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spaceThe blonde stiffened at Grayson's voice, her head snapping around to look at him with the speed of a whip, eyes wide like a frightened deer. Of all the times for him to be observant... Her jaw clenched as she fought the urge to just throw herself at him crying. She didn't need to cause a scene, didn't need to throw all her sorrow and sadness out all over the entire population of the school. Really, she should've just skipped the feast, but she'd thought for sure that it would just keep her mind off of everything... so much for that plan. Unshed tears lingered in her eyes, and she blinked them away, hand dabbing at her eyes to try and keep her mascara from smudging. Wasn't that always the sign of a woman falling apart, those huge raccoon circles around her eyes? Maybe if she could keep her makeup clean, she wouldn't look like quite such a mess. "I... this morning, a letter... from my mother..." She trailed off, turning back to her plate, fork in hand, spreading the food over the plate. "... my dad passed away this morning... I have to go home and get ready for the funeral..." She squeezed her eyes shut again, fighting the tears, trying to force them back. When the feeling subsided, she looked back at him again, offering a weak and obvious fake smile. "Not exactly how I planned on starting off my holiday... but better than it happening during the term and my having to leave the school to attend, I suppose." Her words rung hollow; there was nothing better about this, no silver lining, no 'well at least.' It was just an awful, awful thing, and Amata didn't know how she was going to make it through the next couple of days... or the rest of the holiday after, really. She spent most of her Summers with her parents, after all, catching up, having dinners at home. Last summer, they'd remodeled a couple of the rooms in her house. Now... her lips stretched to a thin line. Every bit of work he'd put into her cottage... it was all she had left, then. That and the knick knacks he'd been so fond of giving her. Her heart thumped painfully, and she looked lost, like a child.

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დ დ დ Under covers staying dry and warm
You give me feelings that I adore. დ დ დ

"The fresh smell of cold,
The winter settles down.
The bitter frost leaps at me,
Through a wonderland.
Winter's home again."

spaceAmata made her way to the Staff Table with a mostly neutral expression, though there was the hint of a frown on her face. She settled into the seat next to Grayson without thinking, almost as if it had become habit. She didn't quite realize she'd even done it until she was turning to face him. Well, she supposed that was normal... she'd been half-chasing the man for what seemed like ages now. And the part of her that wasn't mooning over him still enjoyed his company. A small smile played at her lips, her expression growing fond as she spotted the book in his hands. Typical. Half the time, she wondered how on Earth the man had anything to read, because the amount of time he spent with his nose in a book lent to the idea that he surely must've run out of new material ages ago. There were only so many books in the world, after all. She had to be thankful, though. He hadn't done a damn thing and he'd still gotten her to smile.

spaceActually, she wasn't sure if she should be thankful for that, or baffled. This crush was getting out of hand. But, at the moment, it was welcome. It was frightfully hard for her to find anything worth smiling about of late. She was glad to be back at the school, away from her home, and her mother's. Both were full of far too many memories that were far too painful at the moment. She'd even considered asking Ciaran to spend the Summer at his family's estate, knowing she'd have at least been welcome, but she did teach his nephew, so that could have been odd. Besides, she didn't need her depression spreading to anyone else... which meant she had to perk back up. She pursed her lips, figuring the man had plenty of time to read in his office, and tapped his arm before leaning back in her chair, a faint smile on her lips. At the moment, she felt, and probably looked, happier than she had since she'd heard the news of her father's death. "I see you're being anti-social again," she said, eyes flicking to the book he held in his hands. "What dusty tome do you have your nose stuck in this time?" She'd considered, briefly, offering a normal sort of greeting, hello, how are you, that sort of thing, but if she did that, she was far too likely to slip and say 'I missed you.' Better to just tease him. Safer. God, she needed to get her head on straight.

