the candyman can, 'cause he mixes it with love

[cleverness]

Although she'd easily accumulated a rather full library over the years, Hermione Granger wasn't in the habit of keeping a great deal of knick-knacks in her possession. Magic made it a great deal easier to store and rifle through a large quantity of belongings, but Hermione had spent her years well-divided between the Muggle and the magical world, and in the former, clutter only became troublesome, and occasionally a point of contention between herself and her parents. So when the island had decided to gift her with a series of hourglasses of various shapes and sizes, Hermione had sighed, for she wasn't sure of their purpose and felt relatively bad about the rarely used conche she kept tucked away in a corner of the hut. By its side rested a large basket of cocoa beans she'd harvested some time ago.

Perhaps it was time to donate both to the Compound.

While the conche had been equipped with wheels for ease of moving, its heavy weight still had Hermione huffing for breath by the time she reached the Compound, cheeks bright pink from the exertion. She glanced briefly from the main building to the bakery across the path, before seating herself down on the beaten path, drying her forehead with the back of a hand. "Leave the chocolate to someone else," she reasoned to herself.

Comments

[king_ofcups]

Sometimes, Walter went for a nice walk in the open air.

Sometimes, once he'd been on that walk for a time, he forgot where it was he'd been going. Luckily, when Olivia wasn't with him, he managed to remember not to stray far, and never to leave the boardwalk. The boardwalk, he knew, would eventually return him to the compound.

It was quite convenient.

Along the way, he came across the bakery, which was well worth the detour. However, the young woman and her apparatus caught his eye.

"Are you all right, my dear?"

[cleverness]

Blinking at the familiar voice, Hermione chided herself for not having noticed Walter's approach. She'd yet to miss a single one of his classes, finding the subject fascinating, even if there were times when she felt that the presentation of the lessons could use a touch of work. Walter Bishop seemed to be a man far more academically invested in the knowledge than in teaching, which was perfectly fine as far as lessons went, but it made following his reasoning a bit harder.

And resulted in her raising her hand far less often on the island than she might have, back home.

"Oh, Doctor Bishop," she greeted with a quick nod, smiling. "I'm fine— perfectly fine, erm. I just had something that I thought would perhaps be best transferred over to the kitchen, as I've had it by my hut for about a year and haven't used it more than twice."

[king_ofcups]

"Well, it's rather unfortunate for you that an old man has come along to help you push, but I think we can manage, don't you?" he offered, because he'd been heading in that direction already.

Hadn't he?

"This is quite a nice piece of machinery. You're interested in chocolate making?"

[cleverness]

"More than," she agreed with a wide grin, rising to her feet to be polite, and resting one hand on the machine as she gave it a somewhat disheartened glance. "And... as for my interest, I have to admit that I'd never had much of a desire to try my hand at making chocolate before, but it was approximately a year ago that the island graced me with this. My friends from home, they're all very fond of the sweet, so I gave it a few attempts."

Her nose wrinkled.

"I'm pretty sure when they assured me of its lovely taste, that they were just trying to be kind."

[king_ofcups]

"Well, that's why you have to experiment. Have a bit of fun, until you perfect your recipe. Unfortunately, you must learn, as a scientist, to become accustomed to throwing a lot of hard work in the garbage."

There were times he'd spent months on the same formula. Attempt after attempt, getting absolutely nowhere, then finally arriving at a breakthrough.

[cleverness]

"I... have to admit," Hermione said with a slight cringe, "I've never been much of a scientist. Or, at least, I've never had the opportunity to try my hand at it. Back home, I had to stop my studies before my seventh year, which is when students are typically allowed to take up our own individual research projects and be a bit freer, if you will, with our work. I usually try to follow instructions to the letter, which works for the most part, but then with things like this, somehow it doesn't entirely translate."

She bit down on her lower lip.

"But if you think it'd be... a good idea to try it again, I would be more than happy to give it a go."

[king_ofcups]

"I think giving it another go would be a wonderful idea," Walter said. She'd always seemed to him to be an unusually bright young woman, with sharp mind and undeniable strength of character. She was, perhaps, a bit rigid, but he could see the potential for real greatness in her. Candy making might not have been her calling, but as a little aside project, it could certainly be a bit of fun.

