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hp_worldcup_bets2010-08-11 09:57 am
vane_nt) wrote in hp_worldcup_bets2010-08-11 09:57 am
Entry tags:
Debt paid: Expect Full Success
Recipient: tetleythesecond
Title: Expect Full Success
Author: Vane
Character: Septima Vector
Prompt: The character and his or her dog.
Word Count: ~1,165
Rating: PG
Warning(s): (Highlight to read) Implied animal suffering.
Summary: Septima had always used Arithmancy to control most aspects of her dog's life. Now she uses the charts to try to save him.
Author's Notes: Story written fortetleythesecond, to pay a debt of honour at hp_worldcup_bets. Many thanks, flowers and hugs to my lovely betas ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
curia_regis and thamy! All remaining mistakes are mine.
EXPECT FULL SUCCESS
By Vane
"Harry Potter" belongs to J.K. Rowling and her licensees.
The last class of the day was over. Septima left the Arithmancy Classroom and hurried to her office, wanting to floo back home.
She got out of the fireplace and walked to the corner of the living room where Octavius lay on his small bed. She crouched down and ran her fingers through the dog's light brown fur. He only stared at her in silence. No sign of the loud barks with which he would greet her in previous, happier times.
Septima let out a sigh and stood up. She walked to the sofa and remembered to take off her hat, which she put by her side as she sat down. Looking at the coffee table, she found everything she would need: vials, small plastic vessels, a notepad, a quill and an ink bottle.
She reached for the notepad. Its pages were filled with dozens of number charts, most of them surrounded by notes written in tiny cursive.
It was Septima's hope that, with the help of Arithmancy, she would find a way to increase the efficiency of the drugs prescribed by the Muggle veterinarian, and the potions prescribed by the Creature Healer. As Octavius' treatment wasn't yielding the expected results, she had taken it upon herself to use her own knowledge to his advantage. Even when she knew it might be too risky to interfere in the decisions of the specialists who cared for Octavius.
She would often try to silence her fears by reminding herself of an old habit of hers: using Arithmancy to calculate the right dosage of Nutritional Potion to be added to Octavius' food and water. For seven years, he had been a perfectly healthy dog, which meant that she knew what she was doing, even if it was an unsupervised experiment. Why should she doubt herself now?
Octavius didn't need her insecurity; he needed her help, and that was what she was giving him.
- = - = - = - = - = - = -
Septima smiled as she reread her three newest charts.
The numbers on the first one informed the correct dosages of potions and pills to be given to Octavius.
The second determined the intensity of the relaxing spell. That was a necessary measure, meant to hinder him from biting her hand as she forced his mouth open and made him swallow the medicines.
The third predicted the results of Octavius' treatment, taking into account the modifications made by Septima. To her relief, the numbers showed her--for the eleventh day in a row--that full success was to be expected.
Reassured by her own calculations, Septima approached Octavius' bed, knelt down and caressed him. "You'll be fine," she whispered.
Octavius lifted his head for a brief moment.
- = - = - = - = - = - = -
"Professor Vector?"
Septima approached her student. He'd complained that the exercises were really confusing, and he wanted her to explain it again.
As she saw it, the exercises were not confusing; her pupil just had to work harder on them. However, she refrained from saying so and tried to be patient. Not that patience was one of her virtues, but it was one she had to develop in order to bear the anxiety caused by Octavius' lingering disease.
While the boy followed her initial instructions and changed the data on his chart, Septima cast a glance at Hermione Granger, who sat two seats ahead. She would never have to tell that girl to work harder; what Miss Granger usually did was enough to ensure a lifetime's worth of high grades. Septima paused. Or was it? No, that wasn't right. She believed that it was always possible to work even harder to achieve even better things in life. This belief applied to her favourite student, and to all other students, and to herself.
When she got back home, hours later, Septima asked herself what else she could do to help Octavius. For there had to be something else.
She found the answer as she revised the nineteenth version of the chart used to predict the treatment's outcome.
She had been devoting too much time to controlling Octavius' present condition and forecasting his future, while neglecting his past.
- = - = - = - = - = - = -
Septima cringed at the idea of throwing Arithmancy charts away. The oldest piece of parchment she kept dated back to her days as a Hogwarts student.
Since that Christmas Eve when Filius surprised her with a two-month-old dog for a gift, she had been building charts to monitor most aspects of the pet's life. Since she realised she would need to analyse all the data about Octavius she had ever recorded, she decided to stay up for two more hours every evening.
