| Details for Dark Defenses in the Park |
| Summary: | William starts tutoring Gabby on DADA….At a muggle park. |
| Date: | Tues, Jul 20,1938 |
| Location: | |
| Related: |
| Characters |
 |
Gabrielle 's sitting on a bench, clearly having been here awhile.She sent the Owl, telling William the good news of her working from home, so she can be tutored whenever. She's dressed a little oddly, but then again, she is a pureblood. They never seem to dress right around muggles. The weirdest is she's got on a long sleeve shirt. The left sleeve is rolled some, and she's sketching in her book, the trees and area. She's got her hair up off her neck on a pony tale, unfortunately, the curls are already escaping. She's smiling softly and humming to herself.
It's a delightful day, sunny and warm, and the clouds which hang in the sky are white instead of grey, more like decorations which verify the fact that yes, it is indeed Summertime. People run and play in the park, children and adults both, and across the way, a man sells frozen custard from a locker filled with ice, children crowded about him and eagerly awaiting their turn whilst adults pay the man, some happily, some reluctantly.
"Hello there, Gabrielle," says William, standing behind Gabrielle and looking down at the contents of her sketchbook. He is wearing simple, black slacks and a short-sleeved shirt of white, under which can be seen the neck of his t-shirt. The clothes don't look new, but they do look well-cared for. "Lots of people in the park today. And this is your first lesson, actually. Lots of people… now, what could that mean? What dangers could that hold?"
Gabrielle smiles, not looking up from her sketch, finishing the last few lines.It's a decent drawing. "Hello William. How are you? I'm fine, thanks." She'll look up, smiling to show she's not really upset, "Well, the first danger would be that you snuck up behind me. The second is there's too many children here to protect." She'll tilt her head to the side slightly, "Care to sit down, or shall we walk?"
"And third, of course, is that we would assume that all of these people — out of earshot, thankfully — are… not like us. But let's say one or more of them -are- like us?" He moves around the bench to take the proferred seat, and looks out at the people who occupy the park, "They might be able, then, to hear what we're saying somehow, right?"
Gabrielle pales slightly, a dark thought crosses over her face, "True." She'll close the sketchbook, the smile gone from her face. She'll look up at the people around them. This is not what she needed, to feel more paranoid. Her voice is quieter when she continues, "The children, if they were, would have the trace on them….There are potions for enhancing senses. Charms and magic items."
"It probably wouldn't be one of the children that we have to worry about in our little scenario," William says. He's smiling as he speaks, and he looks like he's gotten a fair bit of sun already since school ended. He lowers his voice to say, "Most of your dark wizards would be adults, of course. But you never know, do you? My Uncle Albert once said something that's stuck with me for my whole life: Paranoia is only good thinking." He looks over at Gabrielle at that, and winks, "Of course, we're talking in very low-percentage terms, but it's more a thought exercise than anything. Vigilance is key, and when talking about dark magic, the unexpected — and unknown — is to be expected. Now… you're an artist," he reaches over to tap Gabrielle's sketchbook cover, "Would you say that being an artist — creative thing, that — might help you think outside the box?"
Gabrielle 's clearly nervous, in fact her left hand has started tugging on her right sleeve some. She'll smile nervously back, "Right.Low percentage." Her eyes flicker back over the people, and she'll take a few deep breaths, looking down at his hand as he taps the book in her lap, "No…it just changes the box…it's….I think we all have different boxes to look through. Just most of them overlap." She'll frown slightly….does that even make sense? She'll keep her eyes down, blushing slightly.
"Of course it makes sense, Gabrielle," says William, smiling encouragingly, "And the very fact that you can think of it from that angle just proves that you /are/ creative. We all have gifts, and I've seen a lot of your sketchings; You, my dear, are far more creative than most. Now…" he reaches behind the bench, to produce his everpresent, dilapidated bookbag, and pulls it onto his lap, "The first time we get together away from prying eyes and ears, we're going to do a little wandwork. But before then, I have some things that I'd like you to read…" he produces a book which is covered with an unmarked, brown book-cover. Homemade, by the looks of it, from a paper bag, "Pages 220 through 250. It's really interesting stuff, mind you. Or it is to me, at least."
Gabrielle stops tugging on her right sleeve and will take the book, smiling softly. This she can do. "Creativity only gets one so far…It's not like- "she starts to say something else than bites the inside of her cheek and just nods. "I bet there's places at Diagon alley we could go…maybe look for a pet for you too?" She'll offer up, hoping that makes up for her oddness about all of this.
If William notices any oddness, he doesn't give any indication whatsoever, "Of course, Gabrielle," he intones — it might be noted that he nearly always uses her full name, instead of shortening it to a nickname, "And I've still got the money saved for a pet, so that would be pretty spiffy." A pause, and he reaches up to scratch his jaw, "Hey, you're pureblood, so maybe you can tell me… do you think there's much in the way of a possible career for musicians? I've poked around with the idea of working for the Ministry, but I've also been thinking about playing piano, professionally. I know that sort of thing is pretty big in the Muggle world, but that world's not really mine any longer. So I'm thinking about options now."
