Tapendra needed a beer.

Today had been a strange day, overall. The morning and afternoon had been fine, but starting after the main run of classes ended...it had just been odd. Even as he turned and left the castle, the talk with Kesali replayed in his head. What a strange encounter - the apology had been very welcome, but the change in personality was just disconcerting, and made it difficult to accept the apology. Was the man just toying with him? From what he'd seen, it was possible he was. But...well, he'd resolved to see what happened, for now. He need to know what had occurred to Aileen, though; he'd seen her angry, but never as angry as she'd been the night before. It was worrying.

The grounds and the outside of the castle were cold and wet with fallen snow, and he was beginning to wish he'd brought an actual coat to pull over his blazer[1]. He rubbed his arms as he made his way through the snow, also wishing he'd been sensible enough to put on boots. His socks were going to be soaking wet...

The main road of Hogsmeade was a muddy swamp when he arrived, heading for the Broomsticks. Today was a Broomsticks day; he didn't need the modern and musical feel of Signature, but the homely and warm feeling of the Three Broomsticks. It'd be warm, the beer was a bit better, and...well, it was a shorter walk.

He stepped inside, kicking the snow off of his shoes and looking about. With the workday more or less over, the place was crowded, but he did spot a familiar blonde updo in the crowd...

"Oh - Aileen!" he called, for once grateful for his height. He headed through the crowd towards the witch, who was making her way towards the fireplaces. "Wait up!"

1.

Polyvore

At the sound of the familiar voice, Aileen paused, then stepped aside, allowing someone else to pass through the fireplace. She turned, waiting for the professor.

Why was it that Tapendra always seemed to catch her when she was in the middle of storming out? It really ruined the effect. But what bothered her more was that she'd made a habit of storming out this month, which she wouldn't have had to do if certain wizards weren't such asshats.

Pratt trying to murder her did not put her in the best of moods.

Though she'd been inside for a minute, Aileen kept winter cloak wrapped around her. The snowflakes she'd brought in on her had begun to melt, making the loose strands of her hair frizz. By comparison, Tapendra's winter attire did not look at all suitable.

"Yes?"

The tone of her voice seemed caught between the warmth of the pub and the chilly weather. Had word of Pratt's behavior spread throughout the school already? Was McGonagall peeved? Expecting bad news, she looked at him with wariness in her eyes.

Yes. Why was that such a hard question to answer? What happened to hello, or is something the matter? Those he could answer easily enough!

Still, she did seem a bit more out of sorts than the children were likely to manage, and after a moment of uncertainly he looked at her carefully and paused, his own issues taking a backseat in his mind for now - which, frankly, was where he liked them. Aileen often looked upset at something or other, her lips pressed into a thin line and her artfully maintained brows angled in annoyance. But now she just looked disheveled, her clothes a bit off , her hair a mess and her expression - well, her expression was normalish in that regard.

"I'm sorry, I - did something happen?" He asked, confused and scratching the side of his head. The crowd was still thick and he was occasionally shoved a bit as people brushed past.  "You look a bit..." He gestured to his head. "Roughed up."

So word hadn't spread. That was a relief, but short lived.

When he asked, this time her lips did purse as she glanced off to the side, avoiding his openly confused look. She should have checked her appearance more carefully before running off. Aileen smoothed her hair in a subconscious gesture, attempting to quell the damp frizz.

"A tumble down the stairs will do that, but I'll be fine," she muttered. Pratt was the one who would need to worry, if he was still dangling from the staircase hollering expletives. But she was not able to take smug satisfaction from the Auror's predicament. The fall could have been worse, and Aileen knew that.

She met his eyes again, wondering distantly why he'd rushed in here.

"Did something happen?" Aileen echoed his question, shoving aside her own issues with some difficulty.

She reached up to fix her hair, and he'd barely had time to consider the options before she spoke, and her words sent a spike of panic through him. It wasn't something that would worry the normal person, he knew, but -

Tapendra's face twisted and switched emotions quickly - first to a kind of blank surprise and then, swiftly, to concern. For a man who contently lived at the top of Hogwart's highest tower, he was not fond of stairs. There was a reason he'd sent Miss Hunter to her dorm with assistance, and a reason he was silently biting his nails whenever students came and went -

He yanked himself from such thoughts, especially from the image that threatened to surface. He'd worked hard on that - not to forget it, but to not see it whenever he closed his eyes. He paused a moment, pinching his nose. Aileen was alive, apparently uninjured and...well, apparently it was just a tumble. He should focus on that.

"Are you alright?" He asked, tone losing the confusion he'd had earlier, his surprise turning to focus. He tilted his head, looking at her eyes. She looked out of sorts, but wasn't acting it - which he could only assume meant she probably was fine. Would Aileen be the sort to hide that kind of injury? When they'd been in school...well, in school, she'd have played it up for all it was worth, he assumed. But that girl seemed a very separate person from the woman in front of him now.

"What? No, it wasn't - it's something silly," he said, waving a hand dismissively. "Kesali again - look, how in the world did you fall down the bloody stairs?"

