Exiting the Great Hall
6:30 pm

If Liviana were the kind of girl to fret and worry over boys and the implications of being seen out in the woods with one... it might bother her that it had been almost two days since Ezra had said more than hello or given her a little nod between classes or at meals. If she were a normal girl and not part of the Monarchy, if she had to worry about boys liking her, if she had to question the affection people paid her... Oh who the hell was she trying to kid? It bothered her that he hadn't had breakfast with her Sunday morning, that she had lounged around the common room all bloody day and had seen neither hide nor hair of him. She wasn't... trying or anything desperate like that, but she had thought maybe he might make and effort to bump into her. She had gotten the last word Halloween night after all. Maybe that had been her mistake, maybe he didn't actually like girls who challenged and pushed back.

She hated these stupid games, she hated caring. She hated that her stomach hurt and she just wanted him to say something so she'd feel a little less needy.This was as completely unacceptable as it was forgien to her. She had no idea how to act, what to do. Normally she'd have paraded another boy around in front of him, rubbed it in that if he wanted to act like nothing had happened she could act like even more of nothing had happened. She found herself considering what Dolly would do in this situation before deciding that was a terrible idea because Dolly's love life was a disaster - and so were her siblings' for that matter. Did she know anyone who had a functioning relationship? Not that what she and Ezra had was a relationship. It wasn't. It was a thing that had happened on Halloween night, it was a fun thing, and if that's what he wanted to leave it as that is what they would leave it as. She wasn't going to just put herself out there for someone to walk all over.

She was so focused, her eyes narrowed as she toyed with the watch around her neck, counting the stone slabs of the floor she was hardly aware of where she was walking. She had just felt like she couldn't sit there and not eat while listening to everyone prattle on about the most boring things. Ezra wasn't boring, he made her laugh - and the thought brought a twitch to her lips before she killed it quickly. He did not make her laugh. He was not so great. He was just a boy, a dumb smelly boy...who took her to a special place and kissed her senseless and danced with her and NO! Bad Livi! He was just a boy, they had had a nice time together and she was not going to twist herself up in knots over something that probably wasn't even real - one pseudo date, made while sneaking away from one of the worst Halloween Balls ever did not a relationship make. They had had fun, she would leave it at that. Of course as soon as she convinced herself of that she felt an arm catch her around the middle and haul her toward an empty classroom before she could let out more than a squeak.

The last two days had been relative torture.Every time he caught a glimpse of her his fingers itched to take hold of her.  He watched her unobtrusively from afar and thought about kissing her.  He could just take her up in the middle of the Great Hall and kiss her so thoroughly that everyone would watch and stare.  But those eyes, the ones he could practically feel on his skin while he thought about it were the very things that kept him from acting.  He didn't want to cause a scene.  He didn't want to attract attention.  And from the way Livi greeted him the hallways today, it seemed she didn't want to either.

He'd gotten up early on Sunday morning, unable to sleep really.  He'd gone outside initially for a smoke and the opportunity to think back on the night but it had turned into an escape that lasted most of the day.  At times he'd even managed to stop thinking about the shine of her wet lips in the moonlight and they way her eyes crinkled when she smiled.  Ezra shook his head and ran his fingers through his hair which caused it to fluff up on top but he was too distracted to notice or care that his hair was less than perfect.

He paced back and forth in the Entrance Hall debating about what to do.  He could walk in and try and eat dinner with her but what would he do with himself if there weren't any empty seats?  Walking past with only a nod and a smile like they'd been doing so far would be torture, so would eating anywhere else at the Slytherin table where he could see her but not speak to her or reach out and touch her if he wanted to.  He could handle the piercing inquiries they were likely to get from her friends if he sat with them out of nowhere but he couldn't handle being shunted away from the spot if he made a move.  At this point, he couldn't even be sure she wouldn't do that herself.  Coming on too strong could definitely be a problem.  A lot of girls felt uncomfortable around him because he didn't hold back on the flirting.  Would she want him to leave her alone and give her some space?  She hadn't spoken to him yet so he was beginning to think she might have regretted her decision to kiss him in the Common Room.  He'd already gotten a little bit of ribbing from his friends when they heard the rumors and she no doubt had as well.  Maybe she decided it wasn't worth it.

Ezra stopped in his tracks, closed his eyes, and took a deep and steadying breath.  He was a cunning snake but like the rest of them he sometimes thought a little too much about his plans and schemes.  Variables could be tricky sometimes, especially when dealing with someone new, but almost everything could be reasoned out.  Although he was not particularly aware of it at the moment, Ezra was experiencing the reasons behind his father's warnings.  Getting personally attached made things complicated and you began to second guess your actions because you panicked about not getting your heart's desires.

