Not Again...[OPEN]

[Professor Amaterasu Kuang]

Amaterasu had thought she had become familiar enough with the castle to find her way around. She really had. Today everything seemed to be going amiss though. She had missed breakfast from over sleeping, nearly slipped on a puddle of some black creepy looking gunk in the hall, and had to deal with Peeves trying to chase her around with a squirt gun. Luckily she had escaped him when he became more interested in tormenting some students instead. She didn’t care for Peeves one bit ever since she found him in her classroom painting mustaches on all the art work, even the fruit from the still life portraits.

She was in a different dilemma now though. She had known that the staircases moved here, a rather annoying feature of this place if you asked her, but one had never moved while she was on it. She couldn’t say that now though. She had been walking up the stairs trying to get to the fourth floor, as high as she dared go in this castle since her last time getting lost, when the staircase gave a jolt, sending her to her knee’s on the stairs. The shaking lasted only a few minutes before the staircase righted itself again and Amaterasu was able to regain her footing. However, now the staircase was leading a completely different direction. She hurried to the top as the stairs began to shake again, just making it to the entrance in time to watch the stairs careen off in a different direction.

She sighed and looked around, having no idea which floor she was on now, but acutely aware that her left knee had taken a bit of a beating and was bleeding very lightly. She would probably have a bruise by tomorrow, which meant no dresses for a few days at least. Since it didn’t look like the staircase was coming back anytime soon she walked down the hallways, trying to locate any distinguishing features to tell her where the heck she was. There must not be much on this floor, she thought to herself when she didn’t run into anyone in her wanderings. She decided it was best to go back and wait for the staircase to come back, but when she turned around…she couldn’t figure out which way she had turned to get back. Oh dear…not again…


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[Deleted]

Nikolai sat quietly at his desk with his hand rubbing at his forehead, his brow furrowed in pure irritation. Lying before him were a bunch of papers that had been written by the third year students that had just finished serving their detention merely an hour before. He had never understood why students these days had such difficulty with following directions, and just sitting quietly in his class, for it would save all of them a lot of headaches in the long run.

Nikolai was and always had been a very stern and antisocial person who avoided contact with both his students and his fellow classmates unless they had somehow managed to capture either his attention or interest in one way or another. On top of that, he was the type of person who hated when his schedule, when his normal routine was interrupted.

A normal day for him consisted of teaching the students in his class, grading papers, and occasionally going to the pub in Hogsmeade for a drink. Already his schedule was interrupted and he felt the familiar throb of a migrane coming on and his hands moved up to rub at his temple before allowing himself to take a deep breath in order to try and calm himself, only to freeze when a very familiar scent filled his senses.

Blood. Human blood.

His body tensed, and he sighed before standing from his desk, and making his way outside of the classroom, following the scent as it filled the air, looking to find the source and hoping that the person bleeding wasn't some sort of student that had gotten hurt screwing around. He walked for a while before the scent came especially strong, and as he walked around a corner he came across a young asian woman wandering around looking lost.

Cold blue eyes observed her for a quiet moment. She was far too old to be a student so she had to be a teacher of some sort. She looked lost, and she looked as if she had some place that she needed to be. With a quiet sigh, Nikolai stepped forward, and cleared his throat. His eyes regarded her wearily as a rough accented voice filled the previously silent air.

"Vhat are you doing here at this time of day? Are you lost or do you have some sort of business vith me?"

[Professor Amaterasu Kuang]

How could she have gotten turned around so quickly? She couldn't understand it. Her sense of direction had never been the strongest, but this was ridiculous. This was the second time she had gotten lost like this in Hogwarts. Well...completely lost. The other 7 times she had managed to reorient herself within 10 minutes, unlike now. Perhaps she should draw a map of the school, something that had occurred to her last time as well. She was now wishing she had acted on that idea...

