Closed Magic vs Science

[Bryan Duffy]

Every library had a corner that was slightly warmer and slightly cosier than the rest. Bryan knew this, because he had spent a considerable amount of time in a considerable number of libraries, and he was of the opinion that if you were going to be sitting on any floor for three hours with a hardback book balanced on your knee, you might as well make it your principal purpose to find the warmest, cosiest corner in which to do it.

In this particular library in the centre of Marlborough, quite by serendipity, the cosiest corner had been consecrated to computer science and engineering. There Bryan sat now, directly above an underfloor heating pipe, sheltered by books about aerial robotics and artificial intelligence. It was all a bit beyond a boy of eleven, but he'd read all three books about robots in the kids' section already, and he couldn't find anything of an intermediate level. After labouring for a while over Mechanics and Control he stood up and replaced it on the shelf. Something with a few more pictures, perhaps...

Aha! Modern Robotics sounded promising. It was also a long way out of his reach. Byran tried jumping, and flinging his hand uselessly against the spine, and then finally (when he was sure no adults were looking) using the lowest shelf as a step-up, but all he managed to gain for his efforts was a sharp pain under his ribs. He raised his hands to gesture exasperatedly - and looked down in surprise as a heavy weight suddenly filled them.

Clutched in his fingers was the very book he had been stretching for, except he knew he hadn't pulled it down off the shelf himself. A funny feeling rippled through his stomach, as it always did when peculiar things happened to him. Then, as quickly as the the feeling had come, it turned into prickly horror. He spun around and connected eyes with a girl standing near the end of the shelf. Oh, no. How much had she seen? Surely, even if she'd noticed the book teleport into his hands, she'd assume her eyes were deceiving her. But what if she didn't? What if she asked questions?

Hugging Modern Robotics to his chest, Bryan ducked his head and pretended to be very, very interested in the books on the lowest shelf.

 

[Kate Kensington]

Kate had already spent the majority of her morning in the Library, and was beginning to find her feet wanting to travel a bit. She knew she had to stay there until her mother came to pick her up, but her eyes were starting to feel blurry with how much she had read. Her parents had decided that with Kate attending Hogwarts the following year, it was time for her to learn how to be independent, and not spend all of her time at home, playing with her bunnies or crocheting.
Finding her bottom was becoming numb from sitting for so long, Katherine listened to her feet, and started to slowly stroll around the library, checking out the areas she usually wouldn't look at twice. Movement caught her eye and she paused to watch a boy, that looked around her age, struggle to reach a book. Amusement filled her face as she watched him use the shelf for a step. It was something Kate would never ever think about doing, but she appreciated the boy's 'independence', in not straight away going to an adult for help. The smile quickly disappeared from her face, however, when a book suddenly appeared in the boy's hands. Looking around to see if anyone else had seen, Kate quickly moved closer to the boy, pretending to look at a book close to him, before whispering, "Are you magic?"

 

[Bryan Duffy]

Oh, geez, she was coming closer. Don't talk to me, don't talk to me, don't talk to - wait, what? Bryan whipped around, hugging his book tighter still. "N-no," he said, his parents' words of caution jumping to the front of his mind. There were laws about this kind of thing - about telling normal people about magic - and frankly, Bryan was glad of them. He couldn't have told anybody anything if he'd wanted to. "I'm just... a normal person. I like robots. Sorry."

 

[Kate Kensington]

It took a moment for Kate to understand what the words coming out of the boy's mouth were saying. As cultured as her parents tried to make her, she couldn't place the boy's accent. However, once she understood what was said, her heart sank. It would have been nice to meet someone who she might have been going to school with. But Kate knew what she saw and she knew she would be thinking about it all night if she didn't ask again. "I only think that because I know." Kate whispered out of the corner of her mouth, still pretending to look at the books. "I wouldn't tell." The blonde said, finally looking at the boy, almost pleading him to say yes and then be her friend.

 

[Bryan Duffy]

She knew?? Oh, Bryan was in big trouble. He was going to go to magical prison, and he wouldn't be allowed go to Hogwarts, even though he didn't really want to go that much in the first place, and... Wait - how did she know? Slowly, he turned his head to look at her. It couldn't be true. "Are you... not normal, too?"

 

[Kate Kensington]

Kate giggled, happiness beaming from her face. She'd never been called not normal before. "How did you do that?" Kate asked quietly, looking from the book to his face again. "My mom says I'm not allowed to do that until I'm at school. Is...is it different where you're from?"

 

[Bryan Duffy]

“I didn’t!” Bryan said, as though he’d been accused of trying to smuggle the book out under his shirt. “I just looked down, and I was holding it, honest to God - I didn’t do it wi’ magic! Not on purpose, like.” He glanced over his shoulder to make sure nobody had crept up on them, but lowered his voice again anyway. “I think it’s just one of those… weird things. You get that too, right?”

 

[Kate Kensington]

Kate nodded her head in understanding, following the boy's gaze over their shoulders, noting no one was around. Kate turned her body so she was properly facing the boy when he asked if she also had weird instances. "Just the other day, I fell off my horse and didn't have a scratch on me." Kate whispered almost matter-of-factly. "Are-are you just visiting New Zealand, or are you going to go to school here?"

 

[Bryan Duffy]

She had a horse! Bryan wondered whether witches and wizards were generally very rich. His dad had a house, but it wasn't very big. "Wow," Bryan said. A small library in Marlborough, of all the places to meet a witch! It just went to show, they were everywhere, and likely always had been, though Bryan hadn't always known what he was looking for. "No, I live here! I'm going to school in September. I'm going to, you know... Pigboils," he said, as if calling it by its real name might be what gave him away to the Muggles. "Is that where you're going, too?"

 

[Kate Kensington]

If possible, the smile on Kate's face grew bigger. She was so happy that the boy lived there! September was when she started too! But...then he said the name of the school, and Kate's heart sank. She had never heard of that school before, she didn't even know New Zealand had two wizarding schools. "No." Kate replied sadly, upset that she was already going to lose her first friend. "No, I'm going to Hogwarts." She said quietly.