Drew Thornton
Ministry of Magic
Auror-in-Training
I didn't do it and you can't prove otherwise...
Posts: 14,114
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Post by Drew Thornton on Mar 22, 2009 23:18:02 GMT -5
Drew honestly thought that the world would be a much better place if everyone could work things out without guns and bombs and wands, but knew that realistically it wasn't going to happen anytime soon. Not when there were so many people out there who thought they were better than everyone else for whatever reason.
"Brazil? That must have been an adventure," Drew told the man, perking up at mention of trouble with creatures. It sounded like something Felicity would be interested in and he was eager to get more of the story. "I'd love to hear about it."
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Baal Nelson
Wizarding World Aide
Wizard Shop Owner
It's all in the beard.[on:lurking in your shadows][of:lurking in shadows elsewhere]
Posts: 68
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Post by Baal Nelson on Mar 22, 2009 23:23:54 GMT -5
"Well, I really should get back and open up the shop, but if you'd like to come with me I could tell you there," Baal offered. It had been a while since he had had company. He liked the idea of having a cup of coffee and telling this guy about the adventure. Of course, he didn't know how much time the guy had or anything, but at least he could offer.
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Drew Thornton
Ministry of Magic
Auror-in-Training
I didn't do it and you can't prove otherwise...
Posts: 14,114
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Post by Drew Thornton on Mar 22, 2009 23:33:07 GMT -5
"I'd enjoy that, thank you," Drew answered, thinking it might be interesting in and of itself to visit the man's shop again. And if he got a good story to tell Felicity in his next letter, that would be pretty cool too.
Drew didn't have much to do or anywhere else to go, so he was happy enough to follow the man to his shop. "Can I help you carry something?" he offered, thinking the broken bag was probably cumbersome. He would have offered to fix it, but figured if it was an option, the man would have done it himself.
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Baal Nelson
Wizarding World Aide
Wizard Shop Owner
It's all in the beard.[on:lurking in your shadows][of:lurking in shadows elsewhere]
Posts: 68
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Post by Baal Nelson on Mar 22, 2009 23:36:19 GMT -5
Baal started off towards his shop, trying to find a place where there was room enough for Drew to cast a spell.
"Um, If you could just Reparo the clasp, I'd really appreciate it. Thanks."
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Drew Thornton
Ministry of Magic
Auror-in-Training
I didn't do it and you can't prove otherwise...
Posts: 14,114
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Post by Drew Thornton on Mar 22, 2009 23:58:36 GMT -5
"Sure, not a problem," Drew answered, a little surprised at the request. The young man figured if the bag could be... or should be fixed, Baal would have done it himself. No matter. It was kind of refreshing to meet someone who didn't automatically turn to magic to solve every problem. A wave of the wand wasn't always the best solution.
But in this case, it seemed to be. With an easy smile, Drew pulled his wand out of his back pocket and after giving it a quick twirl through his fingers (a habit he was trying to break), he said the spell and fixed the clasp. "Good as new, I hope," he told the man, returning his wand to its rightful place.
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Baal Nelson
Wizarding World Aide
Wizard Shop Owner
It's all in the beard.[on:lurking in your shadows][of:lurking in shadows elsewhere]
Posts: 68
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Post by Baal Nelson on Mar 23, 2009 0:06:07 GMT -5
"Thanks."
Baal tried the clasp, and it clicked. With a sigh of relief, he pulled his hand away and slung the pack over his shoulder. He started off towards his shop with a motion for Drew to follow. When he got to the shop, he unlocked the door, walked inside, and flipped the sign to say "OPEN." He went into the back room, and pulled out a table so that he could talk and watch the door at the same time.
"Come have a seat."
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Drew Thornton
Ministry of Magic
Auror-in-Training
I didn't do it and you can't prove otherwise...
Posts: 14,114
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Post by Drew Thornton on Mar 23, 2009 17:53:10 GMT -5
"Not a problem," Drew answered, smiling back at the man. He waited to the side as Baal unlocked the shop and set things right, entering when he finally thought it was appropriate. He took a look around the shop and appreciated the craftsmanship even if he really had no use for the globes. They really were quite amazing.
"Thanks," Drew answered with an easy smile, taking the offered chair and settling in for a good adventure story.
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Baal Nelson
Wizarding World Aide
Wizard Shop Owner
It's all in the beard.[on:lurking in your shadows][of:lurking in shadows elsewhere]
Posts: 68
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Post by Baal Nelson on Mar 23, 2009 18:12:30 GMT -5
"So, I have this friend, Rick. He's about twenty, and probably the best herbology student I've ever seen. Straight out of Hogwarts he knows, 'I'm going to go to Brazil and save the rainforest.' I haven't seen him since.
"So, a few months back, I get this macaw-- that's a tropical bird-- show up with a letter that he needs my help. Well, It wasn't really a good time for business, and I needed a vacation, so I figured I'd go down for a couple of weeks, help out Rick, and come back. So I closed up shop and headed for Brazil.
"No in the rainforest they have this animal called a capybara. Or capivara as they call it. It looks like a big guinea pig, and can get up to 130 centimeters long and weigh up to 65 kilograms. Now, usually they're very placid, enough that you can feed one from your hand, and they live in groups. They're like beavers, too: they swim a lot.
"But somehow, one of these groups had gotten into something magical. Rick was walking me down the river when we saw this place where it was bubbling and steaming, like a spring. Well, he showed me that these ones had somehow learned how to breathe fire.
"They were causing trouble left and right. They were causing local aquatic life to die, they were terrorizing the local villages, and, worst of all, they were starting small fires.
