The Great Hall

Eglantine and Horatio seated themselves at the head table. The History of Magic professor was in a fine fiddle of a mood and he hummed Rain Drops Keep Falling as he dished up his meal.
"Sardines, love?" he asked Eglantine, shoving the plate of beady eyed sardines toward the feline animagus.
"Thank you." she murmured, taking one from the plate and adding it to her own. Esis soon joined the table and waved happily to the students. She had already begun "spreading" her unique charm through the student population. And Eglantine had already confiscated her store of cognac and wine, mainly for the purpose that she would not be drinking during her classes.
Hardly a refined lady, Lachesis found nothing wrong with pulling a cork in front of students.

"Oh look! Punch!" She cooed, diving for the liquid. Horatio quickly spelled the bowl away from the astronomy professor, hating the idea of punch all over everyone's laps.
"At ease, girl." he chuckled, as Esis laughed heartily and messily poured herself a cup of pumpkin juice.

Ciaran entered the Great Hall on the lookout for Kiara and seated himself beside her chair. Eglantine and Horatio sat on the other side of the Headmistress's chair and he wondered briefly if someone else was suppose to sit where he was sitting. Deciding he would move if that said person asked him to, he began to fill his plate.

He poured himself a cup of punch from the bowl his uncle had scooted toward him and politely handed a cup to Eglantine as well. She nodded her thanks, but for the most part had her hands full with trying to keep Esis from conjuring a bottle of cognac.

"Oh come off it, Lenty. At least a small bottle of Gaston de Casteljac." she whined, pushing her floppy hat back over on ear. Eglantine closed her eyes and took a sip of the punch, wondering why she hadn't talked Kiara out of allowing Esis to teach at Hogwarts. Sure, the woman was qualified to teach her subject... but not to teach people or children...

Chuckling at the antics of the newest addition to the staff, Ciaran sipped his punch and looked at the doors waiting for Kiara. He had left Tav in the rooms, as the boy had not wanted to go to the Great Hall, something about noise, he had said. Still Ciaran had a feeling the lad wanted out to do some mischief...

Kiara walked into the great hall, and smiled when she saw her family, she walked to her chair gave Ciaran a kiss on the cheek, "Good evening love" she said quietly as she sat down.

She laughed as she observed Eglantine and Esis, she had never seen two cousin so different before.. well her and Voldemort were complete opposites on the personality spectrum but that was beside the point. She shook her head, perhaps she need to remind Esis she could drink off duty..but not while teaching... it set a bad example for students. That was the last thing she needed, students coming in drunk, and saying they saw a professor drinking. Lashanra would never let her hear the end of it.

"Esis you do know there is a thing, called a rule about drinking in front of Students yes?" she asked with laugh and took a sip of the punch, she grimaced.

"Tea is better" she grumbled as she pushed the cup away.

Professors Sevastyan Kaminski and Ethan Addams entered the Great Hall at roughly the same time. They were getting along perhaps a bit better than they had when they first met, though Sevastyan clearly thought the slightly older wizard talked far too much. As usual, Ethan was for the most part oblivious to that consensus. As both approached the table, they both had heard the Headmistress say something about tea...

Sevastyan took a spot between the middle and the end of the table, making sure to leave to empty spots at either side of him. That was so a certain emerald-eyed, raven-haired, Head of Slytherin-type someone was guaranteed a spot beside him...

Ethan took his seat on the opposite side of a red-haired man he was fairly certain he hadn't seen before, which happened to only be a seat or two away from Sevastyan. Ethan assumed the person he was sitting next to was none other than Kiara's fiance, Ciaran McConn. While it seemed as though the couple beside him were slightly busy, Ethan mimed a greeting to his Ravenclaws that sort of looked like a kind of salute. Not that he was ever in such a career as to require saluted greetings, but hey: he was trying to come across as fun. Erica, Heather, and Valerio were taking their meal up in Ethan's chambers of their own accord. Heather was the shy one: she didn't think she could handle being around so many people at once. Erica, otherwise known as the Little Hellion, would only go if Heather went. Valerio, somewhere in the middle of those personality types, had curiously muttered something about noise-levels...

- - - - - - - - -

Abraxas was the next one through the doors to the Great Hall. Normally, he would just request to take his meals in his rooms... after all, that was how mealtimes often transpired while he was with the research group. Hermits tended to keep hours very much different than other hermits, and thus mealtimes were simply whenever anyone felt like it because, well... an angry centurian disturbed from his research was not often a pretty sight! Especially, in his experience, upon accidentally disturbing one Takeshi Mizushima... just to name one right off the bat.

But in a radical change of habitual eating schedules, Horatio had all but begged Abraxas to take his meals in the Great Hall. At least long enough to get to know the rest of the staff. If the fellow centurian were not already a good friend, Abraxas would have declined such a suggestion. The things the fairly-newly-titled 'Professor Magnus' did for his friends!

Speaking of his friends, it was rather easy to pick out Horatio McKevin amongst the group at the head table. He recognized the person to Horatio's left to be the Headmistress, and assumed the woman to the wizards right was none other than Eglantine. A young lady with a floppy hat sat next to them. Abraxas, not quite certain if there was a seating pattern or not, decided to select the seat next to her. "Good Evening," he offered to the group at large and tentatively took his seat.

