The Best Book Ever

[Oswald Brigham]

The great thing about the Hogwarts library was that there were so many books, it was rare for some of the less popular titles to ever be checked out. That meant Oswald could pop in whenever he liked and read the next chapter of his favourite dragon book without ever having to lug it up to his dormitory. It was hands-down the best book he'd ever read, with illustrations of Norwegian Ridgebacks and Chinese Fireballs and all sorts of amazing facts he couldn't wait to relay to his dad when he went home over the holidays. Unfortunately, today, the book was missing. Oswald stood dumbly in front of the shelf for several moments, as if by waiting long enough it might materialise in the hole. Someone had checked it out! The Gryffindor's heart sank. No other book could replace that one. Sure, there were encyclopedias, but none of them had such amazing pictures as his.

Sighing dejectedly, he turned around, his gaze falling on the nearby tables, and on the red-haired girl sat hunched over one. Hang on - Oswald recognised that cerulean blue cover. It was his book! The girl was reading his book! At first, he was indignant, but then, as he approached her from behind, a curious new feeling came over him. If she was so interested in dragons, maybe he could chat to her about them! "Um - hi," he said, timidly. After hesitating for a second, he slipped in at the table beside her. "Cool book, huh?"

 

[Fleur van Houten]

In her first year, Fleur had always seen the library as that quiet place people went to study. She had been there once or twice, but she had never really looked into what sort of treasures were hidden on the shelves. The Gryffindor had been busier making friends and occasionally doing homework, and as she had a couple of her favorite books on dragons in her trunk in the dormitory, it hadn't occured to her until the start of her second year to look at what the Hogwarts library might have on the subject. And now she couldn't believe what she had missed. She had found the most beautiful book today while looking for books about dragons, and she had been looking at the pictures for an hour now.

She was sitting alone at a table, poring over the beautiful illustrations in the book while she played with the end of her messy braid. All her braids were messy while she was at school, she just couldn't do it the way her mom did. But she didn't mind the strands poking out, it suited her. She grinned as she turned the page to see a large illustration of the Swedish Short-Snout, one of her very favorite dragons. Her eyes widened in amazement as she watched it move on the page and spit fire. She didn't notice the boy approaching until he talked to her, and as he sat down beside her she finally tore her eyes way from the page. She gave him a slight grin, nodding. "Understatement of the century, it's the best book I've ever seen." She said in awe, looking back at the page. "These pictures are so beautiful, it's like I'm looking through some sort of window at a real dragon." She sighed, touched the page lightly, then looked up at the boy again. "You like dragons too, then?" She asked him, eager to find students that shared her passion. She recognized the boy vaguely from Gryffindor, but didn't think she'd ever heard his name.

 

[Oswald Brigham]

Oswald had been worried how the girl would respond to his uninvited approach, but quickly relaxed into a grin. He followed her eyes down to the page, where a Swedish Short-Snout was flapping its enormous wings and spitting balls of fire. He could recognise most species of dragon now just by looking at a picture them. His dad would have been proud.

"Yeah, it's really cool," Oswald agreed, turning the page without asking if he could. He'd been desperate to read chapter six all day; he just couldn't help himself. At her question, he laughed. "Um, yeah. Does anybody not love dragons? They're pretty much the coolest creatures on earth." He watched a picture of an egg hatching with undisguised awe, reaching out to touch the page as if he might be able to feel the hard shell on his fingertips. "Have you ever seen a real dragon?" he asked, wondering whether the girl was a dragon enthusiast, or a dragon enthusiast. Maybe his dad knew her parents!

 

[Fleur van Houten]

Fleur stared at the picture of the Swedish Short-Snout for a moment and sighed softly. It was such a wonderful creature. "Did you know the Swedish Short-Snout can produce a flame so powerful that it's blue and can turn almost anything to ash within seconds?" She asked him eagerly, excited to talk about this subject with someone that was interested in it too. All of her siblings were tired of her ramblings by now.

She cracked a grin at his comment. "Only boring people don't love dragons." She agreed with a firm nod. "They're simply the best creatures that exist, and misunderstood too. I hate the idea that they're hurt so we can have gloves or other things from their skin." She scowled at the thought, as nothing made her angrier. She tried her best to focus on the awesomeness of finding a fellow enthusiast, though, and not let her anger get the better of her. His question made her sigh. "No, unfortunately." She said sadly. "I've never been anywhere near one. I just really like them, and have for ages. My parents don't really get it." She looked at him curiously. "Have you?"