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Who: Hermione Granger & Stephanie Brown
What: Magic talkin'.
Where: TMU Library and then...TBA, because libraries are not good places to demonstrate curses.
When: Givdi evening.
Warnings: N/A

Hermione personally thinks that she's an excellent teacher. It's a bit of bigheadedness that she allows herself, and she's quite prissy about it. Defensive, perhaps. She had, after all, coached her friends through their OWLs and the first year of their NEWTs, before Events Had Occured. Alright, perhaps sometimes she could get a little condescending, but really- they should have listened in class. Right?

This time will be a little different. Honestly, she's quite excited at the prospect of getting to explain magic from the ground up, without the wizarding world's absurd assumptions and prejudices getting in the way. On quite another level, she feels like she herself could do with a refresher. The life of a politician hardly lends itself to sparring and dueling, after all, but she feels like it would be prudent to make sure her reflexes are still sharp, curses fresh in her mind...

Well. She puts it out of her mind, tucking her tweed jacket (of course she owns one, and not a very fashionable one, either; a sensible, librarianish one) closer around her and flicking her hair uselessly behind her ear over and over as she waits at the doors of the library. Makes sense to meet Steph here, right? No point unwinding at home only to have to go out again and lecture or be lectured about curses and how to avoid them.

Anyway, curses she can do, but unwinding is a mythical power which Hermione hasn't yet mastered.

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"Trying and succeeding are two different things," Not that she doesn't have faith in her ability to dodge, but she's well aware that sometimes you just can't move quick enough, "And anyway, knowing what I'm up against includes knowing what it feels like to fail."

One of the most important lessons that Dinah instilled in her was learning how to take a punch, or a kick, or a knife in the arm, and to keep fighting despite the pain. She figures the same sort of theory will apply here.

"So don't stress about causing me bodily harm, as long as you don't kill me, it's all cool." Having a class that involves learning how to fight sounds kind of cool, and Steph makes a note to ask about it later, "But first we have to actually get started. Do you have a place in mind or should I take us somewhere we can practice without breaking anything?"

"I do think you might be underestimating precisely what magic can do," Hermione says, sounding worried. "Some of it I can't even give you examples of, I'm afraid, just descriptions, but there are three curses in particular from my world, that you ought to- you know what, I'll keep quiet until we've actually got a place to practice, shall I?"

She looks brisk and businesslike, and continues; "I had thought of a place- an old playing field, it's out of the way and not used anymore- where were you thinking of?"

Cheerfully, "Probably, but that's why you're helping me out. If there's things you can't do to me, then just explanations are fine." She gives Hermione a smile that's meant to be reassuring.

"There's a couple of big abandoned buildings in Echomire. But you're the expert, so I'll let you decide what's best."

"It might be best to be out in the open," Hermione says decisively. "I don't think I'll bring down walls unless I mean to, but there's no such thing as foolproof, not really."

So that's reassuring.

She pauses and then smiles, looking a tiny bit pleased with herself. "Alright, first lesson: Apparition. That's...a magical form of transportation, distinct from most other forms of magic because- well, um, it's sort of like teleportation. The effects are like teleportation. The theory's completely different. But you get from Point A to Point B with nothing inbetween." She offers an arm. "Want to try? It's quicker than the train, and I wouldn't like you to think magic is all about curses and countercurses."

"Out in the open it is, then."

"Apparition, right. Sounds interesting. Am I going to throw up?" It doesn't stop her from taking hold of Hermione's arm though, her grip firm but not tight. She threw up the first time Klarion transported her with magic, and it wasn't an entirely pleasant experience. At least this time there won't be weird outfits involved, so that's a bonus.

"Um-" Possibly. "I'm not sure. It can be quite a shock, the first time. Just close your eyes and hold your breath; it's perfectly safe, don't worry."

...er, no, it isn't, but in fairness Hermione is excellent at Apparition. She doesn't waste any more time on chat- but she does have the grace to count from three, something she'd never normally do. Probably best not to take Steph by surprise, after all.

Apparition feels like being sucked through a tube, and is distinctly unsettling when you aren't used to it. Luckily, the sensation lasts for barely a second, and then they're deposited neatly on an abandoned playing field, Hermione finding her feet perfectly and looking unruffled. An old hand at this, clearly.

Steph breathes out and in slowly, then holds her breath and closes her eyes to wait for Hermione to Apparate them.

And. Okay. That felt really fucking weird. She manages to keep her balance, blinking kind of owlishly at their surroundings as she lets go of Hermione's arm and takes a few deep breaths to fight down the wave of nausea. It felt different to being transported by Klarion, but while weird, it was definitely less unpleasant.

