`if walls could talk ,

[carolyn anne porter]

CAROLYN

PORTER

At the far end of Hogsmeade Village, away from the entrance to Hogwarts, was a small section of about fifteen or twenty cottages. The cottages were rented out to various types of people, but mostly young single people and couples. Very few families lived in the cottages unless they were small families of no more than three or four, but those were rare. All of the cottages looked exactly the same inside and out, with the exception of the obvious personal touches added by whoever resided in the cottages. Some of the cottages had gardens planted, and others had fences around what little land they rented out with the property. Overall it was a nice neighborhood, quiet and peaceful. The only time things got a bit restless was the weekend, especially on Saturdays when students flooded into the village.

People of all ages usually flooded into Hogsmeade early in the morning, Hogwarts students among them. Noise would fill the streets, ranging from the shouts of mischievous students to the reprimanding of the students by the professors who had accompanied them. Most of the cottage residents were used to the hustle and bustle of Saturdays, but not all of the residents enjoyed it. They had taken this into consideration when moving into the village. The prices, though had been affordable, and some of the residents found it convenient to live in Hogsmeade for whatever reason. Carolyn Porter, along with her husband Samuel, had found it convenient and extremely affordable at the time. They could have afforded something far more expensive since they both worked at the Ministry of Magic in very good positions, but Hogsmeade was convenient. When Carolyn had received her position as a professor at Hogwarts, the couple had made the decision to marry and then moved into the village.

Sometimes they regretted living in Hogsmeade, simply because of the usual weekend traffic. Students would come into the village and visit all of the shops. Luckily, the less popular shops were located at the far end of the village with the cottages, so there was not too much traffic that way. It wasn't necessarily the presence of people in the village that bothered the couple, but the fact that they brought with them a lot of noise. They were used to quiet; they had lived quiet lives for a while, so excess noise was more than enough to send them over the edge.

This Saturday was like any other Saturday. Students had flooded into the village early that morning, accompanied by some of their professors who enjoyed their Saturdays off. Most of the professor stayed down in the Three Broomsticks, had a few drinks, and chatted up a storm. When professors traveled down to the far end of the village, it was usually to visit friends. Not many of the professors actually came to see Carolyn, even though she worked with them on a daily basis. Usually she didn't mind because Samuel sometimes had the weekends off. This weekend, however, Mrs. Porter was almost desperate for companionship, and her cats and owl were just not solving the problem.

Carolyn wandered aimlessly about the cobblestone streets of Hogsmeade. It was unusual to see her outside of Hogwarts, her place to work; it was even more unusual to see her outside of her five-inch heels and professional attire. While she still had a great sense of style, she was wearing things that made her seem less strict than she actually was. Most people enjoyed seeing her in her out-of-the-ordinary clothes, but Carolyn was not one to let it get to her. She kept her cool and always acted the same as she would in her regular professional work clothes. It kept consistency.

Today she was dressed in simple attire. She had on a pair of black dress slacks and a plainly colored shirt. Both pieces of clothing molded nicely to her body and showed off what curves she did have. Her shoes, however, were not heels. Instead, they were flats and obviously very expensive ones at that. She wore, of course, her rings as well as a set of gold hoop earrings. Her silver hair was brushed over to the side in its usual manner, and her blue eyes held the same gaze they always did. The woman blinked a few times as she pushed open the door of Madam Puddifoot's and stepped inside. With her presence came a sudden feeling of uneasiness, which was quickly diminished as the very old woman behind the counter offered Carolyn one of her usual smiles and immediately went off to get Carolyn's "usual." Carolyn nodded her head and paid the woman when she retrieved her cup of scorching hot coffee and cinnamon roll. She then sat in her usual spot near the window, but out of sight from those in the street. She always sat here, since no one else did. She had a great view from the window, but no one on the outside could see her, not usually.

Sometimes Carolyn wished that she still worked as an ambassador at the Ministry of Magic. As of late, she and Samuel had not spent a lot of time together because Samuel worked so much. The silver-haired woman felt lonely sometimes, and she was almost wiling to resign from her position at Hogwarts and work with Samuel again. At least then they would be able to see each other. But she couldn't do that. She couldn't just leave Hogwarts and start working at the ministry because she was feeling lonely. Wasn't part of life about surviving? The woman looked into her cup of black coffee and saw her reflection there in the dark liquid. For a moment she studied her face and then sipped from the cup. She came in here most weekends when Samuel was gone, but she never spoke to anyone. None of the students came in there. None of the professors came in there. The woman behind the counter knew that she wasn't into large conversations. but at this rate, Carolyn didn't care who spoke to her, as long as she had someone, anyone, to talk to. For a moment she looked around, and her deep blue gaze fell upon one of the walls across the room. She had the sudden temptation to just speak out to that wall and see if it would respond. But how idiotic would that be? Talking walls... That really smelled of desperation, and Carolyn knew it. Sure, she seemed like a strong woman, like someone that didn't need a companion at all times. In reality, though, she did. She needed someone to talk to, because everyone got lonely once in a while.