Dup, doo, doo…Oh! Hello there! I am so bored! I called two of my friends earlier, but now there is nothing left to do…let's start the next chapter!
Ponderings of the Soul
Enchanted's Gift to You
Chapter 7When we finally stopped walking, I took it to be our arrival at Dumbledore's office. We had stopped in front of a rather ugly gargoyle carved from what appeared to be granite, or some such similar stone. "We're here," announced Remus.
"Uh, okay…" I said. Maybe Remus'll explain. Remus just stood there, not saying a thing. We stood in silence for what seemed like ages. Finally I spoke up, trying to scatter the quiet that we'd been cloaked in. "Isn't there supposed to be a door, or something?"
"No."
Okay that wasn't very helpful. So much for Remus being useful. I looked at Remus closely; he appeared to be deep in thought. We stood in silence for a few minutes, just as I was about to say something else, Remus spoke.
"He usually chooses candy names as his password. While we were standing here I was compiling a list of the entire candy name's I'm aware of. Feel free to speak up if you have any suggestions."
I, still not exactly sure what we were trying to accomplish, nodded my head and began to think as Remus began naming various sweet items.
"Bertie Botts Every Flavored Beans," he said. Nothing happened. "Chocolate Frogs," he tried again. Still nothing happened. We continued on like that for quite awhile. As soon as I'd think of a name Remus hadn't yet said, he'd say it before I got the chance.
"Cockroach Cluster," Remus said, in a clearly exasperated tone. We'd been going at this for a good hour and a half by now. Remus gave out a heavy sigh and said to me. "I'm sorry Emerald, I can't think of any more." He paused; I'm assuming he was hoping for some input from me. "I'm open to any suggestions." He said hopefully, after I had failed to chip in my bit.
"Sorry to disappoint you Remus, but I'm pulling up a blank." I said in an apologetic tone as Remus' face proceeded to fall at my words. "Unless..." I said, an idea beginning to form in my head.
"Continue," Remus said.
"I don't think it'll be right." I started.
" Do you really think I care if it's right or not by now?"
"I suppose not…" I said as he looked at me, visibly annoyed. "Okay, jeesh, you can quit looking at me like that." (Just for the record, he didn't) "Err…" I started to say, feeling foolish for talking to a hunk of stone, though I really wasn't talking to it. Because that would mean I was expecting a response, which I certainly wasn't. It was more like directing my words at it. Any way! "Dr, Pepper." There, I said it, but I wasn't expecting what happened next. The gargoyle stretched his arms above his head and turned, revealing a spiral of stone stairs.
"Great job Emerald! You did it! I never would have guessed that!" Remus said, beaming at me. A look of shock was plastered across my face, you think I'd be used to this sort of stuff happening by now, since I've lived in the magical world my whole life, yet these things never seize to amaze me… "By the way," Remus said. "Who's this Dr. Pepper guy?"
I looked over at him and started to laugh, and began dragging him up the stairs after me. As I stepped into Professor Dumbledore's office, my jaw nearly dropped, it was nothing short of awe-inspiring. If my jaw had fallen any further, I'm sure it would have touched the floor. I looked over at Remus, who had seen the office often enough, for certain reasons going unsaid for the moment, and even though knowing what to expect, his expression was nearly as amazed as mine.
There were gidgets and gadgets everywhere. Dumbledore's collection was one of such that gave even Malfoy's assemblage a run for his money. Although, true that Lucius' collection consisted of mainly dark and "less than legal" items, whereas Dumbledore had shelves and shelves, of…stuff. I'm not quite sure what they all were, though a few I did recognize.
"Come in, come in children." A kind and crackly voice floated down to us from somewhere inside the upper level of the office. "Do pardon me for the mess, I haven't had much time to get everything together, it being the first day and all." I didn't think it looked messy at all; it was rather neat in a…scattered sort of way…
Professor Dumbledore descended the spiral stairs leading from above. "But then again, I usually don't have any "visitors" (he emphasized this word) until at least day two of the school year…isn't that right Remus?" he said with a twinkle in his eyes and a small smile.
Remus blushed slightly, and looked at the floor, while Dumbledore merely chuckled. "Now I believe we have some business to attend to," the headmaster said as he turned to face me. "Remus, if you wouldn't mind waiting outside, this shouldn't take long. When we're done I'd like for you to escort Miss Tromdlov to her new quarters."
