O star of sorrows; Evening star [: closed]

Night had fallen at Inverness. The resulting blackness was absolute. There were no stars in the sky, there was no moon shining, there weren’t even lights to distract. In the absence of visuals, Peter Alva felt more in touch with his other senses. He could not only feel, but also hear the wind. A pleasant chill had spread across the Council Grounds, its long tendrils reaching far into the shrines of the elements. As the colder season was coming closer, Peter Alva’s element was gaining strength. Spells came easier now, almost without resistance. Soon, they would flow effortlessly from his hands.

His gait was heavy, because an old injury was aching, but he tried not to be deterred. He was meeting with one of his elemental students tonight and he knew that this was an important commitment he couldn’t simply back out of. Nights of perfect, inky blackness were rare and had to be utilised as they occurred.  As he reached the peak of a hill, Peter Alva came to pause. He used his staff to scatter the ground, placing it like a beacon. It took only a spark to ignite the amethyst orb on top of it with the glow of his element.

The dim purple illumination wasn’t for him. It was for the young woman he expected. Peter Alva could already sense her approaching, as her coldness was stronger than the late summer chill. Her presence had grown and become one to be reckoned with. Soon enough she would be old enough to make some serious decisions. At Beauxbatons Peter Alva talked about careers and academic options, but here at Inverness he cared more about spiritual welfare and completeness. Now that school was almost out of the way, they’d have time to progress her elemental training further.

Finally she was close enough to hear him.

“Zoé,” he called into the night. “Come on, don’t keep an old man waiting.”

Darkness was surrounding her but Zoé wasn't afraid. She felt safe here at Inverness; she always had and she was sure that she always would. The elemental council was like a second home to the young brunette and she was glad whenever she got the chance to visit. Lots of people at Beauxbatons knew about her being an elemental but most of them still had no clue what it meant. They got exposed, yes, but that didn't mean that they'd shared all their secrets. Therefore she couldn't just leave the castle and go to Inverness whenever she wanted. People would ask questions and that was something the Papillonlisse didn't want. Of course it helped a lot that her mentor wasn't only head of the elemental council but also the deputy headmaster. If he allowed her to leave, none of the other teachers would complain would complain.

For a second she was tempted to use Lumos, one of the few spells she could manage, but her wand stayed untouched. Even though she'd only started her training a few years ago, wand magic felt foreign to her already. Zoé knew that her ability to cast wand related magic would get weaker and weaker over the years but she didn't mind much. She had gotten used to the fact that she was no ordinary witch and she wouldn't want to change it. It was who she was and she had accepted the fact almost right from the beginning.

The girl was extremely hardworking when it came to her elemental studies and it had paid off. She was good at what she did and she learned fast. Learning spells was as interesting as learning the theory behind elemental magic and she even liked to hear stories and information about the council. Sure, there were things she questioned when they didn't seem reasonable to her but all in all she was completely loyal to the council. The man she was about to meet was one of the main reasons for it.

There was a soft purple light now and Zoé walked straight toward it. She was glad for the illumination, her clumsiness surely would have made her stumble eventually, and her lips formed a small smile. "You're not… oh never mind. I'm coming." The elemental laughed softly while she closed the distance between them. The thought that he was several hundred years old was a scary one but she didn't want to think about it right now. When she reached him, her expression turned into a curious one since he hadn't told her what their meeting would be about. The ice elemental greeted her mentor in the language of the council before she asked the question she'd been dying to ask.

"So what's the plan for tonight?"

“Oh, you should hear Sophie on that subject,” Peter Alva said cheerfully. “I am very, very old and my pre-Victorian morals are unbearable.” Yes, he was quoting his daughter directly. “I don’t know where she gets these expressions from.” Peter Alva shook his head. As a matter of fact, his six-year-old’s bouts of intellectualism were probably genetic. Sophie was growing up to be rather a lot like her father. “Well, let’s hope she doesn’t drive the Acolytes crazy while we are out here. Good baby sitters are so very difficult to come by.”

It was obvious that elemental felt comfortable around his student and didn’t think of her as an inferior but merely a less experienced colleague. He didn’t mind if things got a little personal. Titles, ranks and professional distance had never been the way of the Elemental Council of Inverness. Over the last seven years he had grown quite accustomed to Zoé’s constant presence. It was nice to have another ice elemental nearby. He knew already that he would miss her terribly once she graduated from Beauxbatons. It really was a shame she was too young to become a teacher.

“Well, I thought I distract you from a certain young man, knobhead that he is, and teach you something about sensing other elements. I thought in light of recent events that might be a good idea. It is also a useful skill to master for purposed of defence. As much as I dislike to say it, I’ve had reports sailing in of rogue activity and we should police our own. Elemental abilities are not to be used for the acquisition of personal wealth and political power.” What wasn’t said was that this situation was also personal. It always was. Peter Alva, as leader of the council, took any elemental leaving rather personal.

“Our rules are so few,” he sighed shaking his head, “and I have done so much to reform and change, to move on from outmoded traditions and that still isn’t enough. Our numbers dwindle and it worries we me greatly.” Peter Alva looking into the distance trying to compose himself again. “Another challenge by starlight might be inevitable. If it happens, do you want to come along? You are old enough now to learn about the politics and conflicts we face.” He wasn’t all that sure his words were true. Seventeen seemed so woefully young to him that he didn’t even remember what it was like. He needed an ally though and Zoé he had trained personally for almost seven years. That made her better suited to the task than Phridae or many of his other discipulae. Sure, he could have asked Demeter or Justyne, but they had matters of their own to attend and this one, well, it was personal.