Professor Viper's Personal Chambers (Located Nearby Slytherin Common Rooms)

Enter if you dare. Be warned. You'd better have a good reason for waking Viper. She's definately not a morning person.

The password is~ Ghost Love Score

A black owl flew to Professor Viper's window and banged his head against the closed glass. A blood red scroll was tied to its sturdy leg. In clear elegant writing it bore Amaranth Viper on its scroll.

Viper walked into her chambers with a smirk on her face. Waiting for her in the empty portrait nearest to her balcony was her Uncle's Portrait, looking eagerly at his niece.

Demonstrating the etiquitte hammered into her head from infancy, Viper curtseyed. "Good Evening, Uncle Maximus."

Her Uncle let out a rare smile, giving him an eerie resemblance to a wolf. "Ah, there's my favorite niece. Tell me child, how did your little chat with the headmistress go?"

Viper smiled. "Perfect. She believed every word I said,down to the last syllable."

"Excellent!" Maximus exclaimed. "Oh my dear, you have all the cards you need in your hand: the Ministry's trust, the Headmistress's trust. The Dark Lord shall be pleased!"

"As he should be. The trust of the Headmistress is worth beyond compare, as is the Minister's desperation."

Her Uncle nodded. "Watch yourself, Amaranth. You must not fail. Our family cannot endure one more stain upon our reputation. Not after-"

"Indeed." Viper replied quickly, knowing where this conversation was headed. "Fear not, Uncle. We shall not fail this time around. After all, third time is the charm."

Hours after Viper's conference with Corin, she stood in her chamber's sitting room, stirring her pot of veritaserum. She had devised a plan during her journey from her manor to her chambers and she hoped dearly that it would work. If she was lucky she wouldn't even require the truth serum. She eyed the small box of photos on her coffee table and sighed. It had better be worth it, for she was opening up some very nasty scars for this mission.

She glanced at her potion, noting that it was finished and depositied it into various beverages: the wine, tea, and coffee, and vanished them so she may be able to recruit them later on. With a wave of her hand she jotted down a quick note to Professor Delanquar, expressing her desire to speak with her and inviting her to her chambers, and sent it to the older Professor.

((hate to be picky...but her name is Eglantine not Englantine...))

Eglantine had transferred Helena to the Hospital Wing and then made her way to Professor Viper's chambers after receiving her note. Tired, in a great deal of pain and leaning against cane as if her legs might fail her, she tapped at the door and waited to be let in. In the moments that followed she was able to gather enough strength about her to stand straight and look more alert.

(sorry! man, tonight is not a good typing night for me >_<)

Viper stiffened as she hastily cleaned up her chambers, erasing any evidence of her brewing a potion. Experience and tutoring from her grandfather had taught her that unless properly disposed of, potions could always be detected. She waved her hand, lighting the vanilla incense beside the fireplace before opening the door for the other Professor.

"Good day, Miss Viper." Eglantine said softly, entering the room. Her cane barely made contact with the floor and her breathing was carefully restrained.
"Was there something you wanted?"

Viper's eyes wandered over the older professor, a brief look of concern illuminating her features. "Yes, I wanted to discuss something with you. Please, come in. Professor, may I give you a potion for pain? You look rather ill..." she asked.

Eglantine was touched for a moment by the younger woman's sympathy, but was in too much pain to really take it to heart.

"Thank you, but no. I have been in pain for over 8 years. Now what was it you wished to discuss." For more than a moment, Eglantine wished she could accept a potion for the potions mistress, but decided against it.

Viper nodded in understanding. "I wanted to show you something." she explained as she lead Eglantine over to the sofa, reaching for the box on the coffee table. She dug around the box before pulling one out and handing it to the other Professor.

The photo was of a woman who looked very similar to Viper with raven hair and a creamy complexion , but not as slender or petite with blue eyes instead of Viper's green ones. She wasn't as pretty as Viper but her smile and eyes radiated kindness and warmth.

(here's a link to the pic in case you want a more visual image~
https://media.photobucket.com/image/anette%20olzon/Cliffeny/Nightwish/Anette%20Olzon/Anette%20Misc/Image13.jpg?o=134)

Eglantine stared at the picture for a moment and then seated herself on the couch.
"She is lovely." she said softly. Looking up from the picture, she posed a question. "Your mother?" Honestly she was surprised to see how much the woman resembled Professor Viper, save for the obvious deviations.

