Johann hummed along to the music out of key, a slightly glazed over expression on his face, and a near empty glass of wine in his hand. Not the first, not the last. He was perched with one bony hand on the edge of a table of drinks, enjoying the warm fuzzy feeling of just beginning to feel merry.

He'd passed words with Ignan briefly earlier in the evening but his cousin was on duty as Minerva McGonagall's Deputy, and Gabrielle was attached to Francis Pepper in ways that weren't subtle. Jacoba was on the arm of Edwin Glass, Sasha had his squib girlfriend, and he was sure he'd seen the two young Peppers amongst the crowd of students. To his good luck, he'd so far avoided his father, but it wouldn't be possible that the old fart wasn't about.

Content to stand on his own for a bit and just let the culture wash over him a moment, he smiled at those who approached him, still humming, and raised the wine glass to his lips. Was it him or did he just spot a familiar face for other reasons? Since he'd managed to get out of St Mungo's and was trying not to use sleeping potion (of late, turning to alcohol) Vedir Prideaux had been keeping a somewhat closer eye on him it felt, what with working in the man's home. He'd come to appreciate how clever Landis Morgan was...

Landis passed through the ballroom at an unhurried but wary pace, hair tied at the nape of his neck, eyes watchful, ensemble all grey and silver under a dark dress cloak. He was aware that he was supposed to be enjoying himself but expected at any moment student mischief on a ball-worthy scale. He was waiting for someone to release a box of nifflers, for screaming, for a table to catch on fire, something. Hogwarts encouraged a healthy sense of paranoia. And to be honest, he might welcome a little excitement over this dull routine. Regardless of his upbringing or commitment to making connections after a while small talk between strangers became incredibly insipid. Landis' least favorite conversationalists were the ones who turned out to be parents and often concerned.

Johann Storm's angular facade was certainly not parental. He was looking on at the proceedings with a faint smile, attentive without attending to any of those around. Quite usual.

"Storm," Landis greeted, with a faint smile of his own. "I would have thought you'd better things to do than put in an appearance."

"Official duties." Johann replied, still smiling contentedly, but at least he'd stopped humming off-key. "Remind me, do I need to refer to you as Professor here, or just Mr Morgan?" He swirled his wine and raised it to his lips. The free wine was good, very good.

"The boss is just over there, well the 'day job' one." He nodded in the direction of Gabrielle who seemed to have alternated between dancing and schmoozing with dignitaries and diplomats. Francis Pepper wasn't too far from her arm. Subtle, those two.

Speaking of keeping up appearances, he extended his hand,
"Johann Storm, Department of International Magical Co-operation, good to meet you Sir."

"I do not teach." A dry note entered his voice. "The only ones who call me professor are those who want something." Flattery got students nowhere, as most had learned by now. But there were still those very determined to win his favor with wide eyes and sly smiles, their innocent little prefix 'mistakes.' Usually girls. Usually Woolfolk. Bah.

They had surely been introduced before by Johann's cousin and his' fellow staff member Ignan Storm, but it was a minor oddity that he was prepared to indulge. He took the other man's hand and shook, inclining his pale head solemnly. "Landis Morgan, Librarian at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and Head of Slytherin House. A pleasure. Am I to take it you are assisting with international cooperation to-night?"

To Landis it appeared the only one Johann was cooperating with was his wine glass. And him, of course, to him Johann was thus far very pleasant, but he would win no points for shaking hands with a Welshman. Not internationally, at least. 

The booming laughter roared throughout the local vicinity. Hannah’s brows narrowed as she scowled towards a gathering not far from her with slightly hazy eyes. The white wine glass in her hand was the third. This was a way of coping with the events of the present. This was the way of coping with her, Knox Greyfriar and Wolfgang Storm in the same room. Why she had agreed to come to this event, the young healer no longer knew. The only thoughts clouding her mind at present were unpleasant thoughts regarding the enormous man looming over his companions and booming some rubbish about pygmypuff law.

"And can you believe it, this fellow was selling them as dish-cleaning sponges!  Pygmypuffs for washing up!  Clear violation of section seven of the Home Creature Protection Guidelines..." He roared, obviously oblivious (as usual) to the concept of an indoor voice.

After rolling them, her eyes slowly moved from the werewolf’s gathering of friends and idiotic devotees across the hall. They fell on a figure that caused her to instantly caused her to take a step back, bumping into a remarkably tall wizard. She looked up at him, frowned and moved away as quickly as she could.

“Johann!” The witch spotted her own companion and stalked towards him. Her gaze didn’t turn once to the wizard he was speaking to. Instead she grasped Storm tightly by the arm, hissing at him. “You didn’t warm me about your viciously tongued father, did you?” And with that, the tightly gripped wine glass in her hand was lifted and the contents tipped into her mouth in one large gulp.

