Post by CARTER ASHLEY HAMPTON on Nov 10, 2009 10:12:17 GMT 2
Carter Ashley Hampton!
••• square one
full name: Because she does not want to disrespect her parents or make them feel bad for bestowing her with such a name, Carter Ashley Hampton refuses to change her name. She is not fond of such a name for the simple fact that it seems almost boyish to her, even with her middle name being Ashley. She has received several nicknames over the years, some to which she has taken a particular liking. Among her favorite nicknames are Car, Ashley, Ash, and Ham. Most of her close friends and family members call her Ham for the simple fact that she tends to be a little over-the-top excited and silly; they have nicknamed her “The Big Ham.” (The name was derived from the first three letters of her last name and fortunately matched her hammy personality!)
birthdate: It was on a relatively warm day in mid-May that Carter was born, but it was raining lightly outside. Her parents have not gone into depth about her birth, nor do they mention it much. The only thing her mother has revealed to her is that she was a “major pain in the ass” when she was born. Carter’s only argument is that all babies are that way when they are born, not just one or two. But then again, there are those lovely things called drugs that can ease the pain…
age: How people perceive Carter’s age depends on how closely they are standing to her as well as how much make-up she is wearing that day. If you are standing far away from her and she is wearing a lot of make-up, you will assume that she is in her twenties. If you are standing close by and she is wearing make-up, you may assume that she is near thirty. Up close and personal, with no make-up or things to hide her age, it is obvious that Carter is not exactly young anymore. Her face is beginning to show signs of age, though not as many as an elderly woman’s might. It is safe to say that she looks her age, thirty-nine.
blood: Carter was born into a long line of purebloods. Most of them are friendly and do not hold muggleborns and half-bloods in low esteem. Some of her ancestors who were raised in such times might, but she and her immediate family do not. In fact, she admires muggles for the way they live and wishes that magical folk could be more like muggles, independent on manual labor and not magic and wands. Because of her adamant admiration for muggles, Carter has picked up on some of their ways and dresses in a style all her own. For those who don’t know any better, people would assume that she is a muggleborn.
school graduated: Carter is a proud graduate of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. She started school in September of 2010 and graduated about seven years later. Her parents oftentimes wonder how she managed to graduate with such average grades as she did, but they never criticize or question their daughter’s abilities. They know that she is capable of a lot, despite what her grades revealed or what they have witnessed. So her forte is not in magic… So what?
house graduated: If you really get to know Carter, it is extremely difficult to place her into a house based upon stereotypes. She seems hard-working and reserved like a Hufflepuff, outgoing and courageous like a Gryffindor, intelligent and thoughtful like a Ravenclaw. The only house you probably cannot imagine her being a part of is Slytherin, because there is probably not a single cold, crumbling bone in her body. So what is her alma mater? What is her alumna house? She was a Hufflepuff, but not being of her reservations or hard work. She was a Hufflepuff because of the way she did things and embarrassed herself unintentionally. Her chaos made her a Hufflepuff.
occupation: Ever since her fourth year, Carter knew she would return to Hogwarts to do something. She never really imagined herself teaching because she enjoyed books so much, but it somehow found its way into her agenda of life. Presently, she is employed at Hogwarts and has been for quite a few years now—thirteen, in fact.
canon: No, original.
••• Tear Your Hair out!
Subject: The last thing you can see Carter teaching is history. She just does not seem like the type of woman to remember important dates and occurrences, yet she is. It is her passion and one of the only things she found she was good at during her college years and into her years as an adult. Because of her skills in remembering dates of historical events, she is the History of Magic professor at Hogwarts, which she feels is a high honor even though her students do not seem enthused about the topic as much as she would like them to be. (“But then again,” she always says, “History is always a dull topic to students. They think, ‘It’s already happened, why’s it important?’ and so they don’t pay attention.”) She understands the students’ position in speaking about history and therefore does not force people to learn things for which they have no interest.
Post: Aside from being History of Magic professor, I cannot see Carter holding any other positions. Sure, she has over a decade of experience under her belt, but most people would not consider her qualified enough to have a higher position. If she were offered another position, she would probably take it without hesitation—but everyone around her would probably groan at the fact since she tends to be a little ditzy and chaotic in dealing with things.
