SIGH. Okay, really, they wouldn't be interested in ice cream, they didn't even take the ice cream machine, did they? But Lottie made absolutely no comment on the matter, because she was starting to become aware of their situation.

NEVER AGAIN will be listening to Lex.

He wanted sapphires, then? Well, he could've mentioned that earlier. Sadly, not even Lottie had sapphires to offer. Lex had them all.

Lottie might have narrowed her eyes at the man. Hufflepuffs. UGH. She was breathing just to keep herself from saying something everyone will regret. Calm and collected, okay. Smirk. Thank you, Lex. "Stereotypes." Not everything is what it seems, and she refrained from saying so because it could be used against them. "I'm a Hogwartian." Not that he cared, he was interested in gemstones.

Her room? Well, the suggestion of going through her things was definitely a violation of some law somewhere. She doubted this man cared about it, though. So, she didn't defend that thought. What he would find: One less set of curtains and Hufflepuff banners, that should be installed back within the week. Of course, she could see how he'd take that statement against her. "Nothing out of the ordinary, I guess. Except for one bright pink pygmy puff." You know whom she needed right now? Tucker. That Hufflepuff boy was amaziiiiing with words.

EASY. "I'm not fond of the color yellow." Laugh all you want at her misfortunes for belonging in the House of the yellows, we don't care. "First, Sir," she started to say, straightening herself up, "It is admission of nothing," she wasn't admitting anything, quite frankly, "I don't steal," why would she, anyway? "I don't lie to Professors." TRUE, and she really wanted to tell him she had three rubies, actually, in case he'll let them go, but...decided against it. Look how well Lex was sticking to her story. Plus, he only wanted sapphires.

But he wasn't a Professor, was he? Board of Governors? "Pardon my words, Mr. Vinteren, but...a school governor that let this happen to Hogwarts? Thank you for your time, and for coming here to teach us, really," was it true or was she being sarcastic? I guess we'll never know.

"Was that a hippogriff? The Head Boy's patronus is a moose." GRANTED. She was momentarily distracted. And Oakey was actually a very nice boy, and a very nice Head Boy, and she'll probably let him down if she managed to lose points for them AGAIN. Sigh. Poor Oakey. And she was going to miss him so much. Her face probably fell a bit, though it was unrelated to whatever Vinteren might have said. "May I tell you something, Sir?" *shifty*Confessiontime?*shifty*

Ivy had just gotten back to her office when, not ten seconds later, a familiar patronus appeared. Without much question, Ivy made her way down to Erik's office. She had learned not to ask many questions with him. The majority of them never got answered.

Regardless, Ivy was there. She entered without knocking, figuring being fetched by a patronus was a knock on the door in itself. When she entered, her eyes landed on the familiar Gryffindor girl she wasn't very fond of and the Hufflepuff girl she was rather suspicious of.

Her eyes returned to the cool blue ones behind the desk. "Well, isn't this a sight..." How suspicious.

Erik didn't have anything further to say to these two. He merely let out a low, deep sigh, and pinched the bridge of his nose. They were irritating, they were still lying, and they were wrong.

The Wisteria girl was clearly a Hufflepuff, did her robes not say so? Did either of them think he truly cared what was in their dormitories, short of the actual gems? Did they think they were being cute by prattling on and on about the various types of candy and pets living in their hobbit holes? To add on to that...Erik was a professor, and a governor, for the duration of this school year anyway. And he was not going to tolerate being treated with an ounce of respect less than what he deserved for those titles.

He nearly corrected Wisteria by saying that he was the governor who had caused this to happen to Hogwarts, not the one who had allowed it to happen, but that would have given away all his plans for the entire year. So instead he merely shook his head and continued to wait in silence for the person he had summoned.

Ah, and there she was now. "I see a locked door is no foe for you, Professor Knox," he calmly greeted the brunette who walked in by standing up. In case she wanted his seat, he would just conjure up another. "Thank you for answering my patronus." Yes, yes this was a sight. "Vould you care to sit down?" he beckoned her closer, regardless, so he could brief her on the situation.

Oh, and now Wisteria had a confession to make. Well Erik would just go on ignoring her then, unless what she really had to say couldn't wait. And in that case, he assumed she would say it anyway without waiting for his permission to speak.

