Nicholas sat at the piano in his office again, playing a short melody. It was five minutes to four - he hoped that the Cullen boy would be neither early nor late - and he was oddly nervous about this particular detention. His bottles were all laid out on his table, ready for the task he had set for Edward in his mind. Such a fine looking boy. I suppose that must be his vampiric blood, piped up his reckless half. Just your type, I think. His responsible half suppressed these thoughts by continuing to play the piano, the music becoming more elaborate the more he tried to distract himself.

"Enter," he called at the sound of the knock, still playing his improvised composition. "There are a few things for you to do which should last until dinner, I expect," he continued without looking up from the keys of the piano. After a few more bars he brought the song to a close, clapped his hands, and stood up, striding over to his desk. "Can I tempt you with a drink, Mr Cullen?" he asked in a low voice, pouring himself a glass of his particular favourite, a concoction red as blood with almost the same thickness. He breathed in the heavy aroma emanating from the glass before taking a sip and licking his lips, now slightly stained by the drink.

"No thank you, You may of noted my thirst has been quenched, Might I say a wonderful composition, You own no doubt?" he asked out of geunine Curiosity the thoughts he had heard earlier he had repressed and ignored as such, he looked around the office "What is it you wish for me to do?" he questioned lightly, his tone formal and poliet, and unintentionally alluring and seductive. with a soft purr that lingured of British inheritance at the ocassional end of a word.

Nicholas was surprised by the boy's tone, but did not show it. "You must rearrange my drinks," he explained, gesturing to the many bottles on his desk. "As you can see, there are plenty, however I have misplaced my labels and no longer know what is what. You must test them, decide what they are made from - as most are cocktails of my own recipe - and arrange them by strength, spirits here to wines here." He smiled, pointing to the ends of the desk he wanted them ordered to. He conjured plenty of glass beakers for him - one for each bottle. "You ought to thank me for giving you such an enjoyable task, considering this is a detention. Perhaps next time you will not be so fortuitous. I will start by telling you that this," here he pointed out the red drink he had, "is the strongest vodka based drink I own, and thus will begin the line."

Edward looked to the many drinks, this would not take too long, his nose a vampires nose, good with the faintest scents, "As you wish" he stated then moved to the bottle he gave a gentle sniff and placed it to one side, it was potent and strong, he repteaded this separating the botles in two diffrent parts then he worked on each bottle till he had the stronger collection in an Order, then he moved to the weaker and did the same, finally he placed thim in order, and turned to face the professor, it had only taken him a matter of an hour "an Explainnation, I first seperated the slection into strong and weak, thus then put them in order, " he gestured to the line he pointed to the forth one "This one Is one of your own concuction, Muleberry and Cranberry, and this one" he gestured to another, "I wasn't eniterly sure i detected a hint of cinimon mixed with the usual wine, your own make I beleive, fruity, yet with a kick, then this one- 3rd strongest I could not place the scents exactly but it wasa spirit, Gin Perhaps mixed with another substance i wasn't sure then fianlly the strongest, the one you have in your hand"

(i soooo made that up lmao)

"Very good," he said, his lip curling in a crooked smile at Edward's successful completion of the task. "And as a reward, which would you like to drink? There is plenty of time before dinner during which - I am sorry - you must remain here." He conjured a soft armchair for him to sit in, whilst drawing in his own chair on the opposite side of the desk. "You seem an...interesting...character. I should like to come to know you better, Mr Cullen, as you seem so delightfully uninterested in my classes. Your youth, Mr Cullen, is something you ought to keep a tight grasp on. With youth comes beauty, and with beauty comes anything you could possibly desire in the world."