Her head looked back and forth at the hallway, trying to remember which way she had come when the hair stood up on the back of her neck mere seconds before a voice disturbed the air. She hadn't heard any footsteps so she nearly jumped out of her skin in surprise. She turned quickly to see a fellow professor standing there. She couldn't recall his name, for she had only recalled seeing him perhaps twice so far this year. She did recall that he taught transfiguration though, and that the talk around the school was that he was a vampire and extremely reclusive.

“I am lost actually...the staircase decided to move and I can't seem to find my way back. I was looking for the fourth floor...” she said, somewhat nervously, somehow now very acutely aware of her knee. There were few times when nerves came over her anymore because of how often she had performed, but they still managed to creep up on her when she least expected it. It was a silly thing being nervous, he was a professor after all, but she had never really met a vampire before.


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[Deleted]

He could tell just by looking at her, by observing her body language that his presence made her nervous, something that was almost enough to make him smirk in response. Was it because he was a vampire, or was it simply because he was someone that the others knew very little about? Personally, he was leaning more towards the first option being the case here. He knew that there were rumors that were spread around the school about him, he knew that people were weary of him because of the tales that they had been told, the warnings that they had been given for his kind. They were alluring. They were graceful. They were beautiful, but above all else they were dangerous.

She was very smart to be weary of him. She was injured and standing infront of one of the most dangerous predators in the world and had he had a little less self control, had he not known that he was being watched very carefully he might have let the temptation, and his vampiric instincts overtake him and gone in for a taste. However, he knew that the school was full of people that did not trust him and knew that there were people who would just love to have a reason to take his life.

That, and he was not one that was weak enough to be swayed by the scent of just anyone's blood. He had a little more pride than that.

"You look as though I am vanting to be eating you." His tone was dry and almost bored sounding and his blue eyes stared calmly into hers, not looking away for even a moment, daring her to try and lie or disagree with his observation. "Just because I am vhat I am does not mean that I am vanting to attack every time I smell blood. Yes, I know that you are injured. I smelt the blood all the way from my office and thought that it vas a student who get hurt vhile messing around up here. I came here to investigate, and imagine my surprise when it turned out to be a fellow professor instead of the student that I was expecting." Yes, let it be known that he knew that she was injured.

He fell quiet for a moment, listening to her as she spoke before shaking his head. A smirk crossed his lips and he opened his mouth to speak to her, his fangs occasionally being shown to her as he spoke. "You have missed the fourth floor by two floors. You are currently on the sixth, my domain. On top of that, you have managed to get yourself on the exact opposite side of vhere you are supposed to be going."

How on Earth how she managed to get herself so lost?

[Professor Amaterasu Kuang]

He could obviously tell she was nervous, which was apparent from his comments. She felt a little ashamed over it. She prided herself over being a friendly person to everyone she encountered, even if they had been competition who would happily push her off the stage given the chance. And here she was being very obviously nervous in his presence, possibly even offending him in the process for all she knew. His gaze was somewhat unnerving, but she managed to hold it while he spoke.

“Sorry. I've never met a real vampire before. I didn't know what to expect with me bleeding and all...” she said with a small shake of hear head and a smile. She had only encountered those silly muggle pretenders in the Italian clubs, and they were fairly easily picked out with their over the top gothic fashion and glue'd on fangs. “Yes...I can't imagine many professors actually get lost here...or hurt really.” she said, looking down, somewhat embarrassed.

So she was on the 6th floor? How on earth had she over shot it so much? “I am? Oh dear... Would you be so kind as to direct me to the fourth floor? Actually...I should probably head to the 3rd floor instead to get a bandage.” she asked, looking down at her knee then back up at him with a small smile. It wasn't a bad cut, but it still bled and stung so she should probably clean it and cover it just in case. She could go to the Library afterwards, there was no real rush after all.


