Inside the Owlery

"Yes... ve are as close as siblings can get, I imagine. ...She is vone of a few that I vould trust and protect vith my life," Sevastyan replied. "Vich I suppose is a good thing, considering that she follows the trade of Healer." Another small laugh escaped him.

"Vot of you, Miranda?" Sevastyan inquired, genuinely curious. While he waited for an answer, the Russian directed the bird out of the owlery and gave it the usual cue to fly off with his letter. Vaguely he wondered just how long it would take for the creature to fly to Russia and back, but he forced the thoughts from his mind and instead focused on Miranda.

Miranda smiled in response, glad to hear he had a good relationship with his sister. Those were quite rare from where she came from...

At his question she shook her head slightly. "No, my family is dead. Have been for quite sometime." she explained with a neutral tone, not wanting the conversation to take a darker tone, especially regarding her.

"How are you finding Britain?" she asked hastily in an effort to change the topic.

Sevastyan nodded sympathetically. "It vould seem the same can be said of Amaranth..." he replied off-handedly, remembering how she had reacted when he'd asked about her family. Not quite the same reaction, but similar. It probably wasn't too uncommon, what with Voldemort's reigns of terror having torn many families apart... it had even reached his own, all the way in Russia, after all.

He'd been about to offer his condolences when the next question had been launched. "Britain is a beautiful country - I have been enjoying my time here immensely," Sevastyan replied honestly and even included a full smile this time.

"Yes it could..." she replied softly, with a hint of sorrow, before she realized how much that statement could reveal and sought to distance herself from the topic, eagerly replying to his answer.

She smiled a knowing smile at the increased beam upon the Professor's face. "Would a certain green-eyed witch have something to do with your immense enjoyment?" she raised an eyebrow, pleased with his answer.

Gray eyes became curious at her comment, wondering how she could know about that if this was the first time she'd met Amaranth... unless it hadn't been the first time they'd met? Sevastyan decided to let the topic drop, though. It wasn't like Miranda seemed nigh ready to hunt the other witch down, so he needn't interrogate.

Sevastyan glanced away briefly, the sudden color increase to his ears all too apparent with his hair loosely tied back as it was. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "A good part of it, yes," he admitted quietly, returning his gaze back to hers. "Ve are... ve recently..." Sevastyan fumbled with the words, not quite sure how to say what he wanted to say. "Ve are in a mutual relationship outside of the vorkplace," he decided to state, though his eyes spoke of a much simpler sentence.

I love her... the gray orbs glittered.

A giggle nearly escaped Miranda's lips at the blush spreading throughout the Defense Professor's face. However, the coloring was nothing compared to what she found in his eyes. She recognized that familiar sparkle, and not only because it was part of her field. Years ago, someone once lit up that same way, for her.

"You love her." she whispered, a smile slowly forming on her face.

The blush flared and then settled at Miranda's observation. A smile of his own threatened to split his face in two as he nodded. "I doubt I vould be able to go so much as a day vithout seeing her smile..." Sevastyan trailed off, not quite sure what else to say. Was it an exaggeration, or was it truth? The fact that both took their meals in the Great Hall meant he at the very least seen her during those times if nothing else...

Miranda made a mental note to ensure that the potions professor smiled at least once a day. After all, if rumours of her temper tantrums were true, things could go quite wrong for the poor wizard...

"That's wonderful. I am happy for the both of you. Have you been together long?" she asked softly. Amaranth didn't seem like the open, bonding type so Sevastyan was more than likely her only source of information.

"Thank you," Sevastyan replied earnestly. "Ve've been together for..." a pensive look crossed his face as he considered the span of time since the day Kazimir instigated an unprovoked duel... the night he and Viper admitted their feelings for one another. "...about a month now." he finished.

"How lovely." Miranda replied softly with a smile. It was about a month ago that the whispers of activity had died down. Clearly the wizard was a wonderful influence on her.

"Please Merlin, keep it that way forever..." she thought to herself.

"Well, may there be many more months, years, to come." she beamed.

Sevastyan nodded his thanks instead of voicing them, not really trusting his voice. However, in his eyes one could see he was clearly wondering where he and Viper would be in a year's time... he hoped they would be just as much in love, if not moreso in the event such a thing were possible.

"Has anyvone sought out counseling yet?" he asked curiously. At the forefront of his mind was the young Vaight girl... the fourth Triwizard Champion. However, a comical notion leapt into his head as he recalled something her brother had said when he walked in on Sevastyan and Viper's snogging session in the Slytherin Common Room... something about being traumatized. The Russian chuckled inwardly at the memory.

