Daria Ravenclaw: The Year of the Owl. Chapter Twenty: Gadding About London
DISCLAIMER: Daria is the creation of Glen Eichler and is the property of MTV Viacom. Harry Potter is the creation of JK Rowling and is the property of JK Rowling, Wizarding World, and Warner Brothers. I own neither franchise and neither seek nor deserve any financial recompense for this work of fan-fiction (Although head-pats and "Atta boys!" are good compensation).
Daria Ravenclaw: The Year of the Owl* Daria Ravenclaw: The Year of the Owl* Daria Ravenclaw: The Year of the Owl
Jake went downstairs while Daria started moving the contents of her old suitcase into her new one. Not that she really had anything to worry about him seeing what she'd packed, but that she had gotten that self-conscious was a reminder that Smidget was getting older and would be a teenager before too long.
He really did have to make some phone calls. His first call was to his house. Ronnie and Quinn hadn't left for school yet and he was able to ask them how they were doing and if they were enjoying their new school year. Quinn said that she was glad to be with her school friends and that she hoped that he'd return home soon. Ronnie also said that she was also all right and that she missed him and that she also missed Daria.
His second call was to Helen's office to tell her that he and Daria were still alive and enjoying London. A secretary at Bookman, Collins, Law and Scales answered his call and told him that Helen hadn't arrived yet. He learned that Helen would be spending most of her day at the court house, but that she'd be sure to pass his message along.
His third call was to a number that Arcturus Black had given to him before he'd started this trip. He said that he and Daria had safely arrived in London and had been shopping for her school supplies. He apologized for not calling the day before and asked him if he wanted to have lunch with him and his daughter before he put her on the train for Hogwarts on Saturday.
The old wizard still made him uneasy. He was friendly enough, and even though Jake had learned a bit about how certain wizards felt about Mundanes, he wasn't cruel or hateful like; instead, his attitude had an undertone of amused tolerance. (1) That was irritating, but it was better than how Helen's father had treated him the few times they'd seen each other; he and Ashworth Barksdale did not get along, to put it mildly. The time that he'd called him a hippie lay-about who'd drag his daughter to ruin still rankled him even now.
Jake had buckled down after he'd left the hippie life behind him: he'd supported Helen while she went to law school and continued to support his wife and his three daughters to this day. If he wasn't the principle bread-winner in the Morgendorffer household, he did his best to pull his weight.
He thought about staying downstairs and waiting for Arcturus Black's response, then thought better of it. He was in London again for the first time again in over a decade—he should probably see some of the city. He knocked on his hotel room and opened it a crack so Daria could hear him. "Can I come in?" he said.
-(((O-O)))—
Arcturus still hadn't responded by the time that he and Daria came downstairs. "Let's go get lunch," he said.
Jake had thought to take Daria to someplace like a Wimpy Bar, someplace with safe, unsurprising food, but turned off Charing Cross Road and found himself in a Chinatown. He hadn't expected to find himself in one; certainly not this close to either Diagon Alley or to his hotel. He and Daria walked down the street marveling at the strange shops, the Chinese characters, and the people on the street.
They found a restaurant or, rather, they picked one out of several, went in, and were seated at a table. Jake's limited experience with Chinese restaurants taught him that most Chinese restaurants in the US had Chinese on one side, English on the other. He and Daria ordered three entrees: one for Daria, something spicy for him, and something he could eat if his selection didn't work out.
Jake hoped that the wait staff would understand him. They did, and furthermore the waitress serving him not only spoke English, but she spoke it with a Cockney accent. In spite of that, they were able to order and ate a filling lunch.
They returned to the hotel after lunch. Jake asked the clerk working the front desk if they'd gotten any messages. A couple of other guests had, but he hadn't.
At that point he decided that he and Daria were free to do some sight-seeing. He and Daria asked the clerk at the front desk about sight-seeing tours. Within the hour, they'd found a tour using an open-top tour bus. Despite the risk of sunburn on her pale skin, Daria chose to take a seat on the upper level.
Their tour bus had a very chatty tour guide who preferred to stay downstairs but gave adequate descriptions of the sights they'd pass, along with little bits of history to go along with them. Daria and Jake were again treated to Nelson's Column, but also Buckingham Palace, the National Gallery, the Houses of Parliament, St. Paul's Cathedral, and the Tower of London. It was while Jake's and Daria's tour bus was stopped for a traffic light that a large black crow flapped over their seat and dropped a letter. (2) Jake stared round-eyed at the crow while Daria bent over to pick up the letter. The bird looked at Jake and Daria and cawed.
