A spot of breakfast

[Prof. Pavlo Ponikarovsky]

Yawning, Pavlo leaned back in his chair, arms crossed, and stared up at the enchanted ceiling. It had been pouring when he woke up in the middle of the night but it had tapered off since. Now it was simply dark, cloudy, and drizzly. Which for a professor who normally taught outside, that wasn't a huge improvement. At least they would be in the forest today though. That might help some if the rain stayed light.

He hadn't been able to sleep well and had found himself wandering down to the Great Hall well before it was time for breakfast. The plates, platters, and cups sat empty and untouched, and only a few students had made it down. Most of them seemed to be scribbling away at last minute homework. Even though it had been years since he was in school, he still remembered that very thing well enough. He had despised writing papers so they were always put off until the very last minute. Lucky for him, he had been in few classes that required much writing.

After a few more minutes of lazily examining the ceiling, the hall began to see a steady trickle of students and professors. Just as he leaned forward, the serving dishes and pitchers filled themselves full. Right on time...as always, he thought to himself as he poured a cup of coffee.

[Vincent Harshaw]

Vincent hated mornings.

It was to the surprise of no one, the state he was in upon his arrival to the Great Hall. His curly hair was quite disheveled and flyaway this morning, indicating both a late night and an all-too-early morning for the harried looking professor. His eyes were narrow slits and bloodshot from what little could be seen of the whites. His trademark dark green scarf (representing the colors of Slytherin, his former and current House) was hung haphazardly around his neck and shoulders and his robes were also mussed and wrinkled. They had a very faint, acrid odor to them, almost like a skunk. Into the Great Hall he lumbered, looking around the vast room to see, much to his groggy satisfaction, that it was sparsely populated. He eyed the teacher's table at the front of the hall, spotting a few seats that were open. He sleepily ambled over to where one of the professors sat.

Vincent gave a sideways glance at Professor Ponikarovsky as he settled into his seat, just settling into his first cup of coffee for the day. The smell of the hot beverage wafted into his nostrils, stimulating his brain and his blood flow. Coffee, considering the regular early mornings and late nights that are typical of a professor's daily life (and moreso in Vincent's case), was one of his favorite things in the world. Wearily he removed his eyeglasses and rubbed his eyes for what seemed like days as he tried to work the last of the grogginess out of his system. Of course it was futile, as it only succeeded in making him long for the warm confines of his bead. Feeling resigned to another long day, Vincent reached out for his mug, pleased to see that it had already been filled with coffee as he likes it - minimal sugar and one shot of cream. He took a long sip and inhaled deeply the aromas rising from the steaming cup before addressing his compatriot.

"Morning Pavlo," Vincent sleepily murmured. He smiled a little in his direction to indicate a friendly greeting before tucking into his breakfast. The sip and smell of coffee had stimulated his appetite, and he was hungry to begin with.

[Prof. Pavlo Ponikarovsky]

As he was savoring the first few sips of his coffee, in ambled his colleague Vincent Harshaw. Vincent was one of the characters in this school that Pavlo hadn't quite figured out yet. At the least he always seemed polite, but he also always seemed to be holed up in hiding somewhere. Another professor, he couldn't remember which, had told him when he first arrived here that the History of Magic professor had been in Slytherin while a student and had been quite the genius. Not that teaching wasn't an admirable profession in Pavlo's eyes, obviously, but most Slytherins seemed to deem it beneath them he had heard. So it was fairly curious as to why this one came back.

Pavlo returned the smile and greeting as his fellow professor took his place, "Morning Vincent. I see I'm not the only one who didn't have a very restful night." Deciding it might be a good idea to put some food on his stomach, he reluctantly put that magical cup of coffee down and chose a few pieces of toast and jam to put on them.