Transfiguration's Office

"It was your "bloody" fault." she stated, sliding her hands under the desk.

Viper stared at her incredulously. "How the hell is it my fault you still can't get over the fact that your husband, with the much shorter life span has croaked?" She wondered briefly if the other Professor was flicking her off under the desk.

"You are brutally frank and have no respect for other people's wishes. I apologized for insulting your attire and now would you mind dropping it!" Her cheeks paled as they always did when she was angry and her green eyes flashed dangerously.

A plain white envelope slipped in from underneithe the Professors door and landed on her desk.

"Adressed to Professor DeLanquar"

Ignoring the still fuming potion's mistress, Eglantine opened the envelope with a claw shaped letter opener.

"Dear Professor DeLanquar,

No apology is necessary, but I am curious as to why you didn't say you wanted to vollunteer for the Muggle studies position in the first place. Or maybe I missunderstood you, in that case I apologize to you.

If you are still willing to take the muggle studies class, you are more then welcome to take it if you wish

As for the matter of Professor Viper, I will talk with her, i don't ask you two be friends or anything like that, but you are colleagues, try to be civil.

Sincerely,
Headmistress Kiara

Eglantine quickly read the letter and then tucked it away into a hidden drawer in the desk. With several spells and a piece of paper, she wrote her response and sent the folded piece of paper out the door.

A plain white envelope flew once again into the Trasfigurations office and landed on the desk.

"To Eglantine DeLanquar"

It was opened quickly with the same claw letter opener.

Professor DeLanquar.

"I am truly sorry for what you went through at your former job. You must know or at least I hope you know by now I am nothing like your former “Headmistress”. Heck I probably would have arrested her for assault when I was an Auror. Feel free to speak your opinion, I won’t fault you for it. I know more then anyone trust needs to be earned, I hope I can earn enough of your trust in the future. If you need to talk my office is always opened to you.

Sincerely,
Kiara"

Another letter was soon on its way to the Headmistress's office. Two words written on a piece of paper. "Thank you."

Ana walked along the corridor leading to Professor DeLanquar's office.
Hopefully the Professor wasn't busy. But this question had been bothering Ana for a while now, and a heavy book was weighing one side of her body down uncomfortably. Deftly switching the book to her other hand, gripping it's spine carefully and trying not to damage it, Ana approached the door.
She brushed her fringe out of her eyes and stood up straight. She raised a hand to the door and knocked smartly and confidently.
She tucked the library book under her arm and waited for a reply.

Viper tapped her foot impatiently. When she saw that the Transfigurations Mistress was through with her correspondance,she struck hard with a vengeance.

She smiled sweetly. "I'm sorry, Professor. I wasn't aware that i was BORING YOU!!!!!! I have no respect for other people's wishes? What on Earth is that supposed to mean? By respecting your wish, what would you have me do, bring back your bloody husband to life? Well, dearie I can't. A few months ago I came to close to being able to, but now thanks to Mrs. bloody Granger-Weasly I can't! Take it up with her if you must!"

"Professor Viper, I am very sorry. However, your definition of respect for others wishes is not the same as mine." She heard the knock at the door and winced.
"If that is a student, I would suggest you return to your office. As professors we do have the responsibility to set an example." Walking around her desk, which proved more difficult than it should have, Eglantine opened the door and saw a Slytherin by the name of Miss Vaight.
"Do come in, Miss Vaight."

Viper scoffed. "An example of what? Sniveling in a corner each time someone says something mean?"

"No, of treating others as as you would have them treat you!"

Viper gaped. "Now see here, Professor! I treated you the exact way I would have anyone treat me, should I ever have landed myself in your position!" she cried out indignatly.

Eglantine thought over what she had just been told and bit her lip. Those accursed hands were shaking now.
"Then I believe we were both wrong, Professor. Shall we begin again?" It took most of her self-control to hold out her trembling right hand. "Forgive me."
It was more of a plea than a request.

((you do offer the right hand when you shake hands...right? I've never done it, so I was worried...))

(lol, not entirely sure. i've never felt the need to shake someone's hand. in my area we do the fist)

"Very well. If you insist I shall." she looked at the woman for a while and felt that rare twinge of pity that struck her once every few years. Softly she said to the woman. "You know I wasn't lying when I said my department and I had come close to finding a way to construct the bridge between our life and the afterlife. I'm sure that had Hermione Granger shut down my department, within 5 years I could have successfully brought someone back to life."

"I did not think you were lying..." Eglantine trailed off. "The dead are meant to rest in peace. But thank you." She finally began to understand the potions mistress. She glare softened, but not into pity or grief. "She took your dream didn't she?"

Viper instinctively stiffened. She hadn't meant for the conversation to get this personal. At least, not her end. But before she could stop herself, she answered softly. "No. She took my life..."

"Then as I said before, we have more in common than we think." Her voice was barely above a whisper.

Viper immediately snapped back into the present, her cold exterior rising with a vengeance. "No, No we don't! We have nothing in common! You had a husband, he died. End of story! I had a career that I lived for! A career that saved hundreds, millions even! But I had to step aside. And for what? Because Harry Potter, the boy who bloody lived's best friend got jealous! You lived for your husband, I lived for the world. We are very very different."

Eglantine took a step back from the professor and stared at her with wide eyes. Deep down she figured the outburst was merely an outpouring of the woman's frustration and DeLanquar had had enough people pour their frustration on her to have a set code of behaviour.
By habit, she retreated further from Professor Viper, in case she decided to attack her and partially drew her wand.
"But what was your world? And did you really lose it?"

"My entire family had been deatheater's and servants to Grindelwald. Imagine being born at the peak of Voldemort's reign and growing up during his defeat with your entire family, save a very old and weak grandfather in Azkaban. When I was at Hogwarts do you really think they welcomed me with open arms?" she laughed bitterly. "How could they? My relatives murdered their mothers and fathers! You know I never realized why my grandfather was so insistant about me learning D.A.D.A. I was only about 5 at the time, accomplishing 5th year spells. But when it was time for me to go to Hogwarts I realized why my grandfather did what he did: it was because everytime I had my back turned a student still mourning their loss would try and curse me."

She closed her eyes as memories flashed through her. "They never gave me a chance. They judged before they even knew me. Except for Slytherins of course. Most likely because they were in admiration of what my family was. They were probably the closest I came to friends.

When I arrived at the Ministry, it was just the same, people trying to do me in. That is, until my work as an Unspeakable reached their ears. In that era, unlike all my ancestors, I was creating life, improving it. Not destroying it. But of course, it didn't last long, for Hermione Granger came whirling in, complaining to her high profile friends about my department, trumping up charges of "ethical reasons". Naturally, her connections came through and the Minister overthrew my department. It wasn't until about a year later that I realized the true reason for Hermione's witchunt.It turns out that several years ago she had an younger brother who died very young, murdered." she paused for a moment, looking over her shoulder, waiting to see if Eglantine would comprehend. When she didn't, Viper continued. "Murdered at the hands of Anette Viper. My mother."

She turned to face Eglantine. "That was my world, Professor."