"I think it wants something, Dad," said Daria. She turned around to look at some of the other passengers on the upper deck and saw an older teenaged girl on Goth street clothing sitting a couple of seats away. She'd been drinking some water from a plastic bottle.
The girl looked at the crow and said "What the F*ck?"
"Can I have your water bottle?" asked Daria.
"Ohh Kay," said the girl, handing her bottle to Daria. The girl had drunk about half of it.
"It might want some crackers," said an American tourist who was watching the spectacle. She reached into her purse and handed Daria some battered crackers in the sort of plastic wrapping served at cheap restaurants and fast food places. Daria opened the wrapping, gave some to the crow, then opened the water bottle, tilting it so the bird could drink. The crow drank a little, flapped its wings, cawed again, then flew away.
"How extraordinary," said an East Asian who'd been so fascinated by the spectacle that he'd forgotten to pull out his camera and take pictures.
"I wonder what that crow wanted," said a seedily-dressed American tourist who looked like he'd probably stayed at a hostel.
"Don't know," said Daria, handing the letter to her Dad.
The conversation came to a timely end when the tour guide pointed out yet another sight, this one to their right, causing most of the tourists to turn their heads, listen to their guide's description, and put aside thoughts about the crow.
-(((O-O)))—
Jake finally got a chance to read the note that the crow had brought him when the tour ended and Jake could plead that he needed to answer the call of nature. Once on the side of a locked door, he broke the seal and opened the envelope. Just as he'd thought, it was from Arcturus Black.
"Dear Jacob," the note began.
"Welcome again to Britain. Miss Haddaway told me of some of your adventures in Diagon Alley. I was pleased to learn that both of you are bearing up well.
I'd hoped to have a meal with you and little Daria, but it seems that just like Madam M., circumstances have moved beyond my control. I have business to attend to today and I just learned that an old acquaintance died and that I not only have attend his funeral, but his wake as well. The earliest I can hope to break away would be Saturday morning, a time when you and little D. will be on your way to King's Cross.
I do hope Madam M's legal business comes to a satisfactory conclusion and that she will be able to spend a night or two in London.
I am given to understand that you and little D. are touring the sights of Muggle London. I rather approve.
Carry on, and I hope to meet you sometime before you have to return to America,
-A.B."
Well how about that, thought Jake. He sighed, then smiled. Not so long ago, he'd have started ranting about old wizards and their ordering him around like a busboy, but his therapy sessions had caused him not to take life quite so seriously.
He still hoped that Helen would be able to join him for a couple of nights, even if it looked like the best he could hope for was a whirlwind visit before they'd both have to return home to Quinn, Veronica, and their lives in Highland, but he'd have to wait and see.
He'd enjoyed his tour and noted a couple of places he might want to re-visit later at a much slower pace. He was certain that Daria also had a couple of places she wanted to visit, too.
-(((O-O)))—
"Westminster Abbey," said Daria.
"Hunh?" said Jake.
"Westminster Abbey," said Daria. "The big church where the British crown their kings and queens. They also buried a lot of famous people there. I'd love to go see it."
Daria was embarrassed to admit it, but it was only a few years ago that she practically worshipped Princess Diana. Back in Highland, she and Cindy and Jesse used to read about the Princess of Wales' doings and wished they could be with her. Her fascination with Princess Diana had faded by the time that she had discovered that she was a witch, but to her annoyance she discovered that it was slowly making a comeback.
"OK, kiddo," said Jake. He was feeling a little tired but one more church wouldn't hurt.
It took them a while to make their way to the Abbey. They took the Underground instead of buses and emerged at the Westminster station.
They entered the church and both of them were awed by the interior: the stained glass, the soaring roof, the altars and the echoes of the church's interior. They felt a little lost inside, even though the church's layout was positively straightforward compared to some of the places they'd already seen in Diagon Alley. They saw a throne-like chair with a stone underneath the seat. An adjacent sign declared the chair and stone to be the Stone of Scone. Jake scratched his head; he'd remembered hearing something about it but had forgotten what it was.
"The Stone of Scone," said Daria. "The kings of Scotland had to sit on it or over it to officially become kings of Scotland."
