"Well....I would lend you mine to try and get it back...but..." Constantine looked down for a second, and the looked up again, towards the sky, "mine is missing too," he sighed.

Max was stunned at those words. "Did you drink the coffee, too?" he asked incredulously because he was one hundred percent convinced that the coffee at the Staff Table that morning was spiked with something and that alone allowed the theft to occur.

Oh for the love of... "No, Max, I did not drink the coffee. I make my own...besides, I decided to go with a tea instead. I actually remember my day...so, I don't think my coffee was spiked."

"Hmm," Max pondered and began to scratch his chin whiskers with his index finger as he paced back and forth. "Maybe they messed with your tea leaves or perhaps confunded you AND obliviated you when they finished!"

Kylie hadn't officially met Mr. Masterson yet, she'd heard he was nice. She'd seen him in her charms class.. he seemed fun. Hilarious. She walked up to his hut--no, hut sounded rude. It was actually quite a charming place. Cabin. She decided. She walked up to his small cabin and knocked on the door a few times in a catchy little rhythm.

On a mission to find a particular photo, Constantine walked up to his hut while pulling his keys out of his pocket. "Hello," he called as he started up the little staircase to the front door. "Is there something I can help you with?"

Knock, knock, knock

Just as Mr. Masterson had requested, LouAnn was coming to see him at his hut for...well, she didn't exactly know yet. Apparently it was something really important, though, as he hadn't wanted to discuss it in front of the others who'd been in The Great Hall just yesterday. She'd thought about the reasons for the visit all evening long, too. As far as she knew, she hadn't done anything to get into trouble. Sure, she wasn't what Hogwarts would call "Student of the Year" or anything, but she was sure that she wasn't tempting expulsion either. She rocked back and forth on her heels as she waited for the door to open.

Constantine looked up from the book he was reading, and peeked over his reading glasses at the door. Roma had gotten up onto four paws all together and was already running towards the door. "Must be LouAnn," he mused, snapping the book shut and pulling his glasses off.

"Be there in a second," he called, getting himself up off the couch and headed towards the door. He opened it a crack and sure enough, it was her, so he opened the door a bit more. "Hello," he greeted with a smile.

Well, that settled it---the groundskeeper was indeed inside the hut, as LouAnn heard him calling out to her. When the door opened just a crack, she smiled and waved, letting him know it was her on the other side and not some one-eyed, one-horned, flyin' purple people eater. "Hi," she greeted, seeing that the door had finally been opened all the way.

She was relaxed, no longer nervous about what exactly she'd be called to meet with a staff member for. He'd assured her it was nothing to get too serious about. Maybe, since he'd lost his wand, he needed to borrow her's for a quick spell or something. Maybe he needed her to babysit? She glanced quickly inside his hut and, not seeing any sign of his daughter, turned her attention back to him. "Sooo...here I am!" Way to go, Miss Obvious.

Constantine laughed and nodded as he announced that she was there. "Yes...yes you are," he chuckled, "Why don't you come inside? It's chilly out there...I hope it wasn't too much of an inconvenience to come here."

LouAnn struck a little "Tada! I'm here!" pose then stepped into the groundskeeper's hut. She shook her head when he mentioned the trip being an inconvenience. "No, no. Not at all. It was just...," she said, pointing over at the castle, "...a small walk. Besides, I think you're awesome, so I don't mind coming for a little chat." She took it upon herself to take a seat, plopping down into a rather comfortable looking chair. "So, what's up?" she asked, cutting right to the chase.

"How flattering," he smiled, closing the door and watching Roma bound her way over to the chair and plop down on her butt in front of it. "Don't be afraid of Roma, she's just a big ball of fur. Not too good with being a security guard...unless I ask her too," he smiled and shrugged.

OH, right. He had asked her here for a reason. "I have something to show you...something you said the other day, it's been on my mind since then...and I'm curious." He walked over to his desk and opened up the door looking for it again. "It's just in here...give me a second..."

