Finding that Flourish and Blotts was a complete and utter bust, and the owling ahead of time to make sure they had the book was a complete waste of her time, Daisy decided to continue the time wasting by trying the 3rd hand book store that she never knew existed. She pushed open the door and glanced around. Lots of books… If it was possible, the place looked more disorganized then Flourish and Blotts. But as Daisy knew, looks could be deceiving.

“So, history or biographies…” she muttered trying to decide where to start. She looked around for some signs. “Looks like histories are closer…” And so she took a turn down a row of books towards the history section.

“’cuse me,” she said as she pulled her satchel closer to her to prepare to slip past the boy. As she paused she noticed a few book titles around her. “Interesting topic no?” She making polite small talk. “I recommend Herbert’s “Troubling Treatments and Handling of Pachyderms and Dracunculus.” She paused. “Very informative.”

The Hogwarts Library was definately easier to navigate than this place. While some people relished the opportunity to dig and search for things in second (or in this case third) hand shops, Damien would rather his search be simple and quick. Signs to point him in the right direction.

Wouldn't that be nice. 'Crazy books this way, please'.

What a joke.

Out of the corner of his eye he noticed another girl attempting to find her way though the shop, more than likely in search of a book. He gave her a polite smile and flattened his back against a bookshelf so she could move past him, before turning towards her as she recommended a book. "They are definately different. The topics of some of the books, I mean. Never knew there could be this many wizarding authors to be all honest."

He cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm actually hoping to find books that focus more on ... the after life of a wizard. You know how the ghosts wander about Hogwarts as they please and have their own tales of their lives -- and deaths in their case --" he paused deciding whether or not continuing this conversation with a perfect stranger was a good idea or not. Damien never gave so much information to someone he hardly knew.

So the boy simply shrugged his shoulders. "Just sounds interesting, is all," he added, Irish accent flowing through.

”If you think there’s a lot of wizard authors, you should see how many muggle ones there are.” She said smiling. Daisy’s folks were both wizards preferring to stay on the dragon reserve where her mom worked, but as her mom was muggleboarn the family occasionally went to visit their muggle grandparents in Berlin. Last summer, grandmom had taken Daisy to a big library in town and it was about 4 times larger than Hogwarts. She had never seen so many books put together. “Some of what they make up is so outrageous its insane.”

”Well, I imagine,” Daisy replied without missing a beat or blinking an eye. “Books like those would be in one of four categories. “Histories, Biographies, Philosophies, or Theoretics.” She tugged on the strap of her satchel a bit. “I’m headed toward Histories and Biographies myself if you want help.” Ha! Funny, Daisy asking for help – again. The help she had received in Flourish and Blotts hadn’t been that helpful and she was certain the girl now thought she was a nutzoid. At least sourpuss girl hadn't understood Daisy was deviling into the rhetoric behind Vlad the Impaler.

Damien believed that there were just as many Muggle authors as Wizard. Though he'd never been interested in books either way. Until, that is, he found the book at the Hogwarts Library that spoke of the strange circumstances that surrounded his life. Did it give any answers? Not really, no. Which is why he was wandering this shop right now.

It appeared his new companion knew of the areas to look for a possible book he might be interested in. She seemed to be quite knowledgable and might give him the assitance he needed, instead of having to search by himself. Damien gave her the consideration and nodded. "That would actually be great," he said, starting to follow her in the direction of Histories and Biographies. Even if he might not be the best conversationalist, at least they'll both have a bit of company. "What brings you to a Third Hand Bookstore?" he asked as the pair rounded the end of one of the shelves.

”Well,” Daisy began wondering if this boy was a bit more observant the sourpuss girl. “I’m trying to find a book.” No really? In a book store? Who would have thought? She shook her head. “On Vlad the thrid, Prince of Wallachia. I owled Flourish and Blotts and they said they had it, but I couldn’t find it. Nearly tore the store apart too. I’m hoping it’ll be easier to locate here.” Although she still wasn’t certain which section it’d be shelved in.

Making more conversation and noting that the boy was at least a 6th year if not a 7yth, she asked, “Is your book for a special study?” She stepped back as a moving ladder that passed by.

