The Ravenclaw could hear indistinct murmuring drifting through the door at the top of the stairs from where he stood halfway up the stairs, leaning back against the cold stone wall of the staircase.  It was no short trek from the top of the Divination tower to the top of the Astronomy tower.  It took a good ten minutes to make the trip even when Sasha was fueled by his usual motivation to reach Professor Trishna's tower.  This evening, with uncertainty and uneasy anticipating shadowing every step, the journey had taken twice as long. 

Telling Professor Trishna and Abby about his ... situation with Kronos hadn't been easy, but he didn't remember feeling anywhere near as nervous as he had leading up to this evening.  For so many reasons, telling Professor Storm felt like an infinitely more daunting task.  Of course, he'd been much more naive when he first talked to Trishna and Abby; he'd gone into both of those conversations convinced his perspective and logic would smooth any rough waters.  He could no longer hide behind that denial.  The denial had been replaced with fear and a little shame. 

He knew that wasn't all of it, though.  Even before the pivotal talk with Professor Trishna in December, Sasha had blatantly refused to let the man speak to Professor Storm.  Either as the Deputy Headmaster or his father, Sasha had convinced himself the risks far outweighed any possibly benefits.  The few instances Professor Trishna had broached the idea, Sasha had shot it down, shut down and buried himself in his studying.

But, things had changed.  The Ravenclaw doubted the risks had diminished any - expulsion or outright rejection still seemed like distinct possibilities.  But, Sasha could no longer pretend the risks of telling the man outweighed those of leaving him in the dark. 

He took a deep breath and pushed himself off the wall, forcing himself to climb the last few steps and, after knocking, let himself into the tower.  He avoided looked at Professor Storm by watching Professor Trishna as he took a seat.  He had no idea where or how to start, so his nerves opted for the default: state the obvious.

"It was almost warm today."  A brilliant blush rose in his cheeks and he shook his head.  After a deep breath, he added.  "I used to always try and imagine what a parent-teacher conference would look like at Hogwarts.  This isn't what I imagined."  How, exactly, had he gotten here?

Oh, yeah.  Rita Skeeter.

"I've had more inventive howlers from parents, certainly." Professor Storm explained, hands in his pockets, staring out into the night from Professor Trishna's astronomy tower. Good view from up here, he'd not noticed it nearly enough.

"Made me feel the detention to learn how to spell simple words was all the more justified." Discussing a first year who could hardly spell words on paper had become a momentary point of conversation while they waited. Poor spelling was yet another student trait that irritated Ignan to distraction amongst written work. He had become so irritated by it through marking work over Christmas he'd not only given two of his groups a spelling test, but he'd issued half a dozen detentions for students to learn them.

"Perpendicular is not difficult to-." The knocks at the door indicating Sasha's arrival had interrupted, and Ignan turned round from the window, as if realising his choice of conversation was perhaps not only showing his age but a little tedious even if his good friend was a fellow Professor. He suspected Tapendra's lessons gave far more words to incorrectly spell.

Sasha didn't meet his eye when he came in, which was curious. He'd lost some confidence again since Christmas which was a shame. Perhaps it was the fact Ignan was invading the Astronomy Tower, a somewhat 'sacred' space of hiding for the teenager, and interrupting the relationship with Tapendra.

"I used to always try and imagine what a parent-teacher conference would look like at Hogwarts…"

Despite himself, Ignan gave a mild hoot of amusement at that thought, sliding his hands from his pockets and heading towards the other two to join them properly.
"I certainly thought I'd be the one meeting the parent, certainly." He admitted with a shrug of his shoulders, before dropping down in a nearby seat, regarding them both.

"I'm hoping this will be the startling news that you've finally decided to take a normal number of lessons, cut back on the Muggle work for a while and get enough hours sleep a night," Ignan looked to Sasha, his mood a little more relaxed, and persisting, because he didn't like the way Sasha was avoiding his eye and cracking odd jokes. This meant there was something afoot, and it had better not be necromancy or worse.

"But I haven't seen a pig fly today." He folded one arm over the other and looked from Sasha to Tapendra and raised an eyebrow.

Tapendra’s feelings echoed Sasha’s, but not perfectly. He felt rather more a bit of relief at the idea of getting this out, as annoyed as he knew Ignan would justifiably be. Sasha having forbidden him to speak to the older man had frustrated him, especially when Ignan’s insight would be invaluable as this…whatever it was…started to pick up speed. It was the conclusion of this he needed to be prepared for, and even as he sat in the tower and waited he was rather keenly aware that the secret seemed to be spreading. How many more would find out by the end of this, he wondered?

