A New Friend Among The Books finished

Leonard had not planned for this.
This being approaching an actual human being, with actual senses and an actual brain, and picking up her book.
It was a simple action, he knew. Incredibly simple, even his four-year-old cousins could do. And yet, he felt himself sweating as though he’d just ran a marathon as he held it out for her to get.
He had seen her take the book from the sprawling shelves, Quidditch Through the Ages. He had also seen her look sad at the sight of that group of first years who’d been making a ruckus ever since they arrived. Leonard couldn’t decide whether it was the fact they were so noisy or that they were already friends.
(For him, it was both.)
See, the problem with people was they couldn’t be planned for. Sure, there had been countless studies dedicated to it, but those countless studies ultimately lead nowhere. Yes, Kant, nobody likes pain. Surprise, surprise. What had they been expecting?
Leonard would justify his actions with three words: he was lonely. In the few days he’d been there, he already had two enemies. At that rate, a month in and half the school would want to throw him in the Black Lake. Before, Number One had been to make lifelong friends. Now, it was just ‘find someone who didn’t want to Stupefy me every time we saw each other’.
“I believe this is yours, milady?”
Stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid. Nobody says that.
He tried to smile when he said it. He was aiming for something near charming, though he probably ended up in the bullseye of psychopathic.

Lucille looked up at the boy in surprise."I believe this is yours milady?"He had asked with an awkward smile. Of course, Lucille's first thought should have been to say thank you, but instead, she thought to herself,"Milady? I didn't know that wizards still say milady?"Since Lucille was still deeply confused she looked back at the boy and said,"Oh-right, thank you.."Lucille said trying her best not to sound embarrassed.
(Of course, though, this is Lucille,that we're talking about, so yes, that attempt had failed miserably.)
"Oh... Uhm ...my name is Lucille ...Lucille Williams ...what's yours?"The young witch asked curiously as she held out her hand for the boy to shake."If it's so easy for everyone else to make a friend then why can't I try it?"Lucille said to herself happily. "Of course, how hard could this friendship thing be anyway?".Lucille thought confidently.
As she looked at the boy for a few more minutes, Lucille realized this was the same boy some of her fellow students had been talking about in the Great Hall that morning. In fact, most of the students who talked of him that day, never exactly did it in the most positive way."He doesn't even seem that bad ..."She told herself."I wonder what all this dumb fuss would be about anyway..."

Leonard shook her hand, trying not to do so with too much enthusiasm. Finally, someone who could tolerate him! Who read books, no less. And this was only first year. If he could just rein in every aspect of his personality, life in Hogwarts could be pleasant. And who said it couldn't be done?
(Like ten different people in the castle. Not counting those by association. And him, several times. But it was a hyperbolic statement, okay?
"I'm Leonard Oaksworth. You can call me Leo, though. Do you play?" He pointed to the rather heavy book she'd left, the one about the dangerous sport that apparently did not require parental permission, even though there was a scarily high possibility of breaking bones. But, hey, if it got him an acquaintance, he'd get on a broomstick and stay there for weeks if need be.
(Hopefully it would not need be. Sure, Lucille was nice, probably smart, a hopefully avid reader, and could stand being near him, but heights terrified him. Absolutely terrified him. There'd been several incidents before that ended with one person or another hiding every broom in the bakery. Unless the broom was only five feet off the ground and the slowest model available, he'd probably just run away and live with being alone.)

"Do you play?"Leo had asked while pointing to her 'Quidditch Through The Ages' book. Lucille looked at him with a hint of surprise in her cocoa face."Oh no..I don't think I would play..but I still enjoy watching the games and things,it's honestly much safer that way." She looked at him hoping maybe he knew more about Quidditch then she did.Lucille had never considered herself an expert at sports,so Quidditch was no exception,but yes,she did quite enjoy learning more about the wizarding sport.Ever since she found the magnificent Hogwarts Library the young witch had been reading any book she could find on the history of the wizarding world.From spells,to Quidditch,to even a book about many different magical creatures, Lucille was definitely, not being picky on what book she read."Why would you ask anyway?"Lucille asked curiously to the boy."Do you play Quidditch for your house team or anything?"She asked again,looking at the green on his robes."Slytherin, "Lucille told herself silently."At least he's not a Gryffindor.."As she looked back at Leo she was silently wishing some kind of friendship miracle would happen that day.Yet in her head she knew for that to happen, both of the students would have to be very lucky."Why do I always ask so many questions?"Lucille told herself as she silently began to curse her large mouth.

Leonard had to fight back the impending grin. It was hard, though. Nearly all of the boxes were being ticked, and he wasn’t even looking for it.
Attainable, check.
One of the houses that probably wouldn’t hate Slytherin, check.
Went to the library, check.
Liked watching Quidditch and did not like playing, check.
His mother had told him his standards were too high, that friendships couldn’t be procured, filtered and bought like a solvent at the end of a science experiment could be. Leonard couldn’t wait to tell his mother about this.
(And on the other hand, perhaps she was right. When he lowered his standards and just admitted he wanted friends, he got potential ones. Potentiality came with possibility, possibility came with probability, and this time, probability came without the sneaky little gremlins that bothered him about social status and the like all throughout the night.)
(But what eleven-year-old boy admitted his mother was right?)
“No, no, it’s fine. I don’t play at all, just ask my family. Literally any of them can and will testify. When they tried to get me flying on a toy broom, I’d end up crashing into something eventually. I’m useless during the Thanksgiving matches we have; I can’t even cheer properly.”

Lucille gave him a small smile."I think it's good to know I'm not the only one who sits on the sidelines anymore." She said quite giddily as she held her book to her chest."I suppose your wizard-born or something right?It's not like a muggleborn like me would be riding a toy broom.But I really do think Quidditch is a quite interesting part of the wizarding world.]." Lucille continued with a nervous smile."Thank goodness!" She thought to herself happily." Friendship might actually be working out well."Lucille looked back at Leo as she tried her best not to look exited.But really how could she not be?The young witch had gone a whole week, watching all of the other first years make more friends than she could count in about ten minutes or less!Now,she had (hopefully) done the same thing !"Anyway..what book were you looking for around here?I think I've been in the Library for a while, so maybe I could help you a bit before my next class?"Lucille asked him,as she honestly felt it was the least she could do for his act of kindness towards her.(Especially since the incident at the Sorting Ceremony,so now at least she had a place to start, making Hogwarts pleasant.)

“I wasn’t exactly looking for a book, I was just…browsing.”
If browsing was now a synonym of feeling slightly jealous of other kids because they have their lives sorted, Leonard wasn’t technically lying.
Of course, browsing was not a synonym of being lonely, so he was lying, technically and otherwise.
See, that was the problem with lying. People said it was a horrible thing, that it was wrong in every and all situations. Leonard was not one of those people. And what does it matter should it get him a reservation in the netherworld, along with Richard Nixon, Charles Ponzi and the White Sox? He was to end up there anyhow.
After all, if he had not lied to many more people than Lucille, he would have many more enemies now. A feat quite impressive, considering how many he already had. Really, he always knew he wasn’t the easiest to get along with, but was he really that hard to stand?
(He knew the answer was yes. Yes, he was.)
“Anyways, enjoy your book. From what I've heard, it’s a great read.”
With that, he exited the library, trying not to skip his way out.
Number One could finally be completed. Hopefully.