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

Eglantine smiled softly. "Shall I bring him back now? or later?" she asked, holding out her hand for the rare poison.

Viper hesitated a moment, suspician still burning in her eyes. "I want your word, first. Swear to me that you won't go against what you promised and in the event that Dracovan is brought to life, you won't use the bond that will exist between the two of you to your advantage. I won't have you bringing my brother back to life to become your puppet."

Eglantine nodded. "Very well. I so swear to keep my word. Dracovan Viper shall be his own when returned from ash. The bond shall not be used. All shall be as it was destined to be." A silverly light sealed the wizard's oath and she sighed.

Satisfied, Viper slowly nodded and tossed the asp-blood filled piece of silver to Eglantine.

"What state will Dracovan be in when you revive him?" Viper asked as she summoned various potions, both strengthening and healing potions to levitate beside her.

Dracovan hadn't been dead for very long. In fact, the time he spent in Azkaban apart from Viper was far longer than when he was dead, but Viper couldn't help herself. She was never an only child. True, her family was broken and small, but she always had at least one family member, in one form or another: in Azkaban or free.

"He will be exactly how I wish him." Eglantine replied softly. She pointed Excessum down at the rug and closed her eyes. The voice of Dravocan Viper was silent, but she still sought until she found him, deep within the ash core.

"Geben Asche Körper... Körper Leben." she whispered. ((Give ash body... body life))

Ash spilled from the tip of her wand. Light followed them shaping the ash into a column which stood in the centre of the room. Eglantine gasped as Excessum wrapped its powerful tendrils about her. Only two more words were needed to bring Dracovan Viper back to the land of the living.

"Viva Gero." she whispered. Pain ripped through body, as Excessum lifted from her wheelchair. Light poured from her body as she began to spin. The column of ash lifted as well and a red glow surrounded it. A silver light left Eglantine and melted into the ash.

There was a groan of inhuman voicing and Eglantine finished the final bonding that would give Dracovan the freedom his sister had requested. Then it was finished.

Where the column of ash had stood now stood Viper's brother, healthy and whole.

Eglantine collapsed on the floor, blood dripping from her nose and mouth. She quickly lifted her handkerchief to her mouth and levitated from the room. The asp blood was in her possession, and she was far too weak to remain conscious for much longer. With little thought, she made her way toward the entrance hall.

((continued in the entrance hall))

"Dracovan..." Viper breathed out as she rushed to her brother's side. She was vaguely aware that Eglantine was collapsed on the ground, bleeding but this proved to be one of those moments where one had to choose between family and other. Naturally, Viper chose other, considering the circumstances and that Dracovan had just been dead. She did cast a glance over to Eglantine though, to make sure she was alright, only to see her make her way out of Viper's chambers.

"A-Amaranth?" Dracovan muttered as he rose into a semi-sitting position, clutching his head. "Damn, that is the last time I take the Roulette Challenge at the Hog's Head, I'm telling you! Where am I?" he asked as he looked around the room, assuming it was the Slytherin common rooms by the decor. He looked to Viper with a rather unfocused gaze. "Bloody Hell, Amaranth. You still haven't graduated Hogwarts, yet?"

Viper raised an eyebrow, slightly thrown off by his question. "I graduated four years ago... Dracovan, what's the last thing you remember?"

Dracovan's eyebrows furrowed for a moment. "Azkaban..." he whispered in a confused tone. "Hey Amaranth, where's Levi?"

Viper froze. Levi was short for Leviathon, who had died quite some time ago...

"Dracovan, Levi's dead. He's been dead. For a while... Don't you remember?"

Dracovan thought for a moment. "Oh yeah... That's right. He's dead. They all are..."

"Dracovan, what exactly do you remember?" Viper asked with a hint of worry in her tone.

