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Post by October Cricket on Sept 25, 2006 19:29:38 GMT -5
"I think it's a 'he'." October commented, pointing to the cover of one of the books. The author's name was listed there in bold lettering. "Atticus White. Atticus is a male name. As for my report, I think I can do it on my own. Thanks, though."
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Post by Severus Snape on Sept 25, 2006 19:33:04 GMT -5
"How are you sure it's a he? What if it's a woman under a pseudonym? Or it could be a male under a pseudonym....or a whole entourage of people working under that one name. I'm pretty sure that's happened before," Severus sat down and quizzed October.
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Post by October Cricket on Sept 25, 2006 19:46:09 GMT -5
October picked up the Astronomy book. It was a deep blue, which was oddly fitting. She flipped through the pages and scanned one at random. "Well, you're right about that." She replied, still scanning over the page. It explained how and when one could find the constellation Capricorn. It was not a particularly complex constellation, just generally shaped like a slightly lopsided triangle. Still, she could image how one could see a fish-goat in it. It was vaguely fish shaped... "I just think the author writes like a man would. I've read a lot of books. There are some differences between the way men and women write. Say, Severus, you're a Capricorn, aren't you? Your birthday is January 9th, isn't it?"
((Yes, it really is January 9th. I looked it up. JKR said so.))
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Post by Severus Snape on Sept 25, 2006 20:15:08 GMT -5
"Yes.Don't tell me you're going to tell me my horoscope. That's all a bunch of rubbish, especially Divination," Severus huffed. He felt sorry for all the muggles that laid their lives on those horoscopes in their muggle newspapers. "By the way, when's your birthday?"
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Post by October Cricket on Sept 25, 2006 20:24:06 GMT -5
"Of course not. Divination is a joke. The whole idea one can precit the future by the stars is a joke. I've only met one person, in my whole life, who I really think has the Sight." October replied, flipping through another few pages and studying a disgram of the Canis Major constellation. "I was just looking at the Capricorn constellation a moment ago. Anyway, my parents were not very creative when they picked my name. I happened to have been born on October 1st."
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Post by Severus Snape on Sept 26, 2006 19:35:39 GMT -5
"A name like October only makes you easier to pick from the crowds. It makes you unique, and you've lived up to being an individual, October," Severus said. "You're probably the first Auror from Slytherin, which is quite a feat, considering you're constantly sorrounded by Lucius and others."
((I feel like we're running out of things to say....))
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Post by October Cricket on Sept 26, 2006 19:42:53 GMT -5
((Me too...I could make Mimi come in and torment Severus some more. Or Severus could randomly discover the remains of the portrait under the table and THEN Mimi could come torment him...))
This made October smile. "I'm not an auror yet." She replied, laughing quietly to herself. "Anyway, my name is hardly as unique as yours. I've never met another person named Severus before in my life. I went to a muggle school before I came to Hogwarts and there was another girl named October there. She was a muggle, but she was very pretty, popular, and so clever...Everyone was so jealous of her, I remember."
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Post by Severus Snape on Oct 8, 2006 15:18:07 GMT -5
((I choose the ....oh gosh. I keep getting latter and former mixed up. Well, I choose the one where Severus finds the portrait, then Mimi makes an appearance.))
"Apparently they were too self-obsorbed to see how much better you were," Severus said. His foot was falling asleep and he moved it around to wake it up. "I guess the name Severus is...different." He didn't mention that his mother had realized that her marriage was doomed around the time that he was born. She was weak from the birth and delusional from the drugs when the nurses asked for the name of the child for the birth certificate. She was obviously thinking of her marriage as she repeated over and over, 'Sever...us, please, sever...us.' The nurses were mystified, but the 'name' was put on the certificate and it stuck.
His foot was sliding back and forth on the wooden floor, when he started at the sound of something tinkling. Severus peered underneath the table, finding a portrait under the table, sorrounded by broken glass. "October, is this yours?"
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Post by October Cricket on Oct 8, 2006 15:31:38 GMT -5
October blinked her luminous blue eyes, acting confused when she really knew exactly what he was talking about. She glanced under the table and saw the broken glass. She really would have been content just to leave it there for someone else to find. In any case, she could always dispose of it permanently later.
"Oh, dear." She sighed, pulling out her wand. "I think my portrait might have fallen out of my bag and broke on the floor. Oh well. It's nothing big. Reparo!" The glass flew back together. The frame straightened itself. The only thing that was not repaired was the image itself and October was just fine with that. She hated, hated, hated that picture. She hated the man in it and she hated how the little girl was so happy with him. It was better off ripped and mutilated.
