library
Harry Potter had never been allowed into a library before. Well, no. A few times, in primary school, his class would go to the school library for some reason and he, as a member of the class, was allowed along. But Harry had never been able to find books in a library, to browse, to wander. He was a stranger in a new land. He was a Ravenclaw in heaven. He was given a much-needed entrance to reality, and, oh! What a reality it was!
The doors were ornate, wooden doors, both hand-carved and painted with the motifs of Hogwarts - badgers in their dens and bushes, an entire pride of lions on a savannah, eagles soaring and serpents hunting, all colorful with House pride and moving with ancient magic - charms or runes, Harry didn’t know, but he feel the age of the doors. He gasped at them, and stared, and the doors seemed to sense when he was finished, and opened without a touch.
The inside of the library was even more entrancing than the outside- even more entrancing than the castle’s exterior, even! The books seemed to float to the patrons of their own accord, the shelves were dancing and reorganizing themselves as the students needed, the librarian’s desk was at least a kilometer above the ground, maybe more, floating as she watched the chaos below. Multiple large signs were on the sides of the shelves, as they would be in Muggle libraries, and Harry walked up to the closest shelf and read.
RULES OF THE HOGWARTS’ LIBRARY
ONE. NO STUDENTS ARE ALLOWED TO BRING IN ANY FAMILIARS WITH FUR OR FEATHERS, MEANING YOUR CATS AND OWLS ARE NOT ALLOWED TO ENTER WITH YOU. WARDS SURROUNDING THE LIBRARY WILL ALERT MADAM PINCE IF ANY BANNED ANIMAL ENTERS THE ROOM AND IF A STUDENT DELIBERATELY DECIDED TO ALLOW THE ANIMAL ENTRY, THEY WILL BE PUNISHED. ALLERGIES ARE SEVERE HEALTH HAZARDS AND THIS IS A SCHOOL, NOT A ZOO.
TWO. NO STUDENTS MAY CHECK OUT ANY BOOKS FROM THE RESTRICTED SECTION WITHOUT CONSULTING MADAM PINCE. NO STUDENTS MAY BROWSE THE RESTRICTED SECTION UNLESS THEY HAVE EXPLICIT PERMISSION FROM A PROFESSOR. THE BOOKS ARE ABLE TO DEFEND THEMSELVES, AND MADAM PINCE WILL NEED TO TRAIN ANY STUDENTS WHO NEED THEM IN HOW TO HANDLE THEM SAFELY.
THREE. ANYONE DISRUPTING THE ABILITY OF OTHERS TO LEARN AND USE THE SPACE PRODUCTIVELY WILL BE WARNED, AND LATER ASKED TO LEAVE.
FOUR. ANY STUDENTS WHO VANDALIZE, TEAR, BURN, TRANSFIGURE, HEX, OR OTHERWISE CAUSE INJURY TO THE BOOKS, SHELVES, DOORS, OR OTHER STRUCTURES OF THE LIBRARY WILL BE BANNED. REPEAT OFFENDERS OR STUDENTS ATTEMPTING DARK ARTS ON LIBRARY PREMISES RISK EXPULSION.
FIVE. ANY STUDENTS WHO INSULT, MAKE COMMENTS ABOUT, OR OTHERWISE EXPRESS DISRESPECT TOWARDS BOOKS WITH MUGGLE ORIGINS OR STUDENTS BROWSING BOOKS WITH MUGGLE ORIGINS WILL BE PUNISHED. THE LIBRARY WILL ALERT MADAM PINCE OF ANY SUCH CONDUCT.
SIX. ALL LIBRARY BOOKS WILL VANISH FROM THE CUSTODY OF THE PERSON BORROWING THEM ON THE DUE DATE. TO RENEW A BOOK, YOU MUST CONSULT A PROFESSOR OR PREFECT BEFORE THE BOOK IS DUE.
SEVEN. NO POTIONS MAY ENTER THE LIBRARY. ANY PERSON CAUGHT WITH A POTION ON THEIR PERSON WILL BE APPREHENDED BY THE LIBRARY WARDS. POTIONS ALREADY INGESTED BY PERSONS MAY ENTER THE LIBRARY WITH THE PERSON WHO INGESTED SAID POTIONS.
Harry finished reading the rules and grinned. He had not broken any of them yet, and he would not need to interact with the librarian to check out books. Not only that, but the library had a Muggle section! Harry had always been curious about the world he lived in, with his entire childhood being defined by don’t ask questions. Harry wondered what the differences between Muggle and Magic libraries were. The bookshelf on the histories of libraries floated towards Harry as he thought, and Harry began browsing.
Harry left with full arms and a newfound appreciation of life. He also left with the resolution that under no circumstances would his relatives keep him from being able to use a Muggle library again. He had magic on his side, he had knowledge on his side, and he had reading to do in the meantime. Harry Potter left the Hogwarts library knowing that he would be back. He left it feeling like he had found his soulmate. Harry Potter was entirely content with the world.