Reading up on the War (Open)

[Alexander Archer]

Curious about the war D’rorah had so calmly informed him was coming, Alex flicked his fingers lightly over the spines of the texts upon the shelf before him. Muttering wordlessly the titles of every second or so respective book, it wasn’t long before he found something. Why, might one wonder, was a book on the Shadow Wars, present in the Hogwarts library where anyone might chance upon it? As a matter of fact, it seemed very unlikely indeed to Alex that anyone not searching for it would ever happen across it. In a secluded and, quite obviously, rather disused corner of the school library, he drew the book out and glanced around to ensure that, once again, he was alone.

Holding the book in one hand and flipping it open, his eyes scanned the first few pages and he nodded, sure that it would be helpful. Tucking the text up into the crook of his arm, he proceeded toward the main, more densely populated sections of the library. Scanning the area, he saw many lone students as well as groups huddled together at the various tables; nearly all of them were full, no doubt thanks to the appalling weather conditions outside. The seasons were rapidly progressing and the predictable late November weather had descended quite rapidly onto them. It was warming up a tad, admittedly, but it was also getting slightly wetter.

Moving through the library, he soon wound through to the staffroom. Emerging into large room with its vastly varying chairs and couches and extensive amount of coffee mugs, he poured himself a cup before taking a seat on his favourite chair and settling right in. Setting the book onto his lap, he took a small sip of his still very hot coffee and set it down on the armrest, delving right into the text before him.

[Gavril Romanov]

Gavril entered the Staff Lounge area with his arms full of papers and books, a bag slung around his shoulders and a look of determination on his face. His first lesson had gone fairly well with the students as he had introduced a pretty intermediate charm which allowed the transformation of broomsticks into serpents. He made his way over to a large wooden table by the window and had a seat, laying out his books and papers. He set his bag on top of the table and proceeded to pull out a bottle of ink, a quill and a large, gray brick.

He began to shuffle through his parchments as he had taken notes on his first class, notes on the achievements and shortcommings of each student. This would allow him to gain a better feel for exactly what level of transifguration his class would be prepared for overall. As he reviewed his notes, he had his other hand scribbling furiously ideas for future classes, techniques he wished to introduce, and certain transfiguraton charms that may be interesting to teach his students. It didn't take him long before he finally realized someone else had been in the room the entire time he had been hectically sorting through papers and mumbling to himself about talking doorknockers.

Freezing completely, he let his eyes drift upwards as he noticed another professor sitting in a chair not too far away from the spot he had chosen himself. He appeared to be immersed in some archaic looking text, sipping on a mug of some presumably hott beverage.

Clearing his throat, he spoke. "Oh, I'm sorry, I hadn't realized someone else was here..." He said feeling a little embarrassed to have been completely absorbed into his own little world. He stood up from his seat at the table and made his way over to where the other professor was seated.

"Gavril Romanov..." He said as he began his introduction. "I'm the new Professor of Transfiguration." He said as he extended a hand toward the seated professor.

[Alexander Archer]

His eyes leaving the text before him only briefly, he observed the newest entrant into the staffroom with some curiosity. His eyes soon finding the scrawling before him once more, he noticed a distinct difference in the atmosphere of the room. Replacing the previous feeling of being able to do anything without needing to bother being discreet, as well as the happy chirping of birds outside, was now the faint sound of a quill scratching against parchment, and every now and then the slight creaking of a chair. Wondering if perhaps the lack of acknowledgement simply derived from the fact that the other professor might not have seen him yet, he referred his eyes back to the page before him.

Both slightly amused and slightly distracted by vague mutterings about doorknockers and the action of freezing mid-action that the other man made, he noted the distinctive sound of a throat being cleared before the man’s voice carried across the empty space between them. “No problem,” he said in an amused tone, his noticeably cheery voice quite obvious. His eyes following the progress of Romanov as he made his way over, he smiled brightly and closed the text in his arms, setting it to the side in what was hopefully a position where one would not be free to peruse the title.

