Hogwarts, Part 26
Nov. 3rd, 2007 07:50 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
unforthThe next installment.
I had a nice day today. After a REALLY bad night last night, I woke up this morning, got my internet working (it's utter failure is what made last night suck) and then headed out. I intended to go buy bread and then go to the art museum to see a Munch exhibit. Instead, on the way to the bakery, I passed some folks who looked like part of a parade, and discovered to my delight that there was a Matsuri (festival) going on at Sensoji, the temple near my apartment. The signs announced "東京時代まつり" and I was even happier when I realized that I actually understood what the heck it said - Tokyo Jidai Festival, or Tokyo Historical Era Festival. At this point, I often just assume I won't be able to read signs like that. Anyway, mostly it was just a neat parade, which I watched happily from a spot about 50 feet from where the parade started, and took lots of pictures. I didn't get to the art museum, but I did get to do my other plans - now that I know I'm leaving, I have a few "tourist" type things I want to buy - a fan, some nice chopsticks, a tea pot, a few gifts - and so I went to Ginza to see if I could find anything I liked. I failed, but I had a nice time looking, and then I went and got fresh sushi from Tsukiji...all in all, it was really very nice. I think I needed it, too. Having my internet fail last night sucked majorly and left me upset; this helped me restore my equilibrium. Yay equilibrium!
And now, the writing! ;)
I blinked at him. I opened my mouth to say something, and then snapped it shut again. I blinked a bit more. Surely, I must have misheard him. “Sir?”
“Of course,” he explained, sounding distantly apologetic, “it’s far from ordinary procedure to select someone not in their 5th year to be Head Girl. However, the staff felt that in the current crisis that this school is facing – attacks by the muggles, that sort of thing – we needed to choose carefully, choose someone who had the strength of personality, the ability to lead, the sense of self,” I blushed under his praise. It would have been rather mild praise from most, I supposed, but coming from the Headmaster, who was normally so reserved, I felt acutely just how high the praise really was. He didn’t seem to notice, which pleased me. “I believe we’ve made the right choice. It will be announced to the school at the mid-day meal, and you will be introduced to the students from Durmstrang as such. Make sure you handle yourself in a fashion that does the school proud,” he concluded firmly.
I nodded, enthusiastically enough that I felt silly. “Yes, Headmaster. Thank you, sir.”
As he escorted me out of thee side room, I wondered what I looked like. A lot of heads turned my way, though most only in a glance; it wasn’t exactly normal for the Headmaster to take students aside, though it wasn’t unheard of. It was usually for some sort of punishment, though – the Lunari’s had been taken aside more than once, and their departure was always accompanied by the Groundskeeper smiling eagerly and a large number of points being lost from Gryffindor. My expression surely didn’t help – I suspected it was as ambiguous as I was bewildered by the turn of events. I can’t even claim to be particularly happy about it. I’d been so busy I hardly had time to sleep for the past few weeks, between my class load, Quidditch practice, and my Prefect duties. I still felt drained and weak from the attack of those foul monstrosities, as well. And now, on top of all of that – for this duty did not supplant any of them – I also had to add the duties of Head Girl. I wasn’t even sure what the duties of Head Girl were!
Ignoring the questioning looks that Elena, Celestine, and some of my other friends directed my way, I left the Great Hall to go and do some emergency research. If I was to act as Head Girl at the ball, I needed to know before that what was expected of me. A hand on my shoulder as I walked out made me jump, my heart pounding, as I turned around. “What?” I exclaimed.
“Sorry!” Marcus apologized hastily, dropping his hand as if I’d burned him. I blushed.
“I’m sorry,” I replied, blushing more. “You just startled me.”
“Is everything alright? I saw the Headmaster take you aside. I hope you aren’t in any trouble?”
“Oh, no, that wasn’t it at all. I’ve…” I took a deep breath. “I need to talk to you.” I couldn’t, somehow, make myself tell him what the Headmaster had just told me. He’d know soon enough. I’d been about to say it, in truth, when it dawned on me that if I was Head Girl, and he was Head Boy, it might mean something. I had no idea what it might mean, he certainly hadn’t had any relationship with the previous Head Girl, yet it felt like it carried some kind of weight. I blushed even further, somehow, as I thought on it. He looked at me, his expression terribly concerned; his hand had risen to a position parallel with my shoulder, as if he thought he might have to catch me if I fainted.
