"tidying" u p

[kiki]

Ah, what a lovely chat with Miss Chalk. She was such an enjoyable person to be around. Always smiling, but sometimes letting a few words that weren't supposed to be said slip. Professor Shalen continued down the marble staircase with glad thoughts about her student. She had about an hour until supper in the Great Hall.

When the stairs opened up to the third floor's main corridor, she took a turn left. Her concealed shoes made a clippity-clop sound on the now hardwood floors. The sound could definately be related to a horse's going down the London pavement. She reached a room on the right with the word Transfiguration carved onto the oak door. "Here we are..." she muttered softly, and slipped an old-fashioned key into the hole and the door creakily swung open.

It smelled quite musty in the cold, dark, room. There was a cobweb hanging in the doorway that the professor used her wand to swipe away. The wand, by the way, was a twelve inch cherry wood with half dragon vein and half unicorn hair core. She was quite proud of its upkeep. With a flick of the wand, she said "Lumos." Her wand went ablaze, and she found the candle chain and lit the first one. A chain reaction emersed the room with warm light. "That's better," she said, and scurried over to the windows on the far side of the room. She opened them, and began her work.

First thing first: her desk. It was a large desk being six feet across and three and three fourths "up and down". It was made of oak, like the door. It had a deep chocolate stain to it, and was polished very nicely. Nicole had brought it here from her home when she started teaching here five years ago. It was considered a family heirloom. There was, although, a thick coating of dust on it, hiding its true glory. She had no feather duster with her, or in the room. Over in the corner windowsill there was a stuffed bird, though. "Ornitha ca plume," she said, and swished her wand swiftly. The bird morphed into a feather duster. A satsified grin was plastered onto her face as she swept her desk of dust. Once that was all done, she stored the duster away. She was sure to need it again.

Quickly she stored away her notebook in the top left drawer of the newly cleaned desk. That was important to have here. It seemed that she was still fully stocked with quills and inkwells, along with parchment and blotters. When she was sure her supplies were up (except for the lesson books, of course), she began a series of spells or charms to wisk cobwebs and spiders away. Now the room was clean and not a speck of dust was to be found.

The professor just had to straighten out the tables her students would be stationed at quite soon. She was tiring, and would like to go have a nice hot meal then go to sleep in her private room of the Ravenclaw wing. Well, this task had to be completed before she would be satisifed enough to do so. So she set to work, which actually wasn't very much. She stood at the front of the room where all the tables and benches lay scattered hilter-kilter about. "Organazio!" she exclaimed with force, and all the pieces of school furniture screeched into place. She nodded with approval, and decided that was enough for today.

Professor Shalen locked her desk drawers and put a charm on them so even the unlocking spells would not give the caster access to her drawers. She then flicked her wrist and whispered strongly, "Finite lumos." The candles snapped out of their glow, but light was still provided from the windows. They did actually have a wonderful view of the Quidditch field, although sometimes it provided too great of a distraction. Nicole smiled to herself as she shut the door and turned the key. She placed no spell, for the headmaster might want to check on the room.

With the same clippity-clop sound forming from her firm-soled shoes, she left the corridor and into the streaming light of the staircase's chandeleir. Picking up the skirt of her deep purple robe, she made her way swiftly up the stairs. She turned left to get onto the second flight, now on the fourth floor. Three more flights of stairs until she reaches the nice, "homey" Ravenclaw common room. She said hello to quite a few students, ranging from second to seventh years. Of course she would have said hi to the few first years, although she knew not their names. Soon enough, she thought, soon enough.