Either way Ignan was one of the few people he trusted, and having one of them know was something he needed, both from a tactical standpoint and an emotional one.

He was sat on his desk when Ignan had arrived, his posture unprofessionally casual – sat on the edge, his bare feet supported him against the flat back, his hands cupped together and resting between his legs. Despite this pose, his expression was a bit off, his full lips pressed into a line and the worry lines around his mouth and eyes especially pronounced. Tapendra looked tired, in other words, hands twisting together in his usual fussy fashion.

“You think you have spelling issues,” Tapendra had said, with a snort. “You should see them try to spell  Archaeopteryx-” That one usually took him two or three tries. Not that the children needed to know that.

He twitched at the knock, a bit. He and Sasha didn’t have much of a plan for this. It’d be easier on his own sanity to let one or the other do the talking, he knew, but it’d also be more effective to just have them both supply the various bits.
“Be glad Hogwarts doesn’t have those. I had to go to them when the girls were in muggle schooling – awful things, really. Revealing.” He hopped off the desk as Ignan sat, walking over to join them in a bit closer quarters. The globe sat nearby, and despite the windows currently showing the exterior of the tower, the globe sat its bald white, lacking an enchantment.

He was tempted to enchant it just to give him something to focus on, but he abstained, instead leaning on it the way he did while teaching. “Nothing so cheerful, I’m afraid,” he said, and the tiredness was now a bit more open. He hadn’t slept well, once they’d decided on a date for this.

Tapendra took a breath in, carefully, and looked at Sasha. “Sasha – and I – needed to talk to you about the necromancy incident back in October. There was…a bit more to it than you or I expected.”

Rather than lighten the boy's mood, Professor Storm's mild humor was met with a fresh surge of guilt and uncertainty.  Sasha's gaze finally dropped from Professor Trishna to the floor, his mind launching into one last ditch effort to find a way out of this current predicament that didn't include making Professor Storm any the wiser.  This wasn't the first time he found himself missing the days of denial, though he knew better than to give that thought anymore than fleeting acknowledgment. 

Seeing the exhaustion in Professor Trishna's demeanor didn't help matters so he continued to watch a random spot on the coffee table.  He didn't ... he'd never meant to be a burden on any of them.  Now, was there even any way to avoid it?

“Sasha – and I – needed to talk to you about the necromancy incident back in October. There was…a bit more to it than you or I expected.”

Sasha took a deep breath and forced himself to look up at a point somewhere between the two professors.  He was quiet as he struggled to find a way to phrase things.  "I had help," he admitted.  "Not with ... it was my idea and I ..."  This line of defense was probably not going to help any.  He'd figured that out in the first conversation with Professor Trishna.  It had still been bad, whether it was his idea or Kronos'. 

"I had encouragement.  Help getting supplies.  It wasn't-"  But, Professor Storm knew it wasn't the first time.  He'd been there when Sasha had cursed Callum Knight last winter.  "I'd been taught." 

It didn't take long for the less cordial reasons for calling the gathering to be laid out. Ignan regarded first Tapendra and then his son with a firm, but patient stare.

"Taught?"

The word fell from Ignan's tongue like it was a disgrace. There was something altogether too familiar about this feeling that Sasha had gained information from someone, or a group of people he shouldn't have. Ignan blamed him perhaps less in recent times, knowing the boy had inherited a family history of wizards who dabbled on the less legal side of magic - himself included, but both as his father and his professor, he had a duty to not let it continue. Well, not without his own guidance and alignment of the work, anyhow.

"You were taught, what, necromancy?" His gaze switched from Sasha who wasn't meeting it, to Tapendra, who clearly knew things, and then back again. Merlin, how long had he known? How had he found out? Not for the first time, Ignan keenly thought of how Tapendra was ever more a father than Ignan could ever be.

"You didn't learn it from a book in the restricted section as we were led to believe?" He adjusted his folded arms, eyebrows lowering as he stared at Sasha. If not a book, then whom?

"What were the circumstances of you gaining the knowledge, in which case?" He asked, voice adopting the quiet, but dangerous tone that it reached when a student in his lessons stepped out of line. His fingers gripped, released and gripped his arms again, containing his wish to force it out of the teenager.

The Ravenclaw flinched, lifting his eyes to fix his gaze on the darkness beyond one of the archways.  Already, the disapproval in the man's tone was palpable and Sasha remained quiet for several breaths.  Maybe this was a mistake.  Maybe they needed to rethink this. 