Years of teaching experience: As stated above, she has been teaching for thirteen years, including the present term. She started teaching at the age of twenty-six after graduating from Hogwarts and getting some experience with work at the Ministry of Magic. Her position did not deal with teaching or assisting someone in learning something, but it did deal with history. She helped keep track of many of the historical records in the Ministry, not to mention helped remember important dates during trials or in making laws for the magical community.
Office Description: From the outside, Professor Hampton’s office seems perfectly normal. Once you step inside, it is an entirely different story. The prim and proper professor gives off the aura of perfection and organization, but her office reveals nothing about that. Instead, the room is cluttered with objects, and papers are lying around on her desk (many of which have yet to be graded and returned to students). It has a homey feel, to say the least, but anyone except the professor herself could get lost in there.
Classroom Description: If it were not important for the classroom to remain tidy and clean, the professor would not keep her classroom the way she does. The fact that her classroom remains clean most of the time bothers her, but she somehow manages to tolerate it while the students are in the room. Desks are aligned in perfect rows, and the bookshelves lining the classroom walls are filled with history books, alphabetized for student use. The professor’s desk and blackboard are located at the front of the classroom; the board is oftentimes filled with illegible notes written by the professor.
••• soul meets body
eyes: Medium brown
hair: Medium brown
height: As long as she is not wearing shoes, you can make an accurate assumption of Carter’s height. She is a fairly short woman, barely standing at 5’4”. She does not like her height for the simple fact that she tends to be shorter than most people around her, adults or otherwise. For this reason, she wears tall shoes, most oftentimes stilettos, to make her taller. Wearing her stilettos, she can easily put 5’6” or 5’7”, an average height for an adult woman. While she likes her petite figure, she much prefers being as tall as those around her, especially in the case of students.
portrayed by: Tina Fey
in-depth appearance: There are only two words that can accurately describe Carter’s overall physical appearance: sophisticated and disheveled. From head to toe, Carter is the essence of sophistication. In the way that she walks and the way that she dresses, she just seems to be one of the most sophisticated people you will ever meet. She obviously takes pride in her appearance and buys close that accent her body and make her look young and hip.
The word disheveled is also another accurate word to use for the simple fact that she always looks like she came through a hurricane. More often than not, she is still trying to add pieces to her appearance (earrings, fixing her belt) when she arrives to her destination. Her hair tends to look a little messy, too, a clear sign that she just threw it back in an attempt to get it out of the way or to look like she tried to do something with herself.
Carter has common, plain features. She is not a fiery redhead or a ditzy blonde. Instead, she is a thoughtful brunette. Both of her parents have brown hair, so it is only natural that she also has brown hair. Her hair is a medium shade of brown, but in the wintertime it looks somewhat dark. it reaches a few inches past her shoulders, and it is rare that it will be any longer or shorter than that. She likes to maintain a constant appearance to uphold her person. She does not like dramatic change, even if it seems to be something as simple as her hair.
Even though her hair is simply her hair, it is a very important part of her overall appearance and her personality. Her hair helps tell who she is as a person, as odd as that may seem. Her hair reveals a side of her that is not apparent in the way she dresses or the way she speaks. it reveals her wild side, the one no one knows anything about. Her hair shows that she is more than a sophisticated, intelligent woman; it supports the fact that she can be spontaneous, chaotic, careless, and outgoing. It shows that she is laidback, helpful, and friendly. Her hair is part of her trademark appearance that makes her so recognizable among groups of people.
Yet another trait inherited from her parents is her eyes. Her eyes are medium brown, like her hair, and only appear dark if she wears light colored clothing. The shape of her eyes could be describe as an almond, but her eyes are not overpowering or overwhelming of her face. What they are, however, is an expression of who she is as a person.
Behind Carter’s brown eyes is a person waiting to be discovered. She cannot be called an open book because she is not usually caught off guard. However, she allows people to read her like the pages of a book in hopes that they might learn something about her. She is good at hiding personal aspects of her life she does not want anyone else to know. Her eyes can be used to determine who she is as a person, but it really depends on the situation. The best time to see who she is is when she is nervous or caught off guard.
