The Peculiar Predicament of Mr. Patrick Reese on Teppenpaw Commons

Lyssa Fitzgerald

February 12, 2019 7:53 PM

The Peculiar Predicament of Mr. Patrick Reese by Lyssa Fitzgerald

The Peculiar Predicament of Mr. Patrick Reese
By Alice Paul

Chapter 1: The Hell Hath No Fury

The snow coming down off the hill swirled about him as he stocked through the street towards the Inn. Patrick looked beside himself as he stormed towards the small building. His young daughter took note of the vein on his forehead and the rising redness in his cheeks. He looked like anger come to life, flying down the mountainside and straight towards her on a mission.

This was not the ideal mental space she wanted him in, and yet she knew that she couldn’t change her father once he became angry. She’d just have to let him burn through his anger. Sometimes it was quick, other times… well, she merely look at the changing family members who were over, or not, during the holidays to see how long fathers anger could hold out. She was hoping this would be a quick burn, and not a fire that smoldered for years.

Lyssa sat on a couch in the Teppenpaw common room with the book open on her lap. She’d realized as she was walking around the library that she knew nothing about popular wizarding culture. She knew Quidditch. She knew there weren’t movies or tv shows. But books, radio shows, plays? She didn’t know those or myths that wizards might already know, so she decided to grab a book that was part of a series of books to read and possibly learn some.

Her choice had been “The Peculiar Predicament of Mr. Patrick Reese”.
The cover was hinted at something haunting. Like all the dystopian novels she had read before coming to Sonora. A man with a long black coat and top hat standing with his back to the audience. Snow falling around him. His left hand open with the appearance of just dropping something and a wand falling towards the snow in front of him.

The back blurb celebrated that this the first in the “Peculiar Purgatory” best selling series. Apparently it would be about a wizard who loses his ability to do magic and live with muggles as he struggles to find his way back. She also recognized the authors name, Alice Paul, from somewhere, but when she looked up the name in the library only the series books came up. The author’s bio also didn’t have any more information.

It didn’t matter though. A wizarding book that also talked about muggles and seemed slightly depressing in some way sounded perfect to Lyssa as her first foray into the world of wizarding literature. She hoped it was more Deviant than Twilight, but she supposed both had their strong points.

So she’d gotten cup of hot coco and brought the book with her to be around other people, but still able to tune them out. Thus she began the Peculiar Predicament. Devouring the book seemed a more apt description. It seemed to be about a father who was so angry at his daughter for befriending not a muggle born wizard, but “a muggle without any magic in him”. His anger appeared to flow through him like a torent hitting his daughter square on until she couldn’t take it anymore and burst out herself. Tears, fighting, curses thrown around all in a lovely hilltop town, and at the end the father raised his wand at his daughter. And the first chapter ended.

Lyssa looked up from her book. She was already 20 pages in and had realized she hadn’t taken a sip of her coco.

“Wow, this is good,” she said out loud to herself and turning the book back to the front cover to see it again.

This was already quite an intro into wizarding culture if this is how pure blooded wizards felt. Lyssa looked around. She didn’t know if anyone around her felt the way the father, Mr. Reese, did.

41 Lyssa Fitzgerald The Peculiar Predicament of Mr. Patrick Reese 1421 Lyssa Fitzgerald 1 5

Melodie

February 12, 2019 11:44 PM

The purrfect crime by Melodie

Melodie was sulking. Her human was being cruel. He had moved her. Twice. The first time, she had been comfortably settled on his lap when he had decided he needed to fetch simething from his room. So, he had moved her. And, when he had returned and found her stretched out across his Transfiguration textbook, that had also been deemed somehow inappropriate or unhelpful and she had been moved again. It was all very rude, made ruder by just how often he came home smelling of That Kneazle. He had plenty of time to fuss the other feline but apparently his own cat was an inconvenience. Well, maybe she would just find some other humans to lavish attention on her and see how he liked that!

