The gentle, almost unhearable thud of a quill on a sheet parchment prompted a stifled sigh from Flint Cotnoir, massaged his temples. Truth be told, he should have stopped an hour ago – It was already evening, and he was well past his prime writing frame of mind. He had been working for a little over a month now on a paper about Dark Magical Theory – to be specific, what bearing magic had on someone's predisposition to commit acts of evil. It had started as a bit of a fun idea, but now it was becoming a slippery slope in so many obscure branches of magic that all elements of fun were long gone. Arithmancy had, of course, been first, followed by Wand Lore, and now he was delving into the real poppycock of Astrology. The books around him were full of charts, of records and, most crucially, of bullshit. Yet, Flint still made himself read, knowing that another well-recieved paper could lead to another book. It had been all too long since his last, and while he was growing more resentful of his academic life with each passing reference to Cygnus or Scorpio, he was very fond of seeing his name emblazoned on the spine of a weighty tome.
He gave a tiny little sigh and ran a hand through his unkempt hair, allowing a smile to form slowly on his lips. He loved the library - So peaceful and quiet that it almost removed all of the unpleasant aspects of study. Not that there were many when it was an interesting subject, aside from how tiring it was and how it often served to create stress rather than relieve it. But that was just how it was, he supposed. Too much of a good thing and all that. Flint reclined backwards in his chair and allowed his eyes to flutter shut. His mind began to drain of study, and filled a more natural, relaxed Flint. Fantasies of the life his father had lead, a life of aurorship and Dark Art combating that he would never have, filled his mind, and he smiled gently as he let them. Why not after all, it was only imagining. He was tired though... Well, he though, a few minutes of a nap won't hurt...
The man was still running from Flint. It had been a long chase, or at least that's how he felt. It was all mashing together. But now they leapt across the rooftops of downtown London, with the criminal firing curses back over his shoulder. Most missed by a mile. Those that didn't were promptly blocked by Flint's own wand, sent careering into chimneys and roof slates. It was all very Victorian looking, in truth. Down to the dark fog that circled around them, occasionaly cut by the red of a stunning spell of the green of a killing curse. The man jumped over a short alleyway - Flint was hot on his heels, barely 15 feet between them, rolling as he hit the other, lower roof and rising quickly to resume his previous pace. This was the end of the line - When they reached the end of this row, there was nowhere to go. The man stopped sharply at the edge, looking down at the ground below. Flind stopped maybe 10 feet away, raising his want to point at him. "Give it up, Bonaparte!", he shouted, "It's the end of the line!".
The man turned slowly to face Flint - But he appeared to have no discernable face. Just a void that seemed to suck all of Flint's attention, and all the air around it, in. "Oh, non, Monsieur Cotnoir. Ze only line that weel end here...", Somehow, the featureless facegave a cruel grin, "ees yours.". From behind him then, as if on prompt, rose a dragon, terrifying in it's size. Flint backed off slowly, stunned, as the beast opened it's mouth and let out a mighty plume of flame, accompanied by a chorus of roars as all feelings left Flint, all but fear and a sort of rising... rising...
He jerked up abruptly in his seat, pages and paper flying everywhere, and ink well smashing on the floor. He panted, his heart thumping, struggling to tear himself from the dream for a few moments. When he had calmed, he looked around him. It was far, far darker than it had been when he had closed his eyes – It must have been nearly midnight, if not past it. Muttering darkly, Flint began to gather his items up hastily, waving his wand at the broken shards to glass to gather them into a neat little pile. As he was rolling up a particularly large star chart, he heard it. It wasn't much, just the creak of a floorboard, but immediately Flint was on his feet, want pointing around him, shadows in every direction with bookcases towering overhead.
“H... Hello? Who's there?”. He said, rather meekly. He had to remind himself, for the umpteenth time, that he was a student no longer, but a teacher, a professor here at Hogwarts. Whoever it was, he was likely the one in control. Or so they should believe. “C... Come out, right now, or there will be dire consequences.”. He realised too late this sounded like the words of a madman, or would have had they not began with a nervous squeak and a stutter. 'Get it together, Cotnoir', he thought darkly, as he waited for the other person to make themselves known...