A cute little idea that came to me this week - this will be a 5-part collection!

This first part is also written for the Race Through Hogwarts Competition. Prompt: library (setting)

This chapter was updated as of 30 June 2015.


Eleven: Books


The Hogwarts library was greater than Lucy could have ever imagined. Rows upon rows of books. Countless titles. The smell of old books, a woody and bitter aroma reminiscent of inked paper, filled the high-ceilinged room, along with the light fumes of burning candles. She wished she could have spent whole days in there, her fingers trailing on the spines of books, flipping pages, following each line of letters.

Unfortunately, taking out a few dusty volumes at a time and lugging them up to her dorm would have to do for now. After all, Lucy had seven years ahead of her to conquer the enormous Hogwarts library.

Seven years isn't long enough, Lucy thought to herself as she added yet another book to her teetering pile of tomes. Perhaps this was a load that her small arms could not yet carry, but there was little that stopped Lucy when she set her mind on a task.

Except, maybe, the entire pile falling from her arms.

For Lucy, it felt like it was all happening in slow motion. The increasingly violent swaying of the tower in her arms, her feet awkwardly stepping from side to side, until finally, the top book fell forward, taking the rest of the pile with it. By the time Lucy realized what was happening, time had returned to normal speed and she was nowhere near fast enough to stop even one of the books from escaping her.

Once the disaster was over, Lucy couldn't say she was terribly surprised. That had been a mess waiting to happen, she supposed. With a heavy sigh, Lucy kneeled down and tried to think of another way she could carry all of these books. Perhaps a second book bag and a Shrinking Charm. Surely, she could learn a simple -

"Ow!"

Lucy's forehead met another hard object, and she fell back with a yelp. She looked up, rubbing her head, to see another young Ravenclaw also on the floor, in a similar predicament, on the other side of her pile of books.

"Sorry," the first year, a boy with olive skin and sweet brown eyes, stuttered out. "I was only trying to help."

Lucy shook her head as she approached the pile of books and started throwing them into her book bag. Not looking up, she said, "Thanks, it's no problem, really."

"Here, let me at least - "

As Lucy reached for another book, so did the boy, and their hands met. Both of them immediately pulled their hands away and jumped back, faces heating up. At least the boy's face was not as visibly red as Lucy's, whose pale skin did a poor job of hiding her blush. It wasn't necessarily because she was around a boy, but more to do with the fact that Lucy was terribly shy and awkward around people. She was always scared she would do something embarrassing.

Silently, the boy broke their frozen embarrassment and started helping Lucy with her books again. Soon enough, the pile in her arms was smaller, even if her book bag was a little heavier.

As she stood up, with a bit of a wobble, Lucy said, "Thank you, really, so much. You didn't have to help."

"Got the job done faster, I suppose," the boy replied with a smile. "I'm Lorcan, by the way."

Lucy smiled back. "Lucy. I'll see you around."

And with that, the redhead swiftly turned around before anyone else could see her face heating up to the brightest shade of red.


Let me know what you thought! :)