Thread: The Dirty Part of Physics [ClockworkCadence ║ Ryees]

Department of Magical Law Enforcement. A female voice with a thick British accent pleasantly assaulted the senses after the crude clank of the lift jolting to a halt graced the ears and body both with a jarringly uncomfortable feeling. It had only been a few seconds, but it became blaringly obvious that the daily trip on this wonderful steel deathtrap was going to be absolutely thrilling. What a great way to start the day. The dazed woman on the inside promptly stumbled out, heaving a breath to collect herself and ignoring the perplexed stares of those still in the lift that quickly shifted out of sight as she stood for a moment next to the dark wall, taking in her surroundings. The hallways seemed to extend and branch out like a tree from this central pointit wasnt particularly difficult to navigate for those familiar with the layout, but for a newcomer such as her, this place was practically labyrinthine. The Ministry really should have had a tourist center, or at the very least, a mapbut instead, they preferred to torture their foreigners in this bizarre hazing ritual. They must have atrociously slow work days to come up with this dastardly plan. Low-heeled boots tapped dully against the sleek tile as wide sapphire eyes scanned every door that passed by, trying and miserably failing to find their destination. She hoped at least one person would get a chuckle out of finding her pathetically lost corpse steps away from where she was supposed to be. Her ghost would certainly be laughing. Everything was labeled with names, far less easy to track than the numbers shed seen in organizations she was used to working inwhat was she looking for again? Professor Sherlin? A tan hand reached to fiddle with the straps on her leather bag, its gaping maw opening for her as she pulled out a crisp piece of parchment, scanning its contents for any indication as to what she was getting herself into. AhAdvanced Defense. Right there near the top of the page. There was an odd twist in her stomach as she considered what that might mean for her. Would this be actual defense, or offense hiding under the guise of self-defense? Olivia Hudson was many things, but an impressive combatant was not one of them. She could certainly hold her ownthere was no way she could have become an Auror otherwisebut that was all that could be said about the subject. The rest of her seemed to scream pacifismher international liaising, her specialty in healing and protective spells, even her bright and gentle face. Her presence in these halls wouldnt have happened if not for her cooperation with the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and the Department of International Magical Cooperation here. Halls that had been for the most part quiet, but now were echoing withlaughter? Unsettling laughter? Dark brown hair whirled gently in the air as her head turned towards the sound, spying a rather frustrated man stalking away from a shaking door, its hinges creaking as its cackling threatened to shake it from its frame. For a moment, the dumbstruck woman just stood there, processing just what in the word happened. This door was enchanted to just laugh at people who tried to enter? What kind of three ring circus from hell was this place? First the Lift of Doom, then the Labyrinth of No Return, and now the Door of Humiliation? Howd she manage to get a ticket to this shit-show for free? Regardless, it was at least relieving to know she wouldn't have the privilege of meeting the friendly neighborhood sentient slab of wood. All she was looking for was a simple classroom. Her search resumed in that direction, a bit apprehensive of approaching in case it just laughed at any passerby. She tried to put it out of her mind, instead focusing on the names floating byD. Ardent, E. Midwell, A. Caldwell, M. Sherlin Sherlinah, shed finally found it. With a triumphant grin, she turned towards the entrance. ...If the door could see her face in that surprised moment of realization, itd surely have laughed itself off its hinges. Professor Sherlin was the mastermind behind this unsettling entity? Of all things he could have done, he chose to ward off people with this? Yet the door didnt start laughinginstead, its attention seemed to lean its inflexible body towards the parchment in her hands. Diddid it want to see it? A curious hand offered the paper, opened so the door could read, if that was a thing it could do. Within a few awkward seconds, the door seemed to be satisfied, a loud click cutting through the silence as it creaked open to let her enter. As Olivia stepped through the doorframe with a bit of fascination, she came face-to-face with a classroom that generally seemed normal at first glancea blackboard, some desks, chairs, and most other things that could be found in a typical classroom. Her gaze locked onto a tall figure writing dutifully with chalk, his demeanor oddly disconcerting as his focus was a laser pointed onto the task before him, not even seeming to notice that anyone else was in the room with him. It was an intriguing sort of concentration that was intense enough to burn holes in the board, if it were given a physical form. Out of curiosity, she glanced at the contents of his large desk at the middle of the classroom, noting