The moment he took to regain himself helped quite a bit and in that brief moment he made a decision.  He would act but he would get her in private to give her the opportunity to turn him down without prying eyes.  But if things went the way he hoped they would, then that would be the furthest thing from either of their minds.  He hid in the darkened doorway of an empty classroom and waited for her to come out of the Great Hall from dinner.  He didn't have to wait much longer before her friends passed by.  Luckily for him, Liviana was trailing several steps behind, seemingly distracted.  He darted out, caught her around the waist, and spun her into the classroom.  He shut the door behind them but in his haste it slammed a bit too loudly.  He didn't care though, he already had her pulled up close and was snogging her well and truly, as though making up for the time in the past two days they spent doing anything else.

It all seemed to happen at once; the slam of the door against her back, the mouth that quickly covered hers, the fact she had her wand drawn read to let out the most vicious hex she could think of when it hit her these lips were familiar. It reminded her of the disconnected bewildered feeling she had felt being thrown into a body of water and not knowing which direction to swim for air. A part of her was angry that he had just scooped her up without a moment of pause or waiting for her consent while another part of her was just relieved that he wanted to kiss her again. Of course he wanted to kiss her in the dark of the woods, empty classrooms, he hadn't even held her hand in the common room. What games were they playing at? She could have screamed but the particular way he had chosen to greet her was extremely distracting.

When they both finally came up for air she looked at him, brown eyes wide once again, her wand pressed into his temple, "You're bloody lucky your tongue was in my mouth. Do you have any idea what I'm capable of with this thing"? The question, that wasn't really a question, hung between them as she tried to get the giddy feeling in her stomach to calm down. She had to decide if she was angry or happy about this and she couldn't quite find herself being one other the other in that moment. She felt a combination of both, and confusion. Why hadn't he just sat with her at dinner? Better yet, why hadn't he tried to see her all of Sunday? It was so confusing and it made her head hurt... but then there was the part of her that was just so happy to be there with him. The feeling in her stomach should have warned her of severe trouble ahead, all the knots it twisted itself up in asked for nothing but trouble.

She finally lowered her want, chewing on the corner of her mouth, trying to look as nonplussed as possible in the current situation, "Took you long enough to make a move Inkwood. I was terribly afraid our battle of wills was going to go down in history as me: 1, you: big fat zero," she stuck her tongue out at him then her tone smoothing out to something more playful. She wasn't going to admit that she'd been making herself crazy if he was only going to kiss her in darkened cornered. She was Liviana Bleedin' Wiedman, she was a catch, it was a fact. They were going to do this the proper way or not at all and damn the consequence of someone like Kitty finding out. The last two days had been miserable, she didn't like it. If it was a choice between only having stolen moments and risking the fact that he might be using her to get ahead... well Ezra might not have been one to cross but Livi wouldn't go down without a fight either.

Strangely that was what made them so good for one another. It was a relationship in which neither party could ever have the complete and total upper hand. With Luc he had always had his moral superiority, his inability to understand why her life was a such a farce and yet she did nothing to change it. Ezra knew because he understood the importance of connection - he also understood how public Livi's connections were (he'd get an idea of how connected she was privately at some point). Whatever strengths or weaknesses they had balanced one another out without damaging either of their extremely healthy egos. Slipping her wand back up the sleeve of her robe she rested one of her hands over his heart, "I take it that kiss means you've missed me? Or you mistook me for a much prettier version of some other Snake Pit Princess, either way good on you. It was rather enjoyable.".

Her anger and frustration couldn't break through the pleasure and satisfaction he felt at having been able to surprise her in such a wonderful way.  The tip of her wand, digging in to his temple, did nothing to dampen his spirits either.  He just stood there breathing heavily with a smile so wide it practically consumed his face.  At this point she could hex him or not and he'd probably stand there complacently and let it happen.  He laughed at the ridiculousness of their positions.  "Trust me," he breathed, "I know exactly what you're capable of with that thing but I think you like me too much to disfigure me too horribly."  He didn't think she'd hold back from hexing him if he pissed her off but hopefully she'd go easy on him if he kept her well-kissed.  Speaking of, it had been too much talking and not enough kissing.

