The Price of Information (Tag: Eirina Naer)

Dein had been sitting on a window sill in the hall for an hour since he'd gotten there. At first, it was to catch his breath, collect his thoughts. But then, it was to ponder upon just what it was he was here for. It was a very delicate matter, attempting to figure out such an enigma, without harming his chances in the process. He couldn't give Eirina the information he carried in the process of trying to find out if it was something she already had. Quite a tricky riddle indeed.

Finally, he unpinned his prefect badge from his robes, and turned it over, again and again, in his hand. The act was playing itself in his mind, and he gave a small smile. One that soon turned to anger, as he got up and walked over to the Gargoyle.

"I need to speak with the Headmistress." His tone was not too tense, yet not overly kind either. He was being sure to balance it out, until he reached Naer. The gargoyle would not let him in otherwise. He had to play off his sense of urgency, and tinge of what professionalism he had.

Grumpily, the gargoyle moved aside to reveal Eirina, her hair once up, but through the progress of the day messy strands of madness had fallen everywhere. Her makeup was slightly smeared from where she had rubbed her eyes, and she had her glasses on.

At this point in the evening, Eirina had nearly quit doing her work, and instead was walking around her office, convincing herself that she was doing something when the only progress she was making was in her head. On a normal day, she'd be quitting within the next two hours and find herself heading to bed.

"Headmistress?" Dein's initial response was a recoil, a reaction he stifled quickly. He wouldn't fall short simply because the woman was having a bad day. Still, he looked her over, taking in her absolutely broken down appearance. He did stow a bit of unnecessary rage, but that was all the grace he bestowed.

"Should I come another time?" He asked bluntly as he shoved his hands into his pockets, concealing his badge. Though his words were charitable, they held no pity. "You appear... distressed."

Eirina paused in her step, and felt all of the hair in her face, quickly taking it down and throwing it back up. She rubbed her fingers around her eyes, erasing all of her makeup mistakes that she had created throughout her day. It took her seconds to erase almost everything, the only thing that she couldn't rid of was the slight red of her eyes, not that it was very noticable.

She took off her glasses, "No, you're fine, take a seat," she spoke as she went back around her desk, taking a seat. There were few papers on her desk, compared to the past where papers were piled in huge stacks upon her desk. Either she was getting less work, or she was getting it done.

Dein gave a curt nod of acknowledgment, as he stepped in and took his seat across from her desk. He took a moment to look around the office, never having set foot inside before. Perhaps he was simply avoiding the person he came here to see, but never the less, he wasted no further of her time.

"I don't want this anymore." He said as he withdrew the badge from his pocket and sat it on her desk. He then sat back, studying her closely. How could she share blood with him? It seemed such a foreign idea now, causing him to go silent, and rigid. He was looking for any signs of further acknowledgment. More acknowledgment than just a regular student.

Eirina took the badge in her hand, stared at it, and then put it right back down where Dein had placed it. He didn't want to be prefect, and for a Slytherin, if she were to stereotype, that was typical.

"Why don't you want it?" The idea of having power was great, sure, but in recent years it meant something different. Teacher's pet, the undesirable of the Slytherin pact, so on. But Eirina had a feeling that he wasn't giving it up for those reasons.

"It is a burden, Headmistress." Dein said sternly, before turning his gaze away, "I have far too much on my mind already. I don't need cause for added stress. You understand, yes?" He said as he glanced back, knowing just by the sight of her when he walked in, that stress was something she was well acquainted with.

If she had been paying attention to his studies, she would know that classes could not be the only thing that had been bothering him. He had not, after all, been attending any of his classes since the school returned from Beauxbatons. It was a detail Dein was certain she wouldn't miss. Perhaps it was too much for one to expect the Headmistress to keep an eye on all her students; but her prefects? She had to make sure they were upholding a worthy reason for their position. Not only that, but even if she didn't know the truth, the wounds that were inflicted upon him during the tournament was enough to cause concern.

"It's a burden?" She stared at him with doubt in her eyes. A burden, after all that he went through in the Triwizard Tournament, and school was now a burden? She didn't believe him, or she just didn't want to. He wasn't attending classes, she even had complaints about that from one of his professors.

She spoke to him honestly, relaxed. Eirina knew that he could do better then what he was giving her, what he was saying to her. "I think you're confused." There could have been more to it, but Eirina didn't really think of that. She thought that he was just being a kid, avoiding responsibilities. Almost like she did, but in a different way.