the peculiarly precise stacks of papers, the clocks with what seemed to be purposely different times, andwas that an armadillo? Sure enough, as she passed, the statue-like stillness of the bronze animal was only betrayed by its beady eyes that followed her, its intense and disapproving expression scorching her back as she walked up towards a seat in the back of the class, preferring to sit quietly and observe in new areas until she learned the culture of the people and the classroom. As other people began to take seats around her, she took note of subtle behaviors she might need to display to better relate to these people, a habit of her ambassador-like career. Seemingly satisfied with the information shed gathered after a few minutes of people-watching, a soft hand reached down to pull out her notebook and a regular pen, ready for the lesson to beginshe wasnt too fond of the tendency to use quills here. The scraping of the chalk on the board was quiet, yet it was very apparent when it stoppedOlivias attention flickered to the man at the front of the class as he turned, gaze calculating and almost as cold as the chills that ran down her spine from the sound of the chair scraping on the floor. Her attention vaguely noticed the precision in his placement of the chair, right before he began to speak. His voice held an even tone that seemed unsettlingly devoid of emotion and almost robotic, oddly no accent present to flavor his words despite living in this area. Yet what was even more peculiar was his instruction to follow the directions he'd writtendirections that weren't even there. Wasn't he just writing moments ago? Um, Professor? There isn't anything on the board. Some brave soul decided to speak up, a young man eager to learn. Eager, that is, until a horrifyingly loud creak came from the entrance, the door bulging as it seemed to inhale, a strong gust whipping around the classroom as the man was promptly picked up by the wind and sucked into a gaping mouth that opened on the door. The sound of his body landing with a dull thump was heard muffled through the walls, barely audible over the shocked silence stretching across the classroom. Professor! A timid girl squeaked in horror, standing up apprehensively. What's going on? Standing seemed to only give the wind an easier time with picking her up, eaten by the door only to be promptly deposited on the other side. More indignant and shocked protests rose, all quickly silenced as they fell on top of each other outside. Within a couple minutes, only a few students remained sitting in the classroom, some too terrified to speak, others trying to process what just happened. Olivia was one of the latter, bewilderment clear in the blue sea of her gaze as she shifted her attention to Professor Sherlin, his nose buried in his writing. For a moment, he glanced up, a bizarre expression on his face as if he was surprised by something, but this barely lasted a few seconds before he focused back down on his notebook as if nothing had happened. Did he not even have any control over what was happening? Were they all slaves to the demented door? His plain words ghosted back to her, bringing her attention to the fact that he seemed to be waiting for them to follow the directions he'd written. Maybe it was time to figure all this out. A hand flipped her notebook open, her swift but neat handwriting taking note of the facts Writing, but no words. Directions are said to be present. Questions are met with a terrifying elimination procedure. Door may or may not have taken over control of the classroom. Professor Sherlin may or may not be merely a puppet. That was about all she could gathernow came the fun part of piecing it all together. Door has unknown ulterior motives. Professor Sherlin may be under mind control. No, none of these thoughts were very useful. The man seemed very capablevery focused on anything but teaching, but still intelligent. There wasnt any way he would be sitting in front of them if he didnt have a lesson to teach. So if this was a lesson Writing. No words. Chalk enchanted to be invisible? A lesson in using wit and innovation? Mention this and risk angering the door? Revelio? Her pen paused on the dot of the question mark, gears in her mind turning as she considered her options. He didnt say solve the riddle, hed just said follow the directions as if he expected them to not verbally address this conundrum. That meant Revelio? A bewildered voice whispered next to her, sapphire eyes shifting to find a chocolate gaze downcast at her writing before flickering to the board in sudden realization. The small womans wand quickly found her hand as she repeated the phrase more confidently now, the board suddenly coming to life with stark white writing. Olivias attention shifted to the board too, a bit of satisfaction from finding that she was right bubbling to her chest. Though most would expect that airiness to be weighed down by jealousy at not having been the one to provide the answer, her heart was only a bit uncomfortable with the idea that someone had stolen away her idea. In all honesty, she was just grateful that the door hadnt reacted to this and that they could finally progress and read the directions. They were all in this togethersurely this was a good development no matter who brought it.