Bringing Jess to the Headmaster

On the inside, Sandra was infuriated at Wilson, but she forced her face to remain calm and dropped the illusion charms with a small sigh of relief. The things, itched, believe it or not. At least they did for Sandra. She wasn't sure if that was a common complaint.

She smiled at Wilson politely. "I consider Hitler a promising rookie. Very...dedicated, I suppose, but only six million killed? I'd be aiming a bit low if I went for him. Stalin is a tad more my style. Did you know one historian theorized he had caused the deaths of 30 million people? Quite impressive."

"As for my appearance, that is my buisness, and mine alone. Safe to say the ministry has a few more bodies to clean up...but at least I didn't start it this time." She turned to Khaat. "Ah, the Lupin girl. Yes, I remember hearing about you...Your parents own a farm, correct? I like farms. So many...flammable materials." She turned to look down at Jess. "He looks almost as bad as I do. What hit him?"

Khaat repressed a smile. Maybe Archer had some nerve after all. Either that or she was capable of doing her homework. One or the other. Her father would perhaps find it intriguing to know that. Lupins never were threatened very easily, though. They'd had generations of weathering threats and sparring with Death Eaters, and now Khaat's family took that all in stride as just a part of daily life. Well, maybe Archer'd shape her organization up finally and let them start facing life from a bit of a more courageous point of view and shelve the old fashioned Halloween getups. That would be perhaps the most intimidating change the Death Eaters could make.

She silently wondered how this woman would make any use of the two Gutless Wonders. She could not imagine, at the moment, what use someone like Sandra Archer might have, except for perhaps grunt work, for anyone who thought it made any sort of sense to kidnap a preschooler just so they could watch the graduation ceremony at their old alma mater and perhaps cause a bit of mischief during the proceedings. She wished she could be a fly on the wall when babysnatchers Rob and Jen Dent actually found themselves taking orders from someone else just in order for them to survive. In Khaat's experience, most Death Eaters had some sense about leaving children alone for prey that actually benefitted them.

"It looks to me like what hit him was the same thing that hit you," Khaat replied. "Being in the wrong place at the wrong time is always an inconvenience. "

A week, Vincent had expected less, he didn't want to keep Jess Potter at Hogwarts for no longer than necessary. Enemies surrounded him in the castle, pretending to be friends but Vincent was beginning to doubt them. Khaat, Wilson, McCoy, the other staff and some students. They would all betray him in a blink of an eye, and he knew that. Much safer to keep Jess at Malfoy Manor, where their was far less danger. "Good, well then you come to my office everyday to cure him until he's perfectly okay," Vincent told her. It would be a disaster if Jess potter died, he suddenly regretted the blow that Vincent had given Jess. It had been perhaps a little too much.

He raised an eyebrow at Sandra as she entered, he could recognize her, but only because he knew her well, Khaat wouldn't probably, but Wilson somehow could tell. Both their arrivals were untimely, and unecessary, he didn't need either of them there right now. But he couldn't do anything about it now, it seemed to him that people were all treating his office as if it was theirs. The gargoyles downstairs letting everyone in didn't really help the matter.

He frowned at the exchange of words between Khaat and Sandra, and decided to intervene before it got too ugly. He knew khaat wouldn't do anything, but couldn't say the same thing for Sandra. "I don't want any trouble now. You are both guests at my castle. Sandra, Khaat is here to heal Jess," he explained. "He got hit by a table while he was trying to heroically fight off several death eaters, and now Khaat needs to heal him to keep him from dying." He left out the part that it was he who hit Jess with the banishing charm, but it hardly mattered. "And what happened to you?" he asked curiously, staring at the blood and scars all over her body.

''Actually, it was 20 million. And you are definitely not Stalin, you lack the charisma and the skill of disguise'', Wilson replied, taking the potion. ''Pain potion'', he said looking at the bottle. ''They do not make many similar and the others similar to this one have a specific smell... this one is just fine'', Wilson said, returning it to Khaat. ''And of course, you lack the... lack of the obvious that Stalin have. Truly Hitler-like, stuck up, dedicated and... weak or even stupid at one point. Just look at the timeline'', he replied.

