Quills and Parchment and Seals, Oh My!

[Cavan Mikal Weiss]

Cavan slipped into the Stationary Shop silently, looking around at all the supplies that were on display. His mother hadn't given him much, but she'd told him to go crazy and have fun. His eyes were immediately drawn to stationary with a Hogwarts letterhead, and four others with the separate house emblems sat on the shelf below.

He turned to look at all the different quills, 'Quick Quotes', spell checking, different colored feathers, left handed, shorter, longer, with comfort grip. Then he saw the inks, every color his mind could imagine, several types of black, large and small containers, separate ink wells. He was in heaven, he expected that his mother hadn't come in because she would have bought the store out, and there were students who still needed the supplies.

Finally he turned himself to his task, he grabbed twice the amount of parchment prescribed as well as twice the ink, double the quills, getting them with different feathers and tips. He made a mental note to buy a book on calligraphy when they got F&B. As an after thought, he purchased some of the Hogwarts letterhead as well.

His arms loaded up, he made his way to the counter, where he lay everything out for the shop keep. He had a big grin on his face and knew his mother would be proud of him for not going overboard, after all he was his mother's son, and he could have ended up with half the store without thinking.

"Excuse me," He asked the clerk, "Do you by any chance sell journals here?"

[D'rorah Philosophy]

D'rorah had ventured into the Stationary Shop in search of new quills. The copious amounts of writing which went along with her pre-disposition to research meant that she tended to go through them rather quickly. So, after having closed up Ollivander's for the day, she had made her last stop here. She picked out several new quills, along with a few pots of ink and a notebook of bound parchment. As she approached the counter, she heard the young man before her asking for journals. Recognizing him from Ollivander's, she spoke up.

"Ah Mister Weiss, finishing your supply shopping, I see? If you are interested in journals and blank books, I would recommend Flourish and Blotts. They have a wide selection of nearly anything you could possibly want in a journal." She eyed his purchases with a slight smirk of amusement. "I see you intend to do quite a bit of writing while you are at Hogwarts."

She watched quietly as the clerk began tallying Cavan's purchases, finally asking for a rather large sum of money as the total. Once of her particular passions was books and she could identify with the abandon with which he had gone through the store.

((ooc: there's no one to serve as a clerk here, so you'll sort of have to NPC him in)

[Cavan Mikal Weiss]

Cavan had been intent on not grabbing anything else from the shelves as he waited for the clerk to turn around and answer him and tally his purchases, that he didn't notice D'rorah's entrance. As a result of his inattention, he jumped, slightly startled when she spoke.

He smiled at her response, answering before the clerk, who looked utterly bored could tell him no. "Thanks, that's my next stop, I'll make sure to remind myself when I get there. Yes, my mom says I have her bad habit of writing twice as much as needed, so I decided I should buy twice as much as I need to start with, that way I might not run out before the school year. Though a couples things are for my siblings, since none of them are old enough to start Hogwarts yet. I think they need presents."

He smiled again and then turning to the clerk once more at the total, "I thought that was going to be a bit more," he grabbed long lasting quill from a display beside the counter, "This too." He then calmly handed over the amount and placed his purchases into a small muggle cloth bag that read 'Reduce, Reuse, Recycle' on the side. There were obviously several charms on the bag, as he easily put all the items into the bag.

He stepped out of her way when he was done, "Looks like you're planning on doing a bit of writing yourself Ms...?" He paused, realizing he hadn't gotten her name in Ollivander's.

(I figured as much after a few days. ^_^; Thanks for responding and for letting me know...)

[D'rorah Philosophy]

"Philosophy, D'rorah Philosophy," she replied as she stepped up to the counter and placed her things in front of the clerk. "And yes, I take a lot of notes, so I do quite a bit of writing." She paused as the clerk rang up her purchases and told her the total in a bored voice. Without sparing much attention for him, D'rorah handed over a few galleons. "If you would care for a bit of company as you walk, Flourish and Blott's is nearby... and I always enjoy stopping in to see if they have acquired any new texts which might help with my research.