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[Deleted]

So she was attempting to hide her initial nervousness, fearful that she had previously upset or offended him in one way or another. Well this would certainly be interesting then. He managed to hide his amusement when the young woman attempted to hold his gaze while talking to him and explaining the reason for her nervousness. So she had never met a real vampire before something that wasn't too terribly surprising as he knew that most of his kind tended to usually keep to themselves unless they had a reason not to. What amused him more was the implications behind what she had said. She had made fake vampires before?

"I did not realize that there vere any kind of vampires other than the real ones and the ones that are vritten in legends of humans."

Though admittedly they were not far too different though that wasn't the point.

"Vampires do have a thirst for blood however, ve are kept on very tight leashes so to say. It vould be very foolish for us to go and attack someone, vhen there are organizations and people who are just vaiting for us to make a mistake. I am no exception. McGonagall has me placed under very strict surveillance. I vould be dead within minutes if I tried to do anything."

He didn't know why he had gone and revealed all of that to her, but he supposed it did work out to his advantage for a later date. She was sure to be less weary around him if she knew that he would possibly be killed the second that he tried anything, perhaps that was something that he could use to his advantage at a later date.

"You vould be surprised. There have been many similar incidents already during this year. For some reason the stairs seem to guide various people to my floor." Already this year he had been forced to help the Care of Magical Creatures professor, - though he admittedly was cute, so that he didn't mind all that much - the Music professor and a few others that had somehow escaped his mind for one reason or another.

When she mentioned that she had been hurt, and needed to be directed to the fourth, then the third floor in order to get a bandage the vampire sighed contemplating what to do. If he allowed her to go down to the third wing injured and unhelped he knew that there was a chance that he could be blamed for her injury in one way or another. However, if he helped her then he would be completely blameless, besides he did have a first aid kit in his classroom for the students that were too foolish to follow his instructions during the more dangerous Transfiguration lessons, and happened to damage themselves in the process.

" The third floor is a trip too great to be making on a leg that is injured. If you come vith me to my classroom I have a first aid kit in there. I am sure that there are bandages in there. After ve have taken care of your injury than I shall lead you to your destination. I am very familiar vith this castle, and can get you there both shortly and safely if you vish."

[Professor Amaterasu Kuang]

Amaterasu nodded, “Yes, there were muggles pretending they were vampires. There's quite a few impersonators in Italy and France in the nightlife. They're rather...interesting to watch and quite popular apparently...There are whole night clubs dedicated to it.” she said when he said he didn't know there were fake vampires out there. She had never been inside any of those particular nightclubs, but she knew people who had and regaled her with the stories afterwards. Fake blood martini's, gothic décor, and lots of metal and electronica music seemed to sum up what she had been told.

He explained about how even though vampires did have that blood thirst they were famously know for, they were all under close watch and would be dead in minutes if he stepped out of line or did anything. That made sense, but she couldn't imagine the sort of self control that must require. Especially with the way students seemed to get hurt at this school. Or any school actually. “I see. That must require a huge amount of self control the way kids seem to get hurt.” she said.

At least she wasn't the only one who had been redirected by the stairs this year. Perhaps the castle wanted to play tricks on people this year? Or perhaps it was the headmistress trying to make him socialize more by having the stairs redirect people to his floor? Both seemed like viable options, the second one a bit more so though. As she was contemplating this she heard him sigh which drew her attention back for his next words. She honestly didn't think her knee was so bad for such a fuss, but it was very nice of him to offer to help. How could she say no after pulling him away from his work? “Thank you, thats very kind of you.” she said with a wide smile.

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[Deleted]

A scoff left his lips as he heard just who the ones that were impersonating his kind were. Of course they would be muggles, that wasn't a surprise. He was even less surprised to find out just where the places in which they were being imitated were. The Italians and the french had always been very sensual beings that were obsessed with love, romance and all of the like from his experience with them. It wasn't exactly surprising that vampires had been thrown into the mix, though he inwardly shuddered at the thought of how they must have portrayed vampires in order for them to become popular in the first place.

