Food hadn't held much interest to him besides the need to suistain human-like functions. After finding the items in his office, he'd taken to being a bit more leery and paranoid of things. Including the pre-cooked meals offered by Hogwarts. And the gifts of the students.

In particular, the cake that he had recieved a little while ago, still fresh thanks to the charmed box. It sat in front of him and his tented fingers, which supported his chin. The red parcel got all the scrutiny of his half focused gaze, the coffee beside his propped up elbow already gone cold with the ticking of the minutes.

What, was he going to do with this?

Cheeks sunken in and dark circles under his blue eyes mocking his usual pale features, the Astronomy professor stumbled into the Great Hall while purposefully slapping pieces of parchment down on each of the four house tables as he went. He was holding it together...for the most part...and his eyes were vacant of anything resembling tears...but he was a broken man. Not just from this, but it on top of what had just happened? He was one broken Astronomy professor.

Tripping over one of the steps up the dais, Airey proceeded from one end of the staff table to the other, all the while plopping the same pieces of parchment down on each of the vacant plates belonging to one of his colleagues. He hardly even registered that Sabel was there and if there had been any food on the Defense professor's plate, well, it had now been smashed under a piece of parchment.

Breakfast. Yes. He ought to eat something. He would need his strength exploring every nook and cranny of the castle in search of his beloved pet rock.

There had been some part of his mind that had registered the company of another person in the dining hall, but beyond that his focus didn't deviate. It was someone who didn't set off his nerves, so he didn't see the need or the point to look up. Not when he was just on the verge of a breakthrou--

Sabel started as the hand and it's contents came down directly on top of the red box, mashing the cake in a smear of dark brown. He blinked at it a moment as he straightened, marvelling at how quickly the prolonged delima had been taken care of. What was even more of a wonder was the person which the hand was attached to, kept moving. As if nothing had happened, as if they hadn't noticed.

Looking up, Sabel opened his mouth to say something and found the words abruptly dying in his throat, only to be immediately replaced by another. "Flamsteed. You look like hell."

Why did he look like hell?

Rising to his feet, Sabel swiped a napkin off the place setting beside him, extending it to the man and his cake-smeared hand, when the flyer caught his attention. It took him a moment, and a brushing of cake, to understand exactly what it was he was reading.

Plucking the parchment from the ruins of the cake, Sabel shook it off and held it up to examine it closer, his eyes drifting to the Astronomy Professor. Had the man not looked as he did, Sabel would have chalked it up to a ruse. Another slot in Quigley's interesting story.

"Are any of the others missing?" For Merlin's sake it was a rock! They were rocks. It wasn't like it was a student or a person. But for the look on Flamsteed's face, it might as well have been. From Quigley's words, it might sort of be.

Sighing, the astronomer reached for his goblet and sighed at its vacancy and set it back down. "I look the way I feel," he mumbled, absently flicking his fork with the index finger of his right hand. "Like I've crossed the event horizon and been stretched like spaghetti and thrown into a cauldron of boiling water."

Flicking his fork a few more times, Airey couldn't help himself but side-eye Sabel. In light of what Maddox had revealed to him during one of their game nights, Airey was not VERY suspicious of this man. It WOULD take a Defense Against the Dark Arts professor to get through all the enchantments and wards Medea had placed on his office and IF Sabel had taken Deputy Quigley's words entirely to heart...then he WOULD take Pebbles to try and make the astronut crack.

"Not that I am aware..." he said slowly, turning his head to observe his colleague. "...why do you ask?"

ON TO YOU, DAKEST! You are a rocknapper!

Sabel lowered back to his seat slowly, watching Flamsteed and trying to make sense of his words. He thought it best not to point out that spaghetti was only able to be stretched after it had been boiled. Maybe he was talking about a second boiling? A soggy spaghetti about to whither away to nothing. He'd go with that.