Stereotypes, exactly. Lex couldn't have said it better herself. Lottie may have been wearing yellow robes but the girl was the farthest thing from a Hufflepuff. That Second Year Snake she'd run into was more of a Puffer than Lottie was. Fact.

She raised an eyebrow at the girl's statement. Were they allowed to say stuff like that to Professors? Granted it didn't sound that bad at face value but Lex understood Lottie and consequently knew exactly what she meant. Apparently so did he because he didn't seem very amused. He didn't seem very amused about any of this so she figured she'd just stop talking in case she was making it worse. The point was, they had no gems and she would stick to that.

If she was being honest she was curious about the patronus--not about what it was like Lottie had been asking, but who it was meant for.

Really, there were probably only a few people he could call that would get her scared enough to talk and even then she probably wouldn't because BLUE. The most prettiful gems she had. Lex sat in silence, thinking it over. If it was the Headmistress...she'd have to let Lottie do all the talking just in case. It would only be for the best.

Oh and the door was opening after what seemed like an eternity of silence. Lex couldn't help but snicker a little. It was only Professor Knox. Pffffffffffffffffft. Consider her officially un-scared and ready to keep sticking to her story. Yeah Knox was a somewhat intimidating woman but she was no Headmistress. At least Lottie got her wish. SEEEE? They ended up seeing the woman anyway.

ALSO

What did Lottie have to say. She gave her a curious look hoping she wasn't about to come clean. That would have made their efforts up to now wasted and the girl knew how Lex felt about waste.

Yes, that was very mature of you, Vinteren. She just wanted to know if that had been a hippogriff, nothing more. And yet he decided not to answer. Though, he probably had wanted different answers from them and had grown incredibly annoyed thanks to two third years. They should've brought Aidan, he was King of Annoyance.

And he wasn't talking to them anymore? Well, that was...actually, THIS was the moment when they were supposed to become extremely mortified by their situation. Only Lottie was a bit upset at the fact that no permission to speak was given.

Fine.

I guess we'll never know what it was she wanted to say. Though, she was probably going to tell about the rubies, because..Oakey, you know? What would Milton do? He'd survived, he ought to know better of what to do when one faces an execution, right? Heh. Milton probably cried for help.

OHMYGOODNESS! IVYKNOX! Lottie's eyes went to Lex the minute the woman appeared. And then went to Knox. This was very interesting, Mr. Vinteren. "Ms. Ivy Knox, how are you?" She smiled, and hoped to dear Merlin the woman hadn't been busy, because then they'll be DEAD.

Ivy only shrugged her shoulders slightly at Erik's remark. She was smart. That was probably HER door anyway. Door thief.

Aw, look at him, standing up for her as she walked in. But she shook her head and gestured to the chair. "I prefer to stand." It made the students look up at her, rather than at eye level, which usually made those sitting felt inferior to her. That was a good thing, especially since these two seemed like they were in trouble.

"Professor Ivy Knox," she corrected the Hufflepuff. "I'm fine, thank you. What is the meaning of this?" Ivy looked at the girls and then to Erik for some sort of explanation of this... gathering.

The girls were exchanging glances now...how suspicious, how very suspicious. Erik had a feeling that if Alexa had the sapphires, and she probably did, otherwise she would have helped him find one, then Wisteria must have the rubies. He knew neither of them could have stolen any emeralds since apparently there was a scuffle to collect those in the first place.

And with these hunches in place, he turned toward Ivy. No, she didn't want the chair? Fine, he would pace stand also. Erik shot a glare to the two girls across from them, as though daring them to speak, and moved closer to Ivy so he could explain the situation quietly, for her ears only, for the next few moments. He finished his urgent and dark whispering with a slightly louder, "And now they're lying about it."

Then he turned his cold blue eyes on the liars although he continued to not address them directly. "Vot kind of punishment vould you prescribe for two liars, Professor Knox?"

Er...she wasn't sure if this was the right time to have this feeling but um...well...she was getting bored with all this sitting in silence and getting mean looks. It wasn't nearly as fun after the first few minutes and her attention span was going all over.

Just how long had they been sitting there? She wanted some ice-cream and she wanted to go look at her pretty sapphires that she wasn't sharing.