Salima walked int to the third hand book emporium, walking towards the bookshelf looking for the following books on her list:
Hogwarts: A History by Chroniculus Punnet
A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander
The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Tremble
How Not To Blow Off Your Fingers On The First Day by Julius Gummidge
A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch
Quidditch Through the Ages by Kennilworthy Whisp
Goshawk's Guide to Herbology by Miranda Goshawk
The Standard Book of Spells Grade 1 by Miranda Goshawk
Hilary Stargazer's Guide to the Galaxy by Hilary Stargazer

fifteen minutes later, Salima managed to find all of her books on her likst apart for:
A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch
untul se starts scanning her way around the shelves until she does.

Damien raised an eyebrow at the declaration that she was looking for a book. He couldn't help but chuckle lightly as she continued to describe said book, though it was by no means malicious or mean laughter. However, he had to give a sort of sheepish shrug of the shoulders; "Sorry," he ry and give began. "If I knew who you were talking about I'd try and offer advice in return as far as where to look." He risked sounded like a complete idiot, but he wasn't about to lie and and tell her exactly where to look, or to try and speak of this Vlad, Prince of Wallachia, but then he'd sound like an even bigger idiot.

"To venture a guess," he continued, "It sounds like you'd find him with Biographies, but that's also assuming you're looking for a book with just information on the actual person and his life." He paused, rubbing the back of his neck. "On the other hand, I'd also say you might find him in Histories if you're more interested in things he's donw in the past --" Now he understood why she was having a hard time locating the book.

His book? Special study? You -- could say that," he began before duking to let a floating book move up to it's spot on the shelf. It wouldn't fit, however, because the two books on either side weren't letting it in; so Damien gently moved the two aside so the floating book could slide in.

"I found a book that caught my eye in the Hogwarts Library last year and held onto it for quite a while," he continued. "I guess I'm hoping to find something similar around here."

Now came the moment of divulging some more details. Most of which would probably make his eyes pop out or think she was a nutzoid who was obsessed in the occult. “Well, Vlad was also know by a few other names…, Vlad the Impaler… Tepes …Draco…His Romanian surname Drăculea.” She didn’t pause to see what his reaction might be. ““The problem with finding this particulare book – called Confessions – mind you, is that there’s some debate about it’s classification. Most classify it at Nonfiction while others as Fiction. You see many don’t believe it’s a true recounting or assertion of the events of Vlad Dracool’s life. Others say it’s a vindication of what he did. Some say propaganda for validation for his cause…”

”That was very nice of you,” Daisy said in regards to helping the book onto its shelf. She swung her satchel around behind her so it was resting on her bum. She paused at the end of a row, looked around and then turned to the right.

“They let you keep a book for the entire year? I’m surprised Donovan didn’t track you down and feed you to the giant squid.” She glanced at him and smile-chuckled. “Must be pretty brave to chance it though…or it was some book.”She turned left again and then followed a zig-zaggy row back to a rather clustered corner. "Sounds like the latter."

As Damien listened to who this person really was, finally recognizing the Romanian surname, he became highly interested in the character. So much so, he felt he had something in common with Vlad. No, he wasn't a vampire, but the way this girl described the controversy around him and what he'd done made the Hufflepuff feel he could learn from it.

Following her around the corner and putting his finger to a few book spines, Damien clarrified on the book from last year. "I guess I didn't exactly have it the entire year. Rather -- I brought it back, then asked to take it out again 2 days later."

Yeah -- some book. "It angered me mostly," he added. "Didn't really give me the answers I was hoping for."

Upon reaching the messy corner of books Damien's eyes widened. "I guess you're supposed to quite literally dig your way through all of this to get to what you want," he said before turning back to her. "If you don't mind me asking; why the interest in Vlad? Because of the controversy? Or simple curiosity?"

”Books tend to do that don’t they?” She chuckled. “Who was it that said ‘Literature is the question minus the answer? ‘.’” She squenched up her nose in thought. “The Frenchman Roland Barthes…I think...” She shrugged and pulled out a book. “Then again, the great Shakespeare,” who Daisy herself figures had to be a wizard to do what he did, “said “I am not bound to thee with my answer. So even if a book had the answer, I’m not sure it’d give it up willingly.”