October picked up the frame and the torn picture and and shoved them unceremoniously into her school bag. "I always thought your name was Latin. In Latin, Severus means 'harsh' or 'severe'. In fact, that's where we get the word 'severe'. There was also a Roman Emperor named Septimus Severus." She commented lightly, thinking back to what she had learned in Latin class. "Anyway, I should probably take my portrait back to my dorm so it doesn't get broken again. I'll be back in a moment, Severus." With that, the Slytherin girl rose and padded off towards the library entrance.
((And Mimi will be with you in a moment.))
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Post by Severus Snape on Oct 8, 2006 15:43:40 GMT -5
Severus thought about what October had said; severe and harsh seemed about right when concerning his father, and apparently October had heard of others with the same name. She just hadn't met them, obviously. He frowned when October had left with that picture; the girl looked eerily like her, and she was so happy. So why was October....Oh dear. That must have been her father in that picture. He could definitely relate to her hatred for their father figures, but what did it feel like to be able to be happy with your father?
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Post by Mimi Lockhart on Oct 8, 2006 15:43:59 GMT -5
"Stupid Professor Slughorn...stupid properties of crushed Firecrab eggs..." Mimi Lockhart growled to herself, stalking through the library. Not one Potions book she had found here had anything on the properties of Firecrab eggs. She knew what a Firecrab was, what they looked like, where to find them, how they cared for their young, and everything else one never wanted to know about the dumb animal, but she had no idea what their eggs were used for in Potions. She always hated research projects anyway. Mimi was not good at sorting through books. October had always told her it was because she had the attention span of a gerbil, but Mimi preferred to think she was just no good at reasearch.
Mimi was in the Charms section now, she knew, but there was nothing in the Magical Beasts section or the Potions section that might aid her. Suddenly, she stopped a rather familiar greasy-haired Slytherin fourth year. Severus was known, even by fifth years, as the resident Potions genius. Perhaps he had some idea what Firecrab eggs were used for.
"Severus." Mimi approached him. "Severus, I'm sorry for being so rude to you before and I need your help now. I own a camera. I could get you a picture of October to drool over if you just tell me something."
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Post by Severus Snape on Oct 8, 2006 15:47:56 GMT -5
Severus blinked at the sudden apology and offer. "What do you need?" Severus asked suspiciously. He would happily give his right arm for a picture of October, but drooling was out of his league. It was undignified. He sure hoped she was being, oh, what's the word? Oh, yes, sarcastic.
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Post by Mimi Lockhart on Oct 8, 2006 15:56:31 GMT -5
"Professor Slughorn gave my class a stupid research project." Mimi snorted. That man hated her, she was sure of it. Why else would he put her in detention, then assign a project that required the use of her weakest points? Well, the hatred was certainly a mutual feeling. Mimi used to like Potions, but that awful professor had ruined it for her. "I've looked everywhere, but I can't find anything. Do you have any idea what Firecrab eggs are used for? They can be used in love potions, right? Or are those Ashwinder eggs? Point is, I don't know, I can't find anything about it, and you're the school's Potions genius. I figured you would know."
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Post by Severus Snape on Oct 8, 2006 16:04:50 GMT -5
"Firecrab eggs?" Severus felt like laughing. "Those are used for strength potions as well as one that enables the drinker to breathe fire for about an hour, but it'll give you horrible heartburn for about two weeks. The French discovered it and was one of the biggest fads in Europe for about two months. That's when they learned that doing it too much ruined your esophagus and practiclly burned your lungs to ashes. Hospitals were flooded until the fad died out and the potion banned from many European countries." He shrugged. "That's all I can tell you about Firecrab eggs though. They aren't widely used in potions because Firecrabs are an endangered species. Nowadays, you have to get permission from the Ministry to use them and the process takes up to eight months. That, or you have to buy the eggs off the black market."
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Post by Mimi Lockhart on Oct 8, 2006 16:12:45 GMT -5
Mimi pulled out her quill and a scrap piece of parchment she had been carrying with her, jotting down notes on what he said as he said it. "Okay. Thanks." She replied, examining her notes. She glanced back up at the Slytherin boy. "So, how soon do you want that photo of Toby? If you want a really good shot, it might take a few days for me to get one, and magical film develops slowly, so, at earliest, I could probably get it to you in a week or, more realistically, ten days considering my schedule."
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