OOC: This is the morning after Enter Alcohol - Exit Words which is still ongoing...
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There was tapping at the window.

It permeated Ignan's dream by first being incorporated, turning in the kitchen of his childhood at Christmas, with all the warmth and comfort the season would bring, even to the strict family household. There, at the window was a big fluffy brown owl, buffeted by the wailing wind that whipped around the house, with snow flecks in between. Its great glassy eyes staring in like lamps.

With a start, he made to go and open the window, but in making such a sudden movement within his dreams, and also the continuation of tapping, he found his consciousness ascending from the dream and back towards reality.

His body felt heavy, and his mind sleepily told him that he was still at the correct temperature to just fall back into the dream without waking. All a very pleasing prospect for a man who rarely slept late into a morning, and slept very little at all in life, even these days.

The tapping continued, incessantly at the window, and came with a hoot.

Ignan's eyes cracked open and his mind tried to piece together several things at once.

Firstly, what day it was. Couldn't be oversleeping on a week day with lessons to take.
Secondly, that it was an owl at the window, now that it had hooted.
Thirdly, why on earth did everything look very ... blurred?

"Erugh." He let out a confused mumble, and realised his mouth was as dry as the desert. Even though everything was blurred, he made out a foot out of the corner of his eye, and realised he'd gone to bed in his shoes. Then, his mind started to piece together how he got there, and his hand met his face to rub his eyes and discovered he was wearing spectacles.

Spectacles?!

Pulling them from his face, he glared at them suspiciously, and at the same time, became aware that the heavy warmth on his left side was not a blanket, or an animal such as a dog, but a person.

And not a female at that.

Merlin's teeth what had he been drinking last night?!

Hastily, he attempted to wrestle from the sleepy grasp Professor Tapendra Trishna had wrapped him in during the night, immediately faced with a mixture of horror, embarrasment and anguish about getting so bladdered that neither of them had been in any fit state to get to their own beds, and had ended up sharing his.

"Merlin, I am not your teddy bear!" Ignan exclaimed to his sleeping colleague, who hung on like a small child. If this was mischief of Tapendra's making, there would be severe consequences!

He was warm and comfortable, and some part of him was aware he was asleep with someone else in the bed. That was okay - whomever it was smelled like beer and laundry and a bit like a fire. No one who smelled like that would be evil.  The rest of his mind was trying to pretend it wasn't extremely hungover, and was beginning to fail.

Tapendra stirred at Ignan's words and struggle, his face shifting from his peaceful sleeping expression to a look of vague annoyance, his lips pouting. With a muffled groan, he rolled towards Ignan as the man lurched away, groaning as he did so,  and made a spirited effort to pull more of the blankets around himself - something that was quite difficult, since he already had the vast majority of them tangled around his legs. When this effort didn't work, he tugged on the fabric under his fingers - Ignan's robe. "Mm, five stars," he muttered as he tugged at Ignan's robe again. When that proved fruitless he stirred enough to crack his eyes open.

Gods, his head hurt. His dream had been a nice one, too - and it was gone as he awoke, leaving only a vague recollection of police chases and having his saved games get corrupted.

He looked at Ignan's face blankly as the man struggled - and appearently his brain hadn't started yet, as he made a vague grunt and lay his swimming head back down on Ignan's stomach, squeezing his eyes shut again, appearently deturminded to go back to sleep.

That lasted for all of  3 seconds before a spark finally fired in his brain, and his eyes shot wide open. In one clumsy movement, he shot backwards off the bed with a yelp, landing on his back and left shoulder on the stone floor and taking most of the blankets with him. He groaned as his body started giving his brain damage reports, his legs still up on the bed.

Ignan stared at Tapendra's legs, his mind trying to put everything together.
"What the ... how the... why the... hell are you here?" Ignan asked the legs. "How did you get in?!"