"I do not teach. The only ones who call me professor are those who want something." Johann raised an eyebrow.

"Noted, Sir. I'll be sure to ask the Professor to pass the teapot one night just to check that's true." He spoke quietly, referring to their meeting at Hasard Hall.

"Landis Morgan, Librarian at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and Head of Slytherin House. A pleasure. Am I to take it you are assisting with international cooperation to-night?"

"Of course, though once supplied with alcohol, there's not much to co-operate, other than getting them all to go to bed." Johann grinned, a little unprofessionally.

“Johann!” Hannah reappeared from wherever she'd got to - Johann had been too busy staring in the wrong direction when she'd told him, and had forgotten. To his surprise (and mild alarm) Hannah gripped his arm.

“You didn’t warm me about your viciously tongued father, did you?”

"Ah, Mr Morgan, Healer Bombay, Hannah, have you met Mr Landis Morgan?" Johann hastily introduced them, not giving either a chance to declare whether they were familiar. Hannah seemed distracted anyhow.

"Yes, he's here - he wouldn't miss an opportunity to rub shoulders and talk about financial fortunes and Durmstrang's impending landslide victory." He patted Hannah's hand fondly without thinking about it and inclined his head to Landis.

"Apologies, my father is a Governor for Durmstrang, but he can be incredibly impolite. I'll point him out if he gets close, so you can be sure to avoid him." Then turning back to Hannah, like he was talking kindly to a slightly deaf relative, explained,
"Mr Morgan is the Head of Slytherin, and the Hogwarts Librarian."

Landis raised a brow. "And will you be in any state to help them off to bed?" he asked, a relished pointedness to his words exaggerated just this side into humor.

A quick movement in his peripheral vision caused him to turn his head to the side, barely catching a glimpse of a woman in white before she rushed Johann. Landis watched with mild, detached interest as she clutched angrily at the other man's sleeve and hissed something at him about his father before throwing back the contents of her glass. He was still in the necessarily open mindset required for conversation with Johann and thus quite unperturbed. Who hadn't that happened to, after all.

He gave a shallow bow when introduced, more of a heavy incline of his head - the introduction was likewise hasty, and Bombay seemed too preoccupied to notice or take offense over a certain shortness of protocol. No, he had not seen her in any of his (rare) visits to Rhys, not well enough that she looked anything more than mildly familiar, though she may have noted the shared family name between him and his Healer cousin.

"Family can be tiresome," he murmured, though he tended to get along well with those of the Durmstrang mindset. Though if Johann said he was unbearable, well, maybe he really was. Landis could have better trusted Ignan's opinion on the matter but either way there was no need for him to mingle with foreign governors, particularly impolite ones.

"Some more than others." Johann agreed with a grin, "Ignan's alright though - he speaks well of you Sir." He patted Hannah's hand again.

"You're the Head of Slytherin, I hear they're the most similar to the temperament of the Durmstrang contingent. Ambitious, confident students, high achievers? Is that true? I'm most curious at how a hat sorts them at eleven into four potential stereotypes." Johann mused, taking the opportunity to ask someone he believed would probably know far better than most about the workings of Hogwarts.

"Does it only work at the ceremony each year? Could say - someone who has not had the chance to attend the school, ask it to make a decision on where it would have placed them, had they attended?" Perhaps the wine was making it easier to ask, but Johann was genuinely curious of this strange, intelligent hat created by four founders thousands of years ago. A talking hat would be a most perfect companion for a day, or even a week.

“There is no house suitable for you, Johann.” The slightly tipsy witch bluntly stated, her eyes focused on neither Johann nor Morgan, but instead on Wolfgang Storm across the room. Of course he’d be here. He was with Durmstrang, indoctrinating young adolescent minds. “You are one of a very peculiar kind.”

Next, Bombay’s gaze fell on the wizard she’d just been introduced to. Very curious.
“The Head of Slytherin is a…librarian? How in Merlin’s name does that work?” The witch was definitely feeling bolder after a glass or two of the vino. Regularly she’d have backed away from such a Slytherin character.

Brown eyes shot down to the wineglass. It was empty. Perhaps soon she would be backing away. Perhaps soon it was time to leave. Social gatherings and Hannah Bombay did not mix well but she’d still attempted it. She’d wished to distract herself from a reality of prejudice abuse and awaiting a verdict on court appeals.

“There is no house suitable for you, Johann. You are one of a very peculiar kind.”

"I'll take that compliment." Johann grinned boyishly. A compliment!

“The Head of Slytherin is a…librarian? How in Merlin’s name does that work?”

