5pm, Stables of Hasard Hall

It had been a rather sudden decision - the trip to France was something he'd surprised many of his servants with, and as Vedir strolled calmly to the stables they bustled around the house and grounds, getting ready. Two men carrying his luggage passed him, heading to the stables at a quick march. It wasn't exactly a business trip, per say; but people needed to have the boot put in, and doing it himself would be the most effective and satisfying solution to this little issue. That, and a little vacation would do him good.

The second decision was a bit odd, though; bringing Johann Storm with him. It had been another snap decision - the boy wanted to visit his relatives in France, Vedir wanted to pick his brains on his business issues...and his company was quite pleasant; the boy's awkwardness always good for a laugh. And Vedir now had a vested interest in the younger man's family.

Ignan Storm...Vedir didn't know what to think, yet. He'd been Atalana's partner in crime, apparently, and now he was Hogwart's capable professor of Defenses. He needed to find out more...and who better to casually ask than Ignan's younger relative?

The coach had been brought out, the four huge winged palomino Abraxian horses strapped into their harnesses. The coach was a slower transport that floo; it'd be an overnight flight. But he preferred it to floo, and it would give Johann and himself a chance to talk casually alone and relax.

"Go and find Storm - make sure he's ready and bring him here," he told one of his servants - a large man with a noticeably scarred neck. The man bowed and headed back to the house.

Things had become rather too tense for Johann lately. Not usually a quarrelsome individual, he was at odds with too many, particularly family members in Britain.

As predicted by others, living with Gabrielle and working for her had turned sour. They loved each other as family, but Johann accepted he wasn't the easiest to live with, even when confined to one room to create chaos in.

It didn't help that Johann's part time employment at the Ministry, despite being saddled with anything to do with interns, was not keeping him suitably occupied. When his mind was not suitable occupied, his behaviour would deteriorate, and as usual it had been directed at his least favourite colleague, Hamilton.

Johann didn't ever want to be hauled into Gabrielle's office again to be given an earful. Despite not being a direct blood descendent of the male side of the Storm family, she could give them a run for their money any day. He had made a decision there and then, he was moving out of her place for sure - and taking some leave as soon as possible.

He didn't really care that losing his job or losing hours on his job would mean a drop in income. His insomnia and abuse of sleeping potion had turned out lucratively productive for Johann with regards to Vedir Prideaux, and despite himself, Johann felt drawn to spend time with him, directly translating dictation for letters, or bringing to his attention loopholes in contracts that Vedir's business partners had drawn together, so they could be exploited.

Johann's consumption of books on magical law were now outstripping the number of newspapers he subscribed to in foreign languages, which were in turn a fire hazard back at his room at Gabrielle's house, which he was spending the minimum amount of time in - usually just overnight working, catching bits of sleep.

Lack of sleep, reliance on potions that were decreasing in efficiency and causing nauseating side effects had intensified the gaunt appearance of Johann's angular face, and people had begun to comment. His reaction, as normal was to ignore it and to associate himself with those who didn't, which meant Hannah and Colin had also received a bit of a cold shoulder of late.

Vedir's coinciding visit to France was an unusual but thankful event, and although Johann felt apprehensive about running, even for a short time, he felt strangely reassured not to be travelling alone.

"Apologies, Sir, I was keeping out of the way." Johann addressed Vedir as he was chivvied towards the carriage. "Present and correct though."

Johann had travelled lightly while he was abroad in his twenties, and as he had shot from Germany back in January, he travelled with only the one bag, which took no space in Vedir's travelling entourage undoubtedly.

"Is there anything I can do to assist?" He asked, partly to Vedir and partly to the servant who had chivvied him. Though the thought of having to deal with those four very large abraxans put him off entirely - they were a key reason he'd been lurking out of the way.

"Thank you again, Sir, for the offer to travel with you this evening." Johann gave a shallow bow, ever respectful as he was, especially before Vedir's servants. They showed him great respect, and Johann knew however much he advised and helped Vedir, and spent time with him, he too was one of Vedir's servants.

"No, Johann, I think we're about ready to go, are we not?" The end of his sentence was addressed to the scarred servant, who simply nodded silently.