"глупый магглы" [foolish muggles] The words were said underneath his breath in his native language before he spoke again in a much clearer voice, this time in English. "I cannot say that this is much a surprise to me, muggles are alvays doing strange things, even more so in those two places, and America. I vas just surprised that they've managed to find a vay to make our lifestyle....appealing...." Though he supposed it was better that they chose his kind than choosing to obsess over something like werewolves.

At least his kind had some aspects over control over their lives.

When she spoke of him having a great sense of control over himself due to the clumsy nature of the students and the fact that they always got hurt, he nodded slightly. While he was very picky in the type of blood that he consumed, it was true that sometimes it could be challenging to control himself when students seemed to be getting hurt left and right, especially when he found himself stressed, or in a bad mood as that seemed to be when his blood lust heightened to dangerous levels.

"It can be challenging at times. I am okay because I am picky about the blood that I consume, but at times vhen I am frustrated or angry that is vhen it gets most difficult to control myself." Yes, those were the times when Nikolai was the most dangerous to both the staff and the students.

He was drawn out of his thoughts when he heard the young woman speak again, and his eyes were drawn to hers for a moment, taking in her smile for a moment before nodding. He wasn't trying to be kind necessarily, rather he was trying to avoid having to take responsibility for her getting hurt but he would allow her to believe whatever she wanted to. "This vay then." He started walking off in the opposite direction slowly, ensuring that he was not walking too fast for her to follow him.

It would take a while of walking, and many turning around the corners in different direction before they reached the Transfiguration classroom. The classroom was somewhat dark inside due to Nikolai's great dislike of bright lights. Candles were lit all around the room, making it easy enough to see clearly around the room without the light being overbearing. Nikolai made his way over to his desk, and rummeged through the doors before coming up with the first aid kit, and grabbing a bandage for her. He then turned away from his desk, and made his way over to her offering her the bandage for her to take.

[Professor Amaterasu Kuang]

Amaterasu looked up as he scoffed at her comment about muggles pretending to be like him and said something in a language she didn’t recognize. “Well they’ve managed it quite well…it has quite a large following from what I’ve seen. Though I wouldn’t recommend seeing the more recent ways they’ve made it so popular…” she said, shaking her head in remembrance of the muggle films she had been forced to watch by one of her opera friends. Sparkling vampires…it was completely ridiculous. She preferred the older ones…they seemed more realistic to her.

So being picky over what he consumed allowed him to control the cravings or allure easier. That made sense. It was like how a picky human eater managed to stay healthier than others who weren’t so concerned over what they ate. “I see, that makes sense. Are there any potions you could take that might help in those stressful moments?” she asked, hoping the question wasn’t to invasive. It seemed to her like asking about potions someone would take for a headache or to relax a bit.

He began to lead the way to his classroom and she was very grateful she didn’t have to come up here too often, because within a few turns she was completely turned around again. Luckily this time she had a guide so she wouldn’t be wandering aimlessly trying to find her way back to the stairs again. If only there were more classes or something on this floor…it might be easier for her to navigate. They finally made it to the Transfiguration classroom and she was surprised to find it only illuminated with candles. It wasn’t overly dark because of the amount of candles, but it was different with no open windows. She stopped near the front and began to glance around as he looked through his desk. This classroom was very different from her brightly lit one filled with artwork.

Her attention was pulled back to him when he walked towards her holding out a band aid. “Ah, thank you!” she said with a smile, taking the bandage. She looked around for a moment before taking a seat at one of the desk so she could apply the band aid easily. The scrape wasn’t as bad as it felt, much like how a paper cut stings more than it actually bleeds, but there was blood there. She pulled out her wand and used a quick cleaning charm on the scrape before applying the bandage. If only she had learned how to close cuts as well… She put her wand away before standing and smoothing the skirt of her dress slightly. “Thanks again for the bandage… Now I just need to get to the Library.” she said, somewhat embarrassed at her lack of a good sense of direction.


