incentives | claire

It took Asher approximately  two hours to decide on a suitable punishment that could both allow the students to make up for their transgressions and justify him letting them off the hook a little sooner. The instant he had, he left the solitude of his own office to make his way to the one occupied by Professor Zimmerman to let her know of his ruling. He didn't even bother to knock when he finally reached the door, barging right in and announcing his presence. "Alright lady, here's the deal. I give them one hell of a job, they can do it all at once or over a few days. How long their punishment takes is up to them. No magic, just a couple of rags and a broom." This was a good one, why he hadn't thought to make some of the Slytherins do it earlier in the year was beyond him.


TAG: CLAIRE RENEE ZIMMERMAN

Claire had been skimming the last chapter of the text book trying to decide whether or not she was going to include it on the exam. It wasn't at all necessary and no job would ever really require knowledge of that particular set of potions. Besides that, last time she included it in the curriculum, it was over used and a few student left with green skin, literally. It didn't come off for over a week and cause a huge ruckus in the classroom. She had just waved a wand over her syllabus, removin the skin changing potions, when Kale burst through the door. Her eyes found him and she arched a brow, "All right, professor. And what is this marvelous punishment you've cooked up?" She set the book down and steepled her hands under her chin.

Asher flashed a small, but genuine grin before sitting down and bringing his features back to their usual state of seriousness. This was official business after all. "It's simple. They bring their brooms and we do a little endurance practice. In the Great Hall, washing the chandeliers. They get to fly, the place gets cleaned up, and it's menial enough to make them learn their lesson." Even though the majority of his face betrayed little to no emotion, he knew his eyes probably showed his excitement. This was going to be fun to watch as long as he stayed out from under the buckets. "I'll stay there for as long as they are willing, but they WILL do a minimum of two hours every night until the task is completed to my standards."

Claire took in a deep breath and nodded slowly, fiddling with the fraying edge of her teacher's copy of the textbook, "Okay, sounds fair." She said, though she resented him coming up with a halfway decent idea, "But no longer than 5 days. If it's not done by then they can spend the entire weekend without their last trip to Hogsmeade." She insisted, "That way they can practice next week for the game."

Asher contemplated her answer for a moment before nodding. "Fine, but I'm not telling them that. They could probably get it done tonight and tomorrow if they really wanted to, and I don't want them slacking off because they have a way out." If those two were half as interested in each other as they seemed to be, locking them in a castle with relative privacy we NOT a good idea in his book. It was practically a reward. "Besides, I want them to win just as much as anyone. Bloody snakes need to get what's coming to them." Asher grumbled, almost under his breath. He might not have been the best Gryffindor out there, but he had principals and all of them pointed to the downfall of Slytherin in any way, shape, or form.

Claire pursued her lips in amusement for a moment, lost in her thoughts, before she stood up and walked around the desk to return the textbook to the self near the door, which still stood open, "I honestly figured you would be more of a challenge to convince." She spoke, making space for the book on the cluttered shelf, "Maybe you're not as....senseless....as I first assumed."

"I can be quite resonable with the right incentives." Asher remarked with an air of boredom, leaning back in the chair to watch her put the textbook up. The professor was quite stunning, even if she was a pain. It wouldn't do to think of that just yet, not when she wasn't irritated with him at least. "The thought of beating Slytherin to a pulp just warms my steely heart enough to make me a decent person. Don't make me regret it."

Claire narrowed her eyes and laughed, "Professor! You surprise me!" She said, pushing the door shut so she could reach another part of the book shelf, pulling out the book for her sixth year students, "I was certain you didn't have a heart to speak of!" She sat back at her chair behind the desk and looked at him with playful blue eyes.

His eyes almost rolled out of reflex, but he stopped himself short as he grinned slightly. "I don't. Lost it in a bet about five years back. Figured I didn't need the thing anymore, but old habits seem to die hard." Really, he didn't know what the administration had been thinking when they hired him on. He hated children and was a firm believer in tough love. These other professors coddled the students like they would break, but they were made of tougher stuff than that. Giving them a taste of the real world couldn't hurt. Snapping out of his internal thoughts, he shook his head slightly. "If that will be all professor..." He let his voice trail off as he stood and reached for her hand, apparently meaning to shake it but changing his mind at the last moment. His one good hand grasped hers for a moment as he lifted it to his lips and kissed it in a movement meant to be both formal and playful at the same time.

All at once, many thing occurred to Claire. The first, was that she had accidentally left the door closed across the room. The second, was that she couldn't help the flush in her face when he kissed her hand, which she was sure he had intended, and lastly, it was that a desk being between them seriously disappointed her. Like the desk was blocking something from happening though she wasn't sure exactly what that something was. Her hand gripped his so he wouldn't let go for a moment and she bit her lip, glaring through the lust she felt. She then released his hand and walked back to the door, intending to open it for him, "Thank you for keeping me updated." She said, trying to keep the mood professional.

Crossing the floor in a few long strides, Asher used his hook to stop the door from opening. "What's the rush professor? Don't enjoy my company anymore?" He was standing closer to her than he had been, much closer than he intended. "And here I was just starting to think that I might have a heart after all." His voice came out as a deep rumble. Asher still backed up enough for her to open the door, not willing to stay if he wasn't welcome. Even he had standards.

Claire narrowed her eyes at the man, looking at the hook for a moment before saying, "Did I say that? You were the one you wanted to leave.." She said, rolling her eyes and letting the door fall closed again, "but if you insist, you are welcome to stay, just don't be too loud." She said, his face only inches from hers. Something about this man...she couldn't put her finger on it. He was horrible. He hated the kids and probably his job, he was too aggressive to be a professor, so what exactly about him did she find so....attractive? She shivered and bit her lip, trying not to look like she wanted him.

"I did, but it's obvious that letting the children out of their duties isn't the only thing on your mind right now Claire." Reaching out with his real hand, he lifted her chin up until she was looking him in the eye. That was the first time he had ever said her first name, even though he had known it the whole time. She wasn't that much younger than him, and he vaguely remembered her from happier times. Asher brushed the thought away as he leaned in slightly and then stopped. "Just admit it to yourself, and we can part as friends." with benefits...his brain added on, almost causing him to chuckle. No, she seemed too uptight for that kind of thing, and she borderline hated him. She'd hate him more later.

Claire's eyes went wide at his words, "Excuse you!" She said, thinking to herself that she would need to back away to make the exclamation seem legitimate, but some carnal instinct kept her from moving too far. She shook her head, "And what exactly am I suppose to be admitting?" She snapped, "You want you hear that you're attractive? Because I won't say it." Well, too late now, she had already said it...

Asher couldn't help it anymore as a loud laugh escaped, almost making him double over. Well, he hadn't expected that quite yet, but he wasn't going to complain either. "Your words betray you Professor." Asher stated calmly, pushing the door the remaining few inches until it was closed. The last thing he wanted was for a student to walk in right now, otherwise he'd have to cancel the detention completely on the grounds of hypocrisy. "The only question now, is what we're going to do about it."