Ishane walked quickly towards the great hall for lunch. She had just finished cleaning up the mess the first years had left and had decided to change into something a lot less ratty than what she wore for gardening work. As she walked, Ishane thought about what she and Tappy had talked about yesterday. While she had told him that she wouldn't pry the class with Cyhirae had brought their discussion to the forefront.

Tappy was worried about whatever was going on, and their colleague Ignan Storm was now apparently in the middle of it. And Tappy trusted him with whatever was going on and that bothered her. Storm was an unknown and while Tapendra vouching for him helped calm her feelings she had no idea if she could trust Storm with Tappy's best interests. She would have to track down Storm sometime soon, her big sister instincts wouldn't shut up until she did so.

Almost as if her thoughts conjurer the man, Ishane spotted Ignan Storm heading towards the Great Hall. "Professor Storm?" Ishane called, attempting to catch the man's attention. She jogged up and stopped next to him, "I'm Ishane Blair, the new Herbology professor." Ishane held out her hand to shake. "I've been meaning to talk to you and I was wondering if now would be a good time?" She caught his eyes, "It's about Tapendra."

Tuesdays were always busy days, filled with teaching the fifth, seventh, first and third years. Ignan didn't particularly mind, busy days were far more interesting, and Friday was a blissful day to catch up and hold detentions or tutor the odd student who had fallen behind and he could bully into attending his presence to ensure the exam grades were top.

The students had come back from the Easter holidays with piles of homework - the consistency and quality of such would be debatable of course but the attempt was better than nothing.

"Professor Storm?" A voice called from behind, and he assumed it was a student. He half turned to look over his shoulder as he heard footsteps rushing towards him. When he spotted the woman amongst the students he stopped in the entrance hall and turned to regard her.

"I'm Ishane Blair, the new Herbology professor." She extended her hand, which Ignan took and shook politely.
"Good to meet you, Professor Blair." He echoed with the merest hint of a smile curling his mouth - gone as soon as you thought it might have been there.
"I've been meaning to talk to you and I was wondering if now would be a good time? It's about Tapendra."

"Of course." Ignan replied, looking concerned. "Though I do have the first years to teach straight after lunch, if you need more than a few moments. Has something happened?" He followed Ishane's lead to step aside out of the bustle of the students heading back and forth to take lunch.

Of course. Though I do have the first years to teach straight after lunch, if you need more than a few moments. Has something happened?

"It shouldn't be too long. And no, nothing is happened. At least not that I know of." The last part had a tinge of irritation in it, Ishane was not happy that Tapendra was keeping secrets. She stopped at a empty out of the way corner. None of the students were giving them any notice as they rushed to lunch. "I don't know if Tappy has mentioned me to you and to put it simply, we are family. And he hasn't been telling his family what the heck is going on right now, and  now Prideaux is involved, which means that whatever it going on is bad. And on top of that, apparently you are involved and in the middle of it all, and he's telling you things that he's not telling us."

Ishane frowned at him, her eyes searching his face, "Tappy says he trusts you but, no offence to him, he hasn't had the best track record with older father figures. So I'm going to be blunt with you Mister Storm, I want to know if I can trust you. I want to know if you won't hurt him. He's been broken before and we don't ever want to see him in that state again." Her voice became a low hiss, "And if you do break him I will hunt you down and kill you in the nastiest way possible and I will not be alone in doing so."

"And very pleasant to meet you too, Ms Blair." Ignan replied in the most cordial way possible, his eyebrows having shot up at her immediate launch into how he was bad for Tapendra. Frankly, he could probably agree with it all.

"It is touching you wish to vet Tapendra's friends, really it is, but the young man is old enough to choose who he speaks with, sure enough?" Ignan asked, surprised at Ishane's approach.
"I mean, I was surprised he didn't drive me mad within a few weeks of working with him when he arrived after Christmas, but oddly enough, not so far." He folded his arms, still remaining as neutral in tone as possible, despite wanting to dissect Ishane's approach line by line as he did a student.

"As for Prideaux, I very much doubt Tapendra would appreciate you discussing the matter with people. Family member or not, he has asked for my discretion and I do not consider discussing it with you as keeping my word."

