| Details for A Meeting of Minds |
| Summary: | Dr. Schrader comes to inquire about a potion or two. |
| Date: | 6-30-1939 |
| Location: | Black Apothocary |
| Related: | — |
| Characters |
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While Black Apothecary isn't on the main drag in Diagon Alley, nor is it the most popular shop, it is the cleanest. So it's no surprise that the former Head Girl wound up here, when her other career aspects fell through. The shop hasn't been too busy since the attacks on Diagon Alley, but that doesn't mean there isn't plenty for Morgana to do. Currently she's working on one of the window displays, arranging little vials of colorful potions and various dried plants to try and entice the people inside. She has on a pair of violet robes, and she's let her hair grown out since she's been in in school, so bits of it are hanging in her face.
"Sleeping powder?" inquires a voice as quickly as the man gets through the door. The German accent hangs heavily in the air and the man it belongs to stands militarily, his hands clasped behind his back as he eyes the young woman up and down with those cold, thoughtful eyes.
Morgana turns her head as she hears the door open, than uprights herself, carefully smoothing down her robes as she stands. "This way sir." She says in a very professional manor, walking over to one of the tall shelves and gesturing toward one of the many, well kept containers. "We have coarse and fine grain powder, depending on how you like to administer it."
Schrader nods to Morgana and says, "Very good," in a jovial manner as he moves on beside her. He steps forward and takes a small jar of the stuff from the shelf, turning it over and over in his hands. "Did you know that you can dilute it with water and release it through an aerosol? Those Muggles /are/ so very clever." There's a devious lilt to his words as his eyes move up to rest on the young girl's face.
"I had not thought of using it in that manor before." Morgana says thoughtfully, before she reaches up for one of the jars and her lips twitch in a slight smirk. "If that is the way you wish to you use, than I should suggest the finer grain Sleeping Powder. It dilutes quicker and is harder to trace. It typically only suggest the coarse version if you're going to use it in cooking."
Schrader has done this hundreds of times before but still manages to muster the acting talents to look as if Morgana has helped him in some way, "I suppose you would be correct, young one." He sets the vial down and picks up a vial of the finer product, "Now, tell me young lady, do you have anything for memory loss? Well, not to combat it, I suppose…but to hasten it?"
While Morgana is pleased that she has seemed to of steered him in the right direction, calling her a young one does cause her to raise her brow. However he is a customer, and so she of course doesn't call him out on it. "That would depend on several things. I know there are potions that can aid in memory loss, however I would need to know if it would be a temporary loss, or a permanent one. Also it would depend on the way they would to take the potion or powder or which ever form you're planning on administering it." She pauses for a second. "Hypothetically of course."
"Oh, we are talking of a permanent nature, my dear." remarks Schrader, coming off even more like a cartoon villain than he already was. He strokes his chin and says, "And a potion, I think."
Morgana seems to think it over for a moment before she walks toward another shelf. "If you were to take a standard memory loss potion, and switch out some of the ingredients, than you could speed it along. I am guessing that you're wanting this loss to be gradually, or you would have simply used a memory charm instead." She starts pulling off several ingredients and setting them in a tray, trying to recall a potion she read about previously from memory.
"You are an astute one, kleine blume," Schrader remarks with a wide smile, looking the girl over. "Yes. A gradual, slow drip of memory loss, noticeable to no-one. A person wakes up one morning and doesn't remember their name or their family; well, that's sure to cause a fuss, ja?" He pauses for a moment, adding gravitas and a slow crawl to his next sentence, "but…a person who's memories slowly start to /unravel/; hardly noticeable. Perhaps one day…they simply forget how to get home…or how to operate a motor vehicle. Tragedy. Beauty."
"I would not have been hired were I not astute. And it is Miss Rashely if you are looking for something to call me." Morgana says in an off handed tone, not really sure what he's calling her since she never bothered to learn German. "Sudden memory loss would be easily detected by those around the recipient. Though it is not unheard of of the elderly to lose their memory over time, if this is a younger person they may try and figure out the root cause of the issue."
"This is true, Miss Rashley," says Schrader, tapping his fingertips along the length of the vial in his hand. "Tell me, /Miss Rashley/," he says, obviously enjoying the ring of the name in his accent, "what are your thoughts on the human mind?"
Morgana slightly frowns just a bit as she thinks her next words over. It's an odd conversation to be having in an apothecary, however there is little else for her to do, so there can't be any harm in here philosophizing a bit. "My thoughts are that we can study it for centuries and still not understand everything there is about it. If it were something constant, that every human had an exact copy of, than maybe it could be figured out. But the mind changes with each experience. It learns to fear, to adapt, to love, to hate and in the end to fade away once it comes of a certain age. In the end, the mind is a mystery, and one that may never get solved."
"And say, if I were to use this potion on someone and slowly drip away everything that they ever knew, would they still have the mind? Is the mind more than electrical currents moving through brain tissue…or can I take it all away with this simple vial?" Schrader ponders for a moment and says, "They would not revert to infancy; no. We are born with natural imprints on our parents, so there's at least a modicum of information in there somewhere. But what happens when it's gone?"