It began with the flicker of emotion on Tapendra's face. Aileen's expression grew slightly bemused as he pinched his nose and studied her, looking as if she'd said she had fallen into a dragon pit. Though she glanced at the fireplace and the people flooing home, his strange reaction gave her pause.

"Yes," she answered with automatic ease. She could handle a few bumps and bruises. Pratt's rash action and the intent behind it had shaken her up a bit, but she was not about to admit to vulnerability. Especially not in the middle of a crowded pub. Aileen stepped off further to the side.

Kesali?

Bloody stairs? She hesitated a moment, surprised by his choice of words.

"I didn't exactly fall," she shook her head, her mouth thinning. "You remember Eddie Pratt? He was visiting the school for Merlin knows what reason - likely because he can't get work doing whatever it is Aurors usually do. I refused to help him with a predicament he'd gotten himself into, and he thought it would be a fine idea to vanish away the railing I was leaning on."

Aileen waved her hand in the air, as if the gesture would sufficiently explain the tumble.

"As you can imagine, I am not the happiest person at the moment. But I'll survive this month somehow," she said dryly.

Her response was easy, even a tad bemused, and he found that quite helpful. He surmised that, had she really been  injured, she'd have paused somewhat, looked annoyed - something other than a slight shrug. Tapendra relaxed a bit, shoulders slumping. As much as the idea stressed him out...

He tilted his head as she explained, his own lips mirroring hers and turning to a thin line. "Pratt?" He knew the name, could faintly match it with a face. He'd been - well, he'd been a prat. That was about what he remembered, though the name came up now and then in conversations with Luthas. He thought of Luthas's assessments.

"What, that tosser from Gryffindor?" He asked, but her mention of Auror status confirmed it. His lips all but vanished. That sounded like what he remembered of Pratt, alright, and -

"You two never got along, did you? I remember Judy mentioning something about that..." He rubbed his chin, the barest flicker of emotion crossing his face at the mention of his wife. "'ere, want me to have someone whack 'im?" He said with a smirking smile. "Got friends at the office. Could arrange to have a railing accidently get vanished out from under him, if you wanted."

Clearly said in jest, though he was certainly considering having Luthas kick Pratt in the fork. He was jostled again as more people went by, and he paused to glare at the crowd before looking back to Aileen. He rubbed the back of his head.

"I was going to get a drink. You're probably in a hurry to get home?" It came out as more a question - he wasn't exactly sure how one asked about these things without it sounding like something it - well like something it wasn't. "I could use your insight, if you've got the time."

Tapendra seemed calmer, his mouth thinning as he recognized Pratt's name. Then he jested, which caused her to glance at him, startled.

Now that she'd told him what had actually happened, his relaxed manner only served to confuse Aileen further. He rarely mentioned his deceased wife, at least to her, and she didn't know enough about her death to connect the dots. No, she assumed his varying emotions had to do with herself and whatever had happened to him today.

The joke he offered fell flat. She glanced down to hide the hurt flickering across her face, frustrated at her inability to let people know when she was upset. When she looked up again, her expression was more closed off.

“That won’t be necessary,” she replied in the same dry tone she'd used before. “I left him just as I found him – dangling from the staircase. If he continues to ask for help by insulting passerby, I’m certain he’ll be there for quite a while.”

When he wondered about a drink, Aileen paused. Seeing as her plans had included heading home and finding the liquor cabinet, yes, she had time. She wasn't in the mood for company, but she had to admit she was curious.

“My insight? Now I know something is wrong.” But Aileen nodded and headed for the bar, where they were able to find two seats.

“I assume this is about Kesali?”

She ordered a glass of wine, and raised her eyebrows at Tapendra, looking almost like her usual self.

"I didn't hear him yelling," he observed, not really noticing the change in her face, but rather the one in her tone - but even then, wasn't quite sure what to do about it. "Either he'd gone, or he calmed down." He hoped someone had kicked the man in the head. Though the exact specifics of hanging from a stairwell were, um...

He was going to assume the best of Aileen and assume she'd not left the man - tosser or not - in an actually life threatening situation.

Tapendra laughed softly at her remark. They headed to the bar, Tapendra sitting down easily and ordering a straight beer. Taste wasn't a goal of his, currently, and as he sat he automatically rested his chin on the palm of his hand.

"You're guess is correct," he said. How did he set this up? Tell it like it happened, he supposed. "I had a detention with Sasha tonight, and Kesali turned up in the middle of it. He seemed...normal, I suppose?" The fact Tapendra had iced over wasn't relevant, in his mind, it having been his normal reaction to such things. Therefore, he didn't think twice about not mentioning it.

"A little ruffled, perhaps. Very...eager and sweet towards Sasha, cold to me. Told me to meet him in his office." He looked at Aileen over his glass. "Said meeting didn't really go how I expected, I suppose. He apologized to me."

Sasha had a detention? So very strange. It took her a moment to get past that, but then she listened. Yes, she'd seen Kesali act gracious to students and coldly to professors. She just hoped he wasn't bothering the boy with overeagerness - at least he was unlikely to make Sasha a dress.