"Okay, I'm good." She give Hermione a smile to indicate she is not gonna throw up anywhere, "That was interesting."

Hermione watches her carefully, looking concerned and apologetic. "Sorry," she says, with a rueful smile. "I've never really gotten Apparition sickness. But I've read that it's much easier the second time around."

She glances at their surroundings and pulls her wand from inside her coat; she has a particular pocket sewn into the lining for just this purpose, for the sake of easy accessibility. "So. The varieties of magic in Baedal are...numerous, but I know a few people in the cohort are from my world and would be best avoided- and who knows what goes on in other cohorts." A painful thought. Ron could be in this city, or her parents, or Luna or Ginny or anyone (she purposely doesn't think Harry because she has Sebastian, if if he's different) and she wouldn't know because of the cohort system... "There are also some basic magical facts which seem pretty common amongst varieties of magic- for example, overuse of magic will leave you tired, though different people have different limits. The very Darkest pieces of magic can destroy the caster just as easily as their target. There's often a ritual of some kind- but it might be simple." A pause as she thinks. "And the effects of magic are incredibly varied."

...bad news, basically.

"S'fine. I've been on rollercoasters that were worse," Steph has only been on a rollerocaster once in her life, and it was pretty tame.

She listens without interrupting, nodding to show she's understanding what Hermione is saying, "So my best bet, in the case of a fight, is to try wearing them out, or getting them to cast a dark piece of magic that hopefully doesn't hit me?" Strategic thinking is not Steph's strong point, but she's trying to get into the habit.

Then something else Hermione said occurs to her, "Those people from your world, do they use wands like yours? Is that how you tell?"

"It depends," Hermione admits, in answer to Steph's first question. "Honestly, if they're skilled enough to cast something really, truly dangerous, I'd run if I didn't have a wand on me. But one thing you can do is get behind things which will deflect spells- metals usually work best, even better if they're reflective surfaces. Brittle things tend to burst into shards, wood conducts magic or takes fire."

And she gives a sidelong smile. "Or, yes, you can try and get whatever they're holding that they channel magic through. Not everyone uses something for that here, and I've read and seen some things about staffs and crystals and what not. But in my world, we use wands, and disarming a wizard or a witch is usually accomplished through magic- but if you've got a weapon at the time, I'm sure you can aim for the wand arm."

Which might sound surprising, coming so easily out of the mouth of a librarian, especially someone as bookish and rule-abiding as Hermione. With a wand in her hand she looks infinitely more confident, and she definitely sounds like she knows her stuff- not just the theory, but how to use it in a fight.

"I can do running, running is good," and she'll remember about using reflective surfaces as well, and wonders if she should work out a way to include something useful in her utility belt. She's good at using her surroundings, though, so she figures she'll be able to find things to hide behind.

She nods again, for the information about getting wands away from people. Her arsenal includes assorted long range throwing weapons, particularly batarangs, and she knows how to disarm people, "What happens if I get a wand away from someone? Should I snap it?" It seems like a sensible question, maybe there's backlash if you damage a wand.

Steph is definitely doing a re-evaluation of Hermione; she'd already suspected she'd be proficient at magic after the offer, but there's definitely something in the way that she talks that makes it clear she's had experience fighting with magic.

Hermione looks thoughtful. The idea of someone snapping her wand makes her feel a little ill, honestly.

The idea of Bellatrix Lestrange's wand getting snapped makes her want to positively cackle with glee.

Well.

"It depends," she says. "Wands are a limited resource here- we don't have a wandmaker- so you could pass it on to another witch or wizard who isn't likely to try and hurt you with it, just so that there's a spare should anybody's break, even if using someone else's wand tends to be difficult and unpredictable. On the other hand, of course, stealing someone's wand essentially guarantees that they'll come after you to recover it. It's not just a possession- more like a limb, really. There's nothing dangerous, per se, about snapping a wand- it'll just make you an enemy for life."

Edited 2012-02-18 14:51 (UTC)

"If I don't think it's life or death at the time, I'll try to keep the wand intact. It might make a good bargaining chip, if nothing else," It might be a little weird that Steph is talking about this like it's totally going to happen. Not that she's planning to cross any magicians, but she knows her own luck, and her own ability to get herself into trouble. She's expecting to come up on the wrong end of a wand at some point during her time in Baedal.

Edited 2012-02-18 14:55 (UTC)

"Oh- true," Hermione agrees, though she wonders how well some of the Death Eaters here would take to bargaining with a Muggle.

She also wonders just what Steph has planned that makes her so urgently need to be prepared to deal with this kind of thing, but decides to hold off on questions until later. She could offer help, after all.

