Professor Viper's Personal Chambers (Located Nearby Slytherin Common Rooms)

Viper winced as she heard the painful cry erupt from Sevastyan’s throat. “Sorry...” She apologized, not meaning to aggravate his throat even further. She waved her hand once more, conjuring him another goblet full if water, the goblet charmed to control the water’s temperature at Sevastyan’s will, for Viper was unsure whether he would prefer a hot or cold beverage.

The witch shook her head at the apology. “Sevastyan you are in no way disturbing me. Worrying me, yes, but never disturbing.” Taking a seat beside Sevastyan, Viper looked at him expectantly, concern illuminating her emerald orbs. “What happened?”

Sevastyan shook his head. “Don’t be... vodka is often my beverage of choice. Just...” he replied, though paused when he couldn’t find the words he wanted. It was just as well, he assumed, because by that time Viper was offering him a second goblet. He nodded his thanks and lifted the goblet up as if in a toast before downing the entire thing. ’Ah,’ he thought as the warm water went down a lot easier, ’...much better.’ It was Sevastyan’s assumption that now the muscles in his throat were soothed that he could now focus on the contents of the first goblet, but would wait a moment. Carefully he placed the drained goblet down, though he wasn't quite sure where precisely he put it being still slightly uncoordinated at this hour.

Several lines creased into his forehead as ebony brows furrowed in thought. How had he gotten down here? Why had he walked in his daze to Viper’s quarters? Perhaps the most important question swimming in his mind was precisely how much to tell and what to keep to himself. Gray eyes were confused yet certain, and unmistakably unnerved. Apology was temporarily etched in his face for making her worry, but he didn’t verbalize the contrition a second time.

With a sigh that seemed to carry the vibration that he was about to launch into what was bothering him, Sevastyan gazed into the center of the expectance and concern in her eyes and asked, “Vot do you know of a man named Daniel Lestrange?” Though he recognized certain elements of the portions of dream he remembered from other events, it had been the conversation with a dream-generated version of his brother that had really stood out and had gotten to him the most. Words in his brother’s voice echoed in his mind the moment after Daniel had been killed by his own hands - wand, really; which only made his nightmare that much more vivid and disturbing. For the moment, though, Sevastyan kept these thoughts to himself and waited to see what Amaranth knew of the man so named.

Viper raised an eyebrow. Whatever she had been expecting it was not this. She highly doubted he would come to her this early in the morning to discuss another wizard. Slowly she shook her head.

"Not much, really. Just the occasional whispers from others. I only met him recently when I ran into him in the Entrance Hall. He introduced himself and asked where Kiara's office was." Viper explained, not feeling that it was pertinent to add her annoyance at him referring to her as Miss instead of Professor. "Why?"

Sevastyan nodded as though he'd expected the man to have done as much. Though, a pained expression crossed his face when she'd inquired. "I think it all starts vith him. Him, the dream... my brother, in the context of said dream... more like vone horrible nightmare..." he rambled slightly. "You might just vant that apology for my disturbing you..." Sevastyan added, feeling rather idiotic for having arrived here in a daze over a stupid dream. The tone he'd used reflected that feeling.

"Have you ever had a dream you could have svorn vos real, to the point vhere you qvestion vot is real and vot vos your imagination?" Sevastyan asked, changing topics. "It vos like my brother vos in my head... and knew all of vot happened yesterday evening..." The Russian ran a hand through the tangled, damp mop of untied ebony hair, his eyes focused temporarily upon something at the other end of the room.

Taking a sip of the vodka with great relief that it did not burn as much as earlier, Sevastyan looked into Amaranth's emerald orbs with the utmost seriousness. She had no idea what had transpired, obviously: Kiara had hopefully gotten some rest, and Professor DeLanquar... well, Sevastyan was under the assumption that that particular bridge had yet to be mended.

"I vould appreciate if you vould not tell anyvone, vonce I tell you this..." he began, "Daniel Lestrange is dead, as of last night." There was a tangible pause in the air, and Sevastyan clearly looked as nervous as he was abnormally pale. "And I vos the vone that dealt the killing blow. He vos looking for Kiara to exact revenge for... something. Something he said he should have done long ago. There vosn't exactly time to ask qvestions vonce I got there." Perhaps he had subconsciously come here because of their shared understanding of the Dark Arts, and because she was largely uninvolved with the event or its aftermath? It seemed plausible, but would she see it that way or would she find him a weak and pathetic excuse for a Defense Professor?

