lupercus @ 2002-09-05 00:09:00

Current mood:	busy
Current music:	"Here Comes the Sun," The Beatles

Vinul veseleste inima omului.
I have been remarkably busy these past few days. The Hufflepuff, despite mumblings of mutiny, managed to turn in their homework on time - no small feat for a house in the midst of revolutionary dissent. Ravenclaw and Slytherin handed in their scrolls on time as well, and thus I have been shut away in my office, marking parchement until the wee hours.

I also have the dubious task of assuming professorly duties with the Defence Against the Dark Arts class, a position I've not held in some years. I've managed to find some of my old notes, and what's missing I think I can crib from textbooks and what little curriculum Sirius had outlined in his lesson plans. Not the most organised of professors, was is Sirius.

Finally, despite the delay of the Dracology lecture I've been working to get my notes and photographs from Romania into some kind of coherent arrangement. Might have to ask Ron Weasley to stop by and give me a hand with it. The trip was lovely despite having to go by Floo - I truly hate that method of travel - and arriving in an undignified and sooty heap on the floor of Charlie Weasley's station at the sanctuary. Not exactly the first impression I'd hoped for, really.

Nevertheless I was given a very enjoyable and thorough tour of the grounds - which, incidentally, are on loan from one Count Vlad Tepes. Apparently the fellow likes dragons and so he granted the use of his vast estate to the Beast Division, to use as habitat and breeding grounds.

"Not really so a bad a bloke," said Charlie, gesturing toward the Count's dire keep high atop a bluff overlooking the sanctuary. "Rotten reputation, yes, with all the impaling, and it's a right pity about the whole vampire thing, but really, he's a lovely chap. You can always count on him for a fine cup of tea."

The grounds were lovely, very wooded and rolling and green, the dragons themselves even more impressive. Such magnificent creatures, and much maligned by our kind - I feel quite a bit of empathy toward them in that respect. They're not so much terrible lizards as they are elegant and graceful beasts, and I hope I can put that across during the lecture. With Charlie's seemingly infinite knowledge and most gracious assistance, I think I just might.

After the dragons I was treated to the best of Romanian fare at the sanctuary's cantina - I'm partial to the creier pan, which translates to breaded brains; it's so very hard to find someone who can do justice to brains - and afterward we indulged in a bottle of Sange Vin, a strange vintage Charlie procured from Count Tepes's private stores. I would say the taste of this particular wine is very complex, slightly metallic but not wholly unpleasant, and with a hint of basil. Very interesting.

I must point out that Charlie is really quite entertaining beyond merely knowing a lot about dragons. He is very much a Weasley in that he not only has the twins' brevity but also Ron's eagerness, and is empathetic like Ginny. When he noticed my insomnia (which was at the time going on five days) he actually asked what was wrong, someone no one else has bothered to do. I wound up telling him the minor details of some recent events, and while he could offer little advice he proved to be an excellent listener.

As a result, I slept soundly for the first time in a week.

Before I left, Charlie handed me one of his postcards. It seemed silly, he said, to owl it to me when I was standing right there. My suspicions were correct: he's made them himself. "When I'm not out being slow-roasted by huffy Horntails," he said, "I've got myself a cozy little studio set up back behind my station, for what my mum always called 'making a fine mess out of bits of paper and paint.' Always my best critic, that woman."

With all due respect to Molly Weasley, I've never seen a finer mess of paper and paint than these. This one was particularly beautiful:



On the back: "Nice to meet you."


Owled Charlie today about the postponement and the reasons behind it, and he replied swiftly with condolences for Sirius and a bottle of palinka, which at first I mistook for one of Severus's more devious concoctions. Turns out that it's Romanian liquor, and apparently Charlie's idea of a kill-or-cure. I just don't know about that fellow, sometimes.

I'm sure Sirius will appreciate it, though. Once he wakes up. Which will be soon.

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