| Details for Not Too Soon |
| Summary: | Bannon and Josie talk about history, long lifespans, and dueling. |
| Date: | November 12th, 1937 |
| Location: | Great Hall |
| Related: | None |
| Characters |
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Midafternoon finds much of the Great Hall occupied by students getting through the days assignments. Each House table contains many filled seats, with students talking or writing their midday away. Not all who claim a chair at their respective house tables are students, however. Bannon Benjamin Bryson Bates sits in one of the chairs surrounding the Gryffindor table, a length parchment set out before him. There is an inkpot set off to his right, and a quill in his hand. Between the inkpot and the quill rests his wand in quite easy reach. He seems to be engrossed in writting whatever it is he is writing on the parchment, chewing his lower lip in concentration.
Josie comes wandering into the hall, heading towards the Gryffindor table with a heavy-looking bag of the books she needs for homeworks, including her ever-present dictionary poking out of the top. She starts towards a seat but pauses mid-step as she spots Bannon. Smiling, she turns to head over to take a spot by him. She waves but she doesn't speak audibly, not wanting to interrupt his work perhaps.
Bannon glances up for a moment, smiling towards Josie, and then looks back down to his parchment. He continues writing for at least a few minutes more before he sets the quill down. He picks up his wand, murmering 'ventus' underneath his breath. A soft wind begins emitting from his wand, threatening to blow the parchment off the table were it not for Bannon's hand on the corner. He watches the spell carefully, and as soon as the ink is dry, the spell ceases. He looks back towards Josie as he finds his walking stick, tucking his wand back within, "Hello, Miss Davies. How are your studies progressing?"
Josie smiles but gets to her work. Looks like it's an essay for History of Magic. Frequently referencing her dictionary, more often even than the textbook, her work is slow, but she's writing faster than her last reading and writing lesson with Bannon in the summer at least. She holds her own parchment down as the wind blows, and grins, "Brilliant." Then she smiles up to Bannon again and says, "They're going ok. Charms and Transfiguration are my best classes. And I'm starting to do better at Potions. History of Magic is still awful boring, though."
Bannon smiles, shaking his head, "Not really. That was a relatively simple spell to create wind. Barristers and politicians do so quite effortlessly without the use of a wand." He listens to the run down of her classes, nodding his head, "Very good. I wish I had a better preparation in magical history in my line of work. So much of what I do is simply old business."
Josie wrinkles her nose, "It's not so much the subject that's boring, it's Professor Binns. The book stuff is pretty fun, actually. But all he does is talk and talk and talk and talk and it's *so* boring!" She shrugs and then says, "At least I get to practice my reading and writing." The, though, she asks, "Do you mean some people who're in this book are still around? Or is it just the same kinds of people?"
Bannon considers it for a moment then nods, "Indeed. As a lecturer, Professor Binns is pretty dead." He grins, "Some of them are still around. Wizards tend to live a lot longer than Muggles. I'm not sure if it's the health care of we're just rather resilient due to all the spell damage we take during the course of our studies, but it's the way it is. I'm speaking situationally though. There's very little new under the sun, Miss Davies."
Josie giggles at that first comment, and nods. Then she looks up curiously at the rest, listening, "Really? I hope I live a long time. Not forever, I wanna see mum again someday, but long enough to see myself in a book like this."
Bannon smiles, "Don't be so quick to want to make history. There's so much to be said about people you'll never read about in that particular book." He smiles, "I know you want to see your mother again someday…" He then chides, "But not too soon, you hear me? Be smart in all of your encounters."
Josie nods emphatically with a smile back up to Bannon, "I swear, won't be too soon. Not if I can help it. I'm good at surviving," she adds, trying to reassure. "That's why I joined dueling club at first, so I can protect myself. And I was lucky, it's really fun too," she adds with a cheerful grin.
Bannon nods quickly in return, in much the same way, "You did very well, Miss Davies." He pauses for a moment, then adds, "I didn't break the tournament down by year because of the lesson inherent in the event. Not all Wizards will be evenly matched. I wanted each student to know how he or she would react when faced with an opponent of unequal training, preparation, or what have you." He then adds with a smile, "And I'm glad you had fun as well."
Josie smiles brightly at the compliment, "Thanks." Then she nods again. "I'm used to dealing with people bigger and stronger than me. Already know I'm always gonna fight back, even if it isn't gonna help much. But know it was a big surprise for some kids. Maeve was scared before her duels, going against someone stronger."
Bannon nods, beginning to pack up his things. He folds the parchment neatly, and just tosses the inkwell in his bowler without a second thought. He looks towards Josie and smiles, "Well, hopefully Maeve has learned a valuable lesson from her duels." He gestures behind him, "I need to go see Professor Dumbledore. Keep working on your homework and I'll try to come back and see you before too long."
Josie nods with a smile, "I think she has." Then she nods again and waves with a smile, "I'll be here a while, homework always takes me a long time."