It had been a very stressful month. In an abstract way, he was glad it was February - maybe the month would be better. It wouldn't be hard to beat how January had gone, at least.

But they'd acquitted Schlagenweit and let him go - he wasn't going to get expelled and he hadn't harmed a hair on Grosvenor's head. He couldn't believe how relieved he was by that - the boy was smart, shy and certainly didn't deserve the massive landslide of shit fate had decided to deal him. It certainly made Tapendra feel silly for complaining about papers and students not understanding what black holes were...

Tapendra was extremely glad he'd taken this job, though. He'd have panicked if he'd read the news of an Imprioused student and hadn't been there to protect the girls.

He trudged through the snow to the Hospital Hut. It was midmorning and still chilly, and the snow was finally thinning but still clung to his shoes. His arms were full of papers and books, and a telescope was tucked under his arm. He had once again neglected to wear a proper jacket, his white sweater not really cutting it. Wearing a t-shirt under it wasn't helping, of course.

Hey, at least he had shoes on, which felt weird.

He walked up the steps of the Hospital Hut, readjusted the load of stuff, and settled for knocking on the door with his knee, hoping Tulojow was about.

The Hospital Hut had remained at a consistent state of activity well into the previous evening.  Tulojow had finally resorted to placing a wide variety of privacy charms on the door to the young man's room so that he could get some proper rest between questioning sessions.  The caterwauler charm remained securely in place; it would be several days more before she was comfortable removing that. 

The accusations had been settled but the boy remained a person of interest to the Aurors.  Last night wouldn't be the last night of questioning but, at least, the tone of the questioning would change. 

A heavy thud sounded at the door and Tulojow set the towel she was folding down on the dresser top and crossed the main room to answer it. 

"I turned in my assignment two days ago.  Did you not get it?"  Tulojow asked, dryly, a slight grin playing on her lips as she gestured the younger man into the hospital hut.  "I passed more classes than I care to admit that way," she admitted as she closed the door behind him.  "Most of the time I was telling the truth, though."

"You're here to see him, I take it?"  She gestured towards the coffee table by the fireplace in invitation to empty his armload.  "Can I get you some coffee?  Or cocoa?  I have some tea around here but most of its herbal."  Black tea was one of those British customs she'd yet to inherit.  And, the house elves always had a healthy enough supply of the stuff that there was no point in keeping her own stash. 

He laughed as he entered the hut, gratefully setting the books and telescope down on the coffee table, catching the telescope as it tried to roll onto the floor. "I used to get out of Divination that way - of course, we could always just claim we'd 'foreseen doom' if we completed the project - ol' Trelawney would believe it if we seemed serious enough." He smiled wryly. "She even gave me an O on one assingment because I'd 'saved the class'."

 He rubbed his left shoulder, popping it absently. "Yes, I'd like to see Schlagenweit, if that's alright. The Aurors have been letting him get some sleep, I hope?" Though he was quite certain Tolujow would kick them all out if she had to. She didn't seem the type to let them compromise the boy's health, investigation be damned.

"Cocoa would be wonderful, thank you," he said, smiling gratefully as he rubbed his arms. The warmth of the hut's interior made him realize how cold he'd been. He cleared his throat as he did so, rolling his sleeves up. "How is Schlagenweit holding up? I'd have been here earlier, but the castle has been chaotic," he said, sighing.

Tulojow chuckled and led the way through the door into the kitchen, her ever present limp slowing her progress.  The chuckle faded as she gathered a pair of terra cotta mugs but quickly returned in the form of a full laugh.  Kalie, the golden eagle, ruffled his feathers in annoyance at the disturbance but quickly turned back to tearing hunks of meet from the rabbit carcass clutched between his talons. 

"Using that excuse on a divination professor.  One would think ... nevermind."  She added some milk, sugar, dark chocolate pieces and a dash of cinnamon to a pot and set it on the hearth close to the fire and set a pair of chopsticks stirring the pot.  "Our Mind Magic professor was this goofy old wizard. Never took anything seriously - he was a hoot." 

Tulojow had been trained as a healer first and had joined the Auror corps a few years after finishing her healing studies.  There were times when the best interests of both fields were decidedly at odds with each other.  Really, by now, Tamis Raynor was bound to be familiar with the frustration and headaches Tulojow caused the Auror office.  But, for the last few days, there had been no doubts that Tulojow had been a Healer first and an Auror second.  "Sleeping potions have been letting the boy sleep.  But, yes, they have been giving him sufficient opportunities to rest." 