"We can debate the charisma of Stalin and Hitler at a later date," Sandra said, waving her hand dismissively and turning to Majere. "I really don't know, to be honest," Sandra said, shrugging. "As Khaat said, I seemed to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. I don't know who attacked me however...they were wearing masks, and by the time I finished with them their faces were...burned beyond recognition." She grimaced slightly, rubbing her right shoulder. "Most of the injuries are from my own carelessness than the idiots' actual skill."

Vincent watched Wilson and Sandra argue with a bored expression. He really didn't care at all, as long as a fight didn't happen. Luckily, Sandra did not lose her temper with him. He listened to her explanation with a little bit more interest. "I guess thats what happens when you underestimate your oppostion then," Vincent replied, looking at her injuries then. He was quite sure Khaat wouldn't heal her. "Whatever. As you can see, I have captured Jess for you. It wasn't easy, your Death Eaters almost screwed it all up by not acting quickly. Potter nearly got away," he scowledl. He managed to tell her everything that had happened, while assuring Khaat he had merely been following orders. Tell them what they want to hear.

''Well, of course. The only ones that can screw up anything are the Death Eaters'', he said ironically. ''And yet, they do think they will control everyone and everything. And yes, a destructive force, unleashed without any prior thinking, impulsively... that is just typical for... Hitler did that to'', he said. ''And there is no reason to debate the charisma of Stalin and Hitler, only an idiot would want to debate that... but are you worthy enough to be even the impulsive Hitler, I wonder'', he commented.

Khaat was just a wee bit curious about why Vincent was, by her assessment, working to convince her of his innocence. She, however, was not deluded. She had always known since their duel in this office over Shacklebolt that Vincent was not as innocent as he portrayed. Honestly, for some reason, she was able to turn a blind eye towards nearly all of his misdeeds, and she wasn't sure why. She certainly had had no patience for her own husband's less that honorable acts and had immediately tossed him to the curb and was glad to be rid of him. Vincent, somehow was different--perhaps because she already knew he wasn't a saint and had accepted that a long time ago. She could accept him as he was. Vincent had not broken her heart. He had never made a total 180 degree personality shift with no notice whatsoever . However, if she had to choose which one, Rob or Vincent, she would shove out of the way of a speeding night bus, well, it surely would not be Rob. That would deprive her of far too much passive aggression.

"Can we leave the history lesson and get back to the matter at hand, please?" Khaat asked gently, redirecting his authbority back to Vincent. Archer or not, this was Vincent's office. She was here at his request and was deferring to him. "Jess will need pain potion at regular intervals while I am not here. Can you find someone who will be able to assist with that for at least the next 24 hours? We all have been through enough of our own dueling injuries to understand how physical pain stresses the body. That is something Jess does not need right at the moment. Another day or so should make a difference there, most likely."

Sandra barely suppressed a snarl at Vincent's words. Her Death Eaters? They barely listened to her! Brainless, spineless idiots, always running off on their own, always scheming, backstabbing...

Sandra gathered herself. This was not the time or place to appear incompetent. "I will reprimand them personally," She said through gritted teeth, carefully unclenching her hands. "This will have to satisfy you."

Hearin Wilson continue, she took a deep breath and very obviously turned her back on him. She did not have the patience to argue with the man. Perhaps later, after a shower and some brandy. "If he is going to recover soon perhaps I should leave. If he's in no danger of suddenly dieing I have no reason to stay."

"Wilson, if you have nothing useful to say, don't say anything at all," Vincent snapped, beginning to lose patience with him. It was lucky that Sandra hadn't lost her temper yet, he didn't want a duel her after all. Still, Vincent could tell she was getting irritated now. Listening to Sandra now, he rolled his eyes at her reply. "Actually I was hoping for some kind of reward," he drawled. "But oh well."

He then turned to Khaat. "Well he's not leaving this room if thats what your getting at. I'll have a house elf give him the potion regularly," he said with a shrug. He really didn't care how much Jess' wounds pained him, as long as he didn't die.