An apology! Her eyebrows spiked up. The castle's inner workings must have stopped turning at that moment, catching Pratt in the staircase.

"He apologized about the forest," she said aloud, just to confirm.

"Did he seem sincere? Or was the apology accompanied by a grand performance?" She shrugged off her warm cloak, draping it on the back of the bar stool, and rested her fingers on the wine glass. Aileen smirked, expecting the latter.

"Yeah," Tapendra confirmed her suspicions with a nod. "Or... apologized in general, actually, though I assume that was what he was mostly referring to. He wasn't terribly specific."

He sipped his beer thoughtfully before he answered. What bothered him the most about the apology was that it had seemed sincere - as if Kesali had actually been trying to understand his side of things and had really felt bad about the way he'd acted. It was such a change from the man's usually irrational behavior that he couldn't help but feel put off and rather confused by it.

"He did, actually," he said, putting his beer glass down. "He was calm, rational, sympathetic and otherwise quite polite and professional." He flicked the edge of the glass, producing a faint ding sound.

"I figured you'd be one of the few people who'd understand how confusing I found that," he said, looking at Aileen with a polite smile.

It did not take long for Aileen to make a snap judgment. She arched an eyebrow.

“More suspicious than confusing.” Her tone sounded light, but she was unable to return his smile.

It only went to show that Kesali was capable of acting decently when it benefited him, or when the mood struck, or when the wind was strong that day. Since his attempt to manipulate her during the dance lessons with the younger years, she doubted his every word.

“Did you check for signs of the Imperius curse?” She asked too-innocently, taking a sip of her drink.

"Exactly," he said, nodding. Her assessment summed up his misgivings perfectly, and while he really would like to believe the man's reign of annoyance was over, he had a feeling it wasn't. But...well, he'd see. Of course, there was still one thing he did want to know.

He shook his head at her comment, sipping his beer. "No obvious signs, other than the rather strange change in demeanor," he said, shrugging.

Setting the glass down, he crossed his arms on the tabletop, looking at her thoughtfully for a moment. He supposed it was best to outright ask, though best wasn't...well, he supposed he probably had a slap coming at some point, anyway.

"Could you tell me what he did to you?" He asked, realizing that phrasing made it sound terribly dramatic - which it might have been. "You seemed as mad as I've ever seen you, yesterday."

Aileen pursed her mouth to the side, straightening her posture. Oh Merlin, that did sound dramatic. She did not enjoy storming around, and it bothered her to think that she was letting things upset her so easily. Bothered her more that Tapendra, and possibly others, saw it.

"The dance lessons with the students," she said dismissively, glancing away and then back at him. "I should have trusted my instincts and called it off."

Now she had to explain. Talking to Tapendra did not seem so bad, but still, she hesitated, looking at him for a long moment.

"He was just," she sighed. "Inappropriate. Again. I'd been succeeding fairly well in focusing on the students and avoiding him throughout the lesson. Until, of course, he approached me to comment on how unfortunate some of the students looked. He was concerned that they might not be able to afford better attire for the ball," Aileen shook her head, tone derisive.

"What does this have to do with me, I said - no, I didn't actually say that," she glanced at Tapendra, letting a glimmer of humor through.

"I told him that it's not my business," she substituted. Aileen had not been kind about it, but Tapendra could probably imagine. "He went on about how I should volunteer to help them, because coming from me it would be less strange. But just when I think he's accepted my answer, he announces to the entire class that he'll be hosting a sewing project, and that I have gladly offered to give them the patterns to the dresses I wear so well."

She rolled her eyes up, her fingers tightening on the stem of the wine glass as she brought it to her mouth to take a sip.

"I had to tell the entire class that he lied, essentially. And then I left the room. I was just so angry," Aileen met his eyes, uncertain if he'd truly understand, and surprised she'd said that much. "This month has been a nightmare."

Now that was dramatic. She paused, then seemed to collect herself once more.

He went back to drinking as she explained, but he watched her over the rim of the glass, attentively. Somehow, he could see Kesali's point - but his own mind shot to the reality of such an attempt. Ball gowns were complex things, weren't they? They were the tailoring equivalent of an aircraft carrier. Making one and making it well in such a short time frame, and with little experience, seemed a pipe dream. There was also the matter that Aileen's pencil skirts, while...something she did indeed wear well...anyway. They weren't exactly Yule Ball outfits.

But Kesali's maneuvers quickly outweighed his more logical thoughts, though, and he put his glass down with a scowl. He could see and understand Aileen's indifference upsetting the man, but to try and use the children's expectations to manipulate her...

He shook his head. "Manipulative twat," he said, with feeling. He reached over, patting Aileen on the shoulder - the gesture automatic, but reassuring. "No wonder you looked pissed," he said, sliding the now empty beer glass away from him. "And he thinks to apologize to me first?" He sounded angry, and he was, the emotion rising through him slowly. It might have been aided by the beer, but that sort of treatment to a friend of his was not something Tapendra was comfortable with.