Dein smiled before he gave his reply "Not at all, Professor Naer. Or at least, perhaps not in the way you think. I have been disowned, Headmistress. I have no place in the world once I graduate, so I have been looking over my options. I know it is quite irresponsible that I have been shirking my duties as both a prefect and a student, but that is my excuse." He paused again, only this time he was hesitating, turning his gaze away from the Headmistress. "I have no other family to speak of. I have to have my affairs in order before the end of the school term." He finally looked back to her, his stature more cautious than before.

She was shocked, immediately shocked and it showed in her eyes for a second, before she composed herself. Disowned? What parent would disown their child? That was the most ridiculous thing she'd ever heard of. "What I'll do..."

Technically, she wasn't meant to interfere. But it was effecting his school life, and so that did give her grounds to interject. Once Dein graduated Hogwarts, he was supposed to be no responsibility of hers. A few students didn't even go back to their parents, but they had plans, and it wasn't forced. "What I can do is give you a place here, a room of your own and all, in exchange for a bit of work. I don't want this nonsense to interfere with your school work. If you let it interfere because you're in search of a place to stay after school, then you might be too distracted in finding a place, that because your school suffers, you can't get a well enough paying job, either. Have you thought any of this through?"

His eyes narrowed as he stared at her, almost as though he couldn't understand what she was saying. Like she was speaking in an unusual language, one he was not familiar with. She would offer him a place, here, simply because she knew he had no where else. He leaned forward, clasping his hands together as he stared down at his shoes. If she really was making a serious offer, he would have more time to search for a place where his talents could flourish. It was an offer even he would not take lightly.

Her question, brought only one thing to mind: the little black book that sat at the bottom of his bag. It certainly wasn't something he would share with her, and so it was easy to say, with a fraction of sincerity, "I can't say that I have Headmistress." His goals, at the stage of consideration they were at right now, were nothing more than whispers in the wind. He hadn't thought them through, hadn't planned how to achieve them. More time was exactly what he needed.

But he still hadn't gotten what he came here for, "Why do you care about any of this?" Dein looked up, searching her eyes, his own being lost and unaware as to where to turn. He couldn't figure it out. Did she know, or not? He had to know!

"That's a dumb question." She gave a small smile, "you're student here, it's my job to do what I can to help. I'm not going to let some kid go home to an abusive family, or let some kid sleep in the streets. I can't invite you guys to my own home, plus that would be weird for the Headmistress to house kids in her home, suspicious even, so why not the castle? Some small job as an excuse for your being here to the Ministry."

Eirina cared because she had a weak spot for kids in trouble, or in troubled places that was out of their control. She hated having no control, and although she more often then not acted harsh toward the students, she wasn't about to just let them die. A kid of her own, if she were to ever have any, she'd just wish them the best life possible, so why not the same for her students?

So she didn't know. Dein should have felt satisfied, but, well, now he wasn't so sure of himself. He nodded in response to her, "Thank you, Headmistress Naer." He smiled in return, however weak it was, "So what sort of small job would be sufficient in the Ministry's eyes?"

"Anything, really," She took a deep breath, searching her mind for thoughts. They wouldn't allow him to be a teacher, a 'temporary' teacher didn't go over well. Substitutes were rarely needed. "Caretaker, but that's a bigger job. Brooms management, and I doubt you'd have to do a thing since our Quidditch season is nearly nonexistent. Monitor, of the hallways at night and such. Things like that."

He nodded again, "Sounds perfect," he replied, as he stood up, then quite awkwardly scooped up the prefect badge, "I suppose I'll be taking this back now then?"

It was right on the tip of his tongue. All he had to do was say it, and she would know. Something was holding him back though, and he didn't want to rush into a decision without mulling it over first. It was too risky, diving right in when he was not yet certain which would yield a better outcome. So he didn't say anything. He didn't speak truth to his aunt, who sat not even four feet away from him. Family didn't mean much to him, as he had not grown up with much of it, but now that he was on his own, it was her help he had been offered, and now he realized that he had accepted.

Eirina smiled, nodding her head. She was glad that he had taken it back, and was hoping that the prefects would actually start holding meetings. She knew that they didn't do much, they didn't talk on issues, and didn't present her with any ideas of events or changes. Her first year as Headmistress, the prefects had offered her ideas all the time, but it appears that that has completely died. Still, she smiled at Dein's leaving, giving a silent nod of goodbye.