He swooped down and pecked her on the lips but she pulled back and began to talk about how she had gained the upper hand on Saturday.  She really was quite irritated with him.  She tried to play it off like she wasn't bothered but it was clear that she was.  He wondered which part of it irritated her, really.  He narrowed his eyes and puzzled over it for a second or more then she put her wand away and spoke again.  In one breath she talked about their relationship as a contest in which one might best the other.  In the next she talked about it based on emotions and the possible lack therof.  She was confused about their status as a couple or non-couple and irritated by that confusion.  He felt a little bad for having stayed away all day Sunday but that was in the past.  He could only move forward.

HE moved forward at the moment into her personal space with a small smirk hovering at the corner of his mouth.  "I didn't realize we were having a contest," he breathed.  He moved in a little further so that his lips brushed against hers as he spoke.  "Maybe I should do something big to prove how much I missed you and then you can finally start using my first name."  Without ever making solid or satisfying contact he pulled away.  He abruptly moved around her and opened the door.  His firm grasp on her hand pulled her around.  Stepping out into the hallway he glanced left and right.  "What do you think?" he asked rhetorically.  "Should I take you to the Great Hall or the Common Room?  Let's go to the Great Hall so the whole school knows I've staked my claim."

He began striding back towards the Great Hall where a good portion of the school's population was probably still eating dinner.  Her hand was still firmly in his so he turned and grinned over his shoulder.  He didn't particularly want to make a scene over their relationship but if that's what she wanted from him to prove that this was meaningful to him then that's what he'd do.  "I'm convinced that no other Slytherin Princess could measure up to you right now and if you want, I'll show the whole school why I think that is."

If he would just stop kissing her she could get good and proper mad...only she really liked the way he kissed her, and found it rather frustrating when he stopped stealing little ones and threw open the door hell bent on telling all their classmates still lingering over dinner exactly how he felt about her. She gave another squeak as he pulled her into the light of the hallway, though she drug her feet, "I only have an hour till History," she tugged on his wrist just hard enough to make him turn around, "we'll tell them all later. I'm a horridly selfish girl and after two days of not talking to you at all," she paused giving him a pointed look as she slid her arms around his neck trying to bite back her own silly grin, "I would like to have you all to myself for a little while".

A walking box of contradictions the little Wiedman was, no doubt about it, but the idea that he would gladly tell everyone he wanted her to be his girlfriend proper - which was the gist of what she had gathered from the impending Great Hall spectacle, was enough for her right now. In many ways she was like her older brother in that life was about symbolic gestures. It was more about what Ezra was willing to do than what he'd actually done or would do. She didn't want him to think she didn't want people to know - so she kissed him quite soundly as a gaggle of fifth years passed by, drawing forth gasps and giggles as they scurried away. Of course she couldn't just stop once they were gone either, how would that look?

So she took her time (it was much easier this go around than in the woods thanks to her heels) before finally pulling away and looking up at him - though they could still vaguely hear the twittering of young voices down the hall, "Besides, grapevine is the best way to spread the juiciest gossip, every Princess knows that". That giddy troublesome feeling was back in her stomach, the one that usually told her to run in the opposite direction. The feeling of missing him, of not knowing had been so terrible. The idea that this could just be a game terrifying but no more terrifying than the idea it wasn't and she actually feelings~ about Mister Ezra Inkwell. It struck her again how very far removed this was from the interactions where she had complete control. She liked it but also...it made her crazy.

When she could look up at him, feel his arms around her narrow waist, the way his fingers tangled with hers, those kisses; she was sure. She was as sure about her feelings as she was that the Wiedman's house elf was named Bonkzie. It was the other times, the time she had alone in her head to think about the next step and what it meant and would there be rippling implications that she made herself doubt things. Whatever she had told Darian Morgan over the summer about being a better version of Dolly, the version that didn't get so completely swept up in romance, obviously all that went out the window Halloween night. She would still be a better version of Dolly, it wasn't like Ezra had to become her whole world... but she'd hex the hell out of any girl who tried to snake him.

He was late. Gale was always late. He'd taken a nap in the afternoon that turned into the evening, and now he moved through the halls with a vengeance.

"Get to class everyone, come along." He spoke to a few stragglers knowing that this late in the evening it was hard to be motivated for anything. Someday he'd have the evening classes removed, and would take the time to try and petition for something a little more entertaining. No one should have history after dinner. He'd fall asleep. He was falling asleep.

Still trying to recover from his night after the Halloween event, Nightingale did well to remember to brush his hair in the morning, but after a few nights rest there wasn't much that could phase him.