“I really am very sorry,” he said again, “I’ve given you a fright! Come, you need fresh air; do you have a moment? I must speak with you as well.” The sentences came one on top of another. He was blushing slightly now, too.
“Yes, a short walk sounds delightful,” I took a few deep breaths, and was glad that was still perfectly steady on my feet. “I’ve made something for you,” I said as we started off. There were other students in the halls, so I kept my voice low, but none of them looked at us twice. I was glad that Katrina, for once, didn’t seem to be stuck to Marcus like glue. I reached in to my robe, and withdrew the potion I had made, placing it firmly in the hand that he still held ready to catch me. It was faintly pink and caught the light as if it contained bits of glitter, and flowed in the bottle as if it was very thick despite its apparent translucency.
Marcus looked at it, frowning. “I’m not familiar with this potion…?”
“No one is,” I smiled. “It’s unique, at the moment, though I can make more if it works. It’s for you. To protect you.”
“Thank you,” he exclaimed. “I’ll save it!”
“No! No, you don’t understand. It’s to protect you,” I was blushing again. Damn it all! “It’s to protect you from Katrina!” I finished in a rush. Marcus looked at me with the most wondering expression.
“Protect me…from…Katrina?”
“Remember, we were talking about whether or not she uses magic to influence…people? Well, I started to think that if she has power to induce affection in some way, I might be able to modify a standard love potion in to a ‘resist love’ potion. I haven’t been able to test it, unfortunately, but I’m pretty certain it won’t hurt the person who takes it, certain it won’t,” I didn’t sound certain, but it couldn’t be helped. “And I think it will help. All it will do is neutralize her power; it won’t interfere with any feelings that actually exist.”
“Thank you,” he said with all sincerity. “I will definitely use this. Do you know how long it lasts?”
“No,” I said sadly. “But I can, like I said, make some more.”
“It’s great,” he smiled at me. I blushed again. What was it about the man? How could he make me turn pink so very easily? This was all just for convenience! I reminded myself firmly, as if I was arguing with the foolish grin that was spreading over my own face in response to his smile. I only ever spoke to Marcus at all so that my parents wouldn’t make me marry that awful Caius Serence, or Guillermo Patil, or one of the other Slytherin purebloods. No other reason! And yet I kept smiling.
“You haven’t made this any easier,” he said, and my blood ran chill. Why did it do this? Convenience! “So I’ve been thinking a great deal about the problem. Tonight’s problem.”
“The fact that Katrina expects you to spend the entire ball with her?”
“Yes. And the fact that I told you I’d go with you as well.”
“It’s alright if you can’t,” even as I said that, I felt a moment of panic. I wanted to go with Marcus! Where would I find another acceptable date in time? The Head Girl had to have a date for the ball. And I wanted Marcus to go with me! I smiled.
“I want to go with you,” he looked right in my eyes as he spoke, firmly. “It’s going to be complicated. I wanted to make sure, though, that it is alright with you. You will be going with ‘me’ but you will not be going with ‘Marcus.’”
“Who will I be going with?”
He drew from his pocket his mask. Everyone was required to wear a mask to the ball that night, which had caused quite a run on all of the available masks in Hogsmeade, from what I’d heard. His appeared to be fairly simple, black with black feathers, and he tied it around his head. It was almost on when he suddenly paused, looking up and down the corridor. No one was in sight, be he still drew me back in to an alcove. I hoped no one saw us; what ever would they think we were doing in such a place? He glanced out of the alcove again quickly, saw no one, and then tied the mask on. Spontaneously, his appearance changed. The mask stayed the same, but his clothing shifted to match it, a black suit and a sweeping, immense black cloak. He was shorter, and his hair darker. His eyes still looked steadily out from the mask, but the rest of his face was completely hidden. “Robert Black,” he said, “if that’s alright.”
I laughed, steadying myself on the wall with one hand. “I think it’s perfect!”