With that, he stepped aside as if to walk away, then paused and turned back, irritated now.
"And as for hunting me down... join the queue." He smirked.

Catching sight of Ishane's face, he chuckled.
"Good to know someone else has Tapendra's best interests at heart though, and isn't afraid to cut to the chase."

Ishane snorted, "It's Tappy, he could be eighty and still not be old enough. Like I said, he doesn't have the greatest track record for such things." She cocked her head to the side, "Can you blame me for being concerned?"

She narrowed her eyes, "That's all nice but I noticed you never answered my question. I didn't ask you to tell me about what's going on with Prideaux, I asked you if you can be trusted."

Ishane resisted the urge to grab the man and shake him, "I don't care if there's one person ahead of me or a thousand." Her eyes narrowed, "You hurt Tappy, you're dead."

"It's Tappy, he could be eighty and still not be old enough. Like I said, he doesn't have the greatest track record for such things. Can you blame me for being concerned? That's all nice but I noticed you never answered my question. I didn't ask you to tell me about what's going on with Prideaux, I asked you if you can be trusted. I don't care if there's one person ahead of me or a thousand." Her eyes narrowed, "You hurt Tappy, you're dead."

"Yes, I gathered that the first time you threatened." Ignan replied coolly. "Of course you have a right to be concerned, its just I don't go threatening other people over being concerned for him, but each to their own." He shrugged, glancing away a moment at the passing students, conscious they should not be overheard.

"As for whether I can be trusted, its subjective. Ask a group of students, and you'll hear a mixed bag, ask the staff and yes, they trust me, have you seen how swiftly the Headmistress issues marching orders?" He gestured with a hand towards the stairs which led up and into the building towards Analiza's office.

"Tapendra trusts me, and I trust him. Whether you trust me and I trust you is between you and I." Ignan slipped his hands into his pockets of his suit trousers beneath his academic robes.
"Clearly you don't trust Tapendra's judgement so you automatically don't trust me. I'd hazard a guess his daughter doesn't trust me either, given the hexing attempt, and the threat to make me sing like a canary last month, and that you've spoken to Cyhirae too." Ignan puffed out his cheeks and paused thoughtfully.

"Of course I'm going to tell you 'you can trust me'." He told Ishane, mildly amused.

Ishane snorted, "Of course you telling me only that you can be trusted is worth absolutely nothing." She took a deep breath to calm herself. Becoming angry would only get her no answers, no satisfaction and make her punch her fellow professor in the nose till it broke. "I suppose I  didn't phrase the question correctly for what I'm looking for. What I really want is why does Tappy trust you? What has happened to cause him to do so?"

"You're in the middle of whatever is going on, and the little Tappy has told me about the situation did not include your role in all of it. I..." Ishane looked distinctly uncomfortable, "apologize for my..." she paused, looking for the correct word, "bullheadedness on this matter, but what I'm lacking is, well, enough information to tell the little siren in my head that's screaming 'Tappy is in trouble' to shut up."

"What Tappy has told me is that you are a good man and that you were almost his step father and, no offence, that man was once given that very same description." She smiled wryly, "Tappy was also kind enough to not tell me how he came to that conclusion, and, since I have never met you before, I supposed I might as well get the answers from the man that he has praised so highly." Her smile turned into a full on smirk, "He did suggest that I should get to know you."

"I suppose I  didn't phrase the question correctly for what I'm looking for. What I really want is why does Tappy trust you? What has happened to cause him to do so?"

Ignan gave Ishane the benefit of the doubt, tilting his head as he considered her conundrum. It must be very confusing to see a friend, or family member you are very close to having established a close friendship without you being present. Possessive, yes, just a little.

"You're in the middle of whatever is going on, and the little Tappy has told me about the situation did not include your role in all of it. I..." Ishane's expression changed and Ignan tilted his head the other way, folding his arms again.
"...apologize for my... bullheadedness on this matter, but what I'm lacking is, well, enough information to tell the little siren in my head that's screaming 'Tappy is in trouble' to shut up."