"Come along then," He spoke to the crowd until his eye landed on the kissing couple.

Ezra Inkwood, the very spiting image of his Arthur was locked in a kiss with the very spirit of life Liviana Weidman, and there wasn't much he could have done to break them. Slugs came to mind, though he wasn't that cruel. He supported young love, supported it like the fires of his youth, and realized how quickly he was like his old Professors in the way his duty overcame him.

He was late of course, so the Charm came quick and dirty, "Adhaesia." He spoke with a quick quip of his tongue and a flick of his wand would find the pair tongue tied. Truly.

"Mister Inkwood. Miss Weidman. Truly. Is this the place for such a thing?" He tried to channel his inner Snape, oh how that man used to shake him to the core, but no matter how severe he tried to be it always came out just seeming...bored.

He hadn't heard the professor approach but he had heard the spell cast and the drawling admonition.  He'd known when he heard the spell though that it had meant for them because when he tried to pull away he found that he could not.  His tongue was now stuck to Livi's and they couldn't break from their kissing position. 

Ezra's eyes flipped open and narrowed into an immensely powerful glare, although it could not be directed at anyone other than Livi at the moment.  Anger clenched him in a vise and it was only in small part due to the shame of being stuck like this.  There ought to be a line, what professors could and could not do to their students.  Distracting them, pulling them apart, and assigning detention all seemed like perfectly acceptable ways of punishing a little bit of harmless public affection.  Sticking them together by their tongues was bordering on cruel and unusual given the reactions they could expect from their classmates if they remained like this for too long.  It was the kind of action Ezra could accept and retaliate against if it came from a fellow student.  But coming from a professor, it was unacceptable. 

He had words he wanted to say, many of them vile and vicious, but they did nothing but roll around inside his mind with their meanings pouring out of his eyes instead.  He didn't try to say them because he couldn't really talk with his tongue stuck halfway into Livi's mouth.  He would not be made fool of twice.  His hands gripped Livi's upper arms, tighter than he would ever normally consider but his mind was no longer focused on her, despite their closeness.  Nor was it even focused all that much on Professor Kesali.  Instead, it was already trying to figure out what he could do to retaliate.  This was unacceptable and could not go unpunished.  Who did Kesali think he was dealing with here, a couple of Hufflepuffs? 

Really? Oh wasn't this just priceless, Kitty and the girls would never let her hear the end of it - however she was slightly more troubled by the deathly glare that settled in Ezra's eyes and the fact he was gripping her arms tightly enough to draw an audible, though strange sounding, "Ow"! It sounded ridiculous but hopefully forceful enough to make Ezra let her go. She hated when Professor's got clever. It wasn't as if either of them had a class to get to, it was still the middle of dinner, then she had an hour before history. What did he expect them to do, actually, it wasn't as if either of them could answer him.

Sighing she drew her wand, and to the best of her ability muttered a garbled incantation that barely came out clear enough to light the tip as she magically scrawled on the wall behind Ezra, Professor, please, this is hardly a position becoming any of us - nor can we defend ourselves if we can't speak. She would have frowned but basically everything was impossible and she wanted to scream. Now she had someone to put on a list for Dominik to beat the bloody hell out of. Discipline was one thing, humiliation was another. Of course she was also  worried about her Charms grade and keeping it in tact so she'd be as contrite and diplomatic about this utterly humiliating situation as possible...maybe if she cried....

"Wouldn't it be horrid to be stuck like that forever?" Gale's little French accent always came out the most when he was amused, and though he quickly undid the Charm it was clear he wasn't going to let them go so easy.

"Then let it be a lesson Miss Wiedman about public affection? Especially around the first years. My my," He smiled to her, and looked to Ezra who looked fit to be tied. The anger in his eyes was very unbecoming though horridly familiar. Everything about him reminded the Professor of his own Slytherian lover who always cast the first stone with true hatred and vile remarks. However, this was not the time to be glaring at a higher rank. He wasn't a Hufflepuff anymore, but a Professor at Hogwarts who was to be feared and respected just the same.

The challenge in the boy's anger was accepted, "Is there something you'd like to say Mister Inkwood? Perhaps apologize, and take this else where?" Folding his hands before him, Gale waited for the young man's reply, and the dark storm cloud color of his eye swirled with the fight he was ready to give.

