Owl to Charles Macaulay
Feb. 10th, 2008 09:27 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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hh_mirror((Backdated to shortly after Mia was Sorted. Sorry for the hold-up on this, but as company has left and the house is clean I now feel justified in tagging.))
Thanks to Phoenix and Pearl, Mia had very little trouble getting settled into Ravenclaw. So it wasn't long before she sent out an owl.
Charles,
I did promise to owl you once I'd been Sorted. I've settled into Ravenclaw fairly well - I see what you meant about the common room. I'm amused by the fact that the laboratory is practically adjacent to the bar, although not likely to be a patron.
Where would you suggest we meet?
- Mia Fey
Thanks to Phoenix and Pearl, Mia had very little trouble getting settled into Ravenclaw. So it wasn't long before she sent out an owl.
Charles,
I did promise to owl you once I'd been Sorted. I've settled into Ravenclaw fairly well - I see what you meant about the common room. I'm amused by the fact that the laboratory is practically adjacent to the bar, although not likely to be a patron.
Where would you suggest we meet?
- Mia Fey
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return owl from Charles
Date: 2008-02-11 03:22 am (UTC)You did end up Ravenclaw, then. I thought you were a shoo-in. Good to be proven right!
Winter in Scotland does limit our options a fair bit. As I'd mentioned in your Sorting, the Ravenclaw common room isn't always good for my health. I'd suggest the Astronomy Tower just for the view, except it's got a bit of a reputation. This castle really needs some kind of a clean hangout that doesn't require you to use your 'library voice'. So I think the common room it is. I'll meet you down there in, say, half an hour?
- Charles
Return owl
Date: 2008-02-11 03:35 am (UTC)Reputation? ...I'll have to ask you about that later. I have family here to look after, it seems, so it might be good to know what to look out for.
I'll see you there.
- Mia
Half an hour later, Mia was sitting in an armchair in the common room as far away from the bar as was possible, sipping a cup of tea. It wasn't early enough for coffee, after all
or the nostalgia that came with it.in the common room
Date: 2008-02-11 03:56 am (UTC)"It's a Madagascar dragontree (http://www.plantoasis.com/plants/1001_1020/1020_madagascar_dragontree.htm)," he said by way of greeting. "Happy housewarming."
Re: in the common room
Date: 2008-02-11 04:10 am (UTC)"Charles? Oh, my, you really didn't have to go all to that trouble," she said, getting to her feet and reaching for the plant, intending to put it safely on the nearby table. "Here, let me get that."
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Date: 2008-02-11 04:39 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-02-11 04:58 am (UTC)Dusting her hands off, she straightened up again. "Magical horticulture. Now that is something I'd be interested in studying," she mused. "No, thank you. I'm fine right now. Tea will do for the moment."
((Crashing now, will pick up tomorrow!))
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Date: 2008-02-11 10:18 pm (UTC)"The house elves do take some getting used to. I tried to talk with them a fair bit, when I first got here." Charles had always gotten along with people in menial service jobs. Janitors, the housekeeper at the Hampden dorms, the caretakers of Francis's country house. Waitresses, waitresses especially. When he'd finally joined their ranks after leaving home, all this conversational experience stood him in good stead. "They just weren't interested. Unless it was about something they could do for me, or something they could give me, they couldn't seem to follow anything I said."
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Date: 2008-02-11 10:59 pm (UTC)"So I've noticed. They seem positively terrified at the mere notion of free will - and shocked that anyone would try and talk to them." She picked up her own mug and took a thoughtful sip. "I went through half a dozen, so to speak, before I met one who seemed amenable to actual conversation. I suppose it's a cultural difference, but considering a house elf saved my Sorting from utter disaster I wouldn't feel right simply ordering them around."
Even if her mad idea to tempt the velociraptor with her scarf had worked, she doubted it would have held the creature's interest for long.
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Date: 2008-02-11 11:17 pm (UTC)"I guess it's a nice life for them. Being told what to do. There is something legitimately terrifying about free will, isn't there? Spreading your own wings? Feathering your own nest? Here they've got the life they've known for generations, and they know they've always got a home." He'd gotten that moody soft-focused look he sometimes got. "And they've got a purpose. Like -- wait, saving your Sorting from utter disaster?"
