The Baron leaves the sorting room (Open RP)

[i-am-harkonnen.livejournal.com]

The Baron was exceptionally relieved to leave the sorting room, which had been getting rather cramped.  Although it had been a somewhat enlightening experience, he now found himself filled with a great deal of questions, such as where to find decent rooms, where that library was, and, how to find the Muggle Studies Department. The hat had left him with a burning need to watch something called "The Maury Povich Show". Not understanding things was troubling, and this needed to be remedied.

He recalled that A did say he'd show him around, and, didn't say when, so, he decided now was as good a time for any, and looked around for one of those weird little house elves. Unsure of just what to do, he barked out, "House elf! Come here, now!", feeling rather silly about this. He made sure to not act surprised when one did actually show up. "Go and tell A that I need to know where things are." It ran off, presumably to do so. They sure are ugly little things, he thought, but, at least they do take orders. And looked easy to kick if they did happen to disobey.

Adjusting his suspensors slightly, he straightened out his robes, and took up a good portion of the hallway while attempting to wait patiently. This wasn't one of his strong points, unless it involved being patient with long and convoluted plans within plans.

Comments

[i-am-an-hero.livejournal.com]

"I was sorted into Hufflepuff," A told him. "But I live in Ravenclaw. Most of my friends are there."

[i-am-harkonnen.livejournal.com]

The Baron was beginning to understand this house concept a bit better- it was just some sort of organizational, and possibly labeling technique. "It does seem that those of you from Hufflepuff are generally helpful sorts." He smiled appreciatively, quietly thinking that Hufflepuff was one of the more ridiculous words he'd ever had to say. "I get the idea that the hat may have put me into the potentially troublesome one." He chuckled, unable to deny that it was an accurate choice, if so. "It did appear to know some of the same people as myself, but, spoke in strange, insane-sounding riddles or something. I need to watch some sort of informational show, as it suggested it would cast some light on matters."

[i-am-an-hero.livejournal.com]

"I don't mind that I was sorted into Hufflepuff. But I feel safer staying where my friends are." A shivered, remembering B. "It's not so strange, I think, if the Hat has known people you know. Lots of people come here, and sometimes they turn to popcorn. People come back from that sometimes too, but they don't always remember having been here." A shrugged. He'd be devastated if any of the people close to him were popcorned, but it was a fact of life here.

"What sort of show?"

[i-am-harkonnen.livejournal.com]

Turned into. . .some sort of food? Wasn't that what popcorn was? "Please do tell me that this fate is an avoidable one? I've always pictured a somewhat more traditional death." He smirked, given that a "traditional death" by Harkonnen standards was often a knife in the back. "I'm not sure what sort of show it is, something called 'The Maury Povich Show'. The hat said I'd find this in the Muggle Studies Department, on filmbooks or something like that." He considered, and decided to just ask the question that kept lingering in the back of his mind. "Did you ever meet a Paul Atreides here? Or Irulan Corrino? The hat said they were here. . .but, I have excellent reasons to believe that Paul Atreides was at home when I left. And definitely never heard of him disappearing for any length of time."

[i-am-an-hero.livejournal.com]

"I don't think anyone knows what makes someone turn to popcorn," A told him. "It happens to all sorts of people. They vanish, and their name goes on a plaque outside the Popcorn Room. If they return, they are covered in butter and salt, and usually disoriented. That is probably what happened to the people you know, although you could confirm it by looking at the plaque."

He shrugged. "I don't know what the Maury Povich Show is, but I haven't seen very much television. If the Hat recommended it, there is probably a reason, but it is likely to be a strange one."

[i-am-harkonnen.livejournal.com]

"So, we can't be killed, but, we all might turn into popcorn at any moment?" The Baron hated that A appeared to be so damn honest at this particular moment, as, knives in the back were definitely the more comfortable sounding fate. Thorough, final, and, much less disconcerting. "I'm not sure that I want to know what's on the plaque, as, it sounds like one of those things best not thought about." He sighed, thinking he might have to look eventually, but, there were enough confusing things going on already.