"I think there are things that cannot be forgotten. While you may take away a memory from someone, say something like where they had lunch the day before, it is easier to remove because you have one memory of what you did on one day. But think of a skill, something like learning a spell, something you would have learned early on. You have the initial memory when you learned it; the wand movements, the voice inflections, and the words of the spell. Than there are the memories afterwards, every time that you have used it, and how that single spell with so many parts becomes automatic, where you don't have to think of how to move your hands, or say the words, you just do it. To completely forget that spell, you'd have to completely remove every memory in your mind related to it. If that makes any sense." Morgana does realize she's going off on a tangent.
"It makes a lot of sense, Miss /Rashley/," remarks Schrader with a smile and says, "You know it's a bit troubling that you're whole-heartedly ready to sell these things to a man who's made clear his intentions as to what he's going to do with them."
"Is it? All of our conversation has been hypothetical after all." Morgana says, raising her brow and gesturing to the tray. "And you never said you wanted to purchase any of this, mearly simply asking me what could be done and besides." She reaches down and holds up a few of the vials. "Had you really looked closely you would know that these are the ingredients for a pepper up potion."
Schrader cackles wildly upon examination of the ingredients. The laugh is warm, loud and generally full of mirth, even if it does tend to go on for a bit too long to be considered socially acceptable. He wipes his eyes and grins, still stifling the remainder of the laugh. A simple look is shot toward Morgana and he extends a hand to her, his other hand reaching up to pull the fedora from his head and clutch it to his chest, "Dr. Johannes Schrader, Department of Mysteries."
Morgana's eyes go wide and for a second she looks stunned. Recalling something Professor Black told her, she realizes that this might have been some sort of test, and she defiantly let a bit of arrogance show, which is not something she wanted to do. Either way she clears her throat and takes his hand. "A pleasure to, ehm meet you sir… Doctor." While her hand shake is firm, it's easy to see that her hands themselves are shaking. "Morgana Rashely, former Ravenclaw." As if that wasn't obvious.
"The pleasure is mine, /Miss Rashley/. Hmm, a birdy then, ja? I'm none too familiar, having learned at Durmstrang," remarks the gentleman as he moves to set his fedora down on the counter, "You know, at first I lauded your commitment to the scientific process; your unwavering commitment to challenge morality in the face of discovery vis a vis your willingness to sell me those components."
"An Eagle to be exact, though the name can be misleading as to what the mascot is, which I always found to be weird. They should have chosen a raven it would have been less confusing." Morgana opens her mouth for a moment before she closes it, shaking her head slightly as she realizes she's rambling. So she'll keep herself busy, by organizing the counter, that is already OCDly in place. "You were? Well tell me Doctor, what is it that you found about my commitment to the process?"
"Oh, that part doesn't really matter, anymore, does it? You tricked me." He chuckles again at the prospect. His hands move to rest on his hips as he eyes the young woman, "You tricked an Unspeakable. People have been thrown down wells for less." He grins at her, no doubt finding joy in the torment he's no doubt inflicting.
"Well perhaps I was just trying to gauge how serious you were about erasing someones memory. Besides I found it odd that you were coming into a place like this, asking questions that would have been easily ignored should you have gone to Knockturn Alley. So it made me think you were not really serious about brewing the actual potion, which is why I grabbed these ingredients." Though when mentioned about being thrown down the well she bites her bottom lip for a moment before she answers. "I would hardly be a worthy applicant for your department if I was not able to challenge you mentally as a colleague."
"And /that's/ the point. Why on earth would I want to work with a dullard, ja?" Schrader grins and slides his hands into his pockets, continuing his examination of the young woman, "Intriguing."
"That's assuming I get into a position in your department that is." Morgana says, trying to lead him on with her questioning. Part of her just wants to shake him and ask all of those nagging questions that have been stewing in her brain for months, but she figures looking desperate is just going to make things worse. "Intriguing hm?"
"Well, only the best of the best end up studying the mind. It's far more than sorcery and philosophy. It's actual science." Schrader says with a chuckle before nodding to her, "Yes, you are quite intriguing, Rashley. Intriguing, indeed."
"I see. Would you consider dreams to be a part of studying the mind?" Morgana asks honestly, as she folds her hands behind her back, mostly to keep them from showing her nerves. "Well I hope you pass that information on to your superiors, so far I have heard nothing about what I have already submitted to your department." Not that she was expecting to receive anything from them.
"Who knows? It's a mystery, after all. Can't go giving away all of my information," he remarks with a grin as he plucks up his hat. His cold eyes glance over her once more and he says, "I'll see what I can do, kleine blume."
"Of course." Morgana says, sounding like she is very unhappy about that answer. When he plucks his things up she'll nod her head at him, seeming ready to walk him toward the door. "I would go through the proper channels, should I have known what they were but after all, it is the department of mysteries. Have a good day sir."
Schrader slips his hat on and tosses a devious grin to Morgana before saying, "The proper channels lead away from the Department, Miss Rashley." He tips it to her and says, "Do take care," before slipping out of the door.