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დ დ დ Under covers staying dry and warm
You give me feelings that I adore. დ დ დ

❦Wand: Rigid, with a spiraled shaft, 11 3/8 inches, Mahogany, Pegasus Wing Feather
❦Former Chameleon Dorm Member at the Salem Institute of Witchfract and Wizardry
❦Emotional State: Excited/Curious

❦ Wearing: Simple with a touch of Formality ❦ Pet: Lullaby, a black vulture ❦ Oldest of two. ❦ My looks may change but do I?❦

❦ ❦ ❦ ❦ ❦

Professor Christina Dechering took a seat at the Hogwarts table. She had stumbled a bit walking there as her eyes kept going to the ceiling where the clear sky showed a glittering of stars. She guessed in many ways eating in the Great Hall would be a picnic. Settling into the home hadn't been all that hard, though, she would have to give a lot of credit to her little sister, Sophie, who to Christina's annoyance decided being cooped up on what she declared 'the homestead'-the five acres of land surrounded by mostly forests and fairly isolated despite being not that far from Hogsmeade- and had taken up a job in Hogsmeade, though Sophie said something about it only being a trial basis.

Shaking her head she sat down beside Núria Crespo at the staff table who Christina would guess wasn't at the very least native to the British Isles. Then again, just looking at Christina it was impossible to realize she was a Metamorphagus. She had generally stuck to natural hair colors, tonight a light brown pulled up, and her eyes she rarely changed beyond their standard blue color. In fact, her eyes were probably the one thing she had the least control over, those would change colors occasionally if her mood drastically changed. Tonight, though she was excited and curious, she was in a good mood and had nothing to be nervous about.

Smiling she nodded to Núria who seemed preoccupied by a sick looking salamander. Maybe the woman was a professor of magical creatures or something? Or maybe Christina's fellow professor took an interest in a variety of subjects and maybe even animals-something Christina could understand. After all, Christina had an interest in potions and she was most definitely not the potions professor. Her blue eyes looked out as students began to file in. As an electives professor she wouldn't have to wonder about the first years as much, though Christina was curious to see the sorting feast of the esteemed Hogwarts. After all, she was a Salem graduate of the Chameleon dormitory-which though ironic she didn't know if she should feel the slightest bit insulted about. After all, she was a Metamorphagus, it was in her nature to be adaptable at least physically.

spaceDrusilla tilted her head back and forth as she watched other professors arrive, offering a light wave to all, noticing the new faces. One woman, a stranger, dark-skinned and carrying some small little creature with her, caught her eye. The Seer watched her for a moment from her own seat, which wasn't too far from the woman's, smiling lightly, eyes dancing. She was quite, quite glad to find that she was early tonight, since she always seemed to be running late. Besides that, she liked being around people. Lulu and Amber had not arrived yet, so she continued watching the new professor, not noticing when she stood and moved to the seat next to her, eyes wide. She watched her, with her small little lizard-thing and the peppers, intrigued. She refrained from her natural impulse to try and See what was going on, instead trying to glean the purpose of the action simply by watching. After a while, though, she admitted to herself that she was stumped. "What are you doing, ducky?" she asked lightly, not even registering that the woman might be engrossed in her work and not care for any company. Besides, she was interested in what she was seeing... whatever it was. If nothing else, the small creature was sort of... cute. Drusilla had never been one for animals, really, except Darla, whom she didn't really own so much as share a chamber with. She'd simply never been allowed a pet as a child, in no small part because her mother had feared that she would forget to feed it. With Darla, she needn't worry... the cat could find her own meals (hopefully none of which were the pet of her students or fellow professors). On that note, Drusilla would have to tell the half-neazle not to eat this lizard-thing... whatever it was. She didn't know if Darla would ever happen upon it, but just in case, she would have to ensure that they had an understanding. Such was the benefit of having a half-neazle rather than a simple cat; the hybrids were smarter by far. Although, she still wasn't quite sure by just how much. Presumably enough that Darla would understand her... though the cat was stubborn and not always inclined to listen to her. Hopefully the creature would make an exception this time.