Carter's overall appearance is that of a woman. She has a very feminine aura about her, especially in the way she dresses and presents herself. She is a somewhat short woman, standing at no more than 5'4" without shoes, though this can be adjusted with the use of heels. Her waist is thin and indicates that she eats healthy foods most of the time. She does not exercise to keep herself fit, though she does not mind leisurely walks around the school's grounds. She has curves, but they are only accentuated when she wears formfitting clothing that molds to her body perfectly. Her curves are best accented when she wears high-waist pants or skirts with a wide belt that fit her body like a glove. Her hips are not wide by any means, but she is not lacking in that area. Her chest is also not very large, but it is obvious that she has one, especially in low-cut blouses.
When it comes to dress, Carter is sophisticated. Sure, her hair clearly indicates that she is disorganized and oftentimes frazzled, but her clothes are really impressive. Though she is a pureblood, she wears muggle clothes almost all the time. She refuses to wear witch's robes unless she absolutely has to. Her muggle clothes consist of things such as skirts and nice blouses. When the temperatures outside are cool, she will wear pants. Depending on the fit of the pants as well as the style of the shirt, she will wear her shirt tucked in or left un-tucked. Nevertheless, she looks professional and sophisticated. Her shoes only add to her style. It is very rare that you will see her wearing anything other than a pair of heels; it is either that or go barefoot. If she is walking around on the grounds, she will wear flat dress shoes for the simple fact that she does not want her stilettos to get stuck in the ground. It makes walking extremely complicated.
Carter may seem like she has a lot of money, but this is not necessarily true. She saves up most of her money in Gringotts, where it gains a little bit of interest yearly, but she is also a somewhat careful spender. She loves to shop and will never turn down the opportunity, but she is usually very picky with her money. The jewelry she wears is all real and very expensive - but she is usually not the one who bought it. She has close friends and family who buy her single items for Christmas and her birthday, just as a gift out of kindness. She does not overdress herself in jewelry, though she will wear earrings, a watch, and occasionally a necklace. She hates rings of any kind, even those that have lots of diamonds and sparkle. The only reason she will wear a ring is if she is engaged or married.
••• dreams are sacred
patronus: Because Carter is not very good at performing magic of any kind, especially the kind that requires the use of major concentration and her wand, she cannot conjure a patronus at all. If she could conjure a patronus, however, it would probably take the shape of some deranged rabbit, bouncing around like it has no sense. This would represent her in that it would reveal her general personality: hyperactive and somewhat crazy at times.
amortentia: What are some of Carter's favorite smells? She is probably not like most women who enjoy floral fragrances and fruity scents. Well, she does enjoy those smells, but her amortentia potion would probably not smell like a flower or fruit.
Her topmost favorite smell would have to be new shoes. She loves the smell of shoes the moment they leave the store and come out of the box. They have that very new smell to her, and she likes that. She also likes the smell of new books and parchment.
Now this one is weird... Carter likes the smell of old, aged books. What possessed her to take a liking to such a smell is completely unknown. She has yet to figure out why she likes that smell. She assumes it is because of the historical aspect of it, though the smell of an old book is not exactly the best smell in the entire world to most people.
boggart: Merlin, you're asking what Carter's worst fear is? She is a fearful woman, yet she is also fearless. Determining what her biggest fear is an extremely hard task. There are small likes, like thunderstorms, snakes, and bugs, but the one main thing that would stand out if she came in contact with a boggart...that is another story entirely. If she came face-to-face with a boggart, it would probably take the shape of solitude--loneliness. The idea of being alone is scary to Carter. When I say alone, I do not mean alone as in "by herself," but alone as in "never attached to anyone." She knows that she is strong and independent and that she does not need a man around, but she is scared that she will never be loved by anyone and that she will die an unwed woman, with no one in the world to care for her. If not faced with the fear of being alone, she would probably be faced with the fear of having no happiness in the world. Both are fairly intangible things, but both make sense.
mirror of erised: Carter's biggest dream and desire has always been to "grow up, get married, and have kids." When she was a little girl, she imagined herself being married to some handsome man and having several children running around. Such a desire still stands, but she knows that it is getting less likely as the years roll by. Here she is, almost forty, and she has yet to (cannot?) find a man who possesses everything she looks for. She knows that some things just are not meant to be, which is exactly why she is not too upset.
As for goals, Carter has never really thought about him. She tends to think about the present and not what will become of her future. The only time she looked into the future was when she was trying to figure out which position she wanted at Hogwarts during her fourth year of schooling. If she were to think about goals now, she would probably say cheesy things like "help make the world a better place" or "share what I know with others." These things are all cliche, which clearly indicates that she has no idea of her goals for the future.
secrets: Carter is not a very secretive person. She likes being honest with people and sharing even her darkest secrets; it shows her excessive amount in trust in people, even those who she does not know. She does, however, have a few secrets that she has not and probably will not share with other people.
