Defense Office

Nicolas nodded. "Persephone likes to fly so I don't quite like the idea of her being trapped."

"Yes, she's my cousin. Well third cousin really. My grandfather and her grandfather were first cousins. But we like to round it up to cousins, a lot easier it is really."

Kiara nodded "I advise great caution in letting her roam freely. The forbidden forest is home to a great many of creatures that hunt her bread" said kiara seriously.

"I'm sure she can handle herself." Nick nodded comfortably. Then he looked uncomfortable. "Maybe I should warn you Headmistress, Persephone is a bit tempermetal. She doesn't like other people. She needs to warm up to you before she lets you touch her. "

Kiara thought about it for moment, "How about this, there is a opened area near the stables, it is a large area so it shouldn't make her feel traped and no wondering students should come across her by accident. Sound fair enough?"

Nick crossed his arms and nodded. "Alright. I'll see you later then Headmistress."

Sevastyan pushed open the oaken door to the Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor’s Office; his office, he amended. A quick sweep of the space allotted made his eyebrows raise with great approval. There was no way anyone was going to feel cramped in here with it as comfortably spacious as it was. Or, at least, to Sevastyan it was spacious. There were a few things he wanted to change, but would do his best not to alter the atmosphere too much.

The Russian professor wore navy blue robes with notched lapels over a burgundy Nehru jacket-like top and a pair of black slacks. In one hand was the sandalwood staff – he had been out on the grounds for a quick, solo visit to see Morana ((a different visit than the one currently being played in the thestral nest)), his thestral – and in the other his wand, which was angled to control a hovering trunk with a great amount of locks on it. Sure, perhaps the House-Elves would have dropped everything they were doing if he’d asked for the assistance, but Sevastyan was a stubborn wizard.

Lowering the trunk somewhat into the nearest empty corner, Sevastyan decided he would scout out his new area before doing any rearranging. The first thing he wanted to scope out was the book that someone must have left on what was now to be considered his desk, seemingly in haste. Or, at least, that was Sevastyan’s first impression. After all, his classes didn’t start until the next day. But, he insisted more to himself than to anyone, he would be “on call” regardless. Sitting down in the high backed chair, which was obviously charmed to allow extra comfort, Sevastyan picked up the book and opened it cautiously. After all, it was in the defense office: it could have been a display item. It was with great surprise and interest for him to find within a list of names. And a lot of them, too. The last one was none other than Headmistress Kiara. This looked to be a written record of all Defense Professors from a great span of time ago.

’Vell, I guess I should leave my mark also…’ he thought, glancing around in hopes for a conveniently left-behind quill and ink. The corners of his mouth tugged upwards as he found precisely that. Casting a quick-drying spell on the ink because of his left-handedness having potential to smudge the ink after it was plied to parchment, Sevastyan proudly penned his name with broad strokes somewhere between a graceful fluidity and ramrod stiffness:





Comparing the signatures of past professors to that of his own, Sevastyan realized he’d signed his name in Cyrillic, the alphabet assigned to his native language. With a sigh of irritation with himself, he re-signed his name in parenthesis on the next line:

Eglantine knocked timidly on the DADA office door. She did not know the new professor very well, in fact barely knew him, but she hoped that that may be used to her advantage.

Her eyes drifted back to the dark wand, her shaking fingers carefully tracing over the runes and symbols carved into the black wood. She thought it might be walnut, but changed her mind. It was stained yew and using her knowledge of wands she was able to surmise that it used pure ash as its core. Greatly shaken by her final findings, Eglantine bit her lip. So now she had a wand to embody Exessum.

Viper strided down to Sevastyan's office carrying a stack of ancient looking leather bound books. She had ventured off to Viper Manor last night after the incident in her office and found a few of her gradnfather's old dark arts books. Thinking Sevastyan may enjoy reading some of them, she decided to take them with her and was now about to give them to him.

She halted in her steps a few feet from his office, however, when she noticed Eglantine right outside his door. She swore quietly, briefly wondering what the older witch was doing out of the hospital wing so early before turning around ninety degrees, hoping Eglantine had not seen her.

Eglantine heard footsteps and immediately stiffened, causing pain to travel up her entire torso.
She looked to see who was coming and saw the last person she wanted to see. Deciding to ignore the younger woman, Eglantine kept her eyes fastened on the door.

When she was a few feet away, it was clear to Viper that Eglantine was not following her. She breathed a sigh of relief before curiousity got to her. What was Eglantine doing outside Sevastyan's door?

