Viper's Office

Kiara's eyes widened.

"What? Dead husband?... How in Merlins name can you go from talking about cloths to her deceased husband? what did she say?" said Kiara as she handed over the papers from Gringotts.

Instinct was telling her there was a whole lot more to the story that Viper wasn't telling.

Viper shook her head sympathetically. "Poor thing must still be in the depths of grief. You know, back when I worked at the Ministry I developed a potion to aid with grief. Absolivia, I called it." Viper's green eyes filled with tears as she thought of her old life.

"You know, she's not the only one with problems with the past!" she wailed, drinking even more of her wine goblet.

Kiara frowned, eyed the potions professor carefully.

"Grief is a powerful emotion Professor, but she did not seem over whelmed with grief over her husbands death when we talked earlier. Depression is a hard thing to cover up even if someone wants to..."

Thinking for a moment Kiara tried to pry further.

"What did you say when she told you her husband died?" she asked careful not to make it sound like an accusation.

Viper sniffed, staring incredulously at the Headmistress. "Headmistress! Are you accusing me of saying something inappropriate! Oh Merlin, I knew it! You're just like all the students during my time at Hogwarts! Judging me before you even know me, blaming me for what my family's done!" she wiped her eyes with her black handkerchief before proceeding. "If you must know, I didn't say a word when she told how her husband died and that he was a muggle. I was too shocked!"

Kiara took a deep breath "Such a drama queen.." she thought to herself.

"Okay I might be the only person in the wizarding world who doesn't care what your family did or didn't do during the war. You were born near the end and had no part in it. Now her husband was a muggle and that shocked you. Why? It isn't unheard of for whitches and wizards to marry muggles"

Viper raised an eyebrow. "Headmistress, do try and understand where I come from. I spent my entire life living in Viper Manor. My grandfather, Merlin rest his soul, raised me a certain way until he passed away when I was 7. Now, of course I don't condone hostility towards anyone and I do try and move past my family's influence, but please, this is the one thing I shall ever ask of you: Please try and be patient with me. I was not raised to be nearly as open-minded as you. I truly am trying to adjust to the times." Viper pleaded, using the "puppy eyes"

Kiara sighed and stared at the younger woman.

"Very well, but i do however ask you put your self in Professor DeLanquar's shoes, I am afraid your reaction probably hurt a still opened wound, and hurt her feelings...at least try to smoothings over with her please."

After a moment she remembered the reason she came to the potion mistress's office.

"Oh and if you want to get paid I suggest you fill this out and have it back to me as soon as possible" she said as she indicated to the Gringotts form.

Viper bowed in an obliging manner. "As long she she puts herself in mine, I shall do my best to try and 'smooth things over'." Quickly, sha glanced through the paperwork, reading what it said. With a tap of her finger the form was filled out and she handed it to the Headmistress with a sweet smile.

Kiara raised her eye brow at the sudden cheery smile.

Thinking to herself "I was right she could give Sev a run for his money, and not just in potion making. She knows exactly how to get out of trouble"

Then something else came to mind.

"Professor I noticed you vollunteered to help lead the Dueling club. I you should know i have schedualed the sessions to be in the last week of every month. So we have 2 weeks to plan what spells we will teach and how we will do the demonstrations. Any thoughts so far?"

"The usual, I suppose. Expelliarmus, Protego, oh,, and sectumsempra! Definately sectumsempra!"

Kiara's mouth dropped opened in disbelief.

"Sectumsempra? are you joking? I certainly hope you are Professor Viper. I know perfectly well what that spell does and it will never be used in this school"

"Headmistress, if used properly, and only in emergency situations the spell can be very helpful. Besides, the students need to know how to protect themselves against that spell. You know as well as I do that it requires intense spellwork and rapid potions abilities god forbid it ever struck any of them. I think that lesson would perfect, combining both our specialties, all the while teaching our students defense." Viper's eyes narrowed. "Were you never taught that spell and how to defeat it in auror training?"

"Yes I was but i never had the need to actually use the curse. There are many more effective spells to use while capturing a run away criminal. Even if it weren't concidered a dark spell I won't have students casting it at each other. If you would like we will tell them about it, how to recognize it and show them to counter curse.But is all is that understood?"

Kiara of course didn't mention that she hadn't been taught the curse by the ministry, but by the maker of the curse himself in her first year at Hogwarts.

Viper stared for a moment, contemplating. "I think we should do a demonstration. Children are children. They hear about it, they'll forget a week later. They see it, and it'll be burned in their minds forever." she added for good measure, "I'm even willing to be the recepient of the curse."

Kiara still couldn't believe her ears, Professor Viper was serious.

"Sectumsempra is a very dangerous curse, once cast it has a mind of it's own, the caster has no control over what part of the body is slashed or how
severely it harms. You could die or lose a limb under that curse. No i will not cast it on another human being."

Viper bit back a laugh."I can assure you, Headmistress, I will be perfectly fine. I-I've gotten used to it, I suppose." she said as her eyes darkened with memories.

She quickly shook it off, however. The last thing she wanted was to pry even further into her past. She hastily changed the subject. "I noticed that you still require a Head of Slytherin House. May I volunteer for the position?"

Kiara was looking at Professor Viper in shock. she had been under the curse before? who knows how many times, and she was willing to be subjected to it again. In front of students no less. It was like her first year all over again. "That is it" thought Kiara as she suddenly got an idea that would solve their problem

"Sectumsempra will not be preformed with in the walls of this school again Professor Viper, however I do understand your point that the students need to observe the curse for them selves to turly understand it. I have seen the curse and counter curse begin preformed before. I will bring a pensieve to the session where the students can watch my memory of it"

"And as for Head of Slytherin, the job is yours. Since I have never met a truer Slytherin in my life"

Viper nodded, showing her agreement and thanks. "Thank you, but I hope you mean that statement as a compliment."

Kiara smiled thankful the professor was pleased.

"Of course, A Slytherin saved my life once, and you remind me a great deal of him"

Viper smiled to herself softly. "I'll take a chance with this one and attempt a wild guess on who that person is. Is it by any chance Severus Snape?"

Kiara nodded, and laughed.

"Oh that man hated me, Well I was typical 11 year old gryffindor, I stumbled into a situation at exactly the wrong moment and was found by the wrong person.... Lets just say he wasn't immpressed by my nosieness, and said he wouldn't Interfere the next time he found out I was sticking mose where it didn't belong "

Viper smiled her genuine smile. "I'm sorry to say I don't remember him very much. I was only about 2 or 3 years old when I met him. But I've always heard great things of him, on both sides, so I've always felt quite flattered when I am compared to him."

"Well it is hard not to stop his name coming to mind when I see you, both a genius in potions, an expertise in dueling, and it would seem the same fascination with the colour black." she said as glanced around the office.

"Anyways is it agree that the Sectumsenpra curse will be observed through the memory only?"

Viper laughed. "Very well. Memory it is. When shall we begin?"

"Good, first meeting will begin in two weeks from now in the great hall after classes have ended. Fair enough?"