Library Bookshelves
 

Tall bookshelves are scattered throughout the library, the smooth wood gleaming brightly in the sun that shines in through the stained glass windows. Tens of thousands of books rest upon the shelves, all waiting to be explored by eager minds. They stretch along the walls, filling each shelf and dark corner. A catalogue system has been put in place to ensure that finding and retrieving a book becomes a simple task, for the sheer amount of books can be overwhelming, particularly to the youngest of students.

At the end of the first few bookshelves in the front of the library sits a pedestal. An open book with a soft golden light emitting from it, has been placed upon the pedestal. As you approach the book, you hear a rustling and then a gentle pop. “Come closer, come closer. Don’t be afraid.” A jolly voice speaks.

When you finally do peek into the pages of a book, an elderly gentleman peers out at you, one hand rising to adjust his spectacles. “Now. What book is it that you seek? I can give you a general location or a more specific one if you know the exact title of the book.”

Once you speak your request, the man ponders for a few moments before scribbling on a piece of parchment. Squinting at what he has written, he looks back up and smiles, before speaking the location of the book. “Happy reading!” He exclaims before settling back down into a still flat image.

OOC: Please note that the jolly man is for entertainment purposes only. I will not be RPing him each time a student approaches asking for a book. ;)

Set walked down the lower levels. He looked over shelves, until he stopped at a place he had gone over 3 times. He took out a book of Famous Witches and Wizards. He looked through until he found the section on the founders of hoqwartz, then he saw "Helga Hufflepuff"'s name. There was nothing there about her uncle, Polarius. He looked for another five minutes, then just before he was going to give up, he saw a small note at the bottom saying "Earlier life covered in 'A Study of the Early Lifes of Great Witches and Wizards'. He had to look there. he headed up to the front desk to ask the librarian where to find such a book.

The Grey Lady was oblivious to any human activity as she floated through the library aisles towards a section of advanced tomes dusty with age. Arriving at the bookshelf she was searching for, she hovered as her ghostly eyes scanned the titles on the shelf.

Having just left the third floor corridor, Anna headed to the library with Lyra. The two had been all over the school today, trying to gather as much information as they could for The Quill. They were now in need of a quiet place to just sit down and plot their next move, so the library it was. "We could try the tables," Anna mumbled, walking throughout the bookshelf area. "It doesn't seem to be too crowded over there---yet." She glanced over towards the many tables, noticing that most were indeed empty. Seeing as classes hadn't started yet, it was no wonder. Then she thought back to the incident on the second floor corridor earlier today. "On second thought," she added, "scratch that. Let's stay here. I need to look for a book." As she talked, Anna ran her fingers along the books, searching for the titles beginning with P.

Lyra followed Banana down the aisle and this girl was thinking clearly too. "No no. Not the tables, people might hear us," she said as she turned back to make sure Theo was with them too. "I actually like it better somewhere besides the obvious and this is a great spot!

"What book are you looking for?"

Theo had followed a little too eagerly. He wasn't about to leave Lyra, not after she was rather interested in him. He liked that somebody wanted to know about him, and be his friend. He was with Anna as well, and she was really nice too.

Anna wrinkled her eyebrows at Lyra and then glanced over at the tables once again. "What people?" she asked, seeing absolutely no one seated at the tables. Shrugging, Anna got back to looking for the book she'd been searching for before. "M, N, O....P!" she softly exclaimed, having finally found the section she needed. "Poltergeists," she stated, flipping through a book that she thought may contain a bit of information. "I'm looking for a book on Poltergeists. They're in this school, you know."

Anna glanced over at Theo, wondering if he was the type to be afraid of ghosts. She wondered how he would take her Poltergeist news. Maybe he'd already met Peeves, though. Who knew. The fact remained that if any student happened to be the type to be afraid of ghosts, they better learn to get over their fears quickly. Hogwarts was turning into a playground for the beings.

Book in her ghostly hands, the Grey Lady emerged from the dusty tomes and hovered as she opened the book, completely oblivious to the humans nearby.

Cayden was coming from the stained windows as he turned around the corner to almost run into...or more through the ghost. "erh...im sorry miss." he said as he realized it wasnt exactly accurate. he gave her a smile as he then spoke again," excuse me." he looked at her as she was opening books.he didnt know ghosts could read books. he looked around the corner as he saw anna, popcorn lady in Agie's pocket and then another slytherin. he gave the ghost one more smile as he headed towards anna."Hey anna." he made sure not to sneak. he gave lyra a smile along with the kid he didnt know.

Lyra looked back to the tables and frowned, but then smiled when she saw little Theo right behind her. "Well, there will be people there at some point," she whispered back to Anna when she turned back around to find that the girl had stopped at the 'P's. As the Gryffindor Prefect spoke of what book she was looking for, Lyra noticed something out of the corner of her eye.