LouAnn jumped back a little when an enormous ball of fur came bounding her way. She wasn't afraid of dogs, but the sudden presence of a large animal had taken her by surprise. "Oh, she doesn't bother me. I like animals,"dog would like a little rub. "That's good that she'll step up to the plate and protect you if you need her, too. It's a good mix...friendly when needed, protective when needed."

She glanced up from the dog to Mr. Masterson when he said that she'd mentioned something the other day that had him curious. Her mind raced with topics they'd discussed...things she'd mentioned. "Ohhh?" she simply asked, not saying anything else. She wanted to wait and see what he was looking for.

Ah, there it was.

Gently, he pulled the photo out of his desk drawer and shut it, heading over to go sit on the couch. He smiled at the sight of Roma seeing all nice and quietly while LouAnn pet her. "Mmm, she's definitely what I need...it also makes my wife worry less."

Finally taking a seat, he held the photo out to her. "When you mentioned your parents names the other...I couldn't help but think at how convenient it was that I knew those names. I was just wondering maybe...I don't know. Do you recognize the person in the photo?"

Intrigued, LouAnn sat up straight, let the dog be for just a moment, and watched and waited to see what Mr. Masterson had in hand. Ohh...he...knew her parent's names? LouAnn's face fell, and she swallowed a little lump that had gathered in her throat. No one...no one at all...was supposed to know who she was or who any of her family members were. In quite a hurry, probably faster than she should, LouAnn took the photo from the man's hands.

For a brief moment before looking at the photo, she glanced up at Mr. Masterson, a slight look of fear in her eyes. Her eyes fell immediately down to the image in her hands, and she stared at it with an expressionless face. Several minutes passed, five she'd guess, before she glanced back up again. That man was her father---no question about it.

Mr. Masterson was a man she knew she could trust, but even still, her entire life had been based around a made up tale...a lie about who she and her family members really were. She'd been taught to live that lie, and she would...no matter what. "Nope," she said, handing it back to him. "Never seen him."

Oh. She didn't recognize him.

Oh well, it was worth the shot..right? At least now he could put his mind at rest about the whole thing. "Hmm, okay," he shrugged, "I'm sorry...I didn't mean to bother you with this. It's just...he's my cousin and I haven't seen him in a really long time. There was a part of my life where I had to tune everything and everyone out...it was almost like I didn't exist anymore," he chuckled, leaning back in his seat on the sofa. "You reminded me of him, that's all."

LouAnn's heart just sank when Mr. Masterson shrugged. She'd lied to him...and he'd apparently really been hoping that she'd know the man. She did, though. That man was her father, and she knew it. There was no denying that one. The man in the photograph was Luis Antonio...er, Purple, the man she'd been named after, for Merlin's sake. She glanced down the floor, not even feeling worthy of looking into the man's eyes after she'd point blank lied to him.

Then he started speaking again, and the words that came out of his mouth took her by so much of a surprise that she nearly gasped. She looked up at him with eyes filled with pure astonishment. If Mr. Masterson and the man in the photo were related, that meant Mr. Masterson and LouAnn were related. LouAnn stood up, sat back down, stood up, then sat back down again. After she was sure she looked fairly crazy, she simply looked up at him and said, "Oh."

Constantine's eyes had moved to the fireplace, so he'd missed LouAnn's standing-sitting exhibition. Roma, however, watched silently, her head moving with each move the girl made.

"Yeah," he smiled, not looking away from the fire. "It kind of sucks when a new life invades another." He chuckled and shook his head, pulling himself out of his reprieve. "You can go if I'm boring you," he smiled, raising an eyebrow as he looked towards her.

Normally, LouAnn would have laughed at the odd looks Mr. Masterson's dog was giving her. Right now, though, matters had turned too serious for laughter. "What do you mean...when a new life invades another? ...and what's all this about not existing anymore?" she asked, completely dodging his question about her wanting to leave. Leaving right now just wasn't an option. She sat back in her chair and made herself comfortable. She might as well, seeing as she planned to stay in this hut for quite some time.