Remus nodded his head and said a quick, "Yes, sir professor," and left. Leaving Professor Dumbledore and me alone in his office. Dumbledore walked over to his desk and sat in the high-backed maroon armchair, while conjuring up a purple and green poofy looking chair for me. "Do sit down." He said, gesturing towards the chair. I gave a small smile and sat in it. And I have to say, out of the many chairs I've sat in during my life, that has got to be the most comfortable. I believe I gave a slight sigh as I plopped into the chair.
"That was a wonderful feast wouldn't you agree?" the headmaster said conversationally, as I settled into the chair.
"Yes, it was certainly…interesting." I answered with a small smile. Anxiety was beginning to bubble up my throat from within. My sudden nervousness was derived from the complete lack of knowing what to expect.
Dumbledore smiled and said. "Yes, very interesting." I returned the smile, my unease beginning to fade. We sat in silence for a moment before he began to speak again. "Now moving on to the matter of your most fascinating sorting. I was quite befuddled to tell you the truth, nothing of this sort has ever occurred here before." I was getting nervous again, I guess it was showing on my face, because his next words seemed to be trying to reassure me. "But don't worry, this isn't a bad thing, just a delightful mystery really! And I do love a good puzzle." He grinned at me with those sparkling blue eyes of his. " This is just a great riddle to be solved! But until it is solved, we must find a place for you stay! I'd let you chose a house to lodge in until your true sorting occurs, but the sorting hat advises against this."
"So…if I can't be sorted into a house, then where am I going to stay?" I asked.
"Glad you asked that! That 'tis but a simple matter! We have extra rooms tucked in the most unusual places all over this mystifying castle! All that's left to be done is for you decide in which ones you'd like to reside in for the time being."
Wow. Who would have thought? I was getting all worried over nothing. "Okay," was about all I could manage. I was so relieved; it felt as if a great weight had been lifted from my shoulders. Professor Dumbledore beamed at me, as I beamed back at him.
The headmaster whipped out a map of the castle and gave it a tap with his wand. After tapping it with the wand, a light fog floated up from the map to form into a holographic projection of sorts. "Now lets see here, which one would you like?" he asked me as certain rooms on the map began to glow an eerie green color.
"I don't know," I said. "It's kind of hard to tell what they look like."
"Oh! That isn't a problem!" he smiled and whispered an odd word in Latin or some such foreign language. The smoke map began to swirl and then focused in on one room, showing great bit of detail for a map made from fog. The room was located somewhere in the dungeons, the walls were made of thick stone, but spelled to glow a reddish orange color that resembled a smoldering fire. The result was rather cool, or heh-heh, hot. I chuckled inwardly at the lame joke. As I looked closer, I saw a queen sized bed with a crimson velvet covering, and what appeared to be black silk sheets peeking up from under the coverlet. On one of the walls was a life size portrait of the burning library of Alexandria. The effect of the whole room was fairly chilling…
The room faded away as another one appeared, the room was located somewhere in the North Tower. There was a high window on one wall that overlooked the entire grounds, which were currently being lit up by the pale blush of the moon. On the opposite wall there was a bubbling fountain with sparkling crystals at the base. A small twin-sized bed was tucked in a small alcove below a smaller version of the other window.
Once again the room faded out and another one came into view. This one was less grandeur than the previous two, but still had it's charm, in a rustic kind of way. This one was on the ground floor and had a small window seat overlooking a quaint little garden, which had been overrun with weeds and briars. From the looks of it, it had once been beautiful, magical if you will. But had since fallen into disrepair. A twin-sized bed lay in one corner with a patchwork quilt and fluffy decorative pillows. There were assorted furniture pieces placed around the room, and small portraits of country scenes. A door on the left wall led to a petite powder room, with a small, clawed shower/bath and a single marble sink with a fountain faucet. A toilet was tucked into the corner, next to an oak chest-of-drawers. Yet again the room faded away.
"Should I continue?" asked Professor Dumbledore. I jerked my head towards him. I had been so wrapped up in admiring the rooms; I'd forgotten where I was. A slight blush tinged my cheeks.
"No, I think I've found one that will suit me quite well." I replied with a grand smile. Yes, it will suit me perfectly. "I want the last room you showed me."
Professor Dumbledore handed me the map. "What?" I began to ask, but he cut me off. "Trust me, you'll be needing it soon. I'll have Remus take you to the first floor, and you can have the map guide you from there. The map will give you instructions once you reach your destination. Now during meal times I don not mind at which table you decide to eat, it will be your choice. Whatever suits your fancy. You can sit at a different one every meal if you like. It does not matter to me and I don't believe the sorting hat will have any objections either. Okay?"