Now she sounded like a boring ol’ Ravenclaw. Great!

She glanced over at the boy surprised he was still awake and (seemingly) interested. “Vlad? Well, I guess you could say a bit of both?” How do I put this into words? she thought. She leaned into him and lowered her voice. “You see, they believe he’s the reason vampires exist right? I’m not so sure…”

She pulled back then, afraid he might think she was crazy. “Most of what you’ve read or probably heard – well, is it propaganda or not? The book I’m looking for is supposedly is his confessions…” her eyes sparkled a bit as she got excited about the controversy. “But again, will it validate or vindicate him? Was it really written by him?” She threw her hands up into the air. “I don’t know! It’ll be exciting to see for myself.”

She coughed and tried to bring the excitement down a few notches. “So yeah…um…did I mention he was just an interesting figure?” She chuckled nervously.

She must be in Ravenclaw. What with all the literature quoting and what not. Yet Damien was rather amused with her excitement on the topic. Most of the girls he'd met were giddy and excited about things like ponies, cupcakes and carnivals. This one? Thought of excitment in a different manner. And it was rather refreshing to hear her thoughts on Vlad. Perhaps finding a book on him wouldn't be a bad idea either.

The gesture of the throwing of the hands caught him off guard, and the poor boy went tumbling slightly backwards into a pile of books. He chuckled lightly before straightening himself out. "The way you describe everything does make him sound rather interesting," he said matter-of-factly. "Think you've convinced me to read up on him as well."

Daisy's cheeks pinked a bit - high on the cheekbones and near the ears. She tucked a loose strand of auburn hair behind an ear and smiled a sheepish smile as she changed the subject. "So," she asked turning back to the shelves. She felt like she was repeating herself and therefore making him repeat himself, but she asked again. "Do you have a titled you're looking for - or just browsing for something interesting? Oh look - Gerbaldi's Handbook to the Lost Cultures of Timburkana." She paused getting a confused look on her face. "This isn't in the right section..."

Salima walked toward the counter holding her pile of books

Evangeline walked inside the Third Hand Book Emporium, making the bell above the door tinkle. With a glance around the shop she smiled, It looked messy and it smelled of old books. She loved the smell of old books. Someone had recommended this shop for Evangeline and now she was here looking for a book on wandlore. It interested her greatly.

Pushing her red hair behind her ear she walked to one of the bookshelves and began her search for books on wandlore.

Noticing the slight colour change on her skin, Damien smirked just a bit; not in a menacing way, but merely entertained by her flustered response. He turned the opposite way so his back was to her as he searched the other side of the shelves for anything that might offer a clue to what either he or she was looking for.

"The book I saw at the school library," he said fingering a couple spines to read their titles, "Was written by a bloke by the name of De Spina," he added as if the name was common use. "The Book of Enoch is what he wrote --"

As she declared she wasn't in the right section, Damien began to doubt he'd find anything that would relate to what he was looking for. "No?" he replied. "Perhaps we need to move one more over," he added, tilting his head in a direction for her to follow.

Rounding the corner, he noticed a much younger girl than the two of them, also searching the bookshelves for something in particular. Damien gave her a polite smile, nod of the head and a mumbled "Hello" before continuing past her.

”I’ve never heard of De Spina, but there’s a book of Enoch in the muggle Orthodox religion. No clue what it’s about though. ” After glancing at a few more titles in the section, Daisy agreed to move a few more shelves over. “Did you try to do any research on De Sippa?” She asked, using the wrong name. Hey, she wasn’t a complete know-it-all. “Or are you not looking for another book by him, but rather a book on a similar subject?”

She paused and pulled a large mustard yellow book off the shelf. She blew some dust off it in Damien’s direction. The cover read Parables and Allegories of Ancient America; A Study of their Affect on Modern Culture. From the look of the book, it was about 20 years out of date. But it was a Theology book. She showed it to the boy. “This looks like the right section.”

Evangeline was reading the spine of every book looking for a particular one which would help her in learning more about the study of wandlore.

Evangeline noticed the boy round the corner and walk towards her. She stood still in shock when he noticed her. She pulled herself together and smiled. She had just muttered "hello," back what he walked past her.

