The Librarian's Desk IC CLOSED

✿Interacting✿
@Colette Simmons

The library was a place that Willow had frequented much less in her second year, though that didn't mean she didn't study. She still did, but just in the comfort of her dorm or common room. It was her own self mandated exposure therapy for her continuous healing from the fire in her first year just over a year ago. Summer was coming up, and Willow was panicking for some summer reading. A time to do some leisurely reading other than the rigorous amounts they had to read for class, but she was kind of lost. In a way of she didn't know where to start! There were so many lovely wizard books, how could she possibly know what to pick up first? In short, or perhaps in her long winding thoughts, she didn't.

There was something she did know, and that was there was a new librarian in town! Surely if there was anyone to go to, it was her. Between her last classes of the day and dinner Willow hopped on over to the library, still in her school robes, since she wanted to catch the librarian before she left for dinner or for the day. With a bright smile she popped up like a spring daisy in front of the librarian's desk. "Excuse me, Miss Professor Simmons Ma'am," The young girl had always struggled with formalities, but when in doubt use all of them! "I was wondering if you had any recommendations for wizard fiction books? And I was also wondering if we're allowed to take books home over the summer? You see I'm a muggle, so its hard to have access to books like these once I leave. Even if I can't, the recommendations would still be really cool because then I could just read all of them before I leave!" The excitable badger didn't take a breath until her last sentence. A beaming grin never faltering as she spoke.

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Interacting with: @Willow Anderson

Despite the constant stream of activity in the library, sometimes Colette found herself with some downtime. It came in short, in-between moments that let her rest and lie back in her chair. Currently, her downtime was attempting to read some things from Hogwarts: A History, trying to learn a thing or two about the castle while she could not explore it.

It started off as something that peaked her interest because of what she’d heard about the Chamber of Secrets. Next, she grew fascinated with the Room of Requirements. She had yet to find either of the fabled places, but it was something she took note of for when she had the time. After that, the reading became less interesting, because not much peaked her interest. Soon her eyelids felt heavy, and her head lulled in and out of waking and sleeping. Rarely did she let her guard down, but she’d gotten somewhat comfortable on that day, enough for one Willow Anderson to approach unnoticed. It wasn’t until the pink-haired Hufflepuff enthusiastically greeted her that she realized someone was there.

“Holy shi!-….ip wreck.” The witch’s eyes were wide, and she had one hand clutching her chest while the other slammed on the desk. Luckily she was able to recover quickly, enough to avoid cursing at the small child that approached her desk. “Sorry, got a little startled there, uh… Miss C or Miss Simmons is fine.” She would laugh uneasily as she clapped her hands together and got to work. “And I am awake, and ready and um… yes. You said you needed uh, wizard fiction books?” Her head would dart around, looking for a piece of parchment, as her hand dipped her quill in its ink well.

“I know of a few titles that are quite popular, if you haven’t read them yet.” She said as she started to list them down. “But do you have any preferred genres? Like adventure, or romance, or horror?” Many different titles ran through her mind, and she opened a drawer near her to reveal different library cards listing different titles. Before she continued, she paused and looked at the youngling to answer her next query. “Well, I’m not quite sure I can allow you to check out several books over months, especially to the muggle world.” As much as she wanted to enable this student’s love for books, there were laws and things preventing her from doing so. “Wizard secrecy, needing to keep all the books in the library in order and all that.”

An idea struck her, and she started looking for another piece of parchment. “Although…” She said as she started writing again, occasionally lifting her head as if trying to remember before continuing her writing. “Do you happen to live near a library in the muggle world? Or have access to one?” The glint of an idea sparkled in her eyes. Maybe she couldn’t provide what this student needed, but perhaps she could probably provide something that could be equally as good.

✿Interacting✿
@Colette Simmons

Willow couldn't help but giggle a little bit as the librarian was startled, she didn't mean to startle Miss Simmons, but she was smaller than most other students. "Sorry! I didn't mean to scare you Miss Simmons." Her hands were politely folded in front of her as she rocked restlessly back and forth on her heels as if she was ready to dart off once more. The girl was always on the move, and the peaceful ambiance of the library didn't change that. "Wizard fiction books yeah! Not like books about wizards, we have plenty of those in the muggle world. But like, fiction that wizards have written if that makes sense." Her nose scrunched up slightly trying to explain exactly what she meant. Words weren't always her strong suit, unlike her brother who seemed to have words flow effortlessly out of him.

