Wanting a quiet year. on Library

Maximilian Joshua McLachlan

August 28, 2012 11:55 PM

Wanting a quiet year. by Maximilian Joshua McLachlan

Josh’s summer had been crazy and loud and violent, as was expected. After dodging stray curses, taking the taunting, condescending looks his younger cousin, now a four-year-old, gave him, and trying his hardest to be indifferent to his aunt’s cold looks, he was ready for some peace and quiet. He had been holed up in his room most of the summer, biding away his time and counting down the days until he’d be at school again. Not that school was much better. Calmer, at least.

A black eye received from a fit of cruelty he hadn’t been able to talk his way out of was slowly healing, though it was still prominent on his pale face. His uncle rarely hit him, but this one had been because of a conversation about Cecilia, the muggle-born girl Josh was forbidden to see but was still in love with. Uncle Inigo had taunted him and Josh, in a moment of weakness, had risen to the bait. It got out of control quickly and resulted in a black eye and bitter memories. Where his uncle had once been Josh’s protector, his guiding light, he had turned for the worse after getting married. He was more stressed, obsessed with giving his young daughter everything to keep her quiet and giving his wife everything so she wouldn’t nag him. He was nothing like Josh remembered, but then women seemed to have the power to change men. Josh knew that much from experience.

He should have gone to the hospital wing as soon as he got to school, but Josh had too much pride for that. He wasn’t adept enough in healing spells to heal himself either, so he would have to let it heal naturally. Instead, as was expected from the Aladren, the first weekend at school found him in the library. He hadn’t been able to read during the summer break without some sort of screaming going on, whether it was his cousin throwing a tantrum, his relatives fighting, or a “customer” who didn’t pay his dues. It was almost relaxing being back.

This year he was going to be taking his C.A.T.s, a test he was looking forward to studying for. He enjoyed the extra work. It took his mind off of stressful situations at home and, though he was getting better at closing some of his emotions off, his thoughts of Cecilia. He was glad to spend some of his extra time studying instead of thinking and worrying about her.

He was a little annoyed at how quickly his reputation at Sonora had gone downhill, but he supposed it didn’t really matter all that much. It shouldn’t, anyway. Josh had always been a private person and tried not to let himself be affected by what others thought of him. He knew there was more to him than an infamous family name, his orphan status, and his good looks. He prized his intelligence over all that and his determination to rise above all the challenges his own family posed. He shouldn’t have to prove anything, but he wanted to. He wanted to prove he was worth something.

Hence, his reading material today didn’t consist of textbooks and the like. Today he was reading another prestigious Potions journal, something he had gotten quite addicted to over the course of six months. As an aspiring potioneer, he was fascinated with the experiments and theories of other older, more experienced potioneers. In only three more years, he would be out on his own hopefully with his own apothecary. He already conducted his own private experiments and he was trying to save every Knut, Sickle, and Galleon he received. He knew his uncle wasn’t going to give him a Knut after kicking him out. Australia didn’t offer him much anyhow, so Josh wanted to go to New Zealand and see if he could find Cecilia once his family no longer posed a danger to her.

Still, that was all in the somewhat distant future. This year, Josh just wanted a quiet, non-dramatic school year. He didn’t want to make enemies, he didn’t care about making friends. He had his Potions journals, his heart under tight wraps, and his wand. That was all he needed. Or so he convinced himself.

19 Maximilian Joshua McLachlan Wanting a quiet year. 184 Maximilian Joshua McLachlan 1 5

Henny B-F-R

September 02, 2012 6:41 AM

Ok. I'll whisper. by Henny B-F-R

Henny was in the library practically first thing when the new term rolled around. On this occasion, it was to check with the librarian that it was ok for her book club to meet there, although if it hadn't been for that, it still wouldn't have taken her to long to find an excuse to come in. The library was her favourite place at Sonora. Besides the fact that she took the greatest pleasure in reading, her Father had once tread the aisles here as librarian. So, she supposed, had Dad, when he was a student. However, she couldn't really imagine the library having been his favourite hang out. Knowing that her Father had strolled around, finding quiet contentment amongst the books, helped her to find it too. To other people it was grand and imposing. To her, it felt homely.

