Teach Me What You Know (Josh and Madison)

Guest

Madison Bishop had never truly been stumped before, and even with the difficult challenge given by Josh, she had only needed to spend the rest of the evening thinking about it to decide on a path to take. Power inside the castle had been what she had been told to obtain. She already had Professor Jake convinced she was a little angel, but he wasn't exactly in a high position. Professor Codey was different; she was quite certain that he saw through her. His eyes were the type that told her he didn't miss things. If he saw completely through her innocent act, she wasn't completely certain, but he didn't buy all of it, that much she was sure of.

So, that left her with one option: Professor Daniel, their headmaster. It would be good for her if she managed to convince him to let her do something she normally wasn't. It took her a while to figure out what and how, but once she did, the rest wasn't too difficult.

Rubbing her eyes to make them red, she sat down and waited for a few minutes to get them as raw as possible before bursting into spontaneous tears. Then, running from her room, she moved to the hall, where a sympathetic older year asked her what was wrong; she merely babbled incoherently, crying even harder. After that, the rest fell into place perfectly.

A professor was called, then, when he could do nothing to 'soothe' the sobbing girl, she was sent to the Headmaster's office, where she 'poured her heart out' about how her father had separated her and her sister and she was missing Melody so very much and how her sister was feeling miserable - here she produced a faked letter (that she herself wrote) and showed it to Daniel - and how she wanted to cheer her up but was unable to do anything about it.

About half an hour later, Madison left the room with a free pass to go to Hogsmeade the very next day along with the older years to get something for Melody. It was too easy.

Sunday afternoon found her following a bunch of older years out, tagging along with them although she had no intention of keeping up with their movements. As soon as she was able, she slipped away from them. This time, she wore something much more suited to her age. The bracelet was one her sister had made for her; they exchanged them just before leaving for their term apart.

Slipping into the bar, quietly, she moved to an empty table. Since she was with the group from Hogwarts, there had been no questions this time. Instead, she waited, a slight smirk on her face, for Josh to arrive.

Guest

The two days had passed with little and less in the way of excitement for Josh. Though, that was quite normal for him. With university out for the holidays, he'd gone home for the holidays, to find his home in the usual turmoil that followed Eleanor and Layton Murray around.

The usual conversation had struck up once more. His eligibility for marriage. The prospects of their society, and his usual lack of interest in finding a bride to produce heirs and continue the Murray line. Most of the time, it was as if Josh was invisible as they continued to argue over dinner as if he wasn't there. As if he couldn't make his own decisions. Josh didn't mind though, the more they ignored his presence, the less he had to talk to them.

It had been a welcome change for Joshua to get away from the Murray manor house, especially when it was to see a witch he wasn't sure could pull off such a feat as the one he'd tasked her with. Apparating up to Hogsmeade, Josh had flashed a quick glance up the street to see if there was anyone familiar around before stepping in to The Three Broomsticks.

There, at one of the tables was the witch he'd come to see. Madison Bishop, as his research had provided. Halfblood, eldest of a set of twins. Twelve, and thought she was bigger than she was. In Josh's opinion. He had a lot of work to do before Madison would become of any use, but there was plenty of time.

"Madison." Josh greeted, taking a seat opposite the witch, taking off his jacket and laying it on the seat beside him. "What news do you have?" His question was straight to the point because he didn't want to waste his time. Either she had something of worth, or she would no longer be of use.

Guest

It was not long till the person she had been expecting arrive, and the moment he did, she noticed him. He was hard to miss if one knew what to look for, or sense, rather. She wasn't sure if was her imagination but she could feel the atmosphere changing the moment he walked in, but didn't bother to sit straighter or adjust her body posture. No, that would be trying too hard and Madison was certain he would notice her doing so.

"Josh," she replied, keeping to the curt greeting he had given and not adding anything else.

He went straight to business, and for that, she was pleased. He did not waste time, and neither did she - unless the situation called for it, of course. She glanced around the bar, once, then back at him. "I'm here," she replied, simply, and then let the time it took for a single heartbeat to pass before continuing, "I'm here with direct permission from the headmaster himself; I am the only second year currently in Hogsmeade with explicit instructions from the Headmaster to buy something - to shop."

She left it at there. She could have explained how she had done it, or what tactics she had used, or how she had read Professor Daniel. But Josh had not asked for that, and she did not intend to give any. Instead, she hid a smirk - she didn't want to come across as too confident - and placed her hands on her lap, gently, as so many nannies tried to teach her to do, and waited for his reply.

If it would be enough, she honestly wasn't sure. But if it wasn't, she would think of something else, and then even more if that was not enough. One thing was for certain - Madison would not quit till either she got what she wanted, or died in the process.