"Ah; Hogwart's very own Dorian Gray, if you don't mind my giving you that nickname." He smiled indulgently, drinking a little more. "Perhaps you don't know that muggle story? A young man, diverted from the path of 'good' by a superficial man who talks in epigrams, vows that a portrait of him should age and not he, and, remarkably, his wish comes true, allowing him to not only never age, but also to perform the most horrible deeds and not be tainted by their sin, always retaining his evanescent, rose-petal complexion and golden hair." He flicked his fringe from his eyes and swirled his drink in his glass, debating whether to allow his magic to fill the room. Not for any particular reason, of course, simply that bottling it up caused him to feel constantly stressed and restrained.

"There I would disagree," Nick interjected, delighted to be having a reasoned and intelligent debate for once. "You are - no doubt - more scientific minded than the rest. I, however, have an artistic brain, which calls for a release from reality. That is what reading is. It is not relevant that some books contain lies - unless the lies are slanderous, or in a non-fiction book - merely that they invent situations to puzzle the brain. For example; I am a great fan of muggle detective books. I find they stretch my intellect and perceptions. Muggle books which talk of the magical world are often very wrong, and therefore very quaint and amusing to read. There are fragments of truth in all books, even the ones which seem to be filled with lies. You talk of vampires being falsely represented; although you do not die in the sun, as some claim, you do glitter - I believe - which if one had seen or heard reported during the time of the very first vampire novels, one might have believed that said vampire was dying a magical death. A book can tell a great deal about the author, Mr Cullen." He smirked again and decided that, since they were both quite relaxed, it would be unfair of him to keep straining to keep his magic in control. He sighed and became visibly more relaxed as he felt the magic begin to diffuse through the room.

"Yet, one could argue that by dismissing the importance of literature, you are being close-minded." He raised an eyebrow, leaving pause for the boy to consider this point. "However, as you have more experience in life than the rest of us, I am sure this is not true. In fact, I am certain that you, Mr Cullen, are very...open-minded." He stressed the last word to the point where it sounded euphemistic, although he hadn't necessarily intended this.

"But, for those of us who do not have the privilege of hundreds of years on this earth, the hypothetical situations set out in books are the only way for us to gain quick experience of different variations of life, wouldn't you agree? And perhaps you'd like another drink? I noticed that you didn't enjoy your last one much." He stood up and poured Edward a glass of the scarlet liquid he himself was drinking. "You'll like this one much better; my secret ingredient is deer's blood." Smiling mischievously, he filled his own glass once more and returned to his seat.

"Perhaps, I can't say that many years on the earth does anyone wonder, in boosts knoweldge of course, yet It is not all grand" he stated with a small nod "Books are only a guideline, a basic blue print, the rest is but for youerself to find out" he stated then, watched as the liquid was poured into his glass, now the scent of blood noticable, his eyes flicked slightly remaining there usual golden topaz, he nodded his thanks and took the glass, only to inhale the scent "and odd drink mixture, one that i don't doubt will taste equisite" he nodded then took a sip, he paused the blood taste its's self noticeable yet the other mixtures were still pungent and vile, but it was indeed better.

"You don't indulge in alcohol often?" Nicholas asked, raising an eyebrow at the boy's response to the drink. "Perhaps that is your vampire blood. Or have you made yourself dislike the taste for fear the drink may release some unwanted...desires...in you? Strength? Rage? Or something a little more...intense?" He smiled suggestively and ran his spidery index finger around the rim of his glass, staring at Edward to try and decipher his reactions.

"Enjoying alcohol has nothing to do with the taste, dear boy," he said condescendingly. "Heavens, no; not even I enjoy the taste - save for my own concoctions. The taste is irrelevant. It is the effects which are important." He nodded to Edward as if to emphasise his point before sipping delicately at his drink. It was peculiar how incredibly masculine Nicholas was, and yet how effeminate some of his gestures - and indeed appearance - could be. There was something in the way he held himself; his confident, head tilted to the sun manner; his certain je-ne-sais-quoi which could have belonged to either a man or a woman - and would make both equally attractive and seductive. He raised his eyebrows suggestively without even thinking about the action as he took the measure of the boy sitting before him.