(really, REALLY sorry for the wait!!!!)

"And it was only noticed when Max returned the book, yes? ...Can you explain what is so special about the apples."

The pressure of an audience had never bothered Edolie before, but the gravity of the situation was getting to her. She was a forgetful person and she found herself cursing her somewhat air-headed nature. It seemed that she could only ever remember things pertaining to her own interests!

As the interview veered towards questions about the apples, Edolie was relieved. "It belongs to our collection from Norse wizards -- some of the first wizards to attempt transfiguration." Edolie recalled the mythology easily, as they were the stories she'd grown up hearing from her parents. "And there's rumors that it's where the idiom 'an apple a day keeps the healer away' originates. These apples.... were once rumored to have youth-enhancing properties."

"Just rumoured, yeah?" Andromeda quickly asked. She stared right at Edolie without blinking. For a curator she had assumed Edolie knew a lot about the apples. She stuck her hand into her scarlet robe and pulled out the museum's guide. "Norse mythology… Odin gave Idunna apple seeds for the garden when she married Bragi. The apples were real gold, transfigured from the legendary apples to preserve them. Supposedly." She shrugged her shoulders and stared at Edolie again. "Do you think people would believe that?"

“Oh, no. Not like that!”

Max forgot the seriousness of the situation and began a rant. This often happened when a subject concerning his interest was brought up. He completely engulfed in the topic, forgetting where he was, with who he was talking and even if the listeners really cared at all about it. His knowledge bottled over, and he felt like everyone should know about the amazing works of it. That it wouldn’t interest everyone else in the same way it interested him was a concept he couldn’t quite grasp.

“Those are the legends. But if you go deeper, and read into the old history of wizarding Scandinavia you can understand so much more.”

That he was surrounded by Aurors, and that he probably should keep quiet until someone addressed him was something Max didn’t realise.

“According to Scandinavian Sorcerers in Medieval Times, written by Sigismund Kulle in 1902, Idunna was a great sorceress hailing from southern Sweden. She was described as being the fairest witch of her time and when she finally married Bragi, many of her old suitors became jealous. Odin, a Norwegian warlock, tried to win her back by giving her a wedding gift in the form of the Idunna Apples. Odin, a skilled alchemist and transfigurator, allegedly charmed the apples with the power to give eternal youth and beauty, much like the Philosopher’s Stone. The spells and charms involved in this are extremely complicated and involves experimenting that could go on for years. One possible way would be to something called the Trismegistus Method that involves…”

Max caught himself ranting and trailed off. A blush broke out across his face and he quietly took a step back, fixing his eyes on the floor.

Time and place, Maxie. Time and place.

Just after Andromeda asked Edolie if people would believe the rumours, there was an interruption. A boy who looked young enough to be at school still seemed to think the question was for him. Andromeda frowned. He did seem to know a lot about it.
"Six foot essay." Andomeda told him, deadpan. "By the end of the day." She raised her eyebrows and gave a little smile. "Your young assistant knows more about them than you, Ms Fern." Andromeda inhaled breath as if that hurt and furrowed her brow. "Is that true?"

"Oh, no. Not like that!"

The intern went on to explain, in precise detail, the history of the Indunna apples. Edolie's eyes widened with surprise, for she didn't know that Maximus was so knowledgable on the subject. Edolie had known him as a student during her brief stint as the Ancient Runes professor at Hogwarts, but even working alongside him at the museum, she was unaware of how much he was learning. There was part of Edie that felt ashamed for being shown up by someone so much younger than her -- and another part felt very proud that the museum had such a well-informed staff.

Blushing, Edolie looked back at the aurors once Maximus finished his explanation. The female auror seemed to share Edie's amazement at Maximus' knowledge. The blush deepened when Gamp accused her of being less educated about the apples than her younger employee.

"Well- it seems that it is," Edolie said bashfully. "I started working here just a few weeks ago. I'm still getting familiar with all of the exhibits," Edolie explained. She hated making excuses for herself; there was no reason for her to be this ill-informed. After all, she knew the essential history and mythology associated with the apples. She resolved to study each of the artifacts at the museum even more -- it was vastly important, as was proven by this incident. "I'll have to ask Maximus to give me a tour," she added lightly, smiling and winking at the boy. She was making her best attempt to ease the tension of the whole situation. This was, after all, a seriously trying time for everyone in the room.

Andromeda could excuse Fern for not remembering every scrap of history. She swung her boots round. Looking to Neville and the boy she leaned back.
"And how come you're so clued up on it, kid?"