Lessons and Homework

Diana nodded. Unable to speak in her embarassment.

"Vell, I am not sure if this is the first time you have been caught, considering I am... fairly new here. So: firstly, I strongly advise a bit more discretion. From both of you.

"Secondly, I am lenient in such matters on the first time I happen to catch something like this. I strongly advise, however, that you do not attempt an encore... I vill be speaking to your Heads of Houses for reference on this matter, and take any extra measures they see fit for repeat performances.

"Finally: ten points vill be taken from Slytherin and Gryffindor. If ve are done here, I suggest you both get back to your respective Common Rooms or ... any different extracurricular activities you may have going on at this time. Are ve clear?"

Sevastyan glanced between the two with a neutral expression, neither here nor there on the matter now that his initial surprise had faded.

"Yes Professor. Sorry..." Darien began to edge towards the door.

Diana nodded. "Yes, Professor."

Shortly after her discussion with Kazimir, Viper was in an experimenting mood and had dashed back over to her chambers to pick up her portfolio and head over to her classroom to work. However, just as Viper approached her classroom door, she noticed Diana and Darien exiting her classroom bearing rather guilty expressions.

Viper didn't need anything else to deduce what had taken place in her classroom...again. She could only pray that they had not gone as far as she feared.

Cautiously, she entered her classroom, visibly relaxing when she noticed Sevastyan's presence. She shut the door behind her and leaned back into it with her eyes closed, taking a deep breath. "Please tell me that they didn't go very far and there is no need to cleanse my classroom..." she opened her eyes and looked to Sevastyan, hoping to hear that he had arrived in time. Otherwise a certain Gryffindor and Slytherin were definately in for it.

"I doubt it vent beyond a kiss... maybe two since they vere... embraced, shall ve say... by the time I got here," he answered a little uncomfortably. "Does that... happen often down here?" Sevastyan wondered aloud and approached Viper calmly.

"Shall I take that for you?" he offered, gesturing to the portfolio, "Vhile you recuperate for a few moments?" The smirk on his face showed that the offer was genuine but was also meant to be playful, especially the second question.

Viper nodded at his question regarding frequency. "I swear, I think those two have a list of places they wish to snog and get caught in... I honestly thought by having them write highly descriptive apology letters to Professor Delanquar in hopes of embarassing them into learning their lesson, but nothing works! And its not just them I've caught snogging in my classroom..."

She looked to Sevastyan. "Is there something odd about my classroom? Something alluring that just screams 'Come snog in here!' Honestly! I need to learn to lock my classroom."

She smiled at his offer and handed her portfolio. Had it been anyone else offering to take her portfolio, she would glare at the thought, clutching the portfolio to her chest, but with Sevastyan...Viper trusted him with her life.

Following the playful tone of his question, Viper jokingly and childishly stuck out her tongue. "Well, you were the one who walked in on the two students in their 'embrace'. Perhaps you should take a moment to recuperate as well." she smirked as she conjured two goblets to aid in their recuperation.

Sevastyan couldn't help but snicker lightly in response to Viper's tangent on snogging students. He had personally never heard of such a thing happening on a constant basis. At least, not since he started teaching. Adolescence was entirely a different story...

The Russian shrugged at the questions directed to him, not sure what exactly to tell her. Though, he did glance around a bit as he listened. "I vould not be the best person to ask," he admitted. "I think the classroom is fine... and you vould have to find a pretty strong locking spell - if I remember right I vos magically picking the locks my parents set up, vith an actual spell, at a very young age. They had no idea vhere I learned it," Sevastyan added with a laugh. Obviously the occasion was a lot different than snogging one's romantic interest.

Taking the portfolio when she'd offered it, he grinned in response to the childish expression before striding over to the teacher's desk. Carefully he placed it down away from any important-looking papers and such as he listened to her reply. "Oh, I'm fine now, I assure you," he laughed good-naturedly as they continued their playful conversation. "But I think I might just take you up on that offer anyvay..."