Across the room, she noticed Josh. To say that she liked him would be an overstatement. But she didn't dislike him either, which was apparently more than could be said of most people. Her conversation with him had been like an intricate game of chess. There was the sense that if you made the wrong move you would be smitten (in the sense of one who had experienced smiting. She couldn't really imagine anything making her smitten with Josh in the other sense). But either he had been having a more kindly inclined day that day or she had been a good player. They had, apart from the tension she'd felt at making every exchange, had a pleasant enough conversation. She weighed up whether to talk to him now. There was every chance that it would be Absolutely Forbidden to interrupt his reading, and therefore she would instantly lose. She could understand being irked at being interrupted and he was clearly the type who enjoyed immersing himself in study, only with added anti-social tendencies. But part of her wondered who else would give him any indication that they had noticed or cared about his return? However much he put up a prickly exterior, she couldn't believe that any human being was happy in complete isolation from others. She approached from the side that did not afford her a view of his black eye.

“Hey,” she greeted, “Anything interesting in this month's?” she nodded to the journal he was reading. Her tactic in their previous conversation had been not to ask the obvious questions and that had seemed to go well. She could imagine that he might be more interested in telling her about the journal than his summer. If his summer had been boring, it was a boring conversation. If it had been the wrong kind of interesting – which certain rumours suggested might be the case – it was better not to bring it up. Henny tended to read literature rather than theory but she was interested in both. She liked the theory that they studied in class and wasn't opposed to having more of it in her life. It just wasn't the first thing that she sought out.

13 Henny B-F-R Ok. I'll whisper. 211 Henny B-F-R 0 5

Josh McLachlan

September 02, 2012 2:36 PM

I'm surprised you bother to by Josh McLachlan

There was a very intriguing article about puffer-fish in the journal, but as he started getting into it more, Josh was interrupted by a greeting. A friendly greeting, no less. He was too surprised to be irritated and he turned his head to see who it was. The library was usually his haven from the real world, a place where he could study and be antisocial without any consequences.

However, the person greeting him was Henny, a girl younger than him that had talked to him his first day as a transfer. Josh looked down at the Potions journal, deciding whether or not she was sincerely trying to start a conversation or being sarcastic. He hadn’t gotten the impression that Henny was the sort of girl to be a snarky just for the fun of it, so he decided she had to be sincere. Still, he would tread cautiously.

He turned back to Henny, unsure of what to tell her exactly. Potions was one of the few subjects he felt really passionate about. He loved his academics, of course, but Potions in particular was his favorite. Though Josh didn’t talk much, he could talk for hours on the subject. “There always is,” he replied. “In particular, there’s a theory by some medicinal potioneers that Skele-Gro can be enhanced to speed up the process of bone re-growth by slicing the scarab beetles thinner. There was also something about using dried-out puffer-fish fins instead of wet ones, but I haven’t finished the article yet.”

His masculine voice was a little hoarse from disuse, but it was still strong, if not quiet in respect for the silent library. There were loads of more wonderful articles in the journal, but that one in particular was something he wanted to try on his own. He was sure his roommates could smell strange things in the air in their dorm although Josh tried his best to hide the potion fumes that lingered after he had finished his experiments.

“Do you read it?” he asked, gesturing to the journal, wondering if he’d found someone to talk to about the enormous amount of ideas and theories and hypotheses that came up. Josh had his own potion kit filled with vials full of experimental potions that he was going to test either on himself or on the shrubbery out in the gardens.

0 Josh McLachlan I'm surprised you bother to 0 Josh McLachlan 0 5

Henny B-F-R

September 06, 2012 3:33 PM

Philanthropist, masochist or anthropologist... You choose. by Henny B-F-R

Henny gasped slightly as Josh turned to face her, revealing a rather sore and swollen looking eye. She tried not to think too much about where it might have come from, as it led her mind down several unpleasant routes. There were a number of ointments that were effective on such things, which suggested either it was a badge of pride from some manly activity like Quidditch (on Josh, who did not play well with others, did not do sports at school and who did spend all his free time reading journals) or that no one had been very bothered about it happening.

“Sorry,” she apologised for her reaction, “That took me by surprise.” For reasons best known to herself, she unzipped her school bag and began to rummage.

