How I Met Your... Aunt/Mother?

[Eryk Kaelen]

December, 2039​

With Aodhan still in school for another four hours, and his morning shift at the library ending soon, Eryk pushed a cart full of books he was suppose to put back into the right shelves before his colleague would arrive to take over from him. Had he known that he would have to bring Aodhan with him to New Zealand, he might have never decided to move out of America, for Aodhan's sake, because he barely made enough now that he had to take care of his nephew, too. It was quite a lot of books he had to put back that day, but it was fun to do and at least now he would not spent his time at home doing nothing until he could pick his nephew up from school. As the twenty-eight year old pushed the cart forwards, he stopped to chat with a few regulars every now and then, to catch up and talk about things such as sports and the weather. Although he enjoyed being a librarian for the time being, Eryk knew that it was not going to be a job he would keep on doing forever, as it was hard to pay for everything every month or so. Nodding goodbye to a male regular he had been talking to for about five minutes, Eryk pushed the cart forwards again, stopping only to put a few new books into the newly arrived section of the library as he walked by before he would continue to walk his usual route with the cart.

 

[Liberty Kaelen]

It had been little under six months to the day, that Liberty had walked out on her husband. While she knew he was a considerate man, she couldn't take being with someone she didn't love anymore. As heartbreaking as it was, she had made the decision to return to New Zealand. She had hoped the transfer wouldn't be too hard on her children, who had spent their entire lives living in France. But as a student herself who had moved country at eleven she knew the benefits of additional cultures.

Her twelve year old son had settled nicely into his new school. All three would eventually be attending Hogwarts New Zealand, but for now she was happy that Keanu had made Gryffindor and was enjoying his new education. Her daughters on the other hand were slightly more troublesome, and the twins were making the most of their last year of primary school by pranking most of their classmates. While Libby knew it would take time for things to settle down, she had always told the three they could write to their father at any time, and visit him during the school holidays.

For now however, it was time to focus on herself. Too long had she been stuck at their pub in France, mingling with the drunk regulars who would be wasted by midmorning. As a student at Hogwarts she had had such plans for her life, and she was keen to get herself back on track. Not one to hold grunges or distribute blame, Libby knew the last 15 years of her life were not regretted, but from now on she would be looking only forward.

Her father Mark, had once been a famous writer within the muggle world. It was for this reason that Libby now found herself in the library on the cool December morning. She wanted to try something new, and was browsing the shelves for any topic that she found remotely interesting. She had spent so long forced to live as a muggle, that the idea of studying any magical topic once more was overwhelming. How much had changed since she was here? She had considered contacting her old school friends, but had her doubts as to whether they'd even remember her. As she wandered through the section on animals, she noticed a member of staff out the corner of her eye. Instinctively she turned, curious to know whether it was someone she would recognise. Smiling brightly, her stomach churned. No. She couldn't help hiding her disapointment, and tried to turn back to the books in the hope he hadn't noticed. ​

 

[Eryk Kaelen]

Just as he was putting a book about the biology and behaviour of wolves back on one of the shelves, Eryk noticed that a woman had turned her head to look at his direction. At first the man thought nothing of it, perhaps she wanted to ask him where certain topics were located in the library just like most people did, but then, right as the woman turn back to the books, he caught a glance of the disappointment on her face. Even though the twenty-eight year old knew it probably wasn't his business to walk up to the woman and ask her if there was something wrong, he decided to do it anyway as she might have been disappointed at the library for not having a particular book. Slowly pushing his cart forward, Eryk walked towards the woman with a friendly smile on his face, ready to assist her in anyway he could. ''If you want a good read about animals, I would recommend you Of Wolves and Men by Barry López.'' He said, clicking on the brake pedal with his foot so he could lean against the cart. ''I've read it myself and must admit that I quite enjoyed reading it.''

 

[Liberty Kaelen]

Libby closed her eyes for a moment at the realisation that the staff member was approaching her. Why did she always have to step in it? Now she would have to find a way to let the guy down gently. Looking up brightly once more, she listened to his advice about books. "Hopefully nothing in there about werewovles" she joked. She had known a werewolf during her time at Hogwarts, and although he was a perfectly pleasant person to be around in human form, it was shocking what he could do with the moonlight.

