After finishing up his
grindylow study, a sodden Lupin shuffled off to his private quarters for a hot shower and a change of clothes. He was starting to nurse a perverse fondness for
Stephen's hideous coat - it was comfortable and smelled rather nice, and certainly was no more appalling than some of the clothing he'd worn in the 1970's. (That
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"You'll notice I've been making good use of your magnificent birthday present." He indicated the desk, which Stephen had given him to replace the one he had accidentally destroyed during their Transfiguration lessons. "And do help yourself to the rum... it's good stuff. A bit unusual, but good." He took an eye-watering swallow of his own rum, feeling the warmth penetrate into his still-chilly bones.
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Stephen closed the door behind him and, sitting, poured himself a tot of pirate rum. He was not opposed to alcohol in general, really, only to the effects of overindulgence in it, particularly on hapless sailors. This rum was ... odd, especially strong. He decided it would be impolite to comment on his host's choice of liquor, and anyhow the stuff was not unpleasant. In fact, it had a certain je ne sais quoi.
"I am afraid my own notes may not be of much use," he admitted, giving Lupin the notebook to look over. Most of the notes had more to do with general observations of the lake's flora and fauna, not so much to do with the grindylow, and he was still unsatisfied with his preliminary sketch of the hatchlings.
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He took another drink of rum and pushed The Origin of Species across the desk to Stephen. "This book explains how species become more suited to their habitats over time, and it explains why the grindylow lay so many eggs. It's so the babies can compete and pass their survival traits on to the next generation. I really recommend you read it. It's one of the most important scientific texts of all time. It changed everything. It was published in 1859, so I suppose it postdates you a bit... when were you born, anyway?"
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