Post by Carolyn Porter on Jul 6, 2009 2:24:31 GMT -5
The first years had already been sorted. The headmaster had already given his welcome speech. Everyone had started eating and seemed to be enjoying themselves. The usual clinging of silverware against glass plates and the chatter of students at their tables filled the Great Hall. It was obvious that the students were discussing their summer vacation; the first years were probably just listening in and saying nothing—that was all they could do. The professors were talking quietly amongst themselves between bites of food they had on their plates. The only professor who did not seem to be in on any conversation was Carolyn Porter, a tenured ten-year professor with silver hair and deep blue eyes.
The professor leaned forwards off her seat and took her water loosely in her right hand. She brought it to her lips and sipped from it quietly, allowing the room-temperature water to travel down her throat and into her stomach. She allowed her eyes to glance around the room before she reached the index finger and middle finger of her left hand into her small glass and removed a piece of ice. She placed it in her mouth and chewed on it. A loud crunching noise could be heard by anyone sitting close enough to hear. Any of the professors who had taught with her in previous years would know that it was her chewing on the ice; newer professors might be slightly confused as to what the noise was. They would soon learn, however.
Carolyn lifted the small glass of ice in her hand and swirled the ice around in a circular motion. It made a light clinging noise as she did it. With a sigh, she replaced the glass on the table, away from the edge, and then took the napkin off her lap. She stood to her feet and pushed her chair under the table. After doing so, she fixed her knee-length skirt and her jacket and walked off the platform and between two of the long house tables. As she walked along the stone floor of the Great Hall, her stilettos clicked heavily and echoed throughout the place. Some of the students turned their heads, mostly the first years that had just been sorted. The older students knew that it was her heels clicking against the floor, and they knew that she was probably just leaving the Great Hall to escape the noise. The head of house hated a lot of noise, and most of the older students knew this. She always bailed out of meals earlier than the other professors to escape the noise. No one really knew where she went; they just knew that she left.
Carolyn very rarely went to the same place two meals in a row. Since it was the start of a new year, Carolyn had not been anywhere yet. So, where would she go? After stepping out into the Entrance Hall, the woman looked towards the dungeons and then towards the grand staircase. She sighed. She really did not want to remain standing there in the castle, with absolutely nothing to do. Instead of taking one way or the other, she walked straight across the Entrance Hall and towards the large oak doors. She went outside on the grounds, and the darkness washed over her. She looked up at the stars and saw that it was a beautiful night. Because it was only the start of September, the weather was not cold or hot. It was perfect. The woman let a faint smile appear on her face for one fleeting second, and then she let it vanish. Things like that were only short-lived in Carolyn’s life. It was not often that she wore a smile for any longer than five seconds. The times that she did were times when she was in the comfort of her own home.
A content sigh escaped the woman’s lips as she sat on one of the benches in the flower garden. She looked at all of the flowers through the moonlight and smiled gently. This was one of the things she missed about Hogwarts: the beauty of the grounds outside. It was a shame that the students arrived so late in the evening, or else Carolyn would have been able to see the flowers better than she could at that moment.
Sitting back on the bench, Carolyn crossed one of her legs over the other. She looked so much like a lady sitting there with her legs crossed and her skirt pulled gently over her thighs as to cover her legs. A light breeze blew across the grounds and caressed the woman’s cheeks. She closed her eyes and just let the coolness of the breeze touch her face and cool her down. When she opened her eyes and looked at the area in front of her, she realized that she was no longer alone there on the grounds. Someone else had come outside and joined her. She tilted her head to the side and blinked her eye gently, the moon illuminated the deep blue color. The front of her hair fell into her eyes, but she brushed it away with one quick, simple motion. It only continued to fall into her eyes, so she ignored it.
Assuming the person had not seen her since he/she had not said anything, the fifty-six-year-old woman cleared her throat quietly as to gain the person’s attention. After she had cleared her throat, she remained silent and just waited for the person to acknowledge her.