It took the numbers twelve evenings to start showing her a meaningful pattern.
Although Septima still couldn't tell where that would lead her to, she welcomed the progress she made with much enthusiasm. She needed something to feel happy about, as Octavius' health wouldn't improve in any way.
Despite all contrary evidence, the forecasting charts continued to show her that her actions would eventually yield success.
- = - = - = - = - = - = -
Septima was so excited, that her hand shook a little while she made Octavius drink one of the Healing Potions. She dropped a bit of liquid on her robe, but she ignored the resulting spot. Her mind was busy with much more important things.
For the previous twenty-four days, she had been verifying her older charts and studyind them in comparison to the most recent ones. That initial pattern became clearer and clearer, but its actual meaning would still elude her. The numbers sent her a message:
"We dare you to expose our secrets."
Now she was definitely close to winning that challenge. Experience had taught her to identify the moments preceding the numbers' surrender.
As the next day would be a Saturday, she decided not go to bed until she got the answers she had been struggling for.
Septima spent the most part of the evening sat on her living room's sofa. She rebuilt charts, recited incantations to transfer data from one piece of parchment to another, took notes, read, reread, reorganised...
She made numerous pauses, some to take care of Octavius, others to digest all the information she was studying.
Her investigation came to an end when she recited one more data transfer incantation.
She held her breath as the numbers and their accompanying notes distributed themselves across five new charts, filling the magical graphs in a logical order.
Septima grabbed the notepad, her hands shaking again.
She let out a small cry as she realised what the newly reorganised charts meant. They comprised an index to all the notepads where she had recorded the calculations determining the dosages for the Nutritional Potion.
It wasn't necessary to reread those notepads. The origin of Octavius' problem was clear: in hopes of keeping her dog healthy, Septima had subjected him to a lifelong experiment that resulted in his gradual poisoning.
Now she knew that what the forecasting charts had actually been predicting was that she would fully succeed in killing Octavius.
Fanfic written on August 10th, 2010.
tetleythesecondTitle: Expect Full Success
Author: Vane
Character: Septima Vector
Prompt: The character and his or her dog.
Word Count: ~1,165
Rating: PG
Warning(s): (Highlight to read) Implied animal suffering.
Summary: Septima had always used Arithmancy to control most aspects of her dog's life. Now she uses the charts to try to save him.
Author's Notes: Story written for
tetleythesecond, to pay a debt of honour at hp_worldcup_bets. Many thanks, flowers and hugs to my lovely betas curia_regis and thamy! All remaining mistakes are mine.EXPECT FULL SUCCESS
By Vane
"Harry Potter" belongs to J.K. Rowling and her licensees.
The last class of the day was over. Septima left the Arithmancy Classroom and hurried to her office, wanting to floo back home.
She got out of the fireplace and walked to the corner of the living room where Octavius lay on his small bed. She crouched down and ran her fingers through the dog's light brown fur. He only stared at her in silence. No sign of the loud barks with which he would greet her in previous, happier times.
Septima let out a sigh and stood up. She walked to the sofa and remembered to take off her hat, which she put by her side as she sat down. Looking at the coffee table, she found everything she would need: vials, small plastic vessels, a notepad, a quill and an ink bottle.
She reached for the notepad. Its pages were filled with dozens of number charts, most of them surrounded by notes written in tiny cursive.
It was Septima's hope that, with the help of Arithmancy, she would find a way to increase the efficiency of the drugs prescribed by the Muggle veterinarian, and the potions prescribed by the Creature Healer. As Octavius' treatment wasn't yielding the expected results, she had taken it upon herself to use her own knowledge to his advantage. Even when she knew it might be too risky to interfere in the decisions of the specialists who cared for Octavius.
She would often try to silence her fears by reminding herself of an old habit of hers: using Arithmancy to calculate the right dosage of Nutritional Potion to be added to Octavius' food and water. For seven years, he had been a perfectly healthy dog, which meant that she knew what she was doing, even if it was an unsupervised experiment. Why should she doubt herself now?
Octavius didn't need her insecurity; he needed her help, and that was what she was giving him.
Septima smiled as she reread her three newest charts.
The numbers on the first one informed the correct dosages of potions and pills to be given to Octavius.
The second determined the intensity of the relaxing spell. That was a necessary measure, meant to hinder him from biting her hand as she forced his mouth open and made him swallow the medicines.
The third predicted the results of Octavius' treatment, taking into account the modifications made by Septima. To her relief, the numbers showed her--for the eleventh day in a row--that full success was to be expected.