Her eyes fell to her feet that she begun shuffling along the floor. This was as entertained as she'd get while they spoke between themselves. Also. Who knew the woman would be so offended by not being called Professor?? Oh hey they were getting glares. She BEAMed over at him anyway because you know why? She still liked him. He taught her to make things go BOOM. There was no beaming for Ivy though. Nah.

Back to the floor and her feet that were busying themselves. She wanted to tug on Lottie's robes and complain about how bored she was but then she saw the look on his face and decided against it.

Oh?

They were talking punishment now? How's about forcing them to eat so much ice-cream that they popped? She was game for that. Lex looked over at them with a curious tilt of her head. And really. What were they being punished for? "We haven't done anything."She muttered to Lottie. Really? Punishment?

Geez, this was another one. Didn't she mention in class that she could be called 'Ivy Knox', and if one wanted to address her as a Professor they could? Apparently not.

"Professor, sorry, my bad." BEAM! Funny, though, because Vinteren didn't get the same treatment as Ivy Knox. He should, considering Lottie was all for fairness and justice. And right now, both of the school governors/professors were being entirely unfair to a couple of students who merely sought advice from adults. Information, to be more precise.

This was the last time. Seriously.

Lottie shrugged her shoulders, though, she had no idea what the meaning of this was. Vinteren was probably a little bit crazy. She seriously thought the patronus had been intended for the Headmistress.

Punishmeeeent, whaaaaaat? For what? And why was he asking Ivy Knox? Was it because she was the other school governor around? Because Lottie was certain that they could ask Anya to call on her brother, you know, Carter? and he'd come and offer his input.

Er, that will take forever, and ice cream melts after a while.

Shhhh, Lex. Why are you talking?? "He thinks we're lying about something?" Apparently. They were just withholding information. There is a HUGE difference. And she only had three rubies, nothing more, really. That's all Lex gifted her.

When Erik moved closer to speak in her ear, Ivy listened closely and carefully to what he said. While he explained, Ivy watched the two girls with narrowed eyes. She was intrigued also, but she didn't let that show.

"Interesting," she murmured quietly once Erik was done explaining.

Ivy placed her hands on her hips. Punishment for lying... "Well, I don't think they'll be lying for long," she said. Then she reached inside her skirt pocket and pulled out a small vial containing a colorless, clear liquid and set it down on Erik's desk. How about that?

"Unless they favour detention," Erik seemed to agree with Ivy, as he reached into his top right desk drawer and withdrew two teacups and a teapot. It was, strangely, already piping hot and full of tea.

He pretended to be busy with the tea and the cups as he filled each to the brim and then sat them in plain view...next to Ivy's vial. "Time for one last chance, girls, to tell vhe truth," Erik fixed his hard eyes on them and crossed his arms. "Do you haff more house gems?"

EXACTLY! Ivy Knox was right, it was all oh-so-interesting. To Lottie, because she was perfectly aware that they were losing Lex, if they haven't already, with boredom.

No, no, Ivy Knox, they're not lying. Her eyes fell on Vinteren, he was ruining Ivy Knox for her. And just when Lottie was about to EXPLAIN things to Professor Knox...she saw the vial. Heeeeeey, wait a minute.

Blink.

"Shhhhh." That was all she told Lex, the Gryffindor needed to be quiet before she could see what Vinteren thought of Ivy Knox's super fair punishment. Was Hogwarts even ready for an entirely honest Lottie? Smirk. Exactly. They should put what was in that vial in ice cream, because she'd totally eat it.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Detention?! We looooove detention. Not really, no.

But Lottie didn't laugh, and she hoped Lex wouldn't either. You know, that tea you have there...., "Alexa is not completely fond of tea, so I hope the tea you served are for the Professors in the room," or no one, really, since they're weren't Professor and all that.

"Also, I want to add that use of Veritaserum on students is forbidden, particularly under the premises of Hogwarts...and if there's going to be any sort of punishment for doing nothing, then I'd like it to be discussed in the presence of my Head of House, too." Conditions. As if she had any right.

LOL! Detention sounded fun, though...would it be with Vinteren or with Ivy Knox? If they had to pick, she'd pick Ivy Knox. Vinteren seemed like the one who likes to torture people.

And the only gem is that one over there. The yellow one.

