Lesson Two (Third Years)

Richard yawned a little as he sat down behind his desk and put his feet up on the desktop. Pausing, he picked up a piece of parchment and transfigured it into a hat that he then pulled part way over his face to let him take a little nap.

Karma wandered into the Transfiguration Classroom. She cocked her head at her Professor, noticing that he was doing exactly as Colbie before class. She wondered idly if this was a trait most of her teachers had, or if it was just her favorite ones.

She shrugged before slipping into a desk near the middle. "Hey, Professor."

Ethan arrived to class with what seemed to be another Professor trying to sleep before class.

What is it with all these professors, he thought as he took a seat and sat quietly.

Aireon walked into the classroom just as the Ravenclaw entered. He sat down in the front of the class. He got out his supplies. He noticed the professor dozing, but let him be. Must've had a rough night. he thought.

Kenzi ran into the classroom, feeling a bit sick and tired. She hadn't slept much the night before. She sat on a chair that was close to her, and two rows behind her there was a girl from Slytherin. She raised her eyebrow at the dozing Professor before she started flicking through her Transfiguration textbook.

Cepheus looked around the classroom as he entered, his face blank. He saw Ethan and waved to him, moving to sit next to him, grinning slightly.

"Hey," He muttered, looking to the front where the teacher was sleeping.

"Hey Cephie," he said as Cepheus sat beside him, "Looks like he is asleep but then again he could be just waiting to pounce on someone just as well."

"`Ello, Ethie," Cepheus hummed happily. "Probably is; a lot of the Professors have been sleeping a lot before class lately," He mused, a small smile on his face. He looked to the front at their Professor, tilting his head slightly.

'Richard' pulled the hat away from his face, still staring up at the ceiling with a completely blank expression,

"Oh the joys of school children..." he mused loudly, so that every student could hear him, "The sound of their laughter... the sound of their dying screams... of them gurgling on their own blood... their lungs filling with their life blood and then coughing it back up as they die... ever so slowly... their little... high pitched... screams... oh the joys of school children."

Standing up suddenly, 'Richard' kicked the chair backwards savagely and the heavy wooden chair shattered into a million pieces against the stone wall. Looking over the class, 'Richard' stalked forwards menacingly. Looking at each of the students in turn 'Richard' locked eyes with Karma and a sly smirk began to form on his lips. Stalking closer to Karma, he leant against her desk, leaning in until their faces were not an inch apart. Reaching up, 'Richard' slowly stroked a finger along her jaw line. His sly smirk opened up in what would normally have been a rather creepy grin on it's own, judging by the angle, but it was made even more menacing than usual. His lips, which upon closer inspected were dry and dead, cracked open in dozens of places as he moved them, tiny streams of blood beginning to run down his chin and into his mouth. His teeth had changed as well, sharp as if every one of them had been filed until they were perfect fangs. His breath was tainted with the stench of decay as he chuckled into Karma's face,

"Oh... the joys of school children..." he chuckled, a horrible sound that sounded closer to dry retching than to an expression of good humor, "And you look tasty! If I was that stupid paddie I'd eat you right up little girl! Mmmm! Your flesh is so tender! Your blood is so sweet it sings to me! You marrow... oh I can hear it humming in my ears!"

"Victor!" a deep voice said firmly from a seemingly empty corner of the room. The creature that had been posing as Richard Romain, 'Victor', turned round to the empty corner in a flash. The grin was replaced by an ugly scowl, which pulled his lips more and caused more blood to cascade down his chin and his fangs,

"What do you want from me?!" he snapped angrily at the corner, "You brought me here! I am here at your oh so generous 'request' baby brother!"

In the corner, the real Richard ended his disillionment charm to stare hard at the creature that so resembled him,

"I brought you here as an example." his eyes narrowed and his wand was suddenly in his hand, "Nothing more."

Victor, for he was definately not Richard, scowled a little before before his tongue, a grey and dead muscle, slowly licked some of his own blood from his lips,

"I understand." he spat as he stalked away from the students again to sit on Richard's desk with a petulant expression, "Finish your lesson and let me go back to sleep."

Richard nodded once but did not put his wand away. He glanced at his class before keeping his gaze on the creature that was his brother Victor Romain,

"Who can tell me anything about the creature you see in front of you?"

Arsen looked on at the show as he walked into class running slightly late. He recognised the state this guy was in, he dead he could smell it. "An inferi right? A corpse brought back to do a wizards bidding. They hate light and warmth." He said a slow smiled spreading on his face as he looked at Victor.

"Inferi are meant to be dark wizards work." He said leaning back in his seat.

Karma grimaced at the man. He was definately not her teacher. He smelled way too... off. When he came closer to her and traced his finger down her face, she had to resist snapping at it. For one thing, he'd probably tasted horrible, for another, shed probably get in trouble for biting a teacher, even a fake one. Instead, she reached behind her back for the dagger hidden there, and wrapped her fingers around the hilt.

Karma glared up at him as he breathed her in, and breathed on her. The stench almost made her pass out, in its intensity, but she'd be damned before she'd give him the satisfaction. She stopped breathing. He was in her personal space, and she was really resisting the urge to pull out the dagger. She put a hand on one just incase he decided to act on anything he was saying.