She was in pursuit of this goal, when something even better caught her attention. It was a warm creamy scent and following it to its source revealed a People Drink. Even better. Warm, creamy, and forbidden. People Drinks were enticing by the very fact that she was not supposed to have them, but the drinks her human favoured weren't that nice. They smelt bitter and astringent. She still occasionally stuck her face in them out of principle, but it was barely worth it.

Melodie watched the cup for a while. The human was not really showing much interest in it. They were very engrossed in a book. She was familiar with that activity and expression. It often led to minimal attention to her. Normally a bad thing, but in this case an advantage.

Melodie crept up and leapt lightly onto the table where the People Drink rested. She dipped her face towards it, unable to believe her luck as she lapped up several creamy mouthfuls. Once she had had her fill, she jumped down. Just as the human finally broke off from her reading.

The human said something. She used the positive tone of voice but was not looking at Melodie, so it seemed unlikely that the positive thing was about her. Which was a shame. People ought to be saying positive things about her and giving her scritchies. Deciding that this human might be good for a cuddle and some praise as well as a drink, Melodie gave her whiskers a quick clean to destroy any evidence, and popped her head out with an inquisitive mrow?

The slender silver tabby jumped lightly up beside Lyssa and nuzzled her am hopefully and shamelessly, large green eyes staring up appealingly and looking like butter wouldn't melt in her mouth. She wore a green collar and a small silver tag. On one side, it bore her own name, and on the other 'DXM, Tepp.'

OOC - was curious for Dorian to get involved but don't want to hog all the posts. So, he may appear to collect his errant cat at some stage but in the meantime if anyone else wants to involve themselves, they can (and/or Lyssa can talk to Melodie).

13 Melodie The purrfect crime 1401 Melodie 0 5

Nathaniel Mordue

February 13, 2019 10:08 AM

Caught in the act! by Nathaniel Mordue

Teppenpaw had several disadvantages as a House, but in a way, one of the most severe actually sort of worked in Nathaniel’s favor. Inside Teppenpaw, there was a curious relaxation of the boundaries between proper and improper; everyone seemed to get along and be polite. At first, Nathaniel had been a little suspicious of this, along with worried about the consequences of speaking to the wrong person, but over two years he had concluded that his House really was generally as relaxed a place as it seemed.

An advantage of this was that studying in the common room was quite possible…if one could concentrate. Today, unfortunately, Nathaniel could not. He had his Potions book open in front of him, and he looked down at it often, but his eyes kept drifting up from the page and around the room, finally locking onto the spectacle of a seemingly stalking cat.

Nathaniel had seen the cat before – not Professor Xavier’s cat, but it was definitely one of the Teppenpaw cats. What was it after, though? He watched as it leapt onto a table and had to quickly suppress a laugh when it put its face in a cup beside a girl who was reading and started drinking from it.

However, it wouldn’t be funny if the girl then drank from the cup after the cat, so Nathaniel took the excuse to close his Potions book and stand up and walk over to the pair, the cat having now decided to seek out affection from the girl.

“Excuse me,” he said politely, glad of the excuse to avoid studying. “I don’t know if you saw, but the cat decided to get into your drink before she got in your chair.” He smiled at the cat. “You’re very sneaky, aren’t you?” he added to the cat.

16 Nathaniel Mordue Caught in the act! 1412 Nathaniel Mordue 0 5

Lyssa Fitzgerald

February 13, 2019 1:43 PM

The Act of Being... A CAT!! by Lyssa Fitzgerald

Lyssa looked down at the cat rubbing up against her. The soft purr vibrated against her leg felt like comfort or at least tranquility and she reached out a hand to stroke it.

“Hello,” she said looking around its neck for a name tag of some sort, “What’s your name?”

She was scratching the cats ears when a boy walked up to her. She’d seen him around, it wasn’t hard as they were in the same house. Still, she didn’t know him well, so she was a bit surprised as he walked straight towards her. The book having put her in a mindset that someone might be about to yell at her she lead back slightly.

