Inside the Owlery

"Fine. Mumble a quick 'Sorry' then leave. Or..." Viper smirked as a thought hit her.

"Oh no..." Darien could vividly remember the last time Viper had offered an alternative. The memory of the rose gardens brought a slight flush to his cheeks.

"One word, two syllables. That is all. Can you do that, Mr.Vaight?"

"I guess..." Darien agreed reluctantly.

Kiara went up the the owlery with a letter to the ministry to request a judge for Calista's appreal. One that she knew would be fair and not take bribes.

She crossed her fingers smiled and walked out.

Sevastyan took the steps up to the owlery at a particularly upbeat pace despite the cold weather outside. He'd just received word from his family that they were going to throw a New Year's Party and combine it with Christmas, as Christmas in Russia was in the early portion of January. It was Sevastyan's hope that not only could he acquire a temporary leave of absence, but make sure that whomever was in charge of invitations would make sure certain others received them as well.

Squinting his eyes against the shafts of sunlight, searching for an owl to use, Sevastyan prodded a brilliant snowy owl from its sleep. The bird opened one orange eye in a 'what the hell do you want?' kind of look.

"Vould you like a job?" he asked the bird, holding up the letter he wished to send out.

The owl ruffled her feathers importantly, blinking the sleep from her eyes, and leaned forward to nip at the envelope. Sevastyan took that as a yes. "Vonderbar..." he murmured and offered his arm for the bird to perch on.

"I need this to go to my mother, in Saratov of Russia... Kaminski Manor," he whispered to the bird, stroking its pure white feathers.

Viper headed over to the Owlery, a few letters in her hand she needed to send out. Mostly bills and expenses, but one of them being from one of her colleagues Fin and Munch who had sought her opinion on what picture to use for their Christmas Card, which she was happy to give, along with a suggestion that she meet up with them at some point. After all, it had been nearly a year since she had last seen them.

Just as she stepped into the Owlery, she was greeted by a familiar and welcomed sight. "Hey stranger," she greeted as she approached Sevastyan from behind, wrapping her arms around his waist and resting her chin on his shoulder.

((Is the picture in debate one of "Steven" grinning w/ a lollipop in his mouth? rofl! xD))


Sevastyan was just about to turn around when he heard the familiar feminine voice, starting minimally as he had been under the notion that he was the only person there. The skin of the areas touched, though underneath layers of heavy cloth, tingled at the pressure of her arms, hands, and chin.

"Hey," Sevastyan replied softly and turned his head to watch her from the corner of one storm-cloud gray eye. He immediately offered the letter to the owl on his arm, who took it happily, and used his now-free hand to blindly grasp Viper's hand or arm. Whatever he could reach, Sevastyan would accept, though at feeling the corner of an envelope he decided to seek arm. His next move was to stretch his neck as far as it would go in an attempt to kiss her on the cheek.

"I vos just thinking about you," he offered by way of conversation. It wasn't a lie, either, as Amaranth was naturally one of the people he wanted to have added to the invitation list.

((lmao! It's one of the possibilities...xD))

Viper pressed a kiss to the back of Sevastyan's neck as she felt him grasp her arm, blushing lightly as she felt him kiss her cheek.

A raven eyebrow arched playfully in response to Sevastyan's statement. "Oh really? Well it's lovely to know that owls and a tower full of owls remind you of me..." she replied in mock-annoyance, though any attempt at seriousness was annihilated by the light cadence of laughter that escaped her.

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Just outside the owlery, Miranda made her way up the staircase intending to send out a letter to an old colleague when she heard soft voices echoing through the room. Clearly it was a male and female and by the words exchanged and sounds of movement it wasn't an ordinary pair of friends. Pausing in her steps, Miranda lingered outside for a bit to try and get a general idea of who it was and what was going on. "Perhaps it is her..." the witch thought to herself.

((roflmao ))

"Allow me to rephrase, then," Sevastyan began, a laugh in response to her own issuing from his lips. "I am alvays thinking about you, though for reasons that have nothing to do vith birds and towvers you vere and are at the forefront of my thoughts."

"...Better?" he asked flirtatiously, placing another gentle kiss on her forehead: directly at the space of bare skin between her eyebrows. After their little "shows" at the two House common rooms, this seemed to be a one-word catchphrase of theirs. A smile stretched across Sevastyan's lips shortly thereafter.

Viper closed her eyes as his lips made contact. Despite the icy temperature surrounding them, Viper felt a sudden rush of warmth from the gesture of affection. "Much better." she replied, with the same emotion as she withdrew from their current position to stand in front of him and kiss him properly

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Once it was clear to Miranda that the two voices were not students, she entered the owl's domain. It only took one glance at Viper to know who she was, for glancing at the Potions Mistress was like glancing to a time portal for Miranda. Viper looked exactly like Miranda had when she was that age, despite obvious differences in coloring.