“I suppose that makes sense, about slicing the beetles thinner,” she suggested, figuring it was best to keep up the conversation that clearly interested Josh. She wasn't going to be crass enough to ask him what had happened. Mostly because she didn't he would tell her, and also because she wouldn't have any idea what to do if he did – assuming the reason turned out not to be rough-housing whilst playing Quidditch, of course, “it would increase the surface area, which – logically – should increase their potency within the Potion. Here,” she pulled something from her bag and placed it on the table in front of Josh. It was a small round tin, with 'Bruise Balm' on the lid. “I take my brother to the park a lot in the holidays. He likes to climb stuff but isn't very good at it,” she explained, realising it might seem a little odd or suspect that she carried first aid supplies in her bag. “Just return it when you're done.

“Would you want to speed up Skele-Gro though?” she asked, “I mean, it's meant to be pretty unpleasant, so I can see the justification in making it a shorter process but, if it's the same amount of pain, condensed into a shorter space of time, that might be beyond what most people are able to endure. Quickest isn't always best.

“I don't,” she confessed when he asked if she read the journal. She could have made something vague up, said she dipped in and out but she was sure he would have seen straight through it. “Though I'm happy if you want to enlighten me about any particular gems that you find. It seems very interesting.” She couldn't imagine Josh running up to her, full of glee about what he'd found. She was sure he would feel that level of excitement but either he genuinely lacked the compulsion to share his pleasure with others or he didn't really believe they wanted him to. If it was the former, she supposed she should leave him be, content in his own little world. But she couldn't help but worry that it was the latter, in which case she wanted to give him that option. Besides which, the article he'd mentioned did sound genuinely interesting. She would be happy to know more about it and to hear about his finds in the future.

13 Henny B-F-R Philanthropist, masochist or anthropologist... You choose. 211 Henny B-F-R 0 5

Josh McLachlan

September 07, 2012 12:00 AM

I’d say anthropologist with a little masochism involved by Josh McLachlan

Henny’s reaction to his eye was understandable, but he didn’t think it would garner such a loud reaction. It made him feel a bit like a freak, the way she was looking at it. Josh immediately looked back at his journal, feeling a little embarrassed. Anger burned inside of him against his uncle, but he tried to quiet it so he wouldn’t lash out. The Occlumency book he had been trying to learn from had helped a little in controlling his sometimes blind rage. He had always been good at keeping in his emotions, but he was getting even better now.

She also seemed to know something about potions herself when she was able to intelligently respond to the info he’d just relayed. But then she surprised him by pulling out "Bruise Balm" and placing it on the table. For him? And she was expecting him to take it with him? He was at a loss for words at the moment. “I—” Perhaps it was better just to take it and thank her. Swallow your pride, Josh. “Thank you,” he replied instead of refusing like he had wanted to. He took the balm, thinking that he’d better put it on a little later.

This conversation between them was starting to get interesting, especially from her perspective. He hadn’t really talked to anyone about the journals before, and there was no way he was ever going to let on that he had his own scientific journal where he scribbled down his notes and observations. “I would,” he replied. “If it speeds up the process by at least ten minutes or more, it would be worth it. And I think, of course I couldn’t be sure, but I think that if mint sprigs were added and some star grass, it would even ease the pain a little.”

All of these thoughts were just coming into Josh’s head as he spoke, and he was surprising himself a little just by talking about it. Usually he thought very thoroughly about his experiments first before talking about them at all, but Henny was the first person who had showed any interest in his thoughts at all. "But I haven't finished the article yet. There could be more about easing the pain." He did want to get back to it, but perhaps a social interaction would help him solidify his opinions on this potion experiment. He had never tried talking his ideas out before.

And when she mentioned that she would like him to tell her about what he read, he blinked in surprise. She was either joking or being sarcastic. But, as he had thought before, she still didn’t seem like the kind of girl who would be intentionally mean. But he wondered if she was just saying empty words like any other polite person would do. “You’d be interested?” he asked, still in disbelief. It was hard to tell what people were really thinking when they said certain things, though Josh was good at foretelling peoples’ reactions. However, it was comments like Henny’s that threw him off.

