Hello... Again

Walls Down

Apparently it's been since March that I updated anything and here it is June 23rd. My son is now 10 months old, walking (toddling), and entertaining himself. With some ingenuity, I've made it where he only has access to the living room. Since I have one less worry, I'm able to sit on the couch and write. I can't just go typing away. It's hard for me to focus. There's nothing quite like pen(cil) and paper. Though with only a tablet, it takes a while to type. Thank you Google for Talk-to-Text.

After almost 10 hours of writing, this chapter alone was 27 pages in my notebook. And occurring to the word count, it's 4,714 words. Wow! My average is 1,500 words a chapter.
I have the writing bug! I've outlined all the way to chapter 22! (In my outline this is chapter 16.
I hope you enjoy. I'm proud of this one.
~ dj-kyoto

TRIGGER WARNING: There is mention of attempted rape and attempted suicide.

“And that concludes today's lecture. Class dismissed.”

Shuffling of papers, clattering of quills being collected, and screeching of chairs followed Agnes’s words. The quicker students had already left. The slower ones straggled behind as they needed more time to gather their things. Agnes had seated herself at her desk. She was looking through the parchments of lesson plans and graded exams for her next class. Footsteps approaching her desk made Agnes look up from her cursive scrawls.

“Professor, I had heard that that Ravenclaw snitch made Flitwick question and insult your teachings. As rumor goes, you handled yourself well but I was wondering if you were alright.” Juno smiled at the professor she had grown to admire.

Agnes returned her smile as she put down the parchments to give the student her complete and undivided attention.
“Yes, I'm alright. Professor Flitwick and I had a disagreement is all. It's really no big deal.”

“I heard that you had taken care of the situation in an amazing way. You know, showed that Ravenclaw who was boss.”

“Juno,” Agnes tightened her lips. “I am not proud of what happened. An adult shouldn't resolve a problem, let alone an altercation, with a temper. It causes more trouble down the line.”

“Well, you wouldn't have had to resolve anything if it wasn't for that sniveling, tattle-talling Ravenclaw boy.”

“Must everything be about Houses? He is your classmate. While I agree that he can be a tad… annoying, we must treat everyone as an equal. The Slytherin House already has a bad reputation. What makes a wizard good or bad is their actions, not their House or family. We should aspire to prove it, for while the majority fears or looks down upon a Slytherin, the Great Merlin himself was a Slytherin. And despite popular beliefs, not every Slytherin is good at Potions or Defense Against the Dark Arts.”

Juno was quiet for a moment before saying, “I'm sorry, Professor. I admire you a lot and it made me angry you were the butt of rumors floating about Hogwarts.”

“That's alright,” Agnes smiled. “Just remember my words.”

“I will, Professor.” Juno smiled again then turned to take her leave. Agnes directed her attention back down to her parchments.

“Oh,” Juno stopped at the doorway. Agnes looked up toward the Slytherin girl. “Do you mind if I come by after classes? As I've already said, I admire you a great deal and I'd like to learn as much as I can about Magical Theory. That is,” Juno diverted her eyes to her shoes. “If that's alright, Professor?”

Agnes chuckled to herself from Juno’s sudden shyness. “Yes, that'll be fine.”

Juno almost jumped for joy. She ran toward the door to leave.