Unsure of what the gentleman wanted, now that he'd parked his cart beside her. It seemed as though he wanted the company to be honest. "You seem to know what to recommend" she began, "Have you worked here long?" She asked. She was so used to being on the opposite end of customer relations that it felt strange to be the one asking the questions. She turned her attention back to the nearby books, although something inside her was considering having a serious discussion with this man. It had been so long since Libby had been around a true intellectual, and quite frankly she missed it. ​

 

[Eryk Kaelen]

Eryk frowned and smiled nervously when the woman mentioned werewolves. Assuming that the woman was a muggle because it was unlikely to find a witch or wizard in the muggle world, he didn't think twice about the possibility of meeting a witch at the local library this hour of the day. ''You do know that werewolves are only fictional, right?'' Eryk said with a smirk, shifting his arms to lean a bit better against the cart. ''Besides, werewolves aren't that bad, better than vampires at least.'' he said jokingly, assuming that she favorited vampires - or any other creature - over werewolves. During his time studying dangerous creatures such as werewolves and acromantulas and manticores, Eryk developed an fondness for the near-wolves as he'd met several of them in their human form. The man listened while the woman spoke again and smiled. ''For about three months now, I think.'' He only knew what to recommend the woman because she was standing in the animal section of the library and he had read a couple of books in that section that had managed to pigue his interest. Had it been the technology, or the romance section, he probaby would not have known what to recommend to her.

this is lame, sorry

 

[Liberty Kaelen]

Libby's heart sank once more as the man explained that werewovles were only fictional. Clearly he was a muggle. "Obviously" she laughed nervously, trying to think of a way to change the subject quickly as to not over step the mark once again. Luckily, he did it for her. "Definitely better than vampires." She confirmed. At least she'd met a werewolf before. Libby shifted about on the library floor, beginning to feel a little like she was being tested. Why had she thought that moving back to New Zealand would be a reason to involve herself in magic? She would never be able to go back to that kind of lifestyle. Not unless she found other wizards at least. Attempting to push the thought back out her head, she smiled once more at the gentleman. "Three months?" She repeated. That wasn't long at all. Unless it was simply a lucky guess, the man standing beside her certainly knew his information. "What's your name?" she asked "I may be coming back quite frequently in the future. It would be good to know someone around here" she added. It was the perfect place for her to research for her new book.

Not at all!
​

 

[Eryk Kaelen]

Eryk smiled and nodded his head as the woman repeated his words. ''I used to be a teacher in America before moving to New Zealand with my nephew, a few months ago.'' He began, wondering if she would even be interested in hearing a little background story. ''This was the only job available at the moment, otherwise I would have waited for a job to become available at the university in this city.'' Although Eryk could have easily gotten a job at the Ministry of Magic, at the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures since he studied creatures for five years after graduating from Hogwarts Scotland, he knew his passion lay in teaching others, especially children. And though he absolutely loved his new environment, he missed teaching a lot. Blushling slightly as the woman asked for his name, the man opened his mouth, ''It's Eryk,'' he said, ''Eryk Kaelen.'' hoping that sudden change of colour on his cheeks wouldn't be noticeable. ''Likewise. It would be great to know someone other than my nephew and colleague.'' he commented with a smile, and while holding out his right hand for the woman to shake it, said, ''It's nice to meet you, Miss...?''

 

[Liberty Kaelen]

Libby smiled as Eryk introduced himself, and explained his current living situations with his Nephew. "How old is your nephew?" Libby asked. If he was an appropriate age, it would be good for her children to have someone to interact with. As Libby listened, she became more interested in Eryk, hearing that he used to be a teacher. She had always wanted to be a Hogwarts Professor when she was younger, but that seemed like such a far away dream at this point. "What did you teach?" She asked, intrigued.