He gesticulated with the arm still holding the spectacles, as his left side had gone a bit numb from Tappy lying on it.
"Why was I wearing your - here!" He threw his own legs off the bed and tossed Tappy's spectacles onto the younger man's form on the floor.

There was a pause as Ignan sat back and looked around himself, letting his mind come to, with the intense thirst and uneasy stomach. He felt like he'd licked a dog clean, and as he forced his mind to think backwards, he remembered drinking in the Three Broomsticks with Tapendra... Cillian and Johann. Then Gabrielle arriving, he thought. Ignan rubbed the bridge of his nose and tried to concentrate.

They must have got back here somehow. Tapendra's sleeping quarters were right the way up the tower, they must have both been pretty far gone not to get up there. Worse gone if he'd allowed Tappy to come in. That was it, Tappy must have crawled up during the night, he would not have shared his bed with another colleague (well, unless they happened to be female and very attractive... he wasn't that old.)

"How much did we drink last night?" Ignan asked, appalled with himself.

He twitched as his glasses bounced off his forehead and landed in the blankets, the sharp shock of the impact waking him back up a bit. He stared up at the high ceiling as Ignan spoke, aware his mouth felt like he'd slept with it full of cotton.

"Too much, that's how much," he said with a grunt, licking his lips in an effort to get his mouth wet again. He was trying to recall the night before as well - with about the same amount of success. He remembered a pretty lady, though, and something abot her lap. And that nephew of Ignan's with the bright mind and the cheeks you could cut glass with. And Cillian, who'd had better beer legs than Tappy, appearantly. He managed to prop himself up on his elbows with a groan of effort, drawing his legs sideays off the bed, and after a slow shift he was sitting against the bed with his forehead on the edge, arms stretched out across the sheets.

"Why'm I in your room?" he asked after a moment of concentration, almost rhetorically - because he sure as hell didn't remember, and from the sound of it Ignan didn't either. He furrowed his brow and pressed his forehead harder against the mattress. Then he grinned inanely, amused by what was frankly not funny.

"Least we've got all our clothes on," he said, so quietly it was nearly under his breath. "Judy would kill me."

"Too much, that's how much," Tappy's voice came from below the other side of the bed. Ignan watched the man's legs disappear, and get replaced with two arms and the crown of the other wizard's head.

"Why'm I in your room?"

"I was hoping you might remember." Ignan replied softly.

"Least we've got..." Tappy replied, but Ignan didn't catch it all.

"Hmmph?" He asked Tappy, "Least we're not what? Witnessed...? Who knows what state we were in when we got back here. I don't make a habit of getting drunk, whereas you might." His confusion and irritability at not remembering what happened was setting in swiftly. The prospect of having to ask Johann or Gabrielle what state they had left the pub in, and at what time was not thrilling. Frankly embarrassing actually.

There was a tune floating around in the back of his head, and in the pause that followed, he recognised the melody.
"We can only hope we were lucid enough to be quiet in the castle." He hoped in quiet tones, horrified at the thought of them walking through the corridors after curfew singing

Her eyes was blue, her dress the same, but she always fell asleep before I-.

Merlin no. Please no.

"Eugh. Last time I'm drinking with you if this is a regular occurrence. Or was it Cillian? Where is the bastard anyway, how did he get upstairs and yet you ended up here?" He asked grumpily, and got up, walking awkwardly to a cupboard, which he opened and rifled through, searching for a hangover cure, but wincing every time he clanked one bottle against another.

"I don't," He replied, the strictness and annoyance in Ignan's tone prompting him to force his brain to function - this was not a man to offend any more than he already had. Not if he wanted to make it back to his own chambers unhexed - that, and it was hitting the primal 'being yelled at by teacher' button. The part of his brain that was still happily in dream-land was becoming worried he was going to loose points for this. "Make a habit of drinking, that is. Last night was the first time I've gotten plastered in years." He rubbed the bridge of his own nose. "That probably had a lot to do with...this. To be honest." He flushed. "And I get...friendly when I'm drunk." He could vaguely recall clinging to a lot of people the previous night. Storm included.