Then, when he backed away and she heard Professor Romain's voice, she allowed herself to breathe. She glared at the imposter and raised an eyebrow when he called her professor Baby Brother. Well, it seemed everyone had a freak or two in their family. It was one of the reasons she was glad she didn't have one.

She listened to Arsen's guess, and ended up smirking to. Well, heat and light? Wasn't that just perfect?

Her hand hadn't moved from the dagger.

Victor glared petulantly at Arsen, still trying to lick the blood from around his mouth with his dead tongue,

"Stupid little bugger that one brother." he declared loudly, "Doesn't even know the difference between a transfiguration lesson and a defence lesson. Go back to pre-school you moronic child!"

Richard gave his brother a glare, which quietened the creature,

"Try not to offend my students Victor." he commented lightly but there was a note of steel in his voice, "You are incorrect Mr Salvator. My brother is not an inferi."

Victor scowled and more blood poured out of his cracked lips,

"Can I show them?" he asked, strangely eager, "Can I show that arrogant little prick that I'm not some cursed corpse? Come on brother... let me show that little moron what I really am!"

Richard frowned a little before shaking his head,

"I can't make that decision." he turned to his class, "Do you want Victor to demonstrate what he is?"

He smiled, victor seemed fun. "You're close but moronic just doesn't quite fit what i am, very close though you got the end of the word right." He smirked. "I'm sure even you could figure it out it you used that one brain cell of yours."

He nodded, he wanted to see what this thing was.

Aireon silently watched and listened. When the creature stalked toward Karma, he noticed her hand shoot for her dagger. His own was feeling the coiled ruby and emerald of the handle of his sword. He relaxed and silently agreed with Arsen about his curiosity of the creature.

Karma cocked her head to the side and sniffed, her fingers still firmly wrapped around the dagger behind her back. He smelled weird still. She guessed Metamorphagus or vampire, but no way was she gonna say it out loud. She kinda wanted to see his demonstration.

Hmm.... her other hand went to the side of her boot, in the facade of adjusting the straps she slipped the blade inside the boot up her sleeve in a quick practiced motion that she was sure no one but perhaps her housemates and maybe her professor saw. she supposed killing family members of her professors was a no-no, but if he came too close again, she'd attack first and apologize later. Better to ask forgiveness than permission and all that.

She nodded, sitting back up in her desk. "Let's see what he is."

Victor giggled gleefully at their positive response but the sound was somehow more menacing than silly when coming from a person who gurgled their own blood while making the noise. Richard paused for a second before shrugging,

"Arsen..." he smiled faintly, "You might want to move your chair back."

With that warning being the only one he received, Victor laughed a manic laugh as he lifted his right arm up and held it horizontally in Arsen's direction,

"Little kids gunna shit himself Dick!" he cackled madly, blood spraying from his mouth, "You want to know what I am kid? I AM DEAD!"

The skin of Victor's right wrist exploded outwards in a spray of blood and tissue as a streak of red-stained white burst from the arm to race towards Arsen's eye in an uninterrupted line. Richard acted quickly and cast a cutting curse, cutting the end of the line off. Eventually the extension of Victor stopped, half an inch from Arsen's eye. The extension of Victor was quite clearly made of bone, the tip blunted by the cutting curse. Richard picked up what he'd cut off and held it up for the class,

"Another five inches of bone." he told them before throwing it onto Arsen's desk, "Don't goad someone you don't understand Arsen."

He nodded and Victor retracted the bone back into his body but the exit wound stayed open, gushing blood everywhere. Victor idly clamped his mouth around the wound and began to drink his own blood while Richard switched to lecture mode,

"Victor is an example of a re-animated person. Not an inferi no matter how similiar it sounds." he smiled faintly, "They're run by magic so it takes quite a bit to make one. But all of the magic used bleeds off into the body itself. Anyone care to guess what that means the re-animated person can do?"

He raised an eyebrow but did as he was told and moved his chair back a few inches. He was very intriuged about what this victor was he knew he was dead but if he wasn't an inferi then he had no idea what he could be. He smirked and shook his head, it took a lot to scare him and after living with Aspen there wasn't alot the could surprise him because that man tried anything.

"Dead? Oh really i would never have guessed." He said rolling his eyes, he'd smelt Victor from down the corridor. He gasped and moved to the side as the bone? came towards him and he had to do everything he could not to grab the thing and turn it to dust. He sat back up straight and picked up the bone to examine it. "Sorry Professor bad habit or mine." He would give this bone to his uncle, maybe it could be a apart of his new chair or perhaps a footstool he thought to himself with a smile.

"Can they use the magic for themselves?" He guessed.

Victor huffed a little and sat back down in the chair behind the desk, licking at his rapidly bleeding hole in his wrist. Richard rolled his eyes at his 'brother' and shrugged a little,

"He's been brought back to life temporaryily by magic and that magic bleeds into his body." he paused before shaking his head, "He can't do magic like a living wizard can but he can force the magic within his tissue to change his body. As you saw with the bone."

He looked around the class,

"Any other questions?"

"Sorry i'm late professor," Cole said walking in. "I got a little held up on my way it won't happen again"

Karma wrinkled her nose. Dead people. Gross. She was glad shed fought the erge to bite him, he looked like he tasted awful.

"What kind of spell did you use?" Karma asked, cocking her head to the side. "Don't you have to sacrifice something to bring someone back?" She smiled crookedly. "Sounds dangerous."