Guest

Thankful to be getting straight down to business, Josh listened to the witch speak. Yes, she was here, that much he could see, and he knew that she shouldn't be here given her age. The explanation of how she'd gotten here was one that was obvious, given that to be here and not be in trouble would mean she bent some professor's will to let her go.

Manipulation, yes, but... it wasn't big enough.

Not for Josh.

He waited, for perhaps longer than was necessary in the hope that the witch would continue on with the explanation that had started, but when nothing more came, Josh let out a small sigh. However, the waiter came to their table, and after Josh had ordered, for both of them, a butterbeer (he didn't care if the witch liked the drink, she would be drinking it anyway) his eyes turned to the witch.

"I shouldn't blame you, really. You're a child, and when asked for something big, it is inherently small to an adult." Josh explained, his tone neutral. No disappointment, no positive reflection on her achievement, just the notion that what she'd done hadn't been enough to impress him.

There was a pause, he hadn't asked her to talk, so hopefully she wouldn't.

"Its a start." Josh added, looking away from the witch for a moment, taking in the room around them before his eyes setlled back on the witch across from him. "Next time, you need to think like an adult. Yes, you may be a child, but if you want to make something of yourself, you need to think bigger." Josh explained, though she probably already knew that by now.

"Now, what have you come to me for specifically. You'll develop everything, I can assure you of that, but I need to know what you are trying to achieve."

Guest

No matter how hard she tried, she just could not get a read on the man. His silence either meant he was not pleased, or he was simply playing her. Either way, she was determined not to leave empty handed, even if it meant dancing with the devil himself. Afraid was not something she often felt - if ever - and this was no exception to that. Looking back at him with that pleasant smile on her face, she simply waited as well, leaning back in a relaxed position while he ordered.

The sigh that had come before that, however, was worrying, and she was beginning to wonder if she should have done something more. What, though, she honestly had no clue. It was frustrating to her that he wanted more than she was able to give, but at the same time, Madison was excited, because she knew it was only by trying things she wasn't capable of doing that she would improve.

As Josh began to talk, she listened, trying to get something - anything - out of the way he spoke or the actions he made with his body. But, once again, he was as cold as stone, displaying nothing other than, well, absolutely nothing.

She could not argue with his logic, however, and if it was a bad thing or not, she couldn't be a hundred percent sure, although she had an inkling that it was so.

The time ticked by, and she bit back the urge to reply. She did not want to do anything to sabotage her chances, which were already looking rather grim at that moment. While not exactly the most pessimistic person in the world, Madison made sure to draw a line between positivity and being foolishly optimistic, and so, decided that there was still a possibility that he would agree to help her.

His next words brought a little more optimism to this; 'start' implied there would be more to come, and as he moved on to the words 'next time', she knew for sure that she had done it. Madison was in - or rather, Josh was in. Either way, she was getting what she wanted, which meant she was satisfied, but that did not mean he wouldn't change his mind later on. So, she still paid very close attention to what he was saying, keeping a grin off her face.

That would be unprofessional, and Madison Bishop was never unprofessional.

Normally, being told of things she already knew irked her, but as it was coming from her now-mentor, she nodded, telling him that she understood, but didn't say anything just yet. He had not made it clear that it was her turn in the conversation and that meant she was to keep quiet.

Finally, the question came, and although she already knew what she wanted the most, she let a second pass before sitting straighter. "Like you said before, I am a child. I can only think like a child, and that does nothing in the long run. I have 5 years before I'm an adult, but by then, people will expect me to think like one. I want to learn to think like an adult - to think like you - now. An adult mindset with a body and innocent looks of a child will take me far." She paused, smirked a little, and added, "Combined with everything else you will be teaching me, of course."

Guest

Josh was happy that the witch knew her place. Not speaking until she was invited to - even if the invite was silent - this witch knew. That made this easier already, she knew enough to hold her tongue, maturity already showing in the witch.

Useful.

The notion of thinking like an adult at her age brought one, single nod from Josh. He understood that one. At her age... well, he'd already achieved a lot, but their backgrounds were different, he'd had a better arena to train. This, this was going to take some work.

"You need a project." Josh responded to her words, thinking to himself on what he could give her to get her to work hard. To learn. "You need to find someone that... you can use. You want to manipulate people, to a higher level, you need to work harder. Getting them to do small petty things isn't going to cut it. You need to aim bigger. I need you to find a target. Befriend them, if you want, and learn about them." Josh explained, his tone still as flat as usual, but his eyes... his eyes almost showed something that could be interpreted as enjoyment.

"From there, when you have someone, we will work further." Josh finalised, signalling that he was done talking as he took a sip from his drink, his eyes moving around the room once more.

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» Condolences and Confessions (Of Sorts) (Josh and Madison)
» Teach Me [Dimitri]
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