Pursing his lips, he noted the way the man looked at his goblet, the way it both interested him and disinterested him. Drawing his wand, he flicked a quick warming spell at his coffee and pushed it over. The man certainly looked like he could use a cup. "I haven't touched it."

In case the man was paranoid of germs.

His arm froze halfway on the way back to cleaning up the smashed cake, catching the look he was receiving. One eyebrow went up at the inflection on the 'you'. His response was as simple and straightforward as his expression. "Because it's a good question to ask. Associated cases and all that."

Resting the flyer on the table between them, he scraped away a cake bit from Pebbles face, hardly forgetting Quigley's words from the feast. "Especially if I'm going to help you look for her."

Her. It. Rock. But it meant something to Flamsteed. And that, was enough. Who was he to judge? But Merlin, all this, his entire appearance and state, over a rock? Wasn't like it was a person. Or....was it?

Airey lifted his hand and waved it thrice right to left in front of the coffee. "No thanks," he replied gloomily. Coffee wasn't his brew of choice at the moment. He could either go for something stiff or a nice steaming goblet of milk with honey. Actually, the latter sounded splendid right now.

Removing his wand from his enchanted breast pocket, the astronomer moved to conjure a patronus to deliver the request to the house elves...but not even a whisp of silvery smoke appeared from the tip of his wand. Clearing his throat, he attempted to cover up his inability by performing a simple cleaning charm on the table before him. He then removed a piece of parchment and quill from the same pocket and scribbled a note upon it.

"I see," he said, listening to the Defense professor's reply as he fiddled with the parchment to fold it into a comforting shape. "So...you haven't a clue to her whereabouts?" he questioned, hardly hiding his suspicion in his tone. He was a broken man. Tact and subtle were no longer a part of his vocabulary.

It was only then that he noticed the remains of the cake in front of Sabel. Sweet solstice. Airey hadn't taken the bloke for ravaging his meal like a werewolf. He couldn't help but wrinkle his nose in disgust at the sight. Still looked edible though.

Staring at the...er...cake...Airey sent his little space ship off to deliver its message.

He didn't push the coffee, and instead retracted it back to his place setting. The folding which the other Professor had engaged in was enough to catch all his curiosity and then some. Never one for origami, Sabel couldn't tell what it was, even when it was finished.

Under different circumstances, he would have asked. As it was, it was all he could do to keep from regarding the man with a completely unimpressed look. "I imagine I'm about as much a rock-napper as you are a murderer."

This broken mess of a man, hardly struck him as such. Then again, there was a certain madman who had thing for orange hair. Supposedly it took all sorts to make the world go round. Perhaps this was one of them.

But then, there was the fact that Quigley's tale was downright ridiculous, and Truebridge would have said something. Others would have said something. As it was, the greatest concern seemed to be who was passing and failing, rock disappearances and now the Cult.

Which meant that whatever it was that had been brushing the wrong way between them, had to go. Turning in his chair, Sabel faced the Astronomy Professor fully. "Would I be wrong in suggesting that you have something on your mind that you'd like to say to me?"

Still very much staring at the cake, the astronomer listened to his colleague and was more than a little intrigued by his choice of words. He expected nothing less from an Auror, figuring out his not so subtle hints of the astronomer's suspicions. And then there was what came next that hit him like a firm punch to the gut.

His eyes narrowed for a moment. Just when he thought things couldn't have felt worse...they did now.

"Is that was Maddox told you about me?" he whispered, suddenly scooting his chair closer to Sabel's and pushing all others out of the way. Of course, it would have made more sense for him to just scoot into someone else's chair, but the man was hardly thinking logically these days.

Something on his mind? Oh he had more than a few things to say, but several of them seemed less important right now. "For what it's worth, I don't buy that rubbish that's been written about you in the Prophet," he said, an eager gleam returning to his eyes and almost rejuvenating his broken spirit. Almost. More like put a band aid on a tiny part of it.

