Re-Education (open)

[Giovanni Marcos Cavaliere]

Gio had a new theory. It was just a thought, really, but it intrigued him. All thoughts intrigued him, really, but this one was particularly fascinating.

What if he could dissect the Killing Curse? What would he discover?

He was making good progress; he'd converted the spell into an equation. He now stood at the chalkboard messing with it, penning down what he worked out on a thick ream of parchment. The other professors were leaving him to his work that day, thank God. This could contribute significantly to the realization of his life's work.

He continued manipulating his equation as the door swung open. The Carrows had, blessedly, not been bothering him, so it was reasonable to assume that the intruder was harmless.

"Can I help you?" he asked as he continued working.

[Marina Skye Angeli]

Marina was walking around the school in search of her brother. He just had to disappear when she needed him. "That boy. What am I going to do with him?" She asked herself as she climbed the staircases. She'd stopped on each floor to check all the rooms. He was no where!! She finally stopped to check the third floor. First room, nothing. Second room, a pair of students snogging. Third room, again nothing. The last room on the floor. She was looking around before opening the door. Just in case he'd decided to show up. She opened the door.

When she realised there was someone in there she said, in her native language, "I'm sorry. I did not mean to barge in..." And stared to back up. She'd already been subject to the cruciartus curse that week and wasn't feeling that she wanted to go through that again.

[Giovanni Marcos Cavaliere]

"Looking for your brother, Miss Tomlinson?" he replied in Italian.

He grumbled to himself for a moment before scribbling "Alea iacta est" underneath the equation. He then finally turned to face Marina when he turned to his desk in order to mirror what he'd written in his parchment stack.

[Marina Skye Angeli]

"Yes, sir." Marina nodded. "Have you seen him? He just kinda disappeared." She shrugged. She wasn't exactly sure where he'd gone and wasn't exactly sure what this professor was doing either. "If you don't mind me asking, professor, what are you doing?"

She had read his previous books out of boredom and the fact that they were in their family library. If he was writing another one right now. Maybe she could help? Could be something that could take up her time. Plus she was a Ravenclaw, she took pride in wisdom and knowledge.

[Giovanni Marcos Cavaliere]

"I haven't. Did you check Gryffindork territory?"

He paused in his scribbling to glance up and access his mental profile of this student. Marina Tomlinson, Ravenclaw fifth year, exemplary grades, well-aquainted with his work. Yes, she could be of help to him.

"I'm working on a new theory, regarding a spell that could potentially neutralize the Killing Curse. The Romans and Greeks spoke of it; the incantation was in Greek. Many of the oldest spells are. I have been working towards its rediscovery," he explained. "It's key to my latest theory. I believe that they key to this spell lies within the bones of the curse that it neutralizes."

[Marina Skye Angeli]

"No, sir, I haven't. He often doesn't hang around up there. I mainly find him eating in the kitchens but he's not their either." Marina shrugged.

"But, professor, isn't that almost impossible?" she asked. Neutralizing the Killing Curse, it could save lives, millions of lives. It would be the best thing to happen to humanity. She had to help this process. "So, by unraveling the curse, you intend to find it's counterpart and use it?" she asked with out realizing she spoke.

[Giovanni Marcos Cavaliere]

He shook his head no in response to her question. Using his wand, he summoned a chalk board from across the room to show her another section of his work, now documented in a large ream of parchment beside his desk. He circled a section of the work on this chalk board.

"See this section? It's a translation of a portion of a book on the Killing Curse by a Roman named Livia. The manuscript in question was lost when Alexandria's library burned, but what I've salvaged speaks of a "Shield of Hercules" used by the witches and wizards of the time during duels. If Livia is right, it entirely neutralizes the Killing Curse," he explained.

He grinned and nodded the affirmative when she guessed at his intentions, lightly shoving the chalkboard aside.

"You've hit the nail on the head! Think of the spell's applications! The lives it would save. What remains is to unravel the curse," he concluded.

[Marina Skye Angeli]

"Makes sense why the library was destroyed. No one wanted anyone to discover the information. If the shield was a relic, wouldn't it end up in a musueme? Maybe one in Egypt, or Rome, or Greece, or do I need to keep saying things? Because I don't wanna talk anymore." Marina said looking through the notes. If she could pick out the little facts just by looking at this portion, she might actually be useful help. Sometimes being a Ravenclaw was a good thing, other times it sucked.

"It could save everyone, all the muggles, the half-bloods, everyone against you-know-who. The list is endless. Would you mind if I helped sir? Extra-credit maybe?" she chuckled. Always looking for more work, unlike her mother, she loved to do certain work. Math, simple easy. She could do up to eight didget multiplication in her head. She was rather smart.

[Giovanni Marcos Cavaliere]

"I have hypothesized that Alexandria's library was burned by Dark wizards," he agreed. "A spell like the Shield of Hercules robs them of their greatest weapon."

He regarded her doubtfully. Aside from Albus Prewtt (who he would be trying to recruit for the Medici Institute in Italy), she was the only student that really grasped his work, but this was complex, high-level stuff...

"What's your opinion on this?" he asked, flipping over another chalkboard to reveal the numerical formula for the Killing Curse. He loved numbers, so he thought that the formula was beautiful, but most of the magical world was horribly confused by them.