As Eryk introduced himself, Libby gracefully took his hand and shook it. "Oh, it's Ms" she added. It still felt unusual to say, but what's done was done. "Ms Liberty Corvus" she smiled. She now hated that surname. Everything connected with it reminded her of her old life, and she felt trapped to it. ​

 

[Eryk Kaelen]

Eryk smiled brightly when she did seem interested. ''Aodhan turned eight a couple of months ago.'' Eryk said. It hadn't been a very large birthday celebrations like the previous one had been, but at the end of the day Eryk knew that Aodhan had enjoyed his time at the cinema and the playground. When Liberty asked him what he teached back in America his face lit up. If there was one thing he loved just as much as his nephew it was definitely teaching. ''I teached American history at a high school.'' the man told the lady in fromt of him. ''It was a lot of fun, especially if I had a student who was actually interested in the subject.'' Eryk added with a laugh. As Liberty shook his hand he smiled. She seemed a nice enough person to be around with. ''Were you looking for something in particular?'' he then asked when he suddenly remembered the reason why he had decided to walk towards her, and nodded at the shelves.

 

[Liberty Kaelen]

Perhaps a little young, Libby thought, but maybe the children would enjoy a younger brother figured friend. When Eryk spoke of his teaching, Libby smiled brightly. "Oh realy? History of.." She stopped speaking abruptedly. "History. It was one of my favourite subjects in school" She finished carfully. And indeed it was. History of Magic, Potions and Astronomy had been Libby's best subjects of choice. However not all students were like her, so she could understand why some might have found History boring. "Well I'm sure you knew your stuff" Libby added cheerfully.
Turning back to the topic at hand, Libby recalled the book she was trying to research for. "Oh. Well I'm writing a fiction book for children. It's mainly fantasy based, but I'm looking to include references regarding Ancient Runes?" It's what she'd initally been searching for, but had only made it up to "Animals".​

 

[Eryk Kaelen]

If he could, Eryk's smile would have been even more wider than it already was the moment she told him that history was one of her favourite subjects in school because, quite obvious by now, it was one his favourites, too. ''What is your favourite event so far?'' he asked, curious to know what historical event was her favourite. His was by far the Giant Wars but assuming that she was a muggle and not a witch, it was probably better not to mention that war, as for muggles, giant's only excisted in fictional writing. He beamed at Liberty's comment about him knowing his stuff and smiled. ''I certainly do.'' Eryk said, hoping it didn't sound selfish. Fully back on topic, the man listened attentively as Liberty spoke. ''You should get me a copy once it's finished!'' He said with excitement, ''I bet Aodhan would love it!'' Then she mentioned Ancient Runes, and though it might have been something muggles had in their world as well, Eryk only knew about the ancient runes in the wizarding world, so naturally the man frowned. ''I don't think this library has anything on Ancient Runes.'' he told her.

 

[Liberty Kaelen]

Libby wasn't entirely sure if Eryk was being serious when he asked her to save him a copy, but was flattered regardless. She smiled politely. She would just be grateful if she managed to complete writing it at this point, and she'd not even begun to consider the publishing process. "I would have to say I love the Tudors" said Libby truthfully. Something about the Scottish Kings & Queens facinated her, and although not many people may have agreed, she was happy with her choice. "What about you?" She questioned in turn.
She sighed as the Librarian explained there would be no books regarding Ancient Runes here. Maybe she was just getting ahead of herself again. She considered whether her old Professors would allow her to access the Hogwarts library once again, but pushed the thought aside for now. Nevertheless, if there were no books here, Libby would need to be on her way. "Well, I suppose I should go for now." As nice as normal social interaction was, Libby had things she needed to finish before the children returned home.​

 

[Eryk Kaelen]

Eryk nodded as Liberty told him her favourite historical event, and had to admit that the Tudors had definitely been one of his favourites, too. ''The Great War.'' the man answered. ''Now I know that it shouldn't be anyones favourite historical event because of the many deaths. But still, besides the Medieval times, it's probably my favouritse for some reason.'' Eryk had always been fascinated with wars such as World War I and the Second Wizarding War probably because of the stories his ancestors would write down in a journal and pass on from generation to generation. When the woman in front of Eryk told her that she would be going, he whipped the pedal up again so he could continue to walk his route with the cart. ''Too bad, I quite enjoyed our converstation.'' he said with a wink. ''If you ever want to ask me something,'' Eryk quickly added before she would leave, ''I work hear at Mondays, Thurdays and Fridays. It was nice to meet you.'' he told her, smiling charmingly at Liberty.