Slowly, Viper nodded at his question regarding dreams. "Yes I have...more times than I would care to admit to, actually...It's quite frightning..."

As Sevastyan finished informing her on everything, Viper released the breath she hadn't realized she had been holding in. So that's why he seemed so nervous...

"You did nothing wrong." she reassured him softly and honestly. "You saved the life of a friend. Kiara was in danger and you risked your own life to save her's." Viper looked up, ensuring that she maintained eye contact with him. "I don't know what exactly your brother said, but no matter what he was wrong. You are a different person now then you were back then. Believe me... "

Viper realized she must have sounded like some overly perky therapist but she forced the thought away, knowing she was being honest. She sighed inwardly, wondering if people were ever able to escape dark pasts or if it would continue haunting them until the day they died...

“Am I?” he questioned, uncertain, eyes lowered to gaze in the direction of the floor through half-closed lids. “I used an intentionally dark curse to kill him, taught to all descendants of Igor Kaminski vonce they came of age.” Sevastyan left out the part of licensing and how his second-great-uncle made it legal to use albeit still a bit questionable, finding these facts rather irrelevant at the moment.

After a moment, he shook his head. “Your vords are soothing, regardless of vot judgment I make of myself, and I appreciate them. Perhaps I am too centered on the nature of the death than the reason for it...” he said, a sign that he had the potential to believe what Amaranth said. “I hope you do not... think me veak for coming down here just to speak vith you about an idiotic nightmare...?” Sevastyan sort of asked shortly afterward, wishing in this one particular moment more than any thus far that he could, as the muggles put it, ‘read minds’. As a man, a wizard, and a Defense Professor, he absolutely loathed being thought of as weak or vulnerable.

“...Had you gotten much sleep before I voke you?” he inquired after a long pause for his part, his voice softer but carefully neutral. Sevastyan wasn’t sure what outcome to wish for Viper to reply with.

“Curses are only dark when used for personal gain or to cause pain. When using it to protect one self or another than it is a defense spell.” Viper replied in a calm voice. “And the fact that you’re still dwelling on what happened only emphasizes the change in who you were then and who you have become.”

As soon as Sevastyan uttered his worry over her viewing him as weak, Viper shook her head, dismissing the notion. “No, I do not see you as weak at all. Just…honest, really. I can name many, many people, especially Slytherins who have had a dark past and either deny everything they had done, claiming they were under the Imperius Curse or put on this new façade of goodness, preaching and writing books on how they “escaped the evil”, hypocritically prompting others to do the same. You’re…different. You admit the fact you made mistakes and work to right your wrongs. Sevastyan, I respect and admire you for it…” Viper whispered, the honesty still lingering in her words despite the lower volume.

She shook off his last concern with a smile. “Actually, I have terrible insomnia. I’ve had it ever since I was a small child, most likely from nightmares but now it’s a combination of other things, so in no way did you disturb me.” Her face softened. “In fact, I’m glad you came to me.”

Sevastyan smiled somewhat wanly, hearing basically the very thing he repeatedly emphasized in classes returned to him in this moment. It was ironic, in a way, that after attempting to drill it into his students' heads that he had obviously failed to sear it into his. The Russian vowed to commit the way Viper phrased the fact, and the sound of her voice, to memory.

He nodded his gratitude in response to her own candidacy. "Honesty can be just as much a curse as a blessing..." he murmured, not even quite sure what he meant to imply by this statement. "And, in a vay I guess to demonstrate, I vould like to honestly express that I am most thankful and relieved you feel that vay. Your... understanding, vith this whole thing... has deepened my respect for you," Sevastyan added, clearly wondering how she was going to take that one. He already respected her, which he felt showed instantaneously in his not wanting to 'push the envelope' and leaving his statement at that. However, something about his eyes and the way he looked at Amaranth distinctly changed. Whatever had been altered just then had been fairly subtle, and positive. Was it a nonverbal form of confirming admiration, or something different? It was hard to tell...

Sevastyan had been about to offer some form of sympathy in regards to her insomnia, when he'd heard her last few words clear as a bell. "Oh?" he inquired, a brow quirked in genuine curiosity and a hope that she might elaborate without his deliberately asking.