HEEEEY were those ants right there on the floor?? She liked ants, they were so small and cute and they hurt a lot when they bit you--MERLIN SHE WAS BORED. Resorting to ant watching, someone have mercy. At the moment she was hoping something would burst through the door and make a big BOOM! You know, to get the party started and all that jazz but no such luck so she continued watching the ants...until Lottie drew her attention by telling her 'shhhhhh'.

Oh? Did this mean something important was happening?

Her gaze fell on Knox, the woman was saying they wouldn't be lying for long. Wanna bet--ohai there colourless liquid in a vial! How you doooin'??? Then there was Vinteren asking if they preferred detention?

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! No she wasn't laughing aloud but she did seem just slightly amused by the idea. If they got detention could they be muggle farmers again??? Maybe they'd be able to have that epic sword fight with the shovels afterall!!!! Eeeep!! That'd be soooo cool!!!!!

Er....not that she was hoping for the detention though...there was no ice-cream in detention. Ew, ugh. Apparently there was no ice-cream in his desk drawer either. She nodded along to what Lottie was saying about her not liking tea. "Perhaps I could have some hot chocolate instead--or...or ice-cream? I'm never opposed to that." Just not tea. Gross. No.

And there went Lottie saying something else she was about to say. They couldn't use that stuff on them. NOPE. Believe it or not she was NOT stupid and knew the rules. Veritaserum, how about no? "I don't think either Professor Bentley or Hadley are busy at the moment, both would be preferred--but actually if you could just get Professor Airey, that'd be grand!" BEAM. But if they were having detention, could it be Mr. Vinteren? Knox might wand handle them. Hmph! She wouldn't answer the part about the gems again. She'd already said no like a bajillion times. That word was getting old.

Unless they favored detention. Merlin, she hoped not. Although the rug in her office needed cleaning... Ivy watched the two girls carefully, but the look soon turned into glares. Why had she ever accepted/wanted this job? Children were so... obnoxious..

Ivy rolled her eyes at the Hufflepuff. Of course she knew the use of Veritaserum on students was forbidden. Did it look like she cared. That's what the memory charm was for, duh.

"Detention it is," Ivy declared irritably. "Cambridge, you're with me." She would make this girl pay for all the disturbances and wrinkles she caused Ivy. "And once we're done, you'll wish you had chosen the tea." More glares were shot at the both of them. Sucks for them and their poor choices.

"It's not forbidden, it's frowned upon," Erik murmured in reply to Wisteria's snotty little comeback about the Veritaserum. Besides, who had even said that was Veritaserum in that vial there? Her mind was just jumping to conclusions today, wasn't it.

And there would be no calling of other professors in here. Erik frowned deeply. "I do not believe it is necessary to consult my inferiors vhen issuing a detention," he stated with a deep exhale, looking down at his desk to keep his patience. Remember that one time when he was elected to the Board of Governors? Right. He would not be allowing Flamsteed, Bentley, Hadley, or any other obnoxious Hogwarts staffer into his office any time soon. If the girls had an issue arise in their detentions, they could seek the counsel of their Heads of House later. After it was all over.

"For now, you may report to Dungeon Five for your detentions." He was tired of having his time wasted by these two. Erik looked to Ivy and gave her a solid nod. She could take her vial back, then. "Thank you for your assistance, Professor Knox."

GASP.

No ice cream?? Detention? For what? And how come Lex gets Ivy Knox?! That means...ugh, did that mean she gets Vinteren??? And why are they separating them?! The only reason she wasn't saying anything was because of Lex...probably.

She knew Lex wouldn't give up on her sapphires, and Lottie would stand by her friend, a friend who will NOT make any more choices in the future. None.

Also, the Head of Houses were inferior, how? Because Ivy Knox and Vinteren were School Governors? Hahahaha. They wouldn't have heard of this if they hadn't come, and each of them needed some ice cream, as much as she suddenly needed it.

FINE! She'll go have ice cream on the way to the dungeons.

"I'll meet you there soon, Professor," because there was still hope that she'll get Ivy Knox, too. This was their cue out, right? If so, then she was out. She may have forgotten about Lex, but yeah.

So it was detention then. If she was being honest, she felt awful but NOT about keeping the gems. Those were HERS. She was only sorry Lottie would be getting detention too--

EEHHHHH????

Cambridge is with who? UM. HOW ABOUT NO???? Lottie wanted to go with that woman. Lottie wanted them to go see her first so why was SHE going with the woman that would potentially KILL her??? Was no one else seeing how this COULDN'T work???