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[Deleted]

A single brow went up at what she had said last. What on earth had the muggles done to the image of the vampire in order to make the life of a vampire so desirable? He was strangely curious, his curiosity growing even farther when he heard the woman warn him not to go about looking at the most recent attempts at vampiric popularity. What exactly had they done? It couldn't have been anything good, that much was absolutely clear to him. "Thank you for the varning. I vill keep that in mind should I decide to go and research just vhat is going on in the muggle vorld."

He listened to her as she asked him a new question. Were there any potions that he took that helped him during the stressful moments?

"There is a potion made by the potions professor that helps suppress my urges, and cravings if I do not have the supply of blood needed in order to keep me completely satisfied. I also have a small supply of blood lollipops from that sweets shop, though I prefer to use those only if I am desperately needing sustenance." He took many precautions in order to help avoid any sort of problems for himself in the long run.

He watched as she cleaned the wound that was on her knee before gently pressing the bandage onto the once bleeding wound. The scent of blood filled the air, remaining even after all traces of blood from her wound had been wiped clean, and yet the professor did not seem to be even the slightest bit bothered, or even uneasy. He was the picture defintion of self control in that moment.

"You are velcome. Now let us get to the library. It should not take us very long to get there even if the stairs decide they wish to move again." He turned and made his way to the doorway of the classroom robes flowing behind him as he did so.

Once he got to the doorway, he paused waiting for her to start following him before continuing to walk again. This way took much longer than it did before, and there were many more twists and turns then there were on the last walk, but eventually they did reach the stairs. Cold blue eyes turned to look down at her.

" Are you ready?"

[Professor Amaterasu Kuang]

She listened intently as he told her about the potion he used to help suppress the cravings for blood if he didn’t have the supply he needed. She was fairly surprised about the blood lollipops though, she hadn’t realized the sweets shop would carry something like that or that vampires would actually like it. He did say they were a last resort though, so they must not taste very good to him. “I see. That’s fascinating. They seem to have potions to help everyone these days. I didn’t realize the sweet shop actually sold those lollipops though. I can’t imagine they’d taste very good to you though…not being fresh and all…” she said, though in all actuality she wouldn’t know. She thought she recalled reading somewhere that vampires didn’t like blood that wasn’t fresh, or at least relatively fresh.

She followed behind his flowing robes as he left the classroom, wondering briefly if she was a bit on odd ball teacher for not wear official robes like him and few others. No one had said anything about her clothing choices though, so she assumed it was alright. The way he led her seemed to take longer than before, but it gave her a chance to actually look around at the various painting on this floor. Perhaps she might be able to remember a few of them to find her way should she get lost up here again, though she doubted it after all the twists and turns they had taken. She looked up at him when he stopped and realized they had finally made it to the stairs. She nodded quickly, “Yes. I’m prepared for their tricks this time.” she said with a small laugh. She did, however, plan on holding onto the rail tightly though. Just in case.

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[Deleted]

He listened quietly to her as she spoke about the potions that he used, saying that it was fascinating how many different potions that they had for helping people these days and the vampire admitted that he had to agree with her on that small statement. The potions made it easier for non-humans to blend into society, something that had been very difficult to do in the past. It made beings like him "safer" to be around and allowed his kind to work alongside the humans that dominated the world that they lived in and take up positions that they could have never done in the past.

When she spoke of the blood lollipops, he had to admit that he was surprised. For someone that had never spoken to, or had even seen a vampire in the past she had caught onto his taste pretty fast. " Yes, it has never been easier to be a being other than a human. Now because of those potions, ve are able to blend into society better. Ve are apparently deemed to be much safer to be around and are allowed to take on jobs that ve couldn't even dream of in the past. Granted ve are vatched much more closely than humans are, and ve are not trusted as much as humans are, but ve are able to live. As for the lollipops, they are something similar to going from a gourmet diet, to eating nothing but the poorest quality food, at least that it what it is like to me. "

When they had finally reached the stairs, Nikolai waited for her answer before stepping onto the staircase, waiting for her to follow behind him. It would do no good if they ended up getting seperated while on the staircases. They had made it down exactly half way down the first staircase before it had decided to start moving. Nikolai frowned, and cursed quietly in Russian, gripping onto the staircase as the thing jerked him about. He was beginning to think that the staircases had been given orders to mess with him.

