Carmelina had supposed that being an adult would have been enough to feel on equal terms with the man; evidently not, according to the blonde beside her. (And Carmelina found herself naturally inclined to trust this woman and her opinions, possibly for reasons that were not entirely sensible, but still.) She let slip a wicked grin - not that she'd have been able to suppress it terribly well; she had never been much good at keeping a straight face - at the antipathy in her tone, feeling relieved that at least the headmaster would hardly have ventured far enough from his office to be lurking at their shoulder and overhearing such blasphemy.
Her smile became brighter and more bashful at the encouraging sentiment. "I rather hope I pull through; if he's desperate enough to take on a halfblood witch!" She agreed, crossing her fingers in a joking gesture of prayer. It would be rather a disappointment to have her hopes dashed now - and then what excuse would she have to make this woman's acquaintance?
Constance's acquaintance, as it was. "Carmelina," she replied, thinking she probably ought to tone down the broad smiles all over the place or Constance would think her an utter loon. Trying for a little more poise, she added, "What do you teach?" They hadn't been at Hogwarts together - Carmelina was sure she would have remembered her face - but the blonde did not look that much older than her, certainly not one of the professors who had been settled in their posts for half a century or more.
Her smile became brighter and more bashful at the encouraging sentiment. "I rather hope I pull through; if he's desperate enough to take on a halfblood witch!" She agreed, crossing her fingers in a joking gesture of prayer. It would be rather a disappointment to have her hopes dashed now - and then what excuse would she have to make this woman's acquaintance?
Constance's acquaintance, as it was. "Carmelina," she replied, thinking she probably ought to tone down the broad smiles all over the place or Constance would think her an utter loon. Trying for a little more poise, she added, "What do you teach?" They hadn't been at Hogwarts together - Carmelina was sure she would have remembered her face - but the blonde did not look that much older than her, certainly not one of the professors who had been settled in their posts for half a century or more.