The look on Livi's face was positively wounded at the professor's accented tone, her dark head hanging just a little as her bottom lip quivered. She was not a crier, she did not just fall to pieces in front of people. If Liviana Wiedman ever fell apart it was in the privacy of her sound proofed bed. She would make an exception in this case however - because while Ezra wasn't stupid he was angry, and Kesali seemed to be trying to bait him. That seemed rather foolish. In the whole six years that she'd known him (even if it hadn't been well) she had never seen that visceral look of rage in his eyes. She knew it wasn't directed at her, but it did help spur on her theatrics as she turned toward the Charms professor, brown eyes welling with tears, "It's my fault Professor, I'm terribly sorry".

She subtly linked her little finger with Ezra's, lip caught between her teeth as the first big fat tear rolled down her cheek, "My behavior was completely unacceptable and really I caught Ezra by surprise. I would hate to do anything to tarnish your opinion of us, I never do things like that. I was just overcome with emotion," she let out a shaky breath, expression pleading as she looked to the white haired man, silently begging forgiveness for a little indiscretion. It was true that she never got caught in those sort of positions. That really was the key to a good performance, to tell enough of a truth that a lie is almost impossible to detect.

In that same vein she was worried what Kesali would think of her, but not so much that she'd actually cry in any other given situation. It wasn't his personal opinion that mattered, it would be the recommendations that came later when she needed them after graduation. She hoped Ezra would understand the power of a well placed tear or two and not become more enraged and have a genuine go at the waif-y Charms Professor, "I assure you it won't ever happen again," her voice was a little frail as her brown eyes settled imploringly on Gale's one good eye.

Ezra wasn't going to attack a professor in the hallway.  He wasn't stupid or foolish but he wanted to.  His heart thrummed in his chest, urging him to do it though, telling him that if he didn't act then Kesali would know him for weak.  He'd be looked over and walked over if he didn't.  He had to do something.  But just as he turned on the professor with his hands clenched at his sides, ready to say something waspish and sharp that would be sure to earn them detention for a month, Livi stepped in front of him and began to apologize so profusely that he almost began to believe she was really upset.  It wasn't until she hooked her pinkie finger into his, hidden partway behind her back, that he realized what she was doing. 

By apologizing and... was she crying... yes, especially by crying, she was attempting to diffuse the situation and deflect Kesali's attention off of him and on to her.  He took a deep breath and focused on the flower scent of her hair.  When he opened his eyes again and turned them on their charms professor, they were cool and distant, but most importantly, calm.  He put the hand not linked with hers already on her shoulder.  "She's right, Professor, it won't happen again.  I was taken by surprise."

He smirked.  "A gorgeous girl jumps you in the hallway like that and it's a little difficult to remember where you are.  But we'll keep it professional from here on out, sir.  Promise."  In public, anyway, he added in his mind with a sideways glance at Livi.

When Liv teared up Gale held his breath. He put his hand over his mouth and wanted to reach out to her.

"Oh no, no. It's alright. I was just trying to prove a point. There is no real trouble in expressing your desire for one another, but there is a time and a place for everything Miss Wiedman, Mister Inkwood. The hall is not one of them. I'm not going to punish you or anything, M'dear." Lord Storm was right, he was too soft.

"Ezra, take her to dinner then hmm? Forgive me. I did not mean to upset you. You are one of my favorite students. If anything it--" He stopped himself looking between Liv and her friend. He gave the boy a look that finished his sentence for him though he would dare not continue.

'If anything it's hard for me to not feel as though your family, a brother, uncle, or even father. And protective.' He would have to keep tabs on Inkwood. That little bit of anger was sure sign of trouble.

"I believe it won't happen in the future." He said more sternly now, and corrected his stance. "And if that is all then you are excused."

Kensali was a classic soft touch, she had had a feeling the tears would do the trick and they did. It would be mildly embarrassing to explain to anyone who happened to see, but worth it to keep Ezra from letting that legendary acerbic wit choke him. Carefully flicking away the tear she looked over her shoulder as he placed a hand on it and gave him a wane smile. They were in the clear as far as the Charm's Professor was concerned so she didn't have to keep at it or fall into complete hysterics. It was probably lucky they'd gotten caught at this point in the year; much longer around Storm and it wouldn't be as easy to manipulate the white haired man. When it came to Ignan Storm tears would get you laughed at and thrown out on your arse. It was all about knowing how to finesse people, Liviana was fairly good at that for only being sixteen.