“Alex Archer,” he replied jovially, taking the other man’s hand and shaking it lightly. Quickly releasing it, however, he cast a slightly uncomfortable look toward Gavril and his eyes were to be found flicking down to his hands, now located in his lap. “I’ve just started this year, too… Astronomy to begin with, but with Professor Kade leaving I took up the Defence Against the Dark Arts position,” he explained in response, casting a small smile his way. “How are your classes going so far?” he questioned curiously, having heard nothing of the Transfiguration classes from any of his students or fellow professors so far.

[Gavril Romanov]

"Ehhh, Well I've just started my lesson plan for the students. My first class was....well, It was not really a blunder, but perhaps I chose something that was too advanced for most of the students. Only one was able to successfully produce the transfiguration correctly, and that was a first year Hufflepuff. Some of them seem really....distracted with something. It's really odd." Gavril spoke, reminiscing on his first class where the majority of the students transfigured their broomsticks into snake-like forms, but only one student, Cavan, seemed to have the focus to fully transfigure his broomstick into a live snake.

Gavril sat down in the chair opposite from where Alex had been sitting, so that they may pursue a more conversational atmosphere instead of an awkward meeting.

"And you? How are your classes going? I couldn't imagine trying to handle two classes at once. Especially not one pertaining to the Dark Arts..." He said trailing off.

[Alexander Archer]

His expression creasing into an understanding smile as he explained the events of his very first lesson, he laughed lightly and at the final comment that something odd might be going on, the laugh faded and died on his lips. “That is a bit strange…” he commented lightly, settling back into the couch and putting one ankle onto the knee of his other so that his upper leg formed a triangle outwards. His eyes thoughtful for a moment, he wondered if Gavril knew anything about the truth behind the rumours circulating through the school.

“Too advanced isn’t bad, at least you know to do something a little less difficult next time… I had a fight break out,” he said quietly, sighing slightly and shaking his head as he remembered it. “One student even used dark magic,” he added, his eyes looking to Romanov questioningly, as if asking silently why anyone would be foolish enough to perform such magic in a lesson.

“As for two classes, I’ve given Headmistress LaPointe my notice for Astronomy. With everything else going on at the moment, two classes is just too much for me to handle, quite honestly. Defence is certainly more challenging to compose, but it’s far more rewarding teaching them something they can really use to help themselves,” he admitted in a conversational tone, feeling that with the dark creatures surrounding the school and dark wizards and witches within the walls of Hogwarts, his students needed to be able to defend themselves.

Smiling at the man opposite to him, he looked around the staff room and noted that they were still alone. As his eyes roamed back to the Transfiguration professor, he noticed things that he had not before. His eyes were a brilliant blue that was rare these days; a colour he had not seen in a while. His tanned skin was evident and complimented the short black crop of hair on his head, and beneath those robes he could easily identify a muscular frame. Unbeknown to Alex, a small smile had formed on his own features.

[Gavril Romanov]

Gavril smiled as he began to engage in conversation with his fellow staffmember. It was always nerve-wrecking to be a part of a new school, especially when you're the teacher, but he felt a little more at ease now that he was actually interacting with a peer. It turns out that his fellow professor was quite busy with several classes, adverse to his one, and even told him about a fight that broke out in his defense class, where a student had lashed out at another with dark magic.

"I hope the student was alright. That is absolutely crazy that something like that would happen. In Russia, there are strict rules and laws about students using magic like that in the classroom. Expulsion would have been mandatory, as well as serving a term at Zhalistek, which is our 'Azkaban'" He said. The way he said Zhalistok really put an emphasis on his ethnicity as he said the word comfortably mixed in with his english.

