The Provisional Laws of Acquired Behavior or Learning
Authors Note: Expect more delays because of a huge project I'm working on in the background. Another important note is that the dates and times might be a bit inconsistent at times, this is done to show order of events and I'll probably fix it when the story is completed 100%. I'm releasing this chapter as is right now despite how much I dislike it because otherwise I'll be here all year nitpicking.
Disclaimer: I don't at this time own any published work of Sega or JK Rowling, if I did I'd gut the current Sonic fandom and only allow literate people to contribute cutting the fandom back by 90% and improving the quality by the same percentage.
The Knothole, December 28th
Miles kicked his legs in the air as he read his way through the large pile of books on the table in The Knothole. Maurice himself had finally dug out the legal papers the Goblins had given him all that time ago and was browsing them for information. Now, no matter how much he wanted too Maurice could not keep Miles at school with him, otherwise, he'd be taken away, therefore alternatives had to be found. Only one minimal risk solution presented itself and had only presented itself because of Maurice's unwitting actions when acting as a freight delivery service before Hogwarts, despite how much he tried to forget the incident.
In his early career as a glorified delivery service, Maurice has gone through all sorts of employers and for the most part, they had all been amiable businessmen and woman, the extremely memorable exception had been so nasty that Maurice had immediately resigned and offered his service to her rival.
Wendy Slinkhard after the near failure of her own potions book series to launch had, though schoolyard connections managed to come into ownership of a chain of apothecaries called J. Pippin's Potions after the death of the previous owners to illness. Her bitterness at her failure as an authoress had turned her into a thoroughly unpleasant person further amplified by her already hardliner stance on blood purity. On the first day of the job at the Diagon Alley branch Maurice had delivered a vat of Graphorn Horn powder on the dot and had been treated to a rant on blood purity for no reason which was followed by Slinkhard trying to cheat him out of his pay because apparently, his impure blood meant he wasn't reliable.
Managing to get his full pay by dint of magical contract Maurice had quit on the spot in disgust and had not even ten minutes later been approached by Mr. Jigger the owner of the relatively nearby Slug & Jiggers Apothecary who had overheard Miss Slinkhard's ranting and offered him a job. Maurice's new job had been very lucrative and as a result of his speed and reliability the Apothecary was able to obtain the freshest rare ingredients of high quality to such a point that J. Pippin's Potions had slowly been out competed in service and customer volume. Not that it hadn't before, because there had been some concern that Slinkhard had been selling her supplies with varying quality depending on blood status. With the new cash flow Slug & Jiggers had opened a new branch in Hogsmeade Village and with its more present staff quickly became a place where Hogwarts students shopped exclusively in the aftermath of their potions disasters, to the detriment of the Hogsmeade branch of J. Pippin's Potions. With the razing of Diagon Alley and losing that branch of her business Miss Slinkhard had gone into financial dire straits not having the business know-how on how to salvage her failing business therefore Miss Slinkhard had been trying to sell her potions shop in Hogsmeade to no avail as her asking price was too high and no one wanted to do business with her for fear of a loud blood purity rant that she'd become infamous for. By the time Maurice had handed in his notice to attend Hogwarts her business was in an unsolvable freefall forcing her to sell through the goblins which she disliked on principle and in person loudly, which meant that they'd price gouge the woman's sale as much as they could in spite.
Maurice glanced at the Gringotts papers, it had been surprising to find that his newly opened account had been topped off with the interest from a family vault. One he'd had no idea existed until today, the money was more than enough to buy the place but he'd have to convert it into a home instead of a shop otherwise he wouldn't be able to afford the place in addition to the Ministry's retailer tax which hadn't been reformed yet, a titbit he'd shared with Susan that had her hurriedly searching for some parchment for a letter to her aunt.
Included in the purchase was the plot of land where the London branch had once stood, that he could rent out to the Ministry as an apparition and Floo point as suggested by the goblins downright helpful invoice when he'd queried about possibilities. So theoretically Maurice could buy the business under its actual market value with the help of the goblins, convert the Hogsmeade building into a house for Miles and himself and the London branch into a general transportation hub. And due to only renting out the London spot he and anyone he wanted could have free transportation to anywhere in the United Kingdom possibly Europe which fit in well with his actual eventual travel plans and if Maurice had a home in Hogsmeade he could become a day student taking Miles to a mundane school in London or wherever before he himself went to classes then looking after him at night.