"If you'd like an assistant, I'd be more than happy to oblige."

[cleverness]

Lips curving into a bit of an unbelieving smile— although really, she told herself, she should have known better; since when was anything really out of the question for Walter Bishop?— Hermione nodded, smile quickly widening. She didn't have too much time in her day to spare, but what was available to her often fell in the times when Harry and Ron were both off to class. (The drawbacks of not having communicated well enough during registration, she'd said.) Why not put it to productive use?

"I have the feeling that I'd be more your assistant, sir, but I would be... very grateful for the opportunity," replied Hermione with a widening grin. "If you truly don't mind. I've collected plenty of cocoa beans, and I know where to harvest them, so it's simply making the chocolate that eludes me a bit."

[king_ofcups]

"Well, it's your conche, my dear. I wouldn't want to be presumptuous," he said, offering her a playful little smile. "As long as you don't mind my many quirks. I'm told I can be a bit scattered."

That was a gross understatement, but being his student, surely she had already come to that conclusion.

[cleverness]

"Not to sound so bold and self-assured, but I'm fairly certain that I've had good practice in following even the most scattered of instructors," Hermione smiled in return, a touch of color rising to her cheeks. She wasn't the most fond of acknowledging her own skills and strengths, but that she had confidence in them was without a doubt. "And I do already take your class, so I imagine I might understand what I'm in for."

With a slight nod, Hermione glanced around the area, from the Compound to the bakery. "Where do you think we ought to take the conche? There's probably room enough in the kitchen, although it may be a little crowded depending on where exactly we put it."

[king_ofcups]

"There's not a thing wrong with sounding bold or self-assured," Walter said, "Humility has its place, of course, but truly accomplishing something with lasting impact takes a certain amount of arrogance."

He said this, of course, with a hint of mischief, but it was true, none the less.

"The lab is certainly an option. Though, I'm not sure how comfortable you'd be, making candy in the same space I've performed recent autopsies. I can assure you, the space is quite clean, but some people can be squeamish about such things."

[cleverness]

"And that arrogance can also push a person further in the workplace," Hermione nodded, pressing her lips tightly shut. "I know. It takes a balance of humility and confidence to reach one's full potential, though I suppose I've yet to find what I consider to be the perfect balance just yet. Anyway, that's a better conversation for another time."

Her hand raised to press at her lips in surprise at the suggestion; for a minute, Hermione found herself at a loss. "Well, I— I wasn't aware that there was even a need for an autopsy room on the island. Have you been performing autopsies on people? Oh," Hermione's eyes closed shut. "Rapture, perhaps? Believe me, I don't mind using the space, I simply wasn't aware that there was so much going on there, and... feel appropriately ashamed at being so poorly informed."

[king_ofcups]

"Oh, small mammals, for the most part. It's rare that my table is graced with a human specimen," Walter assured her, though it didn't occur to him that she might find such a thing unseemly.

"I must admit, I'd become accustomed to a bit more excitement, in my lab at Harvard."

[cleverness]

"Ahhh," Hermione nodded, her chest immediately loosening in relief. She didn't suppose that there was anything morally wrong about chocolate production taking place in the same area as human autopsies, but the possibility of cross-contamination seemed to hold greater weight in that instance than most. Small mammals, on the other hand, were another matter entirely. Hermione knew very well that animal fat often played a role in any number of popular processed foods.

Harvard, on the other hand, seemed to be a far more interesting topic for conversation.

"What was it like?" Hermione asked, suddenly shy. "Studying at Harvard? It was always my dream to attend Harvard or Oxford, but... as it turned out, what I wanted to study wasn't offered in either location. I've always been curious about what I missed."

[king_ofcups]

"Oh, it was wonderful. Especially in the early days. There was such a powerful sense of... accomplishment. Like anything was possible. There were no boundaries, for us, in those days. In my opinion, the student body has become woefully timid, in recent years. Though, I suppose I'm a bit biased," Walter admitted, "There's a trend toward perceiving our own generation as intellectual pioneers, and the following generations as infantile slackers."