She scowled as her mind formulated many different reasons, each more unlikely than the last, but Viper couldn't take any chances. She knew at this point any fragment of friendship she had with Kiara was obliterated. Whatever unname able relationship she had with Eglantine was erased from the history books. Therefore the closest person she had to a friend, the only one she wanted as a friend at this point, was Sevastyan.

Despite being who she was, Viper, did need friends in her life, and Viper was determined not to let the Defense Professor turn against her as well. Gathering all the dignity she could, Viper turned back her original direction at the door.

"Good evening, Professor Delanquar." she said stifly as she left the books levitating for a moment as she jotted down a quick note for Sevastyan.

Eglantine visibly paled, fear etched in her eyes. "Good Evening." she returned softly. Thankfully the wand had already been slipped into her robe pocket.

All the care, concern, pity and rage that Eglantine had always had mixed inside of her when in Viper's presence had vanished to be replaced with a fear that was justified by the woman's own actions. She had told Viper that she would judge her by her actions before and now she was keeping her word.

Eglantine had had Voldemort's very soul attempt to take her over and use her and yet she had resisted, defeating him. What frightened her about Viper now, was that the younger woman appeared to aspire to become what she had attempted most of her life to not become.

Viper looked up briefly to meet Eglantine's gaze. She gave a barely visible smirk as she noticed the Professor pale noticeably and fear flash in her green eyes. She fought back a laugh as she replied in a low voice, still writing her note.

"You look rather pale, Professor. Are you sure you're fit to be wandering around the halls?"

"Yes." Eglantine responded, hoping the DADA professor would come to her rescue soon. She had no desire to start a conversation with Viper.

Viper nodded, noticing how Eglantine was trying to evade her. She smiled, she wasn't one to give up easily.

"Are you sure? Did Juria already look up on you. I'm positive if she were here right this moment, she would not approve of you gallavanting around the castle. God forbid, something unfortunate should happen."

Eglantine wondered briefly if Kiara would be upset with her for hexing Viper. Why did the woman have to be so irritating. But she was too tired to dig her grave any deeper with Professor Viper.
"Indeed." Two could play this game, she thought.

Viper used every ounce of her self control not to laugh at how annoyed Eglantine was getting, the older witch's irritation egging Viper on further.

"Are you sure, you are alright, Professor? You look a bit flustered to me." although Viper knew it was from irritation.

Eglantine finally gained control of her emotions and gave Viper a cold glare. She could feign indifference as easily as one might slip into a pair of shoes.

"I am quite sure." she stated, evenly.

Viper raised an eyebrow. "Professor, are you angry with me? For I am at an absolute loss as to why you would be."

"How fortunate for you." Eglantine practically drawled. Viper was beginning to become more and more childish, reminding her ironically of a schoolmate in her fourth year at muggle primary school. Regina Clain had been a bully, one who hated the small fragile Eglantine who had been top of her class and the mysterious student who did everything right.

Viper backed away a bit, affronted by Eglantine's actions. "How fortunate could I be if my fellow colleague is being unreasonably cruel to me?"

"Cruel? Maybe. Unreasonably, I do not think so."

Viper halted in her note writing, leaving the parchment and quil to levitate. She crossed her arms over her chest. "Enlighten me, Professor. What did I do to you to cause you to act this way towards me?"

"If you must act like a child, you will be treated as a child." Eglantine responded, coldly, fingering the dark yew wand in her pocket. Viper knew, that much she was certain of, but yet she insisted on playing the innocent.

Viper scoffed. "Professor Delanquar if you are so eager to unjustly label others as children then I suggest you send for Edwin to return, if you are so desperate for a child's presence. What is it, Professor? Do you need a child to come runing to you just so you feel your life is actually worth something? That you are needed?" she asked venemously, her eyes on the border of green and gray meeting Eglantine's, challenging her.

Eglantine returned the glare in full. "You are twenty-two years old, Professor." she stated. "I have no need for a child's presence, however I have yet to remember a day that I have not thought that I was in a spoiled little girl's presence whenever I am with you. You attempt to upset me, to get some sort of reaction from me, for no reason other than that you need attention, badly. I pity you, Miss Viper. Because there are hundreds of children who had a terrible childhood as you did that end up wishing they had had half the opportunities that you have now. You squander your life, waste your talents and hasten your own destruction by a foolish desire for something you already possess."