boldygoing | [IC] Voicemail

“Hey, Crookshanks.” Jim bends for a moment to pat the kneazle’s head in greeting, before following the feline towards the kitchen. Jim may not have a ton of happy memories with most of his family, but the smell of fresh bread is one of them, a warm comfort that reminds him of his grandmother’s cooking. Better days, perhaps. Younger days, anyway.

It’s enough to make him relax a little, as he and Crookshanks seek out the lady of the house.

As he enters the kitchen, Hermione is pulling out fresh hot-cross buns from the oven. There is a nice selection of jams and jellies on the table.

"Hi Jim! Take a seat!" There is a light covering of snow in the garden right now. Crookshanks jumps up on a cat perch, that is near the table.

There is a small gift-wrapped package on the table too.

Jim has never really had a problem making himself comfortable in unfamiliar places, so he doesn’t hesitate one moment before claiming a seat at the table. “I didn’t know you baked, too. Those smell pretty good.”

He casts a curious glance at the gift. It’s pretty small, as most Hanukkah presents tend to be, though it doesn’t give him any hints as to what it might be. After six nights, he still isn’t entirely sure what to expect. But maybe part of the point is for him to get out more, stop holing up at his apartment so he doesn’t have to deal with the same old nonsense he usually gets from people this time of year. Pitying looks, ‘your father was a hero,’ ‘tell us what it’s like to follow in his footsteps,’ that kind of thing. Whether or not that’s what Hunter meant to do, the break from all that has been a relief.

"I learned how to bake from my mother. And without my parents around, it just became second nature for me." Plus it was a handy skill, when Harry and Hermione were on the run from the Dark Lord. It meant that they could enjoy a good dessert, even when times were tough.

She sees him measuring the gift with a look. "It is your gift. You do not have to wait for me to open it. I am here to explain a little about it."

The note on the gift express Hunter's deepest desire for Jim.
I hope you can always feel free to express your thoughts

Well, that just gets him even more curious. "It needs explaining?"

Jim pulls the gift closer, reading the note scrawled on the package, before he begins to unwrap it. He's never really gotten many gifts before, so he's not sure if he's supposed to be all careful and methodical about it... but that's not really his style anyway. He tears at the paper, intrigued to see what Hunter has chosen for him this time.

"There are a few enchantments on it..."

Hermione brings the baking to the table, and waits for Jim to unwrap his gift. She smiles, watching him tear at the paper. Crookshanks jumps onto the table, attacking a stray piece of wrapping paper. He is helping.

Inside the gift is a empty journal. The cover is painted with the star constellations (as seen from Earth). As soon as Jim touches the book, the constellations move, floating across the journal cover.

"The journal is bonded to you, and only you Jim. No matter what you write in it... no one else will be able to read what you write. Not even me. Not even Hunter."

An actual paper book. Not quite as rare in Hunter's time as it is in Jim's, but still a treasure nonetheless. The moving stars catch his attention immediately, and he watches in fascination as they drift across the cover only to reappear on the other side, like watching the night sky wheeling overhead.

Jim has kept a captain's log, during his time in command of the Enterprise, but it's something that's audio only, spoken aloud, and subject to review by Starfleet at their leisure. He runs his hand over the cover, flipping it open to see the blank pages inside, just waiting to be written.

"That's... really cool." He honestly doesn't know what to say. "I'd bet you helped with that, right? Thank you."

"I did."

"It has an extension charm on the pages, so you can write for years without running out of paper. It also has several protection charms, so it can not be destroyed by any physical and magical means. And if you ever have to leave it behind... you just have to think about the journal, and it will reappear at your side."

Years? He'd thought it was impressive before, but that's... above and beyond anything he would've expected from a present like this. And being able to summon it at will? "I'd ask you how that works, but I'm pretty sure the answer is 'magic.'"

"Actually... my gift to you is this..." Hermione places a binder onto the table, which has a little red bow on it. Inside is a detailed report about the science, behind the magic, which made the gift possible.

She knows him so well already. Jim takes the binder and pages through it, just enough to get the gist of what he's looking at. It's damn near as comprehensive as the kind of report he'd get on the ship. "You compiled all this yourself?"

"Yes. I found some wonderful research material in the Grand Library, so that I could compile the facts and figures into a more translatable manner."

"Hermione, this is... fantastic. Thank you." The amount of work she's put into this to appease his scientific curiosity is above and beyond what he ever would've asked for, and he's eager to spend a few hours reading it thoroughly to absorb it all. More research to pour into the fount of knowledge in his head, never knowing what might come in handy someday.

"I was more than happy to do it." It was a project! Hermione enjoys having a bunch of little projects to work on.

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