Tea with Janet

[Caira LaPointe]

Caira sat at her desk, contemplating a delicate porcelain teapot before her. One of her favorite parts of the day was sitting in her neatly-appointed office with a cup of hot tea as she considered recent events. Her mistress' powers were slowly growing and Caira felt confident that, with the Elemental Masters and Shadow Warriors under her close observation, they were nearly assured victory. Of course, that observation was by no means easy to maintain... she had even employed the help of a student in observing two of her fellow Ravenclaws, ostensibly because she was worried for their well-being.

On this particular day, she was waiting to have tea with the new Ancient Runes professor, Janet Choi. Janet's application had immediately drawn her interest from among the slew of applicants. Caira remembered her from her own days as student. She and Janet had been in the same year, though different houses. She appreciated her professionalism around the students... along with the fact that she knew how to cut loose a bit when students were not about.

Having sent her an owl earlier, inviting her to tea, Caira leaned back in her chair, waiting for the knock at the door that would herald her arrival.

[janet]

Janet had received the owl invitation for tea that morning, written in the Headmistress's curly script. She smiled to herself as she folded the parchment back up and set it aside; it was nice to converse with someone other than the more stuffy professors and closed-off students. Since she and Caira knew each other from their own Hogwarts school days, there was already an established raport even if the two women were never very close. Janet knew Caira to be quite popular and seemingly perfect, being able to get on the good side of everyone. Since this was a Saturday, Janet wanted to wear something more casual and fun for the occassion.

Skimming her closet, she found a bright purple cotton dress with gold trim that was quite fashionable without being formal. It was one of her favorite outfits, since it was nice enough to wear out on the town, but casual enough to wear for something like tea. Slipping on her frock and adding some small gold hoop earings, she headed to the Caira's office. She wasn't sure if the Headmistress has anything specific in mind to discuss...

She knocked firmly on Caira's door before letting herself in and shutting the door behind her.

"Well, how are things, Caira? Are the kids driving you nuts yet?" she said, smirking slightly.

[Caira LaPointe]

"Hi Janet!" said Caira, rising from her chair. "Oh, you know me, crazy isn't usually too far away. I guess the year's gone alright so far... except for a couple of students in particular, that is." She stood back, at arms' length as she examined Janet's dress. "Oh, I absolutely love that color on you! I always forget I have so many interesting things in my closet... the Headmistress gig is certainly part-time. These robes are kinda boring, aren't they?"

Taking up the tea service, she led the way to a pair of comfortable wingback chairs by the fireplace. "C'mon, I'm starving," she remarked, gesturing to an assortment of sweets she had had brought for tea. "Have a seat, get comfortable. I want to catch up on everything that's been happening with you. Gods, I feel like it's been ages since we graduated from Hogwart's."

She quickly poured a cup of tea for each of them before taking up her own teacup and saucer and settling back into the chair with a sigh of contentment.

[janet]

Janet gave Caira a warm smile at her compliment, "thank you! This is one of my favorite dresses. We could go shopping sometime if you like, I'm always at Diagon Alley buying some shoes I'll only wear once," she said laughing. Settling down on the chair opposite of Caira, she helped herself to a couple of the more rich-looking treats on the table. Janet loved food, and never skipped on the chance to indulge a bit. Most of her extra money went to clothes and old books and she hadn't had food better than her days at Hogwarts.

"Oh, bless those house elves," she said, swallowing a bite of her chocolate tart, "I was never able to cook this well." As she finished her tart, she wiped the crumbs off her lap and took a few moments to consider what about her past she should tell the Headmistress.

"Well, I worked at that library in Diagon Alley, as you know, for the first few years after Hogwarts. I helped translate some texts, find new books, things of that nature. Then, about five years ago I decided I needed a change," she said, picking out vanilla cake.

"I traveled a lot. I went to India, Africa," she said, looking up slightly as she recalled her travels, her hands waving around as she counted out the places she had been.

"Prague, Russia, all over really. I started out in India looking for some old Elder Futhark books and ended up just...not leaving," she said, shrugging and taking a bite of her cake, smirking a bit as she considered her other adventures.

"Other than that, not much else has happened. Men are always trouble, as I'm sure you know. I've had a few romance but nothing serious," she said, smiling in a girlish way. "However, I would love to hear what you've been up to," she said, puting the rest of the cake in her mouth and chewing.