She was shaking her head. Yup. First open protest. She was going with Mr. Vinteren. This wasn't happening. Nope. Nuh-uh and she wouldn't accept it.

AND LOTTIE WAS LEAVING WITHOUT DISAGREEING TOO??

Whaaaaaaat??

Fine, she was leaving but she was stopping in the kitchen first. It was on the way. She gave Mr. Vinteren one last hopeful look that he'd handle her detention before wrinkling her nose at Professor Knox. NOTHING would make her wish she drank that tea. For the last time, those gems were HERS and she WASN'T sharing. Lex left right behind Lottie, they had things to discuss.

Arms crossed, Ivy watched the two girls stand up and leave. She figured they would choose detention, but she was kind of hoping they wouldn't. Just her luck.

Once they were out, Ivy sighed and tucked the bottle back into a concealed pocket. Looking over at Erik, she tried to read him. Poor guy. "I suppose I'll see you in detention, then." But she made no movement closer to the door. She had to brainstorm something for Alexa to do... that wouldn't get her fired again.

Erik watched and silently waited for the girls to leave. Once they were gone and the door was shut behind them, he let out a long exhale that left his shoulders in a slump.

"Yeah, see you in detention," he muttered, glancing down at the tea on his desk. He vanished it with a wave of his wand and looked back up, half expecting Ivy to have left already. When he saw she was still standing there, he moved closer to her with a small step, then another small step, and then another. Erik paused, then surprised himself pulled her into a tight, warm hug.

Just because he needed a hug.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Erik Vinteren

Erik watched and silently waited for the girls to leave. Once they were gone and the door was shut behind them, he let out a long exhale that left his shoulders in a slump.

"Yeah, see you in detention," he muttered, glancing down at the tea on his desk. He vanished it with a wave of his wand and looked back up, half expecting Ivy to have left already. When he saw she was still standing there, he moved closer to her with a small step, then another small step, and then another. Erik paused, then surprised himself pulled her into a tight, warm hug.

Just because he needed a hug.

Well, she was about to leave after that silence, but before she could, Ivy noticed Erik step closer. And closer... And closer again.

"Oh." It came out quietly and automatically without much thought. Ivy was rather surprised to find herself in an Erik hug. He didn't really hand those out very often, so it wasn't expected, but she did like them very much. After her moment of surprise had ended, Ivy wrapped her arms around Erik and hugged him back.

This was... nice.

Hugs. Hugs were nice, but only with certain people. Erik didn't step away from Ivy just yet, as she did smell nice and was...nice to hug. He did say something though, quietly into her ear, to break the silence.

"Vhank you for your help." He knew she didn't have to answer that patronus, but she had. And that made all the difference.

It seemed Erik didn't want to let go just yet, so Ivy hugged him tighter and sighed, sort of resting against him for a moment. It was rather relaxing.

"Of course," she replied quietly. And a moment later... "Anything for you." Even if it meant dealing with annoying little students and doing what he asked without asking a million questions. And it was actually true. Strange to admit, but true. She wouldn't have said it to anyone else ever before.

Anything for him? Anything? Erik couldn't help the small, genuine grin that broke out on his face. It wasn't often that he got to hear that. Ever, actually. Hearing Ivy say it made him...happy. He wouldn't ask her to repeat it though, knowing that was probably a difficult enough admission for her.

"Same to you," he said instead, leaning back just slightly so he could give her a tiny kiss on the forehead.

Ivy couldn't see Erik's smile, but she ended up smiling as well. "Thanks," she said quietly. And she tried not to let him see her smile when he kissed her forehead. Who knew Erik Vinteren could be such a cuuuutie pie sweet guy... Well, probably only her. And he probably wanted to keep it that way.

After another moment, Ivy sighed quietly and took a small step back. "Well, I suppose we better get going... We've got detentions to plan." Rather quickly, too. She had to think of something good to teach Cambridge a lesson... "I'll see you later?"

He was really reluctant to let her go but eventually, Erik's arms fell back to his sides as Ivy stepped away. Damn detention, keeping them apart. Never mind that he had been the one to issue it.

"Yes." He'd see her later, please. Erik paused, his grin fading into one of his more usual smirks and added, "Don't be too harsh on her now, darling." He knew Ivy. Heh.