Hogwarts: Part 23
May. 16th, 2006 12:56 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
unforthWell, it's been a long while!
The days go slowly. Mom and I have been watching ER - apparently, my sister in law loves it, and so my brother went and bought mom the first season, saying that if she didn't like it, they should pass it on to said sister in law. We've been watching it for two days and we're both rather enjoying it. Mostly, we sit on mom's bed, she knits, I do sudoku puzzles, and we watch ER. :)
In other news, I finished "Doppelganger" last night. I really liked it over all - couldn't put it down near the end! I won't say that it was perfect - there were a few things that bothered me (like, I really like Eclipse and want to know more about him! ;) ) but over all, it was pretty good. All ya all who haven't read it yet should go do so. ;) In related news, I spotted copies of it the B&N I grew up near, and changed it so that they were facing out. ;) Couldn't resist.
Mother's Day was fairly nice over all. I got mom some goodies - a really nice chocolate bar, some expensive salami (she hasn't had salami in years, so this counts as a treat), egg salad, donuts, and a carvel cake. Given her stomach problems and the fact that she generally diets, all of this counted as yummy happy treats, and she's been enjoying snacking away, though she does lament violating her diet (oh, how I understand that!). I also got her flowers, did some errands, and generally had fun. Today I had the bright idea of running and grabbing her menus - she orders in food almost every night cause she doesn't have the energy to cook nor the energy to eat out, so I went up and down the nearby avenues gathering delivery menus. Now she has lots of choices - and I'll be gathering more tomorrow. She was really excited - she said she was getting really bored of the same old places. ;)
Anyway, enough of that nonsense. There's all this writing I need to do but busy-ness and lack of internet have kept me from getting any of it done (I don't know why I need an internet connection to write, this makes no sense, but somehow I just do. ;) ) But I'm working on it! And as part of that continued effort, I present, after a three month hiatus, the next installment of the Hogwart's story. I am determined to finish this bitch! ;)
The days leading up to the arrival of the students from Durmstrang were long and dull. Anticipation was high, and everyone wanted to see what was going to happen, but time plodded on, and so more and more tempers flared. It seemed, in short, that the time would never come.
I appreciated the delay, though. I needed the time to recover from the damage and injuries she had sustained at the hands of the dementors, the Quidditch team needed practice, and on top of that I still had to prepare for the ball, study for my classes, and perform my prefect duties. Through it all, I wondered somehow where I even got the time to sleep.
Some handled the strain better than others, though. There was one in particular member of my house who I found myself increasingly concerned about. Galatea Cogsworth, a Ravenclaw first year, was acting increasingly strangely, and her behavior caught Delia’s attention. She seemed some how clueless, she was very close to – and clearly even more concerned than the rest of them with – the arrested Professor Tremen’s, and she was unusually strong and heavy. The more I thought about it, the more she couldn’t help but wonder if there was a connection between Galatea and the child depicted in Professor Tremens notes. All my attempts to determine this, though, proved fruitless. I read and reread the notes provided, but I lacked with skill necessary with Automata to truly interpret the brilliance of the robot that the professor had designed. I examined the drawings and diary entries pertaining to “Precious,” but nothing indicated that the automata in question related to Galatea in any way. Somehow, though, I just couldn’t shake the feeling that the two were related. However, as the day of the arrival of the Durmstrang students approached, I had to give up my investigation, for more pressing matters needed to be attended to.
The first such pressing matter, though, took place before the Durmstrang’s arrival. After careful planning, a few notes passed by owl, and a bit of sneaking around, Marcus and I had managed to find a time when both of us could meet for the promised date. I was more excited about this than I ever would have cared to admit, and increasingly I found myself wondering what had gotten into me. This was all just a ploy, I would remind myself, this is all just a way to avoid an arranged marriage. Marcus is simply convenient. Yet no amount of repeating this cold, calculated thoughts convinced me thoroughly; no amount of reminding myself could keep the silly grin off my face every time I saw him. All in all, the situation was growing increasingly worrisome.
