Second Goodbye PV AleksO.

The new Professor was quite surprised to hear frantic footsteps coming down the hallway towards his classroom. They sounded heavier than that of a student, not that a student would be coming to the classroom at this sort of time anyway.

He had only been at the castle for a few days, but he had essentially settled in as soon as he arrived, having had barely any belongings to set up in his office or living space within the castle.

Most of his time had been spent down here in the dungeons, either teaching or doing his best to avoid the rest of the world whilst he worked on his own projects. He only really came out of the space to eat and even then he barely spoke to the other professors unless it was to answer the typical small talk questions that he was already sick of getting from the children he taught.

As the footsteps approached he wondered if he'd gotten on someone's bad side and that's why they were headed his way with such frantic speed. Honestly it would not have shocked him in the slightest, but he couldn't think of anyone who disliked him that much, except perhaps Professor Jensen.

He spun around in his swivel chair, fingers softly caressing the deep facial scars that reminded him every day of an altogether painful moment, an eternal reminder that he wore on his face.

As the person entered, a woman as it turned out, and one of his fellow Professors if he wasn't very much mistaken stormed in. He opened his mouth to ask her business but was somewhat surprised to see himself go completely ignored as she began searching around the room for various supplies and such. He was confused, and almost wanted to object to the intrusion, but decided to observe and see if she noticed him first.

He saw her pull various ingredients out of her bag and perform some kind of strange ritual chant with each one, almost like they had value beyond being simply components. Strange but...it was clearly important enough to her that even in her clearly heightened emotional state she felt the need to do it.

As she began to get everything ready he decided he'd let the game go on just long enough. He cleared his throat, hoping to catch her attention as he carefully drew a cigarette out of the pack in his jacket and lit it. "I don not know if I should be offended or relieved that you did not spot me." He said with his usual dry wit. He took a short drag of the cigarette as he stood.

"Professor Karr? If I am not mistaken. You may want to ask your heart-rate to slow down a bit, I can hear the thudding from over here." He mentioned, gesturing to her. It wasn't a lie, his sensitive ears could hear the dull thud against her chest each time.

His expression went grim and serious after that, as his bright blue eyes looked to her ingredients and then back to her. "You are a long way from the Astronomy tower, possibly the longest way you could be." He commented, taking another drag as he took a few steps closer.

"If I am not entirely mistaken. Those are the ingredients for a memory potion, are they not?" He asked her, looking at the ingredients she had laid out. "I am not technically allowed to stop you from being here, but do you actually know what you're doing? I'd rather not have chunks of cauldron flying all over the room." He joked in a deadly serious tone, staring his fellow Professor straight in the eyes.

Interacting with: @Kateri Karr

@Aleksander Ostrowski

Closing her eyes and drawing in a deep breath, Kateri rubbed the palms of her hands together. Rusty or not she knew enough about potions to be concerned if she couldn't remember all of the steps then it could be more of a mess than intended. Mentally and possibly physically... and not really knowing the new Potions Professor. Well, explaining away burns or ruined classroom equipment could go one of two ways- A voice sounded from somewhere in the room and made her jolt to attention.

"I-" She had been so focused on her task that she completely missed the man sitting in the room with her. Her cheeks burned red in embarrassment and nostrils flared as the smell of smoke struck her nostrils. Was he really smoking inside, let alone in a classroom? What had he meant about hearing her heartbeat? Her slender black brows furrowed together, eyes darkening. As bad as she felt about having apparently bulldozed her way into the room unaware that he was in here, there was a larger part of her that felt irritated for having been interrupted. Not something typical of her personality and in any other circumstance she might have worried how that would look as a first impression. However, in this moment.. she could care less. Plus, he looked barely young enough to have been..well... Kateri's thoughts tapered off as her eyes set on the scar running along part of her colleague's face. Her hackles lowered slightly as he came closer, a couple more scars now even more visible. She had only seen scars on another human being like that one time in her life, leaving her with a curious sense of if it had been a similar run in. Matching his steely blue gaze, tendrils of smoke coming off of the cigarette and swirling in the air as he stepped closer, Kateri lowered her hands to her side. Well, she had been caught no use in explaining away anything. Not that it meant she would have to open up as to the real 'whys' of her presence here in the dungeon.

"I apologize that I did not see you sooner. I wouldn't have bothered your quiet down here had I been more observant." A genuine apology, her voice soft feeling as if she had been a child caught sneaking into their parent's study. "I wanted to take care of something." Why did she feel so strange? Ashamed? Almost a mix of frustration and shame from being so blind to someone being in the room but his presence had snapped her out of whatever trance she had been in. It was sobering having someone stand there in front of her and audibly put into the world what she had secretly been holding onto in her mind. Hearing it from someone else made it all the more real.

She watched as he took another step and looked down at the ingredients. What had been his name? She heard it briefly among the Professors talking when he had been hired... Ostrowski. Aleksander Ostrowski. His name and accent was so unfamiliar to her ears. Deep and heavier on some vowels than others. Granted, she could only imagine how alien she might sound to anyone else at Hogwarts even with such a diverse amount of students and faculty. The adrenaline that had been coursing through her veins, clouding her mind and running her muscles on their own accord was waning. It left her finger tips feeling numb and tingling sensation running up her arms. The voice in the back of her head was still there whispering to her angrily to make this intruder go away so she could finish. 'What business is it of his if you're here or what you're doing! He even admit to it! He can't stop you. Finish already and get it over with.' The venomous hiss digging at the base of her skull made her stomach flop in on itself. She didn't like it. This wasn't her. She hadn't been herself the last couple of days in fact. Her earthy brown eyes left his frame for a second to scan the floor beneath her for a second before returning and being greeted by his own gaze once again. Almost unnerving... What was it about his presence?

"They certainly are. Clearly they chose the right person to fill the professor opening." A flick of her brow almost challenging him. "Hogwarts isn't the only one with a knowledgeable and reputable Potions curriculum." Unable to quell the tone her voice had decided to display almost as if it were trying to release the toxic energy eating at her inside anyway it can. "Or was that a crack at my age?" She couldn't stop her lips from moving. "Or.. better yet my gender?" Something had struck a nerve and even she wasn't sure what. Her normal low-key demeanor had been smothered by whatever this beast of an emotional state was. Growing up she had become almost immune to being judged by expectations and notions of what other's thought her to be based on skin, gender and her upbringing both in and out of the wizarding world. Why now was that deeper part of her deciding to lash out? 'He isn't going to stop you, just do it.' Tearing her gaze from his, she returned her attention to the ingredients in front of her. Clenching her hands, nails digging into her palms and willing away the shaking that had settled into her fingers, Kat hastily rubbed away a bead of sweat from her forehead.

Whether the tone in his voice, cigarette smoke or the fact Ostrowski was there in general something had entirely broken the solace she had found earlier in the silence of the room. She needed this. It had to work. There was more lingering in her memories somewhere that she couldn't dig into and this potion was going to help. It had to. Whether his reaction to her previous statements had been positive or negative, maybe... maybe it was a good thing he was here. "If you're so worried about me not being capable then maybe you should lend a hand."