Random Halls in Hogwarts

Dracovan nodded, though he couldn't help but feel a bit uncomfortable. Not to mention confused, for clearly she knew something he did not.

"Indeed. Well, that is very kind of you indeed, Headmistress. I thank you." he smiled his courtier smile, before opting to excuse himself before the awkwardness formed a wall and crushed one of them. "If you'll excuse me, Headmistress, I suppose I'll see you later." he bowed before exiting.

Kiara nodded "I will send you a message of the location of your quarters and the password within the hour... Have a nice day Dracovan"

Then she turned around deciding to check on Miranda, perhaps she had known Dracovan before hand, and his subben reapprearance scared her.

"Then Eglantine and I are going to have a chat" she muttered as she walked down the hall.

Dracovan waved goodbye slightly before walking a rather brisk pace towards, well, anywhere, really. Anywhere he could just get some air.

((different time line))

Kiara yawned as she walked through the halls... wards of the castle told her a student was unacounted for, and for a strange reason the old school seemed like it wanted to tell her something.

"Just once could I get a full nights sleep?" she said with a sigh as she sipped a coffee.

"Who ever is wondering in a resrtricted section so has a detention..." said mumbled as she rounded the corner.

Sevastyan had awoken in the middle of the night for a rather personal reason. He did not have patrol duty very often, ever since Kazimir's assault on him. Though he didn't want to give the old goat of a Headmaster the satisfaction the Russian couldn't deny that it would be best for now... even if he didn't necessarily want to admit it.

Much to his misfortune, Viper was the one patrolling tonight. Sevastyan didn't think it would take too long, so he'd stayed up and entertained himself for a while. But then his eyes started getting heavy. That was about when he'd decided to call it a night until his love returned. Then the evening could really get interesting...

It was upon remembering that notion that Sevastyan headed back to the bed only to notice Amaranth's half had not been slept in. Save for the odd times he must've rolled in that direction whilst subconsciously checking to see if she was there, it was relatively untouched. Concerned, Sevastyan quickly donned a robe over his pajama bottoms and a pair of shoes, heading immediately out of the safety of personal chambers and into the castle...

* * * *

His mind raced with possible scenarios, each more and more disturbing as than the next. Had he done something to upset her? Was she bored with him? Was his constant presence suffocating her, figuratively speaking?

Or did Kazimir attack her out of the blue? If that was the case, there would be hell to pay!

Just for protection's sake, Sevastyan withdrew his wand and rounded the corner......

............... only to be about to collide with the Headmistress and a cup of very hot coffee. He hadn't been watching where he was going.

Kiara blinked and jumped and nearly spilled her coffee on the resident defense teacher, she noticed he looked rather distracted...

"Well duh he nearly ran right into you..." she though to her self.

"Sevastyan? is something wrong?.... why the rush?" she asked in concern taking note of the wand in his hand.

"No trouble I hope?" she asked, remembering a certain dark night Sevastyan had been ambushed by Kazimir.

Sevastyan started when he realized he'd almost ran over the Headmistress. Once both parties got over the shock of finding the other in the same corridor, he found his voice. "Sorry about that, Kiara... it's just..." Sevastyan began, though wasn't quite sure how to progress from there. He didn't want the woman to think he was mothering his own significant other by being worried about her absence.

"It's just that Amaranth never returned from patrol last night..." he finished, looking rather uncomfortable. It was about that time that he noticed her looking to the withdrawn wand. "No... no trouble as of yet... this is just for precaution," he explained, gesturing to the hand grasping said wand so tightly the knuckles were white as a sheet. Even though he was in good company, Sevastyan decided to keep the wooden implement drawn just in case they came upon someone... or something.

Kiara's eye brows wrinked in concern, when he mentioned Viper never returned from patrol eariler that night.

"She never returned you say?" she asked charming her coffee cup to float in the air.

"Her patrol shouldn't have taken take long" she muttered as she took out her want aswell.

"There is a student in one of the restricted corridors, I was going to check it out, perhaps Viper found him or her there?" she offered. But she couldn't shake the feeling something terribly was wrong.

"Coming with me?" she asked already moving down the corridor at a quick pace.

Sevastyan shook his head to confirm that she hadn't, and became increasingly worried. He had a bad feeling about this venture to find his love... and hoped it was just a bout of half-awake pessimism that brought it on.

"Perhaps..." the wizard muttered, though he sincerely hoped that was the case. She's probably just giving the student vone hell of a lecture... you're vorrying over nothing... he tried to tell himself. Students getting caught in the corridors - particularly the restricted ones - didn't surprise him any.

"Of course," was his automatic reply. Sevastyan matched the Headmistress's pace without delay.

((Heading to Corridor at Night))

((Different timeline, a few days after christmas))

It was late evening and Kiara was on one of her nightly walks, hoping to tire her self out to get some sleep that night. When she saw a shadow move out the corner of her eye.

"Who is there?" she asked wand out.

Lighting the hall up withe wand she looked around but she didn't see anything at first, but then a shadow came into view.

"Kia..." came a haunting drawl of Danial Lestrange.

Kiara it had to e a Boggert it had to be, as Danial was long dead. "Danial ..." she whispered and shook her head. She had not the time to deal with a Boggert version of her Ex husband.

She was about to dispell the creature when is shifted and the voice that came next sent shivers down her spine. Well.. it wasn't the voice exactly, it was the tone of the voice that scared her.

"Ara..."