She needs to do something.

"There's such a thing as wandless magic in my world, but it's not good for dueling unless you're very good at it- it requires a lot of concentration."

...And mental concentration is one of Hermione's strongest skills, which would make her reasonably good at wandless magic, though she much prefers to use her wand anyway. It's only recently that she's started practicing without it.

"When you have to do things in rapid succession and be sure of your aim, a wand is always better," she concludes, and then gives Steph a smile. "Want to see some of the more common spells, then?"

"I won't count on disarming someone being a way to stop them using magic, then," though it's good to know it's harder to not use a wand. At least for the type of magicians that come from Hermione's world.

"Definitely," despite the fact she should be taking this seriously, Steph grins. Magic is cool, even if it's potentially dangerous. "I wanna get changed before you start throwing them at me, though."

Not that she expects that to happen straight away, she's just giving Hermione a heads up.

"Oh, of course! I'll just show you what they look like first," Hermione explains. "It's worth being able to identify them. Most have an incantation that goes with them, though at a certain level most witches and wizards stop using them because yelling what you're using gives your enemy a split-second advantage. Of course, it's like wands all over again- it's harder to cast non-verbal spells, though in a duel they're definitely faster and more useful."

She spins to turn her back to Steph, continuing, "So- a Reductor Curse. Usually used to blast through walls, but-" there's a sudden break in her sentence when suddenly she's thinking about (remembering) the effects it can have on the human body, but she carries on as if nothing's happened "-well, that's the primary use. Like so- oh, give me a moment-"

She waves her wand, but it's not a Reductor Curse the first time around. Rather, she wordlessly conjures a brick wall, about a meter and a half high, the bricks appearing one by one and building themselves up from the ground in rapid succession with cement filling itself into the spaces, her wand dancing like she's conducting an orchestra- and then she flicks her wrist-

"Reducto!"

-and blasts a hole in the center, the rest of the bricks coming crumbling down after.

"It'll definitely help if I know what to look for. Or listen for, as the case may be," it's unfortunate that wordless spells are an option, in Steph's opinion, altough it doesn't surprise her that it's possible.

She goes quiet after that, listening to Hermione's explanation and then watching her build the wall. She notices how Hermione is waving the wand around, and wonders if that's part of spellcasting. And if she'd be able to memorize any movements that go with certain spells.

The Reductor Curse drags her out of her thoughts, because that was pretty intense. She doesn't flinch, but her eyes widen a little, "Note to self: don't get hit by that." It looks like it'd be unpleasant.

"Yes," Hermione agrees, looking a bit embarrassed- yes, she can go from blasting holes in things to sheepish in seconds. It's a skill. "But most people will use to to remove obstacles in their path rather than people. The biggest thing to watch out for is not to get hit by any debris. There are more specific spells that people will actually aim at opponents- probably the most common is a Stunning Spell. Just knocks people out if you're doing it right, and it's painless- though taking too many in quick succession can be dangerous to the heart, that's usually only if you have a pre-existing condition, or if you're elderly or especially young or pregnant- you know. The sort of things you can't go on rollercoasters with."

She gives her another half smile. "It's distinctive, luckily. You'll see a jet of red light, so that's just a matter of dodging, and the incantation's Stupefy, though it's usually one of the first things people learn to do non-verbally because it's so useful."

"I am allowed to go on rollercoasters, so hopefully it won't kill me," Knowing it comes in the form of a jet of red light is helpful, although the idea of something that can instantly knock her out is kind of terrifying. She doesn't like being unconscious, because god knows what people can do when you are.

"How long does the effect usually last? Or does it have to be reversed with another spell?"

"It depends," Hermione says, sounding apologetic. "Anywhere from minutes to hours, depending on how strongly you cast the spell. There is a spell to wake up Stunned people, but it doesn't have to be used."

She pauses. She can see the idea's unappealing- rather understandable- and tries to help, adding, "Really, think of it as like a blunt weapon. It's magical, but it has the same effects as somebody hitting you with- well, anything else, really. You just have to get out of the way fast. The fact that it's magic doesn't really change that."

And she's assuming, she realises, that Steph knows these things and can fight- she must, after all, be asking for a reason.

"Yeah, I'll just... keep out of the way of that one. I think I'd rather deal with getting a hole blown in me," That's a bit of an exaggeration, and she realizes it. "Sorry, I'm fine." She isn't trying to make Hermione feel guilty about what her magic can do, so Steph forces herself to stop worrying.

"What's next on the list of things that can kill me?" Maybe not the best joke to make, but it's a start.

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