"Sir?" 

Sasha closed the door to Professor Trishna's office behind him and awkwardly brushed at the non-existent wrinkles on the front of his shirt.  The awkwardness he'd felt when he first saw the Astronomy professor step into the Ravenclaw common room had followed him up the stairs to the Astronomy tower.  He had yet to put his finger on the exact source of the awkwardness but recent events had certainly attributed to it. 

The man had only been at Hogwarts and, therefore, in Sasha's life for a few months but, even so, he'd somehow managed to be around Sasha at those times when he'd been at his lowest and most vulnerable: when he'd been found with Ava and the night he'd returned to the Ministry.  Professor Trishna knew proportionately more about Sasha than he should, given how much time they'd actually spent in each other's company.  With the exception of Fergie, Professor Trishna, perhaps, knew more about where Sasha had been and where he was now than anyone else at the school. 

In some ways, Sasha felt relieved to know there was someone at school that really understood.  Who had some understanding of where he'd been and was willing to be open minded about how that impacted where he wanted to go.  In some ways, the man had established himself as someone Sasha trusted as a confidant.  But, he was still a professor.  He understood (or believed he understood) the rules and dynamics when interacting with professors.  And, the only other professor Sasha had trusted beyond the role of educator had been Professor Greyfriar.  When Sasha had turned to find Professor Trishna standing behind him in Ravenclaw Tower, Sasha had found himself at a complete and utter loss as to how he was supposed to interact with the man. 

He chewed his lip, slightly, and shifted his weight on his feet.  "Sir.  I wanted to thank you.  For, you know, earlier today.  And ... last month.  And ... everything."  That, at least, seemed like a start.  Where he was supposed to go from here, he didn't quite know.

Tapendra looked up, having been halfway out of his chair, hand reaching for the record player. It was after dinner, his own dinner sat nearby on the desk, half-eaten, and he'd been about to settle in to write, as the typewriter on the desk attested. His office was its usual mess of paperwork in piles; barely organised chaos. It always seemed to be on the brink of either total collapse or finally becoming clean.

"Sasha," he said, sitting down again, surprised. He composed himself as best he could, adjusting the neck of his black turtleneck sweater. Had another student been there he might have corrected himself, and used the boy's family name; but with just the two of them, he didn't bother.

He did feel a bit bad he hadn't seen the boy on the 2nd, but he'd been...distracted. That was the best term for it. He and Ignan had both been distracted, which was why both their classrooms had been blocked off and Tapendra had woken up this morning with another hangover. Sometimes, a Time Turner would be just so convenient...

Tapendra blinked at Sasha's words, but finally smiled, the sunny expression covering his confusion. "No problem, Sasha," he said, though this was one of those vaguely awkward moments were there was a lot to be said and few few words to say it in. "Is something wrong?" He added, his smile turning slightly worried.

It was apparent, as the professor lowered himself back in the chair, that Sasha had taken Professor Trishna by surprise.  Warmth rose in Sasha's cheeks as the young man cast a quick glance around the room, as if somewhere amidst the clutter of papers and such Sasha would find some viable excuse for the unexpected visit.  There was no clear, concise explanation, though.  Not, at least, beyond the truth - Sasha had just felt the need to come.  It certainly wasn't the type of complete and thorough answer that the typical Ravenclaw was proud of. 

He glanced around the room, again, this time hoping to find some house elf or something standing in the corner with a directional cue card that could advise him to ask about any homework he might have missed in the last week and leave or sit and discuss...what?  There was the superficial topic of his future.  But, that was very much tied to everything else. 

Professor Trishna's question startled Sasha though, given his own awkwardness, in hindsight the question was probably legitimate.  "I don't think so," Sasha answered, shaking his head.  "I mean, I feel like I'm still trying to find my place in everything.  I know that doesn't make sense but-"  He took a deep breath and nodded.  "I'm sorry.  I know I probably should have made an appointment.  I can come back another time, if you're busy.  But, I just - I missed the career planning week after the fair and - I guess I'm trying to figure everything out."  And, he had a month in which to do so. 