[Caira LaPointe]

Caira settled back in her chair and began slowly tasting her way around the decadent treats that had been brought up by the house elves. "Yes, aren't these absolutely divine?" she replied to Janet's blessing of the house elves, rolling her eyes heavenward in deep satisfaction as she bit into a thick fudge petit four.

She listened intently as Janet relayed her adventures over the past weeks. "Wow, it sounds like you've had quite the exciting past couple of years. I absolutely love traveling." She laughed. "And being a witch makes it so much simpler because I never have to worry about anyone losing my luggage," she added happily, recalling the sorts of stories she had heard muggles tell of luggage lost by airlines.

She shrugged with a girlish smirk on her face as Janet passed the question back to her. "Well, after graduation, I decided to get into international affairs. I started out as an intern for a man named Isaac Philosophy." She lowered her voice conspiritorially, "You know, the one who just died last year under questionable circumstances? Anyway, I spent my time making contacts there and eventually worked my way up through the ranks. Glass ceiling be damned! I ended up as the Liaison between the French and English Ministries... that was one nightmare after another. But it was a fun nightmare," she added with a smile.

She considered a small eclair before taking a bite as thought of where to go from there. "When I was informed that the last Headmaster was leaving Hogwart's, I decided to apply... and with my experience with the International Council, I beat out the competition."

She shrugged. "There really haven't been any interesting men. Most of the ones who've caught my eye turn out to be either dreadfully boring and insanely arrogant. You're right, they're all trouble... most of them more than they're worth," she added suggestively.

[janet]

Janet sipped her tea quietly as Caira recounted her recent activites and professional advancements. When she mentioned Isaac Philosophy and his mysterious death, she furrowed her brow for a bit while the memory of meeting his daughter flashed through her mind. It was a strange coincidence that she had met Drorah only a few days ago, and now her father was being brought up in conversation. Caira had worked for him...perhaps she would know something more about Drorah's character and whether or not that book was safe in her hands.

"Oh yes, all sorts of trouble," she said, smirking at Caira's remark about the other gender. Setting her tea cup down, making a muffled "clink" on the saucer, she thought carefully about how to phrase her next comment.

"I didn't hear much about Isaac's death, actually," she said, leaning back in her chair. "All I know is that he died...of course I don't keep up with the newspapers much. What were those 'mysterious' circumstances, if you don't mind me asking?" she added quickly.

[Caira LaPointe]

Caira set her teacup and saucer on the table with a scandalous look on her face. "It was absolutely dreadful," she replied, her voice taking on the secretive tone of one about to relay horrifying information. "He and his wife were found in their flat in Manhattan... tortured to death." She leaned forward. "Now, I know a bit more of the details because, being somewhat of a friend, I was able to help with the final arrangements... so you'll have to make sure you don't pass on anything I say here." She paused, waiting for a sign of assent.

"Now then, Isaac was pretty high up in the International Council... well-respected and all that. I never met his family really; he was very strict about keeping his work life and his family life separated. But, from everything I heard around the office, they seemed to have the sort of storybook life--the man with the great job, the beautiful wife who was wonderfully supportive and a brilliant child. Naturally, it had to be too good to be true, right?"

She leaned forward just the slightest bit more and she continued. "Best anyone can figure, he got himself into some dark magic... in with a group of dark wizards that he just couldn't handle. I mean... oh Janet, if you have seen it..." she trailed off, her eyes misting over as she straightened in her chair.

When she spoke again, her voice was thick and slightly tremulous, as though she were holding back tears. "I started with him at the International Council and I always thought he was such a wonderful man... but he always did have an interest in dark magic, said it was necessary to to develop it to fight it. Only, I never saw him working on defense--just cultivating the dark side."

She took a deep, slightly shaky breath. "Anyway, when he didn't show for work the next morning, the Council sent someone to make sure everything was alright. Of course, it wasn't. There was blood everywhere; Isaac and Shoshana had obviously been tortured to death. It was absolutely horrifying. And then there was D'rorah." She paused. "I don't know if she's in your classes or not... but I'd watch out for her. She was found unconscious... now, obviously whoever did this isn't the kind of person who would just carelessly leave an unconscious girl lying around. But of the three of them, she survived. I don't know if she had anything to do with it or not but, considering her hobbies, I would be inclined to think there's more darkness in that girl than most would believe."

