It had happened too many times before; too often were the professors within Hogwarts moved about, switching positions… professions… classes. Eventually, Nerissa had stopped trying to remember the names of the week’s newest professor, and had come to accept the fact that Herbology professors would never be committed enough to stay put for any longer than a class or two. So it came as no surprise when Nerissa’s eyes met with a pair she found to be unfamiliar; a pair of eyes belonging to her professor, apparently, for he stood at the farther end of the greenhouse, which was a side of the glass house that had been claimed by the professors towards the very beginning of time. “Most of the students in this class have grown quite used to the unexplained switching of professors, sir. Good afternoon, I do hope you’ve had a pleasant day up until now,” Nerissa spoke, her airy voice being carried by her breath, continuing throughout the ‘classroom’ as if it were a soap bubble drifting about the chilled afternoon air.
She drew in the scent of the moist air within the greenhouse, allowing the smell to linger within her nostrils and the taste of the soil that had become a permanent part of the greenhouse, to sit upon her tongue. It was something that Nerissa had grown quite fond of; the smell of the dirt that filled the flower pots on the far side of the room, along with the look of the dirtied glass walls that held the greenhouse together. It was a very pleasant, calming combination, despite the aching that Nerissa could feel within her skull, causing her eyes to drag over the words written upon the chalkboard on the far side of the classroom much slower than usual. She had paid no attention to the name written in chalk, assuming that the teacher would last no longer than the others, and continued onward to read the last of her instructions. “Paperwork. Well, you may not be the first to teach this class, but you certainly are the first to ask for introductions from us all…” Nerissa stated with a simple shrug of her shoulders which indicated that she was in no way attempting to insult the professor before her.
With a few halfhearted steps, Nerissa made her way across the room in order to collect the questionnaire which she had been instructed to complete, and to drop her wand off at the front of the greenhouse. For a brief moment as Nerissa released the slender piece of wood from her grip, she swore she felt as if it would never be returned to her. She knew that this was not the case, but her paranoia had taken advantage of her for a single moment. She had managed to catch it in the act, however, and to prevent herself from acting in any unusual way; this was not the first time that Nerissa had felt suspicion towards the requests of a teacher, and those events had not gone over as smoothly. “There you are,” she muttered before turning quite reluctantly away from the professor’s growing collection of wands.
Now, she thought, making a beeline towards the nearest desk, I wonder if he shall continue in his attempts to differentiate himself from the previous professors and teach me something about Herbology that I haven’t already learned on my own. Nerissa slide sideways, dropping upon her chair with her knees hidden beneath the table of the desk she had claimed as her own. She would answer to the form later; she had, after all, been given such an option.