"I'm not busy," Tapendra said with a wave of his hand and a glance at his typewriter. Well, not that busy. He shuffled his things, moving the heavy typewriter aside and folding his arms on the desk, inclining his head towards the small couch across from him to give Sasha the go ahead to sit.

"We never really got into the actual counselling I was supposed to have done, did we?" He asked, and flushed slightly. The topic had rather quickly changed, though on reflection he was glad it had. He wasn't quite sure what Sasha would have done on the 9th otherwise, but he was glad that issue hadn't come up.

"Since you've missed the week in question, you might be lucky," he said with a smile. "I technically have more time to counsel you, as it turns out." Given Sasha's likely preferences, that was probably a good thing. He had a feeling a lot of letters were going to get written to him and by him to get all this figured out.

Sasha wasn't sure how truthful Professor Trishna was being but, regardless, he recognized the invitation for what it was.  He nodded slightly with a grateful smile and took a seat on the offered couch. 

He dismissed Professor Trishna's comments on their previous discussion with a shake of his head.  "I wasn't really thinking about classes much, then."  Even if they'd managed to stay on topic, Sasha wasn't sure how helpful it really would have been.  Until the whole ordeal with the WCU could have been put behind him, there wasn't much room to consider the details of the future.  And, in hindsight, Sasha had gathered that preparing for NEWT level classes hadn't been the primary reason for Professor Trishna's visit.

Sasha forced himself to shift further back on the couch, trying to at least achieve comfortable and relaxed position.  Maybe, the frame of mind would follow.  "So, I missed the counseling rush, then?"  He asked, grinning slightly.  "I suppose it does pay to be late sometimes.  Not that I plan on being late regularly.  Or at all.  Nevermind."  Sasha reminded himself not everyone was as dense when it came to recognizing tongue-in-cheek comments.  "What were you going to listen to?" he asked as he fished in his pocket for his copy of his educational transcripts[1]. 

He handed both over to Professor Trishna though, even as he did, it occurred to him that now that the man was his head of house, he had his own access to the information.  For Hogwarts, at least.  He doubted Hogwarts kept the other stuff. 

"The UK phased out official stage three examinations last year.  So, officially, I'm actually not at all behind.  If I can find a way to take my level four exams ... after OWLs?"  With any other professor, he wouldn't have even considered bringing up the idea.  "I could keep on track.  I brought prep workbooks back with me, too."

He could sleep over the summer.

1.	Transcripts

"Understandably so," he said, taking the transcripts and thumbing through them. He'd seen them before - in fact, his copies sat less than 8 inches from his left knee, deep in his desks's drawers - but this certainly saved the hassle of digging them out. He glanced at the record and flushed. "The Beatles." His smile was slightly sheepish, and he shrugged, looking at the transcripts again. The muggles ones he didn't have, so Sasha bringing them along was actually quite convenient.

"You fenced?" He asked on reflex, smiling slightly. He'd tried, once, at Luthas's behest. His most vivid memory involved him fumbling his foil and walloping himself in the ear, which had put a quick end to that; he hadn't been bad, apparently, but he certainly hadn't tried it again. An embarrassing memory, admittedly, but that also saved him from having to try and imagine Sasha acting, because part of him suspected the poor boy was horrible at it.

"You do seem to be fairly in order, muggle schooling wise. You're up to speed on your math, certainly." He pressed his lips together thoughtfully, putting the papers down. "We'll have to figure out how you'll take your GCSEs. You'll probably have to sit them in June, or this month..."

He frowned. "Your stable hand is now your legal Guardian, right?"

Sasha blushed and shrugged, shifting slightly on the couch.  "I - yeah?"  He fenced.  Didn't mean he'd been any good at it.  And, he certainly hadn't done any since leaving Ethelburga's.  "They kept telling me I had to do something other than ride.  My father - well, stepfather - thought it was appropriately ... noble.  I wasn't really fond of it.  I prefer dressage attire to those ... suits."  Those helmets weren't exactly becoming.  Sasha subconsciously ran his fingers through his hair. 

"I think so," Sasha confirmed.  "Given what I saw with my classmates back in London, math shouldn't be a problem.  And, I like science.  Lab work is, really, the only area I'm lacking in and there isn't a whole lot I can do about that here.  I don't think that comes up on the GCSEs much, though.  Modern foreign languages will be easy - there's seven subjects there.  I could probably fair alright with European literature." 

