Professor DeLanquar's Personal Chambers (located in Gryffind

Kiara turned her head around and saw Eglantine on the floor.

"Eglantine? are you alright? what happened?" she asked as she made her way over to the fallen women.

Waving her hand, she gently cast a levitation spell to help Eglantine back in to her chair.

Eglantine sighed, enjoying the feel of sitting up again.
"I feel asleep..." she muttered, hoping Kiara would not point out that it was customary to sleep on the floor. Her entire body ached from the position she had been lying in all last night and morning.

" i Can see that... you were that tiered yesterday? why did you not stay in the hospital wing or go to bed? we could have had our talk later you know" said Kiara a bit of worry in her voice. Eglantine always exshasted her self needlessly.

"No..."Eglantine started. "I just couldn't." she broke off, covering her face with her hands.
"I am completely worthless. I'm in a wheelchair, my hands shake, my memory is slipping and I can't get off the bloody floor." She looked at Kiara. "I do not want to be pitied." she whispered.

Kiara sighed, conjured a chair and sat beside Eglantine.

"No body is Eglantine, but I am allowed to worry, am I not? Now stop with this "i am worthless non-sense" you are far from it Eglantine, you just need to allow yourself time to heal and you will be out of the wheel chair and your magic will as strong if not stronger then it was before, alright?"

Eglantine sighed. "And if I do not "heal"? Esis spoke with a specialist at St. Mungos and he believed the nerve damage may be permanent. I didn't want to tell you..."

Kiara sighed, of course......

"And why not?..." Kiara shook her head and let it drop.

"Wheel chair or not Eglantine you are still a talented witch, more then I am... You defeated Cerise on your own with out any help. And a competent teacher.. don't be so hard on your self. Give your self a little credit hmm"

Eglantine sighed. "You are impossible." she chuckled. "Very well, I will attempt to look beyond my current inadequacies."

Kiara smiled, "Well I better be impossible, else I would go insane, Now since you missed breakfast want to join me for lunch?"

"Yes, that sounds lovely." Eglantine braided her long hair into a plait and secured it into a bun with several mutter incantations. "Would you mind getting out a dress for me to change into?" she asked, gesturing toward her closet.

Kiara nodded "Sure alright" she said as she walked over to closet and pick out one of the white dress she often saw Eglantine wear.

"This one alright? or do you want a different one?"

"That one will do fine." she returned, not even looking to see which dress Kiara was offering her. She took the dress and rolled into the bathroom. "I will be out in a moment."

Slipping out of light white dress she was wearing, Eglantine flicked her wand to fold and levitate it away. She ignored the fading scars her nephew had given her from the curse he had thrown at her when kidnapping Miss Casillas and levitated the dress over her head, tucking her arms into the heavy sleeves. Soon the clean material covered her properly once more and she hovered back into the sitting room.

"Shall we?"

Kiara nodded and smiled "Yes lets go then"

((After lunch and classes))

Eglantine returned to her chambers, tired from a long day and looking forward to retiring early. She had already planned to have the House-elves bring her her supper in her rooms and knew that Kiara was told if anything was specially ordered. Therefore she levitated herself onto the couch fully pleased with herself. No one was worrying about her and she was actually taking complete care of herself.

"This might be as close to heaven as I ever get." she quipped out loud. A chuckled answered her and she turned her head quickly to see a large man seated in the chair across from her. "Who are you?" Eglantine demanded, fear vanishing her previous happiness.

"You need not be afraid, Professor. I just did not wish to be seen entering your rooms. Forgive me for startling you. I am Horatio McKevin."

Eglantine reached into her pocket, curling her fingers around her two wands. Her own wand and Excessum...the fear vanished as she remembered how easily Dracovan Viper had succumbed to her power.

"Indeed." she said, her voice level and calm.

Horatio had felt extremely guilty as he watched the woman enter her rooms. She was obviously tired and in pain. Kiara had mentioned a wheelchair, but he had waved it aside. Now he felt like a felon of some kind. Why couldn't she have been taller, a bit larger, maybe a bit less delicate looking...couldn't she have been a man?

He chuckled before he could stop himself at her comment and immediately wished he had taken taken more time to plan this first encounter. Briefly explaining who he was, Horatio held his breath as she slid her hand into her pocket. He doubted there was anything she could do to truly harm him, but he had not come here to fight.