Gavril nodded once more as he internally agreed with Alex on the subject of teaching young wizards and witches how to defend themselves. Indeed it was very pertinent to the situation at Hogwarts, which he was only slightly aware of. Of course Caira had informed him of certain activity that was going on during his interview, explaining that some rogue dementors had taken a liking to roaming the Forbidden Forest, and emphasized on the fact that he must keep an eye out for any students that venture out into the forest. It was odd, now that he was thinking about it, how she had informed him that if he did witness any students going in there, that he was to follow them, and see what they were up to, before instructing them to leave. She of course wanted names as well.

"There's something a little different about the Headmistress...." Gavril mused as he stared off into space. He looked over at Alex and noticed the he was smiling at him.

"What...is there...is there something on my face?" He asked as he put a hand to his cheek.

[Alexander Archer]

Finding Gavril’s own explanation of the way things had been back in what was evidently his home country, or at least where he had grown up, he remembered that he had wanted Gat expelled himself; perhaps Azkaban was a bit much, but the boy hadn’t even been suspended as far as he knew. The Headmistress had bid him to leave it in her hands, and Alex had not seen any punishment present itself. That didn’t necessarily mean it wasn’t happening, but he did wonder.

As if reading his thoughts, which was of course preposterous, Romanov commented absently on the Headmistress herself, the ever-confusing Caira LaPointe. It was strange, but no-one he had talked to really seemed to trust that woman; perhaps strange was not the word, in that case. More appropriately, he substituted ‘interesting’ in for ‘strange’ and the sentence took on a whole new light. His meetings with her to discuss the reports he gave concerning D’rorah Philosophy.

Noticing the smile on his fellow staff member’s face, Alex found his own unconscious smile growing. As he put a hand to his cheek and asked aloud if something particularly unbecoming was attached to his face, he suddenly realised that he was staring and promptly gained a slight tinge to his cheeks that might be perceived as a blush. “Oh… No, no, of course not,” he said with a small laugh and a brief smile, his eyes finding Gavril’s before quickly averting themselves.

“Do you… erm… work out?” he questioned before mentally cursing himself. Work out?! It was almost like he was twelve and discussing the weather with whatever potential prospect his eager eyes discovered. Forcibly reminded of such times when his panicking mind had come up with ludicrous and embarrassing topics of conversation, he looked at Gavril with new eyes. With a slight disgust for himself, he averted his eyes from the Transfiguration professor completely.

[Gavril Romanov]

Gavril paused for a moment as he regarded his co-worker. Dark brown hair, eyes to match, a subtle muscular frame. His eyes found Alex's ears and a small smile crept its way around the corners of his mouth.

Do I work out.... He thought as he continued to study the features of the man opposite him. Gavril indeed exercised from time to time, flying whenever he could, practicing field maneuvers from when he had learned them in his defense classes back in Durmstrang. He did his sit ups and push ups a couple nights a week before bed, but mostly that was it. He had gone to a muggle gym before and found it not particularly to his liking. Too many macho stereotypes that strutted around preening themselves in front of each other, trying to display who's got the bigger muscles.

He cleared his throat before his response. "Work out would be an over-statement. I just do my exercises. Push-ups, Sit-ups, I try to fly whenever possible, and some field defense maneuvers." He said casually as an idea began to formulate in his mind. The looks Alex had been giving him....curious indeed. Was he perhaps, hitting on him? He had never had a guy hit on him before, and wasn't really sure if it was happening to him right now, but judging from some of the softer features that Alex had, such as his luxurious eyelashes, he figured that this teacher may be a gomik.

Noticing the slight musculature of his company, he inquired back.

"Do you work out, Alex?" He asked with a sly tone to his voice. He flirted with the idea that he was being checked out and he sort of found himself loving it.

[Alexander Archer]

Still mentally cursing himself for his embarrassing choice of words, he forced himself to concentrate as Gavril cleared his throat and responded. He wasn’t surprised to hear that he stayed in shape, training himself. He highly doubted many wizards would use the brash exercise points of Muggles simply because they weren’t terribly good or effective unless used excessively; there were much simpler ways to keep oneself fit if one was minded toward those sorts of things.

