The Great Hall

Eglantine paled, obviously contrite about bringing the problems to Kiara when she obviously did not need them.

"It was only four students, they were arguing over who would be the Hogwarts Champion. Apparently it came to blows after a passing Beauxbatons student implied that Hogwarts was not going to win so it did not matter." She glanced over to catch Genevieve's reaction. The French Headmistress looked deeply troubled.
"Also it was my fault that the fountain broke, when I noticed the students playing about the fountain, I used a spell to bring me the snitch and it hit the fountain instead."

Madame Lasharna gasped. "You could have been injured, Eglantine. You really should be more careful." Eglantine smiled softly.

"Thank you, but Kiara is most careful. She never allows any of the staff or the students to become injured." Genevieve smiled.
"Well, I doubt that, but you are much to caring to say otherwise." Eglantine stiffened.

"Madame Lasharna, Headmistress Kiara is one of the finest Headmistresses this world has ever seen. She runs the school very well and does not need to be judged by you. Please!" Genevieve closed her mouth like a child berated by her parent and nodded to Kiara.

"So it would seem that we got off on the wrong foot. My apologies."

Kiara looked up when Eglantine defended her, and saved her a world of humillation and never ending comments from Lasharna.

Sending Eglantine a extremly greatful look Kiara nodded to Lasharna as well "Yes my apologies as well, we should start over" she said handing her hand over to Lasharna.

Genevieve took the hand with both of hers and shook it. "Please call me Genevieve. Any friend of Eglantine is a friend of mine."

Eglantine subtly rolled her eyes. "Indeed." she muttered, giving Kiara a small smile.

Kiara nodded to Kazimir "Of course... understandable" she gave no further hint she knew what incident he was talking about. She did of course know very well what he meant and she could not blame him for being jumpy.

After shaking hands with Lassarna Kiara had the sneaking suspiction that when Eglantine wasn't around Lasharna would revert back to herself.

"Very well Genevieve, you may call me Kiara if you want"

"You are avare of the nature of the incident then," Kazimir stated, as if - had he been an avian creature - his feathers had been ruffled. It wasn't a question, and had a tone of finality. Unless she gave him cause to suspect otherwise, he didn't wish to continue speaking on the matter. But, since she was an auror... Kazimir felt it necessary to at least offhandedly broach the topic.


Sevastyan walked at a brisk pace through the castle, making his way out onto the grounds. From what he'd seen from his office window, Boris was headed for the Whomping Willow, no doubt in the older Kaminski's mind that his second cousin was about to head into some serious trouble. Why, Merlin, why was Sevastyan not surprised?

He pushed open the doors to the Great Hall and began to slightly increase the speed of his pace when he stopped, standing as still as stone......

.......as none other than Kazimir Orlov, his old Headmaster, laid his beady black eyes on him.

Sevastyan glanced briefly at the scene, attempting to make sense of what was going on here. Professor DeLanquar and the Beauxbatons Headmistress stood almost side-by-side. Lasharna, wasn't it? Then Kiara stood a little ways away from her. It was plain to see that Kazimir was clearly the more aloof than the rest.

"Excuse me," Sevastyan began by way of greeting, his voice level despite a strange tightness in his throat. "I did not realize I vos interrupting..."

"So!" Kazimir exclaimed, rising from his seat, refusing to allow Sevastyan to explain himself. "The traitor faces his superiors openly - it is about time, Sevastyan Kaminski. Perhaps you are not qvite the cowvard I had imagined you to be since you turned your back on us." Unlike Sevastyan's melodic, soothing bassoon of a voice, Kazimir's voice was cold and harsh, but still sounded like a bullfrog.

Kiara nodded slightly "Yes I am fully aware what happend at Drumstrang" she said quietly.

Kiara observed the interaction between Sevastyan and Kazimir and almost feel the temperture in the Great hall go down a few degrees.


At Kazimir tone and the way he adressed Sevastyan Kiara felt a dose of interuption may be nessesary.

"Not at all Sevastyan, this isn't a private meeting or anything.... and Kazimir he is a member of my staff.." she said it in such a way that showed she didn't think Kazimir had the right to say such a thing in such a way to Sevastyan, especially in front of everyone.

Genevieve eyed the man who had just entered curiously. She was already making her way back to the chair she had previously been occupying, content to sit and watch the others yell at each other. Still she did notice that both Kiara and Eglantine looked rather miffed about the Sevastyan person being addressed as a traitor.

Eglantine said nothing, allowing Kiara to take care of the situation, but she prepared herself to defend Sevastyan if it was needed. She had already befriended the younger man and hated the idea of him being labelled as a traitor.

Sevastyan stood still as stone, though his eyes traveled to where Kiara stood. He nodded slightly in both thanks and confirmation. Then his eyes darted back to Kazimir, clearly not trusting the man. His left hand dipped into a pocket to retrieve his wand, just in case.