I had a nice day today. After a REALLY bad night last night, I woke up this morning, got my internet working (it's utter failure is what made last night suck) and then headed out. I intended to go buy bread and then go to the art museum to see a Munch exhibit. Instead, on the way to the bakery, I passed some folks who looked like part of a parade, and discovered to my delight that there was a Matsuri (festival) going on at Sensoji, the temple near my apartment. The signs announced "東京時代まつり" and I was even happier when I realized that I actually understood what the heck it said - Tokyo Jidai Festival, or Tokyo Historical Era Festival. At this point, I often just assume I won't be able to read signs like that. Anyway, mostly it was just a neat parade, which I watched happily from a spot about 50 feet from where the parade started, and took lots of pictures. I didn't get to the art museum, but I did get to do my other plans - now that I know I'm leaving, I have a few "tourist" type things I want to buy - a fan, some nice chopsticks, a tea pot, a few gifts - and so I went to Ginza to see if I could find anything I liked. I failed, but I had a nice time looking, and then I went and got fresh sushi from Tsukiji...all in all, it was really very nice. I think I needed it, too. Having my internet fail last night sucked majorly and left me upset; this helped me restore my equilibrium. Yay equilibrium!
And now, the writing! ;)
I blinked at him. I opened my mouth to say something, and then snapped it shut again. I blinked a bit more. Surely, I must have misheard him. “Sir?”
“Of course,” he explained, sounding distantly apologetic, “it’s far from ordinary procedure to select someone not in their 5th year to be Head Girl. However, the staff felt that in the current crisis that this school is facing – attacks by the muggles, that sort of thing – we needed to choose carefully, choose someone who had the strength of personality, the ability to lead, the sense of self,” I blushed under his praise. It would have been rather mild praise from most, I supposed, but coming from the Headmaster, who was normally so reserved, I felt acutely just how high the praise really was. He didn’t seem to notice, which pleased me. “I believe we’ve made the right choice. It will be announced to the school at the mid-day meal, and you will be introduced to the students from Durmstrang as such. Make sure you handle yourself in a fashion that does the school proud,” he concluded firmly.
I nodded, enthusiastically enough that I felt silly. “Yes, Headmaster. Thank you, sir.”
As he escorted me out of thee side room, I wondered what I looked like. A lot of heads turned my way, though most only in a glance; it wasn’t exactly normal for the Headmaster to take students aside, though it wasn’t unheard of. It was usually for some sort of punishment, though – the Lunari’s had been taken aside more than once, and their departure was always accompanied by the Groundskeeper smiling eagerly and a large number of points being lost from Gryffindor. My expression surely didn’t help – I suspected it was as ambiguous as I was bewildered by the turn of events. I can’t even claim to be particularly happy about it. I’d been so busy I hardly had time to sleep for the past few weeks, between my class load, Quidditch practice, and my Prefect duties. I still felt drained and weak from the attack of those foul monstrosities, as well. And now, on top of all of that – for this duty did not supplant any of them – I also had to add the duties of Head Girl. I wasn’t even sure what the duties of Head Girl were!
Ignoring the questioning looks that Elena, Celestine, and some of my other friends directed my way, I left the Great Hall to go and do some emergency research. If I was to act as Head Girl at the ball, I needed to know before that what was expected of me. A hand on my shoulder as I walked out made me jump, my heart pounding, as I turned around. “What?” I exclaimed.
“Sorry!” Marcus apologized hastily, dropping his hand as if I’d burned him. I blushed.
“I’m sorry,” I replied, blushing more. “You just startled me.”
“Is everything alright? I saw the Headmaster take you aside. I hope you aren’t in any trouble?”
“Oh, no, that wasn’t it at all. I’ve…” I took a deep breath. “I need to talk to you.” I couldn’t, somehow, make myself tell him what the Headmaster had just told me. He’d know soon enough. I’d been about to say it, in truth, when it dawned on me that if I was Head Girl, and he was Head Boy, it might mean something. I had no idea what it might mean, he certainly hadn’t had any relationship with the previous Head Girl, yet it felt like it carried some kind of weight. I blushed even further, somehow, as I thought on it. He looked at me, his expression terribly concerned; his hand had risen to a position parallel with my shoulder, as if he thought he might have to catch me if I fainted.
