A Casual Discussion (Carmilla)

Headmaster Posts : 208

Change. Codey wasn't necessarily one to abhor the word, nor was he one to approach it with a carefree attitude; he was cautious, as with anything out of the ordinary, but with an open mind. And that was exactly how he had ended up in this position. Since the tragedy with the tournament, things had been going downhill, with many students leaving and a turmoil in the community for a short while. Dorian had resigned, leaving Codey in charge, and he had waited for the dust to settle before seeing what was left in the rubble.

There had been a lot to work with, thankfully, and slowly - piece by piece - Codey rebuilt the Uni's reputation, sending out more acceptance letters and personally seeking out Professors and staff. It hadn't been easy, but then again, change never was. One thing he knew for certain, though, was that the one lesson he had learnt was that change was whatever you made it to be, whether good or bad.

Letting out a slow exhale, he checked his to-do list, glancing at the picture of him and Aria as he did so. She had been one of the changes in his life that had worked out for good, and a smile touched his lips. She had moved, worried for her safety, and found employment elsewhere, but they were still in touch, and their relationship was going great. But that was not what was on his mind. On the top of the list, magically enchanted to prioritise according to the time of day, was an interview with a new Professor.

Carmilla Fürstenberg had been his most recent hire, an Auror with a most interesting past. Most people might have been iffy about hiring someone who was a vampire, and he was sure that there would be some backlash from students or parents, but Codey stuck by his decision. After all, he could relate to the criminal past, and his own daughter was half-vampire, so who was he to discriminate? No, mistakes were another thing one could either learn from and get better or let define you - and he was not in the business of doing the latter.

She had been there for a short while now, settling in, and it was only after the first few days that he sent her an owl, informing her he'd like to meet with her, stressing that she wasn't in trouble. Checking the clock, he noted it was about time for her to arrive and, waving his wand, quickly prepared a pot of tea and arranged a few biscuits on a tray; with another flick, he closed the blinds and turned on artificial light. Sitting behind his desk, he pulled a few papers towards him, signing things while he waited for her arrival.

Guest

The thing about being a vampire was that, while everything and everyone around her changed, Carmilla remained the same. Not personality-wise, perhaps, but the passing years never showed on her face—there were no scars and wrinkles from her days as a slave, no grey strands growing from her scalp. And yet, if one looked closely, they would see that her eyes weren't the same. Though she still looked like a woman in her late twenties, her eyes were darkened by sights only someone living far too long in this world could have seen.

Coming back to Merlin's as a professor only reminded her of how different times have become. Some areas were freshly painted and renovated, and Carmilla could only recognise a few of the names added to the Trophy Room. The library was not as dark and musty as before, with the staff adding new muggle technology to aid the wizarding world in its research and development. There were instant coffee machines and all other sorts of things that made house elves quite unnecessary. For a moment, Carmilla wondered how it would have been if she had been enslaved during a time of quick phone calls and faster cars.

And yet, despite the advancements new technology brought to the world, it seemed as if humanity had only managed to limit themselves even more. With the advent of computers came the ease one could acquire information. Even the wealthiest families couldn't afford privacy anymore, what with technology storing their information, and travelling became a lot more difficult due to stricter security. In the 1900s, Carmilla was at least able to escape the frying pan that was Italy. She recognised that the leap into fire was mostly out of her folly—she had underestimated Ange Leroux, thinking he was a mere psychopath who enjoyed playing at being the next Jack the Ripper.

Away from his sadistic clan, Carmilla still encountered his sort due to her job as an Auror. Fortunately, she was wiser this time, aware of the precautions one had to take when treading criminal territory. Because unlike schools, technology and people's faces, evil never changed.

The summons from the Headmaster was expected. Carmilla would have raised an eyebrow if Codey Ellingston did not make an effort to get to know his new staff. She had prepared for this moment, when she would be asked to explain why she had decided to teach all of a sudden. Perhaps he would even try to know more about her past, see if she was trustworthy despite being a vampire-slash-former-criminal. Carmilla could respect that—after all, she was only doing her job, as he was only doing his. What Carmilla looked forward to, however, was seeing whether there was some sense to those rumours floating around. She had quite liked the man when they first met, but there was no telling what sort of secrets he kept.