A small hum of thought as she moved to cross her arms on the desk and take a peek at the list she was writing. "Gross, no romance!" She said as if she wasn't growing to be a hopeless romantic, and as if she didn't have a girlfriend that she adored dearly. "Adventure would be cool! I think horror would scare me. Have you ever heard of Disney? I watch a lot of that at home." Perhaps that little bit of background would help the librarian pick out something really good! Willow couldn't help the small frown as the librarian crushed her dreams of being able to take books home. "I understand." She stuck out her tongue childishly, "Boo wizard secrecy. I mean, I know why we have it. It just kind of sucks as a muggle." She shrugged and returned her arms to her side.

Flashes of memories of going to the library with her grandma appeared briefly behind slightly dimmed eyes, the hurt of losing her always hit in the weirdest ways nearly a year and a half later. "I do yeah!" Willow gasped slightly with a realization and whispered to the librarian, "Are there secret wizard libraries in muggle libraries with a spell or something?" Surely that was the only possible suggestion that was about to come out of Miss Simmons.

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Interacting with: @Willow Anderson

Colette wasn’t used to being around kids as energetic (and as small) as Willow, but she suspected they were not in short supply here. The witch herself was also rambunctious at Willow’s age, but she wasn’t quite as pleasant. But what they did have in common was an enthusiasm to read more books. “Oh, of course, of course. There are quite a few I can recommend.” Using her wand, she willed the many small drawers behind her desk to open, and the shuffling of the cards carrying different titles could be heard.

Upon her arrival at Hogwarts, she was amazed at the vast collection that Hogwarts carried, from the simple Hogwarts: A History to the much darker and rarer tomes locked in the Restricted Section. Literally most of everything a student might need and more could be found there, save for probably some rare or obscure titles that only published 7 copies.

She couldn’t help but smile at young Willow’s distaste for romance, and couldn’t help but agree. “Of course, what was I thinking. No romance, more Disney, okay. I can definitely find something.” Different cards lifted themselves and settled into a neat pile arrangement on her desk. She only really had a vague idea of what Disney was, from short snippets of her adventures. It was mostly princesses and woodland creatures that liked to sing and go on adventures. Stories similar to that wouldn’t be so hard to find. With another wave of her wand, the cards neatly spread out in front of her. Eagerly, she copied down the titles. “You’re in luck, only a few of them were checked out.”

The librarian’s expression morphed into a tight smile at Willow’s reaction to her answer. She truly wanted to give the student what she wanted, but she of all people knew that secrecy was a hard thing to keep when you frolic about the muggle world.

Ah, those were the days.

“I get that, doesn’t leave a lot of room for those living in the muggle world.” The second half of the sentence would be uttered more for herself than anything. Briefly the thought of when she would explore muggle America crossed her mind. She imagined she was about as baffled as a muggle would be in the magical world.

Their world held its own kinds of magic.

Putting her quill down, she waited for a minute for the ink to dry. “Well no, unfortunately not. But that’d be so great, wouldn’t it?” Maybe she wasn’t great at relating to these kids, but she could definitely humor them. “I was actually thinking more of some muggle books about magic and wizards and fantastical worlds. She tilted her head every so slightly so she could get a better look at the student on the other side of the desk.

"I managed to read several of them back in the day, and while they aren’t exactly the Tales of Beedle the Bard, I found these quite riveting.” In front of her, she laid out the lists she’d written – one for the books in the library, and another for when Willow would return home.

“Unless of course, you’d read them already.” That came with an expectant smile at the young witch. Colette did not doubt that Willow had her share of books she’d read already, but she thought some of the titles could very well be new to her. “Though some of these are much older, and the others not so well known. But I’m sure they just might be your speed.” A well-manicured nail clicked through some of the titles as she described some of them – a tale of a boy raised in a cemetery, a story of a bookbinder’s sought after book, and one about a girl with a love for reading and a knack for magic.

“Here you go.” She slid the pieces of parchment across the desk, to the eager reader. “If you need anything else, you can always circle back here, or ask the house elves.” If Colette’s lifted mood was not evident before, it would be now. It was refreshing to her to see students with a passion for reading. It reminded her of the twins, and much of the days her dad was still around.

