| Details for Prime Movers |
| Summary: | A little tuition between Hattie and Anthony |
| Date: | 1939-10-22 |
| Location: | Charmatorium - Hogwarts |
| Related: | — |
| Characters |
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Anthony walks quietly into the Charmatorium. Surprisingly, he seems quite calm, unlike most other people in the School at present.
Hattie is keeping on, keeping on. Apparently she is not most… or maybe OWLs just loom larger than the current conflict. Who knows? While the appropriate authorities may be said to look on, she has her wand out at the ready, and a bucket of water in front of her. She does not look certain. A Prefect watches over the few practicing students, boredly.
Anthony pauses, his own wand flicking out, when he sees his younger housemate. "Wilkins? Something puzzling you?"
"Rowle," Hattie answers, and gives a warm smile and nod. "Oh, just … trying to talk myself to putting my face into the bucket. Bubble-head charm." A shrug. "Worse than a cat. Do you need the space?" she asks him, almost hopefully.
Anthony laughs, "Honestly, is that all?" He pauses, "Do you believe you can cast it properly? I can watch, and reassure you, maybe?"
Hattie quietly admits, "The truth is, I'm bored with it. My wand is bored with it, too. I was ready to move on a week ago."
Anthony laughs, "Well, yes. Bored, but have you got it working?" He leans against the wall, tucking his wand away, "I mean, I'm happy to give some coaching, although Eibhlin's much better than me at the charms."
Hattie smirks a little, "I appreciate that. Well, I suppose could cast it at -your- head, and launch the bucket to make it less boring, too? No?" But at his Assertion about Head Girl Shine, she cocks her head, and queries, "What are you better at, then?"
Anthony gives a modest smile, "Very little, actually. I suppose you could say Runes and Arithmancy. Oh, and she doesn't study Magical History, so that as well." And, indeed, Tony is Professor Black's Student Aide.
"Spiranabulla," Hattie tells her implement firmly but dully, a tightly controlled circle drawn in the air, directing the charm to her brow. Almost perceptible, the formation of the spherical field. "I like Runes and Arithmancy," she says. "But I don't have any natural ability in them. I wonder if maybe I made a mistake, back when I elected them. I've been a little lost since we covered the theory of numerical significance of primes in the latter." She sighs, blows out a breath, and puts her face into the water. Breathe in. Breathe out.
Anthony considers, "Actually, that's tricky, but _really_ important, if you get into the sixth year stuff with it. If you like… I mean, I'm not brilliant at it, but I could have a go at explaining it to you?" He sounds a bit tentative.
Hattie mops of her face. She would clearly prefer it if herbology's drought spell had a little more dainty and SAFE of a control. Blot, blot, "Would you? That would be wonderful. I hate to feel like I didn't do everything I could… Especially if it will come up again." A pause. "I mean, I don't want to take up your time, when you also have a challenging schedule, but there's so much NOISE and commotion and drama anymore… I don't know when there will be a better time."
Anthony shakes his head, "No. No, it's the least I can do. The duty of the finalists is to teach those below. It's always been that way, and I've taken advantage of it." He gives a faint smile, "I'll maybe let you into a secret, that Gemantria will show you _most_ of things the Primes will do, at least for OWLS, and it's a lot quicker and easier. I can take you through the shortcuts."
Hattie is happy to put away the wet supplies in favor of a much drier subject! She takes a stool and just as she would for the professors, orients herself to take in his instruction. "If I'd known you'd offer, I would have brought my mispar kidmi primer. I'll try to keep up?
Anthony nods, glances around for something to write with, and on, and then pulls out his wand, and says, "Flagrate!" And as he begins to speak, burning words and numbers of fire start to appear on the wall, in time with the movements of his wand. "Alright. The standard primes system will have you consider the significant numbers, and pull out primes, and reduce non-prime numbers until they become primes, right?"
Hattie nods and leans forward a bit, chin to her fist, "As opposed to using isopsephy, where you just total the line, and then derive the primes, yes…"
Anthony nods, "So, if you take my name and date and place of birth." He scribbles them up. "You can take the latitude and longitude, and the date and time, and so forth, and it gives you these numbers…" He twiddles his wand, "Which reduce via primes to this. Incidentally, if you use Isopsephy, you see the results are slightly different." And again, the numbers dance up on the wall. "However… this is where the shortcut comes in. And I should warn you, it's an approximation… somewhere between the Primes and Isopsephy in accuracy, but well within OWLS standards….."
Hattie brings out her wand, and substitutes her little first-year brother's vital information in her own flaming-scrawl, working the problem up laboriously. "It is saves any steps at all…" she acknowledges.
Anthony nods, "Right. But if you take my _name_ instead, and the _place_ of birth, and use substitution of numbers for letters… oh, it works best if you know the Greek, incidentally, but it mostly works in English…. anyway…. so, A for Alpha is one. N is nu. Which is 13. TH for Theta, which is eight…" And he converts the words into numbers, "And if you do a straight summing up, with reduction of double numerals, you end up…."
Hattie tabulates. Twice she stops, uncertainly, and doubles back to check the value for the English letters. She glances up to check his answer against hers, which came out as a seven somehow.