Sitting them this month, though...

Sasha's eyes widened a moment but then he nodded.  It would make his first bit back quite crazy but, "-then, the rest of the month and the start of June could just be spent focusing on getting ready for OWLs.  I - if that's possible to do.  I could manage it."  Could Professor Trishna proctor the exams?  he was a Professor in the muggle world.  Or, would they let him take them some place nearby in Scotland?  Not that distances were an issue to wizards. 

"Ja.  Wilhelm's my guardian.  And, supervises the trust.  Legal decisions are made with him and the lawyers."

"Hah. I tried it once." He made a crashing and burning gesture. "Turns out I'd better stick to my wand, when it comes to duels..."

He shuffled the transcripts, eyes running down the lines of grades, classes and clubs. Sasha's stepfather must have been terrifying indeed, he thought. Even  the students most obsessed with status or hard work didn't do this much; he had the mental image of terror driving most of this. Given Sasha's myriad of issues...

"I'll have to write to him." He stroked his beard. "I might be able to proctor the exam for you, which would make things easier." He smiled, but it was a tad sad, "I don't think Snark would let you repeatedly leave campus to sit a muggle exam, so that might be the only way. Otherwise, you might have to wait 2 years..."

Not that he could imagine Sasha being able to stand that thought. "I'll write to George, see what he says. Hopefully, if I can proctor, we can get everything lined up this month. If I can proctor them anytime, we could wait til summer, if you wanted."

"I ... you-"  Sasha blinked as he looked at Professor Trishna before a grin spread slowly across his face.  He tried not to laugh but wasn't entirely successful - what laugh did emerge he tried to cover by clearing his throat.  "If flames were really involved, it had to have been a bad match." 

Sasha took a deep breath and muttered a quiet, "Sorry, sir," before turning his attention to exams and grades. 

"Write Wilhelm?"  Sasha asked.  He supposed it made sense.  He just couldn't help wondering if Wilhelm ever suspected accepting letters from wizarding schools would one day become one of his job duties when he'd first agreed to work for Gerhard.  Of course, he probably didn't.  Such an idea was ludicrous.  And, yet, here they were. 

He shook his head, his lips pursed briefly like he'd eaten something slightly rotten.  "I don't want to wait two years.  That's when I should be preparing for A-Levels."  Waiting two years would put him two years behind schedule.  The schedule that had been put in place long before he'd arrived at Hogwarts.  "And, NEWTs, of course.  But, waiting would mean I would be at least twenty before I applied to university." 

"If that's the route I went," Sasha added for good measure, a little uncertainly.  "I don't want to wait until summer, though.  I want ... I kind of want to just, you know, have a summer vacation.  I've never actually had one - my parents already had summers pretty fully planned out with 'career-building' obligations."  And, given everything that had happened, he wanted summer to be summer. 

Even if he was planning on attending classes with Abby and continuing with his show circuit.  At least, he'd be doing both at his own pace. 

Tapendra looked at Sasha in surprise and then grinned, laughing. "It wasn't that bad! I was just a danger to myself and not one to others, which is the opposite of what you want to be in fencing, from what I understand."

He waved a hand to indicate no apology was needed, stacking Sasha's muggle papers to one side and looking at his Hogwarts ones thoughtfully.

"I didn't expect you would," he said, as he looked with a frown at Sasha's disciplinary record. Not that his own was stainless, but...he looked up at the mention of summer, and smiled encouragingly.

"That's the ticket," he said, beaming. "I'll see what I can do about the GCSEs. I'll write letters tonight and let you know what comes back, though I likely won't know until Monday or Tuesday." He shrugged. "If anything, we can try to arrange it so you take them at the very end of the summer, so you have at least one month off..."

He turned Sasha's class schedule towards him. "As for what we can do today - as I said on the 7th, I'd recommend dropping a class or two. You don't have to," he added, with a quick and only slightly nervous adjust of his glasses. "But, well. Sleeping every now and then is a good idea, no?"