Kazimir glanced in the direction of Kiara before returning his gaze to Sevastyan. Though he kept his eyes trained on the wizard some feet ahead, it was clear the older man was addressing Kiara. "I know that. But did he tell you that he had previously applied to teach at Durmstrang, and then suddenly came here... vithout a vord?! He should know such a thing is a grave embarrassment! You should know yourself, Headmistress, vot vith your being so understaffed..."


"For your information, Headmaster Kazimir, I turned my back on no vone. If anything, you turned your back on me and I am better for it." Sevastyan replied coldly, cuttingly, interrupting the old goat of a man just as he had been cut off. It was a side of him that he'd preferred that Kiara and Professor DeLanquar did not see.


"Better for it?!" Kazimir shouted, clearly affronted. He opened his mouth to continue his outraged outburst, but Sevastyan intervened again.


"Vould you like to tell them vy I came here after applying for Durmstrang? Or shall I tell the whole story from cover to cover?" Sevastyan warned, eyes dark. Between the Headmistress and his blabbermouth second cousin Boris, Sevastyan was able to learn of the details and piece together a few conclusions of his own for the very few blank areas that remained.


"If so much as vone false vord is uttered from your deceiving lips. . ." Kazimir answered slowly, his voice as sinister as his scowl, ". . .I vill not hesitate to take measures into my own hands," he threatened in kind, an ebony wand withdrawn but held neutrally within one hand.


Sevastyan gripped the handle of the wand within his pocket in a vice-like hold, though said nothing. It wasn't out of fear, but an attempt to set aside the seemingly inevitable duel that kept him silent. He needed to get to Boris somehow, some way... As he contemplated his options, Sevastyan braced himself for a possible sneak-attack from his old Headmaster: a tactic that had been one of his favorites some twenty years ago.

Kiara did not like where this was going one bit.

Wandlessly she cast a shielding charm around the other occupants in the room just in case either wizard raised their wands the wrong way.

"I will not stand for either of you dueling in my hall. lower your wands now" she said firmly in a voice that could only be described as a auror voice, if either of them so much as uttered a spell she would disarm them right there.

Genevieve gripped her wand with her hand, in case there was a fight. She was an expert duelist, but doubted it would improve inter-school relations if a fight broke out among the heads and professors.

"Sadly I muz agree wit Headmistress Kiara. Dueling in de hall zould not be good." Her translation charm was fading slightly, but she shored it up almost as soon as the last word left her mouth.

"Headmaster," Sevastyan finally spoke, his tone harsh but as neutral as he could make it. "...nothing vould be gained by dueling me. Unless you vould like to pay a little visit to Petrov for me." A grim smile that hadn't graced his features in a long while tugged at his lips. "Not only that, but your best chance for Durmstrang to win the Triwizard Cup vill be forfeit if you attempt to hinder me in any vay." Partial bluff, mostly truth... would Kazimir take the bait?


Kazimir lowered his wand, as asked, though still had it withdrawn. "I have a right to defend myself, do I not?!" he questioned the Headmistress indignantly. "He vos my student, and in my experience vith him he is too unpredictable not to take such a stance!"

"And vot do you mean by this, Sevastyan? Do you intend to void Boris' entrance into this tournament? Impossible!" Kazimir inquired, with a scoffing laugh.


"I noticed your star pupil - my second cousin - headed straight for a very old and very dangerous tree on the grounds! If you do not cease taunting me vith tvisted lies, and refuse to call off vot is clearly a challenge to a duel, I cannot guarantee he vill even make it to the first task," Sevastyan explained, half shouting, playing to Kazimir's ambition. "He is your best chance for the Cup, is he not? After all . . . I taught him qvite a bit during the summers. I know his strengths and veaknesses just as vell as you." There was a deadly seriousness in Sevastyan's voice, as well as an unspoken dare for the Durmstrang Head to even begin to assume he was lying. "I vould be at Headmistress Kiara's side the entire vay if you so even claimed his injury vos a plot against your chances, svearing such a thing to the Vizengamot if necessary!" The conviction in his voice was clear as a bell.


Kazimir stiffened at the news, considering his options. It seemed it best to let the traitor go, and then catch him off guard at such a time when there weren't quite so many witnesses. The corners of his mouth curled in a cruel smile at the thought that his former pupil needed a woman - a woman clearly a few years younger than Sevastyan himself - to protect him from harm. Or, at least, that was how his eyes saw the situation. "Go then. But know this: you and I still have business to attend to," he replied condescendingly.


Sevastyan almost exhaled in relief at having negotiated successfully around creating any more of a scene than had already been caused. "Excuse me, Professor and Headmistresses," he muttered quickly as he briskly strode passed them to head for the door.


Kazimir scowled at Sevastyan's retreating back and slipped his wand back into a hidden pocket. This would not look good on his record for International Magical Cooperation, but the fact that he'd had just enough restraint not to hex Kaminski on his way out should count for something... or Kazimir would eat his fur hat!

Genevieve huffed silently. The nerve of the professor, speaking for rudely to the Headmaster. Then realizing she had already overstayed the time she had alloted herself, she rose.
"I bid you all farewell, I must attend to some matters." She nodded to Headmaster Kazimir and ignored Kiara. With a pat to Eglantine's shoulder, Madame Lasharna vanished into the castle to locate her daughter.