- - - -

Boris Kaminski stood watch behind a statue. He had decided to take a gamble that the Head of Slytherin House just happened to be the same one he noticed holding hands with his cousin atop the tower after his Headmaster had gone. Staking out the classroom was proving to be rather boring, even as he noticed two students enter. However, he'd been too far away to see who they were.

It is said that good things come to those that wait, and sure enough who happened to stroll down the corridors next: Sevastyan. The Russian teen barely contained a snort of laughter at his cousin's reaction, which could be heard all the way down the hall. The man had a fiancee at one point and yet was having a fit over two teens engaged in a romantic moment? How hypocritical... Boris thought, amused.

Finally, once the two mysterious students had departed, the woman he had suspected entered the classroom. It seemed too planned, in his mind's eye, to have been just a coincidence. Boris was fairly certain that Sevastyan shooed the students out now for more than one reason. So, once the door closed, Boris glanced at his watch and waited.... if what he thought was going on was indeed going on, this was sure to be good!

Viper nodded at Sevastyan’s assessment in agreement. “That’s what I thought. I don’t want to have to go through all the trouble of finding the right spell only to have them start picking the locks.”

With a smile she handed Sevastyan his goblet, swishing the liquid around inside before taking a sip. “So what brings you to the hotspot Snogging Haven? Or was the room’s allure calling you to come in and have a snog has well?” she inquired lightly, maintaining the playful tone with an arched eyebrow.

"You could try vards... perhaps if they keep getting caught throughout the year they vill learn to find somevhere more private," Sevastyan suggested and took the offered goblet with a nod of thanks.

Only fate would have it that the moment Sevastyan took a sip that Viper would say something like that. In a reversed deja vu, the Russian choked down what he could as laughter fought just as fiercely to escape though had very nearly spat it back out into the vessel.

The Defense Professor shook his head, the humor apparent in the smile that reached his eyes. A look of mischief, a comedic expression he didn't recall bestowing to Viper before until now, crossed his features. "Vould I be given detention vith the room's owner if I said that I vos precisely vy I came?" he asked, the tone unmistakably playful and joking, with just a dash of feigned seductiveness. It was all in good fun, after all.

"Seriously, though..." Sevastyan began again after a few moments without so much as an ounce of the previous mischief but just as jovially, "I vos actually looking for you." Innocent enough, provided one didn't include his previous statement in the context as well.


- - - -

Deciding that no one would be coming down the hall anytime soon, Boris crept from his hiding place and leaned against the door to hear what was being said...


“So what brings you to the hotspot Snogging Haven? Or was the room’s allure calling you to come in and have a snog has well?”

"Vould I be given detention vith the room's owner if I said that I vos precisely vy I came?"

"I vos actually looking for you."


Vy you lying hypocrite, Boris silently laughed, hardly believing what he thought he was hearing. The only thing the Russian teenager had yet to learn was that eavesdropping provided extreme potential for misinterpretation.

V iper nodded at the suggestion, keeping it in mind for future reference. A cadence of giggles escaped her at Sevastyan’s reaction, especially his reply as she eagerly responded with a comeback.

“Perhaps…but would it be so horrible if you were given detention with me?” she questioned teasingly, her words laced with laughter before a matching tone of feigned, -or perhaps not so feigned, in Viper’s case- hint of seduction echoed through,. “Well, at any rate, I am open to persuasions…” her eyes sparkled, allowing the Defense Professor to conjure his own interpretation to her meaning.

But eventually, most of the playfulness aside, Viper returned her focus to the topic and purpose of their encounter. “Indeed. I was meaning to speak to you as well, in fact. But please, do go first.”

Candii went inside the classroom very excitedly, "IS THIS THE CLASS WERE THEY MAKE POTIONS AND ALL!? BECAUSE IF IT IS I WANT TO JOIN!!!" she excitedly said while sitting down on a random chair. "SO WHEN DO WE MAK POTIONS!?"