- - - - - - - - -

Kazimir strode along the length of the Slytherin table, noticing several of his Durmstrangs having taken seating amidst the Gryffindors, including his Triwizard contestant, Boris Kaminski. The Durmstrang Headmaster found this... slightly odd.

However, all thoughts of that sort were erased from his mind as someone roughly bumped into him. A rather unsteadily-walking someone, he might add. "Haas, vot is the meaning of this?!" Kazimir asked in his rather ominious bullfrog-deep voice. "And if you are drunk, again, and embarrassing our school's name so help me Merlin..." the seventy-year-old muttered just loud enough for his student to hear.

"Ruh-laks," Oktav half-sighed, half-laughed and pushed a glass of punch into his Headmaster's hands before walking off to join his fellows in what the lad clearly thought was a rather alluring, confident swagger. To Kazimir, not to mention likely quite a few others, Oktav looked anything but at the moment.

Curious if it was this substance he'd been given that made Oktav rather uncoordinated, Kazimir gave the contents a cautious sniff. It smelled like regular punch... Sanitizing the rim, Kazimir took a sip and made a face as though he'd just been made to swallow something rather nasty. Though he wasn't too fond of it, the wizard took another sip just to make sure he didn't taste any alcohol.

Grimacing, Kazimir decided there was no alcohol whatsoever in the beverage, and vanished the remains of it altogether before taking his seat at the very end of the head table.

"Oh, Kiara! Tea?" Esis made a rather large show of gagging and shuddering. "And yes, I've never touched a drop in the presence of an innocent!" she crossed her heart and winked at Eglantine, who rolled her eyes and looked back at her sardines.

"Ew..." Esis whispered to the man who had just seated himself next to her. "Those things look like something that hopped out a vanished cauldron." she murmured, pointing a finger at the sardines. Smiling back at the older professor, she stuck out her hand, deciding a handshake would be more acceptable than kissing both of his cheeks... Oh well, she mused, the world all wants to be French.
"Lachesis Malfoy." Esis smiled, dropping off her divorced husband's name. It was sad to have to either use a known "bad" name or some creep's name whom one could not stand.

Eglantine curiously glanced at Abraxas, wondering why she hadn't seen him before, but knowing instantly who he was... the very rug of the sitting room knew him from the way Horatio had gone on and on about his arrival...

Ciaran nodded politely as a staff member, Ethan Addams if he was correct... sat beside him.
"Lovely day, eh?" he commented, sipping his punch again.

Horatio all but leapt up from his chair to say hello to Abraxas, his smile being too large to measure in centimeters.
"So you made it down here, you codger!" he laughed, leaning forward to speak to him.

Viper entered the Great Hall beside Miranda, making idle small talk as they slipped their way through students, ghosts, and staff members to sit at the Great Hall. While they weren't particularly close, their relations were decent enough to the point where Viper and Miranda were able to hold an entire conversation without Viper rolling her eyes or spitting out a nasty comment. Although, Viper would definately have no reason to! There was something about Miranda that Viper couldn't quite put her foot on. Something rather... maternal. Whether or not she was like this to all she countered, Viper didn't know. She was just stunned to see that some of it towards her. Normally maternal and Viper didn't clash very well...

As they approached the seating arrangements, both went their seperate ways, although if one had been observing the witches, one would notice the older one keeping her eyes on the younger one a bit longer, in a rather protective manner as though she was making sure the distance, however short, towards the seat was made safely.

Viper wove her way through the seats gracefully, smiling as her green orbs landed on a familiar sight. "Hey, love." she greeted with a soft kiss to his cheek as she sat down next to him on his right side.

"Finally," she thought to herself. "One more meal and we are free..."


- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


Zeb sighed as he walked down the halls, his Mother chatting away nonstop beside him. While he loved his Mother as much as any child could, if he was to be brutally honest, the woman could be a mega pain in the butt!

"Oh, bambola, you have a little something on your face. Come here for a moment," Celeste stated as she licked her thumb and began rubbing furiously at a bit of dirt he had gotten on the side of his face during one of his nature walks.

"Madre, per favore!" he protested immediately, slipping into his native tongue as he pulled back from his Mother's touch. "I'm not a child!" With a grossed out face, he sanitized the area his Mother had wiped at with a quick scourgify.

Celeste put her hands in front of her, accepting defeat with a sigh. "Fine, fine. Sega, bambola." She smiled, staring at her son for a moment before giving into temptation and pinching his cheeks making baby noises.

"Madre!" Zeb groaned, although he was quite used to such displays of affection from his Mother. The price of being an only child, he thought. "Madre, you will make me lose my meal before I even take it!"

Celeste chortled softly in response giving him a soft kiss on the cheek before releasing him. "Very well, as you wish bambola."

They walked the remaining distance towards the Great Hall in companiable silence until the sight of a starry night ceiling and high table greeted their eyes.

"See you later, Madre." Zeb bid his Mother farewell as he went to sit by his classmates.

"Ti Amo!" she called out, watching him for a moment before making her own way to the staff table.

Now, where to sit...? she wondered, for she normally ate in her tower so today would be the first day she would be eating with her colleagues. Truth be told, she hadn't even met all of her colleagues so she took a moment to observe them all. Especially the males!

"Taken, taken, taken..." she mused, sighing in dissapointment as she noticed quite a few of the colleagues were seated together in pairs, obviously attached. "What a pity. So many are quite good-looking, too!"