"He's been doing as well as one could ask for, I suppose.  Quiet when people aren't asking questions.  I'm sure it has been chaotic."  Under normal circumstances, Tulojow didn't spend a huge amount of time in the castle.  The stairs were just too much for her knee - if an emergency arouse, she could get to where she needed to quickly through the strategically placed internal floo network.  Or, someone could get to her quickly through them.  "I don't think he's in any rush to return, yet."

Tapendra leaned on the counter casually as she spoke, fussing for a moment with the sleeves of his sweater until he settled them into place. "Trelawney's...gift...was a little, well, off a lot of times," he said, trying politely to indicate her often  inaccurate predictions. After a moment, he grunted and went for honesty - Tulojow didn't seem the sort to mind. "She was mostly good at prophecies. Couldn't predict the way to the bathroom otherwise. She knew the theories and mechanics well enough, but, well - the students were often more accurate than she was." He smirked. "You might have heard - she predicted a death every year. Not a single one came true."

He smiled. "We didn't have too many whimsical Professors, when I was in school. Sprout and Flitwick were the closest, and those two knew who got their homework done." He shuddered and laughed. "Didn't help Flitwick was my Head of  House. Not a good idea to be negligent in 'ol Shorty's class." He eyed the pot as she set it to cook; she made cocoa the good way.

"Good," he said, relieved. "The castle's been...nervous, I suppose. The students are worried, the teachers upset, Snark is..." he trailed off and settled for,"Being Snark, basically. It'll be good to keep him out here for a few days, I think. If only because the others will want to ask him questions and, well..." he looked at the door to Sasha's room. "Enough people have been doing that already."

"So I heard," Tulojow nodded, pouring some of the melted chocolate and milk into one of the terra cotta mugs and handing it over to the professor.  "I only met her a few times but she always seemed quite the character.  Very nice, though."  If a little peculiar.  "Though, perhaps, that was the right balance.  Seeing as how most of the students in the class don't have that particular gift, theoretics and mechanics were really the only teachable portions of the class.  Professors should be the experts in their fields.  But, they're level of expertise shouldn't be wholly unobtainable by the majority of the students.  Otherwise, what's the point of being in the class?" 

After filling the other mug with a deep, dark green tea, Tulojow turned and led the way back out to the main room.  "Well, I'm fully aware I'm resorting to stereotypes here but British Professor and whimsical are just not two concepts that meld seamlessly in my head.  After all, even John Cleese is hilarious and witty and not hard to look at-" she cast a smug grin in Tapendra's direction, "- but even his is a rather uptight whimsical.  And, students always do see such a different side than fellow professors." 

She set the tea down on the coffee table by the fire.  "All natural and expected reactions.  When safe havens are violated, it's natural to be unsettled until a scapegoat is properly identified.  Hopefully, with time, tensions will settle.  I'll go let him know you're here." 

Tulojow slipped into the last bedroom for a moment and reemerged, followed by Sasha.  He self-consciously tugged at the bottom hem of his dark blue jumper, trying to make the all-too-casual clothing a little more presentable.  He hesitated a moment, offering Professor Trishna a slight, half-hearted smile before glancing uncertainly at the Healer.  The woman nodded and Sasha crossed over to the seat closest to the fire.  The routine was familiar by now and, without direction from the Healer, he picked up the mug of tea and his nose wrinkled even before the aroma hit his nostrils. 

"Hah! You should see Muggle Professors if you want anti-whimsy. Smart men, of course, but dour to the core." He frowned. "And gods help you if they're a Dean. The only way those are ever 'whimsical' are in TV Dramas as a villan." He smiled; he didn't know she knew about John Cleese. "Cleese does angry best, really. Or politely confused."

He took the mug gratefully, sipping at it tentatively and then, when he'd grown used to the heat, taking a big gulp as Sasha emerged from his room. He returned the half-hearted smile with a full one, heading over to the coffee table by the fire and standing at the end of it, watching the boy.

"How are you feeling, Schlagenweit?" he asked, sipping at the mug again and looking Sasha and down. He certainly looked better than he had on that night, but that wasn't hard, now was it? Tapendra finished off the cocoa and set his mug down on the far end of the table, away from the papers.

Sasha took a half-hearted sip of the tea and started to set the cup down on the table.  From just behind him, he could hear the Healer clear her throat.  Sasha froze mid-reach and pulled the cup back towards him.  With another grimace, he took larger sip and without looking up, heard the door swing shut behind him, signaling the Healer had moved back into the kitchen. 

He wasn't used to the unrelenting fussing.  It was strange and slightly unsettling.  He appreciated it when she was staving off the aurors but, otherwise, it got old quick. 

With her gone from the room, though, he leaned over, again, and set the mug on the coffee table.  "I'm feeling alright, I guess," he replied with an absent shrug.  "She thinks I'm going to get pneumonia or something if I don't drink that stuff.  Who knows if that's what it's really for, right?"  He glanced towards the kitchen door and back towards Professor Trishna.  The Healer was nice, mostly, but weird. 

