Chapter 15 - Robin Hood
July 4th, 1992 (Saturday)
Location: Granger's House - Heathgate, Hampstead
Meissa peers at the bookshelves of - she thinks Hermione called them movies - as she debates what to watch. A fair amount of them were colorful with titles like 101 Dalmatians and Robin Hood. She spies a title - The Godfather - and is curious about that one, pulling it from the shelf as she creates a stack. So far, she has The Godfather, a film with a few cats covering the case - it looks rather cute, a film with an elegant woman holding up an umbrella, a film with two dogs - why is it so easy to identify that one is a female and the other is a male, a film with what looks like mice dressed in clothes and the Clock tower known as Big Ben, and a film with a woman and a man in mid dance with more mice in clothes - there seems to be a carriage in the background. (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8)
Non-magicals really like films with animals from the look of it.
"You've picked a lot," Daphne observes, joining the other girl with a selection she made at a different shelf. The film Daphne picked has a young girl in a purple robe like dress riding on a broom. Hanging from the handle of the broom is a black cat and there's a young boy riding something with two wheels and a giant propellers in front of him. (9)
"Is that one about a witch?" Meissa asks, a bit surprised and amused by this.
Curious she plucks the film from her friend's hands and looks at the back.
'It is tradition for all young witches to leave their families on the night of a full moon to learn their craft. That night comes for Kiki, who follows her dream and embarks on the experience of a lifetime. With her chatty black cat Jiji, she flies off to find a perfect spot in a faraway city. There, a bakery owner befriends Kiki and helps her start her own business: a high-flying delivery service. The job opens up a world of fun-filled escapades and new friendships, including one with Tombo, a boy who dreams one day of flying. As Kiki tries to fit in, she discovers that the confidence she needs to overcome the challenges of growing up is within herself and not in her magic.'
"I thought non-magicals don't like magic," Daphne comments, getting a curious sound from the raven haired girl as she adds it to the pile of films to watch.
"I suppose non-magicals and magicals are not so different after all."
Daphne glances at the other girl at the comment but refrains from saying anything, instead choosing to see what movies her she has picked.
"Popcorn!" Hermione announces gleefully, entering the living room with a flourish as she holds two large bowls up. "What movies have you picked for us to watch?" she peers at the spread of movies laid out on the coffee table. "The Godfather? I don't know if my parents will let us watch that - I still haven't seen it."
"Who wants water?" they hear Jean call out from the kitchen.
"I can put it back on the shelf," Meissa remarks, picking up the case to do just that.
"We can ask them first," Hermione interjects, grabbing the movie from the raven haired girl's hands. "Come on, we should help my mum with the glasses."
The Slytherins exchange glances with each other before wordlessly leaving the room to join the Gryffindor girl in the kitchen.
"Where's Mr. Granger?" Meissa asks - she hasn't seen him since they've finished eating supper. The trio have been downstairs in the past hour - alternating between discussing what they'd do for the rest of the night and, in the last fifteen minutes, deciding on movies. Jean had offered to make the Granger's special so long they promised to make sure they brush their teeth before bed.
An easy enough promise for the girls.
"He's upstairs, he wanted to go over some notes from a procedure we're doing later on this week," Jean explains as she hands out tall glasses of water to the girls.
"A procedure? What kind?"
"Has Hermione ever told you what we do?"
Daphne makes a noise that indicates she's unsure.
"I think she said that you're dentists?"
"That's the simplest version of our job," Jean remarks as she ushers the curious girls out of the kitchen, pausing long enough to get them blankets. "Henry is an endodontist specialist - he focuses primarily with issues regarding the nerves of the teeth."
"Teeth have nerves?" Meissa isn't entirely sure what nerves are. She's not even going to try and figure out what exactly is a 'endodontist'. She'll have to pester Hermione about these words at some point.
"Just about every part of your body has nerves," Jean answers blithely. Hermione whispers quickly, as her mum was double checking to make sure that they're all set for a night out in the living room, exactly what nerves are and how much it impacts day to day living.
"Do you have the same job as Mr. Granger?" Daphne asks out of curiosity, arranging the drinks and bowls so that they could reach them from the comforts of the couch.
"Not quite. I'm more of a general dentist except I specialize with children."
Meissa nods distractedly, arranging the items out on the table as she listens. "It doesn't make much sense to me," she finally admits once Jean has left the room.
"Which?"
"Dentists."
Daphne pauses at this, the quilt tumbling open in her hands. "She does have a point," the blonde agrees.
"How so?"
"I think, for me, it's how the mundanes," she glances at Meissa to double check this before continuing, "developed ways to improve daily life."
"Without magic," Hermione adds, arching an eyebrow at the pair.
"Basically yes," the raven haired girl dips her head in acknowledgement. "It's impressive. You have electricity and we have magic. Both societies are… distinctively different and… I think it's safe to say the mundanes have us beat."
"Wait, what?"
Daphne couldn't believe her ears.
