Gideon Prewett, sheet of parchment, October 1974

[hexed_gideon]

Name: Gideon Prewett
Format: Sheet of parchment with an excerpt from an encyclopaedia and additional notes
Date: Approx. October 1974
Relevance: This sheet of parchment was found in one of the drawers in G. Prewett's desk after his death. It reveals his interest in political use of the media and his possible subsequent involvement in a group

Comments

[corviform]

I sometimes think you make a point of being mysterious, Prewett. Any excuse to get your red pen out, is that it?

[hexed_gideon]

*grins disarmingly* Not on purpose. You know, it's not my fault everybody and their dog had to go digging through my papers after my demise. What did they expect to find? Clearly labelled bits with no riddle about the at all?
*arches one eyebrow, amused* You're not implying that I caved and took at least one of those awful quills from the office home with me, are you?

[corviform]

*grins* Some of us burnt our notes. Or tried to. I'm not sure if that makes me more or less mysterious.

*mildly* I like to think that if you had, I would have found it and ridiculed you. *glances up at him with a small smirk* Mercilessly. Though I was talking about your editor's ink.

[hexed_gideon]

*laughs briefly* Less mysterious if you succeeded, more mysterious if there are left-over bits and pieces that people will try to decipher.

*flirtatiously* Oh, absolutely. I wouldn't have stood for anything less. *matter-of-factly* That was simply the ink still in my travel quill, and for a few notes, I couldn't be bothered to charm the colour to something less inquisitorial.

[viridigitus]

So who was trying to censor you? Unless it's the Prophet's usual attempt at 'reporting' because we all know how unbiased that is.

[hexed_gideon]

Oh, not me personally. I don't publish anything of any relevance to current issues. The editor-in-chief had been putting up mild censoring measures up throughout the year, enforced by copy editors like me.

[viridigitus]

*raises her eyebrows in surprise*
So the other way around then? I really wouldn't have thought you'd be the type to do that sort of thing.

[hexed_gideon]

The other way around? You could say that.
*very dryly*
Does that make me a better person in your eyes?

[tatty_cardigan]

All that red ink! For a moment there I thought I was looking at a paper Severus graded.

[hexed_gideon]

*grins*
You know, it's teachers' and copy editors' priviledge to have access to this particular ink colour. The added bonus is that it's charmed against smudges.

[tatty_cardigan]

*waves red ink, grinning madly*

I've joined your little club, you see.

[hexed_gideon]

*huffs amusedly*
So I heard. Are you having red ink orgies, then, or do you prefer a different colour?

[lily_tiger]

*furrows brow* Why would you need to copy out the definition of censorship when you work for the Prophet? It's like a fish looking up water in the Encyclopaedia Britannica.

And I want to hear more about this anti-censorhip group. You can buy me a drink at lunchtime while you tell me all about it. *grins*

[hexed_gideon]

*faint smile* Yes, it is rather.
*more seriously* This is a definition I got from a Muggle encyclopaedia at the British Library. I wrote it out to compare it to those from Wizarding encyclopaedias, and they didn't do all that well in comparison.
*wryly* When the editor-in-chief isn't almost married to the Minister of Magic, I believe there could be such a thing as a good Prophet. Although that is rather hypothetical, I suppose.

*huffs* Certainly.

Um, when do they talk about this? The paper is from 1974, so Lily's still at school. By the time she leaves school, G's already joined the Order and probably left the anti-censorship group to not make himself seem suspicious in any way.

[lily_tiger]

*frowns* I'm sure there's a joke to be made about the lack of material on censorship in Wizarding encyclopaedias, but I can't quite think of it. Might even be funny if it wasn't true.

A paper is only as good as the stories it prints. *sighs* Which sadly doesn't say anything good about the Prophet.

Ah, I hadn't even thought about that! OK, how about we make it when Lily's at the Prophet - Gideon could fill her in about what went on before or they could just chat about censorship generally?

[hexed_gideon]

*nods* As it is, it's dismaying if anything. But it was to be expected, wasn't it? It's something of a blind spot where your own are concerned.

*shrugs*
Well, there are good stories once in a while. Only investigative journalism covering a very specific topic isn't to be found among them.

That sounds lovely! They'd talk about something like that. Maybe they should go for a pub lunch on a workday?

[capitis_sepenti]

Oh, I wanted to ask if this had anything to do with Lucius and the Prophet but then realized the dates didn't add up! But I am greatly intrigued - especially by what the Netherlands has to do with this.

[hexed_gideon]

Hee, glad you like it! :) Rabastan ist still very much at school during the time this post relates, too, of course.
The Netherlands have always played a large role for censorship in Europe, because they were an island of free press for much of the time. Most controversial books were published in Amsterdam and The Hague when the authors found themselves banned from picking up so much as a pencil in their home countries. :)

[capitis_sepenti]

Oh! Does this mean Gideon is trying to get something contriversial published?

[hexed_gideon]

No, other people are trying that. Gideon's a copy editor, i.e. he has to enforce censorship rules (obviously not a favourite of his) imposed by the editor-in-chief, and he's been trying to find things on censorship in the Wizarding world, but drew pretty much a blank. :)