Raven eyebrows rose at the wizard's statement of his deepened respect. "Thank you..." she replied softly, not quite sure of how to respond. She knew from her own life experiences that respect did not cross her path very often. The most she would normally get would be the fake, respect-out-of-pure-politeness, respect due from fear, or the more common option no respect at all. But Viper could tell just by looking at Sevastyan's eyes that he was being genuinely honest, which meant alot to her.

At his last question, Viper thanked all the deities out there that she upon entering she had dimmed the lights. Otherwise, the blush tinting her face would be much more obvious.

"Well, I'm not considered a particularly approachable person." she answered with a slight laugh. "I mean, look at Kiara and Eglantine. They're like best friends, contasntly there for each other helping each other out. No one ever comes to me for anything..."

A thought hit Viper and she asked with a hint of nervousness in her voice. "Why did you come to me?" She would never admit it, but she was worried that he had come to her merely because the others were not available and she was a last resort.

Sevastyan marginally tilted his head to one side in response to the soft answer. Had he said something out-of-bounds and she was just being exceptionally polite because he was still somewhat of a foreigner? It didn't seem so, but the thought did cross the Russian's mind. He didn't really have much to go on about her past, and he would have thought that being Head of a potions department in the Ministry would have awarded her with a great deal of respect.

The angle of his head increased upon hearing her hypothesis, and was increasingly curious at the laugh. Perhaps unapproachable by student standards, he mused, but thus far he'd technically approached her twice of his own accord. "Vell, I daresay that that has changed," he offered seriously but also lightly, referring to the fact that he clearly had come to her.

While he may have only been three-quarters awake, the nervous undercurrent of her question reached his ears. She had already said he wasn't disturbing her, and had worried her, but this question seemed almost the opposite. Perhaps he was looking too far into things. "Vell... erm," he began, already stumbling on his words. Immediately he busied himself with admiring another object within the room while he reorganized what he wanted to say. It was at this moment that Sevastyan was honestly thankful for dim lights.

Forcing his gray orbs back to Viper's emerald ones, Sevastyan decided that if she respected him for his honesty that he shouldn't ruin that respect by lying now. "In a part of my dream... I saw images of people I knew in the past, and know now," the Russian began hesitantly. "People I care about. ...My brother's voice said to me that if I... if I didn't reconnect vith the Darker aspects of my past that they vould be hurt by the very things I distance myself from......

"...... and yours vos the last face I saw, before I voke up." Sevastyan finished the explanation in what he considered to be a weak and lame tone of voice, without realizing that it was in fact laced with a great worry. He was not going to mention he woke up screaming: what he'd already said was far too much in his opinion.


Deciding now was as good a time as any to change the subject, Sevastyan suggested a little hurriedly, "Vell, since you vere having difficulties getting to sleep, and I myself am vide avake now: vould you like to take a valk vith me?"

Viper's mouth formed an 'o' shape, revealing her comprehension. She wasn't quite sure how to respond to his nightmare so she did the only thing she could do: reach for his hand and squeeze it reassuringly, as thought that simple action would communicate to him that nothing was going to happen to her, she'd always be there.

She was relieved at his suggestion for a walk, not quite sure what else to say regarding the topic. "I would love that." she smiled brightly.

'Shouldn't have said qvite that much...' Sevastyan decided the moment he saw Amaranth's reaction to his words. But yet... the gesture she replied with made him rethink that assessment. It meant more than any words she could have said, and he honestly didn't have any in reply. Instead, he focused his gaze upon their entwined hands, and covered her hand with his other one after casting a silent levitation spell to take hold of the goblet of vodka.

"Perhaps even Morana vill be avake," he suggested conversationally in order to keep the new brightness of the topic being discussed close at hand.

Sevastyan decided to test himself with standing on his own two feet to make sure a walk could feasibly be in order. "Do you vant to ... change, before ve leave your qvarters?" he inquired politely, not entirely sure she wanted any roaming students to see her in her nightclothes. Sevastyan was essentially covered between the midnight black, ankle-length pajama bottoms and matching over-robe so he wasn't worried about his own appearance.