She sat back in her chair, once again taking up her teacup and saucer. "It's just such a mystery... but I think she knows something that she's not telling anyone. And my own personal suspicion is that she's involved somehow or she wouldn't have lived."

When she had finished, she let out a breath, the exhalation of someone who had finally had the opportunity to reveal thought that had been burdening her mind heavily.

[janet]

Janet listened quietly as Caira described what she knew about the late Isaac Philosphy; his life, work, and scandalous murder. She leaned on the arm of her chair, bringing a hand up to softly rest it on her face while she looked at Caira with interest during the beginning, giving her a sympathetic look as Caira's eyes began to glint with tears. While the account continued, Janet's expressions began to change to a more detatched concern. Her eyes glazed over slightly and she appeared to be lost in her own world while Caira mentioned the dark wizards and the subtle accusations toward the daughter, Drorah Philosophy. Janet began to run through her own encounter with the girl in her head again, slowing down the girl's movements and trying to cach every slight motion that might indicate the girl's allegiance.

"Interesting," Janet said distantly, a finger sliding absentmindedly in front of her lips. She was still not looking at Caira, but staring out of the large window behind the headmistresses's desk. Was it true that Drorah had been involved in a brutal murder? she seemed so quiet...but Janet knew that outward displays were no garauntee of power.

"That is quite a scandal," she said, turning her attention back to Caira as the playful light returned to her eyes and giving her an almost imperceptable smirk.

"That is dreadful, what happened to Isaac and his wife," she said, taking another sip of her tea. As she took the cup down from her lips, Janet felt as if the time in the room slowed down a fraction of a second. She knew this was an unconscious reaction to the times in her life when she felt her next actions might determine more than she could forsee at that moment. The only question was...who to trust?

"Well, you know I do find it odd that you mention that. Drorah actually came to my office the other day intending to borrow one of my lexicons. I assumed it was only a simple text, but it was an enchanted runic text, which as you know is much more powerful than any other alphabet when it comes to giving words magical properties." She paused, eyeing Caira for a split second before continuing.

"Well, she was quite abrupt with me. I find it hard to read her, she's almost too at-ease with herself for a seventh year. I gave her the lexicon of course, since before you said such a thing I had no real grounds not to trust her with a magical text," she said, setting her cup back onto the saucer and picking out another vanilla cake. Janet had carefully left out key information since she could tell that since Caira did not trust the girl, it was not wise to indicate she had let her run off with a dangerous manuscript. But Janet knew that she was not truly lying, so nothing in her face gave away any sort of guilt from omitting information. In any case, she rarely felt guilty regardless.

[Caira LaPointe]

Caira nodded at Janet's assertion that the Runic alphabet was the most powerful for giving words magical properties. As Janet finished speaking, she selected a piece of fudge and chewed it thoughtfully as she considered Janet's final words. "I agree. She is very abrupt. I called her from class one day to speak with her and was met with a stone wall. Of course, that night, she disappeared for several days and was in desperate need of medical attention when she was found again. She took a small sip of her tea as she thought carefully of how to continue.

"Janet... might I ask? Were you able to see the text she wished to use the lexicon for?" She took a slow sip of her tea before continuing. "I have had another student sort of... keeping an eye on her. She spends almost all of her free translating old texts. Every time I find her, she's in the library with several books spread out around her. Now, I'm not so good with ancient languages. I can sometimes parse the sounds of the words out for alphabets with any magical value, but I've never learned the languages." She set her teacup carefully on the saucer in her other hand. "If she has access to her father's old library, then she's a great many text at her disposal which are very powerful... were you able to see anything of the text she had?" She pursed her lips as though uncertain about something she was about to reveal. "Janet... do you know if these books have anything to do with... shadows?" She leaned forward, awaiting a response, knowing the answer perfectly well, but knowing it wouldn't be wise to reveal that she already knew; instead, she presented it as mere suspicion, hoping that the scholar in Janet would be attracted to the idea of procuring and deciphering D'rorah's texts.

