23 Oct 2020, 02:14
On library classification
September 2nd
Mooncalves.
It had taken approximately three minutes of poring through his Fantastic Beasts textbook before Julian had figured out the name of the creatures he could somehow see from his dorm's window; and though he'd since found out that it was less window than painting, that had done nothing to lessen his interest in them. He couldn't help but think about them, all throughout his first day of classes. They'd been so strange, with their long necks and bulging eyes.
The information in his book was barely a snippet, so after reading it over so many times that he could recite it, he'd decided to take it a step further: to the library. He'd been wanting to go there anyway, the second classes were over, and now he even had a mission of sorts to guide his first foray into the Hogwarts library.
He had not counted on the sheer size of the library. It was nothing like it had been at his primary school. He'd been to larger libraries before, of course, at the university, but those had computers to help you find what you needed, and his parents had been intimately familiar with at least some of the sections. He couldn't even tell where the librarian had gone. How was he supposed to know where to find books on mooncalves?
For a few minutes, he simply stood there, gaping at what seemed like endless shelves, squinting behind his glasses for a sign that might signal a promising section.
No such luck. He took a halting step.
There had to be some logic to how things were arranged. He just needed to find it. Maybe there was a card catalog somewhere. It seemed appropriately old-fashioned.
The second he ran into a familiar face, however, it occurred to him that there might be a faster way than simply walking aimlessly until he either found the books on mooncalves or figured out how to start properly looking. Maybe one of the wizarding kids would know.
"Hello. Do you know if there's a card catalog somewhere? Or, um, well... how do wizards organise libraries?" They couldn't use the Dewey Decimal System. Julian was pretty sure there were no numbers allotted to magical disciplines. It wasn't until he'd asked his question that he realised he might've picked the wrong girl to ask. "Oh. Wait. You're a muggleborn too, aren't you?" He felt his shoulders slump. Disappointment was readily apparent in his voice as he found himself remembering that this particular girl, whose name he thought might be Octavia or something like that, had been asking the prefects what Quidditch was the night before.