The date was held one evening but a few days before the arrival of the Durmstrang students in a small hidden room that branched off from a secret passage which started as an off shoot the some-what secret corridor that led to the Hufflepuff common room. The directions that he sent to me were complicated to say the least, and it was with dubious certainty that I picked my way through the dusty, cob-web filled, dark corridors towards the meeting place. However, my fears of getting lost proved unfounded, as I discovered Marcus, a lumos spell lighting the space, sitting with a small table, a candle, a simple table setting and a bit of food. Smiling apologetically, he gestured in welcome.
“I’m sorry,” he said, sounding as truly sorry as I’d ever really heard anyone sound, “this is less than ideal, but it’s the best I can manage.” There seemed to be an unspoken “I’ll make it up to you in the future” hidden in his tone, but I feared that it was just my imagination.
“Oh, it’s quite alright. It’s…unique.” I smiled reassuringly, feeling the now-familiar blush in my cheeks, and feeling myself quite the fool. I wondered vaguely if he felt the same way.
What we talked about that evening is largely uninteresting. We got to know each other; we discussed our pasts and our childhoods; we discussed Hogwarts and our classes and our teachers; we talked of potions and spells and hedgehogs. Nothing had great substance, but as a whole, it was all just nice in a way few other conversations in my life had been. I had never, I realized, sat down and just talked like this. Thinking on it, I couldn’t help but wonder what I’d talked about with people in the past. School, usually, and sometimes home and the holidays and the like, but never had I really sat and chatted so casually, even with my female friends. Looking back, I suppose it was a sign that I was growing up; at the time, it seemed like the most marvelous thing, and I felt somehow that I should be having conversations like that more often.
Our time, sadly, was greatly limited. Both of us had so many duties and responsibilities that it had, in truth, been a wonder we’d been able to find any time in common at all. Marcus had a WAP meeting that evening, and I had to get to the Quidditch green. As we parted ways, my determination to beat Katrina to his affections had tripled; I would not lose to her. I would be Marcus’ girlfriend.
More to come! Now to go get done some of the other writing I need to do. :) And take a bath. And sleep. Cause I'll probably be up early...again... ;)
The days go slowly. Mom and I have been watching ER - apparently, my sister in law loves it, and so my brother went and bought mom the first season, saying that if she didn't like it, they should pass it on to said sister in law. We've been watching it for two days and we're both rather enjoying it. Mostly, we sit on mom's bed, she knits, I do sudoku puzzles, and we watch ER. :)
In other news, I finished "Doppelganger" last night. I really liked it over all - couldn't put it down near the end! I won't say that it was perfect - there were a few things that bothered me (like, I really like Eclipse and want to know more about him! ;) ) but over all, it was pretty good. All ya all who haven't read it yet should go do so. ;) In related news, I spotted copies of it the B&N I grew up near, and changed it so that they were facing out. ;) Couldn't resist.
Mother's Day was fairly nice over all. I got mom some goodies - a really nice chocolate bar, some expensive salami (she hasn't had salami in years, so this counts as a treat), egg salad, donuts, and a carvel cake. Given her stomach problems and the fact that she generally diets, all of this counted as yummy happy treats, and she's been enjoying snacking away, though she does lament violating her diet (oh, how I understand that!). I also got her flowers, did some errands, and generally had fun. Today I had the bright idea of running and grabbing her menus - she orders in food almost every night cause she doesn't have the energy to cook nor the energy to eat out, so I went up and down the nearby avenues gathering delivery menus. Now she has lots of choices - and I'll be gathering more tomorrow. She was really excited - she said she was getting really bored of the same old places. ;)
Anyway, enough of that nonsense. There's all this writing I need to do but busy-ness and lack of internet have kept me from getting any of it done (I don't know why I need an internet connection to write, this makes no sense, but somehow I just do. ;) ) But I'm working on it! And as part of that continued effort, I present, after a three month hiatus, the next installment of the Hogwart's story. I am determined to finish this bitch! ;)
The days leading up to the arrival of the students from Durmstrang were long and dull. Anticipation was high, and everyone wanted to see what was going to happen, but time plodded on, and so more and more tempers flared. It seemed, in short, that the time would never come.