I just stared at him for a moment before nodding my headed in answer.
"Well that seems to be about everything, do you have any questions? Complaints?" Dumbledore asked. I shook my head. "Very well, I'll be seeing you soon Miss Tromdlov. Don't be surprised when you receive a summons from me sometime in the next few weeks. We do still have a mystery to solve after all!" He got up from the chair behind his desk and called Remus back into the room. "I must bid you two good night, for it is getting quite late. I'm going to bed; I suggest that you do the same." He gave a big smile as he hastened us out of the room.
We walked down to the first floor as I explained where we were going and what the headmaster had told me, which was not much. After a moment of silence after I finished telling my tale, Remus spoke up.
"I still wanna know who this Dr. Pepper guy is," he said. I looked at him in amusement.
"Dr. Pepper, I'll have you know, is a very distinguished figure in the soft drink world." Remus stared at me with a vacant look, giving me the clear impression of his complete lack of understanding at my words. " My best friend Andric used to drink it all the time. That's what it is, a muggle drink. It's really quite good." I said with a smile.
"How'd you know Dumbledore would pick that particular drink?" Remus asked with interest.
I shrugged my shoulders. "I didn't. He just seems like the sort of guy who would particularly enjoy a nice cold Dr. Pepper. And look! I was right. Who would have thought?"
"You did," said Remus. I just looked at him for a second.
"That was a rhetorical question."
"Oh," was all he said. "So… why do that call it Dr. Pepper?"
"I don't know Remus, they just do."
"But why? I mean, there has to be a reason. They didn't just suddenly decide they were going to name it Dr. Pepper, now did they?" As I was about to answer him, Remus said. "Cause I don't think a soft drink can qualify as a doctor…Can it?"
"No, Remus, it…it can't…"
And so ends our tale for now…
A/N: So did you guys like it? This is the longest chapter I have written so far. I'm rather proud of myself. (Beams at readers) This probably won't be posted for at least a week, even though I'm finished with it. This is mainly for two reasons. 1) My brother hid the dsl cord to the Internet he's trying to keep my dad off the computer, cause he's practically obsessed with it). 2) I have tons of homework to do (though this would seem hardly relevant…) 3) It's Christmas Eve. 4) I don't feel like it. 5) I just updated two days ago and I want you to wait a bit, can't let you get spoiled! 6) If I wait a few days, I can call this your New Year's present!
Moving on…This chapter was fun to write. I'm not quite sure why, it just was. I loved the Dr. Pepper part. A stroke of genius I must admit. Though it really had no purpose to the storyline except for a good laugh. If you did not find this particularly funny, kindly keep it to yourself, and don't rain on my pitifully small parade. (Don't know why I just used that analogy…hmm…anyways!) Tomorrow as I have previously insinuated, is Christmas Day! Yay! Actually, if we're going to be technical, it already is Christmas since it's 12:35 a.m. Which reminds me! I'm super sleepy and I still have to make my bed! (sigh) Oh well…Moving on once again!
My thanks to all of my reviewers! Which have now shrunken to three people. You three should be happy to know that I am writing this only for Smileyface3, thestraltamer, and theunknown mysterious Allie-bug! (lol) and of course myself as of yet. If you review! You can join too! We are going to all be in a club! It shall be known as…err…uh…hmm… Well looks like you special people now have a job! I employ you to seek out a name for our club. Search hard and pick well! Oh! And have a most Merry Christmas! And a Happy New Year! (Enchanted skips off into the moonlight, humming to the ever popular…Monkey Bells!… err…I'll be Home for Christmas!
P.s. You've probably noticed my username has change to Tangle of Socks. Hee-hee. Hope you like my new username! I'll probably end up changing it back by the end of the week, but just thought I'd have a little fun!
And just for the record. This chapter was 2,653 words long. Be happy!
p.p.s. Okay the username thing didn't quite work…but if you try searching my username and nothing pops up, then just assume it has changed 'till further notice.
p.p.p.s. Okay thestraltamer for more info on the beta thing please e-mail me if at all possible. My e-mail is on my log-in page, but if for some reason you can't find it,leave your e-mail in your review and I'll e-mail you.And by the way, thanks for your wonderful review!
Okays? Please e-mail me as soon as you can!