This man was her family, and she hadn't seen any members of her family other than her parents and younger brother for five long years. For the first time...possibly ever...someone seemed to be able to understand her even just a little.

Kylie looked up at the man. "Oh. Well, no. Nothing in particular.. but I just thought I'd introduce myself. Well, I'd heard you were really cool. And in charms class you were hilarious. So, I thought I should introduce myself because you seem really cool." What was she saying? She laughed lightly at herself. She wasn't very good with introductions or first impressions. At all.
"Well, my name's Kylie."

EARLIER (to seusslover14):

Constantine smiled and nodded as he stuck his key in the door and unlocked it. "Well, thank you," he returned, stepping into the door way of his hut and then turning around so that the could continue to chat with the child. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Kylie. I am Mr. Masterson...the school groundskeeper, as I'm sure you can obviously tell," he chuckled.

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LATER (to Anna):

Well, she had asked and she didn't want to seem to leave, so he figured that she wanted to know about him. He would do so, but would, of course, leave out the finer details: the memories that were good exactly where they were. In the past.

"Well...after I graduated from Hogwarts...I didn't get a job in the magical world like all the other good kids. I worked in the muggle world...only, it was that kind of work where it was hard to keep ties with those close to you. Think of it like this: I didn't see my wife for over 10 years. 10 years! Frankly, I still believe it's a miracle we found each other today. I graduated, promising her I'd visit and keep in touch. I never did," he sighed. "Lost touch with family, including my parents. They wondered where I was for the longest time."

LouAnn listened carefully as Mr. Masterson shared a few details of things that had happened in his past. Although his story was very different, it was so similar to her's all the same. As he talked about losing touch with his family, a little stray tear trickled down her cheeks. She thought about her grandparents---both sets---that she hadn't seen or talked to since she was ten-years-old. She thought of her aunts, uncles, and cousins who thought her to be forever gone from their lives. Then she thought of the man standing before, the man she now knew to be a part of her family, and it saddened her.

...and then she was out of her chair. Running to him and hugging him the way a daughter would a father...a niece would an uncle...or a long lost cousin would another long lost cousin. "I'm sorry," she said, apologizing about so many things at once...his past...her lies...everything. She stepped away from him and returned to her chair, realizing only then that she'd hugged a man who thought her to be no more than just another kid strolling the grounds of the school. "I'm sorry...again."

Whoa.

Constantine's eyes opened wide in surprise as he suddenly felt a pair of arms around him. He successfully established that it was hug. Why? He had NO clue. He knew he was handsome, it's just....this was awkward. A little. A 5 on the richter scale, maybe.

"It's...okay," he reassured her, regarding her closely as she sat back down in the chair. "Are YOU okay?"

LouAnn could tell she freaked the man out by suddenly running and hugging him. She honestly couldn't blame him, though, as like she thought before, he saw her as just another kid walking around the grounds of Hogwarts. She knew they were family...he didn't. She nodded a few times when he asked if she was okay. Suddenly, though, her nods turned into 'no's' as she shook her head.

It was almost as if the past five years of her life suddenly came down on her all at once. All the stress of moving around...jumping from place to place and hiding who she really was...came falling down on her shoulders all at once. "I...I...I....," she mumbled, the tears now falling down her cheeks. Masterson would have to get used to this kind of behavior---he had a daughter, for Merlin's sake! Surely she'd act the same one day. "No..."

This was making his head hurt a little. First she was saying she was okay..and then she suddenly wasn't. Huh? Did...all teenage females act like this? Oi vey. Neo suddenly started praying that Jadyn would miraculously skip over this stage.

"Okay...so, you are NOT okay," he asked, just to clarify as he became more aware of the fact that she was crying. He stood up and went to go fetch the box of kleenex some distance away, handing it outto her when he had returned. "Why are you not okay?" It was just easiest to start with the basics.