Sabel drew back a little, surprised at the sudden liveliness of the Professor. Where seconds ago he hadn't looked like he could lift a rock, now he was barreling his way through chairs. Sabel doubted that had there been occupants to those chairs, Flamsteed would have cared. Like the cake.

Reaching out, he moved the chair closest to him out of the way before it could be tipped backwards off the dias. Something told him to pick his words carefully, a warning he attributed to not knowing this man's true mental state. "I heard a tale I thought was a little tall for it's teller and its subject. That your beloved rocks were a weapon to remove the former DADA Professor."

One eyebrow arched, as if asking if it was true. If it was, he didn't expect an honest answer. But then he expected even less that his predecessor could be undone by a few pebbles.

"But then, that's about as credible a story as the Prophet can come up with." Perhaps Quigley should start writing for them as well.

While he gave a nod of acknowledgement to the man's sentiment, his own caution didn't fade. It was the new light in the guys eyes. "You'll have to forgive me if those words are not worth a lot a the moment, given you seemed rather inclined to believe I took something of yours and we've both been less than...affable. Why?"

Pop!

It was a bit strange for flying paper ships to show up in the kitchen, it was. But Professor Flamsteed was a bit strange himself, so Tinka didn't see a problem, no she didn't. Tinka had set her whisk down right away, yes she had, just to get what the nice man wanted. Within a few minutes, she popped into existent right in front of the staff table, tray in her little elfsy hands.

"Tinka has what professor sir asked for, she does!" the little elf said, bobbing enthusiastically. "Here sir goes, and does sir need anything else?" Her elfsy eyes got big and bulgy as she set the containers of warm liquid in front of him.

POP!

Toddles comes to great halls. Yes Toddles does. Professor asks Toddles to brings stuffs to him. Toddles brings snackies and drinks. Toddles sees Tinka's heres. How does Tinkas comes heres so fasties? Toddles says, "Hi Tinka!" Then he sees Professor's and asks, "Professors needs some drinks or snackies?" Toddles holds them up yes he does. "Or is Toddles too lates to helps?"

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tazenhani

Sabel drew back a little, surprised at the sudden liveliness of the Professor. Where seconds ago he hadn't looked like he could lift a rock, now he was barreling his way through chairs. Sabel doubted that had there been occupants to those chairs, Flamsteed would have cared. Like the cake.

Reaching out, he moved the chair closest to him out of the way before it could be tipped backwards off the dias. Something told him to pick his words carefully, a warning he attributed to not knowing this man's true mental state. "I heard a tale I thought was a little tall for it's teller and its subject. That your beloved rocks were a weapon to remove the former DADA Professor."

One eyebrow arched, as if asking if it was true. If it was, he didn't expect an honest answer. But then he expected even less that his predecessor could be undone by a few pebbles.

"But then, that's about as credible a story as the Prophet can come up with." Perhaps Quigley should start writing for them as well.

While he gave a nod of acknowledgement to the man's sentiment, his own caution didn't fade. It was the new light in the guys eyes. "You'll have to forgive me if those words are not worth a lot a the moment, given you seemed rather inclined to believe I took something of yours and we've both been less than...affable. Why?"

For several uncomfortably long moments Airey could do nothing but stare open mouthed at Sabel as his already pale complexion temporarily transitioned into an even paler color. Perhaps had his personal circumstances not been what they were he could have seen the humor in this. People that knew the astronut were perfectly aware he could hardly harm a fly let alone hurt another person intentionally. He had the curiosity of a child and the gentle spirit of a quasar.

"I would never wish her more suffering than she has already experienced," he found himself lamenting at the empty plate on the table before him. "And I certainly would never use pet rocks as a weapon!" he concluded, slamming his fists down on the table and nearly skewering his hand on a fork.

Nothing about this was amusing, and the worst part of it was that he was sure that Maddox was getting a proper kick out of it all. Why he enjoyed Maddox. The man had a twisted sense of humor like himself.