That in itself warranted at least a kind smile. “And you are also absolutely welcome here anytime, as long as it’s not past curfew and you don’t miss class.” Willow probably knew that, but it couldn’t hurt to reiterate. “Also, anyone who can wear pink hair has my utmost respect.” The hair was one of the first things Colette noticed about Willow, and it also reminded her of the days when her hair was green and her cares were few. “Though green was more my speed.” She smiled and laughed lightly at the thought.

(Though if anyone were to say she did she would vehemently deny it.)

✿Interacting✿
@Colette Simmons

Willow never ceased to be amazed by the magic that adult wizards could do. With a wave of their wand they could so much more without an incantation than Willow could with immense concentration and a single incantation. It made her even more excited for what the future of magic held for her, the possibilities that had yet to open. Willow's eyes held a brightness of excitement that Miss Simmons new what Disney was. "I don't know if this is rude, but are you muggle-born too? A lot of wizard people don't know what Disney is." Her question came mostly unabashed besides the initial safeguard statement. She got really excited to meet adult wizards who also originated from the muggle world. There was no way to find out except to ask.

The young finder went up on the tips of her toes to see the titles that were in front of the librarian. Trying to get a peek at the options that were going to be given to her. She settled back down on her heels after just a moment of looking. She would find out soon enough what they were, but her curiosity was ever peaked. "I think it would be cool if there were secret wizard libraries in muggle libraries. Maybe I can make one someday!" To Willow, the only thing stopping this from existing was someone taking the initiative to make it.

The young girl looked absolutely enraptured at she listed off different books that were available to read, the one about the girl with a love for reading and a knack for magic immediately taking her interest. When Miss Simmons gave the list to Willow she excitedly took the list from her, eyes quickly scanning it for new and exciting titles. Most of which she hadn't read. As a response to her question, Willow shook her head. "I haven't read a lot of these, no. Thank you!" The librarians before Miss Simmons were never staff that Willow really interacted with, but she saw herself becoming much more interested in the library if Miss Simmons was really this awesome.

A small blush matching the pink of Willow's hair spread across her cheeks at the compliment, and her jaw dropped open when she said that she had previously had green hair. "I think it would be super cool if you had green hair! And I really think you could pull off pink. Anyone can!" Willow stepped back from the desk, somehow happier than when she came in. "Thank you again, Miss Simmons! I'll let you know which one was my favorite when I'm done reading them!" With that Willow bounced off into the shelves to find the new recommendations that lived within this library.

✿Willow Has Exited the Thread✿

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Interacting with: @Willow Anderson

Colette was slightly taken aback by the young Hufflepuff’s question. She was not insulted by any means, but she’d always thought herself to give off the vibe of a stereotypical pureblood. She was raised among them, she went to school with them, and most of her upbringing had been geared towards making her the prime example of a pureblood lady. But it was refreshing to hear that young Willow did not know of her heritage. All the more it confirmed her fresh start at Hogwarts. A short smile graced her features as she explained. “Uh, no. I’m from a long line of wizards. But I did get to run around in the muggle world for a bit a while back.”

The student in question leaned up to look at her list and settled back down before she went on a tangent about secret wizarding libraries in the muggle world. It was a amazing what students could come up with. “Well, if you feel the work of the librarian fits you, maybe that would be your calling.” The older witch replied.

As Willow’s eyes darted around the paper again, assessing the titles, Colette couldn’t help but hope that she’d not read most of the selection. She knew that children these days were such avid readers, getting into so many classics and more contemporary books alike. There was honestly no telling what a person would choose from a selection right off the bat. Perhaps she could tell the type of person by the books they enjoy, but rarely the other way around. She breathed a sigh of relief in her mind when she found out that Willow had yet to read them. Another day, another student helped.

Finally, she sent the Hufflepuff off with a 'You're welcome', and 'Anytime' before the pink-haired student went to find her books. When Willow turned to leave, Colette couldn’t help but smile to herself. Indeed, it was the right choice to come to Hogwarts.

Her hands were playing with the strings of her worn off friendship bracelet, which blue colour had slightly faded after years of being worn, and her eyes shot across the library a little faster than normal. One glance was enough to see how nervous Samantha was, but the reason why the brunette was so nervous was harder to guess. Honestly, the young girl would have never expected to be in this situation herself. The topic of love had always see so foreign to her, but since the valentine's tea party it was awfully present in her life. The thing she had sworn would never happen, had happened to her. She liked somebody, or she thought she did. She wasn't sure.

