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unforthThere are some things I love about Tokyo. I love how polite people are. I love the range of stores and cool things, the access to stuff related to all of my various hobbies. I love my apartment, and the smell of tatami, and the fact that conbini sell Onigiri and zarusoba. I could go on and on. But today, I was reminded of why it would never really work out.
I had a message from one of our partners for the grant I'm writing. She has a meeting tomorrow in which she'll be checking with a coworker about the grant. This meeting is in the afternoon. She'd like to talk to me (on the phone) before that. She teaches a class until noon, though, can't be reached before. And it's important that we talk. All of which is why I have to call her at 3 in the fucking morning. That's what arranging a 1 PM telephone meeting with someone in NYC gets me. This is what I get for not telling her I live in Japan. :)
Other than that, I've had a perfectly nice day. And I'll be having a lot more of it. Now, to try and get some work done!
Without further discussion, then, we gained access to the Charms classroom with utter ease. The three of us then spent nearly an hour each looking over every single corner of the room. We found a desk that had been carved with “T Loves U,” a small secret cubby behind a stone in the wall that contained a strange lump of some waxy substance that made our fingers tingle and a note that read “Beware! RTT,” a small lizard which got in to a quarrel with Boggle (which was broken up by Kate and Mr. Whiskers, Fred’s rat), and an aggressive dust bunny or two which left us sneezing. None of this, however, had any relevance, and finally I stopped, having just explored the chandelier on the ceiling. “You know,” I said, “I think this might be a waste of time. The Headmaster said she was poisoned, right? It could have happened any time in the last few days, right?”
Marcus laughed ruefully; Fred looked slightly ashamed too, but she just sneezed. “Quite right,” he said; he came over and helped me down from the desk I was standing on. Once again, he didn’t let go of my hand even when my feet were once more safely on the ground. Having a boyfriend was, I decided, very nice indeed. “It didn’t hurt to look, though.”
“Not at all,” I agreed, with a passable attempt at good humor. It actually had been kind of fun to turn the classroom inside out looking for odd things, even if it hadn’t served our immediate purpose.
“I suppose that’s that, then?”
“Wait,” Fred said, slightly nasally, wiping her nose with a kerchief. “There is one other thing we could try…” she reached in to the basket she always carried and pulled out a bag of large, conch shaped chocolates. “I…I didn’t mention it sooner, because I haven’t tested them thoroughly yet, so I’m not sure they work.”
“What do you they do?” I asked.
“They let you talk to ghosts!”
I frowned slightly. “Can’t we talk to ghosts anyway? We spoke to Sir Nicholas earlier…”
“No, no,” she shook her head, and dust settled from her hair. “I mean, yes, but this is different. Some spirits manifest like Sir Nicholas, but some don’t, but they’re still kind of there – especially right after they die, spirits often linger, I did a lot of research before trying to make the chocolate.”
“So Auror Weasley’s spirit might still be in the room, even though she hasn’t become a ghost?” Marcus sounded surprised. I hadn’t known it was possible either. But Fred nodded vigorously. “Alright, then, pass me one of the chocolates. If there’s a chance that it’s dangerous, it’s only appropriate that I be the one to try.”
“Now wait,” I began, and Fred started at the same moment, but he moved forward (releasing my hand) and took the bag from her and ate a chocolate, just like that. I sighed, and prepared to find a way to get him to the Infirmary; for all that she had made them herself I saw my expression mirrored on Fred’s face.
At first, nothing at all seemed different. “It’s quite tasty,” Marcus commented, “but it doesn’t seem to do anything.”
“It’s always taken a minute or so when I’ve tested it,” Fred said nervously. “Oh, I should have been the one to eat it, I’m pretty sure they usually work right when I eat them, but I don’t know about anyone else…”
The minute passed, though, and all Marcus said was that he saw nothing. He stuck his head in to the hall, and still saw nothing. Fred’s chocolates never worked for more than about 5 minutes; when 4 had passed with no effect, Fred took one herself, and, with a sigh, I did the same. The entire time passed for all of us, though, without seeing a single spirit. Fred was astonished. “That’s never happened before,” she said nervously, still looking around, trying desperately to see what clearly was not there to be seen. “When I’ve eaten them back home, I’ve always seen SOMETHING, even if only an animal spirit or a glow around an item or two – sometimes items have, I don’t know, aura’s that are visible with this chocolate. I don’t think this was my chocolates not working; I don’t know what it was…what it wasn’t, I suppose I should say. It makes me nervous.”