"I can't say for sure. I remember most things... but there are, gaps, if you will. I remember that people are dead, and that Odessa is disowned. But I don't remember how it all happened. I can't even remember what happened after Azkaban!" Dracovan exclaimed as he leaned back against the wall, his head spinning with thoughts while Viper stood nearby, wondering if she had made a mistake and would regret bringing her brother back to life.

Sevastyan wove his way through the dungeons with ease, knowing precisely where he was going. After all of the going back and forth between his chambers and the personal quarters of his love, the wizard had to become acclimated to the subterranean environs. How could he not?

Arriving at the familiar stretch of wall where Amaranth's chambers were located via a magically-sealed entrance, Sevastyan whispered the password to Viper's chambers and headed on in. In the unlikely event she wasn't there, Sevastyan decided that his presence would be a pleasant surprise for her after their 'long' day of teaching...

"How about Malucci? What's that bloke been up to?" Dracovan inquired, sipping and playing with his goblet of vodka.

"Dead." Viper answered simply, sipping at her goblet. She had spent most of the time that had passed since Dracovan's resurrection informing him of various facts, as it was evident he had quite a few gaps in his memory. In fact, he didn't even recall escaping from Azkaban and arriving at Hogwarts, much to Viper's dismay.

"Thank Merlin. About time that scumbag died. Enlighten me, how'd he pass on?"

Viper scoffed. "You killed him. You threw a Runespoor Fang at his throat."

Dracovan thought for several moments, a smile growing upon his face. "I remember! Ha! He deserved it though, you have to admit!"

Viper nodded silently, recalling the jerk of a wizard her brother had killed. "That he was."

The sound of the entrance to Viper's chambers alerted the siblings to glance that direction, revealing Sevastyan Kaminski, the love of Viper's life.

Viper gaped in suprise, unaware of just how much time had passed. "Hey love..." she greeted rather nervously, wholly aware of just how it may look to a wizard, seeing your girlfriend sitting in her chambers, drinking with a man he had never met. The witch cursed inwardly, wishing she had shown Sevastyan a family portrait just once.

Dracovan raised an eyebrow, observing Sevastyan warily with intense suspicion. "Amaranth... who's the bloke with the pony tail?"

Sevastyan hadn't thought about knocking. Why would he have need to knock when they practically shared each other's quarters these days? No - knocking had long since become obsolete in regards to his interactions with Amaranth.

Or at least that had been what he thought until now, spotting the love of his life and... well, to be honest Sevastyan had no idea who the other man was. Amaranth's surprise and nervous greeting weren't quite the reactions he'd hoped to have elicited from her... at least, not that kind of surprise. A similar sentiment surfaced on his stormy gray orbs. At first the greeting he had been about to bestow Amaranth had become stuck in his throat, but he managed a very soft return greeting using the same words.

It seemed rather odd to him that the love of his life and this other gentleman were in Amaranth's own chambers, drinking together... should Sevastyan be glad he potentially 'interrupted' something?

Sevastyan was not a possessive wizard: Amaranth was more than welcome to have other male friends aside from himself! It was only fair, considering he had female friendships outside the circle of intimacy that was reserved for Viper and only Viper. He was not one to dominate every little thing. But seeing his love potentially with another male in such a setting made an alarm go off in his head.

Just how close were these two? Sevastyan wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer. If this man wasn't family, and Sevastyan was pretty sure Amaranth had said her siblings were all dead, save a sister... that really only left one other option as to why she'd allow him access into her personal domain. After all, not even he invited just anyone into his personal chambers...

"Amaranth... who's the bloke with the pony tail?"

Sevastyan focused fully on the 'newcomer' and couldn't prevent similar sentiments of distrust and suspicion from occurring even though he barely knew him. The other wizard's suspicion did not set with the Russian at all. In fact, in a way it supported the theory he really didn't want to think about. Sevastyan forced himself to remain neutral and not make any assumptions until he had some answers. At least, not outwardly. Inwardly, he'd already come to one conclusion, hadn't he?