"I want you to destroy the research you were given by Cledwyn Rosier."

Eglantine's eyes widened. "Why would I do that? My father gave me a great deal to protect." Already her fear was returning. He could be after Excessum, although she doubted it. After all before she had begun to work on it, it had simply been a medicinal potion.

Horatio sighed. Her father...now that was unexpected. A niece maybe, but he was not aware that his friend turned enemy had had any children.
"I did not know you were his daughter. But you have to know how dangerous the Dark Arts are. You can save us all a great deal of trouble if you simply destroy it."

Eglantine slowly levitated back into her wheelchair. "Others came before you to take the research. I resisted."

Chuckling softly, Horatio grinned. "And that is why I am asking you to destroy it. The notes, the vials, everything." Already he was beginning to feel that Eglantine Rosier nee DeLanquar was not bound to the Dark Arts as her father was. Or at least he hoped she wasn't.

"Very well. You have nothing to worry about. I will dispose of it all tonight." Eglantine stated, glaring at the older man.

He nodded. "Where?" Not really curious, but rather anxious to watch this disposing of, Horatio crossed his fingers.

"In the Forbidden Forest." Eglantine muttered after a brief pause. The man nodded again.

"I neglected to mention that I am a new professor here and that I am only interested in making sure this research does not fall into the wrong hands." Horatio already noticed her complete lack of curiosity. Besides wondering who he was, she had not asked a single question about why he wanted the research destroyed or even how he knew of its existence.

"In other words, you wish to watch me destroy the works." Eglantine replied, watching Horatio carefully for reactions. Shockingly he blushed.

"I am sorry about this." he offered, hoping she would accept his apology.

"I am sure you are." Eglantine turned her wheelchair away from him and accioed a chest from underneath her bed. It contained the various bits of research her father had given to her over the years, with the exception of four parts, only one of which was Excessum.

"I will meet you at the edge of the wood two hours after it becomes dark. If you attempt to deceive me or take this, I will force Kiara to begin looking for a new professor. Do we have an understanding?" she finished, turning to face him again.

Horatio nodded. So deep in you, my dear, there beats a Slytherin Rosier heart, he thought. Bowing briefly, he muttered the incantation that teleported him back to his rooms.

Disturbed greatly by her unwelcome visit, Eglantine erected several wards around her room, ignoring how much of a drain it caused to her energy levels. With only two hours to prepare and her body already throbbing in pain, she set to work going through the research notes. Some of it she copied down and placed into another box, others she left alone.

Finally darkness descended over Hogwarts and she began to hope she was not being foolish as she slipped a black cloak over her body. In two hours, she would discover if Horatio McKevin was who he said he was.

((Sometime after the chess match with Kiara))

Eglantine turned the next page of her book,Julius Caesar. There was a knock on the door and she lifted her head to glare at it.

"Enter."

Horatio McKevin poked his head in and smiled softly at her. He reminded her of Edwin...

"Ciamar a tha sibh?" ((How are you?)) he asked, as she gestured for him to be seated on the couch. Eglantine refused to return his smile.

"Tha gu math, tapadh leibh." ((I'm well, thank you)) An awkward silence followed.

Finally Eglantine sighed. "Dè tha thu ag iarraidh?" ((What do you want?)) Horatio smiled.

"You are fairly to the point, aren't you? I merely wished to apologize again." she raised an eyebrow.

"How thoughtful. You are forgiven." Another silence.

Horatio began to stroke his beard. "So you still wish me to drop dead?" he quipped. To his pleasure, she blushed.

"No, you needn't." Eglantine stated, finally smiling. Why was it so hard to remain angry at the man?

"Will you attend the Yule Ball with me then?" he asked. Yes, he was prying and pushy. But since he had been so for longer than most people had been alive, it was not exactly a fault.

Eglantine stared at him for a moment. The door opened wandlessly behind him.

"Oidhche mhath" ((Good night))

Horatio's hope fell and he sighed. "Very well. Oidhche mhath." He turned to exit the room, his hand curling around the door handle.

"Yes, I will." Eglantine stated calmly, just as the door closed. Horatio beamed.

