Finally... (Open to Anyone!) Closed

"Finally," was the first word that came to Piper's mind when she stepped into the library, releasing a quiet 'phew' as she took it all in. It was just like her older brother had described it when he was at home on break last year - an endless expanse of books, beautiful interior design with the right amount of light, an immersive and studious air. Ever since then, she had dreamed about seeing it all for herself, and more importantly, reading the books inside.

After becoming aware she was in the way of equally excited students, she stepped away from the door and wandered around. Piper realized that despite impatiently waiting for this day, she never once thought about what book she should read first. And how she underestimated how many books there would be! She was used to towering over many of the shelves in her primary school, being quite tall for her age, but that was not the case at all here.

Suddenly, Piper felt her heart drop a little. She felt so insignificantly small for one of the first times in her life. Not only was she in a bigger building than she ever had been, she was also no longer the top student. She knew that she would make many mistakes and ask for help for once. Hogwarts would be her greatest challenge yet.

"This is no time for feeling sorry for myself," she thought and looked around, spotting someone to ask for help for the first time.

"Hey, I'm Piper. Know any good books?"

"Hi," Iris said shyly. "I'm Iris. I'm looking for books, too." Of course you're looking for books, she thought to herself. You're in a library. Rubbing her forehead, she decided to just keep talking. "I was planning on going over my textbooks, but there are probably more interesting books in here. I would probably go for the advanced books. They're more fun. Especially advanced transfiguration. I've always wanted to be able to turn into an animal. I'm really looking forward to transfiguration."

She hoped Piper was the sort of girl who would read textbooks for fun. Iris definitely would. But, then again, maybe that was just Iris. She would read just about anything she could get her hands on.

"But, um, I'll probably just look at some History of Magic books. I want to have some extra knowledge for when class starts. And those are...right here." She pulled a book off of a shelf. "I'm sorry, I've been talking for a while. I'm just excited to start the school year." She turned her face away. "Uh, here." She handed Piper the book. "Sorry." She started to walk away. Ugh, I'm so awkward. This is why I can't make any friends.

After accepting the book, she hopped right after Iris. Piper was a bit awkward herself but in the complete opposite way. For better or for worse, she did not always get the cues that maybe she should stop talking or stay away. Talking to her was signing a contract for at least a year of relentless conversation.

"Thank you! Oh, I mean thank you," she continued, remembering to keep quiet after a glance from another student, "Transfiguration sounds interesting, that Desk-to-Pig spell terrified my older brother, heh!" Piper was already flipping the pages of the book inquisitively, touching each word gently as though she may accidentally wipe it away. She was definitely the type of girl to read textbooks for fun.

"Hmm, I think I'm looking forward t' History... My brother and I didn't grow up knowing about magic, so it's just amazing how integrated into the world it has been and I never knew," she thought about everything for a bit then added, "Oh, yeah and dragons. They're real. That's crazy!" The section on dragon care had caught her eye, making her visibly excited. "I heard human transfiguration is really advanced, you must be pretty smart. What kind of animal do you think you'd want t' turn into?"

  Howie was deeply involved in the book he was reading. It was a book about all of the magical creatures that existed in the wizarding world. “How do they keep all of these creatures hidden?! Well, Magic, duh!” He thought to himself. He hadn’t started classes yet, so he was filling his free time in the library. Being muggleborn, Howie had so much to learn about the magical world, so he figured the library was his best bet. He had always been a bookworm, enjoying almost any book. 
  Howie looked up from the book as he heard a group of student talking nearby. He recognized the two witches from the Hufflepuff Common Room, but had never been introduced, and there was a young wizard he had never seen before. They had made their introductions and he overheard them talking about Transfiguration and a spell called “Expecto  Patronum.” 
  He could hardly believe what he was hearing. “What! We can turn ourselves into animals! That’s amazing!” He thought. His curiosity got the best of him, he had to know more! Rising up from the table, he made his way over to the group. “Um... sorry, I don’t mean to interrupt, and I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but I couldn’t help but overhear. Witches and wizards can transform into animals? I haven’t read that yet! I’m muggleborn, so all of this is pretty new to me. Oh! Where’s my manners. I’m Howie!” He smiled at the group.

Frost was sitting at one of the desks in the library trying to study a little more for her classes. She knew she wasn't the smartest, nor was she one with a large attention span. Losing concentration, Frost stares blankly into the room. 

She wonders how many books are here and how long it took to obtain it all. 

She hears quiet murmurs behind the bookshelf in front of her. She looks at the bookshelf, puzzled. 

Maybe she should join in on the conversation. After all, she didn't have a friend here yet. 

