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Professor Spukhafte doesn't have any more advice than Hermione does, and is not as willing as the Gryffindor to help them if they're still stuck.
Which they are. Sadde's suggestion that they try focusing on shorter parts of memories for a higher happiness-per-second value helps him but not Miranda, so he ends up with a more solid fog. Still just fog, though. They continue reading books about it, and it seems to just be that idiosyncratic. Interestingly enough, some books written by alchemists also have mentions of Dementors, trying to figure out what their symbolic value is and whether it's possible to integrate it. More advanced books are in the Restricted Section, and they won't have access to it until at least Professor Slughorn gives them the go ahead.
The year passes. Willow is consistently good at the theoretical parts of classes and consistently bad at the practical ones, mostly due to being flustered by failures and not quite being able to get over that fact. Sadde and Miranda are exceptional at Potions, and the only reason Sadde isn't also exceptional at Transfiguration is that he doesn't quite care enough about homework when all that's on the line are his grades. That, plus all the time he spends between reading about Dementors, reading about Alchemy, and trying to undo the damage suffered by Slytherins because of the Dark Lord.
That last goal has the most tangible results, for a certain value of "tangible." Slytherin firsties are divided between liking him (Jacob and two of the girls) and grudgingly tolerating him (the other boy and girl). He has thoroughly dispelled the notion that he's "just another Slytherin" firsties from other Houses (except perhaps Gryffindor) might have, but of course that doesn't make the older years all that happy. Well, not that the older Slytherins actually care that much. But he has helped various of them with various things, mostly by acting like a somewhat willful minion, since there's not much more he can do to help older students beyond that, so he's at least on talking terms with most of them (Cole and Astoria have been quite useful there, as well).
Arens is not one of them, but by now he's mostly just ignoring Sadde and hoping he'll just go away.
Summer arrives.
They return home and spend a while with their respective families, but eventually...
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msmaxwell
"It is a pleasure to meet you. Willow is showing you around the house?"
"Yes! Are you grading papers?"
The older woman sighs and looks at the piles around the armchair. "Unfortunately."
"We'll stop bothering you!"
"Yes! Are you grading papers?"
The older woman sighs and looks at the piles around the armchair. "Unfortunately."
"We'll stop bothering you!"
msmaxwell
That is a thing they do!
Next stop: the "library."
It is not as big as Hogwarts' library.
It is still pretty damn big.
Next stop: the "library."
It is not as big as Hogwarts' library.
It is still pretty damn big.
planetarium
"Whoa." Karen goes and looks at the books to see what they could possibly be about.
msmaxwell
Pretty much everything! There's Jane Austen novels over there and Stephen King over here, there's Shakespeare and C. S. Lewis and George R. R. Martin and textbooks about physics and mathematics and literature and grammar and art history and music and chemistry and geography and actual history...
There's even a corner with a few books about magic! Very few of those, though, bought very recently during visits to Diagon Alley. Willow's schoolbooks are there as well.
A large part of the books are secondhand. In fact, the only ones that aren't are those that look like secondhand versions would be rarer than new ones.
There's even a corner with a few books about magic! Very few of those, though, bought very recently during visits to Diagon Alley. Willow's schoolbooks are there as well.
A large part of the books are secondhand. In fact, the only ones that aren't are those that look like secondhand versions would be rarer than new ones.
always_and_forever
Sadde definitely explores some of the magical ones. Having enough money to just buy books, just like that, must be so great.
chanuphis
"...Your cook doesn't go in the library, does she? If she spots the magic books someone may in fact show up at your house and forcibly erase her memory."
msmaxwell
"No, definitely not, food's not allowed in here and she has little to do other than that. And when the cleaning lady comes there's this." She shows a little rolling door hidden in the upper side of the shelf that she can use to lock the books away. "We have lots of very valuable books here, hiding books is standard precautions."
planetarium
Karen reads most of the titles, but does not actually take anything off the shelf to read. Next?
msmaxwell
Next is the music room, but the door is closed, which means the twins are rehearsing and are not to be interrupted.
Next next is Willow's room. It is very spacious and has a very large bed and a television and a PlayStation and a computer and lots of movies in VHS and DVD and figurines everywhere, mostly from SF&F stories. There are four differently coloured toy lightsabers hanging on her wall above her bed, and she points at those and reminds Karen of them.
Next next is Willow's room. It is very spacious and has a very large bed and a television and a PlayStation and a computer and lots of movies in VHS and DVD and figurines everywhere, mostly from SF&F stories. There are four differently coloured toy lightsabers hanging on her wall above her bed, and she points at those and reminds Karen of them.
msmaxwell
She giggles. "Well that's because it's just a toy. We can't actually make them, in the movies they're special effects. Look!"
And because she had planned for just such a conversation, she turns her TV on and there's already a Star Wars DVD there paused on a lightsaber duel scene.
And because she had planned for just such a conversation, she turns her TV on and there's already a Star Wars DVD there paused on a lightsaber duel scene.
msmaxwell
TVs are fun! And because Willow is Willow, she removes her shoes, hops onto her bed, grabs one of the toy light sabers, and starts swinging it around in time with the duel.
always_and_forever
Sadde decides to stop gaping at everything and join in on Willow's fun. She grabs a lightsaber and says, "Prepare, villain!"
Attaaaaack!
Attaaaaack!
msmaxwell
Oh no! A foe appears!
Their duel has both the accompanying sounds from the TV and Willow's own personal sound effects. "Zwwwom! Chk! Bzzzzt!"
There are several movies. All of Disney's movies released so far, all of Star Wars, old movies like Gone With The Wind, a bit less old movies like The Godfather...
Their duel has both the accompanying sounds from the TV and Willow's own personal sound effects. "Zwwwom! Chk! Bzzzzt!"
There are several movies. All of Disney's movies released so far, all of Star Wars, old movies like Gone With The Wind, a bit less old movies like The Godfather...
planetarium
Satisfied that this is pretty much a kind of swordfight, Karen goes and gets a lightsaber too and joins the battle.
always_and_forever
This helps distract Sadde from her thoughts!
Now, three-way duels are way harder than just one-versus-one.
Now, three-way duels are way harder than just one-versus-one.