“Well, there’s nothing we can do about it,” I said, a little disappointed any way.
“Can either of you think of anything we haven’t tried?” asked Marcus. We all stood there, silent, for several minutes. I wracked my brain for other approaches we might use to further the investigation, but finally I was forced to shake my head.
“Nothing,” I said, and Fred sadly shook her head in agreement. “If it was a poisoning, it could have happened any time in the last few days. We don’t know where, we don’t know her habits or what she ate, we don’t know who she’s been spending time with, and we don’t have any way to find out. I think there’s nothing much we can do.”
Both Marcus and Fred agreed with me, though reluctantly, and so we made our way through the hall ways of the school. It was getting late, though, and finally we decided that it would be best if we all returned to our dormitories. The entire effort had been a sad waste of time, and yet I hadn’t minded. It had been kind of fun to play the sleuth with my two friends; I found myself wishing that Celestine had been with us as well. I finished my evening studying as the students slowly returned from their interrogations, and when I finally went to sleep, my last thought was to wonder why there were no errant spirits in the castle, and what it might mean. It sounded to me like something that boded nothing good.
The Auror’s remained at Hogwarts investigating until the train left to bring students home for Christmas on the following Saturday, but if they found out anything they didn’t share it with the students. At various times myself, Marcus and Fred all made vague inquiries to learn more about it, but we were not great shakes as detective, and none of us found out a thing. Still, as the holiday approached, increasingly it was out of my mind. I was not looking forward to going home. School was so much nicer. I could spend time with my friends, and Professor Tremens’ had been being even more generous and free-spirited than normal since her return, making life in the Ravenclaw dormitory a joy as she randomly produced candy for us all, or decorations, or Christmas gifts. Her effusive spirits were contagious, but their effect on me was strictly temporary; when I realized that I’d soon have to go home and be alone for the entire 10 days except for my family – who, given their disapproval of my choice of boyfriend, might well arrange me a marriage before the break was out, I was getting old enough – was, all in all, not the most appealing thought.
I had a message from one of our partners for the grant I'm writing. She has a meeting tomorrow in which she'll be checking with a coworker about the grant. This meeting is in the afternoon. She'd like to talk to me (on the phone) before that. She teaches a class until noon, though, can't be reached before. And it's important that we talk. All of which is why I have to call her at 3 in the fucking morning. That's what arranging a 1 PM telephone meeting with someone in NYC gets me. This is what I get for not telling her I live in Japan. :)
Other than that, I've had a perfectly nice day. And I'll be having a lot more of it. Now, to try and get some work done!
Without further discussion, then, we gained access to the Charms classroom with utter ease. The three of us then spent nearly an hour each looking over every single corner of the room. We found a desk that had been carved with “T Loves U,” a small secret cubby behind a stone in the wall that contained a strange lump of some waxy substance that made our fingers tingle and a note that read “Beware! RTT,” a small lizard which got in to a quarrel with Boggle (which was broken up by Kate and Mr. Whiskers, Fred’s rat), and an aggressive dust bunny or two which left us sneezing. None of this, however, had any relevance, and finally I stopped, having just explored the chandelier on the ceiling. “You know,” I said, “I think this might be a waste of time. The Headmaster said she was poisoned, right? It could have happened any time in the last few days, right?”
Marcus laughed ruefully; Fred looked slightly ashamed too, but she just sneezed. “Quite right,” he said; he came over and helped me down from the desk I was standing on. Once again, he didn’t let go of my hand even when my feet were once more safely on the ground. Having a boyfriend was, I decided, very nice indeed. “It didn’t hurt to look, though.”
“Not at all,” I agreed, with a passable attempt at good humor. It actually had been kind of fun to turn the classroom inside out looking for odd things, even if it hadn’t served our immediate purpose.
“I suppose that’s that, then?”
“Wait,” Fred said, slightly nasally, wiping her nose with a kerchief. “There is one other thing we could try…” she reached in to the basket she always carried and pulled out a bag of large, conch shaped chocolates. “I…I didn’t mention it sooner, because I haven’t tested them thoroughly yet, so I’m not sure they work.”