"The hat seemed to think that the show would have some sort of connection with Fremen, although I can't see just how. Maybe it was Fremen- I'm not sure what it was talking about, as I've never spoken with a hat before."

[i-am-an-hero.livejournal.com]

"Three people I know have turned into popcorn since I have been here," A said. "I was glad, very glad, of B and That Yagami turning to popcorn. I was upset about Matt," even if that had been largely on L's behalf, "but he returned quite soon."

He looked thoughtfully at the Baron. "I don't know who 'Fremen' is. But maybe you should see this show, if only so you can try to understand what it meant."

[i-am-harkonnen.livejournal.com]

"It sounds like it happens a bit more often than is comfortable, and I do hope there's a way to avoid it. But at least your friend returned. I'm really far too old to be having such experiences, this one's already strange enough the way it is. And I agree, I should see this, as, almost everything's proving useful information somehow." And it would hopefully keep his mind off contemplating some of the weirder aspects of Hogwarts, like Popcorn Rooms.

[i-am-an-hero.livejournal.com]

"If it's a television show..." A pondered the idea. "The only place I can think of where you'd find it would be the Muggle Studies office. I don't know if we even have a Muggle Studies professor. I know there hasn't been a class in the whole time I've been here. I'm not sure where the office is, though. A house elf could probably help you find it."

[i-am-harkonnen.livejournal.com]

"The hat said something about a Muggle Studies department, although I'm still rather clear on exactly what a 'muggle' is." It was definitely a silly word, and he felt a bit odd just saying it. "I suppose that's what I'll have to find this place tomorrow, along with attempting to learn the layout. It seems a confusing place." He looked around the corridor with a slight frown, noting the lack of windows and general downward direction they'd been taking. "And this isn't exactly, ah, airy." The way he said 'airy' held entirely negative connotations, and a rather lot of them. "And what's a television show?"

[i-am-an-hero.livejournal.com]

"Muggle means people without magic. It's a separate culture, and the muggle world doesn't know about the wizarding world. A television show is recorded video for entertainment or information, broadcast to many people. There are many kinds."

[i-am-harkonnen.livejournal.com]

"So. . .possibly sort of like a filmbook, but, maybe not, I'll just have to see. It's hard to believe that these muggles don't know that there's talking dragons around, but, I expect that's magic too? And is this the Slytherin area?" He was definitely not pleased with what was shaping up to be a rather green, dark cellar. "I rather hope not. I don't much like green." Damn Atreides color.

[i-am-an-hero.livejournal.com]

"Green and silver are Slytherin colors," A told him. "Yellow and black are Hufflepuff, blue and bronze are Ravenclaw, and Gryffindor's are red and gold." He paused. "What's wrong with green? I like green. Plants are green."

[i-am-harkonnen.livejournal.com]

"Ah, it's not inherently so much the color green, as the fact that the House colors of my ancestral enemies happen to be green." He sighs. "I presume I can tell the house elves to deal with it. Gryffindor at least gets good colors, and griffons are highly acceptable creatures. My House's emblem is a griffon- blue, however. Not my favorite of choices either, but, there's no changing things after thousands of years."

[i-am-an-hero.livejournal.com]

"Ancestral enemies... that's a strange idea. I can understand thinking of someone as an enemy, though, if someone hurts you or a person who is important to you. Is it similar?"

[i-am-harkonnen.livejournal.com]

The Baron nodded very seriously. "It is. The vendetta between the Harkonnen and Atreides has lasted near ten-thousand years, or will, ever since they basically tried to get us and a great deal of other people killed at the Battle of Corrin." Of course, the Atredies would say that the Harkonnens turned and fled the battle. But, to all appearances it was a screwed up situation, leaving was the smart move, and they were the ones that got demoted over it. "Things don't get solved very quickly in the Imperium, although, I was hoping to finally finish the matter." He rubbed at his forehead, looking rather upset. "I damn well hope that this is some nebulous alternate timeline, or something, and, I or someone's finishing matters. It's gone on too long."