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☩ ☩ ☩ When God is gone and the Devil takes hold,
Who will have mercy on your soul? ☩ ☩ ☩

- ❖ - ❖ - ❖ - ❖ - ❖ - ❖ - ❖ -

It's¸ better【to be alone】
THAN in bad¸¸ company
--- Antes só do que mal acompanhada
--- Antes só do que mal acompanhada
--- Antes só do que mal acompanhada

Since the creature had decided to curl up and take a nap, Núria took this opportunity to reach for her napkin and wipe her hands of the chilli powder. Her hands felt like they were on fire, yet the pain was now subsiding to a tingling throb from her body getting used to the sensation. Still, it was unpleasant. It wasn't often that Núria directly applied chilli powder to her skin, but it was often enough to take the edge off, at least.

As she stained the napkin red with the powder, Núria's attention was pulled away from the salamander to a woman who seemed to have appeared right next to the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. Moments ago, the seat was empty and now this woman with clear blue eyes stared at her in wonder and interest from only a short distance away. Leaned in with interest, she had asked. "What are you doing, ducky?"

Dark dreads tumbled around Núria's face as she examined this stranger. Her hair was dark and large, spiraling down to her shoulders in beautiful curls. Núria had seen many women with curly hair, but this one had a blithe air about her. She seemed relaxed and outgoing; outgoing enough to speak with a professor she had not met. Núria liked this woman already.

"Ah, I am taking care of this salamander. She was not feeling so very good." Núria responded, glancing back down at the creature that was scorching the table slightly with its body. The pepper it was clinging to was now a charred mess, black on the one side closest to it and shriveled on the other. "She had scale rot," she explained further, pointing to the dull and flakey scales that were now covered in chilli powder.

Núria discarded the napkin, which was now covered in a big red stain. She would have to wash her hands to remove the rest of the powder but, for now, this would have to suffice until the end of the feast. At least the pain was fading into the background. Removing the excess powder would help to decrease the throbbing, but she would still feel something until tomorrow or even the next day.

"My name is Núria Crespo," she smiled, her hands awkwardly held out in front of her over her plate, "I would give you handshake, but the chilli is very strong." Núria explained with a slight embarrassment at her broken English. She glanced down at her lap as she folded her hands there, trying to make herself less awkward than she already was.

Made by Vampire Toy. Please do not change the code, claim this as yours, or share with monkeys. Especially not the monkeys. Enjoy! Special thanks to Real Near for her help and inspiration. She is a true artist and I love her work. <3

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Hɪsᴛᴏʀʏ ᴏғ Mᴀɢɪᴄ || Rᴀᴠᴇɴᴄʟᴀᴡ Pʀᴏғᴇssᴏʀ || Sᴛᴜᴅʏ ᴏғ Aɴᴄɪᴇɴᴛ Rᴜɴᴇs

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Grayson looked up and realized that Amata had sat next to him. He lifted the book fractionally so Amata could read the cover. It was definitely an older book, but not leather-bound like the tomes in the school library. It instead was a muggle book, and one that looked well-worn from the state of the cover. He tapped the title and gave her a sideways grin. "Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire, actually. Pretty good read, though a lot of people would disagree there. I read it when I was a kid, and I pick it up every now and then to reread it if I'm just looking for something to pass the time."

Grayson looked Amata over, definitely noting the fact she seemed a lot better than she had the last time he saw her. At least she wasn't openly grieving now. He understood how hard it had to be to lose a loved one, but he wasn't so good at the comforting bit, regardless on how he seemed to do at the funeral. He at least was glad that she seemed to be moving on, in any case. He cocked an eyebrow at her and considered her for a moment. "So, how was the rest of your summer? I mean, well, um, it wasn't bad, was it?"


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Location: Great Hall
Thinking: Interesting read...
OOC: ...


Now where did I put that wand?