As he spoke she looked at the cat, then at her cup, then at the boy, then back at the cat. Then peered back into the cup. It was lower. To be sure. But a cat who drinks hot chocolate and not get sick? That was new.

She scratched the cat on the head. “They are a sneaky one huh? I guess I was a bit too wrapped up in my book thus they will get the rest of the coco.” Lyssa took the cup off the table and put it down next to the cat on the couch so the cat could have the rest of the coco.
Lyssa looked up at the boy standing in front of her and reached her unscratching hand out, “Thank you for keeping an eye out for my coco. What’s your name? I feel bad for not knowing everyone’s names but there is so much going on around here sometimes.”

41 Lyssa Fitzgerald The Act of Being... A CAT!! 1421 Lyssa Fitzgerald 0 5

Melodie

February 13, 2019 10:12 PM

Of this, I am guilty by Melodie

The human did the right thing, and began to fuss Melodie instead of going back to her reading. Good choice. Melodie purred, both because the scritchies were genuinely enjoyable and also because humans liked it when she purred. It made them feel happy and valued, and - as a Teppenpaw cat - Melodie was a giver. Also, it made them continue with doling out the affection.

Another human came to join them. Melodie was less sure about this because she had noticed that her own human's shoulders tended to tense when this one got too close, and even though he lived next door, her human had scooped her away any time she hung curiously at his closed door. This human seemed not be trusted. Melodie was pretty sure he wouldn't do anything actively horrid to her but she stuck to nuzzling the first human to get her fuss. Still, as he was clearly talking to her, she acknowledged him with a cheerful mew, as it would be rude not to.

The humans talked about her for a bit. They were looking at her, the first human was still petting her, and no one was using an angry voice, so they were presumably complimenting her. That also made sense. She was exceedingly lovely.

The first human then kept looking between her and the drink. Did she know? Melodie maintained her most innocent expression. Then the human put the drink down very close. That made it much easier to get but harder to do so unobserved. Did this mean it was for her now? She made a show of curiously sniffing it, this definitely totally new beverage, that she of course had not seen before ever in her life. What could it possibly be? And were the humans going to tell her off for being this close?

"Mrow?" she asked politely, lifting her head to look at the first human.

13 Melodie Of this, I am guilty 1401 Melodie 0 5

Lyssa

February 14, 2019 11:18 AM

Like a cat I'm going to go out on a limb here by Lyssa

The cat was looking at the cup as if she hadn’t had any of it to drink. Maybe the boy was wrong.
“She certainly seems to be very good at faking,” she said gesturing to the cat. The cat looked back up at her.

“It’s alright little one, I am only going to throw it out at this point so go ahead and drink it,” Lyssa said nodding her head towards the cup of coco.

She turned back to the boy. He’d gotten up from a potions book that was now closed, which Lyssa could understand. Sometimes you just couldn’t or simply didn’t want to do homework, and tonight seemed like one of those nights.

“Having trouble concentrating on homework? Maybe you could help me then…”
Parker had told her that some people weren’t ok about muggle born wizards, and the book only primed her mind to think that someone might get angry or hateful towards her.

“I am still only a year into… wizarding in general. I was wondering what books or stories you think are super important for someone new to wizarding culture to know? I got this book,” Lyssa held up the Peculiar Position of Patrick Resse, “but only because I liked the cover. Though I know you should never pick anything up because of its cover.”

41 Lyssa Like a cat I'm going to go out on a limb here 1421 Lyssa 0 5

Nathaniel

February 19, 2019 12:26 PM

Trying to guide you back to safer ground. by Nathaniel

Nathaniel shook hands in keeping with Teppenpaw courtesy, even though this gesture – rather than her curtsying and him bowing – let him know that being overly courteous in the outside world was probably not the best idea. “Nathaniel Mordue, of the Oregon Mordues,” he said, introducing himself properly just in case he was wrong about her.