"I am Sevastyan Kaminski, Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts and..." Sevastyan paused, wondering if he dare take the chance of making a fool of himself. "...as vell as Amaranth's boyfriend and colleague." The wariness of his eyes was reflected in his voice.

Turning to Amaranth, Sevastyan searched her emerald eyes for an answer to an unspoken question. Raven brows furrowed, their owner not knowing what to make of this situation. "I... am interrupting. I did not know you had company," he stated, each word coming out softer than the last.

Forcing himself to swallow and hoping against hope he was all wrong about this, Sevastyan asked, "Who is your friend?" while gesturing politely in Dracovan's direction.

Viper winced upon noticing Sevastyan's reaction, her nervousness deepening as she noticed the effect Dracovan's suspician had on him. How does a witch tell their love that their murdering brother has come back to life? However, it seemed that Dracovan solved that problem as comprehension dawned upon his matching emerald orbs.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, Mate, I swear, it's not like that at all! I'm Amaranth's brother! Not her, well, not like you to her. That'd be wrong..." Dracovan shuddered. "I'll admit, our family is a bit heavy on blood purity and tradition but even we have our limits, I can assure you!" he laughed lightly.

Viper rolled her eyes, a small smile playing as she rose from her seat and walked over to Sevastyan, entwining her hand with Sevastyan's and bringing him towards the couch to Dracovan. She gave him a quick kiss of affection and reassurance before making the introduction, tentatively, hoping Sevastyan would keep calm and not judge Dracovan based on what the deeds the wizard himself could not remember. "Love, this is Dracovan Viper, my brother."

Dracovan beamed at the wizard, rising from the couch. "So this is the wizard who stole my little sister's heart. It's a pleasure to meet you, Professor." He extended his hand in greeting.

Sevastyan quirked a raven brow at the other wizard. Had he been that transparent? The Russian made a mental note to try to school his face and voice a bit better next time. Why had Dracovan's reply been so hasty, Sevastyan wondered? Unless he thought that... now that was a comical notion. If he had caught them being romantic, it'd be another story, but they were just sitting here. And if the other wizard's words were true, then nothing else would or could have transpired... but yet Sevastyan didn't believe everything he heard or read, either.

A sense of tentative relief washed over him when she approached. Once their hands were entwined, Sevastyan gave hers a gentle squeeze while he was being led to the seating area. The kiss, no matter how quick, was what did it for him; what eased the last of the doubt from his mind. For surely, if they were anything other than siblings, the other wizard would have not remained quiet.

The Russian blinked once, but otherwise made no move to acknowledge he'd heard of Dracovan. Hadn't Professor DeLanquar claimed to have killed him not long ago for trying to harm her son, Edwin? Sevastyan was fairly certain of the name. However, the Russian did acknowledge Dracovan's presence with a still slightly-wary nod of greeting.

What kind of a brother was this Dracovan? The kind that did or didn't mind their sister having a boyfriend? Sevastyan wasn't so sure it was safe to let his guard down yet. Despite said caution being set on 'high', Sevastyan was caught a bit unawares by the smile Viper's brother provided. Genuine... or act...?

"So this is the wizard who stole my little sister's heart. It's a pleasure to meet you, Professor."

A small smile stretched and curled the corners of the Russian's lips upward. "Please... call me Sevastyan," he offered, taking the man's hand in a firm but not vice-like grip and shaking it in greeting. "And the pleasure is shared."


"You sure I am not like... grindylow amidst svans?" Sevastyan asked, not wanting to intrude on quality brother-sister time. The swan happened to be the most beautiful avian creature he could think of at the moment.

Dracovan was a little confused as to why the other wizard seemed a bit uneasy by his prescence, even with both his and his sister's reassurances, but decided to brush it off with a smile, returning the handshake. "Only if you call me Dracovan." he countered.

"Swans?" Dracovan snickered. "I've been called many animals before in my lifetime: toad, pig, cow, well you get the idea. But never a swan." he chuckled. "You're not intruding at all, mate! After all, I do need to observe the man my sister's with." he winked.

