It was at this time Ligeia considered that signing up spur of the moment might not have been to her tastes. New management to Puddifoot's had not lessened the zeal of the decor around the holidays, speficially Valentine's Day. There was far too much pink and anatomically-incorrect hearts. One of Ligeia's best made valentines in years past had been an anatomically correct heart made out of rose petals. She hadn't understood why it had never caught on; it would beat and gush chocolate sauce for blood and there was matching 'Warlock's Hairy Heart' made out of tree moss and ferret skins. And the pink clashed with the faded red/gray of the 'WL' monogram on her dress.

The one upside to these speedy dates was that it gave Ligeia an opportunity to be with the school healer Madam Nadge without seeking out any kind of excuse.

"What possessed you to join in on these festivities, Madam Nadge?" Ligeia asked, head resting on the back of her hand. As for what had possessed her it could have been Moaning Myrtle, forever dead at that hormonal time where boys were still icky yet captivating but Ligeia considered Myrtle would not be desperate enough to book an engagement here.

Oh goodness.  This wasn't, exactly, what Tulojow had been expecting from the speed dating event.  But, she wasn't about to complain about catching up with one the many promising students. 

"I confess it was one of those ideas that seemed like a good one at the time.  It's nice to get away from the day in and day out of the school."  The role of school healer was hardly a redundant one, but it was good to get away from the castle gates every once in a while.  Then, leaning forward and with a conspiratorial tone, Tulojow added: "and, you never know who you might come across. It's a mini-adventure." 

"And, how about yourself?  Anything you're hoping to encounter during these rotations?  Have you been enjoying your weekend out and about?"

It was true you never knew who you might come across. Ligeia remembered a time passed when Puddifoot's had been more agreeable, when she her play with Terr-Oh! cards had prompted meeting one of her Ravenclaw friends. Although Ligeia couldn't look about to see who else could be in the speed dating rotation. The colors will garish for her like a magnified sunset. Ligeia would need to order the bitterness of a Klatchian brewed coffee to combat the mood.

"I have no demands of the day, though meeting one of the foreign students is always interesting. I haven't a moment with any from Durmstrang but I don't think I see any about." Dancing or managing plants with various french gentlemen she could already cross off her list.

"As for Valentine's Day, I just finished sending mine off at the post office long before coming here."[1]

She switched to folding her hands on the table. "With this kind of gathering is it taboo to ask about past loves? Or can the topics ever stray from romance?"

1.	If you would like to receive a authentic P.E. Ligeia Canterbury styled valentine, send her a PM to this account! All kinds accepted on her mailing list.

"It would be a good opportunity to rub shoulders with visiting students.  They've definitely added some new, unexpected flavors to the year."  Hopefully, Ligeia would manage to find a slightly more promising and exciting partner with the next rotation.  As fun as it was for students to catch up with school staff, Tulojow was well aware it probably defeated the purpose of signing up for the event. 

Tulojow leaned forward with a curious, conspiratorial smirk.  "Is there anyone specific from Durmstrang you've kept an eye on?  Or are you still browsing the proverbial bookshelves?"  Though, if the young woman had just come from the owl post, perhaps her interest were a bit more far flung.  "Or is there someone away from school?" 

The older woman's smirk faded to a more subdued grin as she leaned back against her chair.  It was still present and genuine, just a bit more restrained.  "I don't imagine this is a very typical form of this gathering so I'm sure the topics can stray in any direction we chose.  And, there were past pairings but it has been years - decades.  I suppose, technically-"  Her voice trailed off into thought.  It had been over thirty years since she'd last seen Calum.  Had he ever officially nullified the marriage?  Were they still, legally, married?  Was he still alive?

Tulojow shook her head to clear her thoughts.  "Excuse me.  Lost myself for a moment.  Where were we again?"

"I've kept my eyes on a few," Ligeia said. Not all the eyes she possessed, most of the other ones being stored in jars. "Beaubatons has had the highest number of gentlemen, some endearing in their own way." Be it stuffy but motion sick dance partners or timid loaners in the greenhouse. Although for Ligeia, who lived life with a certain flair, these acquaintances had not been suitably romantic.

"I believe each can be destined to find that one, the one that ignites their passion. That right mix and spark of magic." Although the abundance of pink in the room was even making her own words seem more cliche for the holiday. She needed to order a Klatchian brewed coffee to have enough counteracting bitterness to drown out the pink frosting of the Puddifoot's decor.

"We were determining how much of past love lives to talk about, if applicable." Some humor dredged up into Ligeia's next words. "I suppose that is one thing a healer can't mend, a broken heart?" she asked in the metaphorical sense, not the literal sense of an incident with another such body part in a jar and the jar falling down the stairs before she had gotten around to casting Impervious on her things.