As soon as the clerk had finished making her change, she placed her supplies into a satchel which looked quite heavy despite its size and turned in the direction of the door. "So, this will be your first year at Hogwarts, correct? Are you quite excited to be beginning your studies? What subject are you particularly looking forward to?" Typically, she wasn't one to make conversation, but being seen out and about with those who weren't Lightfighters or involved in the Shadow War was probably a good idea. Besides, this boy seemed genuine enough... and perhaps with his propensity for writing... well, the Order was always looking to train new scribes if he had any affinity for languages.

[Cavan Mikal Weiss]

"It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance Ms. Philosophy. I can understand the note taking, as I do that a lot myself." He beamed at her offer, "I would love the company, that way there'll be two of us to remind me about the journal." He joked, offering her his hand in greeting when she had finished her purchase and her new things were put away. "Maybe I can even get you to point out a good beginners book on wand study. I hope I'm not being rude, but may I call you D'rorah, Ms. Philosophy?" He brushed his shoulder-length black hair behind his right ear after a moment, as it was starting to get in the way of his dark blue eyes for the tenth time since he had started shopping that morning.

He moved toward the door with her, opening the door for her as they reached it, "Yes, you are quite correct, this will be my first year at Hogwarts. I'm very excited to see the difference between the teaching methods of my mom and the professors. I'm looking forward to all my classes, though I wish there were some way I could take Care of Magical Creatures as a first year... What about you? You're still in Hogwarts aren't you?" He followed her out of the shop, zipping his black hoodie closed as he realized the wind had picked up a bit.

[D'rorah Philosophy]

She offered her hand in return, surprised by the manners and proper speech of one so young. "It is very nice to meet you as well," she replied to his greeting. "Yes, D'rorah will be fine, Mister Weiss," she replied with a nod as he asked permission to address her by her first name.

It was almost like being in another world. having him hold the door for her as they exited the shop. Such kindnesses were relatively uncommon in her experience. Of course, Cavan had not yet had the opportunity to witness her typical closed and cold nature. As she reflected upon it, it seemed that she indeed was a bit more open than she had been while at Falstaff's. Here, people seemed to understand her quiet, scholarly, and formal nature.

"Oh yes, I am in my last year at Hogwarts. I am still attempting to decide between a career as a professor and a career as a diplomat for the International Council." She looked over at him as they made their way down the street toward Flourish and Blotts, the storefront window reflecting the late afternoon light. She glanced around as they walked, never quite at ease of late, knowing how tensions were building with the Mage. Every shadow under every awning earned a second glance until she discerned that it wasn't in actuality a Shadow.

As the finally reached Flourish and Blott's, she opened the door for her young counterpart. "Now, do not forget the journal you wanted to purchase," she reminded him. "If you need me, I shall be in the foreign languages section." She shook her head slightly at that last statement. Why in the world would he need her? She certainly wasn't his mother and D'rorah was far from the sort to possess anything that could be called a maternal instinct. Deciding it best to ignore the anomaly, she gave him a polite nod and continued on her way to the foreign language section to see if there was anything useful in today.

[Cavan Mikal Weiss]

"Please, call me Cavan, Mr. Weiss is my dad. Besides, I'm sure I'll get enough of that from the professors." He smiled again, "A professor a diplomat, huh? I'd pick the one you think you'd most enjoy. My parents are always telling us that you should do your best to enjoy your work, because it shows."

Cavan noticed D'rorah's habit of checking each shadow twice and frowned for a moment, but decided to refrain from asking about it for the moment. "What subject would you teach if you decided on being a professor?" He asked, wishing there was something he could do for her obvious anxiety.

He laughed as she reminded him of his journal, because he of course, as forgotten, "Thank you. I'll do that now before I forget again. Maybe I'll see you in that section. My mom says I need to learn a new language while I'm away at school. She doesn't want me slacking."

He waved to her before going off to ask the clerk where he could find his journal. He'd also give them his Hogwarts book list before going off in search of his non-Hogwarts needs, including presents for everyone.

[D'rorah Philosophy]

"Cavan," agreed D'rorah, not quite certain she'd remember to use the first name. "If I decide to be a professor, I am fairly certain I would choose Defense Against the Dark Arts. All of my published work is currently in that area anyway, and most of my research is as well." Realizing that Cavan seemed to be watching her facial expression, she quickly shifted to her customary neutral expression, irritated with herself for allowing her emotions to show, something she didn't usually allow.

