From One Library to the Next PV Lizzy Solace F

Lizzy breathed in the smell of the books surrounding her. Sure, some people might find it silly, but Lizzy loved the smell the books gave off. It reminded her of her home back in London. Home. Every time Lizzy thought of it, it came with an overwhelming wave of homesickness. She had never been away from her home this long before. It was going to get better though, Lizzy was sure of it. She took in the sight of the huge Hogwarts Library before her. She had been here only once or twice so far. She had been meaning to come more often, but had been overloaded with homework for the last week. Consequently, her nights had been spent in the study room or the Gryffindor Common Room working on mile long essays. Lizzy wasn’t about to give the teachers anything to hold against her this early on.

Lizzy walked slowly down the shelves, looking at the titles as she went. There were so many, most of which she had never heard of before. There was not one “muggle” book, they were all wizarding books. There had barely been a free minute to take in the magnificence of the castle. Lizzy still got lost going from one place to another, but that might just be courtesy of the changing staircases. When her letter came it was shocking, but Lizzy was also excited for what lay ahead. Now that she was here, she knew she was right in coming. The library alone was proof enough.

As she reached the end of the aisle, she turned and walked down the next. There were so many books, how would she be able to choose just one? She pulled down a book and examined the cover. Suddenly, she heard coughing coming from the study tables around the corner. She put the book down and went over to where the sound was coming from. There, she saw a boy hunched over his table. He seemed vaguely familiar, but Lizzy wasn’t sure how she could know him. Then, he looked up and apologized to everyone in the room. That’s when Lizzy knew how she knew him. It was Simon Kincaid for sure. They had gone to the same Youth Book Club back in London. She hadn’t seen him in about two years though. Right around when he would have gone to Hogwarts, Lizzy realized. She hesitated, what if he didn’t remember her? Lizzy shook the thought away and walked over to him. “Simon?”

He had just gotten over his coughing fit and realized that he wasn't going to die right then and there in the school library and tried to appear cool, all calm and collected like nothing had just happened. Simon slid a book closer to him and opened it to a random spot, flipping a page or two like he was actually looking for something specific, and then slid his quill which rested upon some parchment a little closer so it seemed he was ready to begin taking notes when ready.

It was then he thought he heard someone call his name and he glanced up, looking to his right and then looking to his left. With the library being so wide and open, it was tricky where to pinpoint the sound. ...And it didn't help that some were still staring at him from his coughing episode.

A girl began to walk toward him and he paused, instantly thinking he recognized her. It had been over a year since he saw her, but at one point in time he used to see her, at least once, nearly every single week. No, that would just be weird if all these people he knew from his muggle home of London just popped up and began arriving there at Hogwarts. Still, if he got a letter - why couldn't they have gotten one?

"Lizzy Liz?" he said, now getting up from his chair as she approached him. Same brunette hair, same long dark brown hair. It was definitely her. "Will you look at that...we meet from one library to the next," he smiled widely and he wrapped his arms around her for a hug and even pulled her a little up into the air. Simon had always been incredibly strong. "I can't believe you're here!"

Lizzy had to smile a little as Simon recognized her and called her by the nickname she hadn't heard since he left. The only person she had ever allowed to call her Liz was Simon. He hugged her, lifting her off the ground a bit as he did so. "From one library to the next," Lizzy repeated. Her face broke out into a wide smile, "The same goes for you! I never would've guessed you stopped coming to the club meetings because you were in a castle learning magic!" She couldn't hide her happiness at seeing him, and she wouldn't have wanted to anyways.

This was all still so surreal to her, being in Hogwarts, that she could barely believe that Simon was here too. The two had been such good friends, going to the book club every week like clockwork. Seeing Simon had been the highlight of Lizzy's week, especially since he had been nearly her only friend back then. Then he had stopped coming. Lizzy had still gone every week, he was probably just sick, she had thought. But then weeks turned to months, without any sign of him. Lizzy had gathered up the courage to go to his house to make sure he was alright, and partly to make sure he wasn't just avoiding her. He wasn't there, and before Lizzy knew it, it was like he had never existed. She hadn't forgotten him though. You didn't just forget the face of your first friend that quickly.

He released her from the hug, and Lizzy finally got to look at him for the first time since he had left. "Did you know?" Lizzy asked. "About the magic, I mean?" She had wondered that since she saw him at the table. So many people here seemed to be pure or half bloods that had known about magic since they had been young, she wondered if Simon had known too. If he had known, and just never told her that he was a wizard. That he was eventually going to go to Hogwarts and leave her all alone for a year. No matter what though, Lizzy was glad they had been reunited now.