Vedir opened the carriage's door, which revealed the inside to be much larger than the outside - on the outside, it was an elaborate if normal sized coach; on the inside it had four rooms. Two bedrooms, a bathroom, and a lounge with bookshelf, couches and a cocktail bar. His mother's tastes were definitely favorable in this case, though she had been rather miffed when Vedir had had the thing reupholstered in a darker red velvet; while white lace looked fine for a lady's carriage the only place he wanted to see white lace was on ladies' undergarments.

"Go ahead and get comfortable - be careful, some of the shelves have sticking charms on them, so don't put your hands or books on them too readily," he warned. The coach's interior was still prone to jolts and rocking, especially during take off.

He closed the door after Johann, assuring he'd meet him in a moment - and after a few minutes he did, having made his final arrangements and let the driver get ready.

"We'll be taking off in a few minutes," he explained, closing the door behind him and standing up, the interior's ceiling being high enough to let him do so. "Do you get airsick, by the way? I'm sorry, I forgot to ask earlier," he added with a smile, sitting on one of the couches.

Johann heard the door close behind him and stared up and around himself within the space. Even for a man who had been raised very aware of his magical heritage, sometimes the glorious variety of interiors with such places amazed him. It did however, match Vedir's taste.

Letting out a sigh, Johann resigned himself to the fact he had to keep tolerance for a journey and not allow his recent short temper show itself. He felt weary already, only in body, his mind as usual paced like a man possessed back and forth in his head, seemingly unable to settle, and becoming better and better at jumping to conclusions that were not to be found. Time away was exactly what he needed - extended maternal French cousins to coo over him, to find some sleeping potion on the black market, and the bit of business Vedir required.

Always conscious there was a social order about seating in one's home - or more precisely, travelling carriage, Johann set down his bag out of the way, and ran his eyes over some of the titles of the books while he waited.

"We'll be taking off in a few minutes," Vedir informed him upon return and Johann looked up and turned to nod, watching his employer make his way to sit down on a couch. Johann took that as enough of an invitation to find a place to sit, finding somewhere nearby, however oddly tempting a part of him found the prospect of sitting on that very same couch as Vedir...

"Do you get airsick, by the way? I'm sorry, I forgot to ask earlier," Vedir smiled.

Johann paused, his eyes sliding upward automatically as he thought back. This thought hadn't crossed his mind. Oddly, he'd assumed it wouldn't be a problem.
"I… er…." He struggled to explain "I never got on with broomsticks, but always assumed it was down to me being awful at flying them. I apologise in advance, but I cannot say for sure. This isn't a mode of transportation I'm at all familiar with."

He felt rather silly for saying it, and colour tinged his pale cheeks, and he lowered his face to regard his own knees a moment, his racing mind suddenly stopping and making a check with the rest of his body.

It reported back that airsickness might be a distinct possibility, though as he hadn't eaten all day, it would be nothing but general nausea that would result. Not on par with the shakes, cold sweats and near on fainting he'd experienced after desperately attempting to mix two sleeping potions together two nights before, which had rendered him to sleep through his body simply giving up after ridding itself of the produced poison.

"Here's hoping not." He added quietly, and mustered a smile to Vedir to show confidence, though actually he was now rather preoccupied with the feeling he wasn't going to cope very well with the journey.

"How long does the crossing take?" Johann asked politely, adjusting his shirt collar and glancing around the room, before his eyes flitted back to Vedir and lingered on him, as was becoming increasingly usual for them to do.

"There's a bathroom in the back, should you encounter trouble," Vedir told him with a smile, relaxing back into the couch as the carriage suffered a very minor jolt - and then from the far end of the lounge there was a knocking, three sharp taps in succession.

"I'd hang onto something," He advised, casually draping an arm over the back of the couch - revealing that the tops of the couches had well-hidden bars that one could grip.

"The journey should take about eight hours," Vedir said as the coach started to move - the feeling subtle, just a gentle backwards pressure. Then it jolted suddenly, one massive backwards jolt, a sudden feeling of vertigo, and then calm. The gentle pushing force remained, along with a change in pressure, but the major jolts seemed to be over.

"Landing is worse," Vedir said with a chuckle. "If we're asleep, we'll be woken up before that - not a fun way to wake up. You tend to get tossed of of the bed or off the couches..."

He stood and walked to the small bar, pulling out a brandy glass and bottle. "Anything to drink? There's non alcoholic options, if you'd prefer. You look a tad under the weather."

"Do I?"

The words fell out of Johann's mouth before he could stop them. Having braced for the take-off (rating about 3 on the naught-to-Johann-attempting-to-fly-a-broom scale) his mind was firmly scolding his stomach to keep quiet. It would undoubtedly want fed at some point, but he could continue to ignore it.