"Restless more than anything, I guess."  Restless, anxious, confused.  It was weird being this close to the school and yet feeling so separated from it.  Fergie visited when he could but, so far, he'd really been the only one.  He licked his lips slightly and glanced around, half hoping to find some alternative drinkable substance but, not surprisingly, found none.  "I've just been reading a lot."

He chuckled as he watched the small scene unfold, leaning on the wall next to the fireplace. "She means well, I'm sure. Best to choke it down and pour the rest into a plant or out the window when she's not looking," he said, lightly. Cyhirae and Georgiana certainly had that trick down pat. "Besides, with medicine the worse it tastes the better it is for you, usually." That had to be the only logical reason muggle cough syrup made him want to throw up.

"You're not the only one," he sighed, looking at the window for a moment. "You might feel cooped up in here, but frankly the castle's not much better - it's...well, a bit on the chaotic side. I'm sure Amherst has told you." He smiled at Sasha, though it a was a little weak. "See it as an opportunity to catch up on your homework and O.W.Ls, eh? Speaking of which.." he gestured to the pile on the table. "That's the stuff from last night and a few of your classes - not all of the teachers had time to give me a copy of your homework," he said, which was kind of a lie - after all, he hadn't bothered to talk to Bombay. For logical reasons, of course - he doubted Bombay wanted to do him any favors, and mostly logically of all, he was not in the mood. With the news the Governors were sending someone to check on things, Tapendra been hiding, more or less. He'd felt silly sneaking through the halls, but it was better than running into him. Being in the hut worried him a little bit - they could, after all, insist on seeing Schlagenweit - but he could always jump out the window if he had to.

Or hide in the broom closet, or under the porch - Tulojow would understand, right?

He forced his wandering mind back on subject. "It's, uh, mostly from my class," he  admitted with a slightly flush. "Most of the others just gave me notes on which chapters they want you to be reading. You did very well on the test, by the way," he added, smiling genuinely. "Do you have your textbooks?"

In the surface of the murky, semi-opague tea, Sasha's own reflection shimmered back up at him as he considered the drink.  Sasha was sure the Healer meant well.  Most people thought they meant well, didn't they?  How many people actually set out to do something with the intention of doing harm?  After all, Kronos had had the best intentions, hadn't he?  Which, it probably wasn't fair to equate the Healer with Kronos. 

"I tried that," Sasha admitted, taking a deep breath and swallowing a large mouthful of the stuff.  "She figured it out.  Don't know how - she's kind of, you know, weird that way." 

Sasha frowned at the shimmering surface of his tea and shook his head, slightly.  "No, he hasn't really.  We don't ... we haven't talked about everything up there.  I'm not really in any rush to know what's going on," he admitted.  He didn't want to know what people were saying.  About Ava or him.  He didn't want to try to explain himself as if he had something to explain.  It seemed so painfully ironic.  Before the start of this term, Sasha had been so stressed and sad about the prospects of being sent away to school in Germany.  Now, that option didn't seem so bad - especially if having gone would mean that everything was back to normal. 

But, schoolwork was always a reliable distraction.  The smile Sasha offered Professor Trishna was, obviously, strained but he nodded.  "I've still got a little catch up to do from the end of last term as well."  Dragging the books towards him for a better look was all the excuse Sasha needed to set the cup of medicinal tea on a table and forget about it. 

He grinned again, glad to hear he'd done well on the test.  "I know I missed a few, though," he admitted despite obviously being pleased he'd down well.  "A lot of it I didn't really know know - just deductive reasoning from other stuff.  Like the most common element question-"  He hadn't, actually, known the answer.  It had been a guess.  An educated guess, but a guess nonetheless.  "Hydrogen bonds so readily and most larger molecules seem to have them littered in them - especially gases which ... well ... most of space is made up of.  It just seemed logical."  It had been satisfying, though, to hear his efforts over the years had measured up in some way.

"I don't have them.  She thinks worrying about them, yet, would kill me or something." He hooked his chin in the direction of the doors to the kitchen as he rolled his eyes. 

Tapendra grunted. "She's probably had plenty of people try it, I imagine, if that stuff tastes anything like it smells," he said, wrinkling his nose. Mind you, Tapendra wouldn't come near any tea that wasn't served on top of a mound of sugar, so he wasn't much of a judge of teas.

He nodded, respectfully, as Sasha spoke of Fergie. He was sure the boys talked around a lot of what had been happening - Amherst certainly didn't seem in a hurry to upset Schlagenweit more than the poor kid already had been. For that, Tapendra was grateful. He made a mental note to thank Fergie later - both for his help on the 31rst and for his continued help with Sasha.

