Yet another random hall

((lol, I remember Milo. I haven't had it in years though...xD))

"Certain Things?" Viper raised a rather flirtatious eyebrow, forgetting about Edwin for a moment. "What else would variety help spice up, beside snacks?" she asked as she stroked a stray hair out of Sevastyan's face, leaning closer to him.

It was only when Edwin spoke once more that he broke the spell between them, temporarily pulling them apart with his question. "Sure. Why not." Viper replied, shrugging her shoulders. What harm could it do?

"What's milo?" she asked, looking to Sevastyan to see if he had ever heard of such a thing: nack or beverage, for Viper wasn't quite sure what it was.

Sevastyan set Amaranth with a similar look, though he was well aware Edwin was still there. The kid was three... he wouldn't really understand the conversation between them, would he? The Russian felt a grin stretch his lips as he felt her come closer. "Oh, I'm sure ve could think of something. Perhaps even this evening..." he suggested in a kind of rugged-ish whisper. The words 'when we're alone' practically hung in the air between them, unsaid but intended.

At Edwin's question, Sevastyan nodded hesitantly and offered a kind of half-shrug. He shook his head in regards to what this 'milo' could be. The Russian had never heard of it, and had no real idea of what it could be. "It sounds like a drink, I suppose, but I am not sure," Sevastyan replied uncertainly.

He for one didn't see the harm in having a drink to go with one's snacks...

"Eww." the boy stated, wrinkling his nose. "Yaw dowing wike Esis awn her bwofrund." he giggled and covered his snake's eyes. "Are yaw gwon twu kwiss?" he asked, disgust mixing with curiosity.

((Translation- You doing like Esis and her boyfriend. Are you going to kiss?))

Excitement coursed through Viper's veins at the response received from Sevastyan. Suddenly, time seemed to go awfully slow for Viper...

Just as she leaned forward to kiss Sevastyan, Edwin made his presence known once more. Pulling back again, Viper sighed. Where was Professor Delanquar when one needed her? Or any adult for that matter...

With a mock-glare at Edwin, she summoned a bag of the muggle candy Hershey Kisses and tossed it over to Edwin. "You have your kisses, now I want mine." she replied before closing the remaining distance between her and Sevastyan.

Sevastyan felt the chemistry between him and Viper change like it usually did when amorous feelings were exchanged between even the most subtle of gestures. Like her, he had also temporarily forgotten Edwin's presence and curious eyes.

Despite how much he loved children, eventually wanting to have youngsters of his own someday, he was slightly disappointed when the lad's voice interrupted Amaranth's present course. Indeed: where was a third adult when they were needed? Surely even Ethan Addams... or even Horatio McKevin... or even the Headmistress herself wandered around the castle from time to time?

Curiosity flooded Sevastyan at the candy labeled Hershey Kisses, wondering why they were called this. They looked more like water drops wrapped in shiny material with a bit of paper sticking out the top to him. The curiosity was replaced with a short, light stream of laughter at her comment.

Sevastyan couldn't help the flirty smile that crossed his lips as Amaranth closed the distance between them. He realized that, though he was taller than she even like this, the Russian was technically at the Slytherin Head's mercy: he was sitting on the floor while she was crouched beside him. Without a word Sevastyan's lips sought hers in a tender kiss.

A gray irised eye glanced in Edwin's direction to make sure the boy was distracted with his own sweets.

Edwin caught the bag easily and dragged both his puppy and snake over to the wall. Ignoring the kissing couple, he began to eat the kisses. Esis usually gave him caramels as they took longer to chew...but he liked chocolate just as much. Five minutes later, he finished the last kiss and a rush of energy channeled up from his very toes. Releasing Toliver, he took off down the steps, his plush viper trailing in the air behind him.

Thoughts besides the wizard in front of her vanished from Viper's mind as she leaned closer to him, indulging in her own treat. It was only when she no longer heard the crinkling of a wrapper being opened did she reluctantly pull back from the embrace.

"Edwin?" she called out glancing around. When it was clear the kid had vanished, Viper sighed in annoyance, resting her forhead on Sevastyan's shoulder in an exasperated gesture. "We really need to stick a bell on him or something..." She muttered.

Sevastyan had entirely ignored everything except the witch before his eyes after seeing Edwin content with his candies. The Russian even went so far as to even tune out the sound of candy wrappers being crinkled and disposed of, so immersed in the moment was he. For a moment, Sevastyan thought Edwin had asked another question when Amaranth pulled away.

Scanning the area where he'd last seen the child, and finding nothing, the Russian realized why Viper had separated from him. Rule Number Vone: Never let a child out of sight, even if it is just to kiss your lover... Sevastyan thought to himself with his own sigh of exasperation just moments before Amaranth's forehead connected with his shoulder. To acknowledge her annoyance, Sevastyan gave her back a few gentle taps after somewhat resuming an embrace of sorts.