Her deepest, darkest secret is probably the fact that she has never had sex once in her life, nor has she used any other means of getting physical pleasure. She does oftentimes wonder what it would be like and feel like to make love to someone passionately, but she has never had that chance. She made the decision a long time ago not to have sex until she found the love of her life and got married. Carter is generally a good judge of character, which is the reason why she has not yet gotten married (her previous boyfriends have been jerks or mama's boys). If Carter ever finds the "perfect" guy for her and she marries him, then she will go about doing grown-up things.
likes:
being around people
looking on the bright side
wearing muggle clothing
wearing stilettos to be tall
chaos in her work area
spontaneous acts in the classroom
outspoken and opinionated people
intelligent conversation
being able to help others
talking to and listening to others
meeting new people and making friends
working at hogwarts as a professor
historical aspects of most anything
learning through experience
muggles and all of their special items
accents that are different from her own
trying to copy different accents
learning about different cultures and languages
shopping and spending money (she's careful, though)
moderate levels of noise, like that of the great hall
eating healthy foods and keeping a healthy diet
taking walks outside on the hogwarts grounds
getting to know her students
getting to know her colleagues
keeping everything she buys/receives
reading books of all kinds, magical and muggle
writing in her journal about her experiences
dislikes:
pureblood supremacy
hearing people say things like mudblood
complete organization and cleanliness
cooking, simply because she can't
being left-handed at times
being as short as she is
complete silence
awkward silences and moments
heavily introverted people
talking to somewhat large groups of people
walking up and down stairs in heels
using excessive amounts of profanity
being rushed by other people
arguing and fighting over stupid things
raising her voice at people
disciplining her students, but she will if necessary
late arrivals to important things, like class (she's a hypocrite!)
having to do late-night hall duty at hogwarts
rude, disrespectful, snobby people
getting lost in familiar places
getting locked in (or out of...) rooms
using magic to do simple things, like clean
eating unhealthy foods, but she does reward herself sometimes
in depth personality: It is likely that upon first meeting Carter, you will classify her as a ditzy brunette who has no idea what she is talking about. Quite the contrary, she is actually an intelligent individual but lacks some of the sense needed to make herself sound intelligent. She tries her best to reveal herself in a way that is complimenting to her overall, but she has trouble doing so. The way she presents herself comes off as sophisticated with a bit of crazy in her. And that is exactly right. She is sophisticated with a little bit of crazy. You just need to see the things that make her this way.
Carter has trouble when it comes to order. She likes chaos and cannot live without it. If you go into her office or her living quarters, you will see nothing but chaos lying around. She has a bad habit of keeping everything she has ever owned, and she continually adds to her piles of junk. She tends to leave things lying around, with the exception of her clothes and shoes. Other than that, things are a mess when it comes to her personal space. She cannot stand things to be clean, which is why being in her classroom kills her since the bookshelves are organized and the desks are arranged in neat rows. Sure, she could change this, but then her students would have trouble with learning in such a disorganized manner.
If she assigns a written assignment, which is not uncommon, you can expect that she will take forever to get it back. When Carter collects papers, she collects them in bulk. They all go in one huge pile and do not get graded for long, extended periods of time. By the time you get your paper back—if you get your paper back—it will be wrinkled and stained with food and/or a beverage she was drinking at the time. She has the tendency to lose whole stacks of papers because she throws them away, thinking they might be trash. She does not oftentimes do this. It is more frequent to not receive your paper or to receive it really late with a mess on it than it is for her to admit that she loses things.
Because of her disorganization, Carter tends to be disorganized in her thoughts when it comes to teaching. She tends to stumbled over what she is trying to say or forgets what she was teaching at various moments during the lesson. This is mostly because she feels so excited and enthusiastic about the lesson that she is going so fast everything leaves her. She tries to write on the board and talk at the same time, but that does not work. She is not good at multitasking and has a bad habit of procrastinating until the last possible minute, sometimes procrastinating to the point that she does not do something at all. Even though she knows it is a bad habit to have, she does not do much to improve herself as far as that goes.