But, no.  He had to remind himself.  This wasn't - this was no longer about just him.  Everyone else who knew was now involved and this, Professor Trishna believed, was a necessary step in keeping everyone safe.  Professor Trishna.  Professor Reid.  Abby.  Raine. 

Finally, dropping his gaze and taking a deep breath, Sasha shook his head and looked towards his father.  "No.  It wasn't - that was Professor Trishna's first assumption, too.  I did learn it from a book from the restricted section.  I did - it was my idea."  Again, just as before, this line of defense was unlikely to help.  It wasn't intended to.  It was a stalling tactic.  Nothing more. 

"I had help, though.  When I needed clarification or ingredients.  Or, encouragement.  He - Kronos.  Malvivicus.  He's - I've kept in touch.  Since..."  Since last year, when he'd been taken.  Or, kidnapped.  Or, whatever.  "I've been learning def-"  Sasha's gaze darted towards Professor Trishna and he blushed and swallowed.  He was trying to stop thinking about the situation that way.  "-stuff." 

Sasha released his breath and looked tentatively back at his father, bracing himself for what he assumed was the unavoidable response. 

"... I did - it was my idea. I had help, though.  When I needed clarification or ingredients.  Or, encouragement.  He - Kronos.  Malvivicus.  He's - I've kept in touch.  Since... I've been learning def- ... stuff."

It took a lot not to snap. The sudden realisation that he was perhaps the last to know, given the time that had passed since Halloween.
"Please," Ignan replied scathingly to the teenager, "talk in full sentences." His glare added venom to the demand. Incomplete bumbling sentences irritated him enough as it was.

"Kronos Malvivicus?" He looked to Sasha, the name somewhat familiar. "You need to explain from the beginning, because clearly I've been kept out of things, and if you're uncomfortable enough explaining this, there's worse I need to hear." He glanced to Tapendra. There was a hint that his friend had wanted to tell him something like this before, those odd moments he'd gone to say something and held back, when Ignan had just brushed it aside as the odd silly comment from his friend that he thought better of saying to Ignan.

"In full sentences." The older wizard added firmly, pointing a finger at the Ravenclaw.

Tapendra largely stayed silent, not moving much at all - an odd sort of reaction from the usually quite fidgety, worrying professor. He stood with his arms crossed over his chest, leaning against the globe with his legs crossed at the ankle. It wasn't a casual pose, certainly, and the stiffness of his posture confirmed that.

He watched Sasha carefully as the boy spoke, wincing just a bit at Ignan's hissing tone. He wasn't yelling - not yet - which was better than Tapendra had expected. After the flap in October with the blood relation topic, Tapendra hadn't been really sure what to expect from the man.

With every word out of Sasha's mouth Tapendra resolved to pull Ignan aside privately afterwards. Getting into the push and pull of what was defense and what wasn't was...well, complicated. Though if there was anyone who could nip that to the bud, it was probably Ignan.

He met Ignan's glance when the man looked at him, and the guilty way Tapendra dropped eye contact almost said more than words could have. He'd wanted to tell Ignan back in October, and December...December had confirmed that he needed to. Only Sasha's fear of the idea had restrained him.

"The full story, Sasha," Tapendra said, his voice serious but far less angry than Ignan's - indeed, he seemed more resigned than anything else. "Just tell him what you told me."

At Professor Storm's curt admonishment, Sasha flinched and shook his head, the all too familiar warmth spreading across his cheeks.  "That's ... that's what's important?" he retorted, bitterly. 

The mild defense escaped him before he could catch himself and he muttered a quick apology and dropped his gaze to the floor.  Immediately, he could feel himself withdrawing and clamming up as all desire to continue with the conversation quickly faded.  Didn't the man get it?  It was hard enough worrying about what the man would think of what Sasha had to say.  Now, he had to worry about how he was going to say it? 

As if the situation hadn't felt daunting enough to begin with. 

At first, Sasha even shook his head when Professor Trishna directed him to speak.  But, again, this was about everyone else. 

"I don't know.  It's complicated."  It was a familiar starting point, if nothing else.  "I started ... I didn't - I'm sorry!"  He blushed deeper and shook his head, resigning himself to the inevitability of disappointing the man.  "I've been going to him.  Since last May.  After Foley attacked me.  I went to get healed.  And, I kept going.  For lessons and advice and ... he took me in.  He wants-"  Sasha spoke in a rush, seemingly avoiding broken sentences by keeping them short until the story faltered at the last bit. 