Viper rolled her eyes at her brother's behavior. "Really, love. We want you to stay. You and Dracovan should get to know each other." You need to know the Dracovan I know... Viper thought to herself as she led the two men over to the sitting area and took a seat on the couch.

Dracovan followed his sister's example, opting to levitate in a sitting position. "So Sevastyan, why don't you tell me a little about yourself." He requested as he observed Sevastyan from head to toe, noting his appearance closely. He grinned wickedly before conjuring a quill and notebook to make notes with. "Come now, don't be shy!"

"Fair enough, Dracovan," Sevastyan replied. Like with Amaranth's name the first time he said it, he had a tendency to roll the 'r' about a second longer than was needed.

The Russian couldn't help but grin as the other wizard counted off different animals he'd been compared to. Sevastyan, in his own youth, had been dubbed with similar titles. His countenance did not slip at all at the mention that Dracovan would be observing him. On the contrary, Sevastyan respected it. After all, he'd keep his eyes on any man that decided to cross his sister's romantic path. However, he couldn't decide whether or not that meant he should relax or if he should still maintain his current level of alertness.

"You both have good point. But yet, I vould also understand had you two vanted more time on your own vithout interference..." he explained as he was led - and willingly followed - to the seating area. Sevastyan followed suit, levitating while appearing to be seated.

Stormy gray orbs settled on the wizard known as Dracovan the moment he heard his name. For those that could read things through one's eyes, it would appear that he was far more relaxed than when he first came in but either could or would not simply let his guard drop entirely at the drop of a hat. Sevastyan's instincts and life experiences simply didn't allow it even though he was perfectly at ease while sitting next to Amaranth. While the request and keen observation didn't give him any reason to fret, Sevastyan was rather curious about the notebook and quill that had been conjured.

"I am not sure how much there is to tell," Sevastyan said with a small shrug. "I come from the all-vizarding sector of Saratov, an oblast - or province - in the southern portion of Russia."

"Is there anything... in particular... you vish to know?" he asked curiously, though the question was extended to both Vipers, not just one.

"On the contrary, mate, there's loads to tell! Your history, parentage, interests, likes, loves, dislikes, hates... Come on now, don't be stingy with information!" Dracovan replied, his quill jotting into his notebook as he took a sip of his goblet. He was rather suprised to hear that his sister was in a relationship. In fact, he was willing to bet it was her first real relationship! True, Viper was by no means innocent or naiive and had her own affairs, but none that she ever expressed a desire to pursue and explore. What was different about this bloke?

"How old are you, by the way?" Dracovan asked as he observed the wizard keenly. He could tell Sevastyan was a bit older than he himself, though he doubted it was even a thought between the two. He was rather good-looking, Dracovan decided after a moment of observing, so that could play a part in his sister's interest.

Viper smiled and shook her head. She and Sevastyan had been together for, in her opinion, quite a bit of time so she didn''t feel the need to question Sevastyan in the manner Dracovan had decided to. Instead she summoned a goblet for Sevastyan, kissing him as she handed it to him.

A slightly nervous, small laugh issued from Sevastyan at the informational possibilities. If the wizard that was speaking weren't already a grown man, Sevastyan would have compared him to a small child that loved to ask questions. Or, at least, that would be his impulse comparison. In theory, it was logical to want to know everything about one's sister's romantic interest. He saw Amaranth smile and shake her head, which in turn made him relax and smile genuinely. Not that he hadn't been before...

"I am thirty-four years old," Sevastyan explained before accepting both goblet and kiss from the current love of his life. However, he didn't immediately partake in the drink for he could feel the lingering sensation of her lips upon his.

"Vell... let's see," Sevastyan began, slightly stalling as he had no idea where to begin. "My father's family started out as poor-to-middle-class purebloods in the seventeen-hundreds, though have since become as prominent in Russia as the pureblood families here. My mother's side is also pure, but considered half for a reason not even my own mother understands. Status of blood vos not emphasized too much.

