September 2nd 2004

Dear Diary,

The first day of actual term, was always one that Hyacinth enjoyed. It was also the same one she knew students enjoyed as well. For they all knew that there would be nothing seriously hard of which they had to do, most of their lessons would be introductions to the years worth of content and the collection of any summer homework they had been set. After all, there was not a staff member who did not set homework for their students. And some were much nicer than others in regards to setting it. Some had set their students pages and pages worth of reading, essay after essay. 

Hyacinth had been a little different, she had been aware that a summer holiday was supposed to be a period of resting for the students. Time for them to enjoy themselves without overthinking about school, about what they had to do when they came back. No thoughts regarding exams or tests. Therefore, she had set them a book to read, if they felt like it, and asked them to bring in something they had created over the summer. There would be no punishment if they brought nothing in, but there had been promises of potential rewards if they had brought something in. And she hoped the assortment of treats from Honeydukes she had stored in her office would be enough of a reward for the students who had completed the optional task she had set. 

And she would see just how well it would work with her first class of the year. Hyacinth knew that her schedule was packed as one of the core classes, yet she enjoyed it as she stood waiting for her class to turn up for the first lesson of the day. It was supposed to be one of her smaller classes, as she waited for the 24 students to arrive. After all, on their sixth year at the school, she hoped that most of them would know their way to the classroom. It hadn't moved even from when she was a student, the interior had just changed greatly as the staff had changed when she took over the teaching post. 

No longer was the room littered with large books left right and centre, creating a trip pattern that Hyacinth had herself fallen victim to one too many times. There was also no step for her to stand upon not needing one, when she was the same height as many of the taller students in the room. The one thing she could not change was the location of the benches, with the students sat down four rows which ran the length of the classroom, Hogwarts would not change that. But rather she had many boards around the room so that they could all easily see what she was writing, all which mirrored the one she wrote on in the middle of the room. The walls were no longer painted as dark as the mahogany wood the furniture was made of, rather it was a light pale blue colour and the walls were decorated with candle looking lights of which could not be put out by some well performed light extinguishing charms. 

She stood at the little desk she had in the room, the one which was slowly being filled with things the students gifted her, she had cleared most of the ones from the previous year with the intent to fill it again with anything the students gave her during the current year. The only thing which remained was the little charmed dragon she had been gifted which matched the Hungarian horntail her brother had gifted her from his time in the triwizard tournament. The two little dragons often played on her desk knocking everything else over. 

When all the students were seated in her class, she started the speech she had been planning for them for the last few days. 

"I'd like to welcome you all back to my classroom, in case your brains have forgotten over the course of your holiday I am Diana Potter. I would like to praise you all on your OWL results at the end of last year, and congratulate you for making the grades required to take this NEWT class. Unfortunately as the name suggests your NEWTS are nasty. But I hope that we can at leats have fun in your final two years with me as we learn some of the more fun charms you can encounter during your time at this school." Hyacinth paused as she took a moment to look at the students around her. This year would be the last of the ones she would have gone to school with herself, they would have only been in their first year as she was in her last. But it still felt strange irregardless. 

"I hope to come around and talk to each of you to see how your summer has been. Today's lesson will be more on the paperwork side with no wand waving as we get everything sorted. Starting from next week, Monday evenings will be the NEWT level charms drop in. And Friday drop ins are open to all years. Please do not suffer in silence, if you require help those are the easiest days for you to obtain it, otherwise you are aware my office door is open at any time for any of you to visit if you need help." Hyacinth explained her procedure hoping that they could remember at least a little bit from their previous year with her teaching. 

Hyacinth took a little break from talking at her class, rather moving to walk around and hand out the books of which the students would be filling in. It had been something that Minevra had introduced when she had become headmistress, all students would receive a book for their class notes. A book that could be charmed if it ran out of pages so they would not loose their lesson notes. Homework could then be also written in these books and was to be handed out by word count rather than inches of parchment. Not that Hyacinth followed this, rather setting her students questions to answer with no limit on their responses. Books were to be kept in the teachers room and handed out at the beginning of each lesson. The students would be able to take the books with them to study two weeks before the official exam week at the end of each term. But they would be responsible if they lost it during that time. The seventh year students would take their books with them at all times. The fifth year students would be allowed to carry the books with them in the summer term in preparation for their OWLS. Books were also then taken home at the end of each school year. 

The first lesson would pass much quicker than Hyacinth expected it to the 45 minutes passing so fast she nearly forgot to ask about the summer homework. It would be the sound of the miniature dragons knocking one pack of sweets over which drew her attention to it. 

"Has anyone got any summer homework to hand in?" She asked not sure what to expect, and neither did many of the students. Yet despite this she did get five submissions. 

"To those who submitted homework please do help yourself to something from the Honeydukes collection on my desk at the front. If you did not, the opportunity will come round again after the winter break later this year." With a ring of the bell the class was dismissed and Hyacinth smiled. Considering it was the first of her six lessons for the day everything seemed to be going well.

The next class group to enter her classroom was Hyacinth's first set of first years. A jumble of yellow and red entered the classroom and she smiled. Each year they changed which houses had classes together and this year it would be the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff students and the Slytherin and Ravenclaw students. 

"I'd like to extend a very happy welcome to Hogwarts to you all, my name is Diana Potter and I am your charms professor. Charms is the study of spells of which can be used in every day life. You will have two lessons with me each week of which in lesson one we will go through the theory of the spell, the pronunciation and the wand movement. Lesson two will be the practice of the spell itself." Hyacinth explained and with that her second class was over. 

By the time dinner rolled around that evening at 6pm, Hyacinth was exhausted, the first day of classes having worn her out. Just as much if not more than it had done when she was a student. She tried to put a pep into her step entering the great hall, hoping that the magic of the room would give her enough energy to eat and not drop her head into her food. That would be nothing short of embarrassing. 

"Looking a little rough there Potter." Draco's voice interrupted Hyacinth's direct path to her seat at the teacher's table. She paused before taking her next step turning to look at the man that equally made her heart swoon looking at him as it did make her want to slap the smug look he was sporting off his face. 

"Oh shove off." Were the only words Hyacinth could come up with as she looked at him. The urge to flip him off also present but knowing that it would be a little too obvious to the students what she was doing. 

"Very smart for a professor." He bounced back, and Hyacinth wondered if perhaps he was trying to reignite the school rivalry with her. The one that he had only sparked up because of her brother. And therefore she only shrugged him off and continued walking to her seat.

Aware that her heart was racing at the tiniest of interactions with him. Only reminding her of what she was like during her teenaged years. And realising that she was in much deeper than she thought she was. 

Yours,
Diana Potter.