“What do you they do?” I asked.
“They let you talk to ghosts!”
I frowned slightly. “Can’t we talk to ghosts anyway? We spoke to Sir Nicholas earlier…”
“No, no,” she shook her head, and dust settled from her hair. “I mean, yes, but this is different. Some spirits manifest like Sir Nicholas, but some don’t, but they’re still kind of there – especially right after they die, spirits often linger, I did a lot of research before trying to make the chocolate.”
“So Auror Weasley’s spirit might still be in the room, even though she hasn’t become a ghost?” Marcus sounded surprised. I hadn’t known it was possible either. But Fred nodded vigorously. “Alright, then, pass me one of the chocolates. If there’s a chance that it’s dangerous, it’s only appropriate that I be the one to try.”
“Now wait,” I began, and Fred started at the same moment, but he moved forward (releasing my hand) and took the bag from her and ate a chocolate, just like that. I sighed, and prepared to find a way to get him to the Infirmary; for all that she had made them herself I saw my expression mirrored on Fred’s face.
At first, nothing at all seemed different. “It’s quite tasty,” Marcus commented, “but it doesn’t seem to do anything.”
“It’s always taken a minute or so when I’ve tested it,” Fred said nervously. “Oh, I should have been the one to eat it, I’m pretty sure they usually work right when I eat them, but I don’t know about anyone else…”
The minute passed, though, and all Marcus said was that he saw nothing. He stuck his head in to the hall, and still saw nothing. Fred’s chocolates never worked for more than about 5 minutes; when 4 had passed with no effect, Fred took one herself, and, with a sigh, I did the same. The entire time passed for all of us, though, without seeing a single spirit. Fred was astonished. “That’s never happened before,” she said nervously, still looking around, trying desperately to see what clearly was not there to be seen. “When I’ve eaten them back home, I’ve always seen SOMETHING, even if only an animal spirit or a glow around an item or two – sometimes items have, I don’t know, aura’s that are visible with this chocolate. I don’t think this was my chocolates not working; I don’t know what it was…what it wasn’t, I suppose I should say. It makes me nervous.”
“Well, there’s nothing we can do about it,” I said, a little disappointed any way.
“Can either of you think of anything we haven’t tried?” asked Marcus. We all stood there, silent, for several minutes. I wracked my brain for other approaches we might use to further the investigation, but finally I was forced to shake my head.
“Nothing,” I said, and Fred sadly shook her head in agreement. “If it was a poisoning, it could have happened any time in the last few days. We don’t know where, we don’t know her habits or what she ate, we don’t know who she’s been spending time with, and we don’t have any way to find out. I think there’s nothing much we can do.”
Both Marcus and Fred agreed with me, though reluctantly, and so we made our way through the hall ways of the school. It was getting late, though, and finally we decided that it would be best if we all returned to our dormitories. The entire effort had been a sad waste of time, and yet I hadn’t minded. It had been kind of fun to play the sleuth with my two friends; I found myself wishing that Celestine had been with us as well. I finished my evening studying as the students slowly returned from their interrogations, and when I finally went to sleep, my last thought was to wonder why there were no errant spirits in the castle, and what it might mean. It sounded to me like something that boded nothing good.
The Auror’s remained at Hogwarts investigating until the train left to bring students home for Christmas on the following Saturday, but if they found out anything they didn’t share it with the students. At various times myself, Marcus and Fred all made vague inquiries to learn more about it, but we were not great shakes as detective, and none of us found out a thing. Still, as the holiday approached, increasingly it was out of my mind. I was not looking forward to going home. School was so much nicer. I could spend time with my friends, and Professor Tremens’ had been being even more generous and free-spirited than normal since her return, making life in the Ravenclaw dormitory a joy as she randomly produced candy for us all, or decorations, or Christmas gifts. Her effusive spirits were contagious, but their effect on me was strictly temporary; when I realized that I’d soon have to go home and be alone for the entire 10 days except for my family – who, given their disapproval of my choice of boyfriend, might well arrange me a marriage before the break was out, I was getting old enough – was, all in all, not the most appealing thought.
