Braxiatel entered the ballroom where the Academy fundraising event was taking place. It was an annual event at Prydonian Academy for they supported some well known charities and the headmaster and governors at Prydonian Academy thought it would be a most excellent idea to put on an event to raise more money and to gain more publicity for their school which was now reaching far and wide for international students. Some as far as Australia itself.

There was over than a hundred people if not more attending and he grabbed himself a cool, glass of whisky that they were offering amongst the refreshments. One of the best things about these fundraising parties were the drinks they had to offer for they had some of the finest beverages available which pleased Braxiatel to no end. Of course, nothing to the extent of his own personal alcoholic Collection that he keeps at home but it was second to none and it was free.

He talked to a few people, chatting away politely but mostly he observed. He liked to observe and study people. It was interesting because one can tell a person's secrets and passions were by just watching their facial expressions and he knew there were many secrets in this room when he felt a pair of eyes staring at him from across the room.

He paused for just a second, raising his glass of whisky to his lips as he tried to make out who was staring at him and from across the ball room where people were standing and chatting whilst classical music played in the background which he recognised as Tchaikovsky Swan Lake. How fitting to have such a piece of music for a winter ball.

He spotted a man with dark eyes staring at him and their eyes met for a brief second before the other man's eyes drew away and continued talking to a woman with short blond hair, looking extremely beautiful in her extravagant red dress. He didn't recognize either of the couple- presuming that they were a couple and decided to make his way across to his colleague, Wynter who only stood a few feet away from them.

Wynter was relatively new and taught fitness and sports to the children but nonetheless, he was still learning even for a teacher and was nice to everybody. Perhaps too nice for his own good which could make him an easy target to be manipulated amongst the politics of the school.

"Hello Wynter," Braxiatel greeted cheerfully and he held out his hand.

Wynter turned and smiled, shaking his hand as he saw him. "Brax! Glad you could make it to the party in the end. How have you been?"

Braxiatel shrugged. "Perfectly well actually. I've heard you have been working with one of our students, Leela?"

"Oh yes! I'm making Leela my apprentice. She's a very keen sports player and I think she can achieve so much more if she had the right guidance. She's one of the best rugby and football players I have seen. The other day, she ended up having a broken nose but still, she continued to play as though it was nothing! It was incredible!"

Braxiatel wasn't exactly interested or passionate about sports or P.E, not even when he was a child. Oh, he did fencing and horse riding but that was about as much enthusiastic he could get for sports. He mainly taught theatre and law but for Wynter's sake, he tried to make it appear as though he was interested. "Oh?"

"Her parents are here tonight as well. I would like you to meet them." Without another word, Wynter led a half-protesting Braxiatel over to the couple he had seen across the ballroom earlier.

"Wynter." The man who Braxiatel had locked eyes with greeted pleasantly. "Glad you are here."

"Hello Narvin, Romana." Wynter gave Romana a nod and a smile. Romana being the woman with the short, blonde hair and extravagant red dress that matched her red lipstick. The lady in crimson-she would have made a beautiful Queen. "I would like to introduce you both to a colleague of mine; Professor Irving Braxiatel. He teaches Law and sometimes theatre."

"Hello Professor Braxiatel," Romana greeted him, pleasantly shaking his hand, her dainty fingers curling around his.

Braxiatel shook hers firmly for Narvin didn't appear to be offering his own hand out anytime soon. "My lady, call me Irving, please. We are outside School formalities, are we not?"

"Quite." Romana agreed with him. "Are you not the very same man who runs the famous Braxiatel Collection? My husband and I were just talking about it earlier."

As well as being a Professor, Braxiatel also ran a private Collection in the countryside. It was one of the best Collections, if not the best Collection. It was a Collection of simply everything ranging from art, lost plays and even rare specimen. "I sincerely hope so. There is only one Irving Braxiatel running around the universe-" Wynter and the other man let out a snort of laughter. "Have you visited there, my lady?"

A faint blush crept across Romana's cheeks as he called her 'my lady.' She and her husband had been staring at him from across the room, both finding him incredibly attractive. On the plus side, he was charming as well as attractive and it appears, intelligent. The blush disappeared just as quickly as it had appeared and she took a sip of her red wine. "Yes. It is very impressive. My husband Narvin however, doesn't think so."

Narvin pressed his lips together. He figured that Braxiatel was the one to enjoy the arts. "It is not that I do not find it impressive, I just have very little interest for art nor the time for it."

"And what do you have an interest in, Narvin?" Braxiatel asked, taking another sip of his whisky.

"I'm a technician." Narvin's face flushed red when Braxiatel questioned him. Narvin did hate being the centre of attention of conversations and it was normally his wife who took charge but this felt different, felt almost like someone having their first crush all over again.