As he raised his gaze back to the man seated opposite him, he noticed the small smile upon his charming features and had to work hard to suppress the widening of his own. Needless to say, Alex had never been good at keeping his emotions from showing on his sleeve, and he had very little success at this point in time. But even as his smile increased somewhat, his mind roamed back to just how uncomfortable he was in this situation and the smile faded back a bit, leaving one corner of his mouth uplifted in what was still most definitely a grin.

Unused to such encounters in everyday life at Hogwarts, or anywhere for that matter, he was uncomfortable in his own skin. He didn’t know what to say, or what to do; didn’t even know how to read the signs that he was attempting to so surreptitiously look for. Drawn away from his thoughts once more, he made a conscious check that he didn’t appear too awkward and listened to the question directed toward himself.

A slow blush continuing to creep onto his cheeks, he was powerless to stop it. The fact that he himself had asked the exact same thing simply because of how much he had noticed the subtle musculature beneath the robes of his fellow staff member caused him to wonder if perhaps Romanov had noticed the very same thing upon Alex’s own body. The idea of any man taking such notice of such a minor thing sent his mind reeling, wondering if this could even be possible. Not only that, but there was something about the tone behind the question… Something that excited him.

Not being someone who liked to overdo things too much, he did indeed do simple things to keep himself fit. You never knew when it might come in handy, and such times provided him with a simple, down-to-earth relief from the hustle and bustle of everyday life; a time to be alone and most importantly, to be himself. He could escape into the pure joy of exercising, of thinking of nothing more than doing one more push-up, of running one more mile. To his sometimes overworked mind, it was bliss.

“Occasionally, yes. Nothing major, just simple things like you,” he said, pointing out the similarity for some reason. “I like to run,” he added lightly, flicking his eyes back up to view Gavril’s face and then quickly away again, as if something nowhere near the professor of Transfiguration was the most fascinating thing in the world; captivating his brief attention so completely.

“Maybe-…” Suddenly caught, unwilling to have uttered the beginnings of that sentence, he knew he would need to follow it through now. “Maybe…” First he begins with a disgustingly ludicrous question like ‘do you work out?’ and then he attempts to follow that poor show up with further conversation about it? Alex hadn’t felt this way around anyone for a long time, and apparently it was showing. No, he would not follow up with that. Change it, change it. Quickly. “Maybe we could… er… have dinner some night…?” he asked, the hesitation clear for the world to see. Luckily, it was only the two of them within the staff room at present; then again, that meant he was not alone, which also meant someone else, someone who he believed he might like, had now seen how much of a terrible flirter he was. Ohhh no…

[Gavril Romanov]

Oh this was an interesting first meeting, yes indeed it was. Here he had come into the staff room in hopes of working out some ideas for future lessons and here he was sitting opposite another Professor, dare he say, flirting? It was an odd thing to him, flirting with another male, yet he was curious and the whole ordeal made it feel dangerous and taboo. There was electricity in the air as he could sense Alex's tension for the whole situation, which only made Gavril feel equally if not more tense, but in control enough to seem aloof. However...

The next thing that came out of the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher's mouth made his heart jump up into his throat. Did he? Did he really just ask him to dinner? Was he that brash and bold to have assumed that perhaps this foreign, and new professor was interested in pursuing a relationship with another member of the same sex? Or was this a casual dinner, a dinner between mates, or co-workers. But what two males have ever had dinner together in a strictly no-nonsense type way? It was an alien thought to him, yet it provoked such strong emotions in his chest. And he liked them.

Blinking a couple times, clearly wearing a shocked expression over his Russian facade, he barely was able to utter out a response.

"D-dinner...dinner....? Yes...I like....dinner...err...eating is...uh...a good thing....we....need to eat...." Gavril was unable to form a coherent sentence at this point, all the excitement had taken hold of him, making him become tongue tied as he continued to ramble on about how eating was good. He nervously shifted in his chair, picking at the arm with his fingers.

