The Professors Party: New Years Eve

Alliss took another shot as the reality set in after hearing Kris' voice. It sounded the exact same, yet a little less arrogant than usual, like the years had drained some of the fight out of him. Yet, she guessed he thought the same of her. She had been the same, before the incident six months ago, perhaps she should try getting back to normal. Yes, she would try. Riley wouldn't want her to sit moping for him, he would want her to be happy.

"Are you sure that is the only reason you have a disliking for balls?" Alliss looked up as a smile edged into the corner of her mouth and she shot him a doubtful, yet playful look. "Are you sure it has nothing to do with your dancing skills?" She laughed and the noise rang between the two, it was a genuine smile that filled her face as a memory of the yule ball flickered fresh in her eyes.

Kris looked at alliss, a blond eyebrow raising sheering moments before it clicked of what she was going to say. He laughed, an honest and genuine one. Was he never going to live down that one wrong step?

"I'm aware I stepped on your foot but I was 17. I didn't do it on purpose! My skills are not lacking I just..." Was too focused on you to really check myself? No, that sounded way to corny to say. He'd just blame it on being too distracted by his upcoming Triwizard challenges. Yeah, that would save some of his embarrassment for now.

Jasper Alexander scoffed outside the Staff Room, he hadn't attended the ball, he saw no point, it was more of a thing for the students and the teachers were just meant to be babysitters . . . didn't sound like a pleasant way to spend his night. But he figured he might as well look into the Staff's party, after all, he would be working with these people, best scope out the weak early for later purposes. He slipped into the room, closing it quietly behind him, and he began scanning about the room. He recognized a blonde right off the bat, his lips pulling to his devilish smirk, oh Miranda, how could he ever forget you? His eyes continued to trace through the unfamiliar faces, resting on a tall and dark man, his face seemed familiar enough, although he couldn't quite put his finger on it. The rest didn't seem to hold much to his memory and he calmly made his way over to the table, grabbing a drink. He folded his arms over his chest, sipping at the liquor as he continued to stare at the fellow teachers.

"Are you sure about that Mister?" Alliss teased as she playfully nudged him in the side. The alchol was giving her confidence to stop supressing herself and thankfully, she took another shot. She couldn't do with her mopey self anymore, she was prepared to have a little more fun. Besides, Kris and her had a history and it wouldn't do to punish him for events outside of his control. Somehow, there was something about him that made her light up and forget her troubles. Or perhaps, that was just the alchol talking. Her thoughts were becoming jumbled.

"Hello there," Alliss greeted the newcomer with a nod of her head, he was only a couple of years older than she, and he seemed polite enough. She knew he was new so wanted to greet him. (Also, rather attractive mind you. Shutupalcohol.) Alliss gestured for him to join herself, Edward and Kris.

"Yeah, that is a good point," Ed acknowledged, remembering how chaotic the dances were when he was in school. There was always awkward conversations, girls crying, boys fighting, couples having unprotected sex that usually resulted in pregnancy scares. Ed was never part of those kinds of things, but that didn't mean that he didn't see it happen. Alliss came over at that point though, and from the way she and Kristopher talked with each other, it sounded like they were friends. Or maybe more than that. No, no, Ed, don't jump to conclusions. That's how you end up getting punched in the face. "So, I assume you two have known each other for a while?" he asked, pointing at Kristopher and Alliss. He glanced at the newcomer, who definitely seemed to fit the quiet and mysterious personality. He certainly seemed confident about himself, while Ed felt like an awkward penguin half the time.

For just a moment, Jasper's thoughts stilled as he heard the welcome and looked over at the direction in which he heard the voice, he assumed it was directed to him for coming in so . . . fashionably late. Alliss' nod and eye contact proved his findings. His eyes trailed over her in a slight, analytical sort of way; although he couldn't frankly ignore the fact that she was a rather beautiful woman. He noted the gesture, taking another sip of his glass before dropping his hands and making his way over to the three.

"Hello."

He said in a quiet, slicked tone. Jasper looked amongst the three, the tall, dark haired man, the blonde and the raven haired beauty, who he stood beside, taking in what he could. The dark haired man seemed as nonthreatening as humanly possible, his eyebrow rose ever so slightly as his gaze filled with an almost indirect interest to this finding; assuming that his natural judging abilities of a person's character hadn't worn out over the years. He then turned his hues to the blonde and bit the inside of his cheek, taking another sip of his drink as he pondered, there were a rare few that stumped him and he was certainly one of them, his large eyes seemed genuine enough although perhaps it was the strength in the rest of his features that caused Jasper to keep him as 'undefined'. Lastly was the woman, aside from her physical beauty, he took note of the confidence in which she held herself, which could have been from the alcohol but he wasn't fully convinced. With that his mind fell silent and he then cleared his throat, shaking free the burn of the liquor.