Looking at Ignan's back, he let his eyes slide shut. "The last thing I remember is singing - badly - and that nice young lady having a nice lap...Gabbie, wasn't it?" he tried to stifle a yawn and failed. "I don't even remember coming back to the castle, let alone getting dragged into your room."

He pulled himself to his feet, somehow, via the bed and became distantly aware some of the throbbing of his head was coming from a tapping sound. He looked around until he saw  the owl at the window, and with an annoyed grunt he stumbled over and let the bird in.

It dropped a letter into his hand and hooted in annoyance, expecting a morsel for its work. Tapendra frowned at it. "Haven't got anything you'd want, sorry," he told it, and got a peck on the hand for his trouble. Cursing, he slammed the window shut - which he regretted when the loud bang made his head hurt - and looked at the letter.

"Last time I remember seeing Cillian, he was using his glass to conduct the...the...singing," he said, looking to Ignan with a worried expression. "You don't suppose we sung those things the whole way, do you? And I don't think he'd had...put us both here. Or me, or....whatever happened."

He looked back down at the letter, squinting at it and holding it at arm's length and moving it back and forth until he could read the writing on it. "Some owl figured out I was here," he said, rubbing his forehead. He read the return address and grunted. "Ryan. Should've known, the bastard. Probably wants to borrow my priest or something," he said, looking back over at Ignan.

"Tell me you have a hangover cure in there, Ignan," he said, putting the letter aside.  "If you don't I might rip my own head off, and save you the trouble."

"The last thing I remember is singing - badly - and that nice young lady having a nice lap...Gabbie, wasn't it? I don't even remember coming back to the castle, let alone getting dragged into your room."

Still rifling through the cupboard, Ignan heard a loud bang as his window was shut. Oh, yes the owl. Hadn't been top of his priorities upon finding how he'd woken up.

"Last time I remember seeing Cillian, he was using his glass to conduct the...the...singing. You don't suppose we sung those things the whole way, do you? And I don't think he'd had...put us both here. Or me, or....whatever happened." Ignan looked round the door at him critically and raised an eyebrow, before reaching to the back of the cupboard, well behind all the salves and sleeping potion and burn paste, and his fingers landed upon a tall green bottle.

"Tell me you have a hangover cure in there, Ignan. If you don't I might rip my own head off, and save you the trouble."

Ignan unstoppered the bottle, taking a few steps back to be visible from between the cupboard doors, and sniffed tentatively. Merlin's teeth, it still smelt as bad as he remembered, possibly worse. Swilling it round in the bottle, he took two swigs.
"Oh Merlin's hag." He wretched and stuck his tongue out, "its awful, but the best I know." Ignan offered the bottle to Tappy, on route to finding something, anything to wash it down with, now that his mouth tasted of peppermint, old coal, earth, dog and beer with an under taste of sour milk.
"Two mouthfuls, otherwise it won't stay down at first." The older man warned the younger.

He turned back a minute later with a large jug of water and tumblers, which he dropped on the writing desk a few feet from the bed, which had a few letters on, and little else, Ignan spending most of his time out of the room, and the time in it, sleeping.
"Singing, yes, I think I remember that. Gabrielle yes, though she shortens it to something distasteful, Gabbie. Why you were sitting on her lap, Merlin only knows, but you better remember if you liked her before she comes asking me, what with her being family too." He narrowed his eyes at Trishna, and quickly made stock of his wand (still in his robes) and where his money was. It chinked into his hand for a count which took far too much concentration than it would if he hadn't got a percussion section practising in his head.
"Well, I didn't buy us all the drinks, so we must have found some generous friends." Ignan informed Tappy, pleased he had returned home with his money at least.
"Did you say dragged in here? Whatever makes you think I'd be so generous?" He smirked, and downed some water, his stomach complaining nosily.

