An active, character-driven Hogwarts experience set in the early 2000s. Unique items, plots, and features. Non-canon; this isn't Harry Potter's story, it's ours.
Post by Reena Ashworth on Oct 6, 2022 22:24:04 GMT 10
Having kept to the quieter hallways in order to avoid any packs of Gryffindors who might be wanting to give her a hard time about Amelia Twiggs, Reena had taken a longer route here from the Clock Tower Courtyard and yet her clothes were still damp.
Her hair had almost dried however and it was sort of floating out of her ponytail since she hadn’t had the chance to brush it.
She gave a smile towards where Madam Pince was usually sat, yet did not actually take the time to check whether the librarian was there as Reena’s mind was preoccupied with the vision of the book case, then the door and then - well.
Reena strode into the first row of bookshelves, seeing whether anything sprung her memory as she wandered along it. Her eyes wandered off ahead towards the restricted section, wondering if that might have been the door.
If so, she would need another permission slip which she doubted she would get so soon after the first one.
Last Edit: Oct 6, 2022 22:26:39 GMT 10 by Reena Ashworth
The Hogwarts library was huge, and had multiple floors. How was she supposed to find which one concealed a door? One may assume that there would have to be a wall behind it, but was that really a safe assumption considering a place as magical as Hogwarts? And while on a quest from the Founders themselves?
Her task seemed impossible, with the information she had. Or clues she was lacking. Yet being in the library, the image from her vision floated into her mind again, this time with another appearance of a silver crest. It was down by the base of the bookshelf she sought.
So far, that was her best bet. Look for the bookcase with the silver crest at the base, so small it was easily missed unless knowing to seek it. Definitely not the Restricted Section, though -- the bookcase she needed was void of any chains or the eerie atmosphere that came with the closed off area.
Post by Reena Ashworth on Oct 7, 2022 17:56:42 GMT 10
Reena stopped looking towards the Restricted Section, certain that she did not need to go there. Instead she focused on the new information she suddenly remembered? Got?
And focused her gaze at the base of the bookshelves as she walked on. She kept to the ones standing at the wall for now and after a few minutes she got out her wand.
“Lumos!“, she whispered and held her wand light down. She hoped the light might trigger a reflection from another silver crest and help catch her attention.
She continued searching the shelves on this floor she was on but would continue onwards with the shelves standing against walls. She figured she would search every other shelve if she did not find the crest this way.
Her lit wand didn't appear to have any particular effect, at least not that she could see. The only thing it revealed, much to her fright, was Madam Pince suddenly rounding a corner and shooting her a disapproving look. Having her wand out inside the library seemed to be a crime in itself. The Librarian eyed her suspiciously and didn't let Reena out of sight until the wand was nox'ed.
She could then continue on her search. Reena passed by a 7th year Ravenclaw who was quietly sobbing as she studied for her upcoming N.E.W.Ts -- by the looks of the mountain of textbooks. Hopefully that wasn't a premonition of Reena's own future someday. It wasn't even that far off, considering how many years she'd already completed -- this one almost being added to that list.
Another row of bookcases, and no luck. Either instinct or Hogwarts sending her a nudge, she had a strong feeling about perhaps going upstairs and trying there instead. It was less ventured than the main floor, thus increased her chances of finding something further out of prying eyes. The subjects were much more advanced up there too.
Post by Reena Ashworth on Oct 8, 2022 15:10:26 GMT 10
Reena stopped abruptly when Madam Pince appeared. It was as though she was a genie of the library, she was only missing her puff of smoke.
“Sorry,“ she whispered. “Nox!“[/i]
She then waited for the librarian to let her out of sight. Reena cast a worried look towards the seventh year and her mountain of study material. This did not bode well for her at all.
She was becoming a little frustrated not finding that crest and she abandoned her previous plan and skipped the next bookshelves in order to get to a higher, more advanced floor.
There were less people here and she started to search the bases of the shelves at the walls counter clockwise from the stairs she had just used, eyes curiously flicking upwards now and then to read a book title.
And there it was, the small crest at the base of a bookcase in a shadowy corner near the far back of the left area. In fact, it was rather uniquely shadowed. The books were cared for, as of course they were with Madam Pince on the prowl, yet seemed aged and... it was hard to describe what seemed so off about them. The best she could think of was that they seemed the sort of books that were easily forgotten or yielded very little interest.
Most of them were leather-bound. Some big, some thing and oddly-shaped. It was as if someone picked the least typical-looking books and put them in the same place. There were a few different ways she could approach this.
Post by Reena Ashworth on Oct 8, 2022 20:54:38 GMT 10
Reena could feel her face light up when she found the crest at last and kneed down to inspect it further. She briefly ran her fingers over it before she got back up to look at the shelve itself.