Viper's gaze followed Sevastyan's, staring at their joined hands, smiling softly. The smile widened at the prospect of the beloved thestral being awake. "I'll keep my fingers crossed. Are there any treats she's particularly fond of?" she inquired, wanting to bring the thestral a present.

Viper took a quick glance at her wardrobe, contemplating for a moment, deciding in the end to forgo a new outfit. True, her nightgown was quite short and not entirely appropriate but a long black dressing gown covered her form so she wasn’t at all worried.

“No, I’m fine with what I’m wearing.” A small, playful smirk covered her face. “Unless you’d prefer it if I change. It would be an interesting sight indeed if a student or staff member caught us wandering around the forest in our nightwear. ..” Laughter splashed into her words as she spoke.

"Vell, I'm sure you know thestrals are carnivorous..." he began, trying to think of how to describe Morana's favorite treat. "She vill accept sugar cubes, but tends to like... vot is it called? I suppose it is a kind of jerky ... only not qvite as dry, and sveeter in taste due to being only lightly coated vith sugar," Sevastyan explained. He wasn't sure if such a thing was specially supplied at Hogwarts, but at least he'd gotten the two key points out: sweet, and meat - in that order, when it came to treats.

((o_O I so did not mean for that to rhyme..... lol))

Sevastyan swallowed quietly, settling for smiling and going along with the humor by offering a few soft laughs. "Votever you feel comfortable vith..." he offered, deciding to allow her that option rather than state an exact 'preference'. "Shall ve?" Sevastyan inquired, gesturing toward the direction he had presumed he'd been ushered from.


((Shall we resume at the Thestral Nest, Castle & Grounds, or Forbidden Forest?))

((lol, rhyming is fun....^_^))

Viper nodded in comprehension, summoning a few of the treats in a bag. Opening it, she withdrew a piece of beef jerky. "Is this it?"

Glad to see he did not mind whatever attire she wore, Viper returned the smile, heading over to her door exit.

((Umm, not sure. Whereever is cool.))

Sevastyan nodded, smiling. "Yes, she vill like that," he confirmed, and followed her out into the castle.


((Perhaps the Forbidden Forest? No one's posted there in a while...))

As the pair approached the familiar portrait of Slytherin's Mark and emerald flames, Viper breathed out the password. "Ghost Love Score." before leading Sevastyan into her chambers.

She breathed in the soothing, familiar vanilla scent of her chambers before waving her wand, igniting the fireplace. Shrugging off her overrobe, she opened the door to the right of the entrance, which revealed to be a coat closet and hung it on the racks, gesturing for Sevastyan to do the same, if he wished.

Viper winced slightly as she felt the coldness of the room hit her soaked, clothes to skin, form. Fishnets, despite how edgy and stylish were definately not warm. Adjusting the spell on the fireplace, she induced the flames a bit more to warm her chambers further.

Smiling a reassuring smile at Sevastyan, Viper led him further into her chambers where her bedroom was.

The room appeared to be an extension of her living room, with the same Gothic touch on the black silk curtains, black granite vanity, black armoire, you get the idea. Splashes of emerald green were around, but most noticeably in the emerald clad bed standing in the center of the room.

"The bathroom is to your left." Viper gestured to the door nearest to them so he could dry himself off and get situated as she walked towards the other side of the room to her closet to change.

Sevastyan followed her lead, and pretended not to hear the password. As the scent of vanilla reached him, the Russian couldn't help but feel a kind of relaxed alertness wash over him. Though he'd been here days prior due to a nightmare, Sevastyan hadn't recalled much of what Amaranth's rooms looked like.

At the nonverbal offer to shed the soaked overrobe, Sevastyan didn't hesitate: the heavy red cloth was drenched all the way through. However, in an attempt to shrug it off Sevastyan gave a cry of pain through clenched teeth as he felt the letter burned into his skin stretch as those muscles flexed. The surprise attack to the area between his shoulder blades also screamed rebelliously against the action. The garment came off easily afterward, however, and Sevastyan placed it stiffly upon the rack next to hers. Before his hand left the garment, though, he removed the other two potion phials: he would need them before the night was out.

He stifled a shiver, feeling a distinct combination of being too warm - from the burn mark radiating its own heat - to being thoroughly chilled because of the rain. A thankful sigh escaped him when it soon became warmer due to the fire in its grate, coaxed into intensity by the chamber's owner. Sevastyan wasn't quite sure what to make of the reassuring smile from Amaranth, but smiled in return as he was led into a different room.

