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Post by carolyn anne porter on Apr 13, 2009 14:58:05 GMT -6
The dark gray clouds had been lingering for the entire week, but it was not until now that it had started raining. It had started first as a simple drizzle and then turned into a light rain. Now it was pouring down in great masses upon the grounds of Hogwarts and many of the surrounding areas out of sight from the grounds. This meant that the students would be confined to the castle unless they really wanted to have the fresh rain falling down upon them. Some people were like that and enjoyed feeling the cool rain on their skin and could be found outside when the rain came down in large masses. Carolyn, however, was not like that and could rarely be found outside when even the sun was shining. She was more of an indoor person and preferred looking outside at those who enjoyed the sunlight or the rain. She would enjoy it that way.
Because most of the students had been confined to the castle on account of the rain, Carolyn was walking around that Friday afternoon during her free period. The castle was mostly quiet with the exception of sounds coming from a few rooms, mostly classrooms. Many lessons were in session, which meant that most students would be out of the corridors and learning what needed to be learned. There were those students, sixth and seventh years mostly, that had free periods at the same time she did. This meant that they would be wandering aimlessly around the corridors in search of something to do if they were not in their common rooms. Carolyn was the one in charge of getting them where they needed to be, especially if they were being disruptive.
The woman's slender legs carried her from her classroom after one of her lessons and a few yards down the corridor. This was definitely not her most favorite job in the world, but someone had to do it. Most of the other professors slacked off when they had to do the corridor duties. They had papers to grade or "more important things to do." That was the biggest difference between Carolyn and her colleagues: she got her work done on time or ahead of time, which ultimately left more time for her to spend with herself or those around her. When she had no work to do, she would spend time helping her older students who were struggling or making sure students served their detentions. She would sometimes go to her home, in Hogsmeade, and just enjoy being at home. Sometimes Samuel would join her, which always seemed to bright her day. But she knew that Samuel would not be at home at the moment. He was working at the Ministry of Magic, and he was oftentimes very busy. Sometimes Carolyn would make trips during the day when she had nothing better to do, and he would tell her that he was sorry but he was busy. She understood that, though. She had once done the same job as he did, possibly even more than he was doing, and she could never find time to even breathe at work.
Carolyn continued to walk along the corridor. With each step the aging woman took came a the loud clicking noise of her five-inch heels against the stone floors beneath her. Everyone knew that the clicking of heels in such a manner could only mean one thing: the Dragon Lady was coming. Most of the people called her that, or an assortment of other names, but they never thought that she knew about it. Of course she knew that people called her these unnecessary names, but she never said anything. Actually, she quite liked being called things like "Dragon Lady" and "Snow Queen." It only proved that she was doing her job and that she was doing it well. This made a small smile grace her face.
As she reached one of the large windows in one of the corridors, the woman stopped and leaned over onto the sill; her backside was poked out into the corridor quite a bit, not like it mattered because there was no one else there. The rain was coming down really hard outside, and it was beating against the windows in a violent manner. The water looked like waterfalls as it traveled down the glass of the window, only to drip off the outside sill in the same violent manner that it was coming down. A sudden clash of thunder and a sudden flash of lightening caused Carolyn to jump, out of surprise and not out of fear. She blinked some and stepped back from the window but remained there in the corridor, staring up at the sky with somewhat interested eyes. She was pensive, and her blue eyes made this obvious. You'd think that after fifty-six years the woman would have nothing else to think about, but this was not the case. The longer Carolyn continued to live, the more she seemed to have to think about. She shook her head and sighed faintly. Sometimes she wished that she could stop thinking of things, like her husband. But he was usually one of the only things on her mind.
The woman stepped closer to the sill and placed her hands down upon it. Her nails clicked gently against it in a somewhat impatient manner. She relaxed a little bit and leaned over as she had previously been doing. Her body was gently curved as she stood there, her heeled feet flat on the floor, though her legs were crossed to help support her better. Her deep blue eyes peered out the window and into the faint darkness that was created by the dark gray clouds above. Another sigh escaped her lips as she stood there. And it was then that something caught her eye - a reflection in the glass of the window. The woman straightened herself to stand at her full height, plus the five-inch heels, but continued to look out the window. She would just stand and wait until the person standing behind her spoke and made his or her presence obvious. A small smile appeared on her face as she waited, but it quickly faded as she realized that the person could probably see her face reflected in the glass. She wasn't about to let someone see her smiling. She wasn't about to let people see that she had a "good" side. Allowing that to happen would probably cause people to lose respect for her, though she highly doubted that was possible. She was too well respected to lose respect. After all, her job was important and was something to be respected. Anyone who was willing to teach students the importance of an education deserved to receive brownie points in anyone's book. |
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Post by mandy paige brocklehurst on Apr 14, 2009 20:28:32 GMT -6
mandy paige brocklehurst Mandy sorta knew the teacher, not like she had taken any of her classes. Ms. Porter was about as stricked as a teacher could possibly get. For that mater no one could be like her, whatever job they happened to have. If Mandy could remember right, the Snow Queen, as she and everyone else called her, had given her friend Alice a detention the other day, probably for hardly any reason at all. Mally assumed that Snow Queen, like most of the older teachers, actually had a little game for handing out detention slips. Yellow paper with curly, i-can-hardly-read handwriting, that said when and where you happened to have the detention at. Mandy would know, she wasn't the best student with turning in things on in time.