Those blasted things. He was really beginning to dislike them.

"Are you alright? You did not get hurt again did you?"

[Professor Amaterasu Kuang]

She wrinkled her nose for a moment at his description of what it was like to eat a blood lollipop. It was like going from the food she normally had to muggle fast food, which was rather horrible in her opinion. “Yes, that sounds pretty horrible. I see why they would be a last resort for you.” she said, shaking her head lightly, “I am glad that you’re able to teach here though, restrictions or not. It must be very good for the students.” she added with a small friendly smile. Perhaps it would help along the acceptance of those who weren’t human for this next generation of young people.

As they began to descend the first set of stairs Amaterasu was very glad she had chosen to hold onto the railing as tightly as she had for about halfway down the stairs decided to move once again. She was able to keep her feet this time though and cling tightly to the rail until the movement ceased. She looked up and noticed he had been able to keep his footing as well, though she hadn’t really expected him to fall in the first place. She nodded quickly, “Yes, I’m unharmed. I hate to say it, but I’m beginning to get the feeling that these stairs have it out for me.” she said, eyeing the rest of the staircase with the smallest amount of suspicion in her brown eyes.

Perhaps this was some sort of hazing? Having the stairs out to get her. She wouldn’t be surprised after today if it really was from the odd way they acted every time she was on them recently. She wondered if there was a way to avoid these stairs and still move about the castle easily. She’d have to ask the Headmistress and explain her dilemma…


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[Deleted]

He couldn't help but allow a small and amused smirk to cross his lips as she spoke about his presence at the school being a good thing for the students to experience. Though there was a lot more tolerance in the world today than there was in the past for non-mortals, there were still a lot of people who were weary about vampires, still viewing them as soulless predators whose only purpose in life was to hunt and kill others in order to sastify their dark thirst.

He was not exactly popular with others because of this, he had been on the recieving side of many a threatning note in the past from upset parents, and he knew that he was being watched both in and out of school by someone who was just waiting for the chance to have a reason to kill him. "You have a unique vay of looking at things. It is true that I attract the curiosity of the students because of vhat I am. They are curious about vhat it is like to be a vampire, and occasionally I vill answer their questions vhen I feel like it. It is nice that they are not as bigoted as the previous generations. It makes me feel almost pleased that things are beginning to turn around."

When the stairs had finished moving, and he had made sure that the woman had not been reinjured by the moving stairs, he looked at his surroundings. "It seems as though ve have been moved to the fourth floor, vhich is vhere ve needed to go. However, ve are on the opposite side of vhere ve need to be. The library is on the other side." It seemed as though the stairs loved to mess with either him, the woman, or the both of them together.

"Follow me. I know another vay that ve can get to the other side vithout taking these stairs." With that he stepped off of the staircase onto the solid ground of the fourth floor before waiting for the woman to follow him.

[Professor Amaterasu Kuang]

She smiled when he said she had a unique way of looking at things, choosing to take that as a compliment. She was pleased to hear that the students were curious but not bigoted like some of their parents were sure to be still. She could only imagine their reactions when their parents found out that a vampire would be teaching their children. “That's good. Though I think I'd be very pleased if I were in your shoes, but thats just me. I'm easily pleased.” she said with a light laugh.

Once they had cleared the stairs he said they had ended up on the fourth floor, which was good at least. They were on the wrong side, but it was closer then the first time she had attempted to get there. And apparently he knew a way to get there that didn't involve the staircases. “Thank goodness. Two times in one day is far to much... Is there a way to move between floors and avoid them altogether?” she asked as she followed Nikolai as he waited for her at the base of the stairs.


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