[i-am-an-hero.livejournal.com]

"I would never forgive That Yagami, not in ten thousand years," A said in a low, fierce tone. "But Ryuzaki, Ryuzaki said I wasn't to hurt him." He wrung his hands, looking down and to the side. "It's good that he's popcorn, now. Because I, I want, oh, so much I, I, I want him to bleed and I couldn't, not, not if Ryuzaki said no."

He might be calmer about it, but A was still deeply troubled about that.

[i-am-harkonnen.livejournal.com]

Now, that's interesting- this young man's got more depth than meets the eye. "Someone has been upsetting you? Let me know if they ever end up giving you more trouble." He patted A's shoulder in a rather fatherly way. A was proving quite helpful, and, he couldn't very well let people go upsetting him too much. Life without obvious vendettas was alien, and even a unknown, virtually meaningless someone to hold something against felt a bit more natural. Not that he was sure how you dealt with problematic individuals when killing them wasn't in the realm of possibilities.

[i-am-an-hero.livejournal.com]

A smiled a bit grimly, and he managed not to flinch at the unexpected touch. "Even if he comes back, I'm not allowed. I, Kusuriyuri said, if I ever wanted to be a medicine seller I would have to help anyone who was hurt, even That Yagami, even B. And I can't, can't do that, couldn't help them, but I'm not supposed to hurt them, not without thinking about it. Because of ripples. I'm supposed to be wiser than a sugar cube, or a stone."

[i-am-harkonnen.livejournal.com]

"So. .. you're. . .studying to be something like a Suk Doctor?" He rather intrigued- something like Suks were not at all bad to have around, and their training involved complex brainwashing that supposedly made them unable to kill or betray their employers. He knew it was only supposedly because he'd actually managed to turn that Dr. Yueh, a fully-qualified, silver-ring Suk, and he felt a brief flash of frustration at the fact that he wasn't getting to see how that was all playing out. "Suks are extremely valuable doctors, where I come from. They're trained to never kill people, and remain loyal to their employers."

[i-am-an-hero.livejournal.com]

"A... what sort of doctor? No, I'm not. I know how to make some medicines, and treat some sicknesses and injuries, but I am not a doctor. I started learning because I wanted to know the uses of plants, and I try to learn their other uses as well, how to use them for food and to make ink, and as ingredients in potions. I haven't tried making fabrics yet, but I don't have the land to grow flax or cotton."

His smile now was calm and proud. A was confident that he was becoming very useful indeed with his garden and the things he grew.

[i-am-harkonnen.livejournal.com]

"Suk doctors happen to study plants as well, and, their skills are worth millions of solari. It isn't cheap to have one- they're only found in the noble houses, really, and the smaller ones have to share them sometimes. You shouldn't ever underestimate your potentials. Not that overestimation's a good idea either, but, I expect you'll go far with the sort of focus you show." He hoped to encourage A a bit further- he was proving invaluable thus far, and potentially useful skills were always wise to cultivate.

[i-am-an-hero.livejournal.com]

"I don't know if I'll ever be as skilled at treating patients as a doctor, but I know I can care for people who are not dangerously ill. And I am not as skilled a cook as the house elves, there are fewer dishes I can make, but I am becoming very good at the dishes I do make. And my garden thrives."

A had gained vast amounts of confidence in his just-over-a-year at Hogwarts.

[i-am-harkonnen.livejournal.com]

"Ah, but from the looks of the house elves I've seen so far, you've not been at it nearly as long as them. So it's just a matter of practice, and with your enthusiasm, I doubt you've been neglecting it." He nodded seriously at A, and said, "You've got a great deal of potential, not that I know much about wizarding- still, I know potential when I see it. You'll have to bring me a sample of your cooking sometime."

He looked around and shook his his head, adding, "But, I doubt I'll be here too long if I don't have to be. Much too green, and all too closed in."

[i-am-an-hero.livejournal.com]

"I will send you something," A promised. "What kinds of foods do you like? And I am sure it would be all right if you stayed somewhere else, many people do."

Of course, that was usually to be near friends, not because of taste in decor.