Nodding to himself Maurice looked up at Miles and smothered a chuckle, Miles was sitting upside down on the armchair reading a book with his tongue stuck out to the side and his face scrunched up in concentration.
Maurice looked at the others in the room then at Miles "Miles I have to go do something important do you mind if I leave you here for a while with Susan?"
Miles looked over at Susan and nodded "Ok. She's nice" inwardly thinking 'and she doesn't pinch my cheeks'
Maurice nodded getting up and walking over to Susan "Susan do you mind watching Miles for an hour? I have to go talk with Professor Flitwick."
Susan shrugged "Its no trouble, he's adorable and so well behaved, come back soon-ish though. This "royal tutor" of mine is probably going to bore him to tears" the slight waver in her voice betrayed her nerves, placing his hand on her shoulder Maurice gave it a small squeeze and a wordless smile, Susan smiled back as Maurice zoomed through the portrait hole.
Headmaster's Tower, Gargoyle Corridor, Second Floor
Madam Mafalda Hopkirk harbored no hard feelings towards Amelia Bones, Mafalda had seen the way the wind was blowing in the Ministry restructuring and had handed in her resignation in the early days. In truth working at the Ministry in the Improper Use of Magic Office had been a side job in importance to her real passion. Not many people knew that Mafalda had an unlikely Mastery in History both the magical and non-magical world, Mafalda was a distance tutor to many students. A one point Mafalda had been hired to teach the newest Muggleborn and half-blood ministry employees about pureblood etiquette a subset of her passion that Mafalda found truly boring and rife with examples of contradictions and stagnancy. Her joy was in her students in the Antiquity Association, a hidden magical sub-department of the Royal Historical Society and other such organizations. Truly since the enthronement, the first enthronement of a magical monarch, the entire society and its overseas branches had gone into a tizzy.
This letter though had Mafalda steaming in place with smugness for days and undoubtedly lasting for the next following weeks, Amelia had clearly returned Mafalda's sentiment if she was hiring her personally to tutor the princess. Mafalda wanted to jump up and rub her new position in the faces of the other but knew that such an act would be contrary to her jobs strict confidentiality requirements. Her silence was even remarked upon positively by Ogden one of the societies financial sponsors and Amelia's husband to be the future king of British magical's and that's when she knew that Ogden had been the one to recommend her. As a member of the society, Ogden had access to many of the books the group had gathered and written and while not being a contributor of the written word the man had been a good sounding board having been the society's most voracious readers of history.
So here she was at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry a place where her most contact had been with the students in the form of letters about their magical misdemeanors. Her own stint as a student had left the young Mafalda unenthused, Cuthbert Binns had had that mind dimming effect affect even when she's been a child. Whereas Mafalda who's passion even then had been history had been horrified at the quality of his lessons but instead of sleeping through his classes like most of the students she had simply not turned up to class instead spelling the ghosts registry to register her as present and then moved off to do self-study. The fruits of her self study being a nice calligraphy Outstanding grade with distinction in her N.E.W.T.S Examination results letter.
"I understand that the Queen wants you here to teach one of our students"
While caught in her ruminations Mafalda did not jump, Minerva McGonagall was not as intimidating as she used to be.
"Is our education in some ways deficient in the eyes of the crown?"
Delicately put "That's a question you must ask yourself as you should as an educator of this fine institution, However it is her royal majesties opinion that Cuthbert Binns cannot correctly convey courtly manners and diplomatic protocols as well as the current diplomatic landscape to an adequate standard" 'if at all' sniped Mafalda silently as McGonagall grimaced.
It's important to note that after Mafalda had graduated Hogwarts another student had tried to pull the same trick as she had in history class, unfortunately, and by chance, Mafalda had forgotten to remove the attendance charm on Binns attendance sheet. The resulting conflagration of confliction spells had revealed that the highest scoring history student in decades had been a result of pure self-study and brought Hogwarts international rating for History down one grade, the school had been forced by magic to refund part of Mafalda tuition as it had never been used. More than one Professor of the day had been displeased to put it lightly, the board of governors had been furious.
