Private Preparing PV. Prof. Vernatis Finished

Artemis found himself sitting at his desk grading homework, as seemed to be his usual these days. It seemed as if there was no end in sight with the first year assignments piling up on his desk and there was never a shortage of older year students handing in the wretched assignments as if they deserved the credit for handing in something a year late. But alas, this was part of the job description and he had to do what he must in order to keep said job. So, grading subpar assignments was what he was going to do. 

It was a good distraction for him as well. Keep his mind off of his children, and subsequently, how he ended up in the predicament he was currently in. Come the summertime, Artemis had to make a decision on whether or not he would give up this position and become a full-time father or ask his sister to take on his children while he continued to work at school. The other option would be to ask the Headmaster if it were possible to have the children live in the castle with him, but that was the last resort. He wouldn't ask such a difficult request of the old man and Artemis wasn't sure if he even wanted to raise his kids in this castle. So much has happened in the near year that he had been teaching there. There was no way he would put his children in the danger that happened to invade this castle if he could help it. 

Sighing, the man looked down at the assignment before him and groaned as he began to write corrections upon the parchment. Just as he finished marking the poor first-year student's assignment, a knock sounded on his door, forcing the Charms Professor to look up briefly before calling "Come in," gently. He wasn't expecting anyone but this distraction would also help distract him from the original distraction that was supposed to be distracting him from his original problem.

Although, Artemis was hoping that it wasn't another student asking about spells that helped them harm their fellow classmates. That discussion from months ago still didn't sit well with him even now. 

Opeila was no person who had problems talking to people she didn't know well or not at all. As much as she loved being left alone from time to time, she enjoyed seeing people grow over their own insecurities and join the group. May that be errands, clubs or simple study groups.

It was different with teachers. The Slytherin didn't have good experiences with teachers in the muggle world and she hadn't spoken to Hogwarts' Professors enough to know if it was any different here.

Especially with the topic she wanted to ask Professor Vernatis about. When a boy in primary school had cut his hands open on the leaves of the bush Opeila had accidently turned to stone, the teacher had rather believed the other childrens' made up story about Opeila having found a knife to hurt the boy. She couldn't even really blame him, to a muggle, who had no idea about magic, her story about a bush turning to stone sounded like a ridiculous excuse.
It was easy to turn this topic around so she seemed like someone who wanted to harm her classmates as well. No one of course ever thought about the harm that other classmates could have done to her before, when they put Opeila in one of those 'villain' categories.

When the Professor answered, Opeila carefully opened the door. "Good evening, Professor. I- I hope I am not disturbing you." She closed the door behind her again. Should she say her name in case he didn't remember? Or would that offend him?
"I just have a few questions I thought that you would be the best person to ask."

@Artemis Vernatis

Looking up at the small student that waltzed into his office, Artemis put his quill back into the ink pot to give her his full attention. Ophelia Seilun was one of his more well-rounded students. A girl who focused and cared about her work instead of just handing in random piles of junk that he was frequently subjected to grading.  She was often found to be quiet in his classes, though once or twice Artemis has heard her tell off a fellow classmate for messing around in class while trying to pay attention so he knew she had a voice when needed. 

However, she just seemed like the shy type. 

"Miss Seilun. What kind of questions do you have for me?" 

Artemis could only hope that her question, whether it be of the 'help me learn a spell' sort or the 'what advice can you give to help me understand a spell' didn't fall under the category of 'help me come up with a spell that will help me destroy my seemingly dangerous classmates.' Artemis had enough of students coming to him asking for the impossible. Did they not think of his moral compass? If any of those students turned around and became the next Dark Wizard it would be his fault for showing them that one spell to defeat their enemies. 

"Please, have a seat. I'll try to answer your questions as best as I can," the man gestured to the chairs in front of his desk. 

Professor Vernatis asked Opeila about the kind of questions she had and offered her a chair in front of his desk.
Opeila walked over and sat down.
"Thank you, Professor. I have a question about a spell."

Now she had to watch it. If she said something wrong it could as well seem like she wanted to harm someone. She only wanted information, now she just had to word it well.

"I just want to know if there is a spell- I only want to know if it exists, I don't want to use it, I don't ask for an explanation how it works- that allows a person to forget only the things he chooses to forget."
She thought a little further. She did not believe for a second that Burnett would let just anyone fiddle around with his memory. It had to be someon he trusted and Opeila knew that his parents were muggles... So there were only Selim Faust and Ruka as possibilities to perform such a spell, right?
Suddenly she was scared. If the answer to her question was no, then that meant that Burnett had been messing with her all along. Hurting her knowing that he would.

"... And that is possible to perform by a first or second year student."
Maybe she should explain it a little. Just so the Professor didn't get a wrong image of her intentions.
"It is just... a classmate claims to have done something to his memories and I suspect that he is messing with me. I just... need to know, if it is even possible."

She looked at the Professor, a hopeful expression on her face.

@Artemis Vernatis

Artemis stared at the young girl before him and blinked. It shocked him that this child before him didn't actually wish to use the spell she was asking about. The last time a Slytherin girl came to him asking about a spell she wanted to use the knowledge to harm other students. Needless to say, Artemis was a bit nervous about handing out any extra information to the younger students. However, Miss Seilun actually seemed to be curious...and perturbed by something.