There floating along the aisle was..."Umm...Banana...er...why don't you ask...her?" Lyra punched Anna in the arm and then pointed towards the ghost that was floating. Her eyes fell upon Cayden that was trying to talk to the ghost and then smiled back at her. She returned the smile and then her eyes fell back to the floating ghost.

Anna was talking about a book. A book about some sort of thing. He frowned, "What is a poltergeist?" he asked. He was unsure of what he was asking, and hoped it wasn't scary.

"Oh, hey there, Cayden," Anna said, not glancing up from the book she was skimming through. She'd reached a really good part, and she didn't want to lose her place. "How's it going?" Anna read on a little further, then promptly slapped the book closed. She slid it back on the shelf where it belonged. It had turned out to be a false alarm in her search for more information about Peeves.

"Yeah, yeah," Anna said, running her fingers along the books once more. Were there not any books on Peeves in the library? There had to be---somewhere. Professor Shackleton had mentioned that the Poltergeist was mentioned in Hogwarts, a History, so the chances that it was also mentioned in another book were really high. Anna had promised a good many people she'd try her hardest to solve the Poltergeist issue, so that's what she was doing.

"Yesss?" Anna asked, still not looking up from the shelves. Anna finally looked up to see who it was Lyra was referring to. Had this been any other day and time, Anna just might have run screaming for the doors. It just so happened that this was her fourth different ghost to see, and she'd gotten a little used to them by now. Besides Peeves, most seemed to be harmless. "Oh, hello there," Anna said, smiling up at the ghost. As she looked up, Anna spotted the one book she'd been looking for all along. The ghost was standing directly in front of it, though. Anna couldn't just reach right through her---could she? No, that didn't seem to be proper etiquette for interacting with a ghost at all. "Excuse me, ma'am? May I get that book behind you, please?" Anna asked.

"A type of ghost," Anna simply answered. "Specifically one that causes a great deal of chaos." She didn't intend to scare poor Theo, but the truth was that he'd find out sooner or later. Better to tell him now than to let him see them himself without being warned. "They're here---at Hogwarts," she added.

A soft shushing sound was heard. "Do you mind?" she scolded in a ghostly whisper and floated over to the group of students. "This is a library and your loud voices will attract the unwanted antics of Peeves."

Lyra blinked a few times as Anna answered Theo's question but tilted her head to the side. "Just reach through her to get the book," she said as she leaned in to Anna and whispered in her ear. But just as soon as she whispered, she slowly pulled back to ask another question. "Umm, you said they, Anna. Just how many are there?" She remembered seeing a couple of them at the feast but were there more?

And then the ghost finally spoke but shushed them all. How can you shush a group of students who are seeing one of the ghosts. And then part of her question was answered. "Peeves? Peeves is at this school," she whispered rather loudly.

Theo frowned, "A ghost. But ghosts aren't real. They in fairy stories and such. And they are here." He jumped as something spoke. A ghost. "A....a....ghost," he stammered. He began to shiver, he was rather fearful. He had never seen a ghost before. He quickly ran and hid behind Lyra. She was bigger than him after all. She could save him.

She was really focused. she wasnt even turning to look at him."Good. Just looking for a book." he said as it was obvious. Right... he was in a library. he jumped a little as she slapped it close."Shhh its a library." he teased her as she started to explain peeves to the slytherin kid. So peeves was what they were looking for.why?

he watched the ghost as she told them to shush. It was a library, but he hardly doubt a trouble making ghost would bother the library. it would be a waste of time.

he looked at the kid who hid behind lyra as he then told him." Hey you...who's name i dont know. She's just a ghost. She cant hurt you." he explained as at least this kid was better then the other one. Baron wasnt a flesh eating ghost. he looked over at lyra hoping this time he wasnt going to upset at him for asking more questions. Which always seemed to happen."erh, lyra...why are you looking for peeves?" most likely to join his cause of causing trouble. he couldnt really blame her.

"Why wouldn't Peeves be here?" the Grey Lady replied and noticed the small boy hide behind the older girl. She smiled. "I won't harm you, child. If you've read your history, you should know who I am."

"Sorry," Anna whispered, feeling grateful that this particular ghost seemed to be quite nice. Continuing to whipser, Anna added, "Would you mind helping me with that book, though?" Anna pointed to the book she needed once again. She still thought it rude to reach through the ghost to get to the book. That was when the ghost mentioned Peeves. She knew Peeves! Maybe she knew more information than any book could hold! "Peeves!" Anna exclaimed. Oops. Too loud, once again. "Sorry," she mumbled. "Peeves, you say? That's the whole reason I'm looking for a book in here today---Peeves. Oh, please, can you tell me what you know about Peeves?"

"I am not," Anna hissed. "I can't just reach through her like that." Anna stared up at the ghost, a million thoughts running through her head. She really hoped this ghost would tell her anything she knew about Peeves. It would be really helpful. "I'm not sure how many there are," Anna replied, imagining there were countless numbers of ghosts in this old castle. "I'm guessing they came back into the castle last term during this treasure hunt we had. The walls of the school crumbled in several places, and a good many students searched within them for a treasure."