"I see." Ignan replied, his tone level and not at all suggesting how he felt.

"What Tappy has told me is that you are a good man and that you were almost his step father and, no offence, that man was once given that very same description. Tappy was also kind enough to not tell me how he came to that conclusion, and, since I have never met you before, I supposed I might as well get the answers from the man that he has praised so highly. He did suggest that I should get to know you."

"Did he now?" Ignan returned her smirk, and shifted his feet. "I was very close to his mother - we met in the nineties, and were lovers and business associates for several years but were split due to very unfortunate circumstances." He raised a hand very slightly from his folded arms to gesture.
"When Tapendra came to teach here, I had no idea they were related, had I known I might have kept my distance, he didn't know until recently - and equally I didn't know he was his mother's son until then." He sighed.

"Why he trusts me? I've never really asked. I'm not exactly well liked for my lack of bedside manner, however I do have time for many of my colleagues, and students, if they demonstrate a requirement. I don't go out of my way to seek social interaction. I think we can both keep a secret, and my ties to his mother promoted me as a confidant of sorts." Ignan gave a shrug. "Ishane, I can tell you that much, but there are things Tapendra knows of me that I am not in particular need to discuss with you - despite your link to him. You appreciate that?"

Ishane was finding herself winding down and relaxing, quite surprising, given her Mama Bear tendencies and the fact that the answers she was getting were not all that specific. She supposed it was mostly from Ignan's description of his relationship with Atalanta. Ishane had never met the woman, but Tappy's and the paper's descriptions of her was enough to paint a really vivid picture in her head and she couldn't see Atalanta allowing Ignan Storm to live if he had betrayed her, or more importantly if he was in some way tied to the Prideaux.
"I understand. I may not like it, but I understand." She smirked slightly, "There are things about my life that I wouldn't want broadcasted about."

She chuckled slightly, "Looks like I'll have to leave the grilling to Sonya. She'll always been the best at getting Tappy to squeal." Ishane glanced at Ignans face and smirked. "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised really about your relationship, Tappy does have a habit of forming odd friendships with people." Like theirs, which had fallen into a weird older sister, younger brother dynamic. "He's somewhat annoying that way. Always worming his way into your heart when you least expect it. And when you actively try to keep him out he'll give you that kicked puppy look and break all your resolve." Her eyes twinkled merrily at the thought.

The new herbology professor appeared to stand down a little after Ignan sated just a small part of her curiosity. It wouldn't do to cause more drama, or induce it, or allow it, one of those or a combination of.

"I suppose I shouldn't be surprised really about your relationship, Tappy does have a habit of forming odd friendships with people." Ignan tried not to take the categorisation of 'odd' to heart too much.

"He's somewhat annoying that way. Always worming his way into your heart when you least expect it. And when you actively try to keep him out he'll give you that kicked puppy look and break all your resolve."

"Yes, I think I know the one." Ignan confirmed, "I imagine he doesn't apply it to me quite as much as he might to his better friends." Putting aside the fact it was often hotly debated as to whether Ignan had a heart to be wormed into at all.

Feeling ever so slightly awkward at how the conversation had switched from accusation to how Tapendra resembled a puppy, Ignan resorted to being polite as far as possible. After all, he'd not only have to work with the woman but also undoubtedly see less of Tapendra due to her. If Tapendra had a pair of eyes he'd be spending a lot more time with Ishane - it was hard not to notice... erhm... she had to be married, only reason... Ignan hadn't caught sight of her hands for rings, and imagined she might also remove them due to her worth with soil.

"Well, welcome to Hogwarts. Were you going to eat with the rest of the staff?" He asked, loosely pointing towards the doors between them and the hall where lunch was very much in swing.

"Well, welcome to Hogwarts. Were you going to eat with the rest of the staff?"

"Yes, I was planning on it. There are a couple of our fellow teachers that I went to school with aside from Tappy and it'll be nice to see them again. We'll some of them at least." She amended. "It's somewhat odd being back here. I haven't been to the school since I graduated," Ishane looked thoughtful, "that's about fifteen years ago now." She laughted, "My how time flies."