"I have two siblings, both younger: a brother, Grigoriy Kaminski, and a sister who ve call Sveta. My sister, and yours-" Sevastyan paused briefly to give Amaranth's hand a gentle squeeze with his free hand, "-are about the same age."

Deciding this was sufficient information on his family, unless Dracovan had other questions, Sevastyan took a sip of the vodka within his goblet and attempted to mentally scour another one of the topics to address...

Dracovan nodded as his original suspicions on the wizard's age were confirmed. He wasn't too suprised for Viper did tend to prefer older men, but considering she was quite serious about this one, Dracovan felt obligated to observe and examine further. An age gap of at least 10 years between them... Rather large, he thought.

A grin graced Dracovan's face upon hearing that Sevastyan's blood was pure, relief and delight coursing through him. At least she hadn't gone the Odessa route, he mused. "Wonderful! That is of course a delight to hear! Can't have another sister disowned, can I?" he joked, not really thinking about whether or not his sister had really gone into details in regards to family history.

"A sister, eh? You know, I've been in the single-loop far too long. Perhaps you could introduce us?" he winked. His interest and acknowledgement of Sevastyan's siblings rose, especially at the mention of a brother. Grigoriy Kaminski? Well that name certainly sounded familiar, Dracovan smiled to himself.

He contemplated the information he received for a moment before deciding he'd like a bit more to add in his notebook. "Amaranth, do you have any plans for later on today?"

Viper shook her head in response, smirking. "None that I feel imperative that you be informed of. Why?"

It took a moment for Dracovan to comprehend what Viper was insinuating, but when he did he gagged, shuddering at the thought. "Lovely, dear. Get lost, will you?" he shot a cheeky grin at Sevastyan. "I want a man-to-man chat with Sevastyan."

"Wonderful. Find a man to be able to talk to Sevastyan and you'll be all set." Viper jested, her smirk full-throttle.

Dracovan stuck out his tongue at her. "Ha ha, very funny. As though Grandfather's little speeches weren't traumatizing enough. Now shoo! I told you, I want a moment with your man!"

Viper shrugged. "Very well. I need to pick up a few things from my office anyway."

She shot a reassuring look at Sevastyan, giving him a full, farewell kiss before teasingly whispering in his ear. "Dracovan's is terrified of spiders. If he goes overboard, which knowing him he probably will, just conjure a giant spider and you'll be all set." she winked, gently brushing a stray hair away from his face.

Sevastyan attempted to recall everything Amaranth had said about her family. A lot of her forebears were deceased, he knew, and she had at least a sister still living... to his recollection he did not remember talk of bloodstatus. Regardless, a family member disowned was no laughing matter to Sevastyan and thus he kept a neutral expression on his face.

He'd been in danger of being disowned a few times, but most extensively when he'd turned away from leading so dark a path and headed toward the lighter magics. Though he still had a fascination with the darker arts, Sevastyan did not practice quite as openly as he once did.

"Perhaps it could be arranged," Sevastyan agreed, though couldn't help but be slightly curious at Dracovan's interest.

A smirk twitched the corners of his own mouth at Dracovan's question, which was immediately followed by a quiet snicker at his love's reply. Needless to say, it hadn't taken him long at all to decode her words. Interestingly enough, not to mention rather obviously, Sevastyan had the same plans... or something very similar.

One raven eyebrow raised slightly at the demand for Amaranth to leave the room. A 'man-to-man chat'? he wondered to himself. Sevastyan's curiosity increased: was this the part where Dracovan mentioned that if Sevastyan hurt his sister in any way that he would need to crawl into the deepest hole he could find? The Russian wizard was fairly certain that came perhaps a bit later, normally... Sevastyan would never do such a thing, but it was practically an unspoken protocol of being an elder brother, he supposed.

A slightly louder snicker escaped him at Viper's jest. When she conceded to leave him alone with her brother, Sevastyan slowly released her hand and busied himself with a sip of vodka.

