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Old 05-14-2021, 05:48 PM   #8 (permalink)
Fireheart


DMT & DMLE
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Join Date: Mar 2019
Location: Naboo
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Hogwarts RPG Name:
Avalon Sinclair
Graduated

Ministry RPG Name:
Japser Cohen
Magical Creatures
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Felixir View Post
Nem looked towards Varma, standing at that coffee bar of hers. "I'm fine, professor," they said politely, flashing a smile before going over to take up one of the seats across from the desk, running their fingertips across the rattan arms. "But thank you for the offer." From the chair, Nem took another good look at the office, eyes flicking over every available surface, taking in every sight. They landed at last on the portrait of Varma and someone who was almost uncertainly her twin, and watched it for a moment.

Back to Varma again, and Nem allowed a small, wry smile to tug at their lips for just a second. "You'd be right. Though that's worth a word or two as well." They could circle back around to that. It was the stone bridge that Nem was thinking of, though really it was all connected. Different parts of the same puzzle. Multiple moves in a single game of chess.

For the life of them, Nem still couldn't remember exactly who they'd fired spells at during the skirmish at the stone bridge - Varma could well have been one of them, but Nem had spent a large portion of their time focused on controlling the Fiendfyre, so probably not. Though they usually had excellent recall, a number of factors coming into play that night had obscured their memory; details sometimes got lost, only to resurface later, vivid as ever. By the time the fight was over, they'd been so depleted it seemed almost remarkable they could think clearly at all, let alone get through questioning at the Ministry.

"You can see, now, that we were ultimately fighting for the same side," Nem said at last, their voice level and their expression almost inscrutable, but for the eyes. Big, blue, and earnest, they fixed resolutely on the professor. "You can see that, can't you?"
Shreya nodded in understanding when Nemesis turned down the beverage. Plenty of students didn't take her up on her offers of office hospitality, which she mostly attributed to nerves and awkwardness. (As much as it frustrated her—really, she was just trying to brighten their days a bit and provide some variation from the daily Great Hall pumpkin juice.) But she also knew that the Slytherin rarely consumed potions during class. Whether it had been a recent development since she started teaching at Hogwarts, or if Nemesis had always been cautious about brews, was yet to be determined.

Perhaps they really just didn't care for a beverage at the moment, but perhaps they were just skeptical of her.

She was a bit uncomfortable at the smile that spread across Nemesis's face. The events of last term were certainly not a smiling matter, however wry it may be. Though if she had learned anything about her students last term—particularly in the Room—it was that they all coped differently. Perhaps the satirical attitude was their way of dealing with....whatever was going on.

Settling into her chair across from them, she crossed her hands together and leaned forward ever so slightly to meet Nemesis's stare. Though their piercing blue eyes were a bit disconcerting to the Potions professor, she didn't let her hesitancy show. "I'm not sure it would be so clear had one of your classmates died as a result of your actions," she replied to their question pointedly, mind flickering back to the Polyjuice lesson. Had Lucien Rosier been in a particularly more foul mood that day, students like Ashley Fox, Kale Trent and Minjae Yoon could have been seriously harmed.

"I'm not going to press you for the reasoning behind it all," she added. While every bit of her wanted to figure out why Nemesis had acted the way they did, she knew it was not her job to act as a therapist or private investigator. So she restrained herself from inquiry. "I do believe that your efforts that day on the bridge hinted to your true intentions. But do you understand that it doesn't exactly erase the pain?" Yes, she may be willing to give them the benefit of the doubt and move forward. But she wanted them to understand that their classmates may not be so forgiving.


Quote:
Originally Posted by sweetpinkpixie View Post
Atlas had both talked himself in to this follow through and out of is time and time again over the past couple of days. He felt a little crazy but then he also felt like he was being smart in his caution. Stuck in an infinite loop, perhaps what he needed was for Professor Varma to just rip the band aid off...one way or another. So here he was at the Potions Mistress' office and knocking gently on the door with one hand and a in the other hand a towel wrapped around something.

Trust was difficult to earn. A bit of a paraphrase of Healer Poppy's words during that group session but the sentiment was nonetheless true. Atlas wasn't sure who all he trusted on staff...but Professor Varma had earned it somehow.

So...let's do this...

*knock knock knock knock* ........... *knock*
Atlas Flamsteed was another student Shreya had been thinking about frequently over the summer holiday, namely about how they were coping with everything. He had experienced far more than any 12-year-old should have to endure. Not to mention that there was something just so endearing about the young Gryffindor.

A wide smile spread across her face at the sight of him in her doorway. "Good day, Atlas," she said, throwing the door open wide. The professor curiously eyed the towel in his hand, eyebrows raised. As she made her way back toward her desk, gesturing for Atlas to sit down awhile, she slid the recipe book in her hand back onto the bookshelf. "Is everything alright?" Her eyes flickered back to the towel in question.
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