"He also makes a very good handy man. He does a lot of the DIY projects at home." Romana continued with a smile curling up on her face, her eyes focusing on her husband. "When he puts his mind to it."

"So I see." Braxiatel replied with a smile as he saw Narvin's face flush red. Braxiatel was well aware he was a charming person and more often than not, he liked to flirt shamelessly with people who took an interest in him and who he took an interest in. He moved a little closer, a smile dancing on his lips. "Then perhaps you can come around to my Collection sometime and fix things for me."

"Like what?" The other man asked curiously. He didn't normally do favours for other people unless it was within his business. But perhaps he could make Braxiatel an exception. He cast a glance at his wife before looking back at Braxiatel.

"For one, the lights in my office need replacing completely and I could do with my vinyl being fixed."

"A vinyl?" Narvin looked intrigued at this. "An old fashioned one or one of those new ones that the children these days seem to want?"

"A very old, Vinyl record player. A Music centre with a phonograph horn to be exact."

"I'm going to get another drink. Care to join me?" Romana asked, needing to change the topic quickly as she realised she and Narvin were both getting rather flustered with Braxiatel and the room temperature seemed to have gone up all of a sudden. The man was rather attractive and Romana wasn't sure if it was the drink that was making her think like this or if it was Braxiatel's rather charming personality. Or both.

"A whisky, if you please." Braxiatel handed Romana his glass and gave her the money, paying the three of them. "Let me pay. They have excellent wine and whisky here if I do say so myself."

"You are too kind," Narvin replied somewhat dryly as the three of them walked over to the bar to get another drink, Wynter was already chatting to somebody else.

"Narvin is a highly unusual name. I do not think I have heard it before." Braxiatel commented and though he couldn't talk for his surname was just as unusual. "Neither yours, my lady Romana's."

"It's Welsh," Narvin replied with a smile as he took the glass of beer from his wife, sipping it. "My family come from Swansea. I'm not surprised if you haven't heard of it."

"They're both unique names although Romana is the feminine version of Rome. Romana and Narvin." Braxiatel rolled the names off his tongue, purring slightly.

Romana shivered with a slight delight when she heard Braxiatel purr. "As is your name, Braxiatel. I believe you used to be Lungbarrow?" She inquired, remembering reading about Irving changing his surname in a newspaper about him being a Lungbarrow before he changed his name to Braxiatel.

"That is correct, my lady." He nodded, raising the whisky glass to his nose, letting it breathe for a second or two as he inhaled the strong smell before he took another sip of the bitter liquid. "I was brought up in a...ah, very dysfunctional family shall we say. I thought it was best to change my surname to give me a fresh start. Especially if I was going to be an international Collector."

Romana's hands touched Braxiatel's shoulder before she gently moved her hand down to his hands where she barely ghosting over his fingers. Narvin's eyes flickered up to his own and Braxiatel had a slight shiver down his spine underneath her relaxing touch. He wasn't quite sure if she was aware she was doing it or if she was drunk from the alcohol. Either way, he wasn't about to complain but he had wondered why Narvin wasn't stopping his wife from being so close to another man. But then he had seen how Narvin looked at him from across the ballroom earlier.

Narvin began to lead the three of them of them to a quite area, away from the party. "So I see," Narvin commented. He took Braxiatel's empty whisky glass of him and put it down on a nearby table. "We would like you to come with us." It wasn't a command as such, merely a suggestion and one Braxiatel found himself following too.

"Where too?"

"We have private quarters upstairs. We thought it would be safer to stay the night rather than drink and drive," Romana explained as she began to leave the ball up and up the grand decor staircase.

Braxiatel sent a look at Narvin. "I must protest."

"Must you? At what?"

"Going to bed with you two." He cleared his throat, shifting as he suddenly found himself slightly uncomfortable which was saying something and he ran his finger alongside his collar, loosening it and went to unfasten the top button. Was it him or was it extremely warm in here? "Will it not disturb your marriage? I do not want to be a home-wrecker or gain a reputation as one. That's the last thing I need."

"You're not a home-wrecker. Besides, we want you with us Braxiatel. The both of us do and we wouldn't have suggested you come to bed otherwise. Romana's and my marriage is tight but we have been watching you from afar now for a while. We are intrigued by you."

Braxiatel waggled his eyebrows. So they did know who he was. "Intrigued by me you say?"

Narvin groaned. His assumptions of Braxiatel were correct-he was incredibly vain. "Please don't go all egotistical. The last thing we need is to accidentally boost your ego."

He couldn't help but let out a laugh. "You say that as though it is a bad thing."

"Let's find out then shall we?" Romana suggested and he could see out of the corner of his eyes Romana's lips curling up into a sly smile as she listened to their conversation before she pushed the doors of their bedroom open and into their lair.

One way or another, Braxiatel was going to make sure he was going to enjoy every single minute of himself.