I appreciated the delay, though. I needed the time to recover from the damage and injuries she had sustained at the hands of the dementors, the Quidditch team needed practice, and on top of that I still had to prepare for the ball, study for my classes, and perform my prefect duties. Through it all, I wondered somehow where I even got the time to sleep.
Some handled the strain better than others, though. There was one in particular member of my house who I found myself increasingly concerned about. Galatea Cogsworth, a Ravenclaw first year, was acting increasingly strangely, and her behavior caught Delia’s attention. She seemed some how clueless, she was very close to – and clearly even more concerned than the rest of them with – the arrested Professor Tremen’s, and she was unusually strong and heavy. The more I thought about it, the more she couldn’t help but wonder if there was a connection between Galatea and the child depicted in Professor Tremens notes. All my attempts to determine this, though, proved fruitless. I read and reread the notes provided, but I lacked with skill necessary with Automata to truly interpret the brilliance of the robot that the professor had designed. I examined the drawings and diary entries pertaining to “Precious,” but nothing indicated that the automata in question related to Galatea in any way. Somehow, though, I just couldn’t shake the feeling that the two were related. However, as the day of the arrival of the Durmstrang students approached, I had to give up my investigation, for more pressing matters needed to be attended to.
The first such pressing matter, though, took place before the Durmstrang’s arrival. After careful planning, a few notes passed by owl, and a bit of sneaking around, Marcus and I had managed to find a time when both of us could meet for the promised date. I was more excited about this than I ever would have cared to admit, and increasingly I found myself wondering what had gotten into me. This was all just a ploy, I would remind myself, this is all just a way to avoid an arranged marriage. Marcus is simply convenient. Yet no amount of repeating this cold, calculated thoughts convinced me thoroughly; no amount of reminding myself could keep the silly grin off my face every time I saw him. All in all, the situation was growing increasingly worrisome.
The date was held one evening but a few days before the arrival of the Durmstrang students in a small hidden room that branched off from a secret passage which started as an off shoot the some-what secret corridor that led to the Hufflepuff common room. The directions that he sent to me were complicated to say the least, and it was with dubious certainty that I picked my way through the dusty, cob-web filled, dark corridors towards the meeting place. However, my fears of getting lost proved unfounded, as I discovered Marcus, a lumos spell lighting the space, sitting with a small table, a candle, a simple table setting and a bit of food. Smiling apologetically, he gestured in welcome.
“I’m sorry,” he said, sounding as truly sorry as I’d ever really heard anyone sound, “this is less than ideal, but it’s the best I can manage.” There seemed to be an unspoken “I’ll make it up to you in the future” hidden in his tone, but I feared that it was just my imagination.
“Oh, it’s quite alright. It’s…unique.” I smiled reassuringly, feeling the now-familiar blush in my cheeks, and feeling myself quite the fool. I wondered vaguely if he felt the same way.
What we talked about that evening is largely uninteresting. We got to know each other; we discussed our pasts and our childhoods; we discussed Hogwarts and our classes and our teachers; we talked of potions and spells and hedgehogs. Nothing had great substance, but as a whole, it was all just nice in a way few other conversations in my life had been. I had never, I realized, sat down and just talked like this. Thinking on it, I couldn’t help but wonder what I’d talked about with people in the past. School, usually, and sometimes home and the holidays and the like, but never had I really sat and chatted so casually, even with my female friends. Looking back, I suppose it was a sign that I was growing up; at the time, it seemed like the most marvelous thing, and I felt somehow that I should be having conversations like that more often.
Our time, sadly, was greatly limited. Both of us had so many duties and responsibilities that it had, in truth, been a wonder we’d been able to find any time in common at all. Marcus had a WAP meeting that evening, and I had to get to the Quidditch green. As we parted ways, my determination to beat Katrina to his affections had tripled; I would not lose to her. I would be Marcus’ girlfriend.
More to come! Now to go get done some of the other writing I need to do. :) And take a bath. And sleep. Cause I'll probably be up early...again... ;)