The reason for her reassurances were made clear all too soon, for the first thing he took note of was the bed in the center: it was the most noticeable item in the room bedecked in the contrast color. Sevastyan couldn't help but notice that it seemed to match almost perfectly with the color of her eyes. He glanced around at the other features of the room appreciatively, finding the Gothic theme rather appealing. It sort of reminded him of his own rooms at the Kaminski Manor.

At the directions, Sevastyan nodded his appreciation. "Let me know ven you're finished - I do not vant to barge in on you," he requested, the courtesy and respect clear in his voice as he entered the specified room and closed the door.

"You is not Mistress!!" shrieked a high-pitched voice from behind him. Sevastyan jumped so in startlement that he nearly shot through the ceiling, the resulting shout of surprise likely to be heard clear through the door.

"Professor Viper is allowing me to stay as a guest due to some trouble. Vould you please retrieve something for me to change into from my qvarters?" Sevastyan appealed to the irate house-elf dressed in a black pillowcase that was tied at the waist to look more dress-like, clearly feminine by the observations he made.

The unnamed elf scrutinized him suspiciously before vanishing with a crack. Sevastyan sighed in relief and opened the door just a crack. "I don't think vone of the House elves that freqvents your qvarters likes the fact I'm here," he called with a slight laugh before closing the door again.

Viper emerged from her walk-in closet with a laugh, wearing a nightgown similar to the one she had been wearing previously, but this time emerald green. “I see you’ve met Nissy.” Viper smiled, although she knew Sevastyan could not see it since the door was mostly closed.

“Don’t mind her, she is rather protective.” She paused for a moment as she remembered the reason why the house elf was so paranoid about visitors, especially heightened considering Nissy was Tibby’s cousin. “All the house elves in Hogwarts are, really. But I have to say, I am growing quite fond of her, considering she knows where her place is and is not as excruciatingly nosy as quite a few house elves tend to be.” She laughed slightly as she sat at her vanity, removing her eyeliner, or at least the remains since the rain had done quite a job of smearing it all off. Viper made a mental note to wear her waterproof eyeliner from this point on.

“You know, Professor Delanquar’s house elf once panicked when taking care of her son Edwin and left the child to me while she searched for the Professor.” Viper smiled softly as she began brushing through her wet locks. “I was completely furious at her for thrusting such a responsibility into my hands and yet, somehow it all turned out just fine and Edwin was as safe and happy as could be.” She laughed softly, making another note to ask Eglantine when Edwin was next returning, for she had grown quite fond of him as well and, though she would never openly admit it, was looking forward to playing that muggle game with him again.

She turned towards Sevastyan, her hands still brushing her soaked raven locks. “Would you like something to drink?” Despite the roaring fire in the room beside them, it was still quite chilly to Viper and after tonight she was definitely in the mood for a drink.

"So it vould seem," Sevastyan called through the bathroom door as he shed the soaked clothes, dried himself off, and slipped on the items Nissy had grudgingly fetched for him: green pajama bottoms and a bathrobe-type garment. Protective doesn't qvite cut it... paranoid, on the other hand... he mused with a slight laugh, though couldn't help but understand on some level the reason for their jumpiness at a strange person in the normal inhabitant's quarters. A slight chuckle physically escaped him at the color the elf had chosen. Looks like I vill be coordinated vith the rest of the room, he thought.

Sevastyan listened as she spoke, having to listen a bit harder due to the fact he was still in the bathroom and was in the process of examining the mark that had been burned into his skin. The curse had gone clean through two layers of cloth and the coarse hair on his chest. "Edvin vos here at the school? At such a young age?" he asked curiously before plying the contents of the potions Viper had provided earlier to his skin.

((I'm going to assume since Viper said the violet one was to drink, which he did earlier, that the other two are topical... hope that's okay.))

A hiss of pain left his lips upon applying too much pressure to the wound, but both the crimson and silver-colored potions were soon applied despite the accidental irritation of the area. Not wanting to mess around with bandages, Sevastyan merely conjured a sort of transparent barrier between the burn and anything it could possibly come in contact with. Thinking of nothing else to do, Sevastyan slipped on his forest green bathrobe - the only piece he hadn't yet donned - and slightly sidled out just as she asked if he'd like something to drink. He wasn't far enough out to see what she was wearing yet.

