15 May 2025, 03:07
A New Friend
Aurette burst into the Hogwarts library, her heart racing like a rabbit. Dread crept up her spine – she’d just remembered, with a sickening jolt, leaving her precious ‘A History of Hogwarts’ book on a table when she’d been studying before dinner. The thought of losing it, or worse, someone else getting their hands on it, sent a shiver down her spine.
“Oh no!” she whispered, the word feeling like a shout in the silent library. She rushed to the oak table in the Charms section, the one with the scorch mark from a forgotten levitation charm demonstration. Her green eyes scanned the wood, then the floor beneath, and the chairs around it. Empty. The book was gone.
“Where is it, where is it?” she muttered to herself, her voice barely audible over the rustling of parchment and the coughs of other students. She looked at the nearby shelves, hoping against hope it had just been reshelved by a helpful, if overzealous, librarian. She skimmed the spines of ancient tomes on magical theory and transfiguration, her mind racing. It wasn’t there.
Panic set in. This wasn’t just any book; it was a first edition, passed down from her grandmother, filled with handwritten notes and whimsical marginalia. It was irreplaceable. There was only one terrible solution: she had to check every single shelf in this vast, sprawling library.
Her quiet, methodical nature disappeared in a wave of panic. She moved fast, her long black hair flying as she sped through the aisles, her eyes darting left and right. Her usual elegance was replaced by clumsiness. Round a corner of the Restricted Section, her eyes fixed on a table in the distance, she didn’t notice a figure emerging from between two bookcases.
Aurette thumped into another student and let out a startled yelp as a small pile of books hit the floor with soft thuds. “Oh dear!” she exclaimed, her face going bright red, and dropped to her knees to start gathering the books. “I’m so, so sorry! I wasn’t watching where I was going!” She looked up, her green eyes wide with remorse, hoping they weren’t important or, worse, broken.
“Oh no!” she whispered, the word feeling like a shout in the silent library. She rushed to the oak table in the Charms section, the one with the scorch mark from a forgotten levitation charm demonstration. Her green eyes scanned the wood, then the floor beneath, and the chairs around it. Empty. The book was gone.
“Where is it, where is it?” she muttered to herself, her voice barely audible over the rustling of parchment and the coughs of other students. She looked at the nearby shelves, hoping against hope it had just been reshelved by a helpful, if overzealous, librarian. She skimmed the spines of ancient tomes on magical theory and transfiguration, her mind racing. It wasn’t there.
Panic set in. This wasn’t just any book; it was a first edition, passed down from her grandmother, filled with handwritten notes and whimsical marginalia. It was irreplaceable. There was only one terrible solution: she had to check every single shelf in this vast, sprawling library.
Her quiet, methodical nature disappeared in a wave of panic. She moved fast, her long black hair flying as she sped through the aisles, her eyes darting left and right. Her usual elegance was replaced by clumsiness. Round a corner of the Restricted Section, her eyes fixed on a table in the distance, she didn’t notice a figure emerging from between two bookcases.
Aurette thumped into another student and let out a startled yelp as a small pile of books hit the floor with soft thuds. “Oh dear!” she exclaimed, her face going bright red, and dropped to her knees to start gathering the books. “I’m so, so sorry! I wasn’t watching where I was going!” She looked up, her green eyes wide with remorse, hoping they weren’t important or, worse, broken.