"Well, Landis looks after the books, I don't think there's a particular house requirement," Johann began quizzically, and then realised that Hannah was perhaps referring to Head of House than his other role. "I'd say it was working out rather well?" Johann suggested in a polite enough tone to be friendly to Hannah and try not to let her offend Landis. He didn't want to piss off his co-worker, when he knew Morgan could blow his head off with a flick of a wand.

Johann looked apologetic towards Landis, but not subtly, given his earlier consummation of wine, and his general lack of tact.

"It's true," Landis confirmed after Johann's query. "It is sentient and probably somewhat prophetic - as well as predicting a student's house with legilimency, it has issued warnings to the school before times of trouble." He gave a light shrug. "I'm sure it would do. It's very talkative." Or at least it had been with him in his trips to the Headmaster's office. Honestly, he found the thing annoying.

If he were to guess he'd have pegged Storm for a Ravenclaw with his highly analytical mind and refreshing lack of contemporary morals. But then, he was not and had never been a hat.

Bombay spoke out in a way he would not have taken as a compliment, and then continued to speak. Johann must be fond of her, to let her speak of him so frankly.

"I fail to see the mystery," Landis said. "Perhaps you will enlighten me."

His pale eyes lingered on Hannah and her glass of wine. She seemed just sloshed enough to happily dig herself deeper, and Landis was always an appreciative audience of a little foot-in-mouth. Johann's attempt to defuse the conversation and unsubtle look went thoroughly ignored.

"Perhaps you will enlighten me."

Hannah’s brows rose, regarding the wizard before her with interest. Her empty wine glass was placed on a nearby table and she lifted a hand to brush her hair back from her face.
“Well, you’re a book keeper Mr Morgan.” The witch finally responded, folding her arms over her stomach and standing as tall as her 5 foot 2 inch frame would allow. She felt like an elf in size next to these wizards but didn’t let it stop her free speech. Very little ever did.

“You time stamp literature and works that other people have written and hush children, don’t know? That is the occupation of a librarian?” Hannah shrugged her shoulders. “I just presumed a head of house was to be a professor by trade? A more…established career to suit such a position of importance during a student’s school life.”

The healer glanced to Johann, then across the room to people that she would rather never see again. Then her brown eyed gaze once more fell on her new acquaintance.
“I suppose the mystery, Sir, is how you came to be in said position?”

“You time stamp literature and works that other people have written and hush children, don’t know? That is the occupation of a librarian I just presumed a head of house was to be a professor by trade? A more…established career to suit such a position of importance during a student’s school life.”

If only Hannah Bombay knew what Johann knew of Landis Morgan, of those nights in Prideaux's house, decoding the language and then interpreting the magic that came forth from the words. Landis Morgan moved with the grace of a dancer when he cast spells, and Johann found it hard not to stare. His knowledge and depth of application excited Johann further, keen to know more of what Morgan knew, to have the daring to experiment with such lethal magic. But he knew enough to know that this side of Landis was perhaps not utilised enough back at Hogwarts, which was a terrible shame, so in a roundabout way, Hannah was perhaps slightly correct in her observations.

“I suppose the mystery, Sir, is how you came to be in said position?”

Johann politely tilted his head inquisitively, inviting Morgan to elaborate on his reasons for taking up the post.

"A quiet life perhaps?" Johann added softly, adopting his boyish grin, "Or perhaps perfect cover."

"Clearly your presumptions have led you to a faulty conclusion," Landis replied with an aseptic lack of expression. "Were I so similarly careless, I'd imagine it's not the first time they've done so." He favored her with the bare curve of a smile. "Nor the last."

Johann echoed her curiosity so Landis gave a cursory little gesture with one hand so like, but not quite, the indication of a shrug. "The administration had less qualms about my apparent qualifications," he said. "I was pleased to take up the mantle given my own attachment to Slytherin House. After all, stamping and hushing gets so very dull."

It didn’t for a moment occur to Hannah that this wizard might find her statements about his position insulting. She wasn’t exactly expert at reading the emotions of people, after all. She read their bodies far better, especially the deceased ones. But he offered her an uncomfortable looking smile and therefore the witch thought it acceptable to continue in the same manner. He was a librarian after all; he shouldn’t have been offended by her stating the obvious about his surely dull career choice.

Yet he did question the validity of her assumptions and Hannah straightened, regarding the wizard carefully. Hannah Bombay was rarely wrong.

Slytherin was quite possibly the worst house to be a head of in the Healer opinion. The majority of her bullies at school had come from the house this librarian was heading. She remembered her detesting of the emerald and silver lines robes and ties as they approached.

“I can imagine it is so much more interesting now you can babysit the future Azkaban detainees.”