Fanged Geraniums

[Aeon Summers]

It was a new school year, and with new years came plenty of fresh starts for students and staff alike. This year, Aeon decided to branch out and build up new relationships with colleagues he'd never given a chance to get to know. Certainly, there were a few he already knew he wouldn't get along with too well, even if he tried, but there were a handful he hadn't attempted to have a proper discussion with yet.

So naturally Styx was one of the first he was extending the hand of friendship to. It was always odd to think he was now working with his previous Herbology teacher, and as much as he'd wanted to re-enact the pranks of his youth against the man for old time's sake, he'd refrained from doing so. Still, the temptation was there. It was difficult not to feel like a student next to him, and he hoped that actually talking to him would alleviate the feeling somewhat.

Arriving at the door to Kalif's office, with a brightly coloured magical flower nestled in a clay pot under his arm, the transfiguration professor gave the foreboding door three loud knocks, and waited with a cheerful grin for a response.
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[Professor Kalif Styx]

With the new school year already beginning, and Kalif returning to his office while looking over his copy of the family tree. He studied it carefully, looking at those that recently died, and whatnot. He took out a sheet of parchment, before writing down some names, all in his native tongue when he heard a knock at his closed door. Not just one, but three, and loud. Each was like a drum in his office, as the sounds echoed in his silence. Sighing, Kalif waved at the door as he finished one of the names, and looked to see that it was not a student. It was another professor. And Aeon Summers did not have a student with him, but a plant instead. Kalif didn't say a word, figuring that Aeon would definitely talk about what he was doing here without having to ask.​

 

[Aeon Summers]

The door was magically waved open, and Aeon quickly stepped into the room in case it was closed on him again, his eyes wandering around Styx's office. It didn't seem much different from when he was a student, recalling the time he was given a detention all those years ago for dropping pink paint on the then-Herbology professor. Good times. The room retained its dark, gloomy appearance, and it was no wonder the old man seemed so angry all the time. There was absolutely no feng-shui here. "Kalif, hey! Good to see you're in. How were your Winter holidays?" The Transfiguration professor asked, helping himself to one of Kalif's seats. As soon as he sat down, he felt the odd sense that he was in trouble, or guilty of something, but he quickly shook it off. He wasn't a student anymore, and the older man wasn't his professor.

Lifting up the clay pot he carried with him, Summers set it down onto Styx's desk. At first glance, it contained a beautiful, though perhaps slightly large geranium. Upon closer inspection however, it revealed that the plant had a set of teeth, and moved about every so often. It also seemed a little...wilted, upon entering the office, but Aeon was sure it was just a trick of the light, and the gothic vibes. "My holidays were great. Took the kids do a Herbology fair and saw this gorgeous flower, which reminded me of you. I don't know why." It was the fangs. Definitely the fangs. "Maybe it's because you taught me Herbology. So I thought, "maybe I'll get that for Kalif! He'll love it!", and now here we are. I figure it might be nice to really brighten up this office, you know? Add a splash of colour."
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[Professor Kalif Styx]

Kalif put his quill down, knowing that he would not be able to get anything done. He reached for his cup and sipped it, while eyeing the man that just continued talking and talking. Aeon asked him how his holidays were, before going on and on. He even invited himself to sit down in front of him. While he held his cup to his lips, his eyes narrowed when he saw the color of Aeon's. Remarkable. He lowered the cup, and looked at the picture of his wife that he had at his desk. The shade matched. He ignored the plant that seemed to wilt the longer it was in here. Kalif put down the cup and leaned against the chair before folding his arms across his chest. "That plant would do better in a greenhouse. But, are you done?" Kalif raised an eyebrow, before wondering if the man would have anything else to say. But that eye color was uncanny. Why was he not aware of this. From what he knew, the kid's mother was the headmistress, but his father. "Actually, before you leave, who's your father?"​

 

[Aeon Summers]

