Personal Quarters

Eglantine sighed. "Charles Allen Mongaven is hardly the lawyer I would have expected them to use against you, Kiara." she stated. "It took me some time to remember where I knew him from, but it finally came to me. Several years ago, my brother was put on trial for certain crimes. Mr. Mongaven was one of his closest friends and served in his defense. They easily won the case." She closed her eyes.
"There were too many connections to make it chance... Bellatrix's testimony, Mongaven's theories, and the fact that he tried so very hard to place the blame on you, Headmistress. There was no one in the courtroom that cared at all about Daniel Lestrange...they were baying for your blood and yours alone."

Kiara frowned, "I don't like the sound of that Eglantine, not one bit. Why would he be after my blood?"

"I vould favor memory alteration over doubles..." Sevastyan contributed, clearly unnerved by the latter. "At least, vith memories, it is easier to discern raw from tampered. Doubles vould be... potentially problematic... especially if they are nearly identical."

The overall unsettled appearance of the Defense Professor increased in regards to DeLanquar's information. He honestly wasn't surprised that there was an underlying plot, for he'd been told to suspect such things from all sides. "A vendetta? Perhaps your time as an auror reqvired you to make an arrest that vos not exactly... favorable... for the family reputation? I am just conjuring theories, here......"

"Perhaps, Kiara. You must a least consider the fact that you may be a target." Eglantine stated, opening the door of the chamber to allow an accioed bottle to enter. "Do you have any enemies other than our buried apple?" she asked, not a drop of humour in her voice.

Kiara shrugged at the question, "Not over whelmingly hated enemies no, Jealous tough guys who were none to happy I got promoted over them in Auror department.. That is it though. And they would be over it by now I would expect" she said.

"Vould they?" Sevastyan questioned curiously, clearly more dubious about these 'jealous tough guys' than Kiara. "Perhaps they could have hid their emotions vell... not that I doubt your judgment, Kiara. I'm just saying... I've held a grudge against my brother for many years - even now - because he vos and still is the family favorite, and could do no wrong even if said transgression slapped vone of my parents right in the face and spit on them.

"It is like a kind of jealousy, and it has done nothing but grow over time. If I vere back in my dark days, and of a different predisposition, I probably vould have done avay vith him long ago," he continued darkly.

Kiara sighed "Well other then that I can't think of anyone who would go to this much trouble." she said.

Eglantine raised an eyebrow at Sevastyan's dark statements, but made no comment. He had every right to feel the way he did. After what her brother had attempted to do to her, she hardly blamed him for loathing his sibling.

Conjuring three tumblers, Eglantine poured a small amount of Scottish Whiskey into two of them, leaving the third empty. Handling one to Sevastyan, she set the other by her chair and filled the other with a conjured spice tea. She levitated it to Kiara and then picked up her tumbler.

Kiara picked up the tumbler, "Anyone want to make a toast?" she asked as her held it up.

"I vos just thinking the same thing - toasts are a rather common sight in my country," Sevastyan replied automatically and levitated his tumbler into the neutral space between the three of them.

"To our victory at court, friendship, and health!" he practically cheered.

Eglantine smiled. "Slainte." she stated softly, raising the tumbler.

Kiara nodded and raised her drink " couldn't agree more"

Once the tumblers gently collided with one another to complete the toast, Sevastyan guided his glass back within his reach and took a sip.

Not qvite vodka, but good, the Russian mused, a small smile on his face.

Kiara sighed after taking a drink "Was there anything else about the trial that bothered you, like the fact he knew thing he shouldn't know so much about? "

"I have a spy in the ministry, maybe he has one at Hogwarts." Eglantine suggested. Hoping Kiara would not put two and two together with how she found out about the trial.
"Or perhaps the people who hired him have someone here in Hogwarts...a student perhaps..."