[Evelyn Sparrow]

Evelyn had done every task that she had set before her to do today, and well before she had planned to finish it. All of her grading was done for the next two days classes.In addition she had prepared the samples of poisons, and numerous antidotes, in case the students... Well not all of them were intelligent, and she had run in to her share of students who made bad decisions over the course of her career, and it was never a bad idea to have a backup plan in case she needed it. After all, they were working with poisons, although none would kill the students if imbibed, some would give them horrible rashes and the like if they were allowed to seep in to cuts, or to splash in their eyes.

Removing herself from her office she knew where she would go, her coffee cup was nearly empty. Evelyn was actually quite the fan of coffee, one of those strange things she had picked up over the years. She like it sweet though, very sweet, and of course with half and half. Generally she opted for a vanilla brew if she could acquire one, but the school rarely made it a point to gather such things for her. As such she had made sure to buy her own, and simply go to the staff room and make a cup of coffee for her own self indulgence. Evelyn made her way up and out of the dungeons. She had to admit she spent an awful amount of time in the lower floors of the building. But every now and then she opted for something out of her usual pattern.

Traveling to the fifth floor Evelyn didn't realize just how quiet she was being today. Her black flats barely made a sound as she padded down the stone hallways. She even found that some of the students did not notice her approach until they were with in reaching distance. She found it to be such a shame that they would be so easily distracted by other things to allow another to sneak up on them.

As such, Evelyn wonder just how many people would fall victim to her quiet footsteps this day. Her coffee cup in hand she approached the staff room, and spoke the password, aware that it sounded like there were people on the other side. They seemed to be having quite the enthralling conversation.The portal slid open quietly, and Evelyn gracefully stepped through it, and found herself in the middle of a strange conversation.

“Maybe we could… er… have dinner some night…?"
"D-dinner...dinner....? Yes...I like....dinner...err...eating is...uh...a good thing....we....need to eat...."

Leaning back against the now closed door, Evelyn smiled, wondering just how long she could get away with being there before one of the men in front of her, her noticed her entrance. Her light blue robes, with their small flowers decorating each hem, hugged her slightly as she leaned there completely nonchalant. At times like these, she thought to her self, how wonderful a cigarette would be. Times where she could simply sit back and watch how things would unfold.

[Alexander Archer]

As soon as he voiced his hurried cover-up of a question, albeit one he would have liked to ask anyway, he instantly regretted it. Noticing the expression rising onto Gavril’s face, he began blushing unashamedly and directed his eyes toward the floor immediately. Everything was going wrong. One moment they had been… Well, Alex had thought that they’d been flirting… Perhaps he had misread the signs. He hadn’t had a date in some time, so it wasn’t beyond comprehension that Gavril was simply one of the friendlier members of staff and had suddenly had a rude awakening as to Alex’s hasty musings.

Damage control. Coughing hurriedly, he set his hands either side of himself on the couch and felt them dig in a fair way as he made to push himself up. He stopped halfway, however, as he heard the word ‘dinner’ muttered a few times, followed by a definite ‘yes’. Suddenly caught midway between a standing and sitting position, he must have looked even more foolish than he had when inquiring about the exercising habits of his staff mate. As Romanov’s stop-and-start sentence continued, the man ploughing through apparently without much direction or coherency, he perceived that despite the obvious shock he had previously just shown, he was not adverse to the concept of dinner with another man.

Then again… Perhaps he had misinterpreted? No… Alex was quite sure they had been flirting, that Gavril had understood the meaning behind the question loud and clear. But a sudden nagging worry began to tug at him; perhaps he wasn’t. Not having experienced this kind of paranoia about the preferred gender in some time, he wasn’t quite sure if he liked having it back or not, despite the implications that he was once more, what was the saying, getting back into the game. The confusion… Wondering whether they even prefer other men, and if they did, whether or not they would or could ever be interested in him.