More to go along with her disorganization is the fact that she is clumsy. She wears heels almost every day of her life, so she has plenty of practice walking up and down stairs. Inevitably, however, she manages to trip over her own feet. There are even instances in which she will twist her ankle. The bad thing about it is that she does not do anything in particular to make this happen. Her clumsiness is actually something she likes; it gives her and everyone else something to laugh at. Admittedly, though, it is embarrassing and she hates when it happens. She especially hates when it happens in a classroom in front of her students because they tend to laugh at her for it.
As strange as this may seem, Carter is a bit of a perfectionist. When she does work, she wants it to be perfect. When you turn work in, she expects it to be perfect. That seems strange for someone who is so disorganized, but it is the truth. She does not want a half-finished piece of work; it has to be the whole thing. She does not want to make a lot of corrections, nor does she want to read something dull and boring. Her perfection is mostly visible in the way her students work. She expects quality, not quantity. Sure, she may be disorganized and clumsy, but that does not affect her quality as a professor. Don’t let her disheveled-ness throw you off.
When it comes to overall personalities, Carter has a fairly decent one. She is friendly and open to conversation. She enjoys trading ideas and sharing information with people, especially those who enjoy talking intelligently about things that interest them. She also likes hearing people’s opinions and biases on interesting topics of conversation. One of her favorite things to talk about is history.
In speaking about history, Carter really enjoys reading. She likes to read almost anything, but her favorite content area to read is history. She also likes to write, and she keeps at least one journal each year. Because she has no secrets (for the most part), she would be willing to share her diaries with you if you asked her to. She likes when students read her writing and learn a little more about her. It shows they are interested and don’t just want her to be some other professor, but instead, a friend.
Just because she was a Hufflepuff during her years at school does not mean that Carter was a reserved, quiet person. She can be that way at times, but it is not present most of the time. She likes putting herself out there; it makes things more interesting for her. She can be very adventurous and courageous, even if she looks like a wimpy girly-girl. She has the ability to be very macho. Don’t underestimate her.
••• a tale to remember
family:
Fredrick Alexander Hampton [70, pureblood, retired auror, father]
Patricia Elizabeth Hampton [69, pureblood, healer, mother]
Daniel James Hampton [47, pureblood, ministry official, brother]
Amy Marie Hampton [44, half-blood, ministry official, sister-in-law]
Eleanor Alexandra Hampton [20, half-blood, bartender, niece]
Geoffrey Lee Hampton [16, half-blood, student, nephew]
Ronald Joseph Hampton [11, half-blood, student, nephew]
criminal record: Does Carter really seem like the kind of person to have a criminal record? The answer to that question would have to be no. Carter has never done anything to get herself, or anyone else for that matter, in trouble. She has a clean record and plans to keep it that way, even if circumstances seem pretty shabby for her. She does not like the idea of getting in trouble, especially not criminally. That is the last thing she wants. Period.
in depth history: Despite the fact that Carter Ashley Hampton was born into a pureblood family, she was never really part of the well-to-do. Her family was not one of the rich ones that wallowed in excessive amounts of money. In fact, she was always part of the middle class. Her family had some money, but most of it went into expenses such as the muggle bills they had to pay. Yes, even though the family is pureblood, they lived in a muggle neighborhood and thus paid muggle expenses. It never fazed them, though. They actually enjoyed living in remote muggle areas instead of magical ones. It made them part of two worlds instead of just one. Sometimes they regretted not living in a heavily magical area, but they never made the decision to move.
Carter was born on May 18, eight years after her older brother was born. Her parents were not exactly young when they came along, and they were more experienced in parenting since her older brother had come along first. Having Carter was like having a second chance for them. They raised their daughter similar to how her brother was raised, but with much stricter regulations. As a baby, she could only have few. But as she matured and grew older, more rules and restrictions were placed on her, like where she could go and for how long. It was natural for her to have strict rules and regulations, and she never questioned her parents. It was just a house rule.
She started attending Hogwarts a few months after her eleventh birthday. The Sorting Hat had trouble placing her into a house for the simple fact that she was a strange child. Now that she was away from her parents, she was acting strange. Her brother had been a Gryffindor. And while Carter could have been a Gryffindor, she was a Hufflepuff because The Hat “had no other place to put her.” She was content with the sorting she was given, but she admittedly had hoped to be in Gryffindor like her older brother. Nonetheless, she was proud of her house and continued to hold that pride even after she graduated from Hogwarts.