Having smelled the stuff, he momentarily contemplated just dealing with the hangover - it had to be better than drinking that - but after a moment he sucked his breath in, pinched his nose and took two big gulps as instructed.

His stomach lurched as he gagged from the awful taste, coughing and doing his best not to throw up. He grabbed at the water as it was offered and drank it down, taking deep breaths to restrain his gag reflex.

"Ugh - what is in that?" he muttered to himself between chugs of water. He sat on the edge of the bed, cradling the tumbler in his hands.

"I remember Johann buying a couple of rounds," he said, his voice slightly slurred. He pressed the cool glass against his forehead and looked down at the floor. "She was family too? I don't remember much about her - s'all kind of a blur. I think I might have just gotten..." he paused. "She was nice and in range to latch on to, that's usually how it goes." He groaned. "I'll have to write her an apology letter..."

He looked back to Ignan sharply. "If I was too plastered to get up the stairs, I'm pretty sure I wasn't walking well either," he said. "I meant it literally, not like you forced me in here." He smiled, vaguely. "I don't think generosity had much to do with it. Probably just too far gone to care." He grunted and shifted the glass against his forehead. "Surprised you didn't dump me in the hall, to be honest."

"Ugh - what is in that?" Tapendra muttered, Ignan smirked - it was far better to wonder than to know.

"I remember Johann buying a couple of rounds... She was family too? I don't remember much about her - s'all kind of a blur. I think I might have just gotten... She was nice and in range to latch on to, that's usually how it goes. I'll have to write her an apology letter... If I was too plastered to get up the stairs, I'm pretty sure I wasn't walking well either, I meant it literally, not like you forced me in here. I don't think generosity had much to do with it. Probably just too far gone to care."

He grunted and shifted the glass against his forehead. "Surprised you didn't dump me in the hall, to be honest."

"You're not the only one..." Ignan replied distantly. "I mean, it wouldn't have done for a student, or a colleague finding you slumped in the corridor. If they didn't think you were drunk, they'd have assumed you'd been hexed, and come to my door for assistance." He turned back to Tapendra. "Embarrassing for you, them, me, the whole school...." Ignan rubbed his face, feeling the shadow like sandpaper.

"We can only hope Gabrielle was taken with you equally." His eyes narrowed, "that is, if your beer goggles didn't addle your judgment." Raising his gaze in thought, he pulled a newspaper from a few days back from between two heavy and uninteresting books and tossed it to Trishna, who was sat on his bed.
"Beside the piece on Ukranian wizards making a killing on imports." Ignan told him, before seizing the hangover cure again and taking another swig and gagging.

Tapendra grunted again. "Makes sense." Though he wasn't sure how 'sleep in my room = sleep in my bed' but whatever; he'd gotten to sleep in a decent bed instead of on the stone floor somewhere. And gained a story no one was ever going to hear. Unless he got drunk again, and that wasn't likely to happen soon.

He jumped a bit as the newspaper landed next to him on the bed, picking it up and looking at the image. Well, his beer goggles had certainly clouded his judgement when it came to being touchy - but the lady was indeed quite pretty. Hopefully she hadn't taken it the wrong way - he was a married man, after all, what would Judy say if she knew...?

Distantly, he was aware what a stupid excuse that was, but there you go. He'd have to think of an apology, preferably an extremely poli-

There was a knock at the door and voices, muffled by the heavy wood, filtered into the bedroom. He looked up at Ignan, wide-eyed, and then surveyed the room quickly; there wasn't really any place someone his size going hide and given their appearances...

Frazzled braincells fired. He placed his tumbler of water on the bedside table and in one smooth movement he hit his knees and rolled onder the huge bed, the bedskirt falling back into place and sealing him in darkness.

Well, now that he was under here he felt a bit silly, but it was better to feel silly that besmurch Ignan's reputation. He could live through feeling silly.