The way it appeared to be immersed in shadows and stacked with such an unusual collection of books made her certain she was in the right place.
She was puzzled however as to how she would make a door appear in its stead, as her attention seemed to be drawn to the books themselves.
Reena started looking for book titles before she picked out the oddest shaped one and pulled it out of the shelve to flip it open.
Perhaps there would be a clue in it or there would be a secret lever revealed once she picked out the correct book out of the mismatched mix. Or perhaps she was way off.
Either way, she opened the leather bound book, looking for an index.
There was nothing of interest in the book she'd picked, and most of the writing was difficult to read for its complexity and partially-faded ink. The others seemed like normal books, though one of them was so heavy it wasn't worth the effort. A few felt frail in her touch, in such a way that Reena half-expected Pince to swoop down on her at any moment. Again.
Shifting the books or inspecting them didn't appear to have any impact. During her attempt to solve her latest mystery, Reena noticed a group of four books in the middle that each had a scratch marked on the shelf edge. The books themselves were just like the rest -- different, unusual, and in a category of their own.
They were in good condition, at least. Not too heavy, and not even as aged-looking as the rest. Their titles weren't anything particularly notable either... A Birdwatcher's Guide to Tiw Starlyres; A Collection of Heroic Tales, Volume One; An Advanced Study of Ancient Languages and How to Use Them; and Mightier than a Sword: Why Words Matter.
Post by Reena Ashworth on Oct 8, 2022 21:15:15 GMT 10
Reena frowned at the faded ink, finding what little words she could read hard to comprehend and she put the book back carefully not to destroy it.
What an odd and frustrating collection of books.
She finally found the four books with the scratch marks on the shelve and she let her thumb graze the markers. Reena was now certain these four oddly coupled books needed to have more meaning to them and she inspected the titles.
None of them meant anything to her but she picked out the one about languages, remembering the inhuman voice from her vision at the fountain.
She also picked out the first volume of heroic tales and laid both of them next to each other onto her lap as she sat down cross-legged.
Perhaps they would reveal something about an underwater treasure?
Then again, a birdwatching guide and a social studies book about words had also been marked. She stretched upwards to get the other two books as well and looked at the empty place in the shelf where they had been in case anything seemed to change.
Then she laid the four books out in front of her to see if anything happened when she opened them all at the same time.
Post by Reena Ashworth on Oct 8, 2022 21:41:36 GMT 10
Reena stared at the open books a moment longer, then as nothing happened she flipped through them some more as though that might prompt a magical spark.
Reena sighed to herself, not really expecting anything to happen. The lack of clues were frustrating her and let her mind wander towards the situation with Twiggs. Which promptly made her feel anxious again and she shifted the books around into a different order on the floor.
She closed the books after wards and for lack of a better idea she picked up the book about the importance of words and touched it to the silver crest of her school.
Either because it wasn't the best place for such books or they simply did not belong there for her task, each book vibrated with magic -- then flew back into place on the shelf. That was where they needed to be, but there was certainly a puzzle placed before her as to their purpose and what she was supposed to do with them to unlock or reveal a supposedly hidden door.
Post by Reena Ashworth on Oct 8, 2022 22:02:19 GMT 10
A small yelp escaped her when the book vibrated in her hand and flew up towards its original place, as did the others she had laid out before her.
She looked around, expecting Madam Pince to have been responsible and looming over her shoulders on the brink of kicking her out for disrespecting the books by placing them on the ground. But there was no sign of the librarian.
Reena stared after them before she quickly got up to her feet and dusted off her knees, looking at the books inquisitively. She read over the titles again, then glanced at the rows above and beyond those four books.
After some hesitation she pulled out An Advanced Study of Ancient Languages and How to Use Them, shoved the two books that were left of it into its place and put it back on the far left so that the books were in alphabetical order.
Then she stepped back and waited to see if they would fly back to their original places.
She also checked to see if there were any markers on the books themselves that might coincide with the markers on the shelf itself.
Post by Reena Ashworth on Oct 8, 2022 22:16:54 GMT 10
For a second she thought she had accidentally accomplished the task but when the magical glow faded she at least knew that she had had the right idea about how to solve this puzzle.
She pulled out the book about why words mattered and held it in her hand while she contemplated its proper place.
What was she supposed to order these seemingly unrelated, randomly assembled books by?
By year of publication? By topic?
She rearranged the books to be as followed: Mightier than a Sword: Why Words Matter; An Advanced Study of Ancient Languages and How to Use Them; A Collection of Heroic Tales, Volume One; and A Birdwatcher's Guide to Tiw Starlyres.
This was sort of sensible to her as it addressed why they needed words, how to use words, a collection of made up words (tales) and another practical use of words in the guide.
Still, alphabetically had made the most sense to her.
00 | 
21 | 
20
December