The rain hammed on the window, which Ms. Porter happened to be looking out of. Mandy was lightly wet from walking around. She was one of the few people that actually liked to be outside, especially if there was bad to sever weather out there. Mally could remember a time, back in America where a tornado hit and she and her father stood outside watching it destroy house after house. Of course the funnel never headed in their direction but still, no actually watches a tornado with out running inside. Even today, only water from the sky was enough to make Mandy happy. Cold, clear drops of rain that fell from gray clouds full of others just like it. Mally hadn't seen anyone out there, not that it surprised her. Here, in England, it didn't seem as though anyone would show their faces when it was even sprinkling.
Out of the corner of her eye, Mally noticed a thin lip smile curl on Ms. Porter's face, the window helping her out. She held her breath hoping that Snow Queen wouldn't explode. Mandy had had many teachers that did explode after a friendly Hello came out of an unwitting student's mouth. Hey they where just trying to be nice. It was the kind of suck-up that teachers were less likely to pick up on. Well as long as you didn't throw in a cheesy grin, no one would hardly be able to tell. This had been some of the students ways of getting straight O's or maybe E's. Course that was way better then most students did by the long shot.
They reason that Mally had said Hi to Ms. Porter was because this period she was supposed to go to the library or just have a free period. And honestly no one else was even in the halls, anywhere. An older teacher was as close as you were going to get. Hey, Ms. Porter Mandy said half wishing she hadn't.
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Post by carolyn anne porter on Apr 14, 2009 21:04:10 GMT -6
The rain continued to fall heavily from the sky, and the blue-eyed professor continued to watch it. The rain, though she did not necessarily enjoy it, intrigued her for some strange reason. It kept her attention like a gentle song being sung, one that was being sung by a heavily admired voice. It was so soothing and calming. She closed her eyes for brief moment and listened to the pattering of the rain against the window.
Hearing a voice from behind her, the silver-haired professor opened her eyes and turned her body so that she was facing the young Slytherin girl. The woman allowed her eyes to take in the girl's appearance as well as determine who she was. The girl was not one of the first years students; this was obvious. She was not a new student of any kind; the professor had seen her around school before, many times. And though the Slytherin was not in any of Carolyn's classes, she knew the girl's name to be Mandy Brocklehurst, simply because she paid attention during the sorting ceremony and because she heard students calling her name in the corridors. The woman remained silent for a few lingering moments, letting a slight suspense build up within the silence. Students were always nervous when she did not reply immediately, but most of them knew her well enough to know that she did this to annoy them.
"Good morning," the woman finally said, her voice quiet like it usually was. Though her voice was low, it seemed to fill the corridor like water could fill a jar. She did not smile, nor did she offer a nod of her head. She simply turned herself to look back outside at the grounds, which were completely free of any and all persons of the castle. She cleared her throat for no particular reason, a habit of hers, and blinked her eyes a few times.
"You must have a free period," the professor suggested as she fixed one of her hoop earrings, which had become somewhat twisted with the slightest movement of her head. She then turned to face the Slytherin once again, this time leaning back against the stone sill beneath the window. If she wanted to, she could sit on it. It was wide enough, and she had actually done that many times before when she was sure no one else was coming. For now, she would just remain standing, five-inch heels and all.
Of all the articles of clothing and jewelry Carolyn wore, her heels were probably the most notable. She was stylish for the most part and wore some of the best looking clothes anyone had ever seen. She wore a slight amount of jewelry, enough to give her some "bling," but not too much that made her look snotty. She usually only wore her wedding and engagement rings, both on the same finger of the same hand, hoop earrings, and sometimes a necklace. A watch was also among her most common pieces of jewelry to wear, but she wasn't wearing one today.
Her clothes were the norm. She had on a simple black skirt that molded to her lower body nicely and curved her hips delicately. Her shirt was formfitting and clung to her body in a similar manner as her skirt, but a bit less constricting. The shirt was a deep shade of emerald green, which looked nice with her eyes and with her hair. She had a jacket, too, but that was in her classroom. It was a bit too warm in the castle for her at the moment; therefore, she was not wearing it. She looked like a muggle business woman, not that she really cared. She loved muggle clothes over witch's robes; they were far more stylish and by far more comfortable.
"You look like you just came in from outside," the woman noted, nodding at the young girl's somewhat damp clothing. "I thought I saw something moving down there a few moments ago. If you keep going out there every chance you get when it's raining, you'll start smelling like a wet dog." The woman brushed some of her silver hair back from her face and allowed her blue eyes to gaze at the girl in a somewhat informative sort of way. She tilted her head gently to the side and rested the backs of her hands on the stone sill behind her, taking some weight off her feet. It wasn't that the heels were bothering her, because they never did, but she just felt like leaning back and looking a little more casual. After all, she was talking to a non-stop in the corridors, and she wanted to "break" the stereotypes people had made of her, if that was at all possible. Sure, she liked being called a Dragon Lady or a Snow Queen, because it proved she had a reputation, but she wasn't all bad. Surely someone needed to know that...
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