Tapendra watched as Sasha pulled the pile towards him and smiled. "Well, for not knowing knowing it, you did quite well - best in the class, in fact." He beamed. "The only two you missed were the Interactions and the Supernova, and in the case of the Supernova that's hard to reason out, considering it's a term rather than a process."

He adjusted his sleeves for a moment, looking at the kitchen door and smiling knowingly at Sasha. "Madame Tulojow clearly wasn't in Ravenclaw house," he said, chuckling lightly. "Would you like your school books brought down here? I'm sure Tulojow can be talked into it."

Sasha wasn't much of a tea drinker, either.  Afternoon tea had been amongst the British customs his parents had made an effort not to adopt.  Sasha hadn't grown up drinking tea but that was neither here nor there.  This stuff wasn't tea.  It was ... poison of some sort.  "It's horrid."  It smelled horrid, it tasted horrid and it had been known to make him burp horrid burps in the past.  Which, was probably good reason for not drinking too much of it now. 

"Really?" Sasha's eyes brightened and he sat up a little.  "You're not just saying that?"  He'd known he hadn't gotten a perfect score but those disappointments could always be mitigated by knowing, at least, he'd outscored everyone.  "I went and looked those two up after class, of course.  I really should have remembered the interactions one from physics last year.  The other ... there would have been no way I would have gotten that."  He'd resigned himself to that.  It hadn't been in anything he'd covered. 

A slight grin quivered at Sasha's mouth as he followed Professor Trishna's glance towards the kitchen door.  "No, she wasn't.  And, wouldn't be.  I don't think she went to Hogwarts, though."  He didn't know any details, though.  He wasn't sure if anyone really did.  "But, I would appreciate that.  I'm so behind.  I was behind going into this term - I only just recently made up all my midterms from when I was - away.  And, last time, even once I was back at school, I couldn't concentrate on anything."  At least, the last time he'd had to reintegrate back into class after something like this. 

"No, I'm not just saying that," he said, happy to see the boy was glad of that news. "You were the most knowledgeable in math by a large margin, as well."

He looked at the kitchen door. He didn't know anything about Tulojow, really. His natural ciriousity and shyness warred in him when it came to her; but so far, he liked the older woman. She had a 'kick ass' vibe to her he liked - she'd certainly proved her mettle to him on the night of Ava's death. Still, he wasn't sure he'd get much chance to get to know her better without seeming extremely nosy. Maybe Sonya was rubbing off on him; that, or holing himself up in the tower was getting lonely except for when Cyhirae ran up the stairs to visit him or Georgiana showed her face.

"I'll see if I can talk her into letting you have them, then," he said, smiling. "No guarantees, sadly - if she really puts her foot down I doubt I can budge her," he said, chuckling. "If she says yes, I'm sure the elves can get them to you by the end of the day - if they can't, I'll bring 'em."

"Well, Hogwarts doesn't teach any math.  And, it wasn't easy keeping up with it on your own.  Academically or socially."  Sasha could completely understand why a lot of his classmates were struggling with the math.  Keeping up those studies, on top of his Hogwarts stuff, had been hard.  He wasn't sure he'd have kept up with it if he'd actually had a choice in the matter. 

Sasha followed Professor Trishna's gaze to the door and shook his head slightly.  "No, you probably couldn't.  Chances are, she'll agree if she wants to agree but I'd appreciate you trying.  Missing more schoolwork isn't going to make me less stressed.  And, I wouldn't mind, you know, the distraction." 

The Ravenclaw leaned forward and tugged the stack of books closer to himself and pulled the topmost one off the stack. 

"It's all the more impressive you did, then," he said with a broad smile, and meant it. He'd had to learn most of his math from Ryan and then brush up on it quickly when he left school - no easy task. The math wizards learned in school was limited - just an addition to principles they learned from their parents, it seemed. As for sociably...hah. Taking out their frustrations on Graham had been something of an outlet for their frustration over the teasing, hadn't it? The abused always kick downwards.

Well, in Tappy's case he hadn't kicked. More like 'stood back while Ryan and Luthas do the work and grumble they'll get all three of them detention'. But it still counted as a kick.

"I'll try and talk her into it as best I can," he said, looking down at the books. "Let me know if there's anything in there you need help with - my day schedule's pretty open." And dull. He hadn't really predicted that, but damn if his computer and TV weren't being missed more and more, especially with the goings-on with Ava. He was beginning to ponder taking up novel writing just to have something to do other than lounge around and read between meals. Oh, and grade papers - at least that was somewhat fun.