Kiara raised her eye brow, "You have a spy in the ministry?" then she shook her head,

"Nevermind I don't want to know"

"And I suppose it is possible, very possible there is a spy here in Hogwarts, as I much as want to deny it, but who though, from the information they it was before Lestrange died as well. Indicating this was being planned before hand........"

Kiara shook her head "Now I am theroizing, am I making any sence?" she asked, she was still somewhat in trail mode. I was hard to get out of once she was on a roll.

"It vos indeed disconcerting. But, as Professor DeLanquar stated, I assumed there must be a spy at Hogvarts to have accumulated the information," Sevastyan offered his two sickles to the conversation, figuratively speaking.

"Theorize all you vish - it's about all ve have to go on vithout abducting and choking the answers out of Mongaven," the Russian laughed neutrally. "It could be a student, or an adult... perhaps more than vone person vos involved... Votever the case, to have had such a great amount of information does lead me to believe they've been planning for qvite some time. Unfortunately, I do not have any solid answers for you. I vish I did..."

"Perhaps part of their intention is to spread suspicion throughout Hogvarts..." Sevastyan suggested, not really liking where this hypothesis could possibly lead.

"If Mongaven was working for someone, bent on crushing Kiara, then we could probably safely assume that that someone supplied the information. Bellatrix was a rather perfect witness, wouldn't you say? Just happened to have seen the "two" of you engaged in a private moment." she sipped her drink.

Kiara looked over at Eglantine.

"Are you trying to say your neice has something had a hand in that Eglantine?

Sevastyan also glanced at Eglantine, gray eyes curious and slightly guarded.

"Perhaps. But there is the matter of this 'private moment'. It never occurred, vith anyvone. At least, for my part... I've not been romantically involved for years," Sevastyan stated.

"Vot role could your niece possibly vant vith all of this, professor?" he asked.

Eglantine shook her head. "Kiara you made an enemy from my family, when you made your appearance at their home." she whispered softly. It was hardly an idle thought.

Kiara sighed "Not my fault they decided to kidnapp a student, so Voldemort could use her as a geanipig. Surely they knew I would come and recsue her, and the fact your dear nephew cursed you. I am not exactly fond of them either Eglantine. Well your nephew anyway. I would have left them alone it they didn't bring Voldie back" she said.

"Think it was them who set all this up and just used the leastrange case as bonus to what ever they got against me?"

Sevastyan's brows furrowed with confusion, not recalling any of this information that was being discussed. Boy, am I "out of the loop" or vot? he wondered vaguely.

The moment the name 'Voldemort' was uttered, Sevastyan's gaze snapped from Eglantine to Kiara quicker than you could say 'Bertie Botts'. One could tell just by the look in his gray eyes that he was listening with rapt attention. Voldemort was long since finished... an old wound, perhaps, he mused. It was a comforting thought, knowing that the Dark Lord finally got what he deserved...

Wait a minute.......... 'brought back'?! "He is back for a third time?! Vhere is he now, do ve know?! I vill curse that -" a string of rapid Russian curses that this author dares not to write, even in the Cyrillic script, followed- "to Hell and back a thousand times!" Sevastyan nearly shouted and stood, completely ignoring Kiara's other question.

Eglantine shook her head. "No, Professor Kaminski. He has already been diminished..." She closed her eyes at the rush of memories. The pain of the Excessum bond seared through her mind and an image of the wand, safely tucked away in the Door Beneath the Doors, leapt in front of her eyes. And then she saw Edwin, laughing as Kiara and Viper chased him in the rose garden. Esis had told her about their games.

Kiara stood quickly and raised her hand to Sevastyan .

Deciding to give him a further explination she explained further.

"Voldmort pleuged hogwarts for little while, a student was kidnapped so he could test a potion on her. I went to recsue her...."

She left out the part where is had been her that gave Voldemort the Excessum in exchange for Diana return. Technically she had helped bring Voldemort back to power.

"I managed to get her back, but not before Voldmort got the potion he wanted and he returned to full power. But he layed off hogwarts for a while.... Until... well until he was defeated again"