She glanced at Ignan curiously, "What is your Alma Mater Professor Storm? Tappy didn't mention it and, no offence, you don't sound like you're from the UK." His accent meant that he was most likely non native, but then again what did she know. She hadn't been in the States long term since she was seven but she still retained a very strong southern drawl on some vowel sounds.

At least she was better than her father, whose sentences regularly fluctuated between his native Texan and the odd British/Indian accent he picked up from her mother with a heavy dash of American slang. It was always fun to watch people try to comprehend what he just said while trying to be polite and save face. Ishane always privately wondered if he was doing most of it on purpose.

"What is your Alma Mater Professor Storm? Tappy didn't mention it and, no offence, you don't sound like you're from the UK."

"Oh, I try, people tell me its improved a lot since I moved here to teach last November." He shrugged pleasantly - he'd grown up to speak in both, but having used German every day with more people it had influenced his accent so much he couldn't shake it.
"Durmstrang, I'm afraid, which is held against me here, especially with the Tetra-Wizard tournament on the horizon. It hasn't even been set and there were accusations Georg and I would be spying for our childhood homes." He smirked as they walked together into the Great Hall.

"Though admittedly, I not only taught there for a number of years before arriving here, but I'm also the son of a former headmaster, so almost impossible to deny any allegiance to the place." He raised an eyebrow. "You have a less than clear cut English accent yourself, might I suggest?"

"Though admittedly, I not only taught there for a number of years before arriving here, but I'm also the son of a former headmaster, so almost impossible to deny any allegiance to the place."

Ishane laughed, "Oh I know that feeling. Both Luthas and I went to Hogwarts but he was a Ravenclaw and I was a Gryffindor and he puts way to much pride in his house. He'll be unlivable for a while if both Tess and Kieran get sorted into Ravenclaw." Ishane flushed as she realized that Storm probably had no idea who those people were. "Oh, sorry, Luthas is my husband and Tessilah and Kieran are our children. You'll see Tess next year, she's starting in the fall."

"You have a less than clear cut English accent yourself, might I suggest?"

"Yes. My father is American, from Texas to be specific, and I spent my early childhood there because of the threat of Voldemort. I picked it up during that time and haven't shaken it since." She started walking towards the great hall entrance and gestured for Ignan to join her. "It probably didn't help that we would visit every summer after I started school."

"Ah I see. And your interest in herbology began when you were a student here?" Ignan asked politely. "Were you the same academic year as Tapendra?" They stepped up onto the raised platform at the front of the great hall where the staff table ran, perpendicular to the four house tables which were already full with students chattering excitedly.

There would usually be some sort of unspoken hierarchy of who sat where at the head of the table, but Ignan noted it was already broken, a huddle of fellow staff members were down one end of the table, for all their conspiracy probably working out a detention plan. The table was punctuated in the middle by Analiza's chair, and the pair of newly introduced Professors took seats before they reached it, continuing the conversation once seated.

He could do polite, though there was incentive if Ishane could damage his friendship with Tapendra due to her longer lived link with the Astronomy professor.

"Ah I see. And your interest in herbology began when you were a student here?"

Ishane smiled, "Actually it started before. My mother owns a large nursery outside of Bristol and she would always have a large garden at home that she would let me help out in. Though it wasn't until I came to Hogwarts that I could narrow down what I wanted specifically to do in the subject." Ishane grabbed a plate and began loading it up. "How about you? Did you always have a desire to teach, or was it forced upon you by your former headmaster of a father?"

"Were you the same academic year as Tapendra?"

Ish nodded, "I was, along with Professor Reed. Basically all of our group of friends were in the same year aside from Tappy's brother-in-law. Luthas, Ryan and Tappy are all best friends and they were utter terrors to whoever picked on Tappy. Graham Bombay was a frequent target," Ishane smirked as she took a drink of pumpkin juice, "wholly his fault though."

"The midget never learned that we wouldn't allow him to talk his nasty pureblood snobbery at Tappy, or about him either. We all spent a decent about of time in detention for it in the beginning. We just got better about being caught afterwards."  Ishane snickered at the memory of Bombay swinging by his skivvies and took another drink. "Prat."