[janet]

Janet found Caira's account of meeting with Drorah extremely familiar, and she sneered slightly remembering the girl's cold attitude. Keeping her face unreadable as Caira asked for the details on the text, she only widened her eyes in surprise as the Headmistress mentioned shadows. Janet knew this was not a mere coincidence; something was happening beneath the surface and she was just beginning to dip her toes. There was no need to dive in at this point since Janet could se no advantage to entangling herself with what could simply be a friction between Caira and one student.

Janet passed of her slightly surprised eyes as befuddlement, "Shadows? That would be a very dangerous text for a young girl to have, although I'm sorry to say i didn't much get a look at it before I handed her the lexicon. Only enough to get the feel of power coming off from the words, and I don't remember any mention of shadows," she said, tapping her finger on the tip of her chin to appear to be recalling the memory.

"Do you believe the girl is involved in such dark magic, Caira?" she asked, her face remaining calm but her dark eyes fixing on the Headmistress. Janet was trying to figure out if this dislike of Drorah was based on wrongly-placed grief over Isaac or if there were facts to back up the claim.

[Caira LaPointe]

"I do believe so," affirmed Caira. "She has already published work about Unforgivable Curses... her Defense Against Dark Arts professor at Falstaff's reports the same sort of obsession with the Dark Arts themselves. That girl has a near-encyclopedic knowledge of curses and hexes that most death eaters would have been squeamish to use."

She settled back into her chair again and closed her eyes. "Of course, her father studied the same way, but he was stuch a warm and likeable man. This girl gives off coldness as though she were an iceberg. Of course, she's an excellent student and none of her professors've reported any disreputable behavior in their classes. I don't know Janet. I hate to think a student, any student could be mixed up in something so dangerous, but I think this one is."

She thought for a moment before deciding to throw out some interesting information. "Had you heard about the problems in the forest? Dementors, shadows, the like. D'rorah and Mordred organized a group of students and teachers to go in about the problem, deliberately leading them into harm's way without even telling me about it beforehand. As a result one student died and D'rorah disappeared, apparently captured. I assumed, given what had happened to the other student, she would surely be dead if she was in the forest alone like that. But then she returned.. she was a bit worse for wear, but a few days in the infirmary fixed her up." She leaned forward again. "I mean, for one girl to face survive whatever a whole slew of others were unable to dispel. It just looks suspicious to me."

[janet]

Janet furrowed her brow slightly at the story. Caira seemed very concerned for the students' safety, although it appeared very strange to her that if the forest was so dangerous the Headmistress had not organized a group to hold back the dementors. After the curfew had been put in place, Janet often wondered why the teachers had not been gathered to discuss how to defeat the dark beings that were slowly approaching Hogwarts. After all, even if they ran wild there were always ways to keep them from coming so near the castle that the students could feel their presence.

She kept all these thoughts to herself, however, and her slightly crinkled forehead was the only expression she wore. Janet blinked a few times and twirled a stray whisp of hair between her fingers as she spoke.

"I agree that someone needs to keep an eye on that girl, whatever threat she poses," she said in a mysteriously bland tone.

"However," she said, her eyes glancing around at Caira's office, "if she has caught your attention, she has most certainly caught the attention of others...hm...and all that dark magic knowledge at her age..."

Her speech drifted off, and her eyes became unifxed for a moment before flitting back to Caira. She stared at the Headmistress for a few, unwavering seconds. Her eyes were slightly cold and penetrating, but she said nothing. After a mere moment the light returned to them and she gave a small smile.

"I'll be sure to keep her in my sight," she said, "I wouldn't want harm coming to my students, any more than you would."

Janet stood up from the table and gave Caira a broad smirk as she took one of the chocolate tarts from the tea table.

"A little snack for the road," she said, folding it in a napkin.

"Thank you so much for tea Caira, it was good to catch up." Janet took one last sip of her tea before heading toward the door and waiting for the Headmistress's final words to her.

[Caira LaPointe]

"Yes, it was fun!" exclaimed Caira, the heaviness of the ending part of the conversation temporarily pushed aside. "We should certainly do it again, and soon!"

As the door closed behind Janet, Caira's gaze became more thoughtful and calculating. She wondered whether Janet could be used more openly on her own side. Certainly, the woman was a hard read, but having the Ravenclaw Head of House at her side would give her access to the two she expected of being Lightfighters... and that could prove very useful indeed.