"Would you like directions to your student" McGonagall bit out more sharply than she'd intended, Hopkirk smiled beatifically victory simmering beneath the thin veneer of a smile "That will not be necessary I will find her myself" Tracking charms were easy after tracking most of the magical United Kingdom's population for underage magic for the past who knows how many years.
Headmasters Office
Returning to the headmaster's office, now her office McGonagall reminded herself with a sigh, at that point the Scotswoman abruptly came face to face with an unexpected visage that disrupted her train of thought entirely.
As transparent as the day after he'd died, Professor Cuthbert Binns in front of her desk as if waiting for her, before she could utter a word the ghost glowed with an eerie gold light freezing the Headmistress in place, her eyes staring ahead dull and blank.
"Now really was that necessary old friend?" spoke the Sorting Hat from his perch wryly.
Eyes clear and focused Cuthbert moved close to the immobilized teacher "Of course it was"
"You, sir, are a monster" Professor Armando Dippet intoned evenly in condemnation gazing darkly from his portrait helplessly.
The ghost grinned "So you say and have said since the day I killed you and cursed every portrait in the castle to silence" his gleeful tone causing every person in the office to bristle in their portraits.
"You've even befouled a priceless Hogwarts artifact" grumbled Professor Phineas Nigellus Black from his own portrait nodding at the sorting hat.
Binns sneered "On that account I am innocent, dear Phineas. I simply granted my dear friend eyes with which to see"
"And the things I see!" the Hat laughed "It's laughable that you entrust a mere slip of fabric with your children's future's especially one so easily possessed." The hat shook in place as if shaking in excitement.
"The founders would be rolling in their graves" spoke the portrait of former headmaster Giffard Abbott solemnly.
Binns rolled his eyes and in a move as impossible as it looked physically moved the curtains of that portrait closed.
After a moment of silence, the Hat spoke up "How goes the search?"
Binns brought a transparent hand up and clenched it into a fist "Closer than ever, this astral form and the wards own acceptance of my authority as a professor allow me unprecedented access to the castle and grounds" Gaining form by the second Binns stretched his newly corporeal and visible legs with a gusty sigh then frowned "Still! It baffles me how such an inept shut-in like Fronsac managed to lose The Key so thoroughly, I honestly expected to find it in his sock drawer" Binns scowled darkly as he worked the kinks out of his shoulders.
"His portrait knows nothing, It is possible that he obliviated himself of the knowledge" the Sorting Hat pointed out.
Binns finished stretching and shook his head "Unlikely, I spend years cosseting up to that privileged little popinjay, he shared everything he knew, but I'll take it under advisement"
"And the search for the Leylines?" the hat prompted.
"Hidden" snarled Binns "If it were at all possible I'd swear they were under Fidelius" it went unsaid that the Fidelius charm had been invented after the founders time.
"Anyway onto business" prompted the Sorting Hat gazing at the paralyzed Scotswoman, Binns nodded lifting the hat from its perch and replaced McGonagall own witches hat with the possessed Sorting hat.
"Hmmm" mumbled the Sorting Hat as it rifled through the headmistresses thoughts like a filing cabinet. "Interesting but ultimately useless, Albus was so much better informed, although that bit about magical royal dynasty is interesting"
"Magical royal dynasty?" questioned Binns in disbelief.
The hat ruffled his hem "I thought you would have heard of it in your classes?"
Binns shrugged "Hardly, I leave that to a recording, I hear some of the students have started to record the lessons to sell to the younger years though so I may have to switch it up a bit. I spend the time scanning for that demented little key and the Leylines"
"Remember Cuthbert, Free me and I'll show you the power I once commanded." Spoke the Sorting Hat.
Binns smiled, it wasn't a nice smile and echoed the Sorting Hats statement aloud "You'll be free soon enough friend then the entire world will know your power"
Elsewhere
Looking at the sign on the doorway of Flitwick's office Maurice huffed and ran to the third floor reaching it in less than a minute and coming to a halt, walking the last two meters Maurice watched Flitwick and Sprout gesticulate and point in front of an open door.
"What even can blast through magically reinforced granite like that?" huffed Professor Sprout in irritation, who would much rather have been tending her new Wiggentree sapling.
"An angry Cerberus, a truly excessive volume of Trinitrotoluene or possibly Rubeus" Flitwick mused lips twitching. Sprout huffed closed the door spelling it shut and putting up a sign warning about unstable masonry before walking off leaving Flitwick to his thoughts.