"Tapadh leat." ((Thank you)) he whispered, hurrying down the hallway.

((form the Great Hall))

Eglantine entered her rooms, feeling terribly faint. Raising a hand to her forehead, she slid a hand into her pocket and removed the vial of potion that she had finished several hours before hand. Supposedly, it would assist her nerve repair or at least give her temporary control over her nervous system.

She removed the Daniel-apple as well, placing him gently on the couch table.
"You seen to be enjoying yourself." she murmured. Taking the potion, she watched as her hands stopped shaking and clasped them together, happy to be able to have them still after so long.

Just then she remembered that she had the fountain to attend to. Eglantine hurriedly left her chambers, leaving the apple sitting unattended on the sitting room table.

Daniel fought the magic that held him as apple he had been fighting for a long time but he was finally starting to wear down the spell that had been cast on him.

Slowly the apple began to deformform and its shape melted away. A minute later Danial stood up. With a insame glint in his eyes he conjured a apple that looked like he used to on the table and left the room in search of Kiara or the women who transfigured him.

He wanted revenge....

( )

Eglantine returned to her rooms, nearly an hour later and picked up the apple from table. Something was wrong about it...she thought, setting it on the floor and rolling back as she attempted to transfigure it. A puff of smoke was all that transfigured...Daniel Lestrange was gone. Nearly faint with worry, she glanced around the room. Her wards would have alerted her if he was still in the room.

Hovering out of her room as fast as her magic could take the wheelchair, she sped toward Kiara's office. She had to be warned... at least Eglantine hoped she could still be warned. No, she thought...it would not do to think that way. Kiara is fine...but she continued to go faster nonetheless.

((Sometime after Great Hall))

Eglantine hovered in front of the painting of the dancing forest nymph that guarded her personal chambers.
"Well, I will bid you good-night then, my dear." Horatio exclaimed from behind her. They had "walked" together from the Great Hall to where they stood then.

"If you would like," Eglantine started, but he shook his head.
"No, my dear. As much as I would like to intrude upon your hospitality, you need to rest and in order to rest, you will need silence. I'm afraid I can never supply silence." He bowed slightly, taking her pale hand in his.

"Very well." Eglantine muttered, her eyes locked on his hand holding hers. His was so strong and large; it felt as if she could tuck her hand into his and never worry about anything happening to it. An overwhelming feeling of security washed over her. A feeling she had never felt before. Even with her husband, she had always glanced over her shoulder, afraid at any moment he would discover her secrets.

Horatio was another story. Any secret she might ever have; he himself had doubtless kept as well. After all he was over a hundred years old. Still, by his barely lined face and athletically fit body, she could have sworn he was barely a day over fifty. That was one of the greatest perks about being magical. At fifty-one, she herself did not look her age. In muggle eyes, she looked roughly late thirties. Then again, she felt each and every year weighing heavily on her slight shoulders. And the lines of grey that were beginning to become more and more pronounced at her temples testified to that burden.

"You will go straight to bed, will you not." Horatio asked softly, his calloused finger tracing along the skin of her pinky. She nodded, looking up from their hands until she looked into his eyes.

"Maybe." she stated, offering him a small smile. "I have my student's papers to grade." Horatio's face hardened.
"They can be graded tomorrow. Or even over the weekend." he insisted. For a moment he wondered how a woman with such fragile health could continue to push herself so hard. Sooner or later, with certainty, she would collapse from the strain of it all; but he doubted that she knew that. Eglantine, he decided, was not necessarily stubborn; just dedicated almost to the point that it was frightening. Of course, he was dedicated to his work as well and to his students. But he knew how to balance his life and work where he was able to rest and enjoy life.

It was with little trouble that Horatio was able to surmise that Eglantine would not stop working and rest if left on her own devices, unless he... an idea formed in his mind.

"I have several essays to grade as well. Perhaps we could do them together?" he suggested, laying her hand gently back on her lap. It had been a wonderful feeling to hold her delicate white hand; almost akin to the feeling when he held a bird's egg. That he had been entrusted with something that if he dropped when shatter and the life inside would end.

"That sounds lovely." Eglantine returned, turning her gaze from his azure eyes to the painting. "Les larmes d'hiver." The painting swung open at the password and Horatio paused to allow her wheelchair to enter the room before he did.