"Yes, while Hogwarts does not offer classes in language other than Runic languages, there are certainly opportunities to teach yourself. Think of a language you might wish to learn and I can assist you with selecting a book which will actually be helpful." It was a useful offer: most of the books which promised to teach a foreign language were poorly produced and written, from her point of view. At least, if the young man was interested in learning a language, she could steer him in the direction of one which would possibly be helpful... and perhaps he would have an affinity for learning languages... he was a bit older than usual to start as a scribe, but he could catch up with diligent study. The idea was swirling in her head as she made her way to the foreign language section and began pulling books from the shelves in a wide variety of languages, examining each one for any hint of something that might be helpful in her Shadow Wars research. She had selected a few books which showed very little promise before finally coming to a small black leatherbound book that looked almost like a journal.

Opening it, it seemed composed of a mixture of languages... not separate, but all together... an aramaic letter followed by one in Jurchen, followed by a letter in Sanskrit... followed by... an alphabet she did not recognize... there appeared to be letters from six distinct languages all mixed together as though some scribe had experienced a linguistic seizure on parchment. This one she felt she needed at all costs, if for no other reason than the challenge translating it would present. She was so absorbed in examining the pages that she paid no attention to anything happening around her.

[Cavan Mikal Weiss]

Cavan spent several minutes trying to find the journal section and then another good length of time picking the right journal for the two oldest of his younger siblings, Midori and Geoffrey. After that was done it only took him a few moments to find two for himself. All four would be charmed by his parents before he gave them to his siblings as going away presents.

The he wandered the store for a bit, finding a new Herbalogy book for his mom and a new Magical Creatures text for her dad. Finally, small stack of books in hand, he made his way toward the Foreign Language section. As he headed in that direction, he recalled D'rorah's offer.

"Think of a language you might wish to learn and I can assist you with selecting a book which will actually be helpful."

He decided that if she was still there, he would take her up on the offer. As he entered the section noticed she was indeed still present, but she was busy looking through a book. He decided to look at the books and see if anything grabbed his attention. He already knew four languages, so he hoped he'd be able to find something that was a little different, it would make it a little more challenging, like learning Japanese had been.

It was then that he came across a book he just had to pick up. It was a language he couldn't remember ever seeing before. It looked a little bit like Japanese or Egyptian, but he didn't think it was the latter, though he couldn't be sure. He'd have to ask D'rorah, though he hated to disturb her. "D'rorah?" He asked from his place on the floor, pile of book beside him, book securely held in his hands, his voice carried up to her like a knife through butter, cutting the silence. He could only hope he didn't startle her to badly.

[D'rorah Philosophy]

D'rorah looked down from her book, momentarily woken from her textual reverie by the sound of a voice calling her name. She didn't startle, merely blinked several times as her eyes refocused to see and identify who had addressed her. "Yes, Mister Weiss?" she asked, an eyebrow arching ever so slightly in inquiry. Noticing that he had a book clutched in his hands, she crouched down, coming to his level.


"So then, what have you found?" she asked curiously, looking to the cover of the book he held. She didn't try to take it from him, but she did ease the cover of the book open to have a look at his find.

"Have you any idea what language this is?" she asked, a hint of amusement in her voice. "This book is written in Akkadian... these letters are called cuneiform. It is one of the earliest forms of written expression, said to have been created around Three-Thousand BCE. Akkadian itself was in use between the years Two-thousand five-hundred and Two-thousand BCE. This particular book..." she trailed off, skimming over a few pages. "Ah," a slight smile came to her face again. "These are fables and riddles," she surmised after a few moments.

Her eyes shifted back to Michael. "I can teach you this language, if you are certain you are interested in learning something so old... no one speaks Akkadian anymore... and the vocabulary and syntax are quite different from English. Would you like to learn this? Or would you care to begin with another?"

[Cavan Mikal Weiss]

Cavan smiled sheepishly up at her, "Sorry to bother you, you did look rather inthrauled... but this book...?" For some reason he felt silly for not knowing what language it was, even though he was still quite young.

"So then, what have you found?"

Cavan shook his head as he let her look at the book, still holding it in his hands, not wanting to let it go.

"Have you any idea what language this is?" she asked, a hint of amusement in her voice. "This book is written in Akkadian... these letters are called cuneiform. It is one of the earliest forms of written expression, said to have been created around Three-Thousand BCE. Akkadian itself was in use between the years Two-thousand five-hundred and Two-thousand BCE. This particular book... Ah, these are fables and riddles."