Sevastyan accepted and returned the kiss wholeheartedly, and listened intently to her whisperings. "Very vell," he replied with a bit of amusement, closing his eyes briefly as the offending strands of hair were pushed from his face. In return Sevastyan caressed the backs of his fingers first upward from Amaranth's jaw line to her cheekbone. Said hand gently tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, fingertips trailing down the path they had come. The action did not take long, but nor did he rush.

While his sister had appreciated the returned display of affection, leaning into the contact, Dracovan cleared his throat rather loudly, a bit uncomfortable being the "third wheel", so to speak. Especially when one of those wheels happened to be his younger sister!

"Yes, yes, photo-momento, indeed, but come on now, Amaranth. Go!" Dracovan sighed in mock-exasperation, making a shooing gesture with his hands.

Viper smirked in response, but obliged, giving Sevastyan one last kiss before exiting the chambers.

Once the door shut once more, Dracovan turned to focus all of his attention on the older wizard. "So... what exactly are your intentions in regards to my sister?" he asked, narrowing his emerald eyes slightly for effect.

Dracovan wasn't as suspicious or cautious as he was letting on, instead grinning inwardly. If anything he rather liked the other wizard. He seemed like a nice bloke. Not to mention his sister was in no way daft, and if she cared as much for him as was evident, then Sevastyan must really be a treasure indeed!

No, for the most part this was just the nearly obligatory 'Big Brother' warning. Most likely unecessary as well. After all, in the extremely unlikely even that Sevastyan did something to hurt Viper, chances are she'd probably get to him faster than Dracovan would...

Sevastyan couldn't help but smirk at Dracovan's insistence, briefly closing his eyes part of the way in a downward gaze. He leaned into the bestowed kiss this time, and watched as she walked out of the room.

When Dracovan spoke again, the Russian wizard returned his attention to Amaranth's brother. At the question, and narrowed eyes, Sevastyan couldn't help but put up his guard in the mental sense. It was a reflex of his. For all outward appearances, though, Sevastyan kept a pensive countenance. "I intend to treat her vith the respect and affection as is appropriate of my role in our relationship..." he replied neutrally, "...vherever it and fate decides to lead us."

((continued from uncharacteristically dark corridor)) ((sometime late in the night))

Professor DeLanquar's cream tabby Patronus entered the room through the door.
"There is a smoke bomb in the corridor! Hurry!" Eglantine's normally calm voice held a note of fear.

Sevastyan had only been asleep for a little over two hours when the patronus entered signaling danger. However, he fearful hearkening had woken him from his light slumber immediately. In his half-wakefulness, Sevastyan found himself in a bit of a dilemma: go with the patronus, or stay with Viper? That is, in the event she hadn't heard the call for help. With a soft kiss to her cheek, Sevastyan slowly extricated himself from the covers, summoned and donned a house robe, and made to follow the patronus at a jog.

"C'mon, vake up!" he urged himself. "You need your vits about you if you're going to deal vith a bomb..."


(headed to Uncharacteristically Dark Corridor)

((Christmas Morning))

Green eyes stared with affection at the wizard laying beside her. It was an important day for both of them, the first of, hopefully, many Christmases. For what felt like hours, Viper had been awake, mentally willing time to move faster. It was ironic and a bit amusing for the Potions Mistress, when she thought of how normally during her and Sevastyan's quality time together, she wished time would stop all together, and not an obstacle in their moments, but now, at this time, was all she could think about and wish would move faster.

A few more moments passed before Viper felt as though she would burst with excitement if she stayed still for another moment. Carefully, she summoned a small black dragon-skin box and opened it slowly, revealing one of her gifts for Sevastyan: an emerald ring.