She seemed as happy to see him as he felt seeing her and he was glad of that. Oh how he missed her! It was so difficult leaving behind everything in London to up and go to some residence school in the Scottish Highlands but one couldn't pass up an opporunity like Hogwarts! Never.

He motioned for Lizzy to follow him back over to his table and he pulled out a chair for her. This large wooden table was similar to the ones at their other library and maybe that's why he liked them so much - a little taste of home. He glanced down at the books, most of them on the subject of vampires, and quickly stacked them to create room for her belongings if she wished to place her bag upon the table.

"No, no, I didn't know about any of this," he began to answer her question on his knowledge of the wizarding world. "I thought all this stuff...magic and potions and dragons and unicorns were just things in a fantasy book. But I guess my mum went here," he smiled proudly. No, he didn't remember his mother who died when he was three, but that didn't mean he didn't admire the person she was and how she handled the bad cards she was dealt with in the most bravest way possible. His eyes glanced to the uniform his London friend was wearing. "She was a Gryffindor, like you. She never really talked to Aunt Maggie about it. Aunt Maggie never got a letter and she never wanted her to be jealous of the wizarding world." Liz would remember his aunt who brought him sometimes to the book club. She was blonde and perky, fun and selfless. She was only fourteen years older than Simon and the two shared something in between a parental and sibling bond. They were close, but sometimes she wasn't exactly the parent and it was Simon that helped keep things together. Maybe that's one of the reasons he seemed to mature faster.

"And you?" he asked. Not that it really mattered. She was here now! "Oh, I hated I didn't get to say goodbye to you or Mrs. Higgens," who worked at the library and ran many of the groups, including the youth book club. "Or Susan or James. I hope they're all well. And you, I can't believe you're here! At Hogwarts!"

Seeing Simon had brought back so many happy memories. She could not even begin to express her happiness at finding he was going to Hogwarts with her. Following him back to his table, she sat down beside him. Thanking Simon for making room on the table, she set her bag in the newly made space. It seemed like they had all the time in the world at the moment. They could spend the next few hours catching up, and maybe even meet back up the next day!

Simon revealed that he didn't know about magic either, but his mum went to Hogwarts before him. Simon barely ever talked about his mum when the two had been together, but then again, they really didn't talk about their families, just books. Maybe Hogwarts was the opportunity they had needed, but never knew they needed. Now they could talk about anything they desired, not just books and literature, however great the latter might be to discuss.

"Your mum was a Gryffindor?" she asked. Ah yes, his Aunt Maggie. She was always very energetic when she dropped off Simon for the book club meetings. "Me?" Lizzy asked. "I didn't know about any of this previously either, no. I got the letter, but Ben didn't." Simon and Ben, her brother, had met a few times. Ben had tagged along to the club meetings occasionally, he would never admit it, but he enjoyed the meetings. A pattern began to develop. Ben came with her whenever there was a book he liked, or thought sounded interesting.

"I don't know if I ever told you about my near death incident, but apparently that was my first magic. I was reading, of course, high up in a tree. It was very dark when I started to climb down, and between that and the book in my hand, I slipped and fell from the great height. I got up without a scratch from a fall that should have killed me," Lizzy said. He was the first one that she had told about that, besides Ben, who had witnessed the whole thing.

"Oh Mrs. Higgens!" Lizzy exclaimed, remembering the librarian. "I didn't get to say goodbye to anyone besides my family either. I guess I could've, but I was just so excited I forgot. Does that make me a bad person?" she asked. Simon could always be counted on for good advice. "I can't believe you're here either!" Lizzy said with a smile.

"No no, that doesn't make you a bad person at all. You get kind of caught up in it all...I understand. First confusion, then skepticism, then you get to Diagon Alley and you're hooked - sidetracked into thinking only one thing. I guess it's the non-wizarding styeps to gaining acceptance into the wizarding world." - Like how there were steps for grief.

He was so glad that Lizzy was there. THERE, at Hogwarts! He remembered back at the Book Club when they had to team up for a group project, the two of them always seemed to partner up. "Remember we made the characters from Where The Wild Things Are for the pumpkin decorating contest and we did the witch's house from Hansel and Gretel for the gingerbread house? Now that we know better, I'm pretty sure that was no witch and a hag instead."

They worked so well together, it was almost a shame that now they were in separate years and most likely wouldn't be working together again. Simon shook his head and glanced up at the Christmas decorations within the Library.

