HH_mirror

Ms. Leynier,

I'm glad to hear you're recovered from your travels. Sortings are fascinating ordeals, but ordeals just the same.

I have owled Dr. Grant about our experiment, and he has agreed and offered his office as a venue. A measure of privacy is a side benefit of his post as an instructor here, one gathers, as is the exclusive services of a house-elf. If you'll meet me outside the Slytherin dorms this afternoon, he has promised to send his elf to escort us there.

My thanks once again,
Sidney Reilly

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Well-rested, Renata waited for Reilly at the time he had specified. The Hogwarts robes were perfect for matrix work provided one omitted the school tie, which would have been too binding; other than that, Renata approved of the uniform. A house-elf had packed for her the nearest that could be managed to the food that the Hali'imyn needed after matrix work.

"This is a very funny word, granola," she said, grinning and holding up the bag of crunchy stuff for Reilly to see.

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"I'm afraid I don't know the etymology, but I do know the stuff is beloved of hikers and climbers as a source of quick energy when one is depleted. Is this process going to be draining for you?" He raised an eyebrow and nodded at the bag.

"Ah, I believe this must be our escort now..."

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Renata's brow furrowed slightly as she thought. "Yes, and no. Draining is perhaps not the word I would use. Matrix work does require expenditure of energy, considerably so; the same energy that fuels the body's physical muscles fuels the currents --" She frowned. "I do not think the concepts translate well. In any case, no harm is done, and that is why I would not say 'draining'. But I will need to replenish energy after I am done."

She turned to see what he spoke of. "Escort?"

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"I believe I get the idea. Like hard exercise, but of a different sort."

Reilly pointed to a house-elf approaching them at a fast clip. "I confess I can't yet differentiate the elves by their faces yet, but I believe the one who attends Dr. Grant was wearing that, ahh, garment when last I saw him."

The elf reached the two of them and tugged at Reilly's sleeve. "All right, we're ready to go," he told it, and to Renata added, "Shall we?"

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"Very like," Renata agreed.

She regarded the house-elf's ... garment ... with curiosity but made no comment. Each place had its own customs. This one would not bend to fit Renata's sensibilities. "So he is Grant's body servant, of a sort? Yes, let us go, by all means. I confess I am eager to see what we will learn."

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"I believe that is the idea, though Grant strikes me as too egalitarian to use a valet. I suspect he employs the elf more as an office assistant."

They fell into step behind the elf and made their way to the Care of Magical Creatures office.

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(( yes, let's wait for Grant-mun to tag in! I'll probably be asleep by the time she gets off work, but I'll be back on tomorrow. ))

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The elf didn't bother to knock or announce their presence, but just opened the door and showed them in. Piles of books littered the desk and the floor of the small office, but the two chairs for visitors had been cleared off. Grant had pulled his chair around from behind the desk and the three seats were arranged in a triangle.

Grant had been sitting in his own chair, with his feet propped up on the rungs of another chair when they arrived. Standing up, he nodded to Reilly and offered his hand to Renata. "Pleased to meet you, Ms. Leynier, is it?" he asked.

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Renata nodded, gamely taking his hand and shaking it tentatively, the formal gesture of recognition among these people still unfamiliar to her. "By all means call me Renata. You are Doctor Grant, then. The likeness is indeed remarkable," looking from Grant to Reilly and back again.

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"Yes, and disturbing as well," Reilly said as he took a seat. "This is your show, Renata. What are you intending to do exactly, and what must we do?"

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"What I intend to do," said Renata, "you likely will not feel at all, since neither of you is a telepath. Simply make your mind and body as quiet and relaxed as you can, and try to think of nothing at all."

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"I believe I can do that." Reilly glanced from Renata to Grant. "You?"

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"I can try." Keeping still, either physically or mentally, had never been one of his strong suits. "How long does this usually take?"

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Having seated herself -- on a rug on the floor -- in a position which she could maintain for some time untroubled, Renata gave him a look that barely missed sternness. "That is a question I cannot answer," she said. "It will take ... a while, and I must concentrate. Please do not let the house-elf return." Delicately she removed the silk-and-leather wrappings from the matrix she wore. Lights pulsed within the jewel's depths.

She would monitor first one man, then the other. She wished them both to remain still, so that the movements of one would not distract the other, or disrupt Renata's own concentration. The muscles of her face relaxed into a complete lack of expression -- not complete laxity, no slackjawed drooling, but an absence of consciousness. She had withdrawn her awareness; it was all focused through the matrix now.

Minutes passed.

At last, Renata blinked, and shuddered slightly. It was almost a reanimation.

"This is extraordinary," she said. "You are more alike even than twins. There are different injuries your bodies have endured at various points in your lives, otherwise I could swear you were one and the same. At the level of your very cells themselves you are the same."

Her eyes flickered to Grant, troubled. "That is except when you are ... other than you are?" It was a thing she had never seen before, and she hesitated to speak of it before Reilly, who did not share the ailment.

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To his surprise Reilly had little trouble complying with Renata's instructions. The jewel she unwrapped on the floor was beautiful, and he found the light within it somewhat hypnotic.

How is that possible? was the only thought he could muster for her revelation, and he welcomed the distraction of her odd question. He looked sharply from her to Grant.

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"That's not possible," Grant said automatically, although it really only confirmed what he and Reilly knew. Possible or not, the truth was sitting right in front of him.