“I think cats often are,” he said when it was suggested that the cat might be very good at faking it.

He raised his eyebrows slightly, curious, when the girl suggested he might help her out if he was not going to do his own homework now, but was a bit taken aback by the question. Good to know he hadn’t been wrong, but he would have imagined that appropriate reading material would have been suggested by liaisons and such – weren’t they supposed to help people like this integrate? As it was, though, here he was, and he couldn’t see anything wrong with the request – it was good, actually, that she was trying, and not stubbornly clinging onto Muggle ways.

“There are lots of stories,” he said. “I haven’t read a lot of fiction in – a long time.” When he wasn’t studying, he usually read books about photography or history, the first to fuel his hobby and the second to try to inspire himself to be a better leader for his family. “There’s always Beedle the Bard, in English – but you have to be careful which versions you see,” he remembered to add piously. “There are supposed to be some that – have bad messages, they’ve been corrupted from the originals.” He had seen one in the library which mentioned intermarriage with Muggles, of all things, but he thought this subject too crude for a young lady’s ears. He was shocked it was even allowed in a library that children could access, though he supposed the sixth and seventh years doing a history study might need to know about bad propaganda or something. “I don’t know that one,” he said about her book instead. “What’s it about?”

16 Nathaniel Trying to guide you back to safer ground. 1412 Nathaniel 0 5

Lyssa Fitzgerald

February 23, 2019 2:29 PM

Safer ground, that'd be high ground by Lyssa Fitzgerald

Lyssa shook Nathaniel Mordue of the Oregon Mordues hand. It seemed to her that Nathaniel appeared to stand a bit straighter saying his name, as if it was the most important part, or an important part, about him. She knew that in the wizarding world names could be important in some instances. From what she'd already gleaned from other interactions and from conversations with her brother, the ones who were focused on their names were the ones who also seemed more upset about Muggles in general. Similar to fights she'd seen about who had been in America the longest or Old Money vs New Money.

She made a point to look at his face when she asked her question about the book. And his facial response merely solidified her thoughts on the matter. The look on his face was one she'd seen before on Jr whenever Lyssa was the one to stand up to him. A look of surprise and cautionary thoughts. Lyssa took a pause, not everyone was like Jr., not even Jr anymore, though she had thoughts about that.

She made a note in her mind about Beedle the Bard. She'd have to look it up later. His follow up about bad messages and corruption made her curious and agitated. Maybe it was the comfort of the common room or the fact that Lyssa was missing Debate team, but she could feel something building inside of her. An energy which focused her on Nathaniel. Her mother used to say that Lyssa could read people, sometimes like a heat seeking missile. This was a hyper version of that. Her defenses went up inside, but she kept the soft smile on her face like she'd learned to do during Jr.s reign of terror in the Fitzgerald's home.

“You can tell a lot about a group from what they read or don't. If you want to know what happened, read non-fiction. If you want to read why and what people were thinking while they did it, read fiction,” Lyssa said in a calm manner before holding up the book again.

“Oh this? I don't know a lot really,” playing dumb, like she didn't know the next few bits of information might start a fight or at least a debate.

"Just read the first chapter so far. It's about a father who's so upset with his daughter dating a Muggle that he raises his wand against her. I'm assuming from the back blurb that the father then loses his magic and has to live with the muggles he hates so much.” She paused momentarily, still with her soft smile and a hand petting the cat next to her. She wanted to see how he'd react, tracing outlines in her mind of the arguments she'd begin to use if he wanted to say something about muggles. Part of Lyssa wanted him to say something, she felt like she was spoiling for a debate.

41 Lyssa Fitzgerald Safer ground, that'd be high ground 1421 Lyssa Fitzgerald 0 5

Nathaniel

February 23, 2019 9:03 PM

High ground is the easiest to defend. by Nathaniel

Nathaniel blinked at what sounded like a quote, wondering why someone would memorize that one for general use. “That’s a nice thought,” he said politely. “Though I’m not sure how my photography books fit into it.”