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Date: 2008-02-11 11:39 pm (UTC)She smiled wryly at his question. "Perhaps that's extreme, but the situation was completely absurd and I'm still not certain it wasn't someone's bizarre idea of a prank." The teacup was set down again. "Shortly after I spoke to you, a living, breathing velociraptor - I'm pretty sure that's what it was supposed to be, or something close to it - wandered into my Sorting. If it wasn't for one of those elves, I don't think I would have been able to distract it sufficiently."
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Date: 2008-02-12 12:09 am (UTC)(She didn't like ordering people around? That made her a good person, in Charles's book. He still remembered, like it was yesterday, that long walk home from jail -- his feet and Richard's, crunching along on the gravel shoulder of the road -- the things they'd said. I'm tired of him telling me what to do, Charles had said. You know what I wonder, said Richard. Not why he tells us what to do. But why we always do what he says.)
At the word 'velociraptor', though, his eyes went wide with shock. Gone was approval, gone was nostalgia, gone was bitter memory. Mia was talking about a real-live honest-to-god velociraptor. At Hogwarts.
His jaw loosened a little. Finally, he said: "You know, Mia, I don't know you all that well, but I don't get the feeling you'd make up a story like that. There was a real velociraptor. Here?"
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Date: 2008-02-12 12:39 am (UTC)"What bothers me - really bothers me - is that it was wandering around completely unsupervised. You'd think that there would be someone on the staff or faculty who would be responsible for keeping something like that in check. Even if it was just a prank." She sat back in her chair. "My youngest cousin, Pearl, is staying here as well. She's only eight years old, and would have been one bite for a creature like that." Also, Pearl probably would have screamed and ran, which would have been asking for trouble. "You can see why I'm a bit concerned."
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Date: 2008-02-12 01:02 am (UTC)He essayed a swallow of his coffee. Not the best thing on an empty stomach. All the same it made him feel better. Warmer. "Don't get me wrong. The thought of your eight-year-old niece having to face down a velociraptor makes me sick to my stomach. I wonder if there's some kind of charm or spell that can ward 'em off. That, or make the target unpalatable. Like garlic for vampires."
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Date: 2008-02-12 01:44 am (UTC)"I attempted to ask around, but the one student I got some information from didn't know much," Mia admitted. "He did mention taking a class that involved both dinosaurs and dragons, and that the professor teaching it wore a hat." Mia smirked. "Given his attention span, I suspect that was as much detail as I was going to get out of him. Any idea what class he could have been referring to? At the very least, I'd need to get my hands on a staff roster."
Mia listened to that thoughtfully, tapping a fingernail against the side of the teacup. "Hm. That, I will definitely have to look into. I know you need a wand for this sort of thing, so I'll have to get one soon." She smiled, adding, "Pearl is very sensible, and will actually listen if you ask her to stay with the police officer or not to climb on the roof or stick her head in the air vent -" unlike Maya - "- but trouble still manages to find her anyway." She was a Fey, after all.
"But enough about predators wandering the halls. I'm guessing from your reaction that this sort of absurdity isn't the norm around here." Thank goodness. "At least, I hope it isn't. I'm not sure I want to know what sort of reputation the Astronomy Tower has in that case." Hopefully, Charles would take the opening to move on to lighter subjects.
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Date: 2008-02-12 03:14 am (UTC)"Sounds like Care of Magical Creatures," Charles guessed. "I sort of know the TA for that class." He'd been on what he considered friendly terms with Chance Silvey, once upon a time. He'd liked how she didn't pretty things up. Straight-talking, no bullshit. He'd actually sort of halfway asked her out (http://community.livejournal.com/hogwarts_hocus/1283480.html?thread=65366168#t65366168), in a flippant kind of way, knowing he wouldn't have to make good on it, but hell, he'd have made good on it if she did call him on it. This was all before she'd apparently taken Henry Winter on some kind of research trip with her. That cut her down a few notches in Charles's estimation.
"She's a paleontologist, and so's the professor, if I remember correctly. I'm sure I don't know where a hat comes into it, and I hope for everyone's sake it's not the Sorting Hat your informant meant. But paleontologist plus dinosaur makes sense. His name --" Charles shut his eyes tight for a moment in a comic pantomime of brain-racking. His rummaging produced a name; he blinked at Mia. "Grant. I'm pretty sure. Professor Grant. I wouldn't bet my life on it but that sounds right. If I'm wrong, you can always get hold of the TA -- that's Chance Silvey. I ought to owl her anyway, just to let her know there's a genuine dinosaur roaming the premises. I really doubt she could do anything to stop it, but if someone were to take it down with a tranquilizer gun or something, she'd probably be thrilled with the opportunity to examine a velociraptor."