Sevastyan felt a grin stretch across his face. "Horrible vould be the very last vord I vould use to describe a detention... vith you," he continued in the same joking, semi-flirty/seductive manner. A raven brow arched upwards at Amaranth's additional statement. She was open to persuasions? An interesting way to put things... Sevastyan came up with several interpretations in the space of only a few moments.

A look of surprise crossed his face when Viper said she'd been meaning to speak with him, but quickly composed himself. He was to go first, huh? Sevastyan took a sip from his goblet. "Vell, I vos vondering if you vanted to go vith me into Hogsmeade this veekend?" he asked, unabashed at what it could potentially sound like.

Before he could go into detail on this uncertain errand a student entered, much to his surprise. At least this one hadn't entered with a masculine partner...

"Erm, yes, Miss: this is the Potions Classroom. And it is ultimately up to Professor Viper -" Sevastyan politely gestured to the only other adult in the room, "that decides ven lessons begin."


- - - -

Boris hadn't even heard the Gryffindor student approach, so wrapped up was he in his gathering of evidence for his Headmaster. He could tell she was a Gryffindor by the color trim on her robes: Nicolas Casillas, his best friend, was in Gryffindor. Considering his cover blown, the teenager took off down the stone corridor at a run. If she said anything about an eavesdropper, and he got caught, Boris was fairly certain his cousin would skin him alive, to use the common figure of speech.

"Oh OK THEN! But if you do not mind Ms. Viper I would love to join this wonderful class and learn potions OK!" Candii just sat there fir a couple seconds and got bored.

"I'm bored when does this lesson start!?" She asked rambunctiously and gave a mad look thinking it took to long for the lesson to start.

Viper frowned at the student, not at all impressed by the students rudeness and apparent lack of respect and courtesy. Not to mention she had referred to Viper as "Ms" Viper...

"Excuse me, Ms...whatever your mother decided to call you," Viper trailed off. "To be admitted into my potions class, you must have solved the riddle over there." Viper gestured to the writing on the corner of the chalkboard." with a pause she added in an annoyed tone. "Not to mention you have to have a decent sense of courtesy...Now, good day." she gestured to the door, dismissing the student and closing the door.

Once she was sure the student was gone, she focused her attention back to the wizard in front of her.

She smiled and smirked at his suggestive tone and was pleasantly suprised at his invitation. "That sounds lovely." she replied happily, accepting his invitation. "Any particular errand or is it going to be a day away from students?" she inquired, casting a brief, irritated glance at the door where the disrespectful student had barged in and left.

((Assuming Candii left??))


This was the first time Sevastyan had seen Viper interact with a student. To be honest he wasn't surprised, but kept his face schooled in neutrality. Viper's classroom, Viper's prerogative: that's how Sevastyan viewed it, and he wasn't going to draw any opinions on the way she acted. It was actually intriguing to see this other side of her, though was glad that something sparked a completely different facet of her personality when around him. This must have been what Kiara had mentioned...

Sevastyan nodded at her acquiescence to go with him. "It is a bit of both, actually," he admitted with a grin. "My maternal aunt's birthday is coming, and ve usually all get together even if ve don't necessarily get along. It is strange... I've been an adult for several years and yet you vould think upon reading her letter that she vos speaking to a boy of about this tall," the Russian elaborated, his free hand gesturing to a spot slightly above his waist to indicate the short stature of a child. "She said that if I'm not going to the party then I should at least send flowvers. ...Like I really know my aunt's tastes..." Sevastyan trailed off, looking slightly embarrassed.

"Do you... erm... you vouldn't vant to help me out vith that, vhile ve'd be out, vould you?" The question was tentative, indicating that she didn't have to help. He knew 'helping' wasn't what she did but it never hurt to ask, right? The color of his ears changed a shade or two darker as the embarrassment threatened to engulf him.