He did not expect to hear much controversy from just the first chapter of a book, and so was caught off guard when Lyssa began describing the initial chapter in question. He almost physically recoiled in horror and disgust at the ideas apparently being put forward in a book which anyone – including Sylvia and Jeremy – could have innocently checked out and been exposed to. Dating Muggles, a wizard living among Muggles – his major complaint was the horrifying notion of losing one’s powers, that was disturbing, the kind of thing that could bring on nightmares, but the rest of it sounded frankly indecent. It shouldn’t have been allowed.

“That’s horrible,” he exclaimed. “Or – well, it would be if that was possible – it isn’t.” He stated this as firmly as possible. How could that happen? It would be like losing the color of his eyes. He could lose a lot of things that felt essential to life – his father had proven that very well – but he couldn’t lose aspects of his own self. Could he? “And it sounds indecent,” he added, going back onto ground that he felt much safer on. “I wouldn’t finish it if I were you, if that’s how it begins.”

16 Nathaniel High ground is the easiest to defend. 1412 Nathaniel 0 5

Lyssa

March 29, 2019 11:53 AM

Take a deep breath, the air seems thin by Lyssa

Lyssa could feel the blood raise in her ears as soon as she noticed the look of disgust and distaste cross the boys face. Lyssa had not been entirely wrong about what this boy thought, but she tried to temper it with the idea that they were both part of the same house. The same group. Which meant that they had things in common as well.

She took a deep breath and held it, counting in her head like her mother had taught each of the Fitzgeralds in turn while listening to the boy talk briefly. Lyssa thought back to the speech and debate team she’d been in at school.

What was it that the teacher had always said, something about questions. Questions make it easier to win your point than outright confrontation because you can expose the other person to their own flawed thinking. She also had to make sure she didn’t walk into any traps while arguing. She didn’t want muggles to get a bad name because she lost her cool, or lost in whatever this was.

“It’s work of fiction, which means things are made up right? If you had asked me four years ago if magic were real, I’d tell you no, it’s a work of fiction. Anyways, what is so indecent about it to you Nathaniel Mordue?

She wanted to know for sure she was getting the feeling right from the boy, and that his disgust was with people like her. Like her mother and father. He wasn’t half wrong if the people he was thinking of were like John Jr., but there were probably people like JJ in the wizarding world, just like they were in her world.

41 Lyssa Take a deep breath, the air seems thin 1421 Lyssa 0 5

Nathaniel

March 29, 2019 5:50 PM

Rather like the ice you're skating on. by Nathaniel

Nathaniel looked at Lyssa in amazement when she asked what was so indecent about her book. However, she had just said outright that she hadn't known magic was real until a few years ago. Nathaniel supposed that if he didn't know Muggles existed - which he only knew in theory, he supposed; he wasn't sure he had ever laid eyes on one personally, which was not a deficiency in his education which he felt any impulse to remedy - then he might also not know how vile what the book suggested really was.

"You said that the - the character's - daughter - that she - " his mouth twisted with distaste again - "had a - relationship - with a Muggle. That is not decent," he said matter-of-factly, because as far as he was concerned, it was just a fact. "I would - I don't want to think about my cousin or my little brother reading that - especially Sylvia." Jeremy, like Nathaniel, had very good reasons to toe the narrow line, plus exposure to the fact that many people in the world were worthless perverts, but Sylvia was blessed with a much nicer life. She would probably be completely shocked and horrified if she stumbled across something like this - or worse, might somehow get ideas. Sometimes people did that, and then they betrayed their families, and then....

Didn't matter. Wasn't going to happen. Not again. He was strong, and so was Uncle Alexander, and Simon would do he supposed. He was not going to lose any other members of his family.

"They should stay with their kind, and we with ours," he added, just as firmly.