"Sorry, I mean, yes, rather looking forward to a change from Britain, Sir." He attempted to look relaxed, but it was unconvincing. Brandy might be good, might be bad, he didn't want to appear on the wrong side of Vedir's hospitality, so he added, "Thank you." with a nod in the hope it conveyed he would join Vedir in a drink. He'd nurse it a while if it turned out the choice was poor.

"What makes you choose carriage over international floo?" Johann asked, and then paused, raising a hand with index finger poised, "Ah, ill posed question, not only are the surroundings preferable to chimneys and the public, but carriages are not monitored by the Department of Magical Transportation." His features brightened a little mischievously. These were similar to the reasons Johann had brought back all of Vedir's paperwork he had at Gabrielle's and had been working with Poppy on taking smaller batches each night to ensure nothing was left unguarded away from the estate.

Back at the Murray-Harker abode, there were no papers at all to suggest Johann was any the wiser about Vedir's trade in runespoors or other things the Ministry would ordinarily take a dim view of.

"Glad to see that work has begun in Diagon Alley." Johann added, referring to the house he'd successfully dissuaded a Dutch architect from buying from the Ministry who were selling off a late wizard's estate.

The sale had been snagged due to one particular employee within the Ministry convinced they could get a better offer. Johann had confirmed this detail with Vedir and the wizard in question had inexplicably had to take sick leave, and Johann had stooped to an attempt to flirt with the witch who took over to ensure she rushed the paperwork through with no further delay. She'd taken offence to him going on a sleep-deprived rant at her two days after the keys had exchanged hands, which was lucky, as Johann had no further interest in her.

Since then Vedir seemed to have moved very swiftly to reclaim what he had informed Johann was a debt he was owed anyhow. The witch in question had begun to conspire with Hamilton, though Johann held no concern by that point.

"Things like that really do illustrate how much all those requirements can hinder good business." The brandy settled in his stomach and he felt a little warm all over. His recent interest in magical law was revealing more and more about the quirks of magical law and its inexplicable traditions. Some laws remained in place and yet nobody could quite remember why they'd been put in place, and therefore were not happy to remove them for fear of some tear in the universe.

Vedir's eyes sparkled with approval. "Well observed, Johann. You are entirely correct. Brandy or juice?"

When Johann asked for brandy, he poured him a glass and handed it over, taking his seat back at the opposite couch. "A vacation will do you good, Johann," he told him as he drank his own brandy. "You really should just relax for a few days - get yourself pampered. But I'm sure everyone harps on that to you, so I will let you off the hook," he added with a wink.

"Your family in France knows of your coming, I hope? We can get arrangements for your transport underway tomorrow, of course," he said, settling into the cushions. "The Storms are a large family, aren't they? Miss Harker is your relative as well, and so is Professor Storm. But I can't say I know much of your relatives in France."

"I promise I will, thank you, Sir." Johann nodded slowly, forcing himself to react politely. The best solution for him right now would be to find a sleeping potion to knock himself out for two or three days.

"They, well, it shouldn't be a problem." Johann stepped around the query about his family knowing he was coming. Actually they didn't.

"Yes, we are a large number," The linguist agreed, a little surprised at the sudden interest in his family. "All over Europe, some have fled further. The French side, that's my mother's. She's Belgian, her maiden name is Duerr. However all my extended family on that side are in France, frequenting the halls of Beauxbatons. They're a little more agreeable company than Storms. They just spend their time trying to outdo each other with boastful stories and conquests of business, travel and academia. No, my French cousins are fans of the finer sides of life, arts, culture…" Johann sighed and smiled, "Refreshing away from Britain, so rigid and restrictive, and everyone's minds work so slowly!" He gestured with both hands, though the brandy was in his left. Such hand gestures were not normally part of Johann's conversations with Vedir, and the moment he realised he'd done so, he dropped his hands and his gaze, confidence vanishing.

"First cousins once removed with Gabrielle, indeed, and Ignan's my cousin - they're tied more closely in blood through Ignan's late mother, Amelia." He nodded to Vedir, "Had hardly anything to do with Ignan most of my life - he was always away travelling and doing supposedly impressive things until he came back all of a sudden a decade or so ago. Gabrielle, I owe her a lot for my job at the Ministry, and also for where I'm living, though I think I am content to keep her only as my direct superior from now on." Johann sipped at his brandy with a frown.