"So, we worked out a spell to use in order to get rid of the fire. That took us about a week. By then, the problem was even worse. The things were multiplying, and the babies had the same issues. And rodents give birth to litters.
"So, we had two wizards, about sixty fire-breathing rodents, and we had to cast the spell on every one individually. And all of this had to be done without alerting the local muggles. It took us until just recently to finish up.
"So, in exchange for my work, Rick gave me a lot of really good coffee beans. Seems like it wasn't really worth it, huh?"
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Drew Thornton
Ministry of Magic
Auror-in-Training
I didn't do it and you can't prove otherwise...
Posts: 14,114
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Post by Drew Thornton on Mar 23, 2009 18:36:43 GMT -5
Drew had some experience with animals and knew what a macaw and a capybara were, but he nodded and smiled politely as the man explained. Drew was actually wondering more about the man's friend. He too had a friend named Rick who was about 20. What were the odds that it was the same guy? Probably a million to one.
As the story continued, Drew let out a low and long, "Woah..." when Baal mentioned the large rodents had started breathing fire. He couldn't help but laugh a little at the idea of the usually peaceful beasts terrorizing villages with their new ability. Drew understood the severity of the situation, but it was still pretyt funny.
It all sounded like a lot of work (and probably something Felicity would find pretty neat). "That better be some pretty good coffee," Drew answered. Of course, if it came from Brazil, it probably was... but doubtful it was worth taming a bunch of fire breathing capybaras.
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Baal Nelson
Wizarding World Aide
Wizard Shop Owner
It's all in the beard.[on:lurking in your shadows][of:lurking in shadows elsewhere]
Posts: 68
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Post by Baal Nelson on Mar 23, 2009 18:46:00 GMT -5
Baal chuckled. Drew was right. It did seem like a lot of work for a little reward now. But it was funny how you can go somewhere for a couple of weeks and end up there for a few months. It never seems like so much until you're done though.
"Oh, trust me, it is. Best coffee in the world. Come to think of it, you might know Rick. He was a Hufflepuff, graduated about two years ago."
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Drew Thornton
Ministry of Magic
Auror-in-Training
I didn't do it and you can't prove otherwise...
Posts: 14,114
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Post by Drew Thornton on Mar 23, 2009 19:03:37 GMT -5
The house was right, but Drew still wasn't convinced it was the guy he knew. "Probably not," he replied, though he recognized there was a chance. "The Rick I know left Hogwarts a couple of years early to go back to Australia... or New Zealand... or something. Maybe it was Brazil." Drew couldn't be sure, but Ricky had left pretty quickly. Still, it was a pretty big coincidence. If it was the same Rick, it would be cool to make contact with his old friend.
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Baal Nelson
Wizarding World Aide
Wizard Shop Owner
It's all in the beard.[on:lurking in your shadows][of:lurking in shadows elsewhere]
Posts: 68
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Post by Baal Nelson on Mar 23, 2009 19:13:17 GMT -5
"Nah, that's not him then. I remember him telling me what he got on his N.E.W.T.s. Oh, well."
He had enjoyed teaching Rick. The kid had a really likable personality, and he was always talking about some girl at school. Baal couldn't remember her name now. Was it Cassidy? And yet, he had always been ready to focus and learn. He might have been Baal's favorite student. He was definitely up there.
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Drew Thornton
Ministry of Magic
Auror-in-Training
I didn't do it and you can't prove otherwise...
Posts: 14,114
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Post by Drew Thornton on Mar 23, 2009 19:30:13 GMT -5
Drew laughed, still thinking it was awfully coincidental that they both had Huffle friends named Rick who were about the same age. It got Drew to thinking that he should try to contact his old buddy and see what he was doing. Perhaps Allegra knew where to get ahold of him.
"So how did you meet this guy anyway?" Drew asked, thinking it strange that the older man had made such a friendship with someone so much younger. It wasn't unheard of, of course, but Drew was kind of interested.
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Baal Nelson
Wizarding World Aide
Wizard Shop Owner
It's all in the beard.[on:lurking in your shadows][of:lurking in shadows elsewhere]
Posts: 68
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Post by Baal Nelson on Mar 23, 2009 19:37:14 GMT -5
Baal weighed his options. He could try to come up with some way to explain it off, or he could tell the truth. He figure he hadn't technically done anything wrong anyway, so what could it hurt to tell Drew about it?
"I taught him. You see, I give... I guess you could call them dueling lessons to older kids at Hogwarts, as well as some adults. I teach them the spells that I have created over the years, and help them with some of the basic ones, too. Business has really picked up since they canceled Defense Against the Dark Arts, as you can imagine."
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Drew Thornton
Ministry of Magic
Auror-in-Training
I didn't do it and you can't prove otherwise...
Posts: 14,114
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Post by Drew Thornton on Mar 23, 2009 19:50:57 GMT -5
"Ah. Yeah, I remember hearing about that," Drew answered with a nod. He was surprised he hadn't made the connection with the name earlier. When they cancelled Defense classes, Drew had started his own group of sorts and a few of the people he worked with had actually taken some of Baal's lessons. The report Drew had gotten back was that the spells were pretty good, but it wasn't really geared towards fighting the Dark Arts. Drew's sources had said Mr. Nelson was pretty non-partisan.
It was a bit of a disappointment to Drew who had felt like he was getting along well with the man. All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing. Baal perhaps thought he was doing something, but in actuallity, by working with both sides, he was doing a whole lot of nothing except allowing the Dark side to continue.
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