[cleverness]

Her lips initially parted in protest, but soon Hermione calmed— it wasn't meant to be a slight to her personally, she was sure, as there was always exceptions to any rule, and in this type of effort, she felt strongly that she was one. But even she had to admit that there were often times, over the years, when she was frustrated with any number of peers for not putting their all towards innovation and progress.

"I think," Hermione considered, lips pursed, "that there is a threshold beyond which it becomes hard for the average person to push their intelligence or imagination. Every generation hits a ceiling, and it sets that same ceiling for the next, but the next generation still has to start from the same place. They still have to build an understanding of everything that the previous generations have understood. If innovation slows down, I think that serves as a factor, but the fact that we do still end up raising the bar every year speaks a great deal for us as a race."

[king_ofcups]

"Well put, Miss Granger," Walter said, visibly pleased. "I'm aware that it doesn't speak very highly of my character, but I spent the better part of fifteen years in a maximum security mental facility. There are many things about the world and the people in it that seem quite odd to me. And with my mind the way that it is, I'm often locked inside what memories I was allowed to keep. It creates a bit of a problem when trying to live in the present, I suppose."

[cleverness]

"You spent—"

Hermione paused, trying her best to process that information. On one hand, she didn't doubt that Walter Bishop was a bit unbalanced in a way that could truly benefit from more structure in his life. On the other, he'd always seemed, for the most part, capable of engaging with other people to a reasonable degree. It was the ideas that seemed truly out of left field, rarely the man himself.

Then again, ideas were occasionally the most dangerous of all.

"Do you mind if I ask for what reason?"

[king_ofcups]

"I became... concerned at my arrogance. I believed my work was a serious danger to the very fabric of our universes. I can't recall all the details leading up to the decision, but eventually, I consented to having certain portions of my brain removed. After the procedure, my mind, as one would expect, wasn't as sharp as it had once been. Unfortunately, my instability caused the death of one of my lab assistants. So, my stay at St. Claire's was court ordered," Walter admitted, "I suppose that isn't a shining endorsement for working under my tutelage.

[cleverness]

"Oh my god," Hermione breathed, quickly raising both hands to cover her mouth at the realization, cheeks immediately blanching in shock. While it was understandable that people could be made nervous by their tendencies and propensities, that they could be a legitimate danger to those around them, Hermione could imagine neither consenting to kill part of her brain as a coping mechanism, nor being unable to solidly set aside whatever knowledge or technology had been considered so nervous in the first place. She enjoyed being whole too much to have trouble cutting back on her work and research.

"I hate seeming insensitive, but... yes, that does. That does worry me," she nodded slightly. "But you seem, if distracted, far more even-minded now."

[king_ofcups]

"Well, I've had time to adjust. And I have Agent Dunham to keep me focused. At home, I had my son, but here, I've had to muddle through without him," Walter said with a faint smile, "And I assure you, the dangers involved in the use of a conche are comparably minimal."

[cleverness]

"Oh, I'm not suggesting that I believe you'd somehow hurt me," Hermione shook her head, keeping to herself the fact that she highly suspected that she'd be able to handle herself if push came to shove. "It's more your welfare in general; I can't imagine what it's like trying to come back from such an experience. Did your son know what you were planning before you made the decision?"

[king_ofcups]

"Oh, no. He was hardly more than a boy, at the time," Walter admitted with a pained smile. What memories he had of Peter's childhood were all quite bittersweet, at best.

"During his adolescent years, he and I were not close." Walter, of course, knew why. He never blamed Peter for being angry or for hating what Walter had done.

[cleverness]

"Understandable," Hermione said quietly, still unnerved by the entirety of the situation. With how calmly Walter spoke on the topic, she had no doubt that there were any number of details that she hadn't been made aware of, greater pressures pushing him towards the decision. And maybe it wasn't either her responsibility or her right to pry.

"Well, regardless," she said instead, trying for a smile. "We'll only be making chocolate, and fortunately I don't think that puts any of us at great risk. Indigestion at most."