"What about you, you must undoubtedly have roots over here, your French is entirely natural, makes mine sound ever so abrupt."

Vedir laughed. "Too true, I have to admit! Though the French lack the, shall we say...more aggressive edge the Germans and English have. Still, they far surpass us in art, music..." He smiled. "Your family sounds quite different from your English relatives. I do hope I have the opportunity to meet them, if you don't mind my tagging along."

His smile remained. "My French family is my father's side. Mostly useless deadbeats and old ladies, I'm afraid. My father was the only one with any sense; the rest drank, gambled and whored the fortune away. It's why my father sought an English bride. The House of Prideaux didn't have much influence in France." He'd restored much of it, mostly be carefully disposing of said...problem relatives.

He stroked his chin. "Forgive the nosiness, but I was under the impression you were close with your cousin Ignan?" He tilted his head to the side. "I've reason to meet with him - school matters - and I prefer to go in informed, but so few people seem to know him well." He smiled at Johann, again. "And I trust you to tell me what I need to know, unlike my other informants."

Johann nodded and listened intently to Vedir's reciprocal description of his French roots.

When Vedir turned the conversation to Ignan, Johann felt a pang of guilt. He had been getting on very well with his cousin after a difficult start, but they'd fallen at odds recently given his treatment of Gabrielle.

"I wouldn't say we were close in common terms, close in our family's terms, you might say we are." Johann replied a little evasively. "He speaks well of you as a governor, if that helps." Johann added. Actually, Ignan had mentioned Vedir once a long time before Johann had approached Vedir to work for him, and the presumption was made on the fact he'd met the governors very briefly.

"Since my arrival in Britain in January - only a month or so after he did - we have spent a lot more time together than we had before back home. Although he's my cousin, I look to him more as an uncle due to the age gap." Johann let a fond smile cross his features, which was a little sad after a moment.

"What in particular can i help you with, in regards to him? Has he been throttling the students? I know he was having a difficult time of adjusting to Hogwarts discipline, I hear its a little lax in comparison to Durmstrang."

"Poisoning them, actually," Vedir said. "Obviously that's caused a few complaints, and I need to have a chat with him about it. As far as I know his job isn't in danger, but, well..."

He held his hands out, palms up, in a kind of shrug. "I've been looking into his background, you see. It's quite hard to form a proper picture of the man - Durmstrang elite, son of the headmaster - then he darts all over the continent, never marries, then turns to teaching..." He chuckled; he'd found out quite a bit more about Ignan's past that he figured even Johann knew, as a matter of fact - including his involvement with Atalana, which he suspected was more than a professional engagement, given Atalana's tendencies...and tastes.

"I was hoping to get a gauge on his personality - makes it easier to keep the situation calm, under control, and to understand his reasons. Surely if you two are at all close, as you say, he's not all discipline? All of the reports from Hogwarts suggest a man with a rather terrifying way of carrying on. The students seem at the same time scared and in awe."

"Poisoning?" Johann spluttered and put down his glass, but continued to listen to Vedir.

"I, I er, didn't know about the poisoning, if its true." Johann explained, frowning and trying to think laterally how that happened.
"He was an auror after he left Durmstrang, always held in high regard by the family, but that was before my time. Travel is a family tradition, broadens the mind, used as an escape for those of us unsure we've picked the right career. If you stay, you never hear the end of it, trust me." Johann having done exactly the same.

"I have a great deal of respect for Ignan. So do the family. Actually, his nephew, Vasily, was sent over to live in Hogsmeade because the family trust Ignan to set him straight. I don't think its going so well, Ignan's not really interested in keeping Vasily altogether straight." He grinned.

"I don't think Ignan necessarily enjoys teaching, if I can be honest, Sir. His father was a ferocious headmaster, whether Ignan is taking after him in that respect, I don't know. The few times I have observed him with students they have been very respectful of him, even if he does not appear to enjoy his job outwardly - though I suspect that's just his nature. He's mentioned tutoring a number of students lately…"

Johann frowned, a thought had popped into the back of his head from a conversation with Francis Pepper. He'd just received a letter from his son, Ambrose, who Johann had not met, but knew to be a third year at Hogwarts. Ambrose had not been very complimentary of Ignan's teaching (though despite Johann's fondness of Francis as a friend, even his friend's description of his own son's fumbling spellwork made Johann imagine Ambrose to be a nightmare to teach).