She cleared her throat lightly, hoping to keep this normally would-be embarassing situation as carefree as possible. It wouldn't do to start off on the wrong foot. Especially with Amaranth.

Sevastyan was thankful that if there were any eyes on them that they were mostly avian. Not that he wanted to keep the relationship a secret - not at all. It was just that, with all the little feathered creatures about, Sevastyan almost felt like an actor in a play. The only difference was he was truly in love with the "leading lady" of said "play". And that this wasn't a scripted scene, of course.

((Well, it sorta is, lol... but they don't know it! ^_^))

If it had been 'much better', Sevastyan mused, then why did she withdraw? His question was answered almost as soon as it had been formed. As her lips met his, Sevastyan deepened the kiss slightly before a light clearing of the throat that was neither him nor Amaranth got his attention. He pulled away once it seemed to be a decent length - not too long or too short - and turned to face the doorway.

"Good day," he bade the unfamiliar woman politely, though wrapped a rather loving arm around Amaranth's waist. The owl was still on Sevastyan's other arm.

((lol. Wonder what would happen if they did know...xD))

For a moment, Viper wondered why Sevastyan broke off the kiss until she noticed the older woman in the room.

"May we help you?" she chimed in politely, leaning into Sevastyan's embrace.

Miranda smiled in reponse, taking note of the arm around her granddaughters waist. It wasn't held tightly in possession, or losely as though holding it was an obligation. Gently, but firmly. A gesture of love. And judging by the way Amaranth had leaned into the embrace the feeling was mutual.

Realizing she was staring, Miranda broke her gaze and quickly introduced herself. "Forgive me. I'm Miranda Maecer. The new school counselor."

((lol. Not sure. xD))

As Viper leaned into the embrace, Sevastyan glanced to her and couldn't keep the smile from forming on his face. He was sorely tempted to kiss her hair. But he held off, knowing that there would be time for that yet. The Russian had had no idea she was staring until she'd started to speak, by which time he'd snapped his attention back to the elder woman.

"Sevastyan Kaminski - Defense Professor," he replied automatically, heartbeat increasing slightly in response to the role Miranda was to play here at Hogwarts. It made him slightly nervous: Sevastyan didn't like talking about his past very much.

"And this is Amaranth Viper... Potions Mistress," he added while giving the named woman a very light one-armed squeeze both as emphasis that he wasn't talking about the owl and out of affection. They were an open couple, or at least that's what they'd arranged. What better place to start making their relationship slowly obvious?

At the sound of the school bell echoing through the castle, Viper sighed and reluctantly pulled away from Sevastyan’s embrace. “Damn, I have to go. Third year Gryffindors and Slytherins, what joy.” She replied dryly. “See you later, love” she said with a smile to Sevastyan, kissing him goodbye. “It was nice meeting you Ms.Maecer.” she nodded politely, exiting the owlery.

“It’s lovely to meet you, Am-Professor Viper.” Miranda nodded, waving to Viper’s exiting form.

With a smile she turned her attention back to the wizard still standing before her. “Have you worked here very long, Professor?” Miranda asked curiously, trying to gather as much information as she could on the man in a relationship with her granddaughter. Without appearing nosey, of course. She had noticed the hint of nervousness that crossed over Sevastyan when she had named her profession.

Sevastyan glanced upward at the sound of the bell, almost as if trying to determine where it was. As Amaranth pulled away he hesitantly allowed the separation: he was not the domineering type to dictate where she when or detain her from going alone. His smile at her dry remark was half apologetic and half playful, the gray orbs speaking silently of making the day's likely eventful class worth her while once the day's courses were through.

"Hopefully not too much later..." he replied quietly, slightly teasing, and returned the gentle, fairly swift kiss bestowed him.

Sevastyan noticed Miranda's almost using Amaranth's given name. He provided a grin and a wave to Viper as she left, and used said hand to stroke the feathers of the owl on his arm once his love was out of visual range.

At the question, Sevastyan turned his attention to the counselor. It was a standard question. "No, not very long," he answered fairly honestly. "A few months." the Russian elaborated. "Vot of you: have you been a counselor for very long?" he asked congenially, in return. A very small smile was tacked on his face, even though he wasn't quite sure what to make of Ms. Maecer yet.

Viper grinned at Sevastyan's remark, kissing him once more. "Hopefully not." she replied before exiting, blowing him a kiss as she descended the stairs.

At his reply, Miranda nodded in response with a gentle smile to help set Sevastyan at ease. "Yes, for nearly thirty years. Although I must admit, this is my first time working at a school during the Triwizard." she paused for a moment, regarding his accent before venturing onwards. "May I ask where you are from?"