Aeon kept his smile up, despite Kalif being so typically...himself. He really wanted to know why, even as they were both grown adults, he kept up this cold, stern exterior. What was his damage? Who hurt him? Waving away the greenhouse comment, he continued. "I'm sure the greenhouse has enough flowers. Besides, if you opened a curtain once in a while to let some light in, it'll be just fine. It might even intimidate some of the students. Not that you'd need it..." Really, the older wizard needed something beautiful in his life, and Aeon wasn't about to leave with the gift he was giving away. Instead, he was surprised to be asked about his father, though Kalif wasn't the first person to do so since Katherine's colour-changing charm had worn off from his eyes. Unnatural eye colours weren't exactly too uncommon in the wizarding world, whether by magic or just wizarding biology. Even the school's prior head girl had red eyes. Of course Aeon hadn't expected to wake up with a completely different colour one day, and a whole dramatic backstory behind it, but it was something of the norm at Hogwarts New Zealand. "My father? He's just the Deputy Minister of Magic. Why do you ask? Are we somehow secretly related like everyone else here? Let me tell you, I've had enough secret family members for a lifetime." The animagus responded, getting a little more comfortable in his seat, expecting some juicy tidbit of information. Nothing was really surprising anymore.
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[Professor Kalif Styx]

Kalif rolled his eyes somewhat at the comment, but he continued to be a little more fascinated with the fact that he was related to the Hensel/Matthias family, depending on which one was using which name. Kalif sighed, and turned the photo of his wife sporting the same color of eyes. He shook his head, "Not to me, thankfully. You are related to my wife, though. Mikhail is her brother, or cousin, I don't remember nor do I care. Explains the transfiguration and animagus trait." Kalif wasn't a fan of the animagi, but they were skilled, he would give them that. Kalif turned his photo back around, and shrugged his shoulders, noticing that he was just comfortable. "As well as a few other annoying traits." Aeon reminded him of his wife, and how talkative she could be, especially back in her younger days. Kalif was a little annoyed, but since Aeon was a Hensel or a Matthias, whatever the case, at least he was family - to his wife, not to him.​

 

[Aeon Summers]

Aeon had been mostly joking about the relation, but he couldn't say he was surprised when Kalif said he was related to someone else, and in an indirect way, Kalif himself. It was probably that time of the week to update the family tree again. He couldn't keep up with the amount of people he knew who were his cousins three times removed or someone who was married to another relative he knew of. The wizarding community was small, far so in comparison to the muggle race, but it was times like this that really made him realise how few of them there were in the world. Yet, despite how large the earth was, so many of them were attracted to New Zealand in recent years, ever since the school had been erected. It was strange to think about - there were so many other schools in other countries, and even the original Hogwarts should have been more popular, given its famous history, yet people across the world were coming here.

Leaning forward to look at the moving picture Kalif was showing to him, Aeon grinned. "Thankfully? You'll warm up to me eventually." He responded, taking in the similarities between the man's wife and his own father. "I don't think Mikhail - dad - mentioned a sister. I guess that makes her my second cousin?" He questioned aloud, not that Kalif cared, as he had said, but more for himself to hear. The comment on transfiguration proficiency interested him. He'd only ever heard about his mothers side of the family, and their history. Seers and animagi. He was glad he'd at least picked up on one of the skills. "Must be why I take to it so naturally. I'm a descendant of Falco Aesalon on my mothers side, the first recorded animagus. Don't mean to brag but, you know." He shrugged. No point in having a cool ancestor if you couldn't name drop them at any given chance. It was just a shame he was too ancient for it to be easily recognizable in modern times. "Does that mean your wife is one, too? What can she change into?" ​

 

[Professor Kalif Styx]

Of course, Mikhail wouldn't mention sisters, or much of his family. With Zannon in Azkaban, Arman in leagues with the dark community, as well as a bloody history with many of his siblings hung by a deranged muggle-born that Kalif himself disposed of when he saw him to be a threat to his family. He pointed out sternly, "Best not ask into the Matthias and Hensel history. Mikhail, like the rest, won't talk about it." Kalif knew far too much and honestly, was not a fan. But his wife was someone that he deeply cared for, so he was not about to leave her for her past. It was not her fault. Kalif did have to refrain from rolling his eyes when Aeon boasted about his relations. So, he did not comment on it, mainly because he did not care about Aeon's mother's family relations. He had his own to worry about. He gave a curt nod, "A white cat." It was obvious that with the tone he used, Kalif hated cats. But then again, he hated most animals.
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