"I'm Jasper Alexander, the new History of Magic professor."

Alliss was slightly surprised when the male accepted her invitation to join the three of them, he held an intimidating atmosphere about him that made one quite unsure of oneself. She noticed his analytical glance over her form, so she decided he wouldn't be too put out if she did the same. He was a dark and tall man, attractive with a strong jaw and unsettling eyes; yet to Alliss, this made him all the more intriguing. The drink made her a little unsteady on her feet but she managed to hold herself together, her slender hands resting against the table propping up alochol.

"I am Alliss Rivera, teacher of defence against the dark arts," Alliss smiled and extended her hand to the male as a gesture of welcome, ensuring the other kept her sturdy as she rested it on the table. She disliked showing any signs of particular weakness. "It is a pleasure to meet you Jasper," She nodded as a small flush of red filled her cheeks. Yet again, she was positive the alcohol was making her emotions more visible upon her face as her slight attraction toward him became apparent for a few brief moments.

Jasper rose an eyebrow down to Alliss as she mimicked his actions, revealing a slight smile, and a soft chuckle into his drink. Well, she didn't seen to put her off with that she saw, not that he particularly found his appearance or the way he held himself with a strong confidence to be a put off . . . although he did know of those who found it intimidating; and this pleased him. He turned his head down to fully face her when she mentioned that she was the teacher of such a class, looking her up and down, he'd hate to admit it, and he never would, but he was . . . impressed. She was clearly younger than him, her face held more of the youth he'd expect to find in a student, but she didn't seem to be too much younger than him, nether the less, it was impressive that she would be teaching the class.

As she held out her hand he took it gingerly, curling his fingers from underneath her's as he brought her hand up to softly rest a kiss on her knuckles. His mother had raised a gentleman after all, even under all his manipulating, controlling and frowned upon ways, that part of him would never die. With that, he bowed his head slightly before releasing her hand.

"The pleasure is all mine, Alliss."

He replied in a smooth and polished voice.

Alliss found her cheeks flushing once more as Jasper took hold of her fingers and pressed a soft kiss onto the forefront of her hand. Yet her embarassment was mingled with a certain sense of respect, manners and a proper nature were not wasted upon Alliss as she too valued politeness.

Alliss nodded with a smile as he complimented her with his words, she appreciated the kind gesture from someone who seemed to possess what she may call a dark side. Somehow her perceptions of him were clouded by his gentleman-like words and the after-effects from the alcohol. He was tempting, whether it was the firewhiskey that made him so or not. Perhaps that mixed with the fact he held no memories or regrets, he was simply a new professor with whom she had no previous encounters.

"So, may I ask what drew someone like yourself to the History of Magic position?" Alliss cocked her head slightly to the side uncertainly. She had never understood what made someone feel the need to teach such a passive subject, especially someone who possessed Jasper's mysterious nature.

Jasper was pleased with her reactions to his chivalrous actions, and he could see it in her eyes that she wasn't sure what to make of him, which only made it better. He'd prefer to remain a mystery, it was so much fun, like a game to him when people tried to figure him out. When she asked about his class, he bit the inside of his cheek, we'd be a liar if he said he was excited about teaching the subject, it was a boring one compared to the more hands on methods and his lips twisted to a smirk as he thought of the ways to scare his students into paying attention. It would no doubt keep the class entertaining.

"Well, I thought since this was my first year teaching that I wouldn't break myself on the more difficult classes, but just get my feet feet and move on from there. Besides, its important for the students here to understand and appreciate their past, without it they wouldn't be where we are today, or at least in my opinion."

Jasper lied all so lyrical, he had been proud to master the art of charismatic lying when he was younger so it was almost like truth now, he even believed himself at times. But what sort of answer would be 'I was late for the signups and took what was left?', it certainly wouldn't do much for his image, which one the first day was what he felt the need to create. He then took a quick sip of his liquor.

"My younger sister also attends the school, so I was grateful for anything I was given."

History of Magic teacher? Ed had never been good at the subject himself, and he knew he wasn't alone in that subject, so this Jasper guy must be a real brainiac if he specialized in the subject. Alliss seemed to be pretty impressed too, telling from the blush in her cheeks. Or maybe that was just the alcohol. Ed knew his mother's face could get totally flushed after consuming a few margaritas, which were her favorite alcoholic drink. "Edward Once-ler, Astronomy teacher," he said enthusiastically, which contrasted with the seriousness that Jasper carried himself with. "Nice to meet ya, Jasper." He stuck out his hand, smiling in a friendly way.