"Oh," Sasha said, still grinning.  He hadn't really been that much better at fencing himself.  He couldn't stop himself from flinching every time his opponent had gone for a jab.  Of course, he'd also been nine.  "Riding was really the only thing I was ever good at.  Which, at least I enjoy it." 

Now, that jousting reenactment stuff.  That was a different story.  Though he'd never admit it, he'd always watched the tournament longingly whenever he got to go to the one in Kaltenberger[1]. 

Even as Professor Trishna's voice trailed off, Sasha gave his head a small, subtle shake.  Professor Trishna had probably come to the obvious conclusion on his own.  If GCSEs were going to be at the end of summer, there'd be no month off.  He'd been in classes.  Or with tutors.  Getting prepared. 

"I don't?"  Sasha looked up.  "They won't force me to drop any?"  Sure, he'd consider the possibility of finding a class to drop but it was a bit of a relief to know he wouldn't have to if he couldn't decide on one.  He shrugged off the question about sleep.  He did well enough on what he got. 

"I just don't know how to go about deciding what I'll need.  I can find reasons why I'd use the material in each of my classes.  Charms and Transfiguration seem like givens.  As do Runes, Arithmancy and Creatures.  Herbology, History, Potions.  Your class is the closest to anything outside of Hogwarts.  And, I probably don't need the material in Muggle Studies but if I end up doing anything in that field, they'll probably expect the NEWT.  Academically, Defense would probably be the first thing I'd consider dropping.  But - I ... that doesn't seem like a good idea."  Given his luck, he probably should stick with the class.  If for no other reason than to actually learn some defensive stuff that he hadn't mastered from Kronos.

1.	Kaltenberger Ritterturnier

Tapendra's gaze caught the subtle shake, and he smiled encouragingly. "We'll figure something out - if anything, you can sit them in the fall, next school year..."

He looked at Sasha's grades, hand coming up to stroke his beard as he considered, shuffling the parchments. "Well," he said, pausing as he considered his words. "They'll only force you to drop if you don't pass the test, but I really don't think you'll have that problem." Unlike him. Transfiguration and Herbology had been very close calls.  "Each teacher can decide what counts as a fail grade-wise, though. You can pass your OWL and not be allowed to continue because the teacher only wants the students who got Outstandings."

He wasn't too keen on Sasha dropping Defense, either, largely for the same reasons Sasha wanted to keep it. He made a 'hrm' sound, and sat back in his chair, one leg crossed over his knee and his arms on his belly. "You can drop a class in 6th year, or even in early 7th, it's just not recommended." He chuckled; he'd known what he wanted to do at that point, true, but half his friends had still not been concrete on an idea.

"Wizards seem to expect you all to know what you want to be already. Seems a bit early, honestly. But...what do you want to do, Sasha? Even if you have a ballpark idea..."

Next fall was better than the end of summer.  And certainly much better than two years from now.  It wasn't ideal but it was something he could live with.  "I - alright.  I could do them in the fall, if necessary." 

"And, we may not know what each professor will require before the new year?"  Sasha's eyes widened, briefly, at that thought.  If he didn't know which professor would expect Os and which would settle for As or Es, the need to get Os across the board was all the greater.  If the thought of OWLs hadn't been stressful before, they certainly were now.  "Scheiße.  Sorry.  So - in order to really be able to continue with all my classes ... or be able to chose which ones to continue with - I've really got to ace them all?" 

He stared at the desk in front of him, trying to picture preparing for OWLs, deciding and starting on NEWTs, preparing for third tier GCSEs and, after that A-Levels and his eyes grew wide for a brief moment.  "This isn't going to be easy." 

"Sir," Sasha said after swallowing.  "I've heard rumors that, you know, in rare occasions, there are ways for students to ... well, get more time in the day for ... everything?"  The overachievers of Hogwarts were well known - especially amongst the Ravenclaws.  (That many of them seemed to have somehow ended up in Gryffindor was a bit of a sore point, as well.)  "I ... how ... would that be an option?"

