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Post by Michael Blackwood-Hardt on Sept 13, 2018 20:12:14 GMT -5
Michael stood on the beach in a light coat, his arms wrapped tightly around his torso. Perhaps half an hour before he had finished a lecture on the dark arts for the school, and it hadn't taken long for the interest in skills, defense, and technique to devolve into asking him personal questions about his own experiences. He had agreed to do the talk in hopes to expand his influence and help more people, but it seemed that, instead, his appearance had drawn the troublemakers and Death Eater wannabes.
He drew in a sharp, annoyed breath as he looked out over the sea that had become increasingly rough over the past few minutes. Dark clouds were rolling in from the south, and every so often lightning matched cloud to cloud. At this point, he barely heard the resulting thunder, though his short hair ruffled in the breeze that was bringing the storm nearer.
It was simply too soon to head home. No one at the tower wanted to deal with his frustration at being asked yet more questions about his Mark or initiation or personal experiences. He had so much more knowledge to give! And yet, no one seemed interested in it. Perhaps he should visit Skylar to get out some extra energy before going home.
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Post by Caspian Catalyst on Sept 13, 2018 20:34:07 GMT -5
The treeline wasn't far off, little more than mud, dirt, and shivering grass between it and the water. Perched in a sturdy black alder, amber eyes flicked from the coming storm to an unfamiliar man seemingly lost in thought. He'd been about to leave when the man had entered his view, and he couldn't go without saying something.
He moved down a few branches, then leaped to the ground as silently as he could.
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Post by Michael Blackwood-Hardt on Sept 13, 2018 20:49:56 GMT -5
As silently as he could wasn't quite good enough when paired with a former Death Eater who had turned vigilante, especially one whose nerves were already tight after being subjected to the onslaught of questioning only university students could give. Before he was truly aware of it, Michael had flicked his wrist to release his wand into his waiting hand. He held it pointed toward the sound.
"Show yourself," he said, his voice calmer than he felt with his tense nerves. At least he had experience dealing with tense situations. It would take only a heartbeat to throw up a shield if necessary.
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Post by Caspian Catalyst on Sept 13, 2018 21:02:16 GMT -5
The leopard paused, then stepped out of the brush, head lowered, eyes bright and aware. Its tail made slow, wide swishes, and though it had no fear of this man in particular, anyone who'd pull a wand so quickly had tightly-wound nerves and could be dangerous.
Cat stopped, and very slowly, sat. I'm harmless. And obviously an animagus, because leopards do not roam free in English forests. He'd wait to change forms until the guy looked less like cursing him into oblivion.
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Post by Michael Blackwood-Hardt on Sept 13, 2018 21:10:28 GMT -5
Michael held his wand aloft for some moments before he finally lowered it, though he didn't stash it away. "Bad idea to sneak up on someone like that," he said. Hadn't he heard something about an animagus professor? The entire idea of a graduate student was foreign to him, and so it was difficult to conceptualize, much less apply to this situation.
"Show yourself," he repeated, though with a different intention than before. "I'm not in the mood for games." He might have been more accepting of them before, but being questioned, even by well-meaning students, wore on him. It was one of the reasons he had started putting his Mark in his lesson plans to begin with.
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Post by Caspian Catalyst on Sept 13, 2018 21:20:40 GMT -5
The leopard held up one large paw, a gesture that, in human form, asked for patience. Then he began the shift, fur retracting, limbs lengthening, spots fading to just a few key areas of his tattooed form. He looked down a moment to get his bearings, hand still up, then cleared his throat.
"Sorry, I know it's rude but it's a lot faster out of the tree that way. And I didn't sneak up on you. I've been here for hours." He finally looked up at the man, then pushed to stand. "I'm unarmed," he said. Well, he had his wand, but it was tucked into a wand pocket down his leg. He was at an obvious disadvantage.
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Post by Michael Blackwood-Hardt on Sept 13, 2018 21:34:44 GMT -5
Michael stared at the man, then nodded. "If I don't know you're there and then you're there, it at least kind of counts as sneaking," he pointed out as he tucked his wand away again. "I'm sorry, I get a little defensive sometimes." It must be somewhat safe on an island with a school where he had been invited to give a lesson. He refused to think about how good-looking the guy was.
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Post by Caspian Catalyst on Sept 13, 2018 21:58:27 GMT -5
Cat arched a brow at the guy's insistence he was a sneak, but the apology smoothed things over and he let it all go.