Jasper turned to look at the man who called himself Edward. He pondered for a moment, he didn't remember Astronomy, he believed it was a class he had skipped often when he was student. Although it wasn't for lack of interest, more along the lines of bad timing and clashing with his mischievous ways when he was in school. The enthusiastic way that he introduced himself was charming in its own right, but only revealed his thoughts were correct.

"Its a pleasure Edward."

He nodded, taking his hand and giving it a firm shake.

Miranda moved away from the new teacher, still not quite able to place her. She looked so familiar but...ah well. It was a mystery for another day. She glanced around the staff lounge, marvelling at all the different gowns and suits. It wasn't often the staff got so dressed up. She herself was wearing a lavender gown that swept gracefully against the floor around her feet. She noticed Aliss chatting with three other male teachers, all of them new it looked like. She steeled herself to make introductions. Aliss's cheeks were slightly flushed. There was a tall man with dark hair who honestly looked like he could still be a student. And another dark haired man. Her eyes lingered on him for a moment. There was a fascinating air of mystery around him. Her eyes shifted to the third man with blonde hair. She couldn't deny this man was extremely handsome. Her eyes lingered on his face for a moment too long. She quickly averted her gaze and approached Aliss.

"Good evening, Aliss," she said warmly, her smile bright as the candles floating around them. "It seems the ball has concluded without any serious mishaps!"

Kris's smile faltered listening to them. Allies was a light weight obviously, something he vaguely remembered from his Twiwizarding tourne days. This Jasper fellow didn't sit right with him. The history of magic teacher made him feel off. Something dug into his mind as his eyes narrowed. Something was truly bothering him. He'd find out what this feeling was later.

"I teach Charms. Now, Jasper, was it? Do you mind if I converse with you?" Kris's eyes moved To the slightly inebriated Alliss and Edward. He wondered of the two of them felt this aura that he felt.

"Alone?" He added, nodding towards the door. Lue eyes connects with the unsettling other's own.

As Miranda approached the group, the edge of his lips pulled to a smirk, so she didn't recognize him, yet at least. He brought his liquor to his lips, licking them over in sheer entertainment, perhaps teaching in this school would be far more fun than he had originally expected. He turned his attention then to the blonde male, raising an eyebrow curiously as he noticed his narrowed eyes, his smirk remaining on his lips in almost a taunting fashion. The people here played his game so well, and to say he didn't get a high from it would be the farthest thing from the truth. It seemed that this Charms professor was already jumping to play the part of one of his pawns, how delightful! He nodded his head when he asked his name, before tilting his head to the side, a false mask of shock on his features as he asked to be seen alone.

"I suppose."

He replied slickly before looking to Edward than the two women.

"It was a pleasure to meet you all, I do hope to see you all later, perhaps over a bottle of firewhiskey?"

He chuckled quietly before giving a subtle wink to Alliss and turning to stride towards the door, keeping his dark hues on Kristopher.

Jasper just seemed a bit spurred on by his wanting to speak with the professor. He felt his hand curl into a fist as he counted backwards from ten. The wink didn go unnoticed to Alliss. Oh, he was going to Hit this man before this day was over. The Charms
Professor nodded and bid his group adeu as he strode behind Jasper.

This was going to be a conversation to figure out what unsettled him about this boy who was attempting to flirt with Alliss.

"Hello Miranda, yes it was lovely proceedings," Alliss nodded. She had seemed to grow closer to Miranda since Riley had left, one of the few Professor's she had actually concerned herself with making conversation to.

The wink was recieved by Alliss with a coy smile and nod of her head as the two left the party. Yet she couldn't help but wonder what business they had together, she was tempted to follow and find out. Kris' face tensed at the wink and she frowned a little, hoping he wouldn't make trouble out of it. Though she wouldn't admit it, she was slightly concerned Jasper may harm Kris in someway; he seemed a lot darker in someways than the latter.

(Kris, Jasper, can Alliss come along in secret and follow you? xD)

It looked like Jasper and Kristopher had something to talk about, probably teacher stuff or something. Ed grabbed a drink as they exited the room. He noticed Alliss looking at them and couldn't tell what she was thinking. Was she pleased? Worried? Amused? "Have those two known each other long?" he asked her. "They seem pretty...tight, for lack of a better word." At least they were friendly, though. That was a comforting thought to Ed. He gave a smile and a nod in Miranda's direction. She seemed like a pretty nice woman.

(( oh god Edward, we're tight? Imcryibgfromlaughter ))