"Professor Trishna found out back in September.  When I was chosen for the first task.  I insisted he didn't he didn't tell you.  Because ... of ..."  this.  Wasn't it obvious?  Enough so it seemed best to leave it unspoken.

Ignan's face was frowning in utter confusion at the bumbling teenager and he looked to Tapendra for assistance with the explanation.
"You've been going to the wizard who abducted you, for help and what, sorry?" He asked firmly, turning back to Sasha, "For someone who has been sitting on the thought of explaining this to me for so long, you're not doing a very good job of explaining matters."

His arm twitched with the irritation and he folded them ever more firmly, trying not to lose his temper. It was difficult. Suddenly he'd been pitched into some sort of mess with a criminal, head first, and once again he was the last to know and nobody was giving him a straight answer.

Exasperated he looked to his best friend for a clearer explanation, his arms breaking free as he gestured, fingers outstretched in hopes that Trishna would be able to string a complete sentence together to explain.
"Please, elaborate while he remembers how to string words together." His hands dropped and patted to his leg while he stole a frustrated look at his son, feeling ever the incapable parent.

Tapendra watched Sasha, subtly shaking his head as the boy floundered. Ignan's gaze wasn't an easy one to bear, especially under these circumstances. But this was also when explanations needed to be clear...he'd have to be as neutral as possible, though this was a topic that made neutrality difficult for the rather emotional man.

He saw Ignan's gesture as Sasha fell silent, and Tapendra sighed softly, stepping forward. He put a hand on Sasha's shoulder - a gesture that was familiar, at this point. But he looked to and kept his gaze on Ignan.

"Sasha's been in contact with Malvivicus since his kidnapping. They had a...lull, of sorts, when he was living with Eleor - but he went to him to be healed when Miss Foley attacked him during...well, during that werewolf incident -" He waved a hand dismissively. The exact details of each encounter were less important here than the whole story.

"Malvivicus is convinced Sasha is to be his heir," he said, simply as he could manage. "In both family and in property - he expects Sasha to be his son. He has been training and conditioning him for that purpose since their first encounter. He's been providing him with spells, knowledge, teachers and the supplies to perform the Dark Arts." His gaze, while steady, betrayed the urgency his tone didn't.

"I found out in September, but it wasn't til October that I realized how bad it was - and Sasha finally handed their letters over to me in late December. I'm sorry, Ignan. I would have told you in October, but-" His gaze shot, for a moment, to the top of Sasha's head. He did wish Sasha wasn't present; that way he could provide the full picture without having to use language the boy would object to.

"It's bad, Ignan," he said, finally, and his gaze said what he didn't want to say in front of Sasha - I don't know what to do.

"You've been going to the wizard who abducted you, for help and what, sorry?"

"He didn't-"  Sasha swallowed the rest of the retort, blushing as he shook his head in frustration.  He didn't know why a part of him still felt compelled to defend Kronos.  It was still out of habit but also out of a deep sense of guilt.  Guilt about letting himself get into this mess in the first place.  Guilt that Professor Storm was now being dragged into the mess.  Guilt about betraying Kronos' trust and Professor Trishna's trust.  Even if both were, ultimately, incompatible. 

The Ravenclaw took a deep breath and closed his eyes when he felt the hand on his shoulder, trying to calm his nerves.  Though Professor Trishna provided a more thorough initial explanation, Sasha couldn't help but notice even he wasn't managing complete, proper sentences. 

"It's bad, Ignan"

Sasha flinched, again, and opened his eyes, shaking his head.  "I knew I wasn't supposed see him.  But, he kept writing and it - I -"  Explaining to Professor Trishna why he'd kept up correspondences with Kronos had been so much easier.  Even if the conversation hadn't been easy, Sasha hadn't feared the man judging him or thinking less of him. 

But, Sasha assumed, Professor Storm didn't need to know the reasons.  He probably didn't want to, either.  They weren't telling him for Sasha's sake, they were telling him for the sake of Professor Trishna and everyone else. 

"Kronos knows I accidentally told a professor we were still in contact.  I told him in a letter back in September.  But, I haven't told him who.  Or, anything beyond that.  I don't think he knows but I've - we've been careful not to let him think anything has changed.  He hasn't had any reason to try to find out."  Not yet, at least.  "He doesn't, so long as I ... as long as things don't change."

Tapendra saw sense to talk in full sentences, thank Merlin. Ignan listened intently, trying to keep sat still though he felt rather uncomfortable at this news. The description of some unhinged wizard claiming Sasha was his son - no wonder the boy hadn't wanted to confront any other possibility. What an utter mess.