Viper grasped Sevastyan's free hand with her own and smiled, finding his blushing quite adorable. "I'd be happy to help you on your quest for your Aunt's birthday gift. I'm not sure how much help I'll be, considering I've never met your aunt but I'll do my best." Not to mention the fact Viper wasn't entirely sure what to get someone on their birthday...

A thought crossed Viper's mind as she asked in genuine curiousity. "When is your birthday?"

Sevastyan entwined his hand with hers, and smiled at her acceptance to help. Immediately he could feel his heartbeat return to where it belonged, instead of pulsing in his ears. "I don't really even know my aunt that vell, so ve are more or less in the same boat, as the saying goes. That's vy flowvers vould probably be the best bet. The thing is, I know very little about vot vould be good..." he explained, trailing off with an admission.

"My flower symbology knowledge does not go far beyond two or three different vones, and I don't think any of them precisely mean 'happy birthday'. In fact, I think vone is commonly associated vith funerals..." Sevastyan made a weird, comical look with his eyes. "I don't think she'd like it if I sent her flowvers for that purpose on her birthday... vould likely give her the wrong idea." Sevastyan couldn't help but laugh, a kind of mildly dark humor.

His pulse was immediately back in his earlobes at the new question. "Mine? The ninth of March," Sevastyan answered simply, blinking a couple of times at being caught a bit off guard. "Ven is yours?" he asked, just as curious.

Viper thought about it for a moment. "Well, are you fond of your aunt? There's always Devil's Snare..." she suggested teasingly, demonstrating the same dark humor with a laugh.

At Sevastyan's answer regarding birthdays, the Potions Mistress made a mental reminder to mark that day on her calender, although it was highly unlikely she would forget.

"December Seventeen." Viper replied to his inquiry regarding her birthday.

Sevastyan laughed at the suggestion merrily. "I don't really know the voman at all, other than the fact that my mother's side of the family had a family-run business in the breeding and training of various birds of prey. I think she likes the color purple... but that's really about it of vot I know," he explained. "It is strange - not even my mother cares much for her own sister, and yet I'm expected to send a gift?" The Russian shook his head. "Family can be vierd..."

He nodded with a smile at the answer. Her birthday was coming up soon... perhaps their outing this weekend could give him an idea of what to get her for the occasion. Sevastyan made a mental note to himself to remember this date. The Russian doubted he would forget it, though. "Do you do anything special for your birthday?"

"Well,, I suppose if worse comes to worse you could always "piggy-back" on your mother's gift and add your name to the card. That's what my colleagues and I always did whenever it was mandatory for us to attend a Ministry Official's birthday ball." she replied with mirth, recalling how the ECHO fellowship would rotate in circles so they all took turns buying the gift.

"Perhaps your aunt favors you and only wants the piece of mind that the affection is returned?" with a flirty smile she added. "You are rather difficult not to be fond of."

Viper shook her head. Birthdays were never of great importance in the Viper Clan. Unless of course it meant you were of age and were qualified as an adult, etc. Other than that, birthdays were just another day to Viper. "No, not really. Just a drink with friends, although I doubt its considered special considering its what I do most days." she replied with a laugh. "Do you?"

"I could vot?" he asked with a laugh, not understanding the phrase 'piggy back'. Replaying what Viper had said in his mind, he understood. "Nevermind - I think I get it." Another laugh followed, just so she knew it was all right.

At the suggestion, Sevastyan shrugged and indulged in his goblet. It was out of the corner of his eye that he caught the flirty smile, which made it difficult to take a sip of the vodka within with the corners of his mouth stretched the way they were. He found it rather hard not to smile when she did. When he emerged from the drinking vessel, Sevastyan revealed the smile. "The same can be said of you," he remarked with equal flirtatiousness.

The Russian thought for a moment. Nothing special on her birthday? ... Sevastyan was going to change that, though made no hint here nor there of what he was thinking. When the inquiry was returned, Sevastyan nodded once and offered a small smile. "An evening out vith friends and a good meal... ven I vos a child there vos gifts, though these days ve stick to toasts for adults and gifts for children but I think that's just my family. There is also a cake vith candles, much like how I understand English birthdays are. Ve even have a special sveet bread: krendel - vich is often served in the same shape as a pretzel," he explained. "Some of my birthday parties vere vilder than others: my grandfather's vodka vos often the beverage of choice. But it vos good fun!"