However, her mood improved significantly when she noticed an older male colleague seated not too far away from where she was standing.

"Now here's a sight for sore eyes..." she breathed out with a small smile. Since her last divorce, Celeste had been a bit more withdrawn and had taken to living a single life, and for once had been rather put off from men. However, as he eyes studied the older Professor, she couldn't help but feel that familiar ember vivify once more.

Smoothing down her Italian Dress, Celeste made her way towards the table and, with as much grace as she could conjure, approached the older wizard.

"Scusi Professore, is this seat taken?" she asked with a small smile and a slight tilt of her head, her dark eyes sparkling.

Kiara chuckled at Esis "To each there own Esis" she said with amusment and sipped her tea leaving the bitter cold punch forgotten on the table.

She smiled as the rest of the staff came in and was very happy that Ciaran and Ethan started chatting... boy was her fiance going to have his hands full to night with the resident chatter box.

She chucked at the thought.

Then she felt weird, and a thought of her mother came to mind which was odd.

"Strange...." she whispered as she closed her eyes.

Then little by little memories vanished and resurfaced and she shrank, smaller and smaller.

Then she opened her eyes again her nose was level was the base of the table.

"Where am I?"

Sevastyan turned slightly in his seat at the voice, smiling pleasantly at the welcoming kiss to his cheek. Once Amaranth sat down next to him, he leaned over whispered, “Evening, love...” and returned the affection. ‘Her qvarters... or mine, tonight?’ he wondered. He supposed fate would decide it when the time came. But first, the wizard supposed they both needed to at least make a show of being here. It would look rather odd to their delegates if the staff table had a few empty seats and last anyone knew there was nothing terribly wrong with either absentee.

“Hmm... our usual drink, or something different?” he asked her, eyeing the available beverages. Sevastyan noticed the punch but passed it up immediately. To him, punch was like a poor-quality, watered-down wine left out and about for far too long.

- - - - - - - - -
Ethan nodded in return to the gentleman beside him. “Aye, that it is,” he replied with a slight Australian accent and helped himself to the punch. “This is pretty good isn’t it?” he asked with a wide grin after taking a sip.

“The name’s Ethan Addams, by the way,” the wizard introduced himself. “Who might you be? Professor by any chance? I teach Herbology, but am rather new to the staff still...” As Ethan extended his hand for Ciaran to shake, he noted that further along the table were in fact even more new arrivals since he got here. Either that or they were here, and Ethan hadn’t yet had the chance to meet them.

- - - - - - - - -
Abraxas chuckled at the woman’s evaluation of sardines. “I can see what might prompt that,” he nodded, though personally had nothing against sardines. “Though, I’ve seen far worse leap out of a cauldron, and still remain sentient...” No, he was not talking about research. It just happened to be a revival spell very similar to the magic Lord Voldemort had used to return to power in 1994. But it was known magic. Very old... but known.

He shook hands cordially with the woman, a slight smile on his face. “Ah – a lovely name. Abraxas Magnus at your service, milady. To what do I owe the pleasure of making your acquaintance?”

Abraxas leaned a little for to view Horatio better. “So I did, so I did. Didn’t even get lost on the way... how about that?” he joked, laughing with his friend. “Many memories, this place – it’s all coming back to me now.”

"Scusi Professore, is this seat taken?"

At the unfamiliar voice, Abraxas turned to regard the person who had spoken. He then blinked, and smiled, before standing up briefly to pull out the chair for her. “Not at all, milady. Please, by all means,” he replied, making a small sweeping gesture to the seat. As per the custom to which he was familiar, Abraxas refused to sit until this new arrival took her seat first.

- - - - - - - - -
Kazimir listened to the drone of many people talking with an air of indifference. It was rather difficult to pick out individual conversations. To be honest, he was rather surprised his former pupil allowed the red-haired man to sit beside the Headmistress... given what he’d been assuming for the past several weeks. No matter, he thought: in the event Madame Lasharna was agreeable to the suggestion, Sevastyan Kaminski would find himself in a rather sticky situation indeed!

His musings of the plot, however, were immediately replaced as the Durmstrang Headmaster acknowledged that something felt... off. Was it just him or was the hall getting bigger? What was he just thinking about?

This lapse in memory was disturbing, as was the fact that he seemed to be sinking into his chair... either that or, as he’d already begun to assume, the room was for some reason getting bigger. But why?

Before he knew it, Kazimir was just able to peek at the spread of the table’s surface. Where was he? Why was he here? How did he get in here, when he was just outdoors?

Little stick-like legs kicked against the seat, and he realized they did not reach the floor. With a curious glance at everyone and everything around him, the boy of around 5 years old considered this a very curious place. Kazimir snatched a dinner roll from the platter and jumped down from the chair, sitting crossed-legged under the table for to enjoy the bread in peace.

Though Kazimir Orlov had no problem with crowds, this was just one- or two-hundred too many!

Ciaran nodded to Ethan, "Finally something without pumpkin in it..." he muttered under his breath. "Um, no I am visiting for the holidays. I'm Professor McKevin's nephew and Headmistress Kiara's fiance. Ciaran McConn." he shook the man's hand, smiling cordially. It was then, even while shaking hands that he changed into a young boy, no older than 5.

Confused by his sudden appearance in a strange place with strange people, Ciaran burst into tears, calling for his mama.