"Sure. Vodka vould be my preference, if it vill not interact poorly vith the potions?" he agreed, a smile clearly infused into his tone. "I... can come out now, right?" Sevastyan added, taking half a step back into the bathroom just in case.

((Sure. No problem. ^_^ ))

"Yes, Edwin used to live here in Professor Delanquar's chambers before she sent him to France in her cousin's care." Viper replied. "He'd tag along with her to meals in the Great Hall, have us play games with him. He even came to my pool party."

As soon as she heard Sevastyan's response to her inquiry, Viper conjured two of her trademark goblets, leaving them both levitating in the air.

"No, the potion is designed specifically to not have any interaction with anything else consumed." she smiled as she thought of the potion's creator, Don Cragen, a fellow Head of the Department. "And yes, you may enter, I'm already dressed."

The smile quickly turned to a look of annoyance as her comb hit a tangle in her soaked raven locks. The witch skillfully moved the comb a bit, untangling the knot, continuing to comb the rest of her raven locks in one smooth motion.

A pool party? Sevastyan mused with more than a little bit of interest. What exactly had he missed out on while awaiting transfer?

Realizing he had the go-ahead to enter, Sevastyan realized his robe hung open and tied it closed before coming out and approaching the goblets in mid air. He especially made sure to cover the burn, though a corner of it still peaked around the cloth of his robe. Sevastyan tugged on it self-consciously, knowing what the letter was meant to stand for. The Russian suppressed a laugh when he noticed that they were wearing the same genre of color, only hers was brighter... silkier-looking... than the heavy cloth he was wearing. Realizing his observations could be misinterpreted as staring, Sevastyan focused his attention on the vanity for a few moments.

"Edvin sounds like he vos a delight to be around vhile he vos staying at Hogvarts," he noted and took a sip from the goblet he chose, watching as Viper combed her hair. Sevastyan couldn't help but feel as though he didn't belong but yet had a startling feeling of deja vu all at the same time. Though, Sevastyan reminded himself: Roxane had sandy blonde hair. However, that didn't stop the feeling... not that that had been his goal or anything. This was a pleasant deja vu, and so unlike the last time he'd had such an experience.

Viper nodded as she rested the comb back on top of the vanity, casting a drying spell on her hair. "He certainly altered my opinion of children. I once thought they were an annoying nuisances who whine, kick, and scream, but now..." she smiled softly to herself as she thought of her experiences with Edwin, playing with him, joking around with him. "Not they're not nearly the little devils I once thought they were."

Making eye contact with Sevastyan by gazing at the mirror, she noticed with amusement that they both had a liking for green before her attention attached itself to the corner of his burn sticking out from his robes.

Turning around so she could look Sevastyan straight in the eye, Viper asked "Is your burn still bothering you? I can give you a stronger dosage if you like..."

Sevastyan smiled and listened to her new opinions of children. "I've found children to be a joy, though Boris - vone of my second cousins - vos very similar in demeanor to your initial opinion," he offered, torn whether or not to get into a discussion about his ex-fiancee and her opinion on young children. Sevastyan decided to hold off for now.

Raven eyebrows rose at the question before he gazed down to figure out precisely where it could possibly be showing. "No, no, no - it's fine," he evaded, pulling on the cloth to cover it up all the way this time. "However, your offer is very much appreciated. And... thank you, for helping me earlier." One slipper-clad foot shifted to put some weight onto the other, something he did whilst standing when he was a little unsure of himself.

"You would liked Edwin. He is quite a sweet, well-mannered bot. But then again, could on expect anything less from having Professor Delanquar as a mother?" Viper laughed softly.

She nodded in an unconvinced manner in response to Sevastyan's reassurance. It was obvious that he was merely trying to evade it and judging by the glimpse she caught of the burn, clearly it was symbolic, most likely a burnt symbol. Although she was both curious and concerned, Viper didn't feel the need to badger him about it.

Instead she conjured another potion, stronger than all the other ones and left it on her vanity in case he should change his mind. She smiled as she shook her head gently, shrugging off his praise as she rose from her vanity to face him. "Your welcome. Although I should thank you as well. Not many people still manage to show chivalry after being injured themselves."