Wheels in his turning as he thought about sweet sweet revenge, he put the Prophet portion of their conversation behind them both with a shrug. While fully aware of the paper's history, it had been far more credibly in recent years than some of the more current publications had implied. Made him wonder if there truly was some truth to those words...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tinka

Pop!

It was a bit strange for flying paper ships to show up in the kitchen, it was. But Professor Flamsteed was a bit strange himself, so Tinka didn't see a problem, no she didn't. Tinka had set her whisk down right away, yes she had, just to get what the nice man wanted. Within a few minutes, she popped into existent right in front of the staff table, tray in her little elfsy hands.

"Tinka has what professor sir asked for, she does!" the little elf said, bobbing enthusiastically. "Here sir goes, and does sir need anything else?" Her elfsy eyes got big and bulgy as she set the containers of warm liquid in front of him.

Eyeing Sabel was quiet suspicion, he was glad when one of the house elves arrived with his hot milk and honey. Over the moon, really.

"Thank you, Tinka," he smiled at the elf as he took the cup from her. Holding it to his mouth, he inhaled deeply and allowed the sweet aroma of golden relaxation fill his nostrils. "No, that will be all. Unless ---"

And then another house elf showed up. How many house elves did it take to deliver a cup of hot milk? Two apparently. No wonder there were more and more cobwebs showing up every day.

"Just needed a cup of hot milk and honey, Toddles," he said while raising the cup Tinka had already provided him and taking a long sip. He hadn't asked for any snacks in his note, but he would not crush the house elf's overly eager spirit. The astronut's was crushed enough for everyone present.

He ventured a glance towards Sabel. "Unless Professor Dakest needs anything, you two ought to pop back to your duties."

And so he could respond properly to the Defense professor's question and get to plotting sweet sweet revenge.

Tinka bowed loooooow to the ground. "Sir be welcome! Tinka love to serve Hogwarts professors, Tinka does!" She nodded over and over again. Ooooo, Toddles! Toddles was being a good elfsy now, better than little baby Toddles the elfsy. "Tinka and Toddles be happy to help mister professor Dakest if he be wanting something!" Her bright eyes grew biiiiiig and she bounced up down up down up down on the balls of her little elfsy feet.

But the new man wasn't saying anything. "Toddles, sirs be busy, good elfsies get going back to work. Elfsies be happy to come back again if sirs wants them to!" Tinka took little Toddles' hand and Disapparated with a loud CRACK.

The way the Professor responded to his question had Sabel feeling a tinge of guilt. He recognized the tone, the look. It sounded very similar to regret. Regret of a personal nature or action against a loved one. But it didn't amount to murder. If anything ----

MERLIN'S GREAT BEARD!!

Sabel jumped as the Astronomy Professor's hand came crashing down on the table. It wasn't his nature to jump at much anymore, but he had hardly expected such an outburst after such quiet words. Eyeing the man skeptically, he carefully and as discretely as possible, removed any and all sharp objects from the bloke's vicinity. "No. I didn't expect you would...."

But as for Quigely's alluding to an unstable nature. Well that, he wasn't sure he could entirely discredit as fiction. And what with the way the man was staring at him....

The elves were another surprise, tearing his attention away and back to where they were. The great hall. The splattered cake. The eager elves. Merlin he hoped none of the seated students had overheard their conversation. It would make for some right terrible gossip. Worse than had already been started. But no, they were too far away. The hall was too big. And hopefully there was a healthy serving of respect.

His attention returned back to Tinka and Toddles, realizing on the reflection that they had asked if he wanted anything. The 'I'm fine thanks' came a might bit too late. There and gone again. Perhaps he'd stop by the kitchen to get help with the cake deal later.

Returning his gaze to Flamsteed, the man's silence got an arched eyebrow and a small smile. "Helpful lot."