There weren't many things the girl was clueless about (according to herself), due to her curious nature and love for learning, but she had purposely stayed clueless about everything that had to anything with love. The only love she was interested in was the love from and for her parents and friends, nothing romantic, or that's how she used to be. During the tea party, something had changed. She had looked this one girl in her eyes and noticed how perfect they were, how her beautiful voice was all Samantha could and wanted to hear and how she wanted the sweet smile on the other girl's face never to disappear. Even the simple thought of the girl made Samantha nervous, something which had never happened to her with anybody else.

Books had always been one of the most important sources of information for Samantha since she hated asking other people for help. The only problem now was that she had no idea where in the library she could find books about love since she had never been interested in those before. She could have asked the house-elves, but she was afraid they would tell all the other house-elves and everybody in the castle would know that she asked for books about love, something she rather avoided, so she had decided to ask the librarian. Still fidgeting with the strings of her bracelet, Samantha slowly walked to the desk after taking a few deep breaths. "Hello Miss Simmons," she smiled nervously as she greeted the librarian.

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Interacting with: @Samantha Salwis

It was one of the slower days in the Hogwarts library, and on days like this Colette could be found catching up on her own reading list. Times like this meant that books had been sorted and kept, while the house elves were busy with dusting the shelves and the carpets. In her hand, she held an old copy of a book she procured from the muggle world about a magical land and a creature on an adventure to a distant land. She found that it was a frequent theme in their stories, and it was quite interesting to see what they wrote about creatures that actually existed. In her other hand, she played with a slightly chewed pencil, used to softly underline passages that she liked. Fully engrossed in this magical world, she did not notice young Samantha walk up to her desk until she greeted her.

Looking up, she saw a fairly younger student, shy-looking, fidgety, and nervous. This sort of disposition was not unusual for the less confident children at this age, or for students interacting with her in general. The older witch cleared her throat and closed her book and put it aside to pick up her wand as she addressed the student in front of her. “Hello there, what can I help you with today?”

The librarian seemed to be focused on whatever she was doing and didn't notice the young girl right away. Curious about what the adult had been reading, Samantha stood on her toes and peeked at the book. Sadly, she failed at finding out which book it was as it was quickly closed and replaced by a wand. Before answering the question, the brunette wiped her sweaty hand on her school robes and took a deep breath, while trying to figure out what exactly she should say. The already talkative girl being nervous wasn't exactly a good combination, since it made Samantha ramble even more than normal.

"I am looking for books about-" she paused for a second, should she tell it right away? What if miss Simmons would laugh at her? Looking to the floor, she finished her sentence, deciding not to take the risk just yet. "Something." A little blush appeared on her cheeks, as she realized how stupid that sounded. "I was wondering if you could help me. I would normally ask the house-elves," Samantha added in a hurry. "But I didn't want to ask them this, because I don't want them to say what I asked for to other house-elves who will tell other people and then have the whole school know about it," she stopped talking abruptly. Now she made it sound like she was planning to do something horrible that nobody was allowed to know. It seemed like she just couldn't say the right thing.

"I am not planning on doing something illegal or breaking any rules or anything like that!" she said quickly and soon realized it only made her sound more suspicious. "I would never break any rules, I am a very good student and I am not planning on intentionally breaking any rules. Or unintentionally! Or in any possible way," she told Colette as her head turned red. "It's just that I don't want anybody to know what I am looking for and I was afraid the house-elves would gossip about it and soon everybody in the whole castle would know." The girl didn't even realize she was talking in circles, nor did she realize how unscary all this information was.

It might be smart for her to tell what she was looking for before miss Simmons would think she was crazy and kick her out of the library. "I am looking for books about love," the brunette finally admitted. "Like about how you know you like somebody," she avoided any eye contact. "How do you know if somebody likes you. What you would do on dates? What it would even be like to be in a relationship?" It was like a waterfall of questions she couldn't stop anymore. "What is that weird feeling I get in my tummy whenever I am around her? How do I make sure she doesn't just want to be friends?" With her big blue eyes, she looked at the librarian, hoping for answers to all of her questions. The normally confident Samantha had completely disappeared and all that there was left was a confused little girl.