Gabrielle smiles about the pet. she's never actually shopped for a pet, it could be fun. she'll frown at the question of her blood purity, but nods. "I don't really know? I mean, I would think if you're good… you should be able to?" The blush stays, as she can't really recall if she's heard him play. She thinks the only one she's heard has been Julian. "You should probably ask Conall, he's wanting to do music." She'll trace the edge of the DADA book lightly, "What did you want to do in the Ministry?"
"Oh, I don't know," he says, "Maybe an Auror — I have the grades for it — or something where I'd be able to use Defense, or maybe Transfig or Potions." He shrugs, "I suppose I've got a little time to think about it," he smiles down at Gabrielle, "You're not /too/ far behind me. Thought about what you are gonna do?"
Gabrielle smiles, "An Auror, huh? That's …big." She'll shrug at his question, still not looking up at him, "I don't know anymore. A year ago I had everything planned out, but now…" She'll give a slightly hollow laugh, "I guess we'll just see if I make it to my NEWTs."
"Oh yeah?" William seems to be quite content just sitting here, talking to Gabrielle, book bag sitting on his lap as he pulls on the laces that tie it up. he has long fingers, and finally, thankfully, his growth spurt appears to be — if not over, then nearly — and his body is starting to slowly fill out a bit to catch up. "Well, then," his voice has settled into a near-baritone, "If you had it all figured out at one point… what did you plan on doing when you did, in fact, have a plan?" His tone isn't the least bit condescending.
Gabrielle smirks, glancing at his bag, "You'll laugh." Eyes going back to her sketchbook,blushing, "I was going to leave,as soon as I turned 16. Make street art. Or tell fortunes. " She'll shrug. "Pretend to be a muggle." That's not an option anymore. She'll sigh softly.
He laughs, does William — not in a mocking way, but in a tickled one. "Well, I'd be a damned bad friend if I encouraged you to drop out," he says, eyes twinkling as he looks at her, "So no… leaving isn't a good idea. But street art. Telling fortunes? Why not? But seriously, I'd say to /not/ pretend to be a muggle. That lot is a pretty boring one on the whole. Seriously, Gabrielle… two more years is all. I'll make damned sure you're prepared for the things I can help you prepare for, and you'll be aces. Trust me, you'll see. Plus, you have loads of other friends to help you with the things that /I'm/ rubbish at. So there you go."
Gabrielle winces, even though the laughter's friendly. "Things have…changed. I turned 16 in the spring. I stayed." She starts tugging on her right sleeve some as she looks up at the kids playing, "Sometimes boring is nice."After a moment , she'll look up, a resolve in her eyes, "I know you will…Thank you. I need to understand the basics… I won't always have someone to help me." She'll break eye contact, looking back to the kids, still messing with her sleeve, "I know Conall's going to help me with Charms and Magic Theory. If I ever need Magical Creatures, Teddy's amazing. And Lucian's the only reason I didn't blow up the examinors for my OWLs."
"Now what do you mean someone won't always be there to help you?" William asks, brow furrowed with concern, "I mean, I suppose that you're right on a situational level," he amends, before, "But not a 'life' level. I don't plan on disappearing on you; You'd better not be planning on disappearing on me."
Gabrielle blinks and will look at William, "Situational, of course. I'm not planning on having an escort everywhere I go." she'll smirk at that image. "I'm not planning on going anywhere." Seems pretty legit, but there's a tug on her sleeve , that just adds a touch of nervousness to her statement.
He believes her, and relaxes, until he notes the little tug on her sleeve.
He's seen that bit before. And he knows full well that she can sometimes… shade the truth.
"You have a little habit, you know, when you're not telling the whole truth. A dark wizard would probably pick up on it right away if you were doing something like trying to blend in for some reason or other… Aurors have to do that sort of thing now and again."
Gabrielle freezes and her face goes fairly blank. She'll pull her hand away, clearly she knows. She'll look out over the water, "It's not when I lie…I get nervous, is all. I don't like talking about the future…what's happening. It's all just…going to be bad. People are going to get hurt…die. And I just want to be able to protect those I care about." She's frowning slightly,and her lower lip jutts out a hair. Everything she's saying feels genuine, although she may be holding something back? It's hard to tell with Gabby.
Well, William is convinced, so he lets it drop, "Well all right then," he intones, before reaching out to tap the book that he's given her, "Remember, study those pages, I beg you. I reckon whenever you've done that, and when you want to meet in Daigon Alley so we can shop for a pet and find a spot to do some wandwork, then we'll be ready to take the next step. Sound good?"
Gabrielle looks down at the book in her lap. She'll smile and look to William, "Yes, I will. It may be a day or two, my aunts want me to help around the house, and I need to start on the charts for Madame Lunaris." She'll stand up, and after a moment of consideration, she'll give William a quick hug, "Thank you. You don't know what this means to me." She'll pull away and smile brightly, "I'll owl you soon!" And will start to walk away with her sketchbook and his DADA book in her arms.