"I have a few ideas," Sasha admitted.  His meeting with Kronos had given him a few other ideas as well.  But, he wasn't exactly eager to share those.  "I've really liked interning with the Department of International Magical Cooperation.  I kind of like the political ... well, mind games.  But - I -" 

He had to remember that, of all the professors, Professor Trishna was the one most likely to understand this perspective.  "I really want to find a way to use both the muggle and wizarding stuff.  I don't know.  I don't really ... like I said - when I study, I try to group subjects that seem somewhat equatable.  Like potions and chemistry.  I imagine psychology and divination are ... well, divination is the branch of magic that works directly with brain function it seems.  I know they say there's a clear division between the two - I just have a hard time believing it's really that simple.  I think there's more to it." 

Tapendra nodded. "I'll write the letters, get things started. I'll have to go with you, I expect - if Hogwarts lets you go at all. If anything, we can fake something. Legal trouble or the like." His hint of a devilish smile was brief, and he reached forward and picked up the paper stack, resting the butt of the papers on his stomach.

"It's not exactly a perfect system. You're a prefect and you're reputed around the school as everyone's star student; I'm  pretty sure you'd get an exception. Just do your best. Very few teachers require only the O students, Sasha. They just cut out the As and the failing grades." He looked up and gave him a sympathetic gaze. "Don't worry about your GCSEs. Just focus on your OWLs. Study in a group for spellwork." He paused. "If you can't find anyone you feel safe practicing your spellwork with, for whatever reason, let me know."

He'd re-stacked the papers as Sasha continued, looking up confused until realization dawned.

"A time-turner, you mean...?" He asked, doubtfully. "They require committee decisions, signatures from the headmistress, me and other teachers...and then the Ministry makes the call. I don't think you have a chance in hell, if you'll pardon my French. The Ministry also lost their supply in the war, so they're even stricter now..." Francis rarely seemed to have to hand any out expect to Ministry officials, anyhow.

He shook his head. "Best to budget your time as best you can and cut anything you truly don't need. "

Sasha's goals were indeed vague, though he knew what the boy meant. He pursed his lips. "Hm." He smiled slightly. "I can put you in contact with some of my...group, I suppose you'd call it. This might sound narcissistic, but have you ever read any of my books or articles?"

Running his hands through his hair, he looked a tad sheepish. "We do a lot of writing about, well, things like that. The Physiology of Divination, magical culture, that kind of stuff."

Sasha nodded his head, trying not to let his slight grin falter too much.  He doubted giving him leave to go take muggle exams would be high on the list of the school's priorities.  Faking legal trouble was an option but, given his luck, they'd find out.  "I know Wilhelm would give me permission.  Even if he's kind of leery of the owls.  And, perhaps, since you're asking as a professor, it might make all the difference." 

A blush flared onto Sasha's cheeks and he shrugged, bashfully.  Gracious acceptance of compliments had never been his strong suit and he found himself at a complete loss as to what to do with the claim he was 'everyone's' star student.  In the absence of a gracious response, Sasha shrugged and attempted to find a fault in the man's logic that would prove the embarrassment unnecessary.  "Even if Professor Storm had star students, I doubt I'm one of them."  All Sasha could hope for on that front was that his months of tutoring sessions had undone any damage cursing Knight might have caused. 

"If you can't find anyone you feel safe practicing your spellwork with, for whatever reason, let me know."

"For their sake or my own?" Sasha asked, trying to sound casual.  The biggest obstacles between him and a full set of OWLS was, no doubt, Divination and spellwork.  And, Professor Trishna was right: study groups would be the best thing for that.  "I think I can find a couple people.  Figaro.  Peyton.  Percy."  Essentially, the fifth years that had been at the party a few moments ago.

Sasha couldn't help but deflate in disappointment.  It did sounds like quite a long shot.  But ... a long shot.  Not entirely, completely impossible.  Almost as quickly, he sat up straight, again.  "I think I might be able to get Madam Snark to sign it.  And, I assume getting professors to do so wouldn't be that hard, right?  And, I've got connections in the Ministry now - I've been there regularly the last few months.  It might be unlikely but it definitely won't happen if I don't try, right?"

He shook his head, confirming he hadn't read any or Professor Trishna's work.  That, of course, had more to do with his being almost entirely cut off from the wizarding world outside of school than anything else.  "I'd like that," he confirmed.  "Group?  Are there a lot of people who do this?  Are they mostly at universities like you were or are they with the Ministry?"