0 Josh McLachlan I’d say anthropologist with a little masochism involved 0 Josh McLachlan 0 5

Henny B-F-R

September 09, 2012 10:43 AM

I like it. It sounds kinda sexy. by Henny B-F-R

Henny felt awful about her reaction to Josh's eye, as – obviously and understandably – he hadn't seemed too impressed by it. She was glad he accepted her help with it, although he seemed a little hesitant over this. She figured he probably had his pride and, especially after her reaction, hadn't wanted to take her help. There was a fair amount of second-guessing with Josh as he didn't tend to say much. At least he had accepted though. She didn't like the thought of him walking around with a sore face and everyone staring. That wasn't nice for anyone.

He also picked the topic of Potions back up, which was definitely better than shunning further conversation with her, and on this topic he could almost be considered loquacious. Especially for him. There were entire sentences, all put one after the other with minimal prompting. The fact that he seemed interested in the subject helped make her feel more at ease with continuing the conversation, as it wasn't always easy to be sure whether he wanted to be talked to. Although she wasn't sure he'd have too many qualms about making it clear if he wanted her to leave. She didn't think Josh was one to humour a third year girl's enquiries just for the sake of it.

“Do you do that? Make your own adjustments, I mean” she asked, “Or are you just speaking theoretically?”

He hinted that he wanted to get back to reading, although he asked her a further question after this. He wanted to clarify whether she had meant what she'd said. She had entertained the possibility that he would brush off the comment, thinking that she wasn't sincere. She hadn't thought that he would admit to the uncertainty by asking.

“I would,” she nodded, in answer to his question, “There's so much in the library. Even the most dedicated Aladren couldn't get through it all. There are, undoubtedly, many, many things in here which I would be interested in knowing but which I will never read. Having people who will pass on the edited highlights or direct you to exceptional things to read are a good way of getting as much out of it as possible.” And<,/i> she added to herself, You seem almost happy when you talk about this, and I think you need that.

13 Henny B-F-R I like it. It sounds kinda sexy. 211 Henny B-F-R 0 5

Josh McLachlan
September 09, 2012 4:18 PM

Josh McLachlan
Peripheral
Written by:

It's also a mouthful by Josh McLachlan
Josh knew he had probably said too much when Henny asked about his own experiments. Well, she hadn't said anything about his own, but he was certainly not going to own up to it. "It's all theoretical, of course," he said. At least right now it was. But he knew he could get into trouble for brewing his own potions in his dorm room unsupervised especially because they were experimental. It was better to keep all that a secret.

Henny's answer to his disbelief was equally surprising. It sounded more like she was going to use him as a way to get information she otherwise would never be interested in looking up herself. It was a little disappointing, but nevertheless he nodded. He didn't really know how to respond.

In his interactions with people, he noticed that they usually said things that they didn't mean. When friends said, "Let's catch up sometime," or relatives said, "Your child is so smart," they were telling blatant lies in order to be polite or to make conversation. They were what Josh called, "feel-good comments." He had promised himself he wouldn't be one of those "feel-good doers" even if it made him come off as standoffish and rude.

Of course, that had backfired with Regina last year, and so Josh was trying to take a less confrontational approach. So far with Henny it seemed to be working. She wasn't offended or anything yet. And she was actually interested in hearing what he had to say about, well, potions? It was an interesting subject, sure, but was Josh willing to actually talk to her about it? Was she really saying she was willing to be stopped in the hallway just to learn about some more theories that only potioneers would care about? Somehow he highly doubted it.

Still, Josh told himself that, if she really was interested, he'd tell her things. Not regularly, of course, but if she seemed interested in talking. He would have to goad her reaction. This whole conversation was just starting to make him a little uncomfortable, so he thought turning back to his Potions journal would be a good thing. Safe, anyway. "Okay," he replied at last. He glanced at the journal and then back at Henny. "Well, I'm going to keep reading."

How else was he supposed to end it? He kept eye-contact with Henny for a little too long as he tried to think of any other ways to end a conversation without blatantly saying, "See you later, goodbye, leave me alone". Nothing good came to mind, so after an awkward silence, he turned back to his journal and started to read about pufferfish fins.

0 Josh McLachlan It's also a mouthful 0 Josh McLachlan 0 5