Cavan's smiled turned into an ear to ear grin. "It's really that old, really?" His eyes were wide with delight, his mom would be so proud of him. The little historian in him jumped for joy.

"I can teach you this language, if you are certain you are interested in learning something so old... no one speaks Akkadian anymore... and the vocabulary and syntax are quite different from English. Would you like to learn this? Or would you care to begin with another?"

"I'd like to learn it, if it wouldn't be to much trouble. Unless you think there is something better suited for me. I don't mind it being difficult, it just makes it all the more rewarding in the end, you know?" He wanted to learn everything, and languages was no exception and he was sure he'd have plenty of spare time for extra learning.

[D'rorah Philosophy]

"This actual book is not that old," she corrected, wanting be sure she didn't misrepresent it. "I would say this particular volume was bound..." she considered it, flipping back to the front cover, "perhaps one hundred fifty years ago or so. The original texts, however, are most certainly that old. They would have been written on clay tablets. You see, some scribe has gone to the trouble of copying the information onto parchment so it might be distributed." She pointed to the ink. "It was done by hand, as you can see by the slight irregularities in the lettering."

She couldn't help but smile a bit at his obvious excitement over his find and over the prospect of learning the languages. It reminded her somewhat of herself at that age, eager to learn and fascinated by the thought of languages and communication. She settled herself down onto the floor beside Cavan. "I do not believe it would be much trouble at all to teach someone so willing to learn," she remarked quietly. "Akkadian is a wonderful language and a very good foundational language. You know, they branch off from one another. Languages have families they belong to... and as you learn languages in that family, it makes other languages in that family easier to learn."

She opened the book she had been so immersed in before his arrival. "This language, you see, is called Jurchen. It is an ancient language, from the Manchu-Tungustic branch of the Altaic family of languages. So, in that branch of languages, there are... twenty-six languages if I am not mistaken. So, learning a few of these languages as a base makes learning other languages in this same family much easier."

"So, I believe you will be putting those new quills to quite a bit of good use," remarked D'rorah as she rose from her seat. She ran her finger along a nearby shelf, obviously looking for something. "Ah, here we are. This is a language lexicon. It contains letters from many languages. So, I would like to have you begin here," she said, indicated a page near the middle of the book. "Begin by learning the cuneiform script and how to sound out the letters. Then we can move on to vocabulary, syntax, grammar, and the like." She held the heavy tome out to him; indeed it looked as though it might contain all of the languages of the world.

[Cavan Mikal Weiss]

"This actual book is not that old, I would say this particular volume was bound... perhaps one hundred fifty years ago or so. The original texts, however, are most certainly that old. They would have been written on clay tablets. You see, some scribe has gone to the trouble of copying the information onto parchment so it might be distributed. It was done by hand, as you can see by the slight irregularities in the lettering."

Cavan listened intently, nodding when appropriate, taking everything in, storing the knowledge for later use. He looked at the old, hand written text and grinned, "I bet the scribe had a lot of fun, writing this all down so everyone could read it. I do that for my little sister and brother sometimes, I'll translate a story onto paper from the book I'm reading so they can read it too. They haven't started their languages yet and can only read English at the moment." He chuckled a little like it was normal to know more than one language, shaking his head before brushing his hair behind his ears again.

"I do not believe it would be much trouble at all to teach someone so willing to learn. Akkadian is a wonderful language and a very good foundational language. You know, they branch off from one another. Languages have families they belong to... and as you learn languages in that family, it makes other languages in that family easier to learn."

Cavan nodded, agreeing, "That's why it was easier for me to learn Brazilian after I knew French and why Japanese was harder." He smiled thinking back to the challenge of learning, "I really appreciate this D'rorah, my mom will be glad I've got someone who knows what they're talking about helping me out."

"This language, you see, is called Jurchen. It is an ancient language, from the Manchu-Tungustic branch of the Altaic family of languages. So, in that branch of languages, there are... twenty-six languages if I am not mistaken. So, learning a few of these languages as a base makes learning other languages in this same family much easier."

He leaned over to look at the text in her book, noting the difference between Jurchen and Akkadian immediately. He nodded again in understanding, suddenly just as excited over learning languages as he had become for Magical Creatures and Herbalogy.