The design was of two snakes gently entwinned, engraved with her and Sevastyan's initials, and various messages speaking of love and devotion in both Russian and Parseltongue. On the emerald itself was a small image of her and Sevastyan together, gently lip-locked. The ring was charmed so only Sevastyan would be able to see the personalized touches, and that if any of the emotions used to create the added effects diminished or faded wholly, then the images and engravings would fade as well.

As carefully as she could, Viper took out the silver chain that also rested in the black box, sliding the ring through it, making it into a necklace. With very gentle ease as to cause as little distubance as possible, Viper laid the chain around Sevastyan's neck, placing the ring in between his collar bones before crawling underneath the covers once more, pretending to be asleep.

Sevastyan slept on in peaceful slumber, his mind acknowledging the presence beside him. His dreaming mind also reminded him that it was Christmas - and that it would be his and Amaranth's first holiday together. 'And hopefully by no means the last,' his mind-voice echoed about his head. It had been great fun decorating the tree with her: a tradition he often did with his own family with one of the many trees throughout the family manor. House-elves often did the other trees throughout the massive home.

The wizard wavered in between sleep and semi-awakeness, with the former getting much more time in. He dreamed that - any minute now - a very young Svetlana would bound into the room to wake him and wish him a Merry Christmas. Amaranth soon walked into the room after Sveta, a smile also on her face. For some reason, Sveta thought he was Maksim, calling to him, "Daddy, Daddy! It's Christmas!" While his mind tried to tell the child-image of his sister he wasn't her father, his mouth couldn't do it. And then in came Grigoriy, who then proceeded to do the same... How Amaranth fit into all of this, especially considering he should've been in his mid-to-late teens, baffled him.


Cold metal... on his skin...


A muscle in Sevastyan's cheek twitched upon the contact of metal to his bare skin, but he relaxed soon after. He couldn't be positive it was metal. For all he knew it could've been Amaranth tracing shapes along his collar. Perhaps even it was his torso that was in fact cold, while Viper's hand was warm... a kind of sensory illusion making him think the new contact was cold instead of his skin.

The sound of covers rustling made him turn his head in his sleep, listening in his half-awakeness for any further sounds of stirring. Sevastyan's efforts to listen slowly pulled him out of the weird dream where he apparently was his father, yet a younger incarnation of himself seemed to be missing. Not hearing anything thereafter the Russian slowly started to drift back to sleep, an arm reaching to make sure Amaranth was still with him. A subconscious sigh left his lips upon feeling silk, a body definitely not his own beneath it.

Gray eyes slowly opened, blinking away sleep. Amaranth was the first sight he took in, appearing to be in a state of peacefulness as well. That didn't surprise Sevastyan any, though: just having her near to him was bliss. Dare he even think of touching her, kissing her awake and pulling his love from what might just be one of the best dreams she's ever had?

He dared, under assumption that he could make whatever fantasy she might be dreaming a reality if she so wanted. Quietly, so as not to disturb her, Sevastyan propped himself up on one elbow. He felt something odd, like a necklace, about his collarbone but for the moment focused entirely on the witch beside him. As he started to lean forward to kiss her, Sevastyan heard a faint jingling sound, and then something small bump into his chest.

Well, now this was an interesting dilemma. Either he could investigate the strange noise and sensation at his bare chest, or follow through with his initial plan and kiss Amaranth awake. Stormy irises leapt back and forth between Viper and an invisible location used to represent the unknown variable. There were pros and cons to both. Sevastyan decided to compromise: the hand connected to the elbow propping him up started searching for the possible source of the jingling noise at his neck. With the other hand he gently caressed the length of Amaranth's cheek before slowly approaching and placing a tender kiss upon her lips.

There: both situations appeased. But... what was a chain doing around his neck?

Viper sighed silently at the comfortable warmth and weight of Sevastyan's hand on her back. She had to use every ounce of her self-control to not grin madly or dissolve into excited laughter. A soft whisper of guilt filled her for waking Sevastyan in this manner, especially when she noted the peacefulness on Sevastyan's face. Briefly, she wondered what he was dreaming of. If it was perhaps something crazy like pink flying elephants and marshmallow mountains, or something more personal...

