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[007]

Your Attention Please, Students.

First Of All I Am Afraid That I Am Going To Have To Take Matters To The Headmaster If Another Student Comes Into The Hospital Wing After Falling Through The Ice At The Edge Of The Lake.
It Is Not Strong Enough To Hold Your Weight, Please Do Not Walk On It!

Secondly, I Understand That There Are Important Exams Fast Approaching.
For Those Of You Whose Nerves Are Adversely Affecting Your Studies The Hospital Wing Has Mild Calming Draughts On Hand.
Do Not Hesitate To Approach Us If You Find Yourself Needing Help.

[Private to Kurloz Makara]
Do You Have A Free Period Later This Week, Dear?
Your Help In The Hospital Wing Would Be Appreciated.
I Am Very Impressed With Your Progress So Far.

[Private to Rhys Rhydderch]
Rhys, May I Have A Few Moments Of Your Time?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

And I Yours.
I Hoped You Might Say That.
If You Would Not Object To A Visit I Will Come To You.

IF I OBJECTED
i wouldn't have invited you.
I LOOK FORWARD TO IT.

[And Rhys will be waiting in his rooms at the appointed hour, curious and pleased.]

[And at one on the dot, there's a gentle tap on the door of his rooms.

She's not quite bold enough to just walk in.]

Edited 2013-01-31 08:46 (UTC)

[He opens it immediately, gesturing for her to come in. He's taken off the robes he wears when he's teaching, leaving loose black linen pants and a dark blue-purple tunic top underneath - Rhys tends to dress in the style of his twenties when he's being casual, which had some Muggle influences.]

It's good to see you.

[The tea's already on, of course.]

[There's a quiet 'thank you' murmured as he opens the door and she ducks her head slightly as she passes him. Curled in one hand, she's holding a small potion bottle.]

It's good to see you too, as always.

[A warm smile follows that remark - she's one of the few in the school who might say that and mean it, no doubt.]

I hope you'll forgive me for bypassing small talk but I have something rather.. pressing.. to enquire about before anything else is done.

[His eyes flick down to the potion bottle, and then he raises one eyebrow.] Of course. Sit down, and you can tell me what you're here about.

[She sits, and sets the bottle on her knee. It's filled with a blood-red potion.]

The last batch that you made for me.. did you do something different with it?

[frowns] No. Why, has it tasted off? [holding his hand out for the bottle so he can examine it]

You might say that.

[She hands it over, looking more than a little worried as she does.]

Rhys, I came this close to considering biting a student. You know I can't work here if I'm a liability.

[His frown deepens as he uncorks the bottle and sniffs at it.] What were the circumstances? Had you been hungry, or were there high emotions involved?

[He's not sure exactly how it works with vampires, but he can guess there's biting involved when they're attracted - he had had the marks to prove it. Perhaps it happened when they were angry, as well? But it's hard to imagine Dolores losing her temper.

Dipping his pinky into the bottle, he takes out some of the potion and tastes it, but he can't tell any difference from the usual stuff. And he hadn't done anything to it, far too concerned with matters involving his son to think about trying anything new.]

[She shakes her head.]

Not that I can recall, though I startled myself quite badly.. I hadn't so much as thought about it since.. [Dolores makes a small, embarrassed gesture towards him.]

.. Is there a way to see if it's been tampered with?

I can examine it, but it will be difficult to tell if someone's gone to some lengths to hide it. Still, I have contacts in the Ministry who could help.

[looking up at her again, hesitates, then asks] Could that have had something to do with it? Taking some from me? [He has no idea if she's abstained from blood entirely, or if there have been ... willing donors.]

I'd appreciate that, thank you..

[She catches her lower lip between her teeth for a moment, twisting her hands in her lap.]

It's.. a possibility, I suppose. So little is known about vampire physiology, after all, even between ourselves, it seems.. If that's the case then it will be a matter of waiting it out.