Sevastyan's grin widened at the affectionate gesture, though he wasn't quite sure of the proper response. Especially with the counselor between them: he didn't want to give Viper entirely the wrong idea. He would wait until he met up with Amaranth after classes to express precisely how much her company would be missed.

The Russian nodded at Miranda's answer. "This vill be my first time vorking at a school participating in the Trivizard as vell: I vorked at a rather minor school before here," he explained a bit more willingly this time.

"I am from Russia, in vone of the southern Oblasts: Saratov. It is along the River Volga. Or, at least, the Magical counterpart of it. I have never seen the muggle side of it," he answered, voluntarily offering more than a one-sentence answer. At the back of his mind, Sevastyan registered her accent as being rather similar to Amaranth's. Though he was curious as to where Miranda hailed, he didn't want to seem rude and mimic all of her questions.

Miranda smiled softly, noticing the small signs of affection and interaction between Amaranth and Sevastyan, focusing her attention once more on the wizard as she heard him reply to her questions.

"Oh how lovely. I once had a tutor that was from St. Petersburg. He'd come to our home during the summer to give extra lessons." Miranda replied with genuine interest, although her statement was half-true. She never had a summer instructor. In her statement, she was referring to the tutor her husband Malachite hired for their sons Lucifer and Maximus, but he didn't have to know that.

"Unfortunetly, while I myself have worked throughout Europe, I have yet to work in Russia. Pity though, I hear it is beautiful, especially during the winter."

Sevastyan nodded politely upon hearing about the tutor. It seemed as though she had nothing against Russians. That was a good thing... Some people tended to get entirely the wrong idea about his ethnicity.

"It is qvite beautiful, though the vinters can be harsh sometimes. I am the opposite: I have only vorked in Russia, but not in the rest of Europe. Been to some of the countries, but not long enough to really get to know the areas in qvestion..."

"Vhere might you be from, Counselor?" Sevastyan asked curiously.

Miranda nodded intently, drinking in every word and action Sevastyan provided, studying and analyzing them. After all, given what she had discovered about his relationship with Amaranth, it was imperative for her to find out as much as she could.

"I was born and reared here in England, spent most of my life here before I started working as a counselor. I worked in various schools across Europe: France, Portugal, Sweden, Finland, Germany, and Switzaerland. Mostly small schools though."

She smiled brightly at his question. Oh, and please, Professor. Call me Miranda. Titles cause barriers and the last thing I want is barriers between my colleagues and I."

France... Roxane seemed like a whole lifetime ago, even though it was only eight years. The name of the country brought back memories both good and bad, though not a one could hold a candle to the powerful emotion conjured when he thought about Amaranth Viper. Roxane was so much like puppy love, when one compared the two... Sevastyan's relationship with the Head of Slytherin was much more to him than anything he might have had with the other woman.

For all he cared, Roxane could take that man she called a husband and... well, it would probably be best if this author didn't entirely convey Sevastyan's thoughts. To make a long rant short, it was now Amaranth firmly upon his pedestal and Sevastyan personally wouldn't have it any other way.

Snapping out of his reverie, Sevastyan nodded. "I have been to France, Italy, Germany, England, and qvite recently Spain," he offered since they were now listing countries.

At her request, Sevastyan blinked once but inclined his head in a partial bow of sorts. He was unable to bow properly due to the owl on his arm as he didn't want to alarm it. "In that case you may call me Sevastyan," he offered, smile widening slightly. "It is a pleasure to make your acqvaintance, C- I mean, Miranda."

Miranda's eyebrows rose with peaked with interest at the names of countries visited by the wizard. "Oh how lovely! Did your previous employments require all that traveling or do you love to travel?"

She returned his smile at his offer, nodding. "Likewise, Sevastyan." she curtseyed slightly. Despite the number of years she had last lived in an environment where such gestures were required, they were still as much a part of her as the blood running in her veins.

Sevastyan hardly found the gesture of her curtsy odd even if such formality need not necessarily be observed. He tended to perform the niceties of bowing and such merely out of habit as well. It was just a part of who he was.

"Vone could say... a little of both, actually," Sevastyan replied honestly, with a slight chuckle. "I have a friend in Germany who I visited qvite a lot ven the opportunity arose... and the trip to Spain this past summer vos actually to attend a ball as my family vos familiar vith the host's, and find a rare potion ingredient for my sister that could not be found in Saratov."

"Oh how lovely. Are you and your sister very close?" Miranda asked, genuinely suprised that a person would travel all the way to a foreign country to find an ingredient for their sibling. It certainly was sweet, and not a common gesture.