He laughed only slightly at her muttered comment. "Or something..." the Russian echoed. The first thing that came to mind was a magical tracking device. "I suppose ve need to find him now, don't ve?" Sevastyan whispered into her ear, giving her head an affectionate nudge with the tip of his nose.

Viper smiled at the affectionate nudge, leaning into the contact. "No, not necessarily. But you'd have to be the one who explains to Professor Delanquar precisely what happened to her kid and the reasons for it." She raised her eyebrows teasingly, laughing lightly as she rested her chin on his shoulders, giving him a soft kiss on the cheek.

Edwin slid to a halt at the bottom of the stairs as peered around the corner. No students were in sight and Toliver sat obediently at his side. Maybe he could go outside, he thought. But his Mama had been very clear about that. And he did want that milo, chocolate, cookies and ice cream. So he huffed like he'd seen Horatio do when he was exasperated, and slid down to sit against the wall, waiting for the two kissing sitters to catch up with him. They had better have all four goodies...

"Vy me?" he asked with a chuckle at the arched eyebrow and leaned toward her in response to the kiss. "You found Edvin first..." Sevastyan teased in reply, a smirk on his face as he tilted his head back and to the side for to return her act of affection with a similar one of his own.

"If ve vere Edvin... vhere voud ve go?" he wondered aloud, trying to hazard a guess where the lad had gone. "Ve did somevot promise him a snack..."

Viper mock-gaped in feigned shock. "You would willingly and knowingly allow me to walk into the mercy of a furious Mother and a History Professor head-over-heels in love with her?" she pouted, the corners of her mouth twitching from the overpowering desire to burst into laughter. "I thought you liked me..."

"If we were Edwin where wouldn't we go?" Viper countered with a smile. "To the kitchens, then? On the bright side if we don't find the kid we can at least make our last meal memorable." she teased lightly with a playful wink, entwining her finger's with Sevastyan's.

"Yaw bowring." Edwin stated, as he walked toward them. He had been hoping for a chase or better yet even a bit of panic. The two love birds standing there, wondering where to start looking was worse than watching his mama weed her garden.
"Cwan wa ewt twhat swake now?"

((translation- You're boring...Can we eat that snack now?))

Sevastyan snickered at her feigned outburst, recognizing by now the signs of play and seriousness between them. "I more than just like you, Amaranth..." he replied from a deep place in his throat, gray eyes practically burning with the fire of love and passion that he felt for her.

At the counter-question, Sevastyan nodded in moderate worry about that one. But yet he couldn't help but feel that the kid would want to go precisely where he wasn't allowed to. But then again, that was how he himself behaved as a child... The wizard hadn't yet learned Edwin's modus operandi.

When Edwin returned and spoke, Sevastyan started and looked from Amaranth to Edwin. First he was there, then he wasn't, and now he's back again... well, that saved the pair of adults some trouble. The Russian chortled lightly at the notion before looking to Amaranth in a way that seemed to say: 'Shall ve?'

After all, they were in on this impromptu babysitting gig together.

"But apparently not enough to spare me from the danger of a Mother's Wrath!" Viper replied dryly, though her green eyes sparkled with the same emotions Sevastyan's bore, if not more.

Hearing footsteps approaching Viper turned only to find Edwin there once more. She sighed and half-heartedly rolled her eyes. "Oh well, certainly makes everything easier on us..." she thought before focusing once more on Sevastyan, nodding at his look with a smile.

Edwin felt that surge of energy hit him again and standing there was suddenly not on his list of desires. Like a cat released from its confines he dashed off down the hallway, shrieking as Toilver bounded after him.
"Cwatch mwe, Viper!"

"Oh, come now," Sevastyan began and gently took her chin in his hand. "I vos teasing and you know it," he told her lightly, seeing the emotions of Amaranth's emerald eyes before placing a tender kiss upon her lips. It was hard to tell if one was more enamored with the other, or if it was about the same. The fact they were both deeply in love, however, was plain to see.


He smiled at her in return and was about to take her hand and Edwin's when the boy screeched and took off again. Instead of giving in to the chase, Sevastyan winked to Viper and withdrew his wand. "You get vone, I'll get the other?" he snickered, casting a levitation charm to bring one of their charges back to the starting line again. Because boy and puppy were so close together it was hard to tell which one Sevastyan had plucked from the chase.

Viper smiled playfully in response to Sevastyan's touch, meeting him halfway in the kiss. She felt slightly hypocritical for more or less snogging the man she loved in front of Edwin when a few months prior she tormented two students for doing the same thing.

