nexus_crossings | (no subject)

(no subject)

There is a large orange tabby cat exploring around the Nexus. He seems to be looking for someone in particular. Now, that in itself is not unusual.

However, this particular tabby cat is wearing a make-shift holster around his belly and there seems to be a Starfleet phaser encased in the holster. Only the top of the phaser is visible to the eye... but it looks covered with soot.

The cat is also being followed by a glowing blue light very closely.

After a few moments of being frustrated of not seeing anyone's face, from where he is on the ground... the orange tabby cat jumps his way up a few different Nexus fixtures, until he is higher up. He stares around the Nexus and makes a soft meowing sound. Almost questioning.

Anyone care to try to answer his question.

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This part will be easy. Crookshanks can always find his witch. And confidently, he turns and walks away from the forest and towards where the thousands of doors open into the Nexus. And he leads her straight to a door, that looks like it belongs to an ancient castle.

He sits there, pawing at the door, softly meowing. His witch is behind this door.

And he needs to get her the supplies.

She wonders for a moment why they've stopped, then realizes that Crookshanks can't open the door. Quickly, she opens it, although she hesitates a moment before stepping through, making sure she has her PINpoint on her. It wouldn't do to get lost or stuck off-world.

It might be much like a dream for Adia, to enter into the Nexus world of the 'Potterverse' as it is sometimes known. She enters into a large library, that is filled with shelves and shelves of books. There are tons of books just floating in the air. And Nearly Headless Nick is nearby, floating through the stacks in the search of his next read.

Crookshanks waits for Adia to adjust to her surroundings, before meowing at her, and leading her from the restricted section of the library (where Hermione's door exists), down a hallway towards the basement. Where they will soon come to a potions lab, where the witch in question is busy over a cauldron.

She looks up, in surprise. "Adia?"

It is a bit like a dream, to step into a magical library. Adia stares at the floating books, and then at Nearly Headless Nick before blushing and looking away, not wanting to be rude. Is this the library of Hermione's school, the one she was cajoled to return to as a teacher? How can anyone get any learning done with so many distractions?

Still, a library -- even a magical one -- is a comforting place for her, and soon enough she orients herself to Crookshanks' meow and then follows him to the basement. She's less surprised to see Hermione, although relieved that she seems unharmed. "Crookshanks found me in the Nexus," she explains. "I got the ingredients you needed... what's going on? Are you still stuck here?"

Nearly Headless Nick removes his head, tilting it politely in response. He doesn't know she is a Muggle. It is how he would greet any of the students here.

Hermione nods, as Crookshanks makes his way up to her. Laying down, so she can access the pouch at his side. "Yes. There is a ward around Hogwarts right now, to keep all the students safe. I couldn't leave to get these supplies."

That doesn't help, Nick. Adia has seen a lot of weird stuff in the Nexus, but a headless ghost is pushing it. She gives him a quick, polite nod in response before scurrying down the stairs.

The potions lab, by contrast, is practically mundane. Adia finds a spot to stand that won't get in the way of Hermione's work. "What's happening outside the school?" That evil wizard isn't back, is he? The concern in her eyes is easy to read.

"There are a few Death Eaters, who were loyal to the evil wizard, who are trying to gain access to the school. It is not as bad as the previous battle, and we are holding our own..."

"But these supplies will provide us the chance to cast a better protected spell."

Hermione starts putting some of the ingredients into her cauldron. She glances at Adia for a moment. "You are safe here. With me."

She hadn't thought to be concerned about her own safety. Mostly, she was worried for Hermione and the people at her school. It didn't sound as dangerous as the Khan invasion, though. Or the recent mutiny on Galactica.

"Is there anything else I can do to help?" She took another look around. The lab looked like something out of a fantasy novel. "What are you going to do after the new protection spell is cast?"

Hermione thinks for a moment. "There are a few other spell components that could be sorted, here in the potions lab, so that once the protection spell is ready, I could make some healing balm."

"We would need Newts Eyes, Lizards Leg, Nightshade, Rose Thorn." Hermione lists off the required ingredients for a healing balm.

"Once the students are safe, I and a few other trained wizards, are going to battle the Dark Wizards. And capture them for trial."

"Um..." She casts a skeptical glance towards the jars lining the shelves. Are these items labeled? She can probably find the eyeballs and legs without trouble, and maybe even the rose thorns. She doesn't remember what nightshade looks like, unfortunately.

She wants to help, though. Anything is better than standing around feeling useless. Moving towards the shelves, she starts looking for the ingredients. Hermione will let her know if she's picked the wrong item.

"Capture them," she repeats quietly. She glances over at her friend. "Is there a prison that can hold them?"