He nodded decisively. "Absurdity is definitely the norm around here. Life-threatening absurdity not so much. Though, you know, there's an enchantment that prevents death on campus grounds." Many was the time Charles had privately lamented the no-kill rule. He'd like to see more than one former Hampdenite dead. "So if a velociraptor did take a chunk out of someone ... " He made a face, as though he'd tasted something bad, and took a drink of his coffee to wash the taste away. "Best not to go there. What were we talking about? Right, the Astronomy Tower. Well, let's just say that generations of Hogwarts students apparently found it very romantic to look at the stars?"
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Date: 2008-02-13 02:30 am (UTC)"Professor Grant, or Chance Silvey." She nodded, committing those names to
the Court Recordmemory. "I'll be contacting them both as well, then." She didn't comment on the quality of her informant - she'd had worse witnesses, after all, and saw no point in disparaging others in casual conversation.She was about to take a sip of tea when Charles mentioned the no-kill rule - and blinked at him over her teacup. "No one can die on campus?" In some respects, that was a relief. In other respects... "Those who return from the dead - would that prevent them from leaving the grounds?"
"Ah, that sort of reputation, then." Mia chuckled. "I suppose that's to be expected everywhere, really. Certain rumors ensured that no one would eat at the table in the Hill Street courthouse break room for months."
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Date: 2008-02-13 04:07 am (UTC)Charles snorted. "No, people who've returned from the dead can leave whenever they like and come back just as healthy as when they left." Unfortunately for everyone. "My sister's husband used to be dead. He's left campus plenty of times. They just got back from their honeymoon in Greece. So I think it's safe to say that leaving campus grounds doesn't undo whatever brought a person back to life here."
Really, much better not to think about that. Not if he wanted to stay amiable. Sulking was not the order of the day. Fortunately Mia had a funny anecdote, and that made Charles raise an eyebrow and give a little chuckle of uncomplicated amusement. "A table? All right, these are definitely not the lawyers my uncle used to work with. At least I hope not. I'm sure octogenarians are entitled to a healthy active love life just like everyone else, but really."
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Date: 2008-02-13 07:17 pm (UTC)"Mmph." She swallowed her tea quickly, as Charles' mention of octogenarians immediately brought to mind a slightly batty judge and the next mental image had to be destroyed right away. "No, no octogenarians. Depending on who you spoke to, however, the culprits varied from the court reporter and an ex-bailiff to a rather young prosecutor and a number of people." She smirked. "More likely that it was the court reporter and the bailiff, though. The prosecutor in question had a number of enemies strictly because of his age, and of course they weren't above spreading ridiculous rumors." Also, anyone who was even remotely acquainted with said prosecutor knew better.
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Date: 2008-02-15 01:26 am (UTC)Much nicer, much lighter, to banter about people he'd never met. "Rumor volat," he said, lowering his coffee cup and smiling a complicated smile at her. "'All painted with tongues,' as the Bard would have said. But would those rumors have helped your young prosecutor, or hurt him?" It was different for men than for women. Charles knew that. A woman's honor had to be safeguarded.
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Date: 2008-02-16 06:31 pm (UTC)She returned his smile with one of her own, stirring her tea as she pondered that question. "In this case? I don't believe so. Most of the criticism he faced was that he was too young and potentially rash to have accomplished so much." Mia couldn't help but snort at that. "The rumor would have only backed that up. Besides, no protege of Manfred von Karma could afford to be so indiscreet."
((And I'm off to help friends move, will be back late tonight or Sunday. Sorry for the delay, was engaged in anti-Valentine's Day destruction last night!))
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Date: 2008-02-19 01:32 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-02-20 02:24 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-02-20 02:42 am (UTC)"Dustin ... prints. Oh dear. Oh goodness." He had to set down his coffee cup. "That's terrible, Mia. I mean, really. Now I don't know whether he picked just the right profession or absolutely the wrong one. Imagine if he'd become anything else with a name like that. I guess he could have become a writer of detective stories. The Case of the Missing Something-Or-Other, by Dustin Prince. No one would believe it was his real name then, I guess."