During her years as a student, Carter tried to maintain decent grades. Her grades were never perfect by any stretch. She did poorly in classes that required the use of her wand or any particular amount of concentration. For that reason, she received some of the lowest grades. Her professors took into account the fact that she was simply not skilled like some were. They realized that she was good with theory and reading and writing and allowed her to do separate assignments, even if it did not allow her to perfect her skills using her wand. It was the only way she managed to pass most of her classes.
Also during her years as a student, Carter met a lot of people and made a lot of friends. She even had a few boyfriends along the way, but she was not as stupid as some of them thought. Her boyfriends tried to use her for means of getting something physical, but she was not going to have that. She dropped all of her boyfriends like that quickly if they pushed her into having sex. Most of them did. They were boys, after all. The few boyfriends she did have that were not totally for the physical relationship did not have good personalities or were too consumed in themselves or in money. For that reason, she dropped each one of those. Similar situations happened following her years after Hogwarts.
After graduating from Hogwarts, Carter went in search of a job at the Ministry. She worked in departments that dealt with history and helped record important dates. Not only did she do that, but she also attended trials in which hardcore historical evidence and references were needed. She had amazing memory capabilities, which allowed her to remember even the most specific of dates and details. She takes a particular interest in the beginnings of everything, such as when Hogwarts was founded or other magical places were created. It cannot be considered her specialty, though she does enjoying learning about the era and knowing things from the era.
After working for the Ministry of Magic for about eight years, Carter applied for a position at Hogwarts, her alma mater. She was given the position and began to teach almost immediately after resigning from the Ministry. She has been teaching History of Magic at Hogwarts since then and thoroughly enjoys it. This will be her thirteenth year as a professor.
••• famous last words
your name or alias: Simply calling me Ham will work nicely. I would prefer not to divulge my real name to all of those here on the site. I do give you, however, my sincerest apologies.
how long have you been role playing: I have been role-playing long enough to know the dos and the don’ts of role-playing. I also know what role-playing is and how to create descriptive posts, though I cannot honestly say that all of my posts will be perfect examples of what I am capable of doing. I will try my best, though.
contacts: If you wish to contact me in a way that is of more convenience to you, feel free to send me a personal message requesting information. I have all three messengers. Please do not send emails to my account, as I will not read or respond to them.
how'd you find us: I was perusing through the advertisement section on sites and came across this one. I have to admit that the skin impressed me the moment I laid my eyes on it. It takes quite a bit to impress me when it comes to skinning, but y’all did a great job. Congratulations.
other characters: I have no other characters at the moment, and I doubt that I will have any in the future. I am more of a one-character type of gal, though I do have a bad habit of creating new characters and joining other sites… But that is neither here nor there.
keyword:EDITED
sample roleplay: A classroom full of students and she had just made a complete fool of herself. The woman seemed unfazed by the fact that majority of the class was snickering as she put her heeled shoe back on her foot and began picking up the strewn sheets of paper. There were but a few that had managed to stifle laughs. Or maybe they just didn’t think the situation was funny, which was fine too. Carter tried to make the best of situations like this. What else was she supposed to do? She was not the most graceful of creatures, nor did she claim to be, but she had a lot more bad luck—was that what it was?—than most women her age. One would think that after walking in stilettos for so many years across various terrain, she would no longer find herself twisting her ankles or tripping over her own feet—or losing a shoe. Losing her shoe reminded her of that muggle story parents tell their children when they are young, the one about Cinderella. Probably the biggest difference between Carter and Cinderella was that Carter did not have a prince charming trying to search for her so he could fit her foot into her heeled shoe. That, and Cinderella wasn’t carry a hefty stack of papers through the castle.
Carter had managed to walk all the way from her office two floors below to her classroom without a problem. Usually stairs complicated things a little bit, but she had mastered them this time. It was not until she reached her classroom door that she found herself in a jam. When she reached the door of her classroom—late, mind you—it was closed. She knew that students were inside, but she was not about to knock on her own classroom door. If she did, it was likely that the students would not answer in fear of another professor going in search of her. It wasn’t that Carter was a bad professor or that she was a mean professor; all students had the natural preference to remain quietly in a classroom doing nothing than being constructive and holding a study hall or something of the sort. So instead of knocking on the door, Carter somehow managed to twist the handle and throw the door open. She forgot about one thing though: the door closed automatically. Before she had a chance to step full into the room, the door closed and hit the side of her body. She lost her shoe in the process, which caused her to stumble, which caused her to drop all of the papers she was carrying. She even let out a surprised shriek through all of this. As if her appearance wasn’t already disheveled enough, her classes were askew on her face, and she had the most confused look on her face. She was staring at a classroom full of smiling students who were trying their hardest to suppress laughs but could not manage to do so.