A mischievous thought came to mind: wouldn't it be fun to dip under the velvet rope, ignore the docent, and sit on the chair?
She was of half a mind to act on her thought when she felt something, something from the stone itself, resist her attempt to get closer.
Magic, maybe, she thought. Well, so much for that idea.
"Miss, you aren't allowed to sit on the Stone," the docent said unnecessarily.
"I'm not going to try," said Daria.
She and Jake continued to wander around the church, then Daria started noticing names carved on the floor. She remembered that a lot of famous people were buried here: not just kings and queens, but also famous politicians, generals, scientists, and poets.
Many of the names on the floor were of famous writers and poets. I guess this must be Poet's Corner, she thought.
A man and his son were standing nearby, reading the names of some of the famous poets and authors buried there, and occasionally talking about them.
"Hello," said the man. "You're Americans, aren't you?"
"Yes," said Jake. "We're from Texas. My daughter is getting ready to go to boarding school in Scotland and we're doing some sight-seeing before we go."
"What school?" asked the man.
"The Howard School," said Daria. She'd learned that was a good cover name when talking about Hogwarts with Mundies who weren't in the know.
"My son goes to Fielding," said the man. The brown-haired boy made an embarrassed expression.
He has remarkable green eyes, Daria thought. A part of her murmured "He's kind of cute."
Shut up, she told it.
The man stuck out his hand. "I'm Angier Sloane of Lawndale, Maryland," he said. "This is my son Tom." (3)
"Jake Morgendorffer of Highland, Texas," said Jake. "This is my daughter Daria."
Something clicked in Jake's brain: Sloane as in Grace, Sloan, and Page? Wow. He decided not to press it. It wasn't like Tom Sloane was going to start dating Smidget or anything.
"Look at all these names," said Tom.
"It almost reads like a Who's Who of the important names in English literature," said Daria. "Except for the famous writers who aren't buried here."
Tom grinned in amusement. This Texas girl had a sharp sense of humor.
"You recognize those names, kiddo?" said Jake.
"I recognize a lot of them," Daria replied. "I haven't read that many of them. Besides it's not like they'd give their stuff for us to read for book reports at James Ferguson Elementary back in Highland."
"A lot of them seem to be missing," said Tom.
"I'm not surprised," said Daria. "Not everybody made the cut. It's not like they were going to bury HG Wells or George Bernard Shaw here."
"Lord Tennyson's buried here," said Tom.
"George Orwell isn't," said Daria. "AA Milne didn't make the cut, either. No Winnie-the-Pooh bedtime stories for you."
Tom grinned. He wasn't comfortable around girls, but this one was absolutely wicked.
"Sorry that Kay and Elsie aren't here," said Mr. Sloane. I think they'd enjoy your company but the girls are off shopping. It's just me and Tom here at Westminster. I think that your daughter and my Elsie would like each other."
"I'm surprised that you aren't back in school," said Daria.
"Mine doesn't start until the Fifth," said Tom. "My Mom and Dad decided that gave us enough time to make a quick trip to Britain and back before school starts."
"Lucky you," said Daria.
"When does yours start?" asked Tom.
"They want us on-campus Saturday night," said Daria.
"They don't trust you?" Tom said innocently.
"Probably not," Daria retorted.
Mr. Sloane's cell phone rang. "Ah, I see. Well, we'll be there in about half an hour."
"Tom, Kay and Elsie have finished their shopping and are on their way back to our hotel. We'd better be on our way, too."
"Jake, Daria, pleasure to meet you," said Mr. Sloane.
Pleasure to meet you, too," said Jake.
"Likewise," said Daria. She found herself beginning to blush looking at Tom. Stop it, she told herself.
"Maybe we'll see each other around again," said Tom.
Probably not, thought Daria. Our lives are going in separate directions.
-(((O-O)))-
Footnotes:
1 In the Daria Ravenclaw universe, "Mundanes" or "Mundies" has supplanted the term "No-Maj" in the North American wizarding community.
2 Ravens were used as well as owls as witches' and wizards' familiars and messengers in European myth. I see Arcturus Black as being sufficiently old-school that he'd still use ravens instead of owls, particularly for daylight message delivery.
3 Tom Sloane became Daria's boyfriend in later seasons of the canon Daria cartoon show. He's about the same age as Daria here, and this Daria's playing field is going to be considerably different from her canon counterpart's.