Esis chuckled, happy to make Abraxas acquaintance. "Yes, sadly so have I..." she confessed. "My second husband for instance..." she joked, laughing heartily at her own joke.
She smiled at his complement to her name. "Aw, thanks. Many don't think it is nice to be named after a Sister Fate, but I've always been partial to it. It is Esis by the way. Lachesis always sounds like some stuffy Malfoy..."

Horatio laughed along with Abraxas, nearly knocking his cup over into Eglantine's lap as he sat back in his chair.
"Indeed it was the same with me. Memories flooded my old head and I nearly went off my rocker... more so than usual, eh?"


Eglantine smiled softly in her seat, taking a bite of sardines. She was starting to feel a bit dizzy and set her spoon down. Her hands shook slightly and when she looked at them, they appeared smaller than they had a moment before. Confused, Eglantine felt the room spin slightly and closed her eyes.

When she opened her eyes again, she glanced around to find herself in a large room full of noisy children and at a table with a bunch of adults all laughing and talking. Her green eyes widened and she stood up in her chair. Reduced to the age of 5, Eglantine looked to be about 3 due to her size and fear struck her as she didn't see anyone around she recognized.

Terribly frightened and unsure of what to do, she climbed down from her chair and slid underneath the table, hugging her knees under her chin. "Es ist ein Traum." ((It is a dream.))

Kiara blinked and looked around very confused as to how she got here... where ever here was.

"Hmm Mother, just droped me off at another school, and... what happened after that?.... oh no I hope I didn't do anything weird again..." she thought trying to make sence of it all.

Then she looked beside her and saw a boy with red hair crying and calling for his mother. Kids she usually went to school with were like that, so this wasn't new to her, they usually got over it rather quickly.

Nonetheless she smiled at him, and hopped off the unsually big chair for a 5 year old.

"Hey, you don't have to cry, you will see you mother later, kay? No need to cry... My name is Kiara, what is yours?" she asked in a friendly voice.

Ciaran sniffed back several more tears, looking at the girl who said her name was Kiara. "I'm Ran. Where am I? And where's me mama?" he asked, fear in his voice, but calming quickly due to how kind the girl was. She reminded him of his cousin, Mimi, except her hair was brown and not red.

Kiara smiled, "Pleasure to meet you Ran" she said holding out her hand.

"I don't actually know where 'here' is though...." she said looking around nervously.

"But it seems alright.... there seem to be other kids here... I think we are in a school or something like that. last thing I remember is my mother dropping me off as another school so, that is my guess."

She blinked she had no idea where is mother was, had he been dumped to?

"Umm... I don't know where your mother is, mine left me here... I can help you try and fine yours if you want" she offered.

“Ah – wonderful! A pleasure to meet you, sir!” Ethan exclaimed happily, finding it a bit odd that the other man’s hand was shrinking in his own. “The Headmistress has mentioned you, of course... and my youngest has been going on about a young boy he met the other day... Tavish McConn, I think ‘e said his name was...” the wizard chattered, all the while also reverting back to a childhood form. Soon all memories of his ex-wife and even his children faded, only to be replaced with.......

“Oh COOL! Where’d me mum take me this time?! This place’s AWESOME!” a five-year-old Ethan exclaimed, big brown eyes appearing even larger from behind the huge lenses of the glasses his former-adult self wore. “Why’s it all blurry?” he asked, before removing the glasses with a chuckled “Oh...”

Ethan jumped when a young boy beside him burst into tears. As this boy, whom he found was named ‘Ran’ and a girl calling herself ‘Kiara’ chatted, Ethan listened intently. “Mine’s probably off somewhere round here...” he chimed in from his overlarge seat, looking very much like the human version of an excited, happy puppy.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Abraxas laughed lightly along with Esis, not so sure how to take her joke. He vaguely wondered if that’s what his second wife thought of him these days... Disregarding this notion, he nodded as she spoke of her name.

“Ah, yes, perhaps that is so. But if you’re happy with it then that’s all that really matters. It is Lachesis that determines how long one lives, if memory serves me right, yes? I suppose, being part Grecian, I should know, but this old mind is like a sieve sometimes... If so, then I’m greatly thankful to your namesake for having the longevity I’ve been granted!” he replied, chortling lightly. “And very well, Esis... I have become rather fond of the nickname Brax, if you prefer, though I also go by the name of Corvin. From my middle name ‘Corvinus’”

The elderly wizard chuckled, noticing what Horatio had almost done regarding his cup and the woman beside him. “I would have loved to have seen that particular moment,” Abraxas chuckled in regards to Horatio. “Not that I haven’t seen you go off your rocker before...” the wizard teased his friend cordially.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The bread was tasty, but definitely not of Russian origin. That meant one of three things, either: one, he’d somehow arrived at a place in his homeland that had non-Russian food; two, someone brought him here with magic; or three: the orphanage cook was trying a new recipe. No matter how Kazimir looked at it, he couldn’t – and shouldn’t – be complaining. Not that he was, mind you.

Once the roll was devoured, Kazimir wondered if anyone would notice more missing and peaked out from under the table. It was still so noisy in here! Even the orphanage was quieter than this, and some of the boys were rather rambunctious! However, with this level of noise, and the adults seemingly busy with their own affairs, Kazimir decided that it could be risked. Reaching from his place, Kazimir groped about the surface of the table for the platter of rolls, coming into contact with mashed potatoes and something else of a peculiar texture before finally finding the rolls. Immediately he sequestered the bread to one of his pockets, wiping his hand on his trousers in order to rid it of the mashed potatoes he hadn’t been able to shake off. The boy repeated the same action successfully twice more in a row. However, upon taking a fourth roll, Kazimir was a bit too hasty.........