Ignan stared at his bed in surprise as Tapendra shot under it. With luck, the house elves had removed anything like a stray sock or a smelly boot from under there - not that there ever was, Ignan was a strange being used to living alone, and keeping himself fairly organised and tidy in private.

"One moment." He called, catching sight of himself in the mirror above the fireplace, and wincing. With luck it would be a member of staff - a student calling on his own chambers was very rare and only in dire situations. Damn it.

With four heavy booted strides, he made it to the door, wand in hand, and pulled it open enough to see, and then further once he saw who was outside.
"Good morning." He greeted Gabrielle and Johann outside in the corridor. "To what do I owe the pleasure?" He remained with his hand holding the door, rather than ushering them inside as he would normally - conscious that Tappy was hidden under his bed. It was some bizarre reverse love tryst, or so it would seem for an outsider.

"One moment." Ignan's voice sounded from inside. Johann assumed the second voice he'd heard momentarily was in the fireplace, as it stopped almost immediately. If that had been a second voice, or not the wireless, though he couldn't remember a set being in Ignan's private chambers.

With heavy footsteps the door creaked open a crack, revealing an eye and then eventually considerably more of Ignan, whose features sagged a little, and his hair a little wild.

"Good morning." He greeted Gabrielle and Johann outside in the corridor. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Morning!" Johann greeted with far too much delight, "Returning your gloves, which you left on the bar, and thought it would be a good time for a family catch up, being Sunday morning." He advanced forward and put a hand on the door, only to be met with resistance as he stepped his toe onto the floor within the room, but could not push the door away to enter.

Johann looked eye to eye with Ignan, and it dawned on him that not only could he smell licqour, but if he extended the thought a little, he realised Ignan was dressed as he was the previous evening, and was probably suffering from a tremendous hangover.
"Or not?" He asked a little more quietly, unassertive, and looked back to Gabrielle.

"Morning!" Ignan winced, and didn't manage to stop himself in time.
"Returning your gloves, which you left on the bar, and thought it would be a good time for a family catch up, being Sunday morning."

Johann pushed at the door, attempting to walk straight in. Ignan picked up the resistance and held the door in place, cutting him off before he could continue. There was an unpleasant pause where he knew he was verging on being impolite, where the two wizards stared at each other. Johann surprised, Ignan sourly stagnant on not wishing either of his relatives to come inside.

"Or not?" Johann added quietly, and looked back to Gabrielle, confused.
"Its not a good time." Ignan told them both in a low voice, lodging his booted foot behind the door as well as holding it with his hand, to prevent either of them trying to come in easily.
"Another time."

Too late.
"Oh, are we interrupting?" Johann asked, his eyes flicking above Ignan's head, trying to look past to see into the room. Ignan drew himself up to full height and fixed his younger relative with a stern glare, and saw an amused look on Gabrielle's face. Hell, they now thought he'd brought back a woman - well, that was better than a colleague of the same gender, he supposed.
"No." Ignan replied stiffly, hearing footsteps down the corridor which meant much as he didn't want to let them in, he did not want to continue the conversation in the doorway. "For reasons why I left my gloves, I also didn't exactly prepare for sleep either." Ignan hissed.

"So what, I didn't sleep at all." Johann belittled his comment. "You're awake now aren't you? We'll look the other way. Don't want to get you into trouble again for letting strangers roam around the castle, apologies Gabrielle, who knows when watchdog-Hooch will round that corner and give rise to an uncomfortable reunion?"

Muttering rude words in his head, Ignan frowned furiously and stepped back, allowing Johann and Gabrielle inside.
"You'll have to excuse me a few minutes at least." He told them both grumpily, slamming the door behind them, and leaving the room to the antechamber to wash and use a little magic to switch clothing. He could only hope that Tappy didn't sneeze or his two relatives didn't discuss anything too personal in his absence...

