wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure

[alittlemirror]

To say Jade is displeased would be an understatement. It's not that he cares about this detention tarnishing his record, no. He doesn't really care about his record. What he does care about is how it cuts into his studying time. He had just come across a particularly fascinating snippet on the nature of death and the soul...

(And besides, those Hufflepuffs had started it with their incessant chattering. They're like a less annoying version of Saphir, and nobody had ever really objected when he hexed Saphir. And it's not like he used a serious hex; he just sealed and removed their mouths. Easily reversible, if they knew what they were doing - and knew how to use nonverbal spells.

After all, what kind of first-year doesn't know how to use nonverbal spells?)

But someone had taken offense to his hex, and now he finds himself trudging to Professor Rammsteiner's office, growing increasingly irritated at the loss of his study time. From what he's heard of detentions, they usually entail doing useless, mundane tasks easily accomplished with a little creative wandwork. He's thought about ignoring Professor Rammsteiner's orders more than once, but he's also been told that it would just lead to more detentions and thus a bigger waste of time.

Oh well. He's here now. With one last irritated sigh, he raises his hand to the door and knocks.

"Professor Rammsteiner? This is Jade Curtiss."

Comments

[aseptic]

Professor Eichel's voice is enough to jolt him out of his dazed state (although not entirely). He has to take a second to go through Professor Eichel's words before they sink in properly.

"Why?" He ends up asking. There's a part of him that's strangely reluctant to leave the eggs. He could almost call it a protective instinct but...it's not a true protective instinct, is it? It's likely something artificial, just another way the creature in the pool had tampered with his mind.

[canicide]

"People will talk." Eichel strokes Jade's hair back, cradling the back of his head gently. "And you should get some rest before the next task, hm?"

He steps away and goes to Heine's side. His old student is still slumped against the wall, eyes half closed. Eichel helps him up and lets him lean against the wall until he's able to walk again.

"And take Heine back to his room," he adds, voice firm.

[aseptic]

He enjoys Professor Eichel's touches, even the oddly affectionate ones, and it's disappointing when his teacher decides to pull away. Jade doesn't complain, though; he rarely does when it comes to Professor Eichel.

Still, he pauses slightly when Professor Eichel gives his last order. Take Heine back to his room. It can't be as simple as that, Professor Eichel must be expecting him to tie up all loose ends.

He hesitates for a second longer. Then he nods. "Understood."

Professor Rammsteiner is a liability right now. He needs to get him to his room and wipe his memories, even if...

No. There are no alternatives to consider. He'll do what he has to.

[canicide]

Eichel smiles. Better that Jade follows his directions, better that he listens.

Better for him, anyway.

He helps Heine stand up straight and redries his robe. Heine buttons it up and ties it, but that's all, before he moves to follow Jade wherever he leads.

Eichel clears his throat to catch Jade's attention. "Ready?" He's about to remove his own Imperius Curse.

[aseptic]

Jade is dressed again, his robes fitting properly against his body, his wand held firmly in one hand. The last traces of his arousal have finally disappeared. He nods, decisive. "Ready."

Professor Eichel's smile hangs over him, warm and approving, as he takes control of Professor Rammsteiner without even giving him a second to adjust to being out of Professor Eichel's control. From there, it's a simple matter to bring him back to his room. He knows better than to free Professor Rammsteiner from the Imperius Curse this time; he takes a moment to carefully craft the Memory Charm in his mind, then casts it on Professor Rammsteiner with cool efficiency.

No loose ends. He makes Professor Rammsteiner change and get into his bed, then casts another charm, a sleeping charm this time. Only then does he release his control over Professor Rammsteiner.

Exhaustion settles in his bones. He feels empty, hollow. This time, he doesn't linger to make sure Professor Rammsteiner is fine. He leaves without a word, locking the door behind him.

[canicide]

His mind rises from the swamp it's in, but just a little—and then there's another weight on him, holding him safe and down. Heine's posture barely changes before he's under the Imperius Curse again.

Back in his room, he goes through the motions of changing, climbing into bed, closing his eyes. He sleeps easily and deeply.

Waking up sore again is odd. Heine frowns in the mirror, looking himself over, but he doesn't notice any marks but the old imprints of teeth from—Jade, apparently. Maybe he's just been sleeping wrong. It would explain some things, like how tired he is despite sleeping all night.

Heine resolves to try and go to bed earlier. He wants to be up at the right time to see the next task, after all.