Outrageous Fortune [Mercy & Nikolai]

The headmaster's office had a library to rival even Hogwarts' own. Books of every shape and size seemed to line every inch of the walls, and the few spots that were not filled with dustless literature held portraits of past headmasters and mistresses or relics of some kind or another that Andrei had picked up over his lifetime. The room, however, was by no means dark as one might expect of a library. Rather, it was lit by magically suspended crystals that floated listlessly around the room and the large wall-length windows that allowed natural light to stream in from behind the desk in the far side of the room.

Currently also behind the desk, with his back to the windows and his nose in a book, Andrei Kessler could be found enjoying what little free time he had during the school year. It was that blessed couple hours between class and meetings when many of the older students were off enjoying themselves in Hogsmeade and most of the staff were prepping for afternoon classes. The headmaster often took this time to take a nap to make up for the sleep he so often missed in the evenings, but today his mind was restless and he found himself unable to drift off to sleep like he normally might have. Instead, he contented himself with finishing the last chapters of Breaking Dawn.

Though it was a moment of solitude for the headmaster, his door was still open to anyone who might drop by, staff or otherwise. The good host charm maintained on the entrance to his chambers would permit all who wished to enter to do so without incident as the door would swing inwards to admit them. Indeed, the only thing one might find strange was the muted sound of a windchime that sounded throughout the room upon being entered by someone other than Andrei himself—magic truly was a wonderful thing.

It was as Professor Hughes began to lead the two of them back toward the castle, Squid Boy's cheek beginning to swell as the blood dried on his chin, that Mercy finally began to wonder if punching the headmaster's son had been a good idea. Dueling was one thing - it was against the rules, but it took two to duel, so it wasn't only Mercy's fault. Hitting him in the face, on the other hand...well, it had felt great, at least. She wondered how many weeks of detention that would be worth.

She didn't know where Mimosa was. When Mercy had looked for her after the fight, the younger witch had not been where she'd left her. Mercy, having been a bit preoccupied, must have missed her slipping away. Professor Hughes had wasted no time in marching the two teens back across the grounds, walking behind them to keep an eye on them, and Mercy hadn't gotten as a good a look around as she would have liked. Everyone stared as they passed. Mercy kept her chin up.

She had nothing to be ashamed of, as far as she was concerned. She'd won the fight. Her parents would understand as long as she could explain the situation to them, so she wasn't all that worried about word reaching them. She could handle detention too, if that was what the headmaster decided.

It was just that, out of all the people she could have picked a fight with, it happened to be Nikolai Kessler. And now she realized she probably ought to be worried that he might get his dad to fight his battles for him. The headmaster would very likely take his son's side if it came down to that - if it were her dad, she knew he'd do the same for her - so something worse than detention could very well be in store.

What if she got kicked off the Quidditch team? What if she got expelled? The closer they got to the headmaster's office, the more nervous she began to feel. She tried not to show it.

They reached the door. Professor Hughes stepped forward, knocking on the door to alert the headmaster of their presence. The door swung open to reveal the headmaster's office, and Mercy kept her head held high even as her heart rate quickened. Time to face the music.

The soft chime and clunk of the door pulled Andrei from the final chapters of his book. Marking the page, pushing his glasses up his nose, and glancing up the man wore a warm smile that somehow seemed to take a few years off his age. Unfortunately, said smile was fleeting for the unlikely trio that entered his office would surely necessitate something different: Grayson, Miss Williams, and his own bloodied son, Nikolai. In place of a smile, Andrei adopted an unreadable mask, one every professional learns early in life if they want to lend any gravitas to their presence.  

"Grayson," the headmaster spoke, allowing his sharp gaze to pass over the two younger visitors before coming to rest on the librarian. "To what do I owe the unexpected pleasure?"

Of course, it did not take a genius to put two and two together. Blood on his son's face, two students led to the headmaster, and the way Nikolai avoided his gaze: there had been a fight. Andrei Kessler was, however, a methodical man and not prone to jumping to any conclusions too quickly. It was far better to ascertain the facts before proceeding, especially when it came to the discipline of students or staff.


[Dreadfully sorry for the wait. Life has been, well, life.]

Professor Hughes looked almost resigned as he ushered the two of them into the office. Mercy flexed her fingers unconsciously behind her back, feeling a slight swelling in her knuckles and trying to ignore the growing soreness. The professor sighed, then spoke softly like he always did.

"Unfortunately, the circumstances are less than pleasant. A duel broke out on the way to Hogsmeade. I'll allow these two to fill in the details; I'm afraid I only caught the end of it."

Professor Hughes glanced between the two of them, inviting them to talk. Mercy decided now was her opportunity to go on the offensive and make sure her side of the story was heard, since Squid Boy would no doubt try to spin it in his own favour.

"Sq-Nikolai was trying to make Mimosa go to Hogsmeade with him but she didn't want to and then he tried to kiss her even though she kept telling him no," Mercy burst forth, maintaining her own righteous anger. Surely the headmaster could see that that was wrong, even if it was his own son that did it. Her own parents were very adamant about making sure she understood what consent was, so if someone tried to make her do something she didn't want to do she would know that was wrong and she'd be able to defend herself. Didn't boys also need to know that?


(OoC: Likewise, sorry for the wait. Lots of big changes recently.)