She hadn't seen any of those rumoured black-robed men, but she didn't really need to. The conversation would be enough to show her which side he was on. Entering the office with a polite smile, she greeted the Headmaster. 'Good afternoon, Professor Ellingston.'

Headmaster Posts : 208

The door opened and he let his eyes glance upwards for a brief moment before going back to the parchment on his desk. With a quick movement, he had signed the paper, moved it to the completed pile, and pushed the ones he had yet to finish aside. Paperwork was tedious, one of the reasons he had preferred dragon training over ... well, office work, really. Reports were made on occasion, but those were mostly oral, and never involved anything of this sort. Still, he had taken on the job, and there was nobody to replace him should he leave, and so Codey stuck with it with all he had.

Smiling at the witch, he gave a dismissive wave of his hand. "Please, we're all the same here. There's no need for such formalities," he said, standing up to greet her. "Shall we move somewhere slightly more comfortable?" he added, motioning the couches by the fireplace, opposite his desk.

He had redecorated, favouring the hard wooden chairs in front of his desk for naughty students or people he wanted to make uncomfortable, but a more casual setting for things like this. It made it so much easier, anyway, to not be behind a desk for such meetings.

Taking a seat, he didn't bother using his wand this time, instead giving his finger a tiny jerk and lifting up a cup of tea, moving it towards the witch. It was an unconscious movement, really, but it spoke of his abilities; he had remarkable non-verbal and wandless skills, although he only really showed off to put a person in their place. This, therefore, wasn't anything other than him acting normally, and he hadn't meant to purposely display his skill. "Tea?" he inquired.

He waited a moment, then smiled again. "May I called you Carmilla, or would you prefer a more formal means of address?" His eyes twinkled, showing he was teasing her previous means of calling him; if she would pick up on that, though, he wasn't sure.

Guest

The numerous parchments on the desk indicated that Codey Ellingston had been working, and his casual way of putting them aside meant that they were either legal, or that the Headmaster was quite a good actor himself. Of course, though she was leaning towards believing the former, it wouldn't do to ignore the possibility of the latter—though Codey seemed to have no criminal records, the absence of such files was rarely enough to prove one's innocence. And though Codey seemed a decent gentleman, there was just something about him that seemed off to Carmilla. Whatever it was, though, she couldn't really lay her finger on.

'Well, it comforts me to know that you aren't from the Spanish Inquisition,' Carmilla retorted with a sideways smile. Her eyes found the couches by the fireplace, which was a rather cosy setup. Looking at the scene, she half-expected him to offer her a glass of Firewhisky, and that would've been an interesting quirk that could lead her to more deductions about his character. Firewhisky in the afternoon wasn't too strange, but when it was coming from a Headmaster, one had to wonder about the sort of students he must be producing.

With a grateful nod, she accepted the cup of tea, which he had moved closer towards her with wandless magic. It was impressive, she could give him that, but also rather strange, considering how he was a dragon trainer and not a charms expert. Clearly, she had much to learn about her new boss. 'Much obliged,' she said, smirking as she held the cup daintily and brought it up to her lips. Tea wasn't exactly her... well, cup of blood, but years of being a slave never did take away her impeccable manners. Taking a sip from the cup, she studied the man in front of her without looking at him. Her eyes, though seemingly half-closed, were scanning the room, checking for signs of how Codey must be as a person. He had a refined way about him, and it wouldn't surprise her to know that he was either a pureblood or a muggleborn or halfblood born to nobility. What intrigued her the most, though, was his choice to accept her as a professor.

After all, he let her teach at Merlin's, even when her vampirism could scare prospective students away.