Flitwick then spotted Maurice "Ah! Mr. Bluewind nice day isn't it"
Maurice nodded to hide his smirk whilst silently resolving to ask the others what they'd done to the third floor even if it killed him "Relatively, I wanted to talk to you about changing my boarder status to a day student, I'm needed at home during the early mornings and nights to look after my younger brother"
Flitwick looked surprised his expression changing to one of seriousness "Let us talk in my office"
The Knothole, Hogwarts
It took Mafalda approximately twenty minutes using a modified supersensory charm to locate the sound of muffled voices behind a wall, a quick look around revealed a painting of a familiar hazardous tree from the grounds that looked to be freshly painted, an oddity when every painting in the castle was at least fifty years old minimum.
Mafalda's lips quirked in a triumphant smile "Clever but not clever enough" regardless though Mafalda detected some unfamiliar warding and settled for knocking no need to invite unknown danger.
Inside the clubhouse, Susan flinched at the loud knock meeting the gaze of an equally surprised Miles "I thought this place was hidden?" Miles asked Susan who hesitantly replied "Some of the wards must have gone down when we installed the portrait, whoops"
A reply came from behind the portrait "It helps if you ward against sound and heat emissions in a drafty castle actually as well as making the painting look older, though this was a good attempt, may I come in princess?" "Who are you?" asked Miles "I am Mafalda Hopkirk, the tutor that the royal majesties assigned to the princess"
Susan and Miles exchanged looks there really wasn't much point in hiding anymore so wordlessly Susan opened the door.
Flitwick's Office
Seated on a plush floating armchair and animatedly waving the first years timetable Flitwick continued to speak "…Really the issue depends on how far away your home is and if you'll get to all your classes on time."
Maurice stretched in place as he spoke confidently "My house is in Hogsmeade so it's barely even a minute's jog, we're also getting floo access installed before term starts."
Flitwick nodded enthusiastically closing a filing case and open another with a wand wave "Then I see no problems, You can bring your little brother over to Hogwarts on the weekends and you can also bring your friends with you pending their parents permission and good conduct at Hogwarts I have the papers somewhere" Flitwick rifled through one of his cabinets in his office pulling out a few slips and placing them on the table.
"This also covers visits to Homemade so if you and your friends behave you won't need to renew your permission slip come third year. Again this depends on good conduct so have a read through of this document and come back with it signed and I'll begin setting up a special floo connection." Maurice nodded and left the classroom.
The Romanian Dragon Sanctuary
Looking at the trio composed of her two red-headed sons and a friendly half-giant Molly Weasley felt nothing but doubt at their proposed plan "I don't know Charlie, hunting in the mountains? Are you sure Ronald is up to it"
Charlie Weasley nodded affirmative "Its okay mother! Really! Besides every boy needs a hobby and I'll be right there with Hagrid"
"But archery?" Molly implored here second oldest son eying the longbow Ronald was clutching like a lifeline.
"It's not as if he can cast spells here, besides think of it, if he's good enough you could be eating rabbit, pheasant or even deer every summer," Charlie spoke with certainty gesticulating the entire time then subtly poking Hagrid who was fiddling around with his own trusty crossbow.
The large scruffy man spoke, "I's righ' useful Molly, I once got a grizzly bear, made me'self a blanket w it too, had alf a mind to sleep righ' on through winter." Hagrid gesturing with a shovel like hand smiling at the memory.
Molly looked at the three dubiously "Well, you return Ronald in one piece or you'll both 'sleep' through winter." Molly promised looking far from the typical dedicated housewife with seven children and suddenly somehow much more terrifying.
"Yes ma'am!" the trio chorused in completely even voices that didn't sound at all in the least bit shrill.
An hour later in the nearby mountains
The forest was dim with the sunlight flittering through the trees, the distant roars of dragons and the silent crunching of snow beneath the trio's feet lent the area a surreal atmosphere.
"Ye remember what I told ye, Ron?"
Ron nodded "Aim with both eyes open" his bow was raised and the arrow prepared to be drawn at the sight of movement.
Charlie repeated something he's said earlier "and never point a-"
"-Drawn bow at anything you don't intend to kill" finished Ron with a nod looking around only for Hagrid to hush the duo pointing ahead "oer there"
All three froze, slowly Ron drew and nocked an arrow, Charlie shot Ron a questioning look which he returned with a smirk moving forward silently. Charlie and Hagrid shared looks and circled around flanking Ron as they'd discussed.