Keeping her gaze on the young wizard's eye, she saw an illuminating curiousity dancing in his silver orbs. Not a negative curiousity, oh no. Definately a good one. "Where would you like to see yourself in a year from now?" she inquired lightly with a gently raised eyebrow, genuinely curious to see his response. After all, it could very well be a glimpse of her granddaughter's future.

She shrugged with a small smile at his question. "It's difficult to say, really. I for one can never differentiate between a chat between friends and an actual counseling session. To me a Counselor is merely a fancier way of saying Friend. After all, its basically one and the same in my mind: being someone who talks to and helps others." Miranda concluded with an affirmative nod.

Sevastyan blinked at the question. Had she 'read his mind' somehow or was she just skilled in reading people? Did her magical abilities include Empathy? "In my country... it is not vise to tempt fate by vishing for a positive event to occur before it happens," he replied slowly, trying to find a way around the superstitious jinx. "But, considering I have just thought about it... and not for the first time..." Sevastyan reached up to knock three times upon the wood of one of the beams of wood that served as perches for the owls. "... vot harm could it do?"

"In a year... I vould like to see myself teaching here still. As for Amaranth, vell... I don't vant to crowd her..." Sevastyan trailed off, a blush even redder than the last creeping onto his face, "but......let's just say I really can't picture myself vith any other voman but her."


In response to her answer on counseling, Sevastyan nodded in understanding. "I can see your point, there. I vos just vondering because of our Fourth Trivizard Champion... but she handled herself vell in the First Task."

"Oh I doubt she would feel as though you were crowding her. After all, judging by how she walks, she is an independant woman,, yet she leans into your embrace, seeking and accepting it. In no way did she stiffen, instead relaxed from it." Miranda explained, recalling Viper's body language that she had noticed in the few minutes they had met.

With a small smile she added. "I'm sure the feelings are mutual."

With a more solemn tone she nodded. "Yes, from what I have heard she did. I'd like to meet with her, talk for a bit. I'm not quite sure how I should approach her though..."

Sevastyan nodded. He could tell she was an independent one, by Viper's own opinions of herself that she'd shared with him and by Kiara's comments regarding how surprising it had been for Amaranth to have treated him so differently from day one. But he was nonetheless grateful for Miranda's analysis. So Amaranth likely wouldn't seem crowded or backed into a corner if he proposed sometime down the line, by Miranda's opinion? That was good to know, or rather assume: the Russian didn't want to force himself on her.

"You seem able to read people vell..." he remarked, both as an observation and as a compliment. There was courtesy in his voice.

"Alas, I have not gotten to know many of the students on a personal level as of yet, so unfortunately I have very few suggestions. I can tell you that Miss Vaight is of Slytherin House, and vould therefore be under Amaranth's sphere of influence..." he offered, noticing the more somber route this conversation was headed.

Miranda dropped her gaze, accepting his compliment graciously. "I have studied body language for a very long time." she offered as an explanation. "Its quite an interesting subject to study. You'd be amazed by just how much a simple gesture, little habits can reveal about someone: the way they walk, the way they talk, the way they stand... Each little action is a piece of a puzzle."

Eyebrows rose when Sevastyan informed her of the young student's House and that Amaranth was her Head. "Do you think perhaps Professor Viper would be willing to assist me in arranging a meeting with Ms.Vaight?"

"It is indeed fascinating," Sevastyan replied with a nod, storing this piece of information away just in case he needed it. There would be no tricking this woman, it seemed, should he ever have a need to hide something. Not that his present self had anything to hide...

... with the exception of a certain secret birthday party, which was to be kept from a certain green-eyed witch and Head of Slytherin House...

"Do you have a natural talent for it, or vere you specially trained?" he inquired, genuinely curious.

Sevastyan shrugged. "Perhaps. I do know that Amaranth vos concerned - as vell as the rest of us - ven Miss Vaight's name vos selected...," he replied earnestly. Sevastyan remembered what Viper had said about herself, but yet she did seem genuinely concerned about the girl when the Heads had had their meeting in the trophy room...

"Well, I've always been an observer but it took quite a bit of studying and personal experience to learn what I know now." Miranda replied, not feeling the need to add that her skills made her an asset during her days of serving the dark lords. After all, what evil ruler wouldn't want a human lie detector?