Viper shook her head. "No. My sister...."

"Elder or younger?" Eglantine asked, handing the picture back.

"Older,10 years." Viper said as she took back the photo. She instictively hesitated for a moment. She had never spoken to anyone about her sister before and this was harder than she thought it would be.

"You may speak. I will not interrupt you." Eglantine assured her. It was obvious that the sister was bringing back either painful or sad memories.

Viper sighed, flashing the other woman a quick, small smile of gratitude. "I haven't seen Odessa in over 15 years. My grandfather disowned her and banished her when I was 6."

Eglantine nodded and smiled in return, hoping to put Professor Viper more at ease. She did not say anything though.

"...For marrying a muggle." Viper said simply, for she did not know how else to put it.

Eglantine stared at her. She had not expected this. But then again, she hadn't really thought about it.
"I see." she said carefully. "Did you agree with her banishment?" Obviously Professor Viper had said all she was going to say without a bit of prodding.

Viper sighed. "You know how my family is. They had killed wizards for less offenses, so I believe the banishment was a small act of mercy on my Grandfather's side. However-" her voice choked with emotion. 'There was more to it than that. She took several breaths to calm herself down before continuing.

"You have to understand, the Viper Clan lives with ambitions and plans for dominance. If the children posses no added gifts or luster, then they are useless. I was gifted in potions and defense against the dark arts, my brother was a master in transfiguration and taming magical creatures. And Odessa...She was a menace when it came to magic. Her trnasfigurations mutated, her charms malfunctioned, she couldn't even make a cough potion. My grandfather never gave a damn about her. He ignored her and focused all his attentions unto my brother and I.

That was how it was for a few years until my grandfather noticed that she was rarely in the Manor, he only saw her a few times a month. He followed her one day and discovered she was having a liaison with a Muggle boy in the nearby village. He was furious. He flogged her for hours, swearing that if she ever dared to meet with him again, then she would never see the light of day again. It worked, for Odessa never strayed away from the Manor. He was satisfied until she came to him about a month later.

"She told him-" Viper breathed deeply. "She told him she was pregnant. She had discussed it with the Muggle and they planned to marry. She asked for his blessing. Merlin, I had never seen him so angry. Not before, or since then. He was thunderous. He shouted, threw objects, hexes at her. My brother even had to stand in between them to break them apart, for fear that my Grandfather lost all control and murdered her on the spot. He took a few moments to calm down before telling her to get out. To get out and never return. He was done with her and she could stay and rot with her Muggle for all he cared.

She picked herself up with as much dignity as she could and gathered her trunk, but just as she reached the door to exit, he called her forth to him. She obeyed and walked over to him. He turned to me and said "Come hither, Amaranth. Listen closely for you are about to learn a new spell." he waved his wand and sent a dark crimson beam towards my sister's abdomen. The next thing I new she was on the ground, weeping with blood cascading out of her. Then with indiference, my grandfather said "Leave us" before shutting the door on her weeping form.

During my grandfather's nap, my brother and I snuck a peek at the front of the house. She was gone, with only a trail of blood leading to the village as a clue to where she went."

Eglantine listened, horrified by the events that had occurred. Her own parents, although impatient and cruel at times, had not cared what happened to either of their children. It was difficult for her to imagine such hostility between grandfather and granddaughter.

"And you never saw her again?" Eglantine ventured, aware of the answer.

Viper shook her head, tears beginning to form. "My grandfather sent a hous-elf to spy on her every once in a while. Not out of concern, but merely curiousity. He'd joke with us about it, offering bets on how long it'd be before she was out on the streets or at our Manor gates begging us to take her back in." she sniffed. "She never did. By all accounts, she's happy with her life now. More than she had ever been with us. She and the Muggle married and now live in some suburban up north, she has severed all ties with the Magical Community."

Eglantine did not say that it sounded like the perfect ending. Honestly she had almost expected the poor woman to be hunted down and slain. But a simple "she was happy and severed all ties with the magical community," was like music to her ears.

She offered Professor Viper a reassuring smile and tried to ignore how tight her chest had become in the last few minutes. The cuts left behind from her nephew's curse had not healed, for some unknown reason and now she had three crimson lines streaking across her upper chest. Her mind faded away from her pain and she looked back at the younger woman.

((I'll be back in a few hours...)) ((nevermind...))