I'd offer you more, if I thought it would help, but if it's what caused this then that would only make matters worse, I suspect. I can, however, brew something stronger, in the meanwhile? It might take some of the edge off.

[glancing down at her hands, watching them twist, then laying one of his much larger ones over them] You won't be a danger. We'll make sure of it.

[Dolores nods, and one of her habitual unneeded breaths catches in her throat as she curls her fingers around his.]

I do wonder what I would have done without you here, sometimes.

You would have gotten the same potion from Miss Mercer, though doubtless it wouldn't have tasted anywhere near so good. [tells her with a crooked smile, teasingly] Though your choices for intelligent conversation would have been much more limited, so I can see why you're grateful I'm here.

[The smile is returned, and it's with the air of someone who seems relieved to be able to smile.]

There are very few people here who can offer the kind of conversation that you do. I can appreciate your presence for that reason alone.

My devastating good looks haven't swayed you, hmm? I must be getting old. [He smirks at her, then pauses for a moment, before reaching out and very lightly brushing his fingers through a bit of her hair. Then he stands to move over to the work table. It's a means of running away, a little, but he's not sure if he should have done that, and now is really not the time.]

I can start something for you right away, that should do until I can properly examine the old batch.

Your good looks are a bonus.

[She smiles, her fingers lifting to touch his wrist as he brushes her hair. It's an uncommonly tender gesture, and one that makes her stomach flutter. A smile lingers on her lips as she watches him walk away.]

Oh, Rhys, you're a godsend.

Don't say that until I've figured out if it was my error in the first place. [He warns her, as he opens a stained-glass fronted cabinet on the wall and starts taking out jars and vials, and even a few small cloth pouches.] Your normal potion takes a few days to brew, so this one will actually require some human blood. Wizarding, specifically. Just a bit, though. Is that all right?

[He looks over at her then, struck by her loveliness, sitting on his couch with that little smile. Girlish, some might have called it, but he wouldn't have said that at all. She has all the subtlety and complexity that only years can bring, no matter how young she appears to be.]

I wouldn't trust anyone else with this, error or no. [There's a small nod to answer his question - whatever it needs, she has faith that he's doing his best for her.]

Of course. Do what you need to do.

[She's aware of his eyes on her but she looks down at her hands as she speaks, that tiny smile still tilting her lips up.]

[He watches her a few moments more, her graceful hands, the slope of her shoulders, the line of her neck - he likes that her hair is short, so he can see it. And not for the first time, he wishes things could be different. Dolores is the type of woman he would greatly enjoy wooing, and perhaps even winning, if he were willing to get involved with someone he'd have to keep so many secrets from.]

You're very beautiful.

[He pulls down the wooden cutting board and grabs a small silver knife, to start paring the root cluster of the bloodwart.]

[She doesn't expect those words, and looks up with a little start, the faintest hint of pink on her cheeks. It's by grace of the potion she takes that she's able to do so, but it betrays her level of surprise.]

Th.. thank you.

[After a moment, she gets to her feet and crosses to him, standing close by his side and gently placing her hand over his, her fingers following the line of his own. She glances up at him briefly, then looks down and speaks quietly.]

If you cut it a little more thinly.. [Slowly, she guides his hand to demonstrate.] It will mix more easily when you come to add it to the potion.

[He looks down at her - with his height and the way her head is bowed, he can't see her face, only the crown of her head. Her cool fingers feel sure on his, and though of course he knows to cut the root finely - this is his job, after all - he can't bring himself to object or take offense. He wonders if she has to breathe. His own breath seems caught somewhere just below his throat, at least for a moment.]

I don't think I have your delicate touch. [His voice is equally quiet, a basso counterpoint to hers.] I wouldn't want to mishandle this, something so important.

[Of course he knows, and a doubt of his talent isn't why she's standing there. Her head tilts slightly and she smiles, looking up at him.]

I know. I hope I'm not implying otherwise.

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