Eyebrows rose at the report that Amaranth had shown concern for the girl. "Indeed? Well perhaps I will speak to her about it later on, then." Miranda nodded, making a mental memo to pass by the Potions Professor's office.

Sevastyan nodded his understanding, glancing down to the floor of the owlery in thought. It wasn't normally a skill certain wizards and witches at first considered, especially at first, unless they had a natural fascination with it. What wouldn't anyone in control of a large group of wizards and witches want for an instant way to determine lies without the bother and unpredictability of magic? After all: Legilimency could be countered with Occlumency, and veritaserum could be countered in a variety of ways as well.

What wouldn't anyone with a great deal of power in their hands do for the ability or to trust one with the ability to survey the actions of another and be able to confirm: he is lying - or: he is telling the truth? A hand unconsciously attempted to straighten the short-ish hairs of his beard in thought.

But Sevastyan had turned from that path long ago, and forbid himself from ever returning to that sort of darkness again.

"It must have taken a lot of diligence and hard vork," he complimented, raising gray eyes to meet Miranda's gaze again.

"Perhaps even I vill mention it at some point, for Miss Vaight's safety and vell-being has also been on my mind," Sevastyan added. After all, though the students were split into Houses, they were still very much the other teachers' charges as well.

Various images coursed through Miranda's mind, memories of her past life of servitude to the dark lords, particularly Grindelwald. Her abilities had been the Vipers an essential asset to his service, causing them to rise quickly in Grindelwald's ranks.

Miranda didn't even want to think about how many lives were lost, families shattered because of her part in the war, both from her hand and abilities. Everyday she looked at herself in the mirror, swearing to leave everything behind. Those days were over, her past was buried.. She was no longer Andromache Viper, matriarch of one of the oldest pureblood families in Britain. She is Miranda Maecer, a school counselor, nothing more.

Forcing herself out of her reverie, she focused back on the wizard, meeting his grey eyes with a smile. "It is a skill that requires lots of practice, quite a bit of trial and error."

"That would be very kind of you, Sevastyan and much appreciated." the older witch nodded graciously.

((different timeline))

Esis strolled into the Owlery, grinning when her eyes fell on a large fluffy owl. "Hiya, sport!" she cooed, picking the bird up and handing it her letter. Pork followed behind her, the little skunk's black and white body tensing at all the birds.
"Peck her if she screams." Esis muttered, watching the owl fly off. After all, her sister was hardly someone she usually sent letters to...

"Come along, Pork." she murmured, picking up the skunk's leash.

((after her lunch))

Delilah went inside the owlery with a letter in her hand for her parents. She missed them dearly. She found her father's owl and gave the letter to it. Before she gave the owl the letter she gave it some lunch she had left over then gave the letter to the owl and letting it fly home with the letter.

Renee Tohon went into the owlery. She didn't have an owl of her own yet. She really didn't have a pet yet.
But she learn that you can borrow a school owl.
She missed her best friend at her orphanage home.
So she wrote a long letter to her,
Finding an sweet barn owl she mind send to it.
It didn't believe that she could speck to him at first. He looked down at her and hooted softly.
Than he flew on to her arm.
She mind send to him where she wanted the letter to go.
He nip her finger playfully and started to fly out of the owlery.
She watched him go than she walked out of the owlery,too.

Raven went inside the owlery and watching all the owls flying around and making noise. She clutched the letter in her hand that she was going to give to her mother. She has not spoken to or seen her mother ever since she was abandoned, which was 11 years ago. She hoped her mother would speak to her again since she still loved her dearly even though Raven does not admit it.

Raven did not want to send the letter because she did not be rejected by her own mother. She did not know what to do, was it really worth trying to send a letter? Would her mother finally accept her from all these years? Or would she be mad for even trying to contact her? Raven mind was filling with questions and was beginning to have second thoughts in her mind. She wanted some advice, but it would most likely won't help out.

She took a deep breath and might as well try it out, who knows maybe her mother would finally accept her and apologies for what her mother had done to her. If Raven won't send the letter she would never know how her mother feels for her right now. She wanted to know dearly if her mother loves her or hates her, she wants to know if she is still alive.

Raven looked around and chose one of the owls from the school. It was a normal colored barn owl. Raven tied the letter to it's foot and watched it fly away until it disappeared. There is now no turning back and getting it, the letter is long gone, all she can do is for her mother's reply. Raven walked back to the castle hoping she did not make a huge mistake of writing to her mother.