Reassured by her own calculations, Septima approached Octavius' bed, knelt down and caressed him. "You'll be fine," she whispered.
Octavius lifted his head for a brief moment.
"Professor Vector?"
Septima approached her student. He'd complained that the exercises were really confusing, and he wanted her to explain it again.
As she saw it, the exercises were not confusing; her pupil just had to work harder on them. However, she refrained from saying so and tried to be patient. Not that patience was one of her virtues, but it was one she had to develop in order to bear the anxiety caused by Octavius' lingering disease.
While the boy followed her initial instructions and changed the data on his chart, Septima cast a glance at Hermione Granger, who sat two seats ahead. She would never have to tell that girl to work harder; what Miss Granger usually did was enough to ensure a lifetime's worth of high grades. Septima paused. Or was it? No, that wasn't right. She believed that it was always possible to work even harder to achieve even better things in life. This belief applied to her favourite student, and to all other students, and to herself.
When she got back home, hours later, Septima asked herself what else she could do to help Octavius. For there had to be something else.
She found the answer as she revised the nineteenth version of the chart used to predict the treatment's outcome.
She had been devoting too much time to controlling Octavius' present condition and forecasting his future, while neglecting his past.
Septima cringed at the idea of throwing Arithmancy charts away. The oldest piece of parchment she kept dated back to her days as a Hogwarts student.
Since that Christmas Eve when Filius surprised her with a two-month-old dog for a gift, she had been building charts to monitor most aspects of the pet's life. Since she realised she would need to analyse all the data about Octavius she had ever recorded, she decided to stay up for two more hours every evening.
It took the numbers twelve evenings to start showing her a meaningful pattern.
Although Septima still couldn't tell where that would lead her to, she welcomed the progress she made with much enthusiasm. She needed something to feel happy about, as Octavius' health wouldn't improve in any way.
Despite all contrary evidence, the forecasting charts continued to show her that her actions would eventually yield success.
Septima was so excited, that her hand shook a little while she made Octavius drink one of the Healing Potions. She dropped a bit of liquid on her robe, but she ignored the resulting spot. Her mind was busy with much more important things.
For the previous twenty-four days, she had been verifying her older charts and studyind them in comparison to the most recent ones. That initial pattern became clearer and clearer, but its actual meaning would still elude her. The numbers sent her a message:
"We dare you to expose our secrets."
Now she was definitely close to winning that challenge. Experience had taught her to identify the moments preceding the numbers' surrender.
As the next day would be a Saturday, she decided not go to bed until she got the answers she had been struggling for.
Septima spent the most part of the evening sat on her living room's sofa. She rebuilt charts, recited incantations to transfer data from one piece of parchment to another, took notes, read, reread, reorganised...
She made numerous pauses, some to take care of Octavius, others to digest all the information she was studying.
Her investigation came to an end when she recited one more data transfer incantation.
She held her breath as the numbers and their accompanying notes distributed themselves across five new charts, filling the magical graphs in a logical order.
Septima grabbed the notepad, her hands shaking again.
She let out a small cry as she realised what the newly reorganised charts meant. They comprised an index to all the notepads where she had recorded the calculations determining the dosages for the Nutritional Potion.
It wasn't necessary to reread those notepads. The origin of Octavius' problem was clear: in hopes of keeping her dog healthy, Septima had subjected him to a lifelong experiment that resulted in his gradual poisoning.
Now she knew that what the forecasting charts had actually been predicting was that she would fully succeed in killing Octavius.
Fanfic written on August 10th, 2010.
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She believed that it was always possible to work even harder to achieve even better things in life. This belief applied to her favourite student, and to all other students, and to herself. -- I like how this tallies with her approach to Octavius's health, and how you show that hard work isn't everything and doesn't guarantee best results (in fact, in this case it does the opposite.)
A great, sad character portrait! And Filius being the one who makes the present is a lovely choice.
Thank you very, very much!!
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http://tetleythesecond.livejournal.com/45160.html?thread=406632#t406632
(She doesn't have a DW account.)
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And Filius's present - how like him.
I do hope she realises in time to save Octavius.
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Septima has been very "blank" as a character for me so far, as I haven't read much about/with her. Your story makes her come very alive for me and makes my heart go out to her.
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As for treatments that make things worse, yes, I see what you mean. Unfortunately, many specialists--even if well-meaning--fail to understand what their patients really need. :-(