(no subject)
What makes you laugh?
All right. I'd better explain, first, that there are various kinds of laughing. There are laughs that say "I find you utterly ridiculous. You can't possibly be this stupid." There are laughs that say "I don't find that funny at all; get out of the room before I hex you." And then there is the unexpected kind of laughter that doesn't mean anything unpleasant at all.
The first kind - well, it's obvious that idiots make me laugh like that. Sometimes they're just generally stupid, but more often it's directed at me - either they don't realize they're wrong, or they're trying to get me to do something for them. The latter is comprised mainly of men who've decided that since I have money and am a widow, it would be easy for them to marry me and leech off of me for the rest of their lives. Apparently they think I am an idiot.
The second kind are also people who want me to do something for them, but they tend not to be idiots, exactly, just very, very persistent. Generally, I do end up having to hex them. It keeps one's reflexes sharp, I've found.
The third kind of laughter is the rarest, but it's... more fun, I suppose. Sometimes my students will say things so improbable that I have to laugh - the cleverer ones do it on purpose, but most of them are quite young, and naturally amusing. Or sometimes it's Godric, acting true to form and being... well, something of an idiot, but at least he's a non-evil idiot, which is better than most manage. And sometimes Circe will swipe a book of mine and I'll assume I've lost it forever, and then I'll walk into my common room, and she'll be sitting there reading it. On bad days it's annoying, yes, but on neutral days it's amusing. Well, unless she's lost my place, of course. I hate it when she does that.
All right. I'd better explain, first, that there are various kinds of laughing. There are laughs that say "I find you utterly ridiculous. You can't possibly be this stupid." There are laughs that say "I don't find that funny at all; get out of the room before I hex you." And then there is the unexpected kind of laughter that doesn't mean anything unpleasant at all.
The first kind - well, it's obvious that idiots make me laugh like that. Sometimes they're just generally stupid, but more often it's directed at me - either they don't realize they're wrong, or they're trying to get me to do something for them. The latter is comprised mainly of men who've decided that since I have money and am a widow, it would be easy for them to marry me and leech off of me for the rest of their lives. Apparently they think I am an idiot.
The second kind are also people who want me to do something for them, but they tend not to be idiots, exactly, just very, very persistent. Generally, I do end up having to hex them. It keeps one's reflexes sharp, I've found.
The third kind of laughter is the rarest, but it's... more fun, I suppose. Sometimes my students will say things so improbable that I have to laugh - the cleverer ones do it on purpose, but most of them are quite young, and naturally amusing. Or sometimes it's Godric, acting true to form and being... well, something of an idiot, but at least he's a non-evil idiot, which is better than most manage. And sometimes Circe will swipe a book of mine and I'll assume I've lost it forever, and then I'll walk into my common room, and she'll be sitting there reading it. On bad days it's annoying, yes, but on neutral days it's amusing. Well, unless she's lost my place, of course. I hate it when she does that.