"There are the four House ghosts---Nearly Headless Nick, The Bloody Baron, The Fat Friar, and The Grey Lady. I've only seen Nick, though. The others I've just heard about," she explained. Anna looked up at the ghost floating near them, wondering what her name could be. "I've also seen Peeves and Myrtle, as well."

"Relax, Theo," Anna whispered, realizing that it was probably easier said than done for Theo. "She's not hurting us. She's only trying to read---and keep Peeves away. Trust me, you don't want him around." Anna shook her head, thinking back to how Peeves had dropped dungbombs on several students earlier today.

"Sorry," she said, feeling as if she was saying that word a lot lately. "What are you looking for a book on? Classes haven't even started yet. I guess I could say the same for me, though. I'm looking for a book on Poltergeists, though. Do you know anything about them?" Anna watched as the ghost talked with Lyra and Theo. This ghost seemed very cooperative and friendly. Hopefully she'd be willing to answer a few questions.

Anna narrowed her eyes, trying to figure out just who this lady was. She had to be a special ghost if she was well known in history. Let's see---she's in a library, reading at that, and she seems fairly intelligent. The only ghost that could easily fit into that description was..."Are you Mrs. Helena Ravenclaw?" she asked, figuring it may not be polite to address her as "The Grey Lady."

The Grey Lady laughed. "Peeves is a poltergeist and a naughty one at that. Always pulling pranks and making noise." She turned and floated upwards to place her book back on the shelf of books marked in runes.

Lyra felt someone hiding behind her and reached her hands back to protect Theo. "They're right," she began as she looked up to the ghost and smiled. "She is not the one you need to worry about. The one you need to worry about is..." she paused to lower her voice again "...Peeves."

Her eyes glanced in the direction of where Cayden was. Did the boy ever listen to things around him or better yet, people that spoke around him? Or maybe it was just her because she wanted to make sure to keep things together, she had too now.

"Nearly Headless Nick, Peeves....Moaning Myrtle is here as well?" She couldn't believe it! This was so....cool! "And now we have the Grey Lady or better yet, Helena Ravenclaw, daughter to Rowena Ravenclaw. Theo," she said pulling the boy to where he could see and not hide. "This is one of the smartest of all ghosts."

Anna seemed quite excited to learn about peeves. "You know if you really wanted to learn more about him why dont you just meet him. Im sure it wouldnt take long. According to the Grey lady here all you have to do is be loud. It shouldnt be that hard." Wouldnt the grey lady love that. Of course he was sure the library would be destroyed. Good thing for magic right? Fixed up in a matter of seconds.

When she apologized he gave her a smile as he shook his head a little." Its okay." she then asked what book he was looking for he looked back at the grey lady." Erh just magical creatures. the dark sort of ones." he shook his head a little when she asked about peeves." just that he's a trouble maker ghost." he started to speak now in a low voice so that the grey lady didnt hear." seems like a little fun to be peeves." he gave her a smile as he turned to the rest of the group.

Smartest one because her face was stuffed with books. when she looked over at him he gave her a small shrug. It wasnt his fault that he asked the question just as someone was answering it."Moaning myrtle is here?" He was thankful he was missing on that one. He didnt need more crying ladies.

"Slytherin students are usually polite to me," the Grey Lady said to the older-looking Slytherin boy. "Such a waste of a mind, but this young Hufflepuff lady has intelligence to match her beauty."

Lyra frowned slightly then smiled as she stood tall. She didn't know whether the Grey Lady was poking fun at her or what but the clouds disappeared when the ghostly lady said that she was intelligent with beauty. Now that was a smart ghost! "Thank you very much," Lyra bowed her head with a smirky look on her face.

Ludo had wandered down the corridors and ended up in the Libary. The path was so familiar to him, he'd traveled it subconciously. He breathed deeply...having arrived in one of his favorite places at Hogwarts.
Perhaps he'd even see Madame Kohan.

He walked down a row of bookshelves, brooding over book titles...searching for the tantalizing cover that would draw his attention. But a misty voice caused his search to falter.

The Grey Lady had floated near the end of the row he was standing in. In a quiet voice he said, "Good day Miss. Always a pleasure to see you." He smiled and caught a glimpse of a book in her arms, "May I ask what it is you are reading?"

He was a little confused. When was he rude to her. If he was rude you would of known it." Hey. I said excuse me. I was just pointing out that you said to keep it quite cause if you didnt then Peeves would come." He had just realized he was arguing with a ghost. A GHOST! What was she going to do...chuck a book at his head. Though he wouldnt past her. Things like always happened to him. He should just give it up and be gentleman." Sorry for being impolite to you." he apologized to her. "I wouldnt say that she has a bad brain. She's quite crafty." he spoke of lyra. She did get thrown out of school for it.