He supposed he would have to live with it if he wanted to meet people; then again, with his history, perhaps it was better to avoid such confrontations altogether. Taking a deep breath, he re-seated himself and from somewhere unknown produced a small, shy smile that he directed Gavril’s way. From nowhere, his smile transfigured into a sly sort of grin. He could only guess it was due to having just been accepted on an offer for what he perceived as a sort of… well, a date. He chose, however, to reserve the cheeky retort on the tip of his tongue simply because Gavril had been polite enough to do so when Alex himself had stumbled over his words.

“Well then…” It was astonishing how quickly he had regained his composure after having his invitation to dinner accepted; then again, it wasn’t entirely honest. He was still fairly uncomfortable in this situation but he forced himself to stay seated simply because he found himself enjoying the Transfiguration professor’s company; he would not allow his misgivings on this entire situation to ruin whatever chance at happiness or fun Alex had. “Do you have anything particular in mind?” he asked quietly, so absorbed in the particularly interesting conversation that he had failed to notice the entrance of one Professor Sparrow.

Then again, one’s assumptions would not be completely amiss should they suggest that perhaps his mind was not occupied solely by the conversation alone. His eyes betrayed it’s second occupation as they focused subtly on the uncomfortable way Gavril shifted about on his chair; the nervous habit he adopted of picking it apart; the way he could still notice the subtlety of his muscles even through his robes. Smiling in spite of himself once more, he made a plan to perhaps exercise that little bit extra from now on.

[Gavril Romanov]

This was absolutely crazy. What exactly was going on here? He had just accepted to have dinner with another man. What would his family think? Such confusion gave him a headache. As he took in the other man seated across from him, he looked a touch younger than himself. Though it didn't matter to him what age he was, for he was more preoccupied about the fact that he felt some sort of forbidden chemistry between himself and another man. Preposterous.

He brought his hands into his lap as he continued to fidget nervously. He began to crack his knuckles, one by one, in that intensely annoying way that when the person is doing it, they aren't exactly aware that they are doing it, yet it still annoys the crap out of you.

"I'm not exactly sure...what did you have in mind?" He asked with a controled tone of voice. "Perhaps we could eat somewhere within the boundaries of the castle? Or...is there someplace we could go? This is my first time in Britain..." He said shyly as he had finished cracking his knuckles, but continued to do so, even though they made no further popping noises. He felt himself doing this and awkwardly slipped his hands underneath his thighs and looked up to see someone standing in the doorway.

His eyes widened, an uncontrolled reaction to seeing someone standing there that he hadn't heard come into the room. He coughed, more like choked as he was about to say something, and when he finally regained composure, he greeted the woman.

"Oh, hello..." He said, his words dripping with awkwardness. He stood up, brushing the clamminess of his hands across the front of his dark pants.

"I'm Romanov, ehhm, Gavril...Gavril Romanov. I am the new Transfiguration professor, it's nice to make your acquaintance." He said as he extended a hand to her.

"Alex was just....Professor Archer was just inviting me to....he offered to show me around England. This is my first time being in the country." He explained, his eyes darting to Alex and then back to the female professor, whose name he had yet to acquire. He hoped that Alex would not get put off by his quick explanation, for he really did want to get dinner with him, and figure out what these new and exciting feelings meant.

[Evelyn Sparrow]

Evelyn couldn't help but watch as the men in front of her played with their words. Stumbling about as if they were shy first years trying to ask a 5th year to go to a ball with them. She found the whole situation utterly adorable. As she watched from the distance she moved to drink down the last of her coffee cup, only to find that there was not even a swallow left. How disappointing. Returning her attention to the pair that occupied the area by the couch, she heard the distinct cracking of the one mans knuckles. A nervous habit that she recalled many a person having done in her presence when she was younger, particularly that of a younger Ken.

Smiling slightly as Romanov suggested different places where they could reconvene, Evelyn silently wished them happiness. There was far too many sad and depressing things lurking with in these school walls. Something that perhaps one day might be rectified. Thinking of her own love life, she felt slightly saddened, how she missed spending each night with Ken. But their jobs made it terribly difficult for the two of them to spend many nights in each others embrace.

