Closed Books

[Lillian Lockwood]

Not for the first time and certainly not the last, Lily found herself in the library. There were just so many books! How could she ever be expected to read them all? Not that anyone else thought she should do so. She still planned to try. She browsed the shelves, looking for more stories. Informational books were good, of course, but there had to be magical authors who wrote fantasy novels as well. The only one she'd found so far was a book of children's tales. Or perhaps they just read muggle books as well? She wouldn't mind that, either.

Lily took a promising looking volume off the shelf. Once she flipped it open, however, she realized it was a book on the different ways magic could present itself as a child. It certainly seemed interesting, and she had the thought to share it with Ettie. She slipped it into her bag and resumed her search, not noticing anyone else around her.

 

[Sophie Elliston]

When classes started for that year Sophie couldn't help but be happy for it. It felt weird being excited to go to school and attend classes but that was what made Hogwarts amazing to the first year. The Ravenclaw wanted to be on top of her game, and so as soon as she had received some homework she quickly made her way to the library. It took a while to find where it was but eventually Sophie had found it on the fourth floor and she was happy she didn't have to ask anyone.

As Sophie entered the library she marvelled at how large it was. She knew that Hogwarts was a big place but was still somehow taken aback by the size of the library and all of the books it contained. Soon enough, the girl had become distracted from her initial task and walked up and down the aisles to see all of the different books. Most of them Sophie had never heard of before. Her fingers traced the spine of the books as she walked along. She had almost bumped into another girl as she wasn't looking where she was going. "Oh, I'm sorry." she muttered, looking down at the ground.

 

[Lillian Lockwood]

Lily looked up, startled by the other girls sudden appearance. She giggled, smiling shyly at her. "Oh, no, it's alright. I wasn't looking either." She tucked her hair behind her ear. Her attention turned back to the books around them. "This place really is beautiful," She commented, "I don't see how I'm ever going to read all of these in only seven years." She reached out, running her fingers lightly down the worn spine of a large tome. She looked to the other girl again with a small smile. "My name is Lily. Lily Lockwood." She held her hand out like she'd seen other students do.

 

[Sophie Elliston]

Sophie was thankful that the girl she almost bumped into was understanding. It wasn't everyday that people were nice to her and it was good to know that there were people at Hogwarts who were friendly. Sophie was just about to keep walking until the girl spoke again. "Yeah, there's so many of them, and with classes and stuff I don't think anyone could realistically read every single one of them." the Ravenclaw replied matter-of-factly, agreeing with the girl. The girl introduced herself as Lily Lockwood and put her hand out for Sophie to shake. "I'm Sophie Elliston." she replied, giving her a friendly smile. "Do you know much about Hogwarts? Like, do you have any siblings here or something?"

 

[Lillian Lockwood]

Lily nodded at the girls words. "Maybe we just ignore the really technical ones? Like instructions on how to grow poisons or something." She offered, unsure if there was actually a book like that. "I heard there's a restricted section here. I wonder what's there?" She asked almost to herself, curious. Lily smiled shyly as the girl introduced herself. "Sophie is a pretty name." She commented.

Lily shook her head as Sophie asked if she knew much about Hogwarts. "No. My mama is a witch, and I have younger siblings, but Mama didn't say anything about magic until I got my letter. Papa is a muggle." She explained. "What about you? Do you have any family here?"

 

[Sophie Elliston]

Sophie pursed her lips as Lily suggested that they should just ignore the technical ones. "But wouldn't that be interesting though? And what if we need it for Herbology or something?" Sophie shrugged, figuring that perhaps not everyone would be interested in all types of books like she was. As the girl mentioned a restricted section, Sophie's eyes widened, wondering what the restricted section contained and why it was so restricted. She wanted to find the restricted section right away but decided she would look for it another time. "Maybe it has books with information in it that people don't want us knowing? Maybe the books contain conflicting theories about certain content in one of the subjects and that's why the professor's don't want us finding it! How cool would that be?" Sophie said, suddenly becoming really excited about the idea of finding out why exactly those books were restricted.

As the girl commented on her name, Sophie thanked her with a friendly smile before listening as she answered her question. "Oh, that would have been weird not knowing about magic before you received your letter. I'm a muggle-born, but when I was five I made a tennis ball blow up and that's how my family found out. I didn't do it on purpose though." Sophie shrugged. She didn't have any shame about talking about her blood type now that she had mentioned it once before. After all, the girl seemed nice enough to not judge her for it. "My cousin goes to this school and my other cousin graduated a couple of years ago. But I really don't know much about this place. It was kind of hidden from me for a while." Sophie smiled at the girl. "You're a first year, right? I think I remember seeing you at the sorting ceremony."

 

[Lillian Lockwood]

Lily giggled. "I suppose it could be." She conceded though she was unsure if she wanted to know how to grow poisons. She hoped it wasn't a necessary school subject. That seemed dangerous. Sophie continued about the restricted section. "I'm not, um, I'm not sure, but, um, but I think that it's dark magic," She offered. What else would be kept there? Although the idea of keeping texts like that in a school of impressionable children seemed like a bad idea to her.

Lily nodded as Sophie told her how her magic appeared. "My magic was more subtle. My toys put themselves away, little things like that." She listened as Sophie talked about her family. "I wish I had family here," She confided, "But, um, but I'm the oldest and my Mama was an only child." She frowned a little at the thought. She would have loved someone else to play with growing up. She loved her siblings, of course, but she would have liked someone closer to her age.

Lily nodded as Sophie asked if she was a first year. "Yes, I am." She tucked her hair behind her ear. She had been so nervous during the sorting ceremony.