16 Nathaniel Rather like the ice you're skating on. 1412 Nathaniel 0 5

Lyssa

April 02, 2019 3:36 PM

My worlds on fire, how about yours? by Lyssa

Lyssa let out a gasp of surprise. He had not only said what he had said, he’d said it to her.

“I’m sorry. I…” Lyssa was momentarily stunned by his words. They were just so mean. So antagonistic. So personally antagonistic against her. So racist. Racist, was that what this was. She didn't think she was a different race, but he'd said she was a different Kind. Like some disgusting other.

“How…” Lyssa was at a loss for words, it didn’t happen often. She usually sat quietly observing for a while, but still. His words felt like a kick to her side. It felt physically painful, in her stomach and she closed her eyes to take a deep breath. As if shutting out the world would shut out the pain that suddenly flew into her. Slowly tears began to form at her eyes. He was nothing more than a bully. One like JJ.

It took every ounce of her being to not shout at him through those tears. Not to throw the cat away and fling herself on him and make him feel what she felt. He’d seemed so nice when he’d come over to warn her about the cat. Now the cat was in her lap and he had said so many hurtful things all at once.

“Why? Why do you need to say such mean things to ME? We aren’t different kinds. We’re the same. Just cause we grew up in different places doesn’t make us different types of humans, just from different cultures. Do you think Tatya is different?,” her voice began to raise as she got going, “Do you think Dorian or Johana are different kinds of humans? What kind of sick and twisted person are you that you deem me less because of where I was born or to whom I was born. What kind of person is so disgusted by someone’s parents that they would never talk to them or think of being a friend to them? A terrible one, that’s who.” Lyssa took a deep breath and slowed down her voice. Trying to regain her calm as she spoke the last bit, “And if you think I’m a different kind, perhaps you should leave or we may find out if we both bleed when punched in the mouth. I know I do.”

She'd learned from JJ that when a bully knows you can take a hit, it makes them less likely to hit you. She kept holding the cat in her lap and trying not to pet it too strongly using it almost like a safety blanket.

41 Lyssa My worlds on fire, how about yours? 1421 Lyssa 0 5

Nathaniel

April 02, 2019 4:27 PM

It's as mysterious as the dark side of the moon, just now. by Nathaniel

Nathaniel had no idea what he had done to invoke this flurry of outrage, and pride alone kept him from slowly backing away from the crazy person who was....

What was she doing, exactly? What did Dorian Montoir and his girlfriend and his best friend have to do with anything? And why did his opinion of Montoir's set (who, as far as he could tell, were all society types and so completely irrelevant in every way to this conversation) give her, at least in her own mind, the right to threaten him?

That part annoyed him especially. He did not care for threats. They made him feel like he had to be more aggressive than he wanted to be, or even could be, in order to deflect them. They made him feel trapped.

"I don't see any reason to find out," he said, as levelly as he could. One had to speak calmly and slowly to insane people, or so he vaguely imagined. He was not sure he had ever met an actual insane person before, unless one counted his father. Did Jasmine Delachene count? Her cauldron was from the blackest pit of Hell, and yet she seemed to like it...But that was neither here nor there. "I didn't say anything about you. You're a witch."

Not the same sort as himself, of course, but - well, Nathaniel had never figured that one out, exactly. It was an Indelicate Subject and so he could not exactly ask anyone, either, why exactly those outside of society were almost as untouchable as Muggles. The thing he was furious with his father about was not that the secretary was not of a suitable status for a Mordue to - liaise - with, but that said - liaison - was a betrayal of Nathaniel's mother, not to mention an abandonment of the rest of the family. None of these, however, were appropriate ruminations to have in front of this girl, so he kept them to himself.

"You were talking about Muggles," he said. "You aren't one. I'm not one. That book just - talks about them, according to you. Who don't know how the world works, and when they find out, they usually try to set wizard children on fire. You'll forgive me for not really wanting to be set on fire."

16 Nathaniel It's as mysterious as the dark side of the moon, just now. 1412 Nathaniel 0 5