Her excitement intensified when she felt the bed shift slightly as Sevastyan repositioned himself, as well as the gentle jingle cadencing from her gift to him. She sighed again, this time audibly when she felt Sevastyan's gentle caress upon her cheek, followed by a soft kiss, which she returned wholeheartedly.

"Happy Christmas, love..." she breathed out once the kiss ended, shifting slightly to get closer to Sevastyan. A hand mirrored Sevastyan's actions, caressing his cheek gently, skirting down the side of neck, with one finger skirting across the ring to draw attention to it, before meeting his lips once more.

While she had her own varied assortment of Christmases, both good and bad, she knew this Christmas would be the best she had ever celebrated thus far. It didn't matter that Viper Manor was no longer decked in it's most festive gear with crowds of people drinking and laughing, or that ECHO's famous celebrations with gigantic cauldrons filled with various beverages and festive frivolities were no more. She had Sevastyan, and he was all she would ever need.

Sevastyan's face split into a grin at the sigh that escaped the witch beside him. He wondered what precisely she was dreaming about, though the returned kiss seemed far too conscious a reciprocation. Why hadn't she awakened him, he mused? However, he soon dismissed the quandary. Sevastyan liked to watch her sleep when he could... perhaps she was the same way.

"Happy Christmas," he replied in kind, reveling in the fact that she shifted to be nearer to him. Her caress sent a shiver of delight down his spine, causing him to smile and lean into the contact. Sevastyan's attention briefly focused on where her fingers trailed, but the kiss soon monopolized all thought as accepted and reciprocated the emotions contained therein.

It was a very Happy Christmas, indeed, and it was still only morning! Most of his Christmases were pleasant, with a few less-than-joyous ones, but Sevastyan felt this one was be one of the best he'd ever had to date. Roxane - the name a mere ghost of memory with a heavily blurred face - had always wanted to travel, buying him gifts in the form of muggle transportation here or a muggle resort there. His heart just wasn't into travel on holidays where spending time with family was key. Technically, the day Russians celebrated Christmas was a good 2 weeks away. But yet, despite that, Sevastyan was still certain this one was going to be the best. Amaranth was here at his side, and that was all that he really needed.

When the kiss ended, Sevastyan focused on the trail Viper's fingers had made. The path of said digits was still vividly clear in his mind. Looking down, without bumping heads with Amaranth, Sevastyan's eyes widened upon finding a ring at the end of the chain he was wearing. A moment passed in which he attempted to remember having gone to sleep wearing a ring upon a chain, and couldn't recall doing so. Wrapping the arm propping himself up around Viper, the wizard took up the ring in his other hand and examined it.

It was definitely a rather handsome ring, the serpent motif getting a wide smile out of him. He read the initials of his name and hers, and quotes of love and devotion in Russian, but couldn't understand the other language some of the text seemed to be written in. Then, an image upon the emerald in the ring's center caught his eye. Focusing on it, Sevastyan couldn't help but chuckle lightly upon seeing an image of the himself with Amaranth, gently kissing. Because he knew he'd never seen the ring before, he deduced that this was a gift from the woman beside him.

"It is..." Sevastyan paused, clearly attempting to find the right word. "...stunning, Amaranth. Vords can't describe it... Thank you." With that said, he leaned forward slightly and caught her lips with his in a much more passionate lip-lock than he'd woken her with. While they kissed, Sevastyan removed a small black dragon leather box - with an emerald green satin ribbon - from under his pillow and non-verbally charmed it to levitate mere centimeters from her lap.

"I vill vear it alvays," he added in promise when the longer, deeper display of affection had concluded. Upon the last word, Sevastyan released the box from the charm gently so that his gift now discreetly rested on her lap. He hadn't thought about stringing the necklace on her while she was asleep... Sevastyan now wished he had: it would've made an interesting yet perfect gift exchange.