............ and caused what he did not know was his own plate to hit the floor with a loud clatter. The good thing was that the plates were metallic instead of ceramic so they didn’t shatter. But they did make one heck of a noise! The child swore fluently in his native language before fleeing from that part of the table, hastily making his way along its length lest someone decide to investigate. The last thing he needed was for it to be one of the orphanage hands and have them accuse him of stealing food! Though, insofar as he knew, it wouldn't be a false allegation...

It was as he was heading to a different part of the table that he noticed a little girl also under the table. She was also between a few of the adults. But, Kazimir decided that was a calculated risk he had to take and made his way over. At least, near her, he could be considered fairly innocent if spotted.

Now at a safe distance, Kazimir plopped down on the floor next to the girl, crossing his legs for to give her more space. He might not exactly have the best childhood, but he did know well enough to respect a girl’s or even a lady’s space. Immediately, he removed a roll from his pocket and began to enjoy his spoils.

It was only after he’d taken a bite that he realized the girl didn’t seem to have any food on her. Though, she also looked rather scared. Kazimir reached into his pocket, pulled out one of the rolls that weren’t covered with a handful of mashed potatoes, and asked, “Вы хотите некоторый хлеб?” (Translation: Do you want some bread?)

As though to emphasize the offer, he held the whole roll out for her to take if she desired.

Ciaran calmed down completely a large smile shining through his tears as he wiped them away with the back of his sleeve. He went to respond but then noticed his Uncle Horatio and leapt down from the chair to run to the older man.

Both Horatio and Esis became very quiet as they suddenly noticed that Eglantine was missing and then gasped when Ciaran bounded into Horatio's arms.
"Where's Mama? Is this a play place? Why are we here? Why are you here? Are we going home soon? Who are they?" Ciaran asked, pointing his finger at Esis, Abraxas and Celeste.

Esis' mouth dropped open. "I'm seeing things!" she exclaimed, noticing Ethan and Kiara as she leaned forward. "I'll never drink again..."

Horatio blinked several times, as he could have sworn a younger version of his nephew had just... wait...it wasn't a younger version! He'd know those eyes and tears anywhere. "Um...Ran, don't you worry." he finally muttered. What else was one to say in the situation...

Eglantine on the other hand, looked up from her knees when she heard scuffling nearby. Seeing the boy, she stared at him with large green eyes. Seeing the offered bread and hearing the Russian, Eglantine lowered her knees and held out her hand.
"Спасибо" ((Thank you)) she whispered.

Seeing he had some white stuff on his person, she pulled her hanky from her pocket and held it out to him. "Что это такое?" ((What is it?)) she asked, referring to the mashed potatoes. Since her parents were always busy, she had to make her own food. Which consists of anything on the bottom rack of the cupboard and the refrigerator. Since she couldn't open a can... dry cereal or crackers was pretty much the extent of her diet.

Kiara's smile faded when Ran ran over to a man that he seemed to know. She looked down and sighed, blinked away tears.... forgotten so easily again.

She turned to the other boy she noticed a few seats down, and nodded with a sigh still feeling rather dejected.

"Yeah she probably is...." she said. "So what is your name then?" trying to remain cheerful, making firends was harder the she suspected, especially with all the adults around.

Ethan blinked curiously at Ran's departure, noticing the adult that was soon in the boy's path. 'Must be someone he knows, the boy mused with a half shrug. No matter, he figured, for there was still the little girl to talk to. Kiara, that is. He bobbed his head upon seeing that she had nodded in greeting, blond hair bouncing energetically about his childlike face.

When Kiara asked him her name, the child practically beamed with joy. "My name's Ethan, though Mummy just shortens me middle name to 'Kai,'" Ethan introduced himself, standing up proudly in his chair. He took a step forward and continued, "And you're Kiara... I overheard ya talkin' to the other - WHOA!"

In an instant Ethan found himself flat on his stomach on the floor, having tumbled right off the seat. "Owwiiee~" the boy whined, glancing up at Kiara with big, tear-filled caramel-colored eyes. There was a slight bump on his forehead from where it had met the wooden table.

- - - - - - - -

Abraxas blinked in response to seeing a little red-haired boy jumping into his old friend's lap. He laughed slightly nervously in response to all the questions the boy had. "There something you forgot to tell me, my friend?" the elderly wizard asked wryly, only teasing, though he could've sworn there was a red-headed young man a few seats away...

That was when he spotted Kiara and a blond wizard lying on his stomach on the floor. "Good gracious me... what in Merlin's name....?" the wizard sputtered.

- - - - - - - -

A small smile came to Kazimir's face as he nodded to her whispered thanks.

Confusion flitted about the boy's face at the offered hanky and question. That was until he noticed what was the mashed potatoes on his trousers. "Неуверено. Я думаю картошка..." ((Unsure. I think potato...)) he murmured quietly, since they were technically in the presence of three adults. Or, rather their legs. "Спасибо" he thanked her and accepted the item offered to clean off the smeared mess. Once Kazimir was fairly certain he had himself cleaned up, the boy stared at the dirtied hanky for a moment. He had done small things like this before... would it work again?