"… though I am aware his teaching isn't enjoyed by everyone, particularly the younger students. Though, Hogwarts is a bit more soft than Durmstrang. Have you ever been there?" Johann asked, his mood trying to balance family loyalty with the fact he felt rather bitter about family.

"How did the poisoning complaint come about?" He asked politely.

"I've heard of Merik Storm, yes. He sounds an...interesting relative. I must confess I'm rather hoping he sticks his nose into next year's Tourney." The man seemed like an interesting opponent; a pity about his age, however.

"If he doesn't enjoy teaching, why would he go out of his way to do it?" He mused aloud, eyebrow raised. "He taught at Durmstrang, of course - but to switch to Hogwarts seems an odd move. Or perhaps he simply finds life easier if he seperates friendship and professional life?"

He crossed his right leg over his left as the coach lurched subtly to the left - they were steering around London itself, no doubt. "To Durmstrang? I did visit, once. A commendable school, though I'm not entirely sure I approve of their methods. You attended, did you not? Enjoy it?"

Another chuckle. "A roundabout way, I suppose. I don't know all the details - part of my job is the find them out, hence the questioning. He apparently used it as part of a detention, though it was a test of sorts as well. The situation is not clear. The students seems reluctant to speak, I'm told."

"I may be wrong," Johann suggested, "But I don't think Ignan has many other employment options." He had caught wind of the possibility from a throwaway comment from family, back when he first spoke to Ignan as an adult, shortly after it was announced his cousin was staying in Germany and was going to teach. It hadn't been hidden at all that Merik thad got Ignan the job.

"Durmstrang was fine enough for me. It is what you make of it, and I made of it academia and apparently irritated my tutors with questions of culture and language. I don't change." He shrugged.

"Merik rather got him the job at Durmstrang from his influence, not that Ignan isn't particularly learned and hasn't much to teach. Melanthe Grumman was one of his favourite students he told me. Though I think his colleagues resented the fact, and Ignan's always been fond of England, he seems a lot happier here, especially now Georg, one of his oldest friends arrived to teach charms, and he's got a great friend in the astronomy professor, Trishna."

Johann's mind brought forth happier memories of Tapendra's birthday.
"Well, if they won't come forward, then they're probably lying aren't they?" Johann surmised, swallowing and unconsciously putting a hand to his stomach which churned and pulled at his collar as if it was tight and not unbuttoned.

"He and Trishna found the girl Grosvenor with my intern, Schlagenweit, and he fought off one of those direwolves last month, so I think he's all above board. Probably some silly rumour because he issued a detention." Johann offered.

"I'd ask him outright for you, I'd know if he was lying, only he sides with Gabrielle, so I don't think he'd appreciate me asking."

The memory of Ignan's reaction to Johann nicking his letter at the birthday gathering came forth in his mind - mild reaction, without company undoubtedly worse. Ignan still delivered a clip round the ear or a book to the back of the head with accuracy in public, and in private, Johann suspected he might be proficient in the rather more violent tactics Merik used when mothers weren't looking, on his grandchildren.

There was a flicker of Vedir's expression; a moment of concern with a hint of a slightly darker emotion. Trishna. That could be trouble. At least the damn woman was locked up, but not only did Storm have dealings with her, he was fiends, and...he couldn't think of Tapendra was Professor Trishna. Tapendra would always be Tapendra - the quivering little scared boy who'd dented the hood of his Diablo. He'd seen hate, fear and even a hint of love in Tapendra's eyes, and his own scarred head attested to what the boy was willing to try when angered. Someone like Storm around him could be trouble.

Which made finding out about the man all the more important. Vedir smiled quickly at Johann.

"That's what I'm assuming, though the parents are all convinced he's terrified them into keeping quiet," he said jovially. "With poor Grosvenor's death shortly after, rumors tend to get held back..and intensify. Hence the need for truth!"

He looked towards the coach's window behind his head, pulling the curtain aside; outside, the lights of London glimmered, and revealed they were flying relatively low over the large city - just a few hundred feet over the rooftops. "They seem an odd pair, from what I know if the two," he said carefully. "Storm and Trishna, I mean. Kirchlehner seems much like Storm - commendable, old-world. Trishna is a little...different." He smirked slightly, still looking at the city. "We gets complaints about him fairly often."