[The Dresden Files (TV)] Necessity Spawns Invention
Title: Necessity Spawns Invention
Fandom: The Dresden Files (TV)
Rating: PG
Summary: Harry truly needs to ask Bob about the famous-and infamous-people he'd met over the centuries.
Characters: Harry & Bob, mentions of Murphy.
Spoilers: None.
“Ah! The Brothers Grimm!” Bob said, while watching the book Murphy had left on Harry's desk, the one originally intended as a present for her daughter. “Have you read them, Harry?”
“As a kid,” Harry said, absentmindedly; he was leafing through a cook book, looking for something whose ingredients he could afford.
Harry didn't like to cook; he belonged to the branch of people who just couldn't cook at all, which was an irony-like most things in his life-given his proficiency with potions. Still, cooking himself a meal was way cheaper than going to eat to any restaurant he could think of.
It had been both his fault and Murphy's idea; he'd complained with her for the eleven-hundredth time about how he couldn't pay the rent, and she'd said that he could start by cutting some of the little luxuries he so unnecessarily enjoyed, like eating out, to actually have some money at the end of the month.
Murphy had even been nice enough to gift him with a couple of books on Easy Cooking (“I was going to buy something for my daughter in the bookstore anyway.”). And, when she left, after delivering her little speech, she forgot Anna's book, the one whose cover Bob was looking at right that moment.
“In that case, I think you should read them again,” Bob said.
“Why? I have a bunch of more important books on the to-read list. What do you think of a salad? I couldn't possibly burn a salad, could I?”
“I'm not sure; you're full of surprises. And you should read them to have the knowledge fresh; there's no way to know when you could need it.”
Harry finally looked up at Bob. “To have the what fresh?”
“The knowledge,” Bob repeated, very slowly.
Harry stared at Bob for a moment; the ghost had an very serious expression on his face. “Let me see if I got it right,” Harry said. “You're saying that the events in fairy tales actually happened?”
“Well, not all fairy tales; some are just derivative works, with cuts and addenda. But the closest thing you'll get is from the Brothers Grimm. I should know about it; I spent nearly a hundred years upset over the fact that I wasn't credited as a source, never mind the most important.”
“You helped the Brothers Grimm in their research of those folktales?”
“I dictated the stories to those boys. Most of them I'd witnessed myself over the course of the centuries; the others I got from very reliable sources.”
“Why hadn't you told me anything about that before?”
“Because you've never had a Grimm's book around before.”
“And you were sore.”
Bob shrugged. “Maybe. A little. Considerably less than a few years ago...”
Harry held up a snicker. “Very well,” he said. “I'm going to fix myself that salad and I'll read the book while I eat. I can take it to Murphy to the station tomorrow morning.”
“Um. You wouldn't mind reading it aloud, would you? I'd like to know how much the stories were butchered by the translator.”
“I've heard they butcher them for the children's editions, such as this one,” Harry said, pointing Murphy's book with a finger.
Bob winced. “Yes, I've heard that too, but-”
“But you wanna know how bad it is,” Harry said. “Fine, I'll read them aloud and you'll fill in the blanks for me, okay?”
“Good.”
“But I'm still eating first.” Harry stood up and went to the kitchen, the Easy Cooking book under his arm.
“Just try not to burn the place down, please!”
“Will you please stop using my own jokes against me?” Harry whined, though he was smiling.
There were a lot of things Harry didn't know about Bob; he truly needed to ask him about the famous-and infamous-people he'd met.
And maybe make a good use of this new potential way to make money; Harry was sure he had some friends who could connect him with a couple of big editorials, who in turn might be interested in some historical fantasy novels. He might even become a bestseller.
Or maybe just make a few bucks, which was what mattered.
Of course, Harry'd make sure to credit Bob as his main source of historical information; he could be desperate, but he most certainly wasn't an ingrate.
Fandom: The Dresden Files (TV)
Rating: PG
Summary: Harry truly needs to ask Bob about the famous-and infamous-people he'd met over the centuries.
Characters: Harry & Bob, mentions of Murphy.
Spoilers: None.
“Ah! The Brothers Grimm!” Bob said, while watching the book Murphy had left on Harry's desk, the one originally intended as a present for her daughter. “Have you read them, Harry?”
“As a kid,” Harry said, absentmindedly; he was leafing through a cook book, looking for something whose ingredients he could afford.
Harry didn't like to cook; he belonged to the branch of people who just couldn't cook at all, which was an irony-like most things in his life-given his proficiency with potions. Still, cooking himself a meal was way cheaper than going to eat to any restaurant he could think of.
It had been both his fault and Murphy's idea; he'd complained with her for the eleven-hundredth time about how he couldn't pay the rent, and she'd said that he could start by cutting some of the little luxuries he so unnecessarily enjoyed, like eating out, to actually have some money at the end of the month.
Murphy had even been nice enough to gift him with a couple of books on Easy Cooking (“I was going to buy something for my daughter in the bookstore anyway.”). And, when she left, after delivering her little speech, she forgot Anna's book, the one whose cover Bob was looking at right that moment.
“In that case, I think you should read them again,” Bob said.
“Why? I have a bunch of more important books on the to-read list. What do you think of a salad? I couldn't possibly burn a salad, could I?”
“I'm not sure; you're full of surprises. And you should read them to have the knowledge fresh; there's no way to know when you could need it.”
Harry finally looked up at Bob. “To have the what fresh?”
“The knowledge,” Bob repeated, very slowly.
Harry stared at Bob for a moment; the ghost had an very serious expression on his face. “Let me see if I got it right,” Harry said. “You're saying that the events in fairy tales actually happened?”
“Well, not all fairy tales; some are just derivative works, with cuts and addenda. But the closest thing you'll get is from the Brothers Grimm. I should know about it; I spent nearly a hundred years upset over the fact that I wasn't credited as a source, never mind the most important.”
“You helped the Brothers Grimm in their research of those folktales?”
“I dictated the stories to those boys. Most of them I'd witnessed myself over the course of the centuries; the others I got from very reliable sources.”
“Why hadn't you told me anything about that before?”
“Because you've never had a Grimm's book around before.”
“And you were sore.”
Bob shrugged. “Maybe. A little. Considerably less than a few years ago...”
Harry held up a snicker. “Very well,” he said. “I'm going to fix myself that salad and I'll read the book while I eat. I can take it to Murphy to the station tomorrow morning.”
“Um. You wouldn't mind reading it aloud, would you? I'd like to know how much the stories were butchered by the translator.”
“I've heard they butcher them for the children's editions, such as this one,” Harry said, pointing Murphy's book with a finger.
Bob winced. “Yes, I've heard that too, but-”
“But you wanna know how bad it is,” Harry said. “Fine, I'll read them aloud and you'll fill in the blanks for me, okay?”
“Good.”
“But I'm still eating first.” Harry stood up and went to the kitchen, the Easy Cooking book under his arm.
“Just try not to burn the place down, please!”
“Will you please stop using my own jokes against me?” Harry whined, though he was smiling.
There were a lot of things Harry didn't know about Bob; he truly needed to ask him about the famous-and infamous-people he'd met.
And maybe make a good use of this new potential way to make money; Harry was sure he had some friends who could connect him with a couple of big editorials, who in turn might be interested in some historical fantasy novels. He might even become a bestseller.
Or maybe just make a few bucks, which was what mattered.
Of course, Harry'd make sure to credit Bob as his main source of historical information; he could be desperate, but he most certainly wasn't an ingrate.