It was Ciaran's voice.... but it had a bitter cold... hate filled edge in it. And it made her gasp and stare in shock as the Boggert Ciaran aproached her with the insane look in his eyes as Danial had the day he tried to kill her.

"No.. this isn't happening... isn't it's just boggert" she wisperd to her self as she backed away from her worst nightmare.

Then the boggert shifted again and it became Tav, only he was dead. Then it shifted back to Ciarans form again.

"Ya killed em Ara.. Its all yar fault me son is dead!" he snapped.

Kiara looked in shock and disbelief, "This isn't real" she whispered as she continued to back up her wand drawn but finding it very hard to think of anything funny.

She looked up in horror to see Boggert Ciarans hand riased to strike her. She needed something now anything. The was an irrational fear she knew that, she knew her Ciaran would never act like this.... but some times that was just what fear was irrational.

She bumped against the wall in shock, all thoughts a flight left her she couldn't move not a single step. It was like in a dream where you are tring to run but for some reason you couldn't. All she could do was brace her self for the strike to come.

A part of her could still not believe this was happening.... that she really was just dreaming....

Horror would hardly describe Ciaran's thoughts as he walked his form move to strike his fiance'. At once coming to life, he shouted the spell to counter the boggart and shoved the image of Sevastyan in a pink and purple tutu out of the way... apparently that was something he found hilarious and other different circumstances, he would have laughed heartily.
"Kiara darlin," he murmured, carefully wrapping his arms around her and lifting her up from the ground. "It was just a boggart...nothing but a thought, a nightmare." he assured her, his heart beating furiously within his chest. "It's not gonna be hurtin ya, me darlin, me love."

Kiara stiffened, if only for her moment in Ciarans embrace, however the moment she looked in his eyes she relaxed completely and sighed, seeing only love in them.

"It changed.... it used to be Danial, but now... it..it caught me by surprise" she said out of breath.

She looked up at Ciaran, "I.. I don't know what to say.... I know you would never...." she trailed off settling for resting her head on his shoulder.

"Aye, lass." he murmured. "Our fears change with time... just as our dreams, hopes desires." He gently kissed the top of her head, stroking her back. "Ya haven't a need ta say anything, Ara..." he whispered. "Nothing at all."

It worried and delighted him all in one terrible mixture what he had seen. Inwardly he knew he would never blame Kiara if anything were to happen to his son, but he also wasn't sure if Kiara knew that. His wife's death and been put entirely on his own shoulders...as had his son. Never had he even thought to blame anyone else.

Kiara nodded allowing the comfort, she took a deep breath, and looked up at him, the faces of the fear may have changed, but the fear was the same.

She feared history repeating its self.

Then, when her heart had calmed down she sighed and looked up at Ciaran.

"You saw everything..." she whispered.

"Aye... enough, lass." he murmured, carrying her further down the hallway. It was unnerving to stand in the same place as the boggart had attacked Kiara. "I would ne're blame ya far anything. Nothing at all." he swore, the light blue glow showing he had indeed sworn.

Kiara looked surprised for a moment at to sworn oath, but then Ciaran being who his was. It didn't surprise her for long.

"I know love, I know you wouldn't. as you said it was a nightmare... just a nightmare that at a time came true, it remainds in my mind no matter who it is" she said hugging him.

"I'm so sorry, darlin." he murmured, saddened that she had this burden to carry. If only she had met him before Daniel "the-strange"...surely it would have been better, for them all. "I'm so sorry." he repeated, kissing her forehead and holding her close. "So sorry..."

Kiara sighed and looked up at him, she brushed her fingertips down his cheek, "Love.. you have nothing to be sorry for"

"Nothing at all, In fact I am sorry... I shouldn't have burdend you with it.... my dear"

She kissed him on the cheek , and traveled to his lips. Then she smiled at him.

"But your love makes me feel much better" she said hugging him.

Words escaped him as Ciaran's eyes filled with tears. The emotion of the single thought of Kiara's overwhelming burden and yet constant commitment flooded his mind and he sighed. She was Headmistress of Hogwarts, one of the finest magical schools in history, a relative to Tom Riddle himself and a constant target of terrible ordeals. He had no idea how he was going to protect her from everything that assaulted her day and night... but whatever the case turned out to be... he would do his honest best.

Kiara blinked, and looked shock for a moment to see tears in Ciarans eyes. "Dear? What is wrong?" she asked as she kissed his forehead. Forgetting about her troubles at seeing Ciaran upset.

"Nothing, darlin." he murmured, gently setting her back on her own feet. "Let's go outside for a bit. Change a scene may help aye?" He cast several warming spells around them to ward of the bitter cold as they walked.

Kiara sighed, she felt something was unsettleing him. "Alright I am sure it would help dear"

She said as she lightly held his hand.

As they continued to walk down the hallway, heading for the stairs, Ciaran heard a sound and froze. "Anyone awake with ya, darlin?" he asked, glancing back.

Kiara shook her head, "no.. not that I know of... well aside from that Boggart" she said looking in the same direction.

Concerned, Ciaran whipped his wand out, prepared should anything attack them. There was a low rumbling hiss and he gently pushed Kiara up against the wall to shield her from whatever may come their way. A tall fearsome shadow slunk along the wall and his heart rose to hammer in his chest.

"LUMOS!" he shouted, his wand lighting up the darkened hallway. The beam of light fell to reveal a rather annoyed cream tabby who had crouched down to catch a trembling rodent.
"Bloody cat..." Ciaran gasped, relieved but feeling more than slightly foolish.