Sir. He knew it wasn't even worth correcting the house elf on the sir - even if he despised being called that. He also did not fancy seeing one, or both, of the large eared creatures picking up a fork and jabbing themselves with it or a plate to the face because they had, technically, done something wrong. Thus he simply nodded his head in appreciation at both their efforts before they vanished with a crack.

"Indeed," he replied, nodding in the direction of the vacant spaces that had just been occupied by the house elves. "Speaking of being helpful..." he said as he slyly turned his head away from looking out into the Great Hall and towards his colleague. "...how would you like to help me give Maddox a lesson it 'practice what you preach'?"

The astronomer really wasn't going to take no for an answer, as the glimmer in his blue eyes clearly was indicating. The man desperately needed moments like this to remind him what joy felt like.

So, what say you, Mr. Defense Against the Dark Arts who was most likely experiencing a heavy dosage of whiplash thanks to the Gryffindor Head of House's mood swings.

The laughter came almost immediately, and was full hearted in its sincerity. It took a few moments too, before it settled and Sabel had room enough to speak. And even then, he was still grinning, though whether it was in amusement or wonder it was hard to tell.

"If 'practice what you preach' was the game plan, then that would mean he would have take out a Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor with a jumble of pet rocks. And that would so happen to be me." Just in case, that part was missed. He shook his head, picking up his coffee, another string of laughter leaving him. "So, while I'm honored by the offer, I'm going to have to pass."

He paused with the mug half raised, eyeing the Astronomy Professor from over it's rim. "And I never said who told me the tall tale."

Was there something he should know about the dynamics of the Professors at Hogwarts? He was beginning to think so.

Airey could do nothing else but laugh at the sheer thought of Maddox trying to take out a Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. Perhaps laughing for similar reasons as to why the Charms professor attempted to create the rumor about Airey in the first place. It really was laughable. Not that the astronomer doubted Maddox could do such a thing given his skill set - he could just transform into a feline and weave through someone's legs on the stairs- but all the effort it would take covering his tracks, well, Airey doubted the man had the patience for that.

He was hardly doing a good job hiding the fact that he was an unregistered animagus for Merlin's sake. Not that Airey was going to go frolicking down to Law Enforcement to tell them about that or anything.

And then there was Sabel being a humongous buzz kill. HUMONGOUS.

Not taking no for an answer, the Astronomy professor leaned over a bit more. "You didn't have to," he whispered, his eyes darting about the Great Hall eagerly. "He told me the whole story the other day. How he pretended to be the Deputy Headmaster and how you were hired to keep an eye on me and take me out." What Maddox had left out was the bit about how he, Airey Flamsteed, had apparently offed Medea.

Hence the need to play a little harmless prank back on the man.

"You know, he is always telling students to be mindful of their words for they have their consequences," he continued, casually tracing over the table with his index finger. "We're educators. That position hardly ends with seventh years, wouldn't you agree?"

Come on, Sabel, stop being such a black hole!

Sabel was drawing the rapid conclusion that while Quigley may have been pulling a fast one on him, there was one small truth. This man before him, wasn't entirely stable in the head. It was evident in the mood swings and the way his eyes darted about. First darkly depressed and now, cunning and calculating. He wasn't sure if the rapid change, and likely mix of emotions was good, but there were other distractions to be had.

Such as the truth of the whole matter behind the Pet Rock Murder Mystery. It took him a moment, but it sunk in, all the pieces clicking into place. It was why Flamsteed had been acting strangely towards him. Really, he wasn't sure whether to be offended or bemused by the whole thing. The joke was on him, had always been on him, and he supposed some congratulations were in order. It had worked to rile his suspicions, at least to a degree.

Resting back in his chair, as much to gain some thinking space as well as personal space, Sabel considered the man beside him with a mildly amused smile. He couldn't help wonder if this was yet another ploy, a type of strange initiation for a new Professor. Perhaps he should have a word with the Headmistress, or the real Deputy Headmaster.