The amusement was to see Johann versus Ignan on the door shoving - she 'Awww'd the pushing finally stopped & they entered the antechamber to his room. "Maybe we should head off, Joh?" she commented rather abruptly when the door slammed, causing Gabie to jump. "It seems he isn't in a good mood to put up with our, er, your tomfoolery, but then again, you think he's up to no good?" Like son, like father, eh?

She stood there, looking around the room, feeling slightly uncomfortable, wondering was this how students had felt with being in Snape's office? Her eyes looked around, trying to see if there was anything in the room. Some thing did catch attention & Gabrielle walked over to a table that had books, even papers stacked high, however, that hadn't been what she had seen. There was a framed photograph - two young children, embraced by a brunette, all three blissfully happy & was soon in Gabrielle's hands.

Amelia...a soft gasp escaped her lips as she looked at the children, instantly recognizing Ignan, though a little unsure of the little girl. The photograph went back to the table & she turned to look at Johann. "I've a hankering for something to eat & as for Hooch, she's not a bad woman - just don't double cross her, yeah?" she commented as the stomach started growling, quite annoyed with her.

"So what, I didn't sleep at all." Johann replied quickly. Not sleeping was not an unusual occurrence, though it was more difficult now he had switched from lodging with Vasily in the mad cat woman's rooms in Hogsmeade, to Gabrielle's home. Living with your boss, and relative made for interesting breakfast time discussion, but the two of them got on well so far.
"You're awake now aren't you? We'll look the other way. Don't want to get you into trouble again for letting strangers roam around the castle, apologies Gabrielle, who knows when watchdog-Hooch will round that corner and give rise to an uncomfortable reunion?"

Johann meant the apology that Gabrielle was hardly a stranger, what with her role as a head of the Ministry department. Her face was in the paper and revered amongst other magical kind for her profession. Ignan seemed even more displeased. and gave one of those scary glares he served very badly behaved children. Johann wanted to turn tail and hide behind Gabrielle for it, but swallowed and held his ground.

"You'll have to excuse me a few minutes at least." Ignan replied eventually, and let them in with prim stiffness. He really, really, didn't want to, but Johann would hold his lovely gloves as ransom until he did.

Ignan headed off to deal with his appearance and hopefully do something about his alcoholic breath, with Johann's gaze on his back as they stepped into the private chambers. Johann saw the armchair he had tried to sleep in that first night he had arrived in Hogsmeade, thinking he was going to be killed.
"Maybe we should head off, Joh?" Gabrielle replied. "It seems he isn't in a good mood to put up with our, er, your tomfoolery, but then again, you think he's up to no good?"

Johann looked to his senior and relative with surprise.
"He's always in a foul mood here. I don't think Hogwarts is good for him, Gabrielle. Merik pushed him into teaching, and its as though he feels obliged to continue even though he's an old man himself now." He shrugged, and sat back down in that armchair, dropping his feet onto the low table, almost upsetting a sandtimer.

"I don't know, perhaps its because this is his space, not even the students come in here. You should see his office by his classroom. One impressive collection of weird stuff in there. You could spend a week identifying it all, only he never tells the good stories unless you catch him in the mood." He turned to look at Gabie, who was examining a pile of books, and instead picked up a frame from beside them, her eyes captivated by who was in the photograph.

"Imelda and Ignan, but who could work that out looking at them now?" Johann asked, hooking up the sandtimer in one hand and tipping it back and forth.
"I've a hankering for something to eat & as for Hooch, she's not a bad woman - just don't double cross her, yeah?" Gabrielle replied on a different topic.
"Oh, we'll be fine. Hooch is a piece of cake, grumpy old watchdog. Hang on - did you say you think he's up to no good?" Johann dropped the sandtimer into his lap and sat bolt upright, turning to Gabrielle, just as he heard the door to the adjoining chamber creak open and Ignan's feet on the floor again.