"It's about Angels that have fallen from Heaven," he replied without even thinking, though once he realized the words were out of his mouth, he immediately stopped that train of thought. Damien chuckled at her mispronunciation of De Spina, however. "Haven't tried to do research on him specifically, though if I could find another copy of The Book of Enoch, I'd probably take it -" It was the only piece of literature that detailed some of the strange circumstances he wished to read up on. He wasn't so sure that there would be another book on a similar subject, but maybe this girl could help.

"Don't think I ever introduced myself either," he finally realized. "I'm -- Damien Murray. Sixth year Hufflepuff and house slacker," he added.

”Sounds,” Daisy paused trying to find the right word to describe his book. “Interesting?” She wasn’t sure how angels could call from heaven considering every picture she’d seen of one, had wings. Wouldn’t they just fly? Or soar? Or float down? She mentally shrugged and put the mustard yellow book back on the shelf.
“Doing research on the author might help – it could tell you where would be best to find the book or what else he’s written or maybe even why he wrote it.” She paused. “Are you sure he was a wizard author? After all, seems like odd subject matter for a wizard, don’t you think?”
She noticed a book put on the shelf backwards (pages out, spin to the wall) and was about to pull it out when he introduced himself. She looked at him from the corner of her eye and was relieved to see he wasn’t offering a hand to shake. Shaking hands was just weird to Daisy. She never fully understood it and so many people at Hogwarts felt the need to shake hands or bow (which was weirder still) when they introduced themselves. She pulled the book out of the shelf and turned towards him. “Daisy Petrus.” She left her house and year off the introduction out of pure lack of thought to include it. ““Damien, huh?” she smiled teasingly as she opened the book to look at the copyright page. “Not big on the studying ‘eh?” Which would explain why he hadn’t thought to look into the author.

Interesting. That was one way to put it -- gave him nightmares for about 5 months straight, but he wasn't about to give that information away to anyone. "No, he wasn't a wizard author -- but I was hoping to find one who has written on the subject." -- Someone who actually knew what they were talking about and didn't make Damien feel like a complete and total nutter.

"Nice to meet you Daisy," he said with a nod before noticing a book with a strange symbol on the spine of it, reaching above her head to grab it. The title had been worn out, and he couldn't make out what it said, let alone the author. Heaving a frustrated sigh, he put it back.

Damien chuckled regarding Daisy's comment on the studying. "It's a good thing I'm not a Ravenclaw student," he declared. "All my housemates would be out to jinx me into next century."

"Not all Ravenclaws are about points and grades you know," she said with a chuckle. "Although Hufflepuffs tend to be a bit more - studious then say...Gryffindors." After all, she would know, she was a Gryffindor. She ran a finger along the spins of some books, stirring up some dust.

"Hey," she said pulling out a book. It's title read: Devils and Daemons; a Study of the Muggle Supernatural and Magic "What about this one?" She asked handing it overhanded it over. It was a very thin book and probably wouldn't be very informative.

"Guess I'm not a typical Hufflepuff then, am I?" he replied with a sideways smile. "I don't actually know any Gryffindor students --" he mused, thining back to this past year. "Most of the students I've met have either been in my own house, Ravenclaw or Slytherin."

He turned around towards her upon the declaration of a title that might be of interest. Taking the book from Daisy's hand, Damien opened up to the first few pages. There weren't many -- pages that is, but any information would be great. "This -- might actually be helpful," he said, more or less to himself. The title made him believe he was even more of a cray than before. Supernatural. As if being a Wizard wasn't supernatural enough --

"Thanks," he said looking up with a smile. "I'll buy it on the chance it might be something I'm looking for."

"Ravenclaws and Slytherins are interesting." She didn't really know many people at all anymore. She'd kept to herself a lot in the past year. Not by design, but it's just how it was. She'd tried to bring her grades up more then anything else, not wanting her parents to compare her to her older brother who was a freaking genius. "I find more of the Slytherins I know to be off," she wiggled her hand in a way that implied weird or crazy. "More so than anything else."

"Glad I could help." Daisy flashed him her biggest smile. "Finding odd things are one of my specialties."

as Jane ran her fingers of the books she couldn't help but think about why she loves books so much. the smell the feel of the books made her feel like home even if they where for school. she would read all of them anyway.