Seating himself on the couch, he watched as Eglantine levitated out of her wheelchair to seat herself at her writing desk. Rising from the couch, he went to stand behind her. From what he could see, it appeared that she was writing a quick letter to her son, Edwin. Of course, he had never met the boy, but had heard a bit about him, here and there.

After finishing a quick letter to her son and Esis, Eglantine pulled a stack of ungraded essays from her desk and laid them in front of her. With a brief glance up at Horatio, she began to mark mistakes in a Transfiguration essay she had assigned to her fourth years.

"Strange way of spelling, "animagus"." Horatio pointed out. "A-n-a-m-a-g-a-s. A name gas, sounds like." he chuckled. Eglantine sighed, and neatly printed above the wrongly spelt word the correct spelling.
"At least he spelled it correctly through the rest of the paper." she commented. The writer of the essay was a Slytherin fourth year who had been having a terrible time with Transfiguration. Quentin Masamas was simple a poor student when it came to Transfiguration.

"Goodness. The boy has no idea what he is talking about!" Horatio chuckled. "Big words, good sentence structure, but the content is poor. Then again, he is trying, isn't he?"
Eglantine nodded. Indeed the poor boy was trying. Finally she wrote an P for poor on the top of the essay.

Horatio raised an eyebrow. He would have given the boy an Acceptable for trying so hard. But then again, Eglantine was the Transfiguration professor; it seemed to go along with the position to be strict.

"Can I help you grade some of these?" he asked. She nodded and he took four off the stack. Several hours later, Horatio set the final essay back on the desk and sighed. Most of her students were doing very well in their understanding of Transfiguration. And over the course of the last few hours, he had been able to finish at least half of her work for her.

Eglantine was exhausted. After a long day, she usually fell asleep mid editing, but thanks to Horatio's chatting, which as he had claimed before, was something he could not do without, she had managed to remain awake. Eye lids heavy, she covered her mouth to hide a yawn.

Horatio watched the small woman carefully. Sooner or later, she would have to give up and go to bed. Once he was certain she was asleep, he would be able to go to his own rooms and sleep, knowing she was resting.

Finally, her mind lost the battle and her body went limp. Only Horatio's levitation chamr kept her from banging her head on the desk. Carefully, the History of Magic professor pulled out the chair and scooped Eglantine into his arms.

Entering her bedroom, he wandlessly drew back the covers and laid her down amid the soft lavender pillows and sheets. Transfiguring her robes into a decent white night gown, he then noticed her hair. Unsure of how comfortable it was to sleep with one's head full of hair pins, Horatio stroked his beard in thought. Deciding, to risk waking her, he gently pulled her upper body up from the bed to remove her hair pins.

During the extraction, he could not help but notice how soft her hair felt as his fingers removed pin after pin. It smelled wonderful as well; a mixture of rose and lavender. Blinking several times, he sighed and removed the final pin. He laid her head back down against the pillows and stood straight once more.

With her eyes closed and her hair spread out on the pillow, Eglantine looked like a painting, he thought. Leaning down, he kissed her forehead.

"Oidhche mhath." He muttered, turning to leave the bedroom. Within the next few minutes, he reached the front door and left, bidding the nymph good night as well.

Kiara walked up to Eglantine's quarters, this was the first place she would think Edwin would be so it is worth a shot.

Looking at the portrait she asked" is Eglantine and Edwin home?"

The nymph yawned as if exhausted. "No..." she muttered.

Kiara blinked "Oh.....well thank you any" she said as she turned to leave. Then a touch of curiousity came to her.

"Umm why are you so tired? did something happen?" she asked.

"Yes, the little child makes noise... along with the white haired man, Horatio." she muttered. "They are inside..." One sometimes had to be very specific with portraits...

Kiara smiled "Oh alright, could you ask if could come in please?" she asked.

Even though she knew the password she only used it if she actually needed to get in there when there was something wrong.

"If I must...and you are the Headmistress. So I will warn you...they are sugar high..." The nymph disappeared into the room, returning rather quickly.

"Enter at thine own peril." she muttered. The door opened to reveal a rather messy chambers and a giggled Edwin and...well, he was sorta hanging from the ceiling, Horatio.

"Hello Kiara!" he stated, calmly.