"There...is a spell. An advanced spell that no eleven, twelve, or thirteen-year-old child could cast without sufficient training. No first or second-year student would be able to cast this spell as it takes a lot of concentration and would require not only a Pensieve but a skilled witch or wizard who knew what they were doing to extract the memories from another person's mind. This spell is called Obliviate and it's a Memory Charm. It isn't something we teach here at Hogwarts and would most likely be taught to those who wish to work at the Ministry. That is why we have a team of Obliviators within the Ministry because they are the ones skilled enough to conduct this spell. Obliviate does allow someone to forget a memory that they no longer wish to remember, but there is a process. It can go terribly wrong if done incorrectly. Do you happen to know of a story about this man named Lockhart? He tried to use the spell and it backfired horribly. Erased his memory completely. I am positive that no first or second-year student could cast that charm without trouble."

Artemis paused, wondering why on earth would children try to tease one another with a subject matter as serious as your memory or your brain. Shaking his head, he sighed before he continued. "There is also something called the Forgetfulness Potion, but there is no real determining factor of how much or how little memory the potion will wipe from the consumer's mind. It's not a controlled way to remove memories whereas Obliviate is controlled...with the correct people conducting the charm. If your friend truly did something to his memory or harmed himself in some way, you must tell me, or even your Head of House if you don't feel you can trust me. But in truth, this may all just be a prank on his end and he's pulling your wand to get a laugh out of the situation."

OOC: I am truly sorry that I am extremely late with this reply. @Opeila Seilun

When the Charms Professor said that there was a spell, that no third year could cast without proper training, Opeila's heart sunk. She knew it. Alright, maybe she didn't know it but she had guessed it. And it hurt more than she had thought it would. What had she done to him to make him hurt her like that? She had promised herself that she would not hate him, but it seemed like Burnett knew how to play mind games. He made it almost impossible not to hate him.

At least that thought eased the pain a little. He only did this to her to make her hate him. There was nothig wrong with her, right? Those were his insecurities, nothing she had to put on herself.
She did it anyway. Too many things happened since that clearly showed that he had come over those. He had let Ruka in, right? So it must be her mistake...
Another drop into the bucket of self-blame she was carrying already.

The Professor might see that Opeila was not listening to the explanation anymore, that her thoughts were in some painful place. It was written all over her face.
Only when he asked her to tell him or her head of house if Burnett did something to himself, she shook her head. "He is not my friend.", she said quietly, "And he has not. He did this to hurt me." There would be a bitter expression on her face, Opeila did not look at her teacher for a moment.

Then she caught herself, blinked a few times and shook the pain off. "Thank you, Professor. Your answers helped me a lot." Opeila looked at the teacher, now with a neutral expression on her face. Only a little more serious than she was when she had entered the room.

She wanted to leave, she really did. Be alone maybe. Or alternatively punch that jerk in the face, give him a little pain back. Opeila was just not sure if Professor Vernatis would find it disrespectful if she just left. Opeila knew that some teachers preferred to dismiss their students.
Then a part of her just wanted to follow Burnett's example and eliminate the risk. Cut off all her friends simply to not be hurt like this again. But then she knew that she wouldn't. And if it was just to prove him wrong.

@Artemis Vernatis
Don't worry, I was not exactly quick either

Artemis could sense that there was something deeper going on with his student and he wished he could help her out. Her energy seemed hurt and the man had to wonder if her friend had intentionally harmed her or was just trying to play some kind of joke...if there was a joke. But when the young girl looked back up at him, her face was neutral; almost as if she were concealing her true emotions.

"Miss Seilun, please know that even if I don't fully understand the situation, if you need or want my help I am here. Even if it's just to...release emotions that you normally wouldn't want to show in front of others. Expressing yourself, even with tears, is not a weakness. Don't ever let anyone tell you otherwise."

Artemis wouldn't press the girl further on that. If she chose to cry on his shoulder to release some pent up frustrations, so be it. It wasn't as if he never had tears on his shoulder before. He was a father of two, after all. Reaching into a drawer in his desk, Artemis pulled out his bag of sweets that he kept for gifting his students after a great class ethic or for himself if he was feeling a bit hungry, but didn't want to head to the kitchens for something. Putting the bag on his desk, he left it open for the child to ruffle through if she wished. The bag held a variety of different sweets inside already, but whatever the child could think of to snack on, the bag would provide her with as that was what he had charmed the bag to do.

"If you wish to speak more, Opeila," Artemis began, using the child's first name, "I am here and always will be here for you. If you wish to head back to your dorm, I will understand and will not stop you. But please, take a treat from the bag before you go. Comfort food is usually a good way to begin the calming process."

... And then the Professor destroyed her self-control.
For a moment she felt like she was talking to her father in one of his good moments. He had a lot of worries to deal with and was often impatient with Opeila, but in a good moment...
Professor Vernatis offered her his help. Allowed her to be emotional if that was what she needed.

Opeila didn't want to, she felt uncomfortable to cry in front of a teacher, but while he was talking, her eyes began to fill with tears. He said that crying was no weakness, just when one tear left her eye, made it's way down her cheek, before the brunette quickly wiped it off. "It is not?", she asked him, her voice suddenly sounding a little sore. But when it cost strength not to cry... it meant that she lacked the strength to control herself.
That she was weak.

She watched him when he reached into a drawer and placed a bag on his desk. She looked inside it and couldn't help a little smile. No matter that she felt hurt, she was a child, one that was not immune to the temptation of candy.
Professor Vernatis offered to listen to her, or for her to go back to her dorm. Either way he allowed her to take something out of the bag. "Thank you, Professor.", Opeila said, and took a sherbert lemon out of the bag. "I um... I think I should head back to the Common Room. Thank you for your help Professor."
Opeila sent the Charms Professor another little smile, before she turned around to leave his office.
This was something she didn't want to share. No matter how safe it felt to talk to him, she barely knew him.

Opeila leaves the Thread unless stopped.

@Artemis Vernatis