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Post by October Cricket on Jun 19, 2006 19:51:38 GMT -5
"In 1896, Grindelwald first made his... Severus, are you taking notes?" October asked, having looked up from the book momentarily and noticed that he friend was not writing anything much at all in the ways of notes. She frowned slightly. Perhaps she was being dull and that's why he wasn't taking notes, "I can't be as boring as Professor Binns is at this, can I?"
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Post by Severus Snape on Jun 19, 2006 19:56:27 GMT -5
Severus snapped his head up, "Oh, yes, I'm just thinking. You aren't boring, it's just that I've already taken most of these notes, but please continue. It's jogging my memory." He bent back to his notebook, promising to himself not to become distracted again.
((Use [ not < to italicize.))
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Post by October Cricket on Jun 19, 2006 20:23:45 GMT -5
((Gah! Sorry. I'll fix that. I've been writing some HTML lately, so I suppose I got into the habit of using > instead of ]))
"...Alright. If you say so." October replied, slowly lowering her eyes back to the book. She scanned the page for a moment before locating the exact place where she stopped, "Let's see. Oh yes. In 1896, Grindelwald first made his presence known to the wizarding world. Many doubted his ability, since he had no proper education in the ways of Magic. But they were soon forced to eat their words..."
She continued on Grindelwald's rise to fame, first as a respectable wizard, then as a Dark Lord. His reign of terror began shortly after the Muggles' 'World War II' began. It was thought that he somehow influenced that war, which killed thousands upon thousands and almost led a madman to rule the muggle world.
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Post by Severus Snape on Jun 19, 2006 20:37:00 GMT -5
((Happens to all of us sometime. Well, at least to people who know how to write HTML. And mind your r's in rise.))
Soon the only sounds were the scritch of the quill and October's voice, filling the silence of the library. Severus smiled to himself, feeling at peace with the world for once.
Listening to what happened to Grindelwald, he realized once again that he and the infamous wizard were not so far apart. Perhaps he could be great, greater than the Dark Lord himself even.... A painful twinge on his arm reminded him that it was too late to even think of surpassing his master.
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Post by October Cricket on Jun 19, 2006 20:40:34 GMT -5
"And, as you know, Grindelwald was finally defeated in 1945 by our own Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore." October closed her book just as gently as she had opened it, "Alright. I think we're finished with that. What would you like to do next, Severus?"
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Post by Severus Snape on Jun 19, 2006 20:55:30 GMT -5
Severus rummaged through his bookbag and finally came up with an old, black, leather-bound book. "I checked this out a couple of days ago. It's an advanced defense spellbook. Do you want to try your hand at this?"
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Post by October Cricket on Jun 20, 2006 12:02:59 GMT -5
"That sounds fun." October commented, smiling to herself. The book was rather elegant, despite being old. The leather was jet black and it could almost be considered shiny. It was cracked only in a few places, but it was hardly noticeable.
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Post by Severus Snape on Jun 20, 2006 16:20:46 GMT -5
Severus set it on the table with a heavy thud and started to finger through the pages. "I looked through here earlier, and saw a few that could be useful. Ah, here we are," he opened to a page with a picture of a person and a large bubble-like object around them.
"This is the Globe Shield. Anything that's coming towards you at a fast pace will be deflected. However, if a person walked slowly into the shield, they would be permitted. This is particularly useful in wizarding expeditions in the Amazon. They would set up camp in these shields and not worry about attacking animals. The shield is also transparent, so you can see whatever is approaching," Severus summarized from the book's explanation.
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Post by October Cricket on Jun 20, 2006 16:28:48 GMT -5
"That certainly sounds useful." October said, leaning forward a bit to get a better look at the page from her position across the table from Severus.
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Post by Severus Snape on Jun 20, 2006 16:56:37 GMT -5
"It'll only be helpful if something isn't stalking us," Severus flipped to a new page.
"This one is like the basic Shield Charms we do in class, except it has a bigger radius and is stronger. The only downfall to it is that it taxes one's energy quickly, which can result in nausea, fainting, or drowsiness."
He scanned the rest of the page, "It's also alot more difficult than the basic charm. It requires total concentration on the charm itself, which is difficult if one's being attacked," Severus frowned. He didn't think they were going to be attacked, but better safe than sorry.
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Post by October Cricket on Jun 20, 2006 17:11:12 GMT -5
"Mhm." October nodded lightly, quickly pulling out a spare piece of parchment and scribbling what Severus said down. She seemed to recall her own father using a very similar charm when the aurors had invaded their home and were attempting to restrain him. Of course, he had not been able to keep it up for long and was soon captured by the aurors and forced to confess to being a Death Eater. October still remembered that day as the worst one in her short life so far, although she couldn't think of anything worse that could ever happen in a single lifetime.
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Post by Severus Snape on Jun 20, 2006 20:24:28 GMT -5
"And this one is similiar to the stronger Shield Charm, except it allows for a number of people to 'hook up' and share the physical drainage. This shield can grow even larger in radius, large enough to encompass the group entirely, but it grows weaker the bigger it's stre-October? Is something wrong?" Severus had noticed the expression on her face had changed, as if she were reliving a bad memory.
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Post by October Cricket on Jun 20, 2006 20:40:32 GMT -5
October did not reply for a moment. She was too busy replaying that awful night inside her head.
Her father used to disappear for long periods at a time, and every time October would ask her mother where he was going, she would reply that she didn't know, but that she trusted him enough to allow him some time alone. It seemed so obvious now that she looked back on it.
Her father had come home that night after spending almost two months away from home. She could remember the urgent way he had swept through the door, his jet black robes billowing around him in the cool, autumn breeze and his shoulder-length silver hair looking unnaturally messy. October had been five then and had only seen her father as an absolute good. She had seen nothing suspicious about the way he came in, only that he was home...if only for a little while. The house had been calm for a few hours, with her father and mother chatting quietly in the kitchen and October playing with baby August in the next room over.
Then the aurors came. The kicked down the door and began firing charms at her father. October had grabbed her sibling and run in, wondering what was going on. Her mother pushed them to the floor, so that one of them was not accidentally hit by a Stunning spell. August had begun to cry.
And then...then they captured her father. One of the aurors produced a small bottle of clear liquid, wrenched her father's mouth open, and poured it down his throat. There, right then, they heard her father confess every secret he had ever kept from them. and it was the most horrible thing October had ever heard in her life.
With the memory came all the pain October still had concerning her father's betrayal. She found tears welling up in her eyes and blurring her vision.
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Post by Severus Snape on Jun 20, 2006 20:44:24 GMT -5
"October, are you alright?" Severus lay a hand on her shoulder, really concerned now. "Please speak to me, what's wrong?"
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Post by October Cricket on Jun 20, 2006 20:51:42 GMT -5
October could not force herself to reply to Severus. All that came from her was a strangled sob. She...she had loved her father more than life itself. He had been her best friend when she was little. He was never too busy to play with her or answer her questions. He had told her several times before that he would never, ever lie to her, and yet he did. He lied to her in the most horrible way she could think of.
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