"So, I believe you will be putting those new quills to quite a bit of good use. Ah, here we are. This is a language lexicon. It contains letters from many languages. So, I would like to have you begin here. Begin by learning the cuneiform script and how to sound out the letters. Then we can move on to vocabulary, syntax, grammar, and the like." She held the heavy tome out to him; indeed it looked as though it might contain all of the languages of the world.

He stood, gathering his own books as she stood, not wanting to make her look down at him as if he were still a child. He absently wondered what she was looking for was she ran her finger along a nearby shelf, but he figured if it had to do with him, then he would know soon enough. He took the proffered tome adding it to his stack of books and pulled a bookmark he'd purchased at a muggle shop near his parent's home, from his pocket and placed in the page indicated by his new language professor before closing it for easier carrying.

He beamed up at her, arms now full of books, "Thank you again, I really appreciate this. I know you don't have to help me and I'm sure you're busy with your own stuff, so really thank you." He shifted the books in his arms so that he was holding them all with his left arm. He glanced around the selections before grabbing three books almost at random, each a fiction story in a different language, it looked to be the three he'd mentioned earlier. "I should probably go, mom's probably talking Madam Malkin's ear off about muggle fashions verses wizards. Would you like me to owl you when I've finished learning the cuneiform script and think I've figured out how to sound out the letters?" He shifted the books again, once more holding them with both hands. He didn't seem to be struggling under the large pile, which would be interesting to most, as a normal first year would need help.

[D'rorah Philosophy]

D'rorah listened as Cavan happily accepted the lexicon. And she noted as he spoke that he already understood French, Brazilian, and Japanese. Perhaps he truly was scribe material after all. She would have to send word to Master Xiu to see whether he would allow her to bring the boy to him for training. And then... he was so young... but she had been far younger when she had first begun her training with Master Xiu. Time would tell, time would tell. He would have to have the option of deciding whether he joined or not.

"You are quite welcome, Mister Weiss," she replied with a slight smile. "I am always quite willing to assist anyone so obviously eager to learn. Send an owl when you are finished learning the letters... or if you encounter any difficulty with the letters and I shall arrange a time for a lesson."

She watched him with the books, slightly surprised that he didn't seem to need any help carrying them, despite his size. Obviously, he had quite a bit of physical strength for an eleven year-old. "If you parents have any questions about the lessons, have them owl me as well. I am certain they would be interested in keeping informed about your academic endeavors." She smiled a bit. "Good day, Mister Weiss."

With that, she headed off to finish her browsing so she could pay for her purchases and head back to Hogwarts for the evening.

[Cavan Mikal Weiss]

"You are quite welcome, Mister Weiss. I am always quite willing to assist anyone so obviously eager to learn. Send an owl when you are finished learning the letters... or if you encounter any difficulty with the letters and I shall arrange a time for a lesson."

Cavan nodded, "I will, that sounds very good." He shifted the books again as one of the top books began sliding. He flipped his head to the right, trying to get the hair out of his eyes. He realized his folly as more hair fell in his face than before. With a sigh he shifted the books to one arm again, quickly brushing the hair away before grabbing the books with both hands again.

"If you parents have any questions about the lessons, have them owl me as well. I am certain they would be interested in keeping informed about your academic endeavors. Good day, Mister Weiss."

Cavan didn't notice if D'rorah made a look of surprise, as he had suddenly remembered he wanted to get a book on wand crafting before he left. "I'll let them know that you'd be willing to answer any of their questions about it. My mom especially wants to keep up with said endeavors, she's been tutoring us extensively since the beginning. Good day, Miss Prophecy." With that he turned his own way, going off to find the section on crafting in hopes of finding something on wands.

He found a beginners guide to wand components and decided that would be enough to keep him occupied when he wasn't in class. That thought in his mind, he made his way to the counter to add his pile to his school books before paying for them.

When the clerk gave him his total, he was glad he'd managed to save some at the stationary shop. Looking in his coin purse after he'd paid the clerk and gotten his change, he realized he only had two knutz and three galleon left. After packing all his books into his muggle cloth bag, the items seeming to disappear as he did so, he left the store. Only a few more stops and he'd be ready for Hogwarts.