Severus looked thoroughly flummoxed by all this. Smile? ME? If only he knew, the combination of wide, round eyes and beaky nose only made him look like a startled owl.
He threw Lily a profoundly grateful look; her last question rescued him from the embarrassed splutter he could feel coming on.
"It's doing about as well as can be expected, considering," he sighed. "Unfortunately I still have some support staff positions open - Flight instructor for one - and my Groundskeeper has joined the crowd and given his notice. But fortunately I've managed to find academic staff; and I've sent out invitations to an informal meetup in the Staff Room tomorrow night. I suppose it's a last-ditch attempt to get my new hires to meet the few stalwarts," he added with a tilt of his head and a wry grin.
"At this late date, School Spirit is too much to ask for, but it won't look good in front of the rugrats if fellow professors throw 'who the hell are you?' looks at each other when they pass each other in the corridors." he smirked.