Codey broke the silence by asking if he could call her Carmilla, and she caught the twinkle of humour in his eyes. Ah, humour. It was such a fine trait to have, and Carmilla even had a theory that it was the only thing that kept her alive. It made her like Codey a bit more. 'Oh, Professor Ellingston, it would be deuced awkward if I asked you to call me "Your Royal Highness", wouldn't it?' Shaking her head, she chuckled and set down the cup on the table. 'Of course you may call me Carmilla, though I suppose this means I shall have to call you Codey?'

'Though I must say,' she added, 'I'm not quite used to such an informality, being an Auror with superiors who like to keep vampires in line. But you accepted me into your university, and for that, I am grateful.'

Headmaster Posts : 208

There were some things files and reports did not say about a person. Attitude, for one; personality was another. Sure, they detailed assessments and all of those other trivial things done by so-called professionals that were supposed to detail their 'type' to a t, but Codey always regarded those with lackluster interest. After all, anyone who knew a bit of acting could manipulate results like that, and it wasn't as though veritaserum was going to be used each time. So, one of the reasons Codey wanted to have face to face meetings with any and all his staff was simple - to get a read on them. Only someone especially skilled would be able to keep up a persona for long periods of times - with aurors being one of those people - but then again, Codey had done that for a living once upon a time, and so it wasn't too difficult to get a read on people.

Except for the witch before him. There was something about her that nagged at the back of his mind, but he couldn't quite label it just yet. Time will tell, he mused to himself as she spoke. Chuckling, he dryly commented, "Do I really look that old?"

He watched her carefully, but casually as she took the cup, his eyes sharp and alert, but his attitude composed, as though he wasn't actually observing anything. For a moment there, he bought her posture, until he allowed his gaze to sweep over and take in her eyes; she wasn't sitting back doing nothing, that much became clear. An amused smile threatened to touch his lips, but he held it back. The room would give little information about him; there was nothing much that was private about the decoration. In fact, he had left most of it the way it had been when Dorian was there. The only things of his that he had brought in were his certificates and awards, required by law to show his credentials, that one picture of Aria on his desk, and a small dragon figurine that sat on his desk.

It was seemingly just a momento from travels, or perhaps a tribute to his favourite dragon - the Opaleye - but it was so much more; charmed to detect motion, it was one of his anti-intruder measurements and would alert him if anyone was in his office when they weren't supposed to be.

There were some things to be guessed about his person by all this, but he had been careful to minimise that, and no other personal touches had been added to the office, save per a few purposely misleading touches here and there. So, if the witch before him was looking for anything by which to label him, she would be hard pressed. The main issue was if he wanted to bring this up now, or save it away for later. He opted for the latter, and instead sat back and sipped at his own tea for a few moments.

Her reply brought forth a genuine chuckle, and he allowed a smirk. "If that is what you insist upon, your royal highness, I don't quite see how it would be awkward for anyone other than the students - and, perhaps, the other staff. Favouritism isn't something I particularly encourage, after all," he replied, tone indifferent and casual, holding not even the slightest trace of sarcasm. He half-shrugged at her question; titles and formality was never anything he particularly enjoyed, even though he grew up a Pureblood. "You may call me whatever you wish, although if it's something hinting towards rudeness, I would appreciate it if you toned it down in front of students," he told her, smirking once again to show he was teasing.

Her next statement, though, made his eyes narrow in disdain, and he had to fight to keep himself from scoffing at the idea. After all, his daughter was half-vampire, and if anyone dared to treat her with contempt of any kind... Well, they would have an angry dragon-trainer on their hands, and Codey was not one to mess with when angry; he still had many contacts in the criminal world, and it wouldn't have been too hard to find someone to...assit.

Pushing all these things out of his mind for now - although he made a note to ask Adrienne how things were going - he shook his head. "Why wouldn't I accept you?" he said, pushing the question back towards her. He wanted to hear her thoughts on this before he shared anything close to private.

» Carmilla Fürstenberg

A Casual Discussion (Carmilla)

A Casual Discussion (Carmilla)

Similar topics

Similar topics