As if nothing had happened, Carte proceeded to put on her shoe and retrieve the papers. She knew that the students were watching her; she could feel their eyes burning into her body like a brand burns into the backside of a cow. She tried to ignore their staring eyes as she cleaned up the mess she had made, not bothering to organize anything or even make sure the papers were flat and not crinkled. If you turned in an essay for the professor, she would most likely hand it back to you with a beverage stain or some sort of abnormality that was not there when you turned it in. She was a seemingly sophisticated, organized woman, always dressed to the nines. On days like today, you realized just how big of a misconception her appearance was. This is where you say that oh-so-common phrase “appearances can be deceiving.” In the case of Professor Carter Hampton, this was true, probably more-so than in any other case. She looked like a woman of good blood—and she was—but she was definitely not someone you would come to if you needed help organizing something. It wasn’t that she didn’t know how to organize, she just chose not to. She liked disorganization and chaos; it made her comfortable, probably because people were more focused on the disorganization than on her. But as we can see now, this is not always the case. Her disorganization just landed her in a very sticky situation. Instead of the students focusing their attention to her illegible chicken-scratch notes on the board or even the obscure mess setting atop her desk, they would be focusing their attention on her, the now disheveled professor whose hair was falling from its poorly molded style and whose classes were still setting slightly askew on her face despite the fact that she had just fixed them.
Walking somewhat shakily over to her desk as if she had had a few drinks prior to coming to class, Carter placed the papers somewhere near the edge. She opened her mouth and drew an audible breath to speak. A couple of papers glided gently off the top of the pile and floated like feathers towards the floor. They landed, and she knelt over to pick them up. Just as she stood to her feet to replace the papers atop the pile, a couple more followed suit, and then a few more. All the while, she tried to speak but was unable to get a word out before a paper somehow managed to slide off the top of the pile. It wasn’t until the fourth time that this happened that she realized what it was. One of her third years was trying to make fun of her by making her papers float of magically. She looked around the room in an attempt to see who it was but could not tell. Usually she could read people, but all of the students, with the exception of a few Hufflepuff girls, looked completely guilty. She cleared her throat and put a heavy paperweight atop the stack. The snickers quieted, and she scribbled something sloppily onto the board. As usual, her writing was illegible, and the chalk was smeared because her hand had dragged in it. She warned her students of this prior to the start of each year because she knew it would happen. It was one of the cons of being left-handed.
“We’re going to continue discussing the Goblin Rebellions,” she said, her voice carrying casually in the air. This was her way of starting class, which meant that the students would need to take out their textbooks, a small amount of parchment, a quill, and some ink. Without being told, majority of the students did what was expected of them. She waited patiently for them to get prepared. She never expected them to take a lot of notes. She used a more hands-on approach to learning history. The students seemed to like it, which was good. More importantly the students’ grades were passing above the previous average. The headmaster always told her what a great job she was doing and how much the students had improved since she had been placed into the position as History of Magic professor. For this reason, she was proud of herself for accomplishing such a task. Teaching history was not easy, especially at eight in the morning.
A student raised his hand and she nodded at him to speak. He asked her a question irrelevant to their lesson. It was something about how she had managed to let the door hit her as she was walking in, lose a shoe, and drop the papers. Then he made some smart remark about how she must dye her hair to keep people from finding out that she was a natural blonde. A few girls in the classroom glared at the boy, a Slytherin, and others rolled their eyes. She stood awkwardly at the front of the classroom and bit down on her lower lip. It was her way of coping with a situation. She chose not to answer but instead continued with the lesson. Dismissing it was worse than addressing it, and students made this apparent when they huffed and sucked their teeth after being ignored. She did not smile, but she wanted to. She loved making students angry with her over simple stuff like that. She wrote something else on the board and then asked a question, prompting an answer afterwards. Students began raising their hands and class commenced.