Shrugging, she walks closer to the bookshelf. She twists her part of her robes in her fingertips, which seems to be a new habit of hers.

"Expecto Patronum"

What? Isn't that the transfiguration spell for turning into your patronus?

Frost spreads two sides of books apart with her hands to create a space for her to peek through,  revealing two boys and two girls.

She pokes her head slightly into the small cleared out area she made.

"Hey! Sorry if I'm interrupting, but I overheard something about Expecto Patronum, y'know like the animal spell thingy."

If they didn't know about my lack of knowledge, they sure did now. That sentence sounded so stupid. 

"Oh. I'm sorry if I sound like I'm an airhead. It may seem like I am because of my previous sentence and the way entered the conversation. But I'm Frost Cira!"

  As Howie asked his question to the small group, he heard someone else approaching. Looking over his shoulder he saw another young Hufflepuff coming their way. She looked familiar, he had definitely seen her in the common room, or maybe it was at the Hufflepuff table in the Great Hall, he couldn’t remember. Howie recognized her reddish brown hair, and the freckles that splashed across her face. Right! She was that little prankster, he remembered, always a playful trick up her sleeve.
  As she came to stand in front of the group she went on to ask about the ‘expecto patronum’ thingy the others were going on about. “Ah! I see it must be a spell that turns you into an animal patronus?” Howie wondered to himself as she asked her question. She immediate seemed to doubt herself though, and apologized for being an airhead. Well, Howie didn’t think she was being airheaded, he had no clue what they were on about either.
It was a huge relief to finally meet someone that didn’t already no everything about magic!
  “Hey Frost! I’m Howie, and you ain’t no airhead, I was just asking everyone about Transfiguration and whatever a patronus is too!” He stuck a hand out to her, a shy smile on his face, happy to finally be meeting new people.

Verla walked in fixing the sash on her bag on her shoulder. She hugged her books. She hadn't been in here since she had snuck into the restricted section, so she didn't feel comfortable in the library. She saw other people there, and with a sad face, immediately went to the fiction section of the library, she could finally catch up on her reading at least. It wasn't like she was banned from the library, though she knew she'd be on watch most of the time. 

She began to dig around for a spell after picking out some fiction books. She wanted to know more on the spell she had heard of. She knew who created, and what their identity in the school was, but she wanted to know why he created it, and what it was actually supposed to be for, its purpose. 

Verla hoped they wouldn't try to make contact with her, but she got her parchment ready since her anxiety was bad and she didn't feel like speaking to strangers. She was nervous, very nervous, and she began to show signs of an anxiety attack, she felt like the shelves were going to topple onto her, she needed to get out of there.

Frost's attention turned to a Hufflepuff boy who spoke up and greeted her.

“Hey Frost! I’m Howie, and you ain’t no airhead, I was just asking everyone about Transfiguration and whatever a patronus is too!”

Frost couldn't get the thought out of her head. She recognized him from somewhere. 

Howie. Howie?

Ah yes, Howie, the dark-haired boy she had sat next to in the great hall! She had felt bad when he had run into the table. She couldn't help but snicker. She shouldn't bring it up. That would be rude.

Had he noticed her when she sat down? Did he recognize her? Even if he didn't that would be fine with her.

She smiles and takes Howie's hand, shaking it politely.

"Nice to meet you, Howie. I was only joking when I called myself an airhead, although sometimes I do get a little brain-dead every now and then. But thank you anyways."

In the corner of her eye, Frost could see movement. She snapped her head to the side and saw a girl scampering away.

Maybe she didn't want to talk and bothering her would be rude. So for now, maybe she should just stay put and continue the rest of her conversation with the new people she has just met. 

She turns her attention back to Howie and the rest of the group. She twists her robe in her fingertips.

  Howie smiled back at Frost, releasing her hand from the welcoming shake. He took a step back and  sat on the end of the table that the group of students had gathered around. He had grown quite fond of this ancient library. The smell of the ancient books reminded him of his mother’s library back home, and made him feel very comfortable. He would definitely be spending a lot of time exploring the seemingly endless rows of text over the next seven years.
  “Anytime mate.” He responded to her as she thanked him. He saw her eyes dart across the library. Following her gaze he saw a very worried young witch running out of the room. It worried him about how upset she looked, wondering to himself if he should run after her to see if she was okay. He slightly recognized her from the common room, a fellow Hufflepuff. Deciding to follow Frost’s lead, he let it go, she probably just needed some space.
  Howie turned back to Frost as she twiddled away at her robes. “Didn’t I sit next to you the other day in the Great Hall, ya know, right after I tried to take out the whole table.” He asked her, deciding to make light of his blunder. He was clumsy, something like that was bound to happen again, might as well get a laugh out of it.