As Evelyn mused over her own desires to see the man she loved, she noticed a slight change in the look that Gavril had previously held. The man looked slightly horrified, as if he was just caught with his hands in the cookie jar. He stumbled over what he would say to here as he made his way to his feet. After making an introduction, and adding a half truth version of what was happening between him and Archer, he paused and waited for her response. Evelyn merely raised her right eyebrow, and extended her hand to clasp his own gently. Her wedding and engagement rings catching the light of the room. The bluish stone in the center, casting a glow in to he accompanying diamonds that were on either side.

"Evelyn Sparrow, Potions Mistress, and occasionally Nurse for the Hospital wing. I'm sure that the pleasure is all mine, Gavril." Pausing to let a sweet smile cover her face she waited for him to finish his justification before continuing.

"Ah, well, a popular place for the students to gather about for meetings of the sort is Madam Puddifoots. Such a cozy little place, a great environment for getting to know things. However, The Three Broomsticks is a bit more adult friendly, and they can provide privet rooms to discuss important matters. Although if you wish to stay on school grounds, the gardens are actually lovely during the winter season, and they've even placed benches through out it. And if you're looking for a more private location, the elf kitchens actually are a great place to meet together for a bite to eat, I've seen my fair share of students meeting there at all hours of the night to quell their hunger."

Her sweet smile grew with each comment she made, None of them meaning to be vicious, at all, but merely a bit of encouragement. As she finished her comments she moved across the room to where a coffee pot was stationed. Pulling out her own stash of vanilla cinnamon coffee, she set up a pot to brew. With in a few short seconds the sound of the water traveling up the pipes in to the coffee chamber filled the room. Accompanying the sound came the soft smell of cinnamon, and vanilla, mixed together perfectly. With the coffee set to brew she placed her cup on the counter, and turned back to the men.

"Coffee any one? I promise it will be quite lovely."

[Alexander Archer]

Offering a flicker of a happy smile to Gavril, his mind roamed quickly to find an adequate… no, a great place for them to have dinner. Then again, even if they were not to venture outside of the castle he could arrange a nice little setting; in fact, he could arrange a rather nice affair within these walls if he put a little bit of effort in. Considering he had not had a date in, well… years, he figured he could afford to put some extra effort into whatever this was he had with his fellow staff member.

Noticing the nervous fidgeting of the man seated opposite to him, he felt that very nervousness within himself, tearing at his insides and causing him to yearn getting out of this unorthodox situation. He suspected Romanov was feeling the same; this kind of thing didn’t occur everyday, and Alex remembered well just how others had reacted to his preferred gender. He wondered if the Transfiguration professor with him had ever experienced this before or if perhaps this was the first time… Whichever was the case, he did seem eager, albeit it uncomfortable.

About to reply, he flicked his eyes up to view Gavril and saw that his eyes were widened and focused on something that was not Alex himself. With a small sense of panic, he turned his head to face what was apparently a new entrant. His own eyes betraying his shock at being intruded upon with such a sensitive discussion abound in the room, he suddenly felt an irrational anger toward Professor Sparrow. As Gavril attempted to play their conversation off as nothing more than friendly discussions about making their way around England, Alex became more than slightly embarrassed.

Casting his eyes down to his feet, he felt his jaw clench unconsciously and felt that familiar sense of shame wash over himself. He missed the fleeting look Romanov cast him and was dully aware of the comments of Professor Sparrow; he’d thought of similar places himself so didn’t need to hear them repeated to him. As the smell of vanilla and cinnamon pervaded the air of the room, he raised himself from his seat on the couch and, without even a look to Gavril, he cleared his throat softly and cast his eyes toward Evelyn. “No thank you… I need to be off to my next class.” And with that, he turned on his heel and departed the room, the book with which he had entered tucked beneath one arm.