"New student or visitor?" he asked. The guy was older than most of the incoming freshies, but that didn't mean anything. "Not that I know everyone, but I'd remember you." Hair that deep red, striking features, and that aura of power were far too interesting to forget. Cat decided firmly on visitor.
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Post by Michael Blackwood-Hardt on Sept 13, 2018 22:06:24 GMT -5
"Visitor," Michael said. He couldn't help the sweep of his eyes from the guy's eyes down, then up to meet them again. Perhaps he had spent too much time around Dare's friends. "I was the guest lecturer for Defense." In Michael's experience, it didn't take much for people to recognize him, either by sight or name. It would be rude for him not to introduce himself. He held back a sigh, then extended a hand.
"Michael Blackwood-Hardt," he said. "I teach at Hogwarts. I've yet to see a student do such a successful transformation." It was the truth, and it never hurt to provide a compliment for the other person.
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Post by Caspian Catalyst on Sept 13, 2018 22:17:53 GMT -5
Cat's brow arched again as he took Michael's hand in a firm shake. He'd seen that look-up. Of course, he'd given his own only moments earlier. "Thanks. I've got a few years' experience," he said offhandedly. "Caspian Catalyst," he added, "but people call me Cat."
Blackwood-Hardt. That was a name Cat knew from Cauldron, of all places, and though Cat had taken his Defense classes years ago, the connection was enough for his memory to kick in. "How bad was the lecture?" University students loved their lecturers, for the most part, but with Michael's colorful history, Cat could only imagine.
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Post by Michael Blackwood-Hardt on Sept 14, 2018 9:53:07 GMT -5
Michael's lips had curved slightly at the man's nickname even as his mind instantly drew connections. Over the past few years of rejoining Society, he'd gotten much better at doing so on the fly. Catalyst. There was Castiel, and the woman who had come to balls with both Eros and the younger Catalyst, a woman Dare knew. And they were the couple Lani was still staying with after so long.
"It went well until the questions," he admitted with a touch of bitterness. He'd naively hoped that the university would be far enough away that he could get by on his abilities rather than his past. Well, he'd known it was a stupid hope from the start. "I'd assumed older students would be more mature about things than those at Hogwarts."
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Post by Caspian Catalyst on Sept 14, 2018 12:33:48 GMT -5
"Wishful thinking," Cat said, lips quirking. He glanced past Michael to the rapidly darkening sky. "Walk with me?" he suggested. "This is going to be a hell of a storm." And that was why he was talking to the guy to begin with. It had been a good idea.
"There aren't a lot of retired Death Eaters," he went on. "A lot of people here are just getting into politics, and everyone reads that magazine, it was a chance they weren't passing up." Cat had seen and felt that danger, if only for a short time, or he might not have believed it.
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Post by Michael Blackwood-Hardt on Sept 14, 2018 14:27:42 GMT -5
Michael debated for a moment before agreeing to turn and walk with Cat. "I wouldn't mind speaking on the Death Eaters," he said. "I'm not exactly private about it." Not that he could be when, as Cat had pointed out, his life had been plastered across a magazine and a newspaper for the world to see. Of course he knew, logically, that people were interested in his life, but, aside from classes, he was usually around people who knew him well enough that it wasn't a novelty anymore. Or around people who feared or respected his power enough not to pry, if he were completely honest with himself.
"You would think they would take that chance to suck as much information about the dark arts from me as possible," he continued. "That's the important information for a defense lecture, not how I joined or left." He glanced toward his companion, though he quickly pulled his eyes away again. He really shouldn't acknowledge the man's looks. It wasn't like he looked at every tattooed, pierced man. Skylar, for one.
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Post by Caspian Catalyst on Sept 14, 2018 18:02:55 GMT -5
"You should give a lecture about the Death Eaters, then," Cat said. "You can find stuff about dark magic in books, but reading about Death Eaters is not the same as hearing from someone who used to be one. No one talks about that sh~." Cat had learned more about the Death Eaters at VU than he'd ever learned at school in the U.S. and though he got the significance of it all now, Death Eaters didn't tend to talk about things they could probably get killed for talking about.
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Post by Michael Blackwood-Hardt on Sept 14, 2018 18:48:09 GMT -5
"Can you blame us?" Michael asked as he looked over at Cat again. "If we've left, we've got a damn good reason for doing so. It takes a hell of a lot of preparation to talk about it. You can't just spring it on someone!" He stopped walking, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. It wouldn't do any good to let himself get worked up around someone who didn't know him.
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