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Date: 2008-02-20 03:13 am (UTC)She set down her own cup and studying the dragontree plant thoughtfully. "I would say it looks like an 'Emerson.' What do you think?" Well, Charley II was right out.
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Date: 2008-02-20 03:17 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-02-20 04:07 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-02-20 08:57 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-02-21 12:33 am (UTC)She shrugged, still attentive to the leaves. "Well, you know the old gardening advice about talking to plants. I suppose it follows that if you're going to talk to them you might as well call them something." Looking up, she grinned. "Especially if you have to share an office. Constantly telling the other junior partner that I was addressing my houseplant and not him got a bit tiring."
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Date: 2008-02-21 01:26 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-02-21 03:28 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-02-23 06:27 pm (UTC)"Maybe because it really was another lifetime," Charles noted quietly, with sympathy, eyes warm. "But how long ago was it really, by the calendar? Forget the funny time-jumps of this year and that. I mean in terms of week-by-week experience. Subjective time."
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Date: 2008-02-23 11:45 pm (UTC)Subjective time? "I would say... four years," Mia said after a moment's thought. It would be seven, but the three years during which she'd sporadically been called back to help didn't count so much; time didn't matter in quite the same way. "Sometimes it seems like longer."
"Out of curiosity, how long have you been here? At Hogwarts, that is," she asked, partly for a change of subject and mostly because she was actually curious. It wasn't an idle question.
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Date: 2008-02-27 10:50 pm (UTC)OOC
Date: 2008-02-28 12:43 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-02-28 12:42 am (UTC)Which brought something else to mind. "Almost a year, then. Would you say this year has been good for you? At Hogwarts, I mean." She hadn't been presented with the possibility that some from alternate worlds could not leave, and as there was nothing directly preventing her from coming and going... well, everyone had their own compelling reasons to stay. Between Pearl, Phoenix, and the fact that Hogwarts was simply fascinating, she had plenty of reasons of her own.
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Date: 2008-02-28 12:59 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-02-28 02:38 am (UTC)"The Sorting Hat officiates weddings?" she asked, bemused. "Must have been an interesting ceremony if nothing else." Maybe it wasn't polite, but not knowing your bride's age was a bit odd. Assuming he knew the bride beforehand. "So, is your wife here as well?"
Oh, she'd noticed the complete lack of a wedding ring, and could draw a few conclusions, but... one never assumed. Besides, it sounded like there was an interesting story behind that one.
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Date: 2008-02-29 03:06 am (UTC)"Camilla's my sister, yes. Twin sister. I hadn't seen her for a few years before I came to Hogwarts. So ... well, anyway." Uncomfortably he studied his coffee mug.
Talking about the Sorting Hat was much easier, if not any more comprehensible. "The Sorting Hat does whatever it gets into its head, really. Not that it has a head," he amended, with a slight smile, "but you see what I mean. By some crazy loophole, the Sorting Hat's word is law on Hogwarts grounds, or damn near it. So when it decided it wanted to do Reverend Moon-style mass weddings, those weddings ended up binding until the Hat decided on another whim that it would dissolve them all. I guess it got bored, and thank God for that."
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Date: 2008-03-04 01:17 am (UTC)sister. Well, that put his earlier statement into a new light.
She thought of Iris and Dahlia, identical only on the outside - she'd only met them years after their father had split them up and given one away. Years in which the matching rhythms and mannerisms that were supposed to be inherent in twins were shattered and forgotten, in which Dahlia grew angry and Iris submissive.
And yet - Iris had covered for her sister's schemes, except for one time. That was all it took to be put on Dahlia's hit list right below Mia. Mia, who had exposed Dahlia's lies and got her convicted for murder. Apparently that was only slightly worse than her sister's one crisis of conscience. At the time, she'd thought it was a Dahlia thing, but perhaps it was a twin thing - there was something more severe about betrayal between twins.
...then again, she could be overthinking it. Mia smiled wryly at her own musings. Whatever the story was there, she doubted it was anywhere near as melodramatic.
"Hm. I'd be curious to find out what that loophole is," she remarked. "The hat was rather eager to have me on retainer. I pointed out that I technically can't practice law but offered legal advice. I'm thinking that was a smart move." Not that it would matter if the Hat insisted she defend it, but oh well. "Mass weddings? Oh, dear. I suspect the pairings were about as logical as the Hat itself seems to be." Read: not following any Earth logic. "Does the Hat engage in these sort of whims frequently?"