However, remembering the crucial differences between her and the students, one being that she and Sevastyan were not students helped to annihilate the slight hypocrisy just as quickly as it had risen. That and the fact Sevastyan's kiss was making it quite difficult to think of anything other than the kiss.

As Viper noticed the dash-off, she returned the wink Sevastyan offered, withdrawing her wand as well, aiming a spell right at the puppy, bringing it towards the spot he and his owner had just vacated.

Edwin shrieked as he was levitated toward Sevastyan. Too energized to even come to the conclusion that his newest babysitters where even more stationary than his mother, he smiled up at Sevastyan and showed him Viper. "Viper was bwe dwy awn away fwom Mama. Ow shw thwo wer ou."

((Translation: "Viper must be dry and away from Mama. Or she throw her out."))

Sevastyan blinked in an attempt to understand what Edwin was saying, and glanced to Amaranth briefly in the hopes of a translation. "You named your snake Viper?" he asked congenially and released the child from the levitation charm. It was the only thing he could think of, unless the boy was saying that Amaranth and Professor DeLanquar weren't getting along again. "Ein Name gepasst für eine Königin…" he murmured in Russian-accented German; his first secondary language. When he'd first started working at Hogwarts, his habit of slipping into another language aside from English was unintentional. This time, though, he'd meant to.

"How vould you and... Viper like that snack now?" he suggested and leaned forward so he'd be slightly closer to Edwin's height, trying to hold back a laugh. Now that he thought of it, Sevastyan never really referred to Amaranth by her last name. It was either Professor - when he first met her - or Amaranth. Vaguely he wondered how she would react to being given a pet name... not that he could think of any off the top of his head.


((Ein Name gepasst für eine Königin… is meant to be: "A name fit for a queen..."))

Edwin shook his head, happy to hear Sevastyan speak German, which he spoke as well as he did English... which was full of w's and v's. "Viper ist Prinzessin!" he cheered, smiling. He wasn't exactly sure what a queen was... but Horatio had read him a book about a prince looking for a princess.
That and Esis claimed to be the "Princess of Paris"...whatever that meant.

"Ja swake!!!" Edwin bounced around laughing. "Hundefutter too, fwo Towiver."

Viper looked back and forth between Sevastyan and Edwin, not quite understanding half the words being exchanged. While she had a fair hand on a few languages such as Finnish and Swedish, picking it up on her ECHO business trips, German was not one of them, Germany being on her colleague Stabler's agenda.

She quirked an eyebrow at being declared a "Prinzessin", not quite knowing how to respond to that as she turned to Sevastyan.

"I didn't know you spoke German," she said to the wizard with an impressed smile.

The smile on Sevastyan's face broke into a full-blown grin at the child's returned German, though his eyes clearly showed a moderate surprise. He couldn't be sure whether Edwin was declaring his snake or Amaranth to be a princess, but either way worked for him. It was close enough. "Ja," he agreed, ruffling the boy's hair playfully before straightening.

He looked to Amaranth when she spoke, Sevastyan smiled pleasantly - one of the types of smiles he usually reserved for her lately. "Yes... I can speak German," he admitted softly and moved to place an arm about her shoulders. "In Saratov, most everyvone either speaks Russian or German as their mother tongue so it vos rather easy to pick up German. Though, my double-u's still end up vith a 'v' sound to them..." he explained, laughing at his own expense due to his consonantal problem. It really didn't bother him that he spoke with a marked accent and had an inability to pronounce a letter that didn't occur in his native language.

Sevastyan was amazed at the energy Edwin had, to be bouncing around and laughing as he was. "Zu den Küchen, dann," he suggested to the group at large, an indication that he was ready to leave this hallway when his traveling companions were. Assuming Amaranth did not know German, by her statement, Sevastyan looked to her and mouthed the word: 'Kitchen'


"Shall I explain vot vos said on the vay?" Sevastyan asked Viper playfully.

Edwin was off toward the kitchen before Sevastyan had even complete his sentence. Already his mind was conjuring images of ice cream tubs, packages of cookies, huge goblets of milo and best of all, chocolate... cakes, bars and brownies all with his name on them...

Viper smiled softly at the sight of Sevastyan interacting with Edwin. He certainly was good with children. She could imagine how great he'd be with his children , how wonderful of a father he'd make someday.

She broke from her reverie when she felt his strong arms wrap around her shoulders, instinctively leaning into the embrace, resting her head against his shoulder. "I love your accent. It makes everything you say even more special and memorable." She replied, placing a kiss on his cheek affectionately.

"You could. Unless you want me to start assuming and guessing all that was said..." Viper said in a mock-warning tone.