Meissa rolls her eyes at her fellow Slytherin's surprise. "Think about it," she twists around to face both girls, "when was the last time anyone in the magical community actually developed something that advanced or improved life?"
The blonde couldn't come up with a rebuttal to that.
"You think the magical community is stagnant?" Hermione asks, looking at Meissa in confusion.
The raven haired girl draws her legs up to her chest, frowning thoughtfully. "I believe it," she remarks idly while Hermione gets thing started up, selecting a movie at random from the pile.
"Please tell me you don't intend to push things forward," Daphne drawls lazily, settling herself close to Meissa without actually touching her.
"I'm only one person," she retorts with an eyeroll, reaching for the bowl of popcorn and settling it on their lap. "I can't do everything," she takes a small handful of the popcorn and samples a little. The combination of the butter and salt makes her hum softly, finding it easy to like this.
"Well at least you admit to your limitations," Hermione remarks as she settles down on the other side of Meissa, reaching for a handful of popcorn as the movie plays.
She shifts the bowl over so that it's situated between the three of them - all but ignoring the fact that she's been sandwiched into place by them. The music catches her attention and every time Daphne makes a sound or seems like she's going to say something Meissa shushes her.
She smiles in amusement as the rooster sings and plays his little guitar, walking his walk and singing his song. She especially likes the fox in his green tunic and bow. The best in Nottingham. With his friend, a large bear whose name is 'Little' - she likes him the most.
~MJB~
Sometime after midnight, in the dead of the night, Henry wonders down the stairs in search of a glass, pausing when he notices a soft glow coming from the living room. Curious he goes to check it out, noticing the soft sounds of snores as he moves closer. The first thing he notices, once he enters the living room, is that the telly is still on. The telly reminds him of the fact that the kids were intending to spend the night watching a few films.
The only source of light is the telly so he gingerly makes his way over to the couch to double check his suspicions. The volume has been set low - it's a good thing or else the sound would have been deafening - and accompanies the snows signaling the end of the tape. In the light he can just barely make out the fact that the girls' are asleep. The couch is large enough for three people to sit comfortably and, as he peers over the top, the girls are making great use of it.
Hermione is sprawled out against one of the arm of the couch, her head propped up by a pillow for maximum comfort. For once, he notes with amusement, she's not the source of the snoring. Her hair has been tied up in a loose ponytail, strands falling onto her face. She has an arm thrown up and one curled comfortably around a leg. He follows that leg to its' owner - the dark haired girl, Meissa. Aside from the one leg on Hermione's lap, the other leg seems to have found its way to the floor, giving her a sprawled relaxed appearance.
One of Meissa's arms has dropped to the side, making it seem like she is slowly but surely falling off the couch. The other arm seems to be held captive by the blonde - Daphne, if he remember rights - and he wouldn't be surprised if this would probably be the only reason why Meissa doesn't completely slide off the couch.
The dark haired girl also seems to be the source of the snores he has been hearing - her mouth partially opened. Each time she exhales there's a soft snore accompanying it He supposes that the way she's laying is probably contributing to the snores. He has often found that Hermione will snore if she sleeps in a certain position - which is usually half reclined or slumped over a desk.
He then notes that Meissa seems to have her head and some of her upper body on Daphne's lap. As he has noticed before, the blonde seems to have Meissa's arm in a loose grip - their joined hands resting on top of Meissa's stomach. From the short time he has had to observe the girls, he has to say that Daphne is possibly the most refined stoic of the pair.
That's not to say that Meissa doesn't have her moments of being refined or stoic.
In any case he notes that Daphne's body seems to be curled around Meissa's or rather, attempting to. It's endearing to see the bond between the pair.
Slightly amused that the girls have passed out watching - he peers at the telly for an idea of what they could've been watching - he tries to cover them somewhat with a blanket. Their positions actually make it difficult to use just the one blanket. Covering Meissa's body effectively covers Hermione's. But it means that Daphne only has Meissa's body to provide her warmth. He'd have to move Meissa in order to get a blanket on the blonde which doesn't really leave him with a lot of options.
With a huff he gives it up as a lost cause and turns off the telly. He then turns on a small lamp which provides enough light should the girls wake up any time soon. Once satisfied that the girls should be okay for the night he returns to his original task - getting a glass of water for himself.
Once he gets that glass he checks in once more with the girls, smiling slightly to himself at the fact that his daughter has friends.
He has heard so much about Meissa - the multiple conversations Hermione has had with the other girl - and sincerely hopes that their friendship will survive every test they face.
~MJB~
Notes:
101 Dalmatians - 1961 American animated adventure film
Robin Hood - 1973 American animated musical comedy-adventure film
The Godfather - 1972 American crime film, spanning 1945 to 1955.
The Aristocats - 1970 American animated romantic adventure musical comedy film
Mary Poppins - 1964 American musical-fantasy film
Lady and the Tramp - 1955 American animated musical romance film
The Great Mouse Detective - 1986 American animated mystery comedy film
Cinderella - 1950 American animated musical fantasy film
Kiki's Delivery Service - 1989 Japanese animated coming-of-age fantasy film