"Thank you Professor, we were actually just coming from dinner. I look forward to the next Charms lesson," she bowed her head a little, in a show of contrite respect before turning toward Ezra, "I've history in an hour, would you like to walk with me and discuss the upcoming Potions seminar? My sister will be teaching it," as they turned from Kesali she offered a small smile and a wave of her hand before looking back to Ezra, "her letters have been terreibly vague about what she plans to teach us but, if I know Dazmond it will be extremely interesting". She waited for the first available corner to turn before she turned her brown eyes fully back on Ezra, arm liked through his, voice low on the off chance the hallway amplified their voices, her tone mildly amused, "so, when you tried to snap my upper arms back there, it's safe to assume you were pretending they were Kesali's neck"?

It gave her a little pause in the back of her head, the idea he might be more like her brother than she'd like, but the idea was quickly pushed away in favor of dropping a kiss on his cheek as they headed toward the dungeons, "You should feel rather special, I only break out the tears when I really want to cover someone's ass," she wiggled her eyebrows at him teasingly but didn't expand upon the idea. The fact was Livi just didn't cry in front of people, not for real. It was in her best interest to never show an excess of any emotion. When people knew what wires to pull to make you feel or react in any given way history told her it would only end in pain. She'd watched the way Dominik and Dolly had used those knee jerk reactions on one another for years. She didn't like the idea of she and Ezra becoming the next generation of that vicious cycle, "What shall we do until you get to walk me to History"?

Ezra nodded and pretended to be interested in the potions seminar that Dazmond would be teaching.  He liked potions a lot and he would truly enjoy learning from a new person but at the moment it was one of his least concerns.  They turned around the corner and Livi immediately switched topics and Ezra allowed himself to dwell on the things he should not have done.  "Are you ok?"  He moved in close and rubbed her upper arms, the ones he'd clenched when they were stuck together by their tongues.  "Did I bruise you?"  He frowned a little and looked at her face carefully signs of pain or anger.  He really should not have allowed his anger to get the better of him and cloud his mind.  He'd always been able to keep a cool head in almost any situation.  He just couldn't stand  not being able to defend himself.

He pulled her into an alcove and leaned backwards against the wall in the shadows.  He pulled her against him and buried his face in her hair.  "I cannot even begin to tell you how much I appreciate your help back there.  Although, to be fair, it was your fault we got in trouble in the first place."  He pulled back and grinned at her but the longer he looked down at her, his grin faded away. He cupped her cheek with his hand and rubbed at the soft skin under her eye.  "Just so long as you weren't crying because of me."

The slightly pained look on his face tied her stomach up in knots. It had hurt, but he wasn't trying to be malicious about it, he wasn't trying to hurt her...which somehow made it ok? It was skewed logic, but in her mind it worked. She placed a hand over his and shook her head in response to his question, "No, you'll find I don't bruise very easily Love," she would have said more but then he pulled her into his arms and buried his face in her hair. It was obvious he felt genuinely terrible about what had happened and she didn't know how to tell him that everything was fine - because, really, under any other circumstances she'd have tried to do him serious bodily harm for man handling her. She didn't want to set a precedent that hurting her was some how acceptable... but at the same time it hadn't been about her.

In the end she just wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a small smirk, "Wiedman women never let the public see her cry if she means it. Too much pride to let the masses see us fall. Also if you're constantly falling to pieces it's hard effective in disarming or alarming people. Be more worried about the eerie still calm in the face of what should incite rage. It means I'm plotting a counter attack," her tone was teasing but it was actually a fair warning. Livi didn't loose her cool, she didn't fall to pieces. She tried not to let herself be cause so off guard that she couldn't mask whatever genuine emotion she felt in a situation. She, unlike her brother did not give into wild bouts of rage. Liviana was much more like her mother than she would ever dare speculate. Dianora constantly contained her own feelings, remaining placid in the wake of adversity.

Liv viewed it as a strength, some would call it a detriment. Turning her head slightly she placed a small kiss on Ezra's wrist, brown eyes sparkling with a little mischief, "Of course it was. That's why I didn't throw you under the proverbial Hippogriff to stay in the Professor's good graces. He was trying to bait you, and while your face is terribly nice to look at, mine is deceivingly sweet and earnest when I want it to be". She stood a little on the tips of her toes to bump foreheads with him, her bottom lip caught between her teeth for a moment, "it all worked out in the end, yeah? I'm alright, I wasn't really crying, no bruises or marks on my pretty complexion. Everything is fine and in due time I am sure you will enact some sort of splendid revenge on Kesali that can't be traced back to you and all will be right with the world," the last word was muttered softly against his lips as she stole a little kiss.