cece thought. "I can't do this. I' not a good person. I'll never be a good teacher. Why did I eve apply for this job?"

Though it had always been a problem, Cece began to wonder if her veela half would finally show itself. Though it was most likely to blame for her outbursts and bad decisions, she had never turned into a disgusting bird-like creature like her mother. Though that could be to lame too, growing up without a mother, knowing she gave birth and left, and what she was.

"Oh no. This is all a dream. A bad dream." Cece was breathing hard quite fast now. She swallowed hard and opened her eyes again. She was still in Hogwarts. It was real. Nothing had changed. Well, one thing had changed. There was now someone standing in front of her, probably wondering who she was and why she was standing in the middle of the entrance hall with a couple of suitcases.