nexus_crossings | The Lure of Learning

The Lure of Learning

Hermione is wandering the Plaza area of the Nexus, with no particular goal in mind. She is closely followed by a large orange cat, who seems to twirl around her ankles just at the right time to avoid being stepped on, but still be close to the young woman in question.

Suddenly, Hermione stops, just outside the grand library and looks up to the immense building with a little bit of awe, a lot of interest, and a glee that is very close to 'kid-in-a-candystore'. But even though every bone in her body wants to go into that library and explore (and get lost in the books), Hermione has paused. A slight confused look on her face.

She finds a place to sit, nearby the library, looking up at the building. The orange cat claims a seat in her lap.

"Would you rather take time to improve your own skills, or teach others to be better people?"

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"It helps to talk to others who are not from my world. And might give me advice."

She smiles. And returns the handshake. "Hermione Jean Granger. And that pile of fur in your lap is Crookshanks."

"Yeah, I hear you there." It sucks that it's necessary, but it's certainly better than the big pile of fuck-all that he got after Tarsus IV, and to a lesser extent, his more recently disastrous experiences.

"He's quite the people cat, isn't he?" Jim certainly doesn't mind. Therapy animals exist for a reason, after all, and having a lap full of purring feline isn't the worst thing in the world. "I've never had any pets."

"Crookshanks is a sensitive old soul. He knows when someone is in need of his attention." Hermione answers with a soft smile. The cat purrs even louder at the recognition of his brilliance.

"Are you going through your own troubles?" It is only polite to inquire. To not just talk about herself.

"You could say that." He smiles slightly, rubbing Crookshanks' head between the ears. Though rather than talk about his recent family issues, he decides to focus on something a bit more mundane and less awkward or painful to talk about, something that explains why he's out running. "I was hospitalized a little while ago and I'm still trying to get back into shape. I've made good progress, but I hate not being at the top of my game."

"It is never easy to be recovering from injuries." Hermione still has faint little scars along her neckline, of where she was injured during the war. She tries not to think about it. She would rather not want the nightmares come.

"There are no scientific or magical discoveries that can help speed up the recovery?"

Jim has very few scars to show for his ordeal, and the one that he does have isn't visible when he's got clothes on. He shrugs in response to her question. "I'm pretty much healed, but I was stuck in bed for weeks and on light duty after that, so it's more just the part where I haven't been exercising like I used to."

"Maybe you just need motivation. A goal to achieve." Crookshanks meows. "Or something that challenges you."

Jim can't help but think of Samus, and her unconventional idea of exercise running involving being randomly physically assaulted mid-stride. He smiles and shakes his head. "I think I've got that covered. It's just time, and that's not really something you can rush."

Edited 2017-07-15 03:45 (UTC)

"That is why right now I am thinking of taking some time... not rushing into taking that teaching job."

"Maybe just try to find myself. And let the tragedy of what happened have the time to heal."

"It seems that neither of us would be willing to take the easy way out." She smiles.

"I'm not sure there is an easy way out," he answers. "That said, nothing's wrong with taking some time for yourself."

"Some in my world would take a magical option. A magical cure."

"I have had many ask me why I don't take a Sleep-Easy to calm my nightmares. They just don't understand that I don't want to take the magical option."

Jim frowns a little. He's had a little experience with magic through friends of his, but nothing involving potions, and certainly not sleeping ones. But he does have experience with medicines that do the same sort of thing. "I've tried sleeping pills before. All it did was make it so I couldn't wake up."

"That would be a disturbing sensation...." Hermione frowns.

"The Sleep Easy, or Potion for Dreamless Sleep, allows you to sleep, without any dreams or nightmares disturbing your sleep."

"Any side effects?" That sounds like a dream come true, no pun intended. But he can see why she might not go for it even without potential harmful side effects. How people deal with and process their pain, no matter how unwelcome, is part of who they are, or who they become. It isn't always for the worse.

"The only one is that the sleeper might wake up earlier than normal. And it is not recommended to take it continuously. A person needs proper REM sleep."

"So it'd just delay dealing with the problem," he concludes. Makes sense why she wouldn't want to start.

"There are also wizards who use the Obliviate spell, and completely remove the memory that is causing the nightmares. But I know from personal experience how difficult it is to return an Obliviated memory."

"I would rather deal with the nightmares. And learn from them."

Now that he can agree on. "If those were my options, I'm pretty sure I'd choose the same. Memories are what make us who we are, for better or worse."

"Yes." Hermione drops her eyes for a moment, looking away. "And once those memories are gone... you can never be who were again."

Jim isn't going to pry. He doesn't like strangers asking invasive questions either, and it's none of his business. Instead he turns his attention back to the cat that's sprawled out in his lap, purring like a little motor. It's a good thing these are his workout clothes; it doesn't matter if he gets covered in cat hair.

"So, about this school of yours," he asks instead, since that seems like a safer topic. "It was a magic school, right? Is that the only thing they taught, or did you get math and science and that kinda thing?"

Crookshanks reaches out a paw to try to claim Jim's hand, so he can rub his head over the man's palm. Surprisingly, he doesn't seem to be shedding at all.

"Yes. Hogwarts is a magical boarding school. Students lived there, while studying different magical courses, for three-fourths of the year. We had Christmas and the summer break to go back home."

"And while math and science were not taught at Hogwarts, I have taken time to study them. I have found both useful, in my Arithmancy classes. Arithmancy is a magical discipline that studies the magical properties of numbers."

"In your first five years at Hogwarts, you have a core of standard courses. And then you can take any electives that you desire. Then in your fifth year, you take your Ordinary Wizarding Level (O.W.L.) exams, to see where you place, for specialized courses in sixth and seventh year. Or even what specialized courses would be recommended for possible career options."

Jim is more than content to oblige the cat's demands, while he listens to Hermione. "So there's not any kind of... magical university after you're done there?" he asks, taking a guess based on her age, and the fact that she doesn't know what she wants to do with her life now that she's done. "Or even, uh, non-magical university, if you wanted?"

"Not really. You can take your NEWTS, specialized learning, in several courses. And there are a few specialized schools... like if you want to be an Auror, a magical police officer, or if you want to train dragons. But the wizarding schools are set up to teach you everything a typical student might need."

"Hogwarts is just one school of many. They are set up based on regions of the world," Hermione explained.

"I have considered a non-magical university... but if you want to work in the magical world, there is really no point going to a non-magical university. Most magical careers would want to know what your OWLS and NEWTS levels. They would not care to consider any non-magical studies."

"Wouldn't there?" he asks, politely challenging her claim that there would be no point in learning non-magical subjects. "You said that there aren't any magical counselors that you could talk to, so does no one train in magical psychology? Are there other specialized fields that the magical part of society doesn't have?"

"Excellent point." Hermione smiles softly. "Just because no one else has done it, doesn't mean that there are not possibilities..."

"And yes, there are other specialized fields that the magical part of society doesn't have. They don't have psychologists. They don't have dentists. They don't have doctors. They sort of have lawyers..."

"I was one of the few students in my class that returned to Hogwarts after the war to take my NEWTS. I achieved high scores on all seven of my courses. And I do like the idea of continuing to learn..."

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