A pale turquoise light wound its way around his hand and the handkerchief, ending in a modest burst of light. However, upon looking at the cloth again, it was mostly clean. That was the worst thing about his magic: sometimes it worked, other it didn't, and yet on even different circumstances it only worked half as well as the boy thought it would. He sheepishly folded the hanky and handed it back to the girl.

"Что ваше имя? Вы сирота, слишком? Где мы?" ((What is your name? Are you an orphan, too? Where are we?))

Horatio chuckled, as he patted Ciaran's back. "Not at all, my friend." he said to Abraxas. "It appears as though..." he motioned toward Ethan and Kiara. "that we have had some...deaging happen. No doubt some...prank of some sort." He chuckled slightly before groaning slightly under his breath. How had it occurred and and who exactly had been effected?

Esis looked serious for once and peeked under the table cloth, her mouth forming a perfect O before she straightened up.
"Well, so far we've got 5 babies on our hands that I can see..." she muttered, conjuring a bottle of cognac and rising from her seat to down more than a regular sip. Rounding the chairs, she stooped down to scoop up the fallen child, holding him against her shoulder.
"There there, ya little darlin." she muttered. "Just a slip of the posterior..."

Green eyes widened significantly as she watched the handkerchief, once smeared with potato become clean. So he was a wizard, she mused. She smiled as he folded and offered it to her. What wonderful manners, Eglantine thought, thinking of the Russian boy she played with in the garden. He did not have such fine manners, as he often threw mud at her or sand into her hair.

But instead of accepting the hanky back, she shook her head. "Sie können haben es." ((you can have it)) she said in German. "Nur für den Fall" ((Just in case))

"Что ваше имя? Вы сирота, слишком? Где мы?" ((What is your name? Are you an orphan, too? Where are we?)) she blinked twice at the questions, before lifting her hand to her mouth. It was a habit of hers to cover her mouth when she was thinking. Parting her fingers, so she could be heard and understood, she replied.

"Меня зовут шиповник." ((My name is Eglantine)) she stated, as she had been told to. Once she had just said her name to an adult who had asked...and had been viciously scolded. And no, she thought, she was not an orphan...was she? Her parents were both alive and yet she rarely saw them.
"Нет, они живут." ((no, they live)) Eglantine muttered, her hand covering her mouth. So the boy was an orphan... since he had asked if she was one as well.

The last question was not one she thought she could answer. A large room filled with people at four tables. Yes, she could count, since her cousin Lachesis had taught her by taking her to see the kittens. There had been four black kittens and one white one. As a surprise, she had gotten an ice cream for counting them all properly. Unfortunately, no one had told her cousin about her lactose intolerance and she had vomited all over the woman's orange shoes...

"Eine Kirche?"((a church?)) she suggested. She had been in one of those before. A large one with a roof like this room's. There had been pews instead of tables, but maybe everyone was eating instead of listening to the man with the pointed hat talk...
"Wie heißt du?"((what is your name?)) she asked, curious.

Kiara glared and stiffened at the woman who scooped up the boy she had been talking to... He would have been fine without her coddling him like a baby.

And to make matters worse... in her mind anyway, she had seen the woman drinking.

Ooooh those were horride drinks, made people act like weird, and mean...

"Hey what are you doing? Put him down!" Kiara all but snapped. But if one looked closely enough one could see fear and tears in Kiara's eyes.

Clearly the woman already had to much of it and was crazy already.

Viper smiled at the returned affection, gracefully draping a table napkin over her lap, seemingly calm and serene on the outside. However, if one looked rather closely or knew Viper rather well, they would notice the impatience on her as she eagerly waited for time to pass. She pondered Sevastyan's question for a moment and was about to reply the usual when she caught sight of the punch not too far away.

She smiled softly to herself as she remembered an old concoction she and her old Hogwarts friends used to drink rather frequently. Feeling a strong urge to revisit the past, Viper summoned half a cup of the punch towards her, pouring it into her normal vodka-goblet.

"How about both?" Viper asked, bringing the now spiked drink to her lips. "Would you like one?" she inquired as she took a sip.

As the sweet, refreshing liquid course down her throat, Viper wondered why her mind was getting fuzzier and fuzzier, as more and more memories seemed to be erased and her perspective of the room changed.

Perhaps I made it too strong... she thought as she downed the rest of the goblet.

She opened her eyes only to find herself in an unfamiliar room, surrounded by strangers. Immediately, child-ized mind assumed that it was some, unfamiliar part of her Manor during a party. After all, the Vipers loved redecorating, especially for parties.

Five-year-old Viper sighed in irritation, flicking back her raven hair. "Grandfather must have forgotten to tell me about the party." she rolled her green eyes before looking at the wizard beside her. "Are you a pureblood?" she inquired with a hint of suspicion, remembering what her older brother Leviathon had told her when talking to strangers: always ask about blood status first.

Noticing her familiar goblet beside her, she activated the refilling charm and reached for it, taking a sip.


- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


Celeste giggled softly at the chivalry, courtseying slightly before taking a seat. "Grazie." she replied with a smile, sitting down at her seat.

"Celeste Cromwell." she introduced herself smoothly, extending her hand. "Might I be so bold to inquire your name?"