"What, exactly, did you have in mind?" No, yes. No, no. Not just yet. He wanted to know what hand he was putting into the jar, and if he was likely to pull it back out with all digits attached.

Moving even closer now so that he could lean over and whisper the details to Sabel, the astronomer had a hard time keeping his voice low because of the tone of sheer giddiness. Really, it was perfect. Although he doubted that it would really teach Maddox any sort of life lesson, it would be amusing to see the look on his face were things to go off without a hitch.

Once he had finished, he sat up straight in his seat with the eager look of a 5-year-old being taken to their first official visit to Honeydukes.

"So, you game?"

Come on, Sabel. Don't let a fellow Gryffindor down.

It was fairly early, with not many around the Great Hall at this time. As Javier prepared his toast and bacon with a bowl of porridge, he considered the note he received yesterday from Cassie. She suggested during breakfast they could talk it over, and why not. This saved him from making an extra trip.

Head potion and food!

Yes Cassie needed both at the moment. Her head had been pounding for a few days. She knew something was wrong at the stables, but hadn't seen Javy to find out if everything was settled. Cassiopeia always had an issue when it came to animals. When something just quickly stressed them out and put their chatter at an all time high she 1. hated that she couldn't have warned before hand and 2. always wanted to help calm them, but whatever spooked them and made them stress she couldn't get a clear image on.

So half pouting half holding her temples she made her way to the staff dais. Seeing one of her oldest friends sitting there already she gave a small smile. "Javy, good morning. How are you?" She hoped better than herself, but she had just taken the headache potion so it would be better soon. Coffee would help as well, yes she needed coffee."[/b]

Javy smiled as his long time friend had at last arrived, "Morning Cassie. I'm doing quite alright.. and you?" He asked, his eyes looking over. He had known her long enough to catch some of the signs that suggest she had a lot on her mind. But, he'd much rather ask to either confirm or deny said thoughts.

Aside from that, his own thoughts returned back to the note she had left him. "So, what's going on?" Javy then asked. It had to be serious given some of the few times they had last conversed over the years.

Sitting down she took a cup of coffee and sipped at it a few minutes before answering, "I'll be alright now that I have some coffee running through me, though I have to ask if all is okay at the stables? The animals seem a bit tense from what I've been getting." Her hand moved to her temple as she rubbed it again.

Glancing at the food she pulled on some pancakes and yogurt, though she was thankful that the elves knew not to set the bacon or sausage near her. The smell usual just saddened her.

"Nothing is going on per-say." She turned to face him more. She knew the note probably concerned him a bit, "It's about Toby and my class the other day. He was very bubbly and then after our readings he slumped down so I suspected he didn't get a very good reading." She couldn't help but frown. "When I checked over their work I noticed he had a reading that said a challenge and possible sad was in his near future. I'm thinking the challenge could of course be NEWTS, but wanted to make you aware of this in case something more was going on. He's a very happy kid so seeing that change just concerned me." Since his father was right here at school she figured why not chat about it.

Javier had known Cassie long enough to recognise some of the symptoms she showcased occasionally. It was just about confirmed when she asked of his animals as he nodded. "The Hippogriffs have been a little restless since the incident, despite the extra measures I put in for their safety. I'm hoping they'll calm down eventually." For many reasons.

Whether it was of luck or not, the animals weren't her only concern as his brows threatened to connect as he now knew the reason. "I see.." His son had been showing hints of worry off and on lately. Goodness, something of possible disappointment to look out for as he rested a hand on her arm in gratitude. "I thank you for your concern and letting me know Cassie." A tiny smile, "He's quite lucky to have you as an Aunt." As much as Javier wanted, he couldn't be everywhere his sons were but at least having others care for him as well made the job a little easier. Hmm.. Call it his paternal hopefulness or not as he asked, "These readings, there's no chance on them possibly changing right?" He was definitely no seer, but liked to know things outside his spectrum at times.