And there, glowing, is the same number. Tony gives a faint smile, "It falls apart a bit at NEWT level calculation…. and that's because of the interplay with Astronomy and complex Numerology. But for the sort of calculations you have to do on the fly, or for OWLs, it works _really_ well, and see how much quicker it is than doing it the conventional way. If you're pushed for time in an exam, this is the sort of trick that'll get an answer down. Especially if the exam question says, 'By doing comultiplifications, or otherwise'… This is an 'or otherwise' method."
Hattie ooooooohhhhhs. "Yours went so much faster than mine! Or Otherwise is my new favite test-phrase!"
Anthony gives a faint smile, "Good. Don't _overuse_ it as a technique. If they're feeling hardnosed about things, they might claim your method doesn't give _quite_ accurate enough answers. But we're talking fractions of a decimal point." He takes a deep breath, "Right. Now. Primes, and their application?"
He drones a bit, and then finally realises he lost you, "Sorry."
Hattie puts an end to her flame-writing charm somewhere back there. "No, its alright. You tried. I think maybe I need to backtrack a few chapters in the reading, and see if I can figure out where I went off track. I did get the gematria though!"
Anthony shakes his head, "No… no, let me try again!"
But it's still a bit gobbledigooky
You kind of get the idea he's very very clever, and pretty good at Arithmancy, and is just misjudging how to explain what he's talking about.
Hattie has gone a little blank-faced this time. After a short space, she just bursts into laughter. "I'm sorry," she apologizes hastily. "I feel like I heard the words, but that their meaning pinwheeled past me. My grandfather used to tease me that he'd lay the chess primer on my forehead, to absorb slowly, because my head was too hard to receive it any other way."
Hattie says, "You looked just like him, just now, trying to explain Scholar's Mate."
Anthony grimaces. "Sorry. I've been revising my stuff for NEWTs. I think I screwed up explaining that." He pauses, and with a wave of his wand extinguishes his fire writing, "Look… let me have a think about how to break it down, and arrange a time to meet up with me in the common room, and we'll go over it again, okay?"
Hattie nods eagerly to that, hopeful for another shot at the material. "I appreciate it very much. I wish I had the gift for it you clearly have, but its not second best to have a tutor who will try and find a way to explain it in a different way for me."
You say, "Well, you know… Arithmancy isn't my first love, but I can probably help you with Runes too. Although you may need to apologise to Eibhlin if you're taking _too_ many of my evenings." There's a faint grin there. "… or she may help, of course.""
Hattie says, "She may regret it if I get close enough to apologize… she'll be sucked into my spinning educational vortex of TEACHMETHINGS."
Anthony laughs, "Well, she's a real expert on Charms. I mean, seriously! And Runes she's pushing me hard on. And that's my best subject!"
Says the fifteen year old, with a smirk, "And here we are, mere mortals trying keep the both of you in sight. Me and my stupid, tedious bubble-head charm."
You say, "Oh, no! No! Bubble Head is _really_ important! You _must_ keep your eyes on that! Charms do far more work than Runes or Arithmancy!"
Hattie says, "All I need is to suddenly have spiranabulla! pop into my head while I'm trying not to splinch on an apparation."
You say, "Ah, well _there_ I'm afraid I can't help you. My apparation needs some work. But I thought I might leave that until AFTER NEWTs. And all of this kerfuffle, of course."
Hattie frowns, and flexes her wand gently. She has angry eyes, but she won't direct them to him; they fix themselves on the floor. "Come ye, Winter Holidays," she says wistfully.
Anthony's eyes twinkle, "Yes. Yes. I rather wish they would." There's a crease of a smile, "Although I'm a _little_ nervous, truth be told."
"YOU are?" Hattie exclaims, genuinely surprised, and has to repeat with more lady-like moderation, "You? But whatever for? Is it just the testing cycle?"
Anthony clears his throat, "Aye. Well. I'm going back for Christmas to meet Eibhlin's mother. And she's spending New Year meeting my family…"
Hattie ohhhhhhhhs. "Well, that's a good nervous, because its so unlikely to end in disappointment. Not when you'll work so hard to make a good impression. Do you have a gift picked out for your hosts?"
Anthony blinks, and his mouth drops open in an 'oh'. "Um. Oh."
Hattie is full of enthusiasm for little niceties. "You should ask what sorts of things her family likes. Unless there's some sort of exotic condition in the house, you can never go wrong with something colorful and botanical, really, can you?"
Anthony gives a brisk nod, but looks a bit concerned, "I have a bit of a black thumb."
Hattie brightens, further. At last! Something she excels at, which could be a help. "Well, I don't. Herbology is my best subject, and I have all sorts of specimens at hand. Of course, they're all miniature right now, but I do have to share the ledge… all we have to do is protect them from you long enough to transport. Or if not, maybe I can help you think of something else. Just ask Eibhlin about what her home is like."
You say, "Um… would you mind? That would be terribly kind! Thank you!"
Hattie claps her hands together, pleased. "I even have a sure-fire plan to personalize it a bit. Don't you worry a bit!"
Anthony gives a slightly shy grin, "Thanks. I _do_ appreciate it. And I'll have to ask Eibhlin what her family house is like… and what her mother likes, of course." He seems to be planning already.
Hattie grins and spins off the stool. Because now the timid girl has a mission! As well as a -lot- of studying to do. "I'll see you in the common room! I've got to go find Professor Beery!"
Anthony gives a nod, "Of course! Of course! Let me just have a think about how to put this better…."