Eglantine sighed, they had almost had a duel with both words and wands. She glanced up at Headmaster Kazimir, who seemed deep in thought.
"Are you well, Headmaster?" she asked softly.

Kiara dropped the shields she had raise earlier and sat back down. She resolved to keep an eye on both Kazimir and Sevastyan. She took the statement on this not being over seriously.

At Eglantines question to Kazimir she turned her head curious to how he would respond.

Kazimir nodded to Headmistress Lasharna right before she strode off. His level of temper at that precise moment would surely have ruined any attempt at courteous verbal communication.

"Hm?" Kazimir's bullfrog-like voice seemed to croak, his head snapping into position to observe who had spoken. "Yes, thank you. I am qvite vell, all things considered," he replied, though his tone soured slightly toward the last part of that statement. 'Things had been fine before Sevastyan barged in,' he couldn't help but think bitterly.

"Forgive me, but I do not believe ve have been introduced. I am Kazimir Orlov," he said, taking a few paces to approach her. Kazimir's ebony staff - apparently a common accessory amongst Durmstrang alumni - clicked as he went, and made an even louder sound when he stopped and bowed, a bit short of a full ninety degrees. "A pleasure to make your acvaintance."

Eglantine nodded politely.
"Professor Eglantine DeLanquar." she returned, wishing for the millionth time that she was standing instead of sitting in the wheelchair. It seemed to give the wrong impression; that she was frail and delicate. Not missing the rather sour tone of voice that the Headmaster used, she smiled. "The pleasure is mine. You have been enjoying your stay in Hogwarts so far, yes?" It took a great deal of self-control but she forced herself to sound interested and civil.

"For the most part, before ve vere most rudely interrupted by my former student, yes," Kazimir admitted with some reluctance to reference the Russian, and gestured through the door Sevastyan had just left. "It is vith some amusement that my students came slightly... over-prepared: they vould not believe me ven I said it vos varmer here than at Durmstrang."

"I do hope that Kaminski is not responsible for..." he trailed off, indicating the wheelchair. From how she carried herself in speaking, it seemed to him that she had only been recently appointed mobility assistance. "From vot I learned about him ven he vos a youth in my school, he did not exactly fear injuring others or himself." A half-truth, but Kazimir had a bad case of seeing only what he chose to see, and nothing more or less. Little did he know that the Sevastyans of past and present were two very different people, in a manner of speaking.

Eglantine raised an eyebrow. "Yes, it is warmer here than in Russia." She noted that he seemed rather rude, referring to the grown professor as his student. She would have never done such a thing. But then to each their own.

"I had an accident with a Mountain Troll." she replied icily to his statement. "Professor Kaminski was not even a teacher here at Hogwarts when the incident occurred. Though I am certain that had he been, he would have no doubt assisted Headmistress Kiara and I in defeating the beast. From my encounters with Sevastyan Kaminski, he has proved himself to be a kind and caring man who desires nothing more than to help those around him and further the educations of this currently learning generation." Each word had a rather cold formal sound to it as if she was presenting a case for a court. But her facial features never showed anger or revealed her contempt for his behaviour.

Kazimir raised his eyebrow curiously at her comment and it's unmistakably frigid tone. He decided he would have to tread carefully upon the ice whilst he was here lest it break to envelope him in icy waters. Vaguely, he wondered whom else the Russian professor managed to befriend in these few months.

"He has changed a great deal, then, if this is truly the face he presents to those that dvell here," Kazimir replied coolly, his countenance neutral. Kazimir had not expected such friendships to have been formed with Sevastyan so quickly, given the man's tendency for being a bit reserved.

Kiara nodded "Yes people tend to change over time now Kazimir, Sevastyan has made quite a firendship all of us."

Eglantine closed her eyes as a wave of pain washed over her, nearly causing her to black out.
"I should attend to the fountain." she muttered, weakly. "Good day, Headmaster. Headmistress." Magically turning the wheelchair, she headed for the door.

Kiara looked at Eglantine worriedly,

"If you will excuse a moment Kazimir..."

She walked after Eglantine "Are you alright?" she asked quietly.

"Yes, of course." Eglantine replied without thought. She smiled, "I am sorry about the tactlessness of my statements. But I do believe I made up for it, especially since both incidents were slightly different than the way I defined them."

Kiara sighed "Quite alright Eglantine, these things happen, it was just ironicly bad timing. And I thankyou for sticking up for me back there, had the feeling Lasharna would't let me hear the end of it"

Eglantine frowned. "If Genevieve insults you again, I will see to it that she regrets it." Her voice held an icy edge that had not even been present in her talk with the Russian Headmaster. "No one knows Madame Lasharna as I do."

Kiara blinked at Eglantine's icey to tone. "Don't worry about it to much Eglantine, besides it is bringing back memories of the last Triwzrd tournament I was at. The Beauxbatons champion and I didn't see eye to eye either."

Leaning forward she whispered "but do take care of your self hmm..."