"Mrs. Higgens," he said aloud because it's what sparked his current idea. The two COULD still work together! "Let's make Mrs. Higgens something. The both of us - together. Are you going back to London for the holiday? We could give it to her then!" He was certain she'd like to see them. That library and her clubs were her everything.

Hmm... that was an interesting way of thinking about it, that is, the whole first coming into the wizarding community. It did seem to sum up the way that Lizzy had felt when she had gotten her letter. The only difference was that Simon had left out the blunt craziness and shock of the whole event.

Lizzy giggled at the mention of the pumpkin decorating contest. Her pumpkin had turned out okay, better than she had expected. The funny part was she had been so focused on carving the best pumpkin possible, that she hadn't noticed the amount of pumpkin guts all around her until she had finished. And the Hansel and Gretel gingerbread house was the best. Lizzy had preferred the festive gingerbread house to the pumpkin carving, though both had been a blast. "Those were the best," Lizzy said in agreement. "Oh, and remember the time we did the Easter egg decorating? I can't remember what the theme was though. The witch was probably a hag, but it's not like we can correct anybody, they would think we were mad!"

Those book club meetings with the contests and activities were such fun. Lizzy knew that they most likely wouldn't get any more of those fun times together. They were in different years for one thing. Another obstacle was that they were in different houses, and different classes, and different clubs. It was looking very bleak as to their continued collaboration.

"Mrs. Higgens" Simon said suddenly, snapping Lizzy back to the present. "Sorry?" she asked. He explained his idea further, and a spark of hope began to grow in Lizzy. "I think that's an amazing idea!" she exclaimed. "I'm definitely going back to London for the holiday. As much as I love it here, I wouldn't be able to pass up an opportunity to see my family," Lizzy explained. "So, what did you have in mind?"

"Hmm, well, unless you know how to knit an insanely amazing sweater...maybe we could make her something a little more....sit-on-her-desk sort of thing?" He wasn't quite sure what that would be. As far as creativity and where Simon Kincaid's talents rested - that was all in music. The artistic world and Simon combined left some to be desired but the thought would be there no matter what.

"We could pick one of her favorite literary figures or stories and go from there," he said , hoping that maybe Lizzie could start them off with some brainstorming. There really was no wrong way here when it came to this because the woman loved all sorts of literature. If it was deemed a classic and good, well she too agreed with this standpoint - not for the sake that someone told her so but because she too agreed.

"I did learn last year how to take things that you find around and how to weld them together. That was pretty cool," he smiled, thinking back to the date night he had arranged with Haley Rose when a fellow Hogwarts student came to teach them how to do a new craft.

Simon sighed. "I'm not really being much help right now, am I?" He wanted to think of something nice to do for the woman, but even more so, he was looking forward to doing a project with Lizzy. He just had to think of what.

Simon glanced around at all the books that lined the shelves. Book after book. Shelf after shelf. "Hey, have you seen that book folding thing? You take the pages of a book and fold it to create something? My Aunt Maggie used that technique to help decorate her store once."

Ideas ideas. What to make for the beloved librarian? Mrs. Higgens had been a huge part of Lizzy and Simon's young lives, and Lizzy thought it was an amazing idea of Simon's to create something for her. Christmas had always been a wonderful time at the library, made special by Mrs. Higgens. Lizzy hoped that this year, the two could come up with a way to show her just how much she meant to them.

"I sadly do not know how to make an amazing knit-sweater," she said with a grin. "I think Mrs. Higgens would like something small, yet creative." That would certainly be the direction the two would go in.

One of her favorite literary characters? "Hey, I was thinking we should make it have a Christmas theme if we're going in that direction. Ebenezer Scrooge perhaps?" she suggested. A Christmas Carol was a holiday favorite of Mrs. Higgens. She read it every year towards this time. A pang of sadness tugged at Lizzy as she realized she would not be there to listen.

"That sounds amazing!" Lizzy exclaimed, referring to Simon's statement of welding household objects together. What though? Brainstorming was always the hardest part, but once you were past that, everything seemed to just flow perfectly. Hmm... this might take a minute.

"You're being plenty of help," she laughed, "This actually reminds me of a couple Christmas's ago when there was that contest with the time limit. We really struggled there." In truth, Lizzy didn't think either of them did well with time limit pressure. This was sort of the same. They had to finish this before they went home for the holidays, Hogwarts had more materials for their use. It felt like a clock was ticking down in her ear.

"The book folding thing? Very descriptive, but yes I have." Lizzy remembered seeing something like that folded into the shape of an angel a few years ago. "That would be perfect for Mrs. Higgens!" They had a plan, now all they had to do was make it a reality.