The creature wandered within range and into sight, without hesitation Ron fired.
The Knothole, Hogwarts
Sitting on the exceptionally comfy chaise lounge chair the historian turned royal tutor talked of the timetable she'd spent the last few days spent coming up with for the princess. "These tutoring lessons will fill up your usual history slot and the 2pm to 4pm timeslot on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday"
Mafalda Hopkirk had made herself at home in The Knothole and had been summarily shocked at discovering the blatant hole in the wards leading to the harbor exit, then contrarily bid Susan and her group to keep it secret as an excellent escape route.
Still, the lecture continued "As the first magical princess of the United Kingdoms, you will be expected to possess skill in the political arena as well as the social graces such as riding, Elocution, singing and dancing. Sewing and knitting are optional but have been found to create good wand dexterity for spell work."
Susan was starting to look dizzy at the ever-expanding list so Mafalda relented.
"Now I don't expect you to spend much time on these subjects as I've been informed of your enhanced memory ability" and Mafalda was very envious of that ability.
"Can my friends attend as well?" asked Susan quickly, if only so she wasn't so alone.
Mafalda perhaps seeing through Susan's reasoning nodded "If that is your wish and as long as they aren't disruptive you will need a partner for dance after all" The last part was said with a knowing smile causing Susan to blush.
"More seriously you will be learning about constitutional history and military matters and the baser subject of financial management," Mafalda thought it spoke well of the Princesses maturity that she did not groan like the average eleven-year-old at the very dry subject matter she was being told to memorize.
Susan blinked and spoke with a considering look on her face "Maurice will probably need that more than I do"
This made Hopkirk quirk an eyebrow curiously "How so?"
Susan explained "He's recently come into some inheritance and he's been moaning about legalese involved" that was interesting and potentially dangerous thought Hopkirk.
"Then it will be a lesson for you both if he consents and an example of Gringotts contracting work."
How to ask about such a delicate subject without sounding rude in the end Hopkirk decided to be blunt "Is he a descendant of one of the old families?" It wouldn't do if he was one of the more traditional purebloods mired in outdated traditions and bigotry therefore Susan's answer was a relief.
"Maurice told me he never met them, he was as surprised as the goblins when he found he had a vault from an unknown ancestor. He pretty much uses it as a trust fund as he's no big spender"
"Prudent" spoke Mafalda "Please tell me more on my potential future students and please, call me Mafalda we shall be seeing a lot of each other in the following years"
Romania, Dragoslavele Market, December 29th
Unspeakable Owl glamoured to look like a non-descript tourist with dirty blond and grey faded short hair and a handlebar mustache stirred his spoon idly not really appreciating the sour soup despite the waiter's glances and local custom. When the gazes of his watchers abruptly lost interest he pushed the bowl away and leaned back in his chair with a sigh as the seat opposite him was abruptly filled "You could have erected an anti-Muggle ward before I got here you know" the accent was Hungarian Owl noted to himself as he looked at the Romanian Unspeakable his contact in this foreign country. Owl needed no time to thing of a rebuttal "And miss sampling this lovely sour soup? I think not" the Romanian Unspeakable chuckled "Your obscuring charm must have failed for a moment I didn't think it was possible to hear so much disgust in a voice."
"To business then?" spoke Owl not disagreeing with the statement.
The Romanian Unspeakable nodded and leaned back in his seat "Indeed, I'll get straight to the point the short of it is that the underground is in disarray"
This was no revelation to Owl who scoffed "The Magical Underground is always in disarray, what do you expect from 2 knut killers-for-hire, dropouts and wannabee smuggler kingpins?"
Unfazed by Owls blunt dismissal the Romanian Unspeakable shook his head and elaborated "Magical's are going missing en mass, light, dark, beast. For a while, we thought it was some dark wizard recruiting followers from the dregs of society…"
"and" prodded Owl wanting more details as the tale grew more worrying.
"We think a group reminiscent of the old Thule Society is capturing and dissecting magical's though for what purpose we don't know."
"Why contact us?" Owl knew why but kept his silence unwilling to admit to espionage on his nation's behalf.