Howeverm before she could add more, she noticed quite a bit of chaos unleashing around her. It seemed as though more or less half of those sitting at the table had turned into children!

"Oh my..." she exclaimed as she looked around in confusion, wondering exactly what was going on.

"De-aging, you say? Hmm... how'd they do it, I wonder? Perhaps one hundred and ten could be the new thirty... provided it were perfected a bit," Abraxas returned, though too couldn't help but exhale a similarly wearied utterance. If this was just a prank, shouldn't they be growing back up anytime now? "How long does it last, I wonder?" he mused aloud to no one in particular.

At the exclamation of 'oh my,' Abraxas turned to regard her again. Noticing she was also confused, he attempted to elaborate as best he could with Horatio's explanation. "It appears one of the students decided to pull a little prank - common occurrence, the pranks, I suppose. But never have I seen one quite like this!"

Before things got too far out of hand, the wizard decided to introduce himself. "I, milady, am Abraxas Magnus. Though, if you wish, I also answer to a diminutive of my middle name: Corvin. A pleasure to meet you."

- - - - - - - -

Ethan sniffed back his tears, determined to keep them at bay. It was only an accident, and a moderate one compared to the scrapes he often got himself in. Now shouldn't have been any different for the clumsy child... but it was. Every bump, scrape, bruise, brush, burn, nick, and any other similar minor injury was different. Not to mention Kiara probably thought he was a right klutz.

... how embarrassing ... and boy did his head hurt a bit all of a sudden ...

A slight and oddly pleasant airsick feeling began in his stomach as he was scooped up into the air by some unknown woman. It reminded him of this one Muggle ride his mother was fond of... though he tended to call it a 'Paris Wheel'. ((Ferris Wheel, lol)) "I'm okay, I'm okay!" Ethan cried out and squirmed slightly. However, upon realizing how high up he was - and to him that was pretty far - the little boy's grip tightened so that he wouldn't fall. "Clumsy..." he murmured in explanation.

This was turning out to be a weird day: first he was sitting in some humongous chair with no memory of how he'd gotten there or why his mother dropped him off in such a place... then he was on the floor... and now he was back up in the air again. Ethan was afraid his next movement would be straight downward again, given the start of a pattern. His bouncy basketball always went up-down-up-down... Even a slinky did that, in a manner of speaking...

Ethan had no idea who this woman was. Though his Mum had told him not to talk to strangers, the kid had a hard time adhering to that rule. "Umm... Hello. I'm 'Kai', who're you? Where am I? Have you seen Mummy? What time is it?" he asked the new person in their midst.

When he heard Kiara's voice, Ethan leaned from one side to the other to find the girl. "Her name's Kiara," the boy declared happily. "I'm all better now... can I go back and see my friend now?" he asked in a charming child's voice. Ethan wasn't really aware of the slight bump on his head manifesting as a reddish pink swelling, but the pain had already started to go away. He hadn't really paid that much attention to the fact the woman holding him had been drinking, so he was rather confused at Kiara's vehemence.

- - - - - - - - - - -

Kazimir couldn't help but smile upon seeing the girl smile at him. He had seen similar actions to the one he'd done while out and about in Moscow, and knew it was an acceptable gesture. Most of the other boys in the orphanage that he knew would have just tossed her the soiled kerchief and went on about their business.

Dark-irised eyes widened at the offer to keep it for now. "Sie sind sicher? ...Danke," ((You are certain? ...Thank you.)) he replied in the same language, revealing himself at the least bilingual. With care Kazimir placed the hanky in a different pocket.

Upon hearing her name the boy nodded. A slight smile came to his lips upon hearing that her parents still lived, but at the same time glanced slightly away. From what he knew, both of his parents were dead... but yet couldn't help the feeling that somehow he knew his father was alive. Not that he'd care to see the man after what Kazimir considered to be 'all this time' having to scrape by on the support of the orphanage and whatever he could manage to accomplish while roaming the streets of Russia's capital city.

At her suggestion of a church, Kazimir shrugged and leaned forward to get a better view of the ceiling. The room was certainly fancy-looking, and church-like. "Es Art von aussehen wie einer Kirche…" ((It sort of looks like a church...)) he agreed after a moment's deliberation. Though, because there weren't any pews, Kazimir assumed this must be a different part of the place of worship. "Ich wundere mich, warum wir in einer Kirche sind?" ((I wonder why we are in a church?))

Kazimir blinked at her returned question, though figured it was only natural. He should have given her his name back when he asked for hers. "Mein Name ist Kazimir," he answered.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Sevastyan could tell just by looking that Amaranth was eager to get this dinner over with. If the wizard were to be any form of honest, he was a bit impatient as well. It was the final obstacle of their day before they could do whatever they wished. Absently Sevastyan pinched the cloth of his pocket, where the golden coin awaited to be retrieved. He and his significant other were still going between each others' chambers.

He chortled softly at her suggestion of both, ignoring the unexpected sensation of a magical pressure surrounding his mind and shoulders. The feeling was very much like a ward or series of wards, but he didn't quite understand why they were calling upon him. Had his parents succumbed to the purgers and, as he'd had planned a long time ago, he was now the rightful owner of his family's manor?

No... these wards didn't feel necessarily dark. The fortifications around his family's estate would've felt far more sinister... but what could it be, then? The Russian decided to make sure the wards were kept fortified, but other then that let the mystery be for now.

