storypaint (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
storypaint) wrote2009-01-15 11:09 am
storypaint) wrote2009-01-15 11:09 am
Professor Layton and the Department of Mysteries (Layton gen)
Title: Professor Layton and the Department of Mysteries
Length: 504 words
Prompt: Professor Layton (Anon) Fan Meme: Layton/Harry Potter crossover, preferably with Layton working for the Department of Mysteries
Pairing: Layton gen
Other: Professor Layton in crew in the Harry Potter universe.
Excerpt: They weren't allowed to talk about what they did. Every wizarding child knew that, but that didn't stop Luke from trying to find out. He was certain there was something really special going on. There had to be a reason for the professor's oddly shaped hat.
"...And that's Bode and Croaker...they're Unspeakables...from the Department of Mysteries, top secret, no idea what they get up to..."
-Arthur Weasley, GoF
The Professor never brought his work home with him. He wouldn't discuss it over dinner or at bedtime when he tucked the children in. Even his beloved apprentice had no idea what he did.
There was a reason they called them Unspeakables.
*
They weren't allowed to talk about what they did. Every wizarding child knew that, but that didn't stop Luke from trying to find out. He was certain there was something really special going on. There had to be a reason for the professor's oddly shaped hat.
Actually, there had to be a reason everyone called him Professor.
*
Sometimes he wondered if they were actually called Unspeakables because they did things... no one would talk about.
The brains ate fish and cat food. They swam around in their tank and he fed them twice a day, and then he whispered to them.
"It's very sunny out, and that reminds me of a puzzle..."
He didsn't tell anyone, but they all had names. The folds in the brain, the sulci and gyri, were unique to each mind, like fingerprints. He gave them names out of classic literature, so that Heathcliff swam along with Darcy and Jane Eyre.
He did tell everyone that he'd invented a new collective noun.
"They're a concept of brains," he said, and his colleagues laughed. He wanted to tell that one to Luke, later. (He didn't.)
*
The first time they got out, Layton wasn't around. (He wasn't around the second time, either, but Harry Potter and his friends rarely kept business hours.) He was home with Flora, who had the flu.
Marie* (she had an over-large cerebellum but he'd always thought she was sweet) got ahold of Sharpe and it took them only four minutes to pry her off, but the welts didn't fade for a month. The swelling across his face didn't respond well to treatment.
They killed her.
They told Layton that he oughtn't stick his fingers in the tank anymore, or whisper to them.
So he quit.
*
"Professor, I just can't wait!" Luke declared, bouncing in his seat, and his mentor just laughed.
"You're going to fall off your seat, my boy. The train is moving, now."
"Yes, Professor," he said, chastened, trying to sit up straight and perfectly like Flora, who'd already changed into her school uniform. She was kicking her feet quietly against the seat and looking out at the English countryside, a small blush of excitement on her face.
"I can't believe there was an opening here for you, Professor! There could be nothing better than the astonishing Professor Layton and his apprentice saving the day!"
"Just because I'm teaching Defense Against Dark Arts, it doesn't mean the day will need saving. I certainly hope it doesn't. You are going to school to learn, Luke."
"Oh, yeah," Luke said, for the moment, chastened, but he scrambled over the professor's lap to look out the window, nearly elbowing him in his excitement. Layton smiled a little and adjusted his pointy hat.
They were nearly to Hogwarts.
*
*The Murder of Marie Roget by Edgar Allen Poe.
Length: 504 words
Prompt: Professor Layton (Anon) Fan Meme: Layton/Harry Potter crossover, preferably with Layton working for the Department of Mysteries
Pairing: Layton gen
Other: Professor Layton in crew in the Harry Potter universe.
Excerpt: They weren't allowed to talk about what they did. Every wizarding child knew that, but that didn't stop Luke from trying to find out. He was certain there was something really special going on. There had to be a reason for the professor's oddly shaped hat.
"...And that's Bode and Croaker...they're Unspeakables...from the Department of Mysteries, top secret, no idea what they get up to..."
-Arthur Weasley, GoF
The Professor never brought his work home with him. He wouldn't discuss it over dinner or at bedtime when he tucked the children in. Even his beloved apprentice had no idea what he did.
There was a reason they called them Unspeakables.
*
They weren't allowed to talk about what they did. Every wizarding child knew that, but that didn't stop Luke from trying to find out. He was certain there was something really special going on. There had to be a reason for the professor's oddly shaped hat.
Actually, there had to be a reason everyone called him Professor.
*
Sometimes he wondered if they were actually called Unspeakables because they did things... no one would talk about.
The brains ate fish and cat food. They swam around in their tank and he fed them twice a day, and then he whispered to them.
"It's very sunny out, and that reminds me of a puzzle..."
He didsn't tell anyone, but they all had names. The folds in the brain, the sulci and gyri, were unique to each mind, like fingerprints. He gave them names out of classic literature, so that Heathcliff swam along with Darcy and Jane Eyre.
He did tell everyone that he'd invented a new collective noun.
"They're a concept of brains," he said, and his colleagues laughed. He wanted to tell that one to Luke, later. (He didn't.)
*
The first time they got out, Layton wasn't around. (He wasn't around the second time, either, but Harry Potter and his friends rarely kept business hours.) He was home with Flora, who had the flu.
Marie* (she had an over-large cerebellum but he'd always thought she was sweet) got ahold of Sharpe and it took them only four minutes to pry her off, but the welts didn't fade for a month. The swelling across his face didn't respond well to treatment.
They killed her.
They told Layton that he oughtn't stick his fingers in the tank anymore, or whisper to them.
So he quit.
*
"Professor, I just can't wait!" Luke declared, bouncing in his seat, and his mentor just laughed.
"You're going to fall off your seat, my boy. The train is moving, now."
"Yes, Professor," he said, chastened, trying to sit up straight and perfectly like Flora, who'd already changed into her school uniform. She was kicking her feet quietly against the seat and looking out at the English countryside, a small blush of excitement on her face.
"I can't believe there was an opening here for you, Professor! There could be nothing better than the astonishing Professor Layton and his apprentice saving the day!"
"Just because I'm teaching Defense Against Dark Arts, it doesn't mean the day will need saving. I certainly hope it doesn't. You are going to school to learn, Luke."
"Oh, yeah," Luke said, for the moment, chastened, but he scrambled over the professor's lap to look out the window, nearly elbowing him in his excitement. Layton smiled a little and adjusted his pointy hat.
They were nearly to Hogwarts.
*
*The Murder of Marie Roget by Edgar Allen Poe.