fandomhigh | Library [Sunday]

When Belle walked into the library for the first time, she had to stop in her tracks and just close her eyes for a second, taking it in. The way the books smelled -- clean, with a hint of dust -- and the silence of the high ceilings and all that space reminded her of the last library she'd been given. And while this one had its own unique characteristics -- there was a distinctly mechanical hum she could hear, somewhere, and it wasn't quite as musty -- it still made her homesick for the castle and her friends and Adam for just a second.

She opened her eyes, pushing past that, and eagerly moved further into the library. Belle had come here in pursuit of adventure, and while yesterday had helped her believe she'd get it for some time to come, today all but confirmed it.

She started piling books on the circulation desk. Every time she found a topic she didn't recognize, she snatched up the book to devour here, or take home with her later. She'd eventually get some work done, but it was her first day. She needed to familiarize herself with her new home.

[omg I am at work from noon until 7ish EST, but SP is love and I had to post her in here today. :D We'll have a regular schedule of aides starting tomorrow!]

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Belle delicately took the offered hand -- not intentionally, it was just how she handled things a lot of the time -- with a warm smile. "It's wonderful to meet you, Hermione. I'm Belle. Are you...." She paused, frowning a little, and guessed, "a teacher? Or a graduate?"

She may have twitched just the tiniest bit since she hadn't graduated here, but she'd live. She would. "I used to be a student here," she said carefully. "Now I teach. Are you the new librarian?"

"I am!" Belle said excitedly, because she really couldn't believe her luck in inheriting such a lovely library. "I only started today, though. It sounds like you might know the place a little better than me, already."

"Probably." It wasn't bragging, it was true. "Though it's been a while since I've been here. They've likely changed things and I'll have to relearn it."

"What's your favorite part of it?" Belle asked curiously. "Or at least your favorite section of books?"

She had to learn these things about people.

"Special Collections is... difficult, but it can be extremely useful," she said immediately. "But my favorite is the section on witchcraft and spells. It may not be entirely accurate where I come from, but it's always interesting to get a different take on things."

"How is it different?" Belle asked, wide-eyed. "I don't know...a lot about magic, really. I've just seen the effects. I can't do any myself."

Oh, Belle. She could go on for hours. Luckily, she wouldn't.

"Where I come from, almost all magic is done with a wand," she began. "And only certain people are able to perform it. Most people- we call them Muggles- have no magical ability at all. Here it seems to depend on the world. Some can do magic by relying on a spell book, or they just need the right ingredients and anyone can do it. And of course the history differs depending on where it's from. That can be as frustrating as it is interesting, if you're trying to find something specific."

"I have no idea what kind of magic we have at home," Belle said, thinking back to whether she knew anything about how the spell itself had been performed. "I mean, the only time I've ever seen magic, I came in after the spell had been performed. And then I saw it undone, and I don't think there was a wand anywhere. Or a book. Can you do the same kind of magic as in other worlds, even if they use a book and you use a wand?"

And Belle might have been making a mental note, in the back of her mind, to stay on Hermione's good side. Not that she suspected she was in danger of being turned into anything, but it was something that kind of stuck with you, all things considered.

"Not specifically the same kind of magic, but there are things that I can do with a wand that others can achieve through a book or some other source. I haven't had a lot of opportunity to try, really," she admitted. She sort of missed Willow now. "What spell was it, if I can ask?"

Belle winced thoughtfully. "An enchantress put an entire castle of people under a spell that transformed them for ten years. The servants and people who lived in the castle were all objects -- teapots, candlesticks, that sort of thing. The master of the castle -- a prince, who'd been unkind to the enchantress -- was turned into a beast, though. The spell lasted until the very last petal of an enchanted rose fell, or until the beast learned to love someone and be loved in return, and be kind to people."

It was odd, telling someone the story as though she didn't know the people involved, but she figured that was the best way to get an objective view on it.

Hermione's jaw dropped. "Ten years? Everyone was transfigured to teach one person a lesson? That's horrible! And servants! They're only doing their jobs, they don't deserve punishment for the actions of one person!"

Hermione, meet soapbox. Soapbox, meet Hermione.

"I know!" Belle agreed, eyes wide with outrage. "It wasn't fair at all, to them." Privately she didn't think it was particularly fair to Adam, either, but he'd brought that on himself, and it had all worked out in the end. "Some of them were only children. Though I do think he could have reversed the spell sooner than he did. He had at least one opportunity that I know of."

"How could he not? By the time the spell was reversed, those children probably weren't even children anymore!" She paused, taking a deep breath. "I'm trying not to rant."

"They were," Belle hastened to assure her, though she wasn't really sure how that was true. "I think everyone was in some sort of...anti-aging thing. And he didn't reverse it because he had to learn his lesson before the spell could break -- it wasn't like he made the choice not to. It just took awhile." She smiled a little, and added, "But he did, and everything's restored now, and he's a much better, kinder person for it all."

Edited 2011-05-09 03:37 (UTC)

Library [Sunday]

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