"If you vish... and no, but thank you: I'll stick vith the usual," Sevastyan replied to his love, watching her first take a sip and then entirely down her concoction. A smirk crossed his face as he returned focus to his plate. The sooner they ate, the sooner they could have their private time together.

The irritated sigh he heard escape from somewhere to his right made him chuckle. Sevastyan was about to jokingly say something about patience - not that he was one to talk at the moment - until he heard the voice of a little girl saying, "Grandfather must have forgotten to tell me about the party. ... Are you a pureblood?"

Gray eyes widened at the child-like tone, surprised at what he thought was Amaranth's attempt to mimic the way she had spoken as a child. He had no idea what she was referring to, so Sevastyan turned to her for clarification................

........................ and almost leapt three feet into the air upon seeing a pint-sized Viper had replaced the form of the woman he was romantically involved with!

'How? When? What. The. Bloody. HELL?!' was about all Sevastyan's mind allowed him to process as he blinked in complete and utter shock. "A... Of course I am a pureblood, Amaranth..." he answered awkwardly. "Vy are you glamoured to look like a child?"

Sevastyan had no idea what the blazes was going on. But if he didn't know any better, tonight was going to be quite a bit different than what he'd had planned..........

"Hey what are you doing? Put him down!" Esis glanced down briefly at the younger version of the headmistress, wondering why she was so angry about her comforting the other child. Seeing Viper as she turned, she sighed. "Make that 6..." she muttered, setting Ethan back in his seat, since he had said he was alright now.

"Well, that's good to hear, love." she nodded. "I'm Esis, Kai. Wonderful to meet you. I think your mother stepped out for a moment and no I have no idea what time it is." She smiled softly at Kiara and rose back to her feet as she had bent to place Ethan in his chair.
"Well, I'll leave you two to chat." she muttered, vanishing her bottle.


"De-aging, you say? Hmm... how'd they do it, I wonder? Perhaps one hundred and ten could be the new thirty... provided it were perfected a bit,"
Horatio chuckled at his friend's remark and pulled Ciaran upright so the boy sat on his knee.
"Are ya Merlin?" Ciaran asked, his eyes full of curiosity as he stared at Abraxas. His uncle bit his lip to keep from laughing aloud.
Deciding to follow Abraxas' lead, Horatio nodded to Celeste. "Horatio McKevin." he murmured, rising to his feet and setting Ciaran down. The boy instantly jumped back into the chair and pointed at the mashed potatoes which appeared to have had a hand or foot in them.
"Eww...someone yunked em!" Ciaran exclaimed. Horatio blinked several times trying to translate into meaning what his deaged nephew had said.


Eglantine nodded, certain she wanted him to keep it. After all, he seemed as though he was in need of it and she could create another later on.
"Vielleicht waren wir schlecht." ((maybe we were bad)) she suggested, large green eyes saddening. Her parents had never threatened her with any sort of punishment. But Didi, she did. Once she had said she would send Eglantine to church, to be taken to Hades by the devil... At the time, Eglantine had not believed her...but maybe... suddenly frightened now, she wrapped her arms around her knees again and her bottom lip quivered.

Kiara stared wide eyed as the woman when she made the bottle vanish into thin air.

"What the?..." she said, very confused as she moved away from her nervously. Had she done that?

What was this place? Why would her mother put her somewhere that she herself hated her for?

She then turned her attention to 'Kai'....

"Did you see her make that bottle dissapear?" she asked, she was actually happy the boy called her his firend, she never stayed in one place long enough to keep one.

Viper raised an eyebrow, looking at the older wizard peculiarly. She leaned forward slightly, nearly falling out of the rather large chair as she did so. The child reached for Sevastyan's goblet and bringing it closer to her face. It only took one look for her to determine what the clear liquid was. "Maybe you need to lay off the vodka, sir. I don't believe we've even met..." she giggled lightly in mild amusement, taking a rather heavy swig herself.

"Who are you, anyway? Clearly you aren't from here. Russia, I assume?" she inquired with a rather snotty tone. Viper gagged suddenly as her hand that had previously been grasping the goblet placed it back to the table and delicately covered her nose. "Ugh, theres a mudblood nearby. More than one, clearly. How the hell did they get into Viper Manor? I guess Levi's right. Grandfather really is getting old. He's even forgotten to refresh the wards!"


- - - - - - - - - - - - - -


Celeste nodded in comprehension, bringing her hands to her temples and closing her eyes. "My Inner Eye tells me they will remain so for quite a bit of time. Immense caution and alertness is heavily suggested." she warned in a mystical voice.

However, the moment introductions were made, she snapped out of her mystical mode and replied with a flirtatious smile. "I only wish to refer to you by the name that brings you the most joy. Which name would that be, caro?" she asked, fanning herself lightly with a conjured fan, making sure a very subtle breez meant to refresh, not annoy, made its way to the charming Professor.

((ok exactally where is everybody??? O_o... im confused lol.))

((They are at the head table Rain... Viper is with Sevastyan, Kiara and Ethan are talking, Kazimir and Eglantine are hiding under the table, and Ciaran is with Horatio at the table ))

((That makes sense ^_^ thank you!... by the way how did all of this start? and does Juria know about this? XD))

Juria walked to the table, unsure if she saw what she saw. Juria sat down next to the small boy and girl, whom was Kiara and Ethan.