"... as long as things don't change."

Ignan got to his feet without a word and walked away, arms resolutely folded across his chest, and his hands gripping each of his arms tightly. His jaw locked in anger at the thought of it all. For every moment that he'd spent trying to get his head around the fact he had accidentally, but fortunately brought this rather bright young man into the world in a chance meeting, he now felt a rising rage and disbelief that that very fragile reality could be cracked apart or threatened.

It wasn't jealousy as such, more a feeling of great responsibility to ensure it was protected. Without it, Sasha would have been another student - he'd be experiencing much the same worries as Tapendra as a non-related counterpart.

With his back to the other two, hiding his expression and his body language of anger over this explanation - though the set of his shoulders from behind gave away enough to worry them he'd fall into another rage - Ignan screwed his eyes closed and tried to be rational.

Opening them, he turned his head so he could regard them both out of the very edge of his vision, not keen to look at either of them properly as he let this sink in.
"Does he know of what you discovered of us?" He asked Sasha, worried a moment - if this man wanted Sasha to be his son, then the arrival of Sasha's biological father would threaten that demand.

Hearing the answer he turned his head back, lowered it and exhaled, turning on the spot, still not looking at either of them.
"I shall overlook the timing, both as another Professor and for family." He informed them both. "You had your reasons. Even if I think you're a bloody idiot," Ignan's head snapped towards Sasha, "and that our friendship made you feel responsible to protect me, needlessly." He shot Tapendra a look, his expression plain to see that he was keeping this curt, and he wanted to shout at them both.

"And after telling me this, your answer is to continue the situation?" Ignan asked with surprise, "do enlighten me of your reasoning..."

“He’s left out a word,” Tapendra said, tone steady even though he certainly didn’t feel steady. Telling Ignan was something he’d wanted, but he knew he couldn’t really prepare himself for the man’s anger.

He’d flinched at the man’s pointed look, and knew arguing against it was pointless – at least while Sasha was here. Protecting Ignan hadn’t really come into it, and with that look he wished it had. He’d needed the peace of mind that Ignan’s capabilities could offer, though. The idea that a man who would…could…know what to do was there and was reliable had been helping him sleep at night, even if he couldn’t speak of the issue until Sasha allowed it.

“Things cannot appear to change.” He tapped his fingers against his elbow, watching Ignan was the man faced away from them. “He won’t know what Sasha doesn’t tell him – or that he can’t see. That said…” He looked at Sasha. He did need to talk to Ignan alone. He wasn’t about to send Sasha away, but –

“He has eyes everywhere. I’ve no doubt he knows about me, and –“ He couldn’t help the way his gaze narrowed at Sasha for just a moment. “He knows about Abigial Reid and her…relationship with Sasha.” He looked back at Ignan, then, and sighed. Admitting this bit was difficult, too.

“Aileen knows about this, too. Abigial called me over to talk about it during the Christmas break, and she overheard.”

"Does he know of what you discovered of us?"

Finally looking up at Professor Storm, Sasha quickly shook his head.  "Not that I've told him."  It was the truth but only a partial truth.  After a moment, Sasha took a deep breath and shook his head.  "I told him that I found out my real father was probably pureblood.  That was in early October before the test.  I never told him anything more." 

But, Professor Trishna was right.  Sasha grimaced and shook his head.  Kronos had several sets of eyes and ears in the castle and not all of them had questionable loyalty like Mr. Morgan.  "And, fewer people know about us."  Sasha added the second bit as much for his own benefit. 

There was, unfortunately, probably no refuting that Kronos had discovered Professor Trishna was the professor Sasha had told.  He'd been careful but not to the extent of isolating himself from the man.  As to Abby, though: "He thinks Abby's just a friend - that I went to the Yule Ball with her because I didn't want to distract myself from my studies.  Since, you know, she's a girl.  I haven't corrected his assumption and I don't talk about her around school." 

Slowly, Sasha nodded his head, confirming what Professor Trishna explained.  Ever since that last discussion in December, Sasha had been following the man's lead. 

"I'm still reporting to my lessons and doing everything the same as before."  All the while, trying very hard to not fall back into old thought patterns.  "Kronos - he wants me to be happy.  He wants me to have friends.  He doesn't have any reason to care about any of this as long as everything's-"  Normal?  Fine?  "Everyone's safe as long as he isn't suspicious.  So..."  So, yes.