The Romanian Unspeakable slid a folder across the table "Some of the bodies dumped were from your ministries jurisdiction"
Owl leafed through the document "A good many but not all" indeed many of the bodies listed had different nationalities.
"We're in talks with the other Unspeakable's" the Romanian Unspeakable added idly.
"A joint task force then?" Theorized Owl aloud.
"The ICW have the Bumblebee stirring up the hierarchy for a smokescreen and his own mission, all we're doing in searching through the silt for a diamond."
"And if you find that diamond?" Owl asked faux curiously making it obvious he was fishing for a particular reply as the Romanian Unspeakable side eyed him.
"All information will be equally shared between our organizations of course" the Romanian Unspeakable then paused and slid another document across the table "on an unrelated note your Queen Bones has really stirred the hornet's nest, We haven't had this much fun in years"
Owl withheld his grin through the laughter was conveyed well enough in his tone "I thought your group would be disgruntled"
The Romanian Unspeakable laughed a deep rumbling thing "Please, Any wizard worth their wand who has researched arcane magic as deeply as our groups would know that blood purity is a pure lie. It's entertaining to watch the purists choke on their ideals when the home of blood purity itself discards the nonsense." Both Unspeakable's chuckled, as the Romanian Unspeakable made to leave he paused "Along with the abductions there have been several unverified allegations of grave robbing, our ministry is not yet sure if it's a local problem or an international one"
"I'll keep an eye out, thanks for the warning" spoke Owl. None of the known spells or rituals that included corpses in their making were anywhere near good or wholesome in nature and came attached with a well-founded wariness.
The Romanian Dragon Sanctuary, December 30th
"You're not going back to Hogwarts Rubeus?" spoke Bill sounding let down, having fond memories of the friendly groundskeeper.
Ron was laughing loudly with the dragon tamers whilst Ginny admired the massive red stag slowly turning on the spit, Percy was watching as the local tanner made quick work of the pelt, for once using magic in a otherwise traditionally non-magical pursuit, as the tanner had said "Yer boys leaving tomorrow, be a shame if he 'ad to leave this magnificent trophy behind, fine shot that boy, right in the throat, gonna make him a jacket and boots out of this, maybe line it with some marmot the other boy brought back.. hmm"
Hagrid shook his head eyes glinting in the firelight "I want ta, But ah've been offered a place ere with all the beautiful beasties and ah've made new friends" Hagrid saw no need to mention that the laxer laws of the Romanian Ministry had allowed him to get a new wand of his own, nor did he need to mention that working with dragons was a lifetime dream of his and now he got paid astronomically well to do it.
Hagrid grinned side eyeing the redhead beside him "Asides Charlie needs someone ta watch out fer im"
Charlie looked faux outraged "Who was it that had to bandage you up after that Vipertooth, eh?" here Charlie gained a malicious grin making Hagrid grow pale behind his beard "or what about that time with those poodles, the aardvark, that one Palestinian bloke and the-" Hagrid cut Charlie off with a below heard clear across the barracks "Point is yer all a bunch o crazy critters an a wouldn't have it any other way!" The other dragon tamers in the barracks cheered Hagrid's statement and the party went on drowning out anything Charlie was about to say. "Looks like they're having fun" spoke a wry voice from behind Molly "Arthur! You're back" spoke Molly Weasley to her husband happily "How did your presentation go?" the redheaded patriarch grinned "I'm confident that it went well" Molly kissed Arthur and smiled at him "I'm glad to see that the ministry finally saw your worth promoting you to a diplomatic position"
Arthur smiled back and began fiddling with his backpack removing a cloth wrapped bundle "I enjoyed it and I got you a present on the way home" Molly accepted the bundle and carefully unwrapped the cloth, revealing a large Romanian recipe book with gold trim. "Oh Arthur you shouldn't have." Molly hugged him and Arthur smiled back "You said you liked some of the local dishes so I thought you'd like it."
Unknown Location
The cavern stank of mildew and rot in contrast to its otherwise immaculate appearance, massive carved statues harkening back to the Aztecs and beyond were sunk into the walls.
Electronic lights shone from the darkness and in the darkness sat a man, he seemed to have been gazing into space with eyes unseeing yet slowly color returned with consciousness and the figure blinked yellow eyes that shone like fire in the darkness behind small round spectacles.
