Practical Uses Of A Lemon Drop
Title: Practical Uses Of A Lemon Drop
Rating: G
Characters: Luna, Dumbledore
Genre: Humor
Notes: Written on the demand of
a_white_rain. The poem mentioned within is Jabberwocky, by Lewis Carroll.
“Lemon drop?”
Luna smiled her odd little smile. “Yes, please, that would be lovely.”
Dumbledore chuckled and passed her the tray. There were a number of things he liked about the young Ravenclaw, but the fact that she actually accepted his candy instead of politely declining and moving on to some dreadfully serious topic was one of the things he valued most in her.
“Do you know that lemon drops are a ward against the frumious Bandersnatch?” Luna questioned, rolling the candy off her tongue.
“No, I didn’t,” Dumbledore gave her a quirky smile, taking the tray as she passed it back over, and popping in one of the treats. . “But thank you for informing me, Luna. Where did you hear about this creature?”
“A Muggle named Lewis Carroll wrote a poem mentioning it,” Luna replied, the candy becoming a bulge against her cheek. “He made up a bunch of silly words too, but that Bandersnatch... my father said that one was real, and that it lived up in Iceland. He’s going there next week to find it.”
“Ah, Carroll,” Dumbledore said thoughtfully, rolling the candy in his mouth as he did so. “I think I remember that poem. My favorite word in there is ‘frabjous’. It’s a portmanteaux- a fusion of two words.”
“Really?” Luna leaned in forward, and he was reminded that she was a Ravenclaw, with a thirst for knowing, for understanding. “Why don’t we ever learn these sorts of things in class? Knowing how to ward off a frumious Bandersnatch or about portmanteaux, those are useful facts.”
“I agree completely,” Dumbledore chuckled lightly, peering at her over his glasses with a secretive look. “But let’s just let my staff keep thinking they’re doing a good job, hmm? It would just crush them if they learned they weren’t teaching the smart things, like the practical uses of a lemon drop or about the unknown creatures like the Bandersnatch.”
“Frumious Bandersnatch,” Luna corrected absently.
Dumbledore smiled and chuckled again- of all the people he knew, only Luna had the nerve to actually correct him so casually, so informally.
“Of course. My mistake. But what do you say Luna?” Dumbledore leaned over, a conspiratorial grin on his face. “Can you keep this secret between us?”
Luna sighed. “Okay. I guess it would be a shame if Professor Snape learned he wasn’t teaching anything useful. He might finally get an aneurysm.”
“That, my dear, is a very real possiblity.”
Rating: G
Characters: Luna, Dumbledore
Genre: Humor
Notes: Written on the demand of
a_white_rain. The poem mentioned within is Jabberwocky, by Lewis Carroll.
“Lemon drop?”
Luna smiled her odd little smile. “Yes, please, that would be lovely.”
Dumbledore chuckled and passed her the tray. There were a number of things he liked about the young Ravenclaw, but the fact that she actually accepted his candy instead of politely declining and moving on to some dreadfully serious topic was one of the things he valued most in her.
“Do you know that lemon drops are a ward against the frumious Bandersnatch?” Luna questioned, rolling the candy off her tongue.
“No, I didn’t,” Dumbledore gave her a quirky smile, taking the tray as she passed it back over, and popping in one of the treats. . “But thank you for informing me, Luna. Where did you hear about this creature?”
“A Muggle named Lewis Carroll wrote a poem mentioning it,” Luna replied, the candy becoming a bulge against her cheek. “He made up a bunch of silly words too, but that Bandersnatch... my father said that one was real, and that it lived up in Iceland. He’s going there next week to find it.”
“Ah, Carroll,” Dumbledore said thoughtfully, rolling the candy in his mouth as he did so. “I think I remember that poem. My favorite word in there is ‘frabjous’. It’s a portmanteaux- a fusion of two words.”
“Really?” Luna leaned in forward, and he was reminded that she was a Ravenclaw, with a thirst for knowing, for understanding. “Why don’t we ever learn these sorts of things in class? Knowing how to ward off a frumious Bandersnatch or about portmanteaux, those are useful facts.”
“I agree completely,” Dumbledore chuckled lightly, peering at her over his glasses with a secretive look. “But let’s just let my staff keep thinking they’re doing a good job, hmm? It would just crush them if they learned they weren’t teaching the smart things, like the practical uses of a lemon drop or about the unknown creatures like the Bandersnatch.”
“Frumious Bandersnatch,” Luna corrected absently.
Dumbledore smiled and chuckled again- of all the people he knew, only Luna had the nerve to actually correct him so casually, so informally.
“Of course. My mistake. But what do you say Luna?” Dumbledore leaned over, a conspiratorial grin on his face. “Can you keep this secret between us?”
Luna sighed. “Okay. I guess it would be a shame if Professor Snape learned he wasn’t teaching anything useful. He might finally get an aneurysm.”
“That, my dear, is a very real possiblity.”