“I really am very sorry,” he said again, “I’ve given you a fright! Come, you need fresh air; do you have a moment? I must speak with you as well.” The sentences came one on top of another. He was blushing slightly now, too.
“Yes, a short walk sounds delightful,” I took a few deep breaths, and was glad that was still perfectly steady on my feet. “I’ve made something for you,” I said as we started off. There were other students in the halls, so I kept my voice low, but none of them looked at us twice. I was glad that Katrina, for once, didn’t seem to be stuck to Marcus like glue. I reached in to my robe, and withdrew the potion I had made, placing it firmly in the hand that he still held ready to catch me. It was faintly pink and caught the light as if it contained bits of glitter, and flowed in the bottle as if it was very thick despite its apparent translucency.
Marcus looked at it, frowning. “I’m not familiar with this potion…?”
“No one is,” I smiled. “It’s unique, at the moment, though I can make more if it works. It’s for you. To protect you.”
“Thank you,” he exclaimed. “I’ll save it!”
“No! No, you don’t understand. It’s to protect you,” I was blushing again. Damn it all! “It’s to protect you from Katrina!” I finished in a rush. Marcus looked at me with the most wondering expression.
“Protect me…from…Katrina?”
“Remember, we were talking about whether or not she uses magic to influence…people? Well, I started to think that if she has power to induce affection in some way, I might be able to modify a standard love potion in to a ‘resist love’ potion. I haven’t been able to test it, unfortunately, but I’m pretty certain it won’t hurt the person who takes it, certain it won’t,” I didn’t sound certain, but it couldn’t be helped. “And I think it will help. All it will do is neutralize her power; it won’t interfere with any feelings that actually exist.”
“Thank you,” he said with all sincerity. “I will definitely use this. Do you know how long it lasts?”
“No,” I said sadly. “But I can, like I said, make some more.”
“It’s great,” he smiled at me. I blushed again. What was it about the man? How could he make me turn pink so very easily? This was all just for convenience! I reminded myself firmly, as if I was arguing with the foolish grin that was spreading over my own face in response to his smile. I only ever spoke to Marcus at all so that my parents wouldn’t make me marry that awful Caius Serence, or Guillermo Patil, or one of the other Slytherin purebloods. No other reason! And yet I kept smiling.
“You haven’t made this any easier,” he said, and my blood ran chill. Why did it do this? Convenience! “So I’ve been thinking a great deal about the problem. Tonight’s problem.”
“The fact that Katrina expects you to spend the entire ball with her?”
“Yes. And the fact that I told you I’d go with you as well.”
“It’s alright if you can’t,” even as I said that, I felt a moment of panic. I wanted to go with Marcus! Where would I find another acceptable date in time? The Head Girl had to have a date for the ball. And I wanted Marcus to go with me! I smiled.
“I want to go with you,” he looked right in my eyes as he spoke, firmly. “It’s going to be complicated. I wanted to make sure, though, that it is alright with you. You will be going with ‘me’ but you will not be going with ‘Marcus.’”
“Who will I be going with?”
He drew from his pocket his mask. Everyone was required to wear a mask to the ball that night, which had caused quite a run on all of the available masks in Hogsmeade, from what I’d heard. His appeared to be fairly simple, black with black feathers, and he tied it around his head. It was almost on when he suddenly paused, looking up and down the corridor. No one was in sight, be he still drew me back in to an alcove. I hoped no one saw us; what ever would they think we were doing in such a place? He glanced out of the alcove again quickly, saw no one, and then tied the mask on. Spontaneously, his appearance changed. The mask stayed the same, but his clothing shifted to match it, a black suit and a sweeping, immense black cloak. He was shorter, and his hair darker. His eyes still looked steadily out from the mask, but the rest of his face was completely hidden. “Robert Black,” he said, “if that’s alright.”
I laughed, steadying myself on the wall with one hand. “I think it’s perfect!”
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2007-11-03 11:20 am (UTC)And by the way, I will be in your area next weekend. Well, Yokohama actually, but that's closer than I usually am. I'm going to visit a friend from study abroad days, but if you have some time, it would be cool to meet up with you too. :)
no subject
Date: 2007-11-03 03:19 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-11-03 03:08 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-11-03 03:18 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-11-25 06:56 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-11-25 02:04 pm (UTC)