Grant nodded at Renata's remark. "It's a magical condition. I didn't pick it up until I came here, and I don't think you're met too many werewolves, have you, Mr. Reilly?" If they were really the same person, Grant figured that Reilly would probably find out for himself sooner than later. If the spy ever did business with the Ministry of Magic, he was going to be in for a treat.

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Renata shielded the matrix again in its insulating wrappings. "It makes even less sense than your similarity to Master Reilly," she said to Grant. "I cannot comprehend how it can be so. The repeated changes have already begun to take a toll on your joints; I can undo that damage, if you wish it, but it will begin again, and worsen slightly with each change." To Reilly she said: "You may recall I spoke briefly at your Sorting of a rule by which each entity in the universe has a duplicate, except for matrix stones which are unique in structure. Dr Grant appears somehow to be both your double and ... not. For you to be Cherillys doubles, you would be identical in all respects. Perhaps not by the same means: whereas Dr Grant broke his right leg some years ago when a cliff gave way beneath him, you might have incurred the same injury simply by falling down a flight of stairs. And it is not so with you. You are identical in genetic makeup, but you are not doubles. This condition of Dr Grant's is only one example, just the one most striking to me."

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"That's...certainly striking, all right," he said faintly, adding to Grant, "Werewolf? Really? There are such things...? How did...How do you..?"

He shook his head. "Renata, this is a great deal to process, but - could the fact that I am unstuck in time be a factor? Perhaps I had a - Cherillys? - double eighty years ago, and Dr. Grant another of his own in this world, as he's of this time? Perhaps even the third of us, the other man I met at my Sorting?"

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"It would be fantastic if you could undo the whole thing, but I'll take what I can get," Grant said. He hadn't noticed any difference, but with only twelve changes a year the damage was slow but steady. He raised his eyebrow at her mention of the cliff, impressed with her ability.

He turned to Reilly. "Yes, really. Which do you want first, the how it happened, or what it does?"

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Renata shook her head regretfully. "The cause of it is not native to your body, certainly, but neither is it something I can uproot or drive out." To Reilly she said, "I am at a loss. Cherillys' Law has always been to me a matter of theory -- purely academic, nothing I ever expected to see in action if indeed it were a truth, as I had certainly never seen it proven. Nor do I have the talent of moving through time. I am afraid I have no ready answers."

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"No matter; you've already done more than we really expected would be possible, and I - we - can't thank you enough for that," he told her. Then he turned to Grant.

"The 'how' would be the old-fashioned way, I'd imagine, if the legends are correct - perhaps through your works with magical creatures? What it does, now there I am at a loss. Is it something you mind very much discussing?"

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"No harm in asking, I guess," Grant said. "How do you fix what's already been done?"

"You're close," he said to Reilly, "although it was actually the previous Care of Magical Creatures professor." Grant shrugged. "We're talking about it now," he said. "It's probably not too different from any story you may have heard. At the full moon, if everything works the way it should, I turn into a wolf."

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Renata, pale-faced, had already started munching the granola she had brought with her. "I can ... direct? ... the body to heal at a cellular level. What causes your affliction is, as you must know, foreign to your body. It is not even a living organism proper -- no, that is not quite right," she said with a little frown. "It is ... a particle, it is not made of cells (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virus) ... but it can replicate itself, and it has caused an infection throughout your system. I do not know how to kill it, and your body cannot force it out, else I would encourage that process." She looked regretful. "I am sorry."

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Reilly was staring at Grant through narrowed eyes, considering.

"If they have allowed not one but two - werewolves - to hold teaching positions here, then there must be something I'm missing. Something that would mitigate the danger your...condition...must pose. At a guess - are you contractually obliged to lock yourself up during the full moon?"

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What Renata said made sense to Grant, and confirmed some suspicions he'd had. A magical virus, maybe? "Thank you, anyway," he said. "You've been a great help. Would you like some water to go with that?" Grant offered.

"Three," he corrected Reilly, "But the other two aren't really here anymore." Lily's posters had tipped him off to ~~Lupus~~ Lupin's popcorning. "There are things a person can do, but nobody's making you do it. When it's managed correctly, there isn't much danger present. The specifics are pretty dull, though, and maybe better suited for another time." He remembered Reilly asking him how long it would take before he became immune to Hogwart's dangers and surprises. Grant had a feeling that the man was a few steps further down that road now.

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Renata smiled. "I thank you for the offer. With your permission, though, I think I should retire. I will need to eat rather more than this, and to sleep. When you would like to speak concerning the damage to your joints, send me word, Dr Grant." She rose, and curtseyed to both men in turn.

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"Many, many thanks, Renata. I hope we haven't strained you unduly." He smiled and stepped aside to let her pass.

"Dr. Grant. Would you care to lunch with me sometime, and speak further on these matters?"

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gillians-fury.livejournal.com

Renata,

I've been studying in the library a lot, so maybe we can meet there, since it's pretty central. Or I can come to you if you'd rather, whenever you say.

I should have said something before - can you do this without touching me? Because it's pretty important not to - that's when people sometimes get hurt, and I really don't want to hurt you. Or anybody. I was just so excited when you said maybe you could help me that I didn't tell you, but I should've and I'm sorry. If this means hurting you then I won't do it.

Gillian

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Gillian --

I believe I can find the library to meet with you there. For our work, though, we will need a place that is quiet, where we will not be interrupted or disturbed.

I need not physically touch you at all, and had no plan to do so. Nor will I allow you to harm me, as I am sure you have no intention of doing.

Renata

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gillians-fury.livejournal.com

Renata,

I'll wait in the library then ~~if you're sure~~.

Gillian

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