VIRGILIUS HILDEGARD
"Of course," Virgil spoke up for the first time since he had entered the room as a response to Professor Rosier's request. At an even pace, his well-maintained shoes clicked across the floor toward the center of the room, where Professor Rosier prepared to get hands-on with the problem in her signature inquisitory fashion. Instead of occupying the boy's personal space, already invaded by another, Professor Hildegard stood a few steps back, arms resting across his chest. Only a gentle wave of hand and an intense, uninterrupted glare Cal's way gave away that he wasn't just standing there, idling.
The boy's troubled mind opened in front of him without too much effort required. The practical yet morally questionable benefit of an unsuspected target. And even though plenty could have been dug up, Virgil made a conscious decision to read only a small portion he was looking for. Fear and insecurity dominated the image, but persistent traces of foreign force disrupted the clarity of his legilimency, much like a restless creature would disturb the surface and murk the water it resided in. It fought to exist and prevail against Caleb's evident walls of mental self-preservation.
"Mh," Virgilius sighed as the image dispersed, nodding at his own silent contemplation. A couple of paces later, his attention turned toward the blackboard containing details regarding Adelaide's private lesson with Mister O'Neill. Shortly observing a list of names he had expected to see under examples, Professor Hildegard cleared his throat politely and raised the chalk against the board's surface, pausing to think briefly before adding a couple of names, his neat, classic cursive handwriting complimenting Professor Rosier's clean one.
"Vincent Crabbe. Reported red. Sergei Elin. Blue. Glesni Carrow. Red. O'Neill incident. Red," he concluded with a loud tap on the board.
"Allow me to say that I've taken the liberty to bring your case, Mister O'Neill, to an old friend of mine. Of course, all of it was discussed hypothetically. Rest assured that your name or any damning details weren't mentioned, even though I would trust Professor Elin with my own life. It was an interesting conversation," he added after a post-disclaimer pause.
"Now, I think adding these few other names up here gives us a better perspective," Virgil pointed in the general direction of the board, proceeding to pace around the room like he would during any regular class.
"As with any other spell, the caster's mental and emotional state profoundly influences Fiendfyre curse. The fact that it's such a complex and damning spell to learn leads me to believe that Fiendfyre is like wild magic forced into submission without efforts to tame it. This would, in return, explain the almost sentient behavior of the spell that ultimately fights the caster to break free," he proceeded, waving at the chalk from a distance, instructing it to add the word 'sentient' to an already opened list of descriptors.
"Clearly, finding those that have lived to tell about their experience with the curse under similar conditions to O'Neill's is," he paused, observing Caleb's scar as he searched for the proper word.
"Nigh impossible. Nevertheless, Professor Elin offered a theory that is a curious one." Being how so many Durmstrang students went through the hands of now Headmaster Sergei Elin through their excruciating journey of mastering combat magic, he seemed like the most plausible source of any new information. As it always was, the professor did not disappoint.
"I'd like to implore you to keep an open mind, mister O'Neill," Professor Hildegard added calmly, leaning forward against the worn-out wooden desk surface.
"He has a theory that, in your case, the residual Fiendfyre energy acts codependent. Whereas a countercurse would typically extinguish it fully after it was no longer needed, a potential residue feeds off your rattled emotional state. Quite literally continuing to curse you," he concluded matter-of-factly.
"In the worst-case scenario, if that theory holds any water, it contests you until it becomes an evident problem. In the best-case scenario, you simply learn to control it and live with it," he paused for it to settle in before waving it off.
"Of course. It is only a theory. I would like to hear your opinion on the matter, Professor Rosier. If you will," Virgil offered, taking a seat behind the table.