"Vot vos it you vanted to speak vith me about?" Sevastyan asked, deciding to change the subject. Viper would be having a birthday party this year if it was the last thing he ever did, but he needed to get his mind off of that train of thought before he accidentally verbalized his plans.

Viper laughed in response to his remark. "I'd be careful saying that around Ministry Officials. They may arrange a first class trip to St. Mungo's for you." she teasingly warned as she stepped closer to Sevastyan, wrapping her arms around his neck.

Viper listened intently to his birthday tales, smiling and laughing, making a mental promise that she would make Sevastyan's birthday, possibly his first here in England as memorable as possible.

She hesitated a moment before replying to Sevastyan's question. She didn't want to cause their conversation to take an uglier turn and yet she didn't want to lie to him only to have him find out about her and Kazimir's conversation later on. In the end, she decided to just be honest with Sevastyan. "Well, Kazimir came into our office to have a little chat with me. It was...interesting." Viper concluded, interesting being the best word she could describe their encounter as.

Though his skin was covered, Sevastyan felt a delightful tingling sensation at the pressure that was Viper's touch upon his shoulders. The feeling was even more intense upon his neck, which aside from a one-and-a-half inch mandarin collar was completely bare. The Russian quickly finished off the vodka in his goblet and wandlessly set it down upon the nearest desk. As if by instinct, Sevastyan's hands rested on Viper's hips before wrapping themselves around her in kind.

He laughed at her teasing. "Let them think vot they vill," Sevastyan replied mirthfully. "If this is madness then I don't vant to be sane again... assuming I vos in the first place of course. You'd smuggle me out of the mental vard, vouldn't you?" he added in the same tone as she had used, leaning to the left in order to lightly kiss the nearest bit of Amaranth's arm that he could reach. Perhaps there was something about the chemistry of this room after all...

Strong arms tightened their grasp and eyes darkened the slightest bit the moment Kazimir's name was mentioned. Was the gesture protective or possessive? Not like Sevastyan was really worried about having competition: the other Russian was seventy years old for Merlin's sake! "How so? Did he attack you? Are you all right?" he barraged her with questions. Protective, hands down.

If he so much as laid a splinter of a vand on her because of me, I vill be issuing a duel to the death... his death, that is... Sevastyan mused darkly.

Viper instinctively leaned into his touch, enjoying the comfort and safety she felt in his arms, thoroughly enjoying the wonderful burning sensation caused by Sevastyan’s touch. Playfully, she pretended to think about his question.

“Well, now I’d have to think about that for a moment…If you were in a mental ward and I got caught trying to smuggle you out then I would look mental. And if I look mental, then the Ministry Officials would think they were right about me all along! They’d think it had something to do with the potions fumes! It’s a choice between love and career!” She paused to mock-gap. “But then if I didn’t smuggle you out, Kiara would be upset. And if Kiara’s upset then Professor Delanquar is upset. And if Professor Delanquar is upset, then Professor McKevin is upset. And if all the Professors are upset, then the students would all be upset.” She shot an amused look at Sevastyan. “Bloody hell you can turn all of Hogwarts against me!” she laughed.

Then, in fear that he may take her seriously, she leant forward and pressed her lips against his in a reassuring manner. “No, I’d smuggle you out. Probably even curse whoever put you in there in the first place.” She smiled.

At his protective gesture, Viper raised an eyebrow in surprise, touched by his worry. She smiled reassuringly and shook her head. “No, I’m fine, he didn’t do anything. Annoyed me with various questions and comments, but not much more than that. He probably knows its me who cast the Curse on him.” Just in case he wanted more detail, Viper offered him the choice of witnessing the memory. “Would you like to see what happened?”