All of the assorted jars and containers filling the potions lab are labelled properly. So Adia will have no troubles find what Hermione had requested.

"Yes. There is. It is called Azkaban." Hermione knows that while the aim is to capture the Death Eaters, more than likely there will be deaths today.

That's a big sigh of relief when she spots the labels. It reminds her of her lab aboard the Chiron, which gives her a bit more confidence as she searching for ingredients. It's nice to see a magical lab that follows a similar logic.

She has just spotted the newts' eyes (and they have spotted her, ew) when Hermione answers her question. She looks over her shoulder, hand on the jar. "Is that only for magical prisoners? How, um, how do they keep people from breaking out?"

"Yes. In fact, Azkaban is charmed so that Muggles... non-magical people... can not see it. There are charms and wards on the place so that it prevents any spell from being used by any that are kept there."

She won't ask about the mechanics of what keeps the prisoners from using spells, but not the guards, expecting an answer too esoteric for her to follow. But she does seem a little disappointed that the prison is only for those who practice magic. "A super-powered criminal couldn't be contained there, then?"

She's thinking about Khan. And the enemy Cylons. It bothers her that the only practical punishment for these people is death.

Hermione looks up for a moment. "The magical world usually does not have places to keep non-magical people, since in most cases one of our spells would be powerful enough to deal with a Muggle who threatens us. We have to tread carefully when it comes to crossing that invisible line."

"But if you are speaking about someone in the Nexus or another dimension... then we can talk more in depth. Once these spells are completed."

"Right... sorry." She should know better than to interrupt a witch in the middle of a potion. Adia goes back to gathering the necessary ingredients for the healing potions, lining the jars up on a nearby workbench.

Still... there's not much else to do while she waits. "Anything else I can do?" she asks softly. She's feeling very Muggle-like at the moment. How scary to wander into a place like this with no knowledge of what was happening or why.

Hermione is almost done with the protective spell. But she smiles at Adia's offer.

"Yes. There is an extra cauldron right there. And a list of how much of each ingredient is needed to make a healing balm. I need a dozen balms, so multiple the required ingredients accordingly."

"The final spell is something I would have to do. But it would be a great help if you started preparing the potion."

And the potion itself is pretty detailed, with instructions on preparation.

Having assumed that even the ingredient preparation would require some sort of magic, she blinks at the request before nodding quickly. "O-okay. No problem."

She picks up the list, then locates some measuring equipment. The multiplication is easy enough to do in her head. The careful measuring takes concentration, but she doesn't have any trouble. It reminds her of some of the titrations she's had to prepare in her own lab. The newt eyes and lizard legs are unappetizing to handle, but she had to do dissections in school. It's nothing she can't handle.

"All set," she says finally, once everything is measured and put in the cauldron. She seals up the jars and returns them to their rightful places on the shelves.

Hermione closes her eyes for a moment, then casts the protective spell. A bright light cascades from her cauldron, filling the room for a moment, before going through the walls and creating a protective shield of light around the school.

"Excellent." Hermione casts the spell over Adia's cauldron. The potion swirls for a moment, before turning a bright purple. She then uses a scooping spoon to place the potion into smaller empty jars.

"This should be everything..."

Adia watches the light with a look of pure wonder. It's impossible for her to know how powerful a spell it is, but it certainly looks beautiful.

While Hermione fills potion jars, Adia wonders if she'll end up needing them all. She hasn't forgotten about the dangerous wizards and witches outside the school walls. "Are you going to go out there now? To fight?"

"I am. Crookshanks can take you back to the Nexus door. Or if you wanted to help in the infirmary, you could take these healing potions there." Hermione left the decision up to Adia to make.

It's not much of a question, whether Adia wants to continue to help or not. But she does hesitate, concerned about the logistics. "Will it be obvious that I'm a... a muggle? Or not even from this world? I don't want to make more trouble for you."

"We have started allowing Muggles here, Adia. Our newest Muggle History Teacher is a Muggle. In fact, I believe he would be in the infirmary. And Crookshanks could take you to him." Hermione smiled.

"Oh..." Well, so long as she's not the only muggle. "And... it's okay that I'm not from your world? I can keep that part a secret." She's done it before, pretending to be clueless rather than from another planet.

She looks down at Crookshanks, to see what he thinks about this plan. "It's up to you to keep me from getting lost," she says seriously. "I don't know anything about this place."

"There are a couple of the professors who know about the Nexus. We acted together to keep the portal safe from discovery. And you don't have to hide your identity from them. The students yes... for now."

Hermione picks up a few supplies, preparing herself for the upcoming battle.

Crookshanks meows politely. Of course he will make sure she doesn't get lost.