Chapter 96: 22nd September 1991, Sunday: Part 2

George entered the Library and immediately headed towards a section dedicated to magical creatures. It didn't take him long to find it since most of the students hovered around that area of the Library. It was the weekend and most students were completing their homework, therefore the Library was busier than he had ever seen before. George walked past several dozen students of all ages seated at the tables beside the large shelves of books, they all appeared to be frantically scribbling down notes on parchment. Their expressions suggested that they weren't enjoying spending their Sunday afternoon stuck in the Library completing their homework. He guessed that the due date was probably tomorrow and they had left it until the last day.

George had already completed his homework alongside Neville because he insisted that they completed it the same day it was issued regardless of the due date. He convinced Neville that his method meant that the homework wouldn't be lingering over their heads as the deadline grew ever closer. Since he was practically completing his homework for him, Neville was more than willing to agree to these terms.

The real reason that George completed his homework the same day it was issued was because he had a habit of forgetting things his brain didn't arbitrarily prioritise. George believed that there was a high possibility that he would go to sleep the night he received homework and completely forget about it when he woke up the next day. A nice side effect of this habit meant that his weekends were completely free to himself except for the occasional exercise club he attended with the cousins and the mandated meeting with Myrtle.

George kept walking along the row of grunting students until he reached the magical creatures department, he scanned the humongous bookshelves until he came across the dragon section. There was so much fiction and non-fiction related to that particular legendary creature that it justified having an entire bookcase to itself. Once George found a golden sign in the shape of a pointy tail with 'Draconic Creatures' written in fiery red along the shaft, he looked at the accompanying bookcase and was bewildered by what he saw.

The shelves were completely empty, there was not a single book related to dragons or draconic creatures remaining. There must have been enough room for over two hundred books on those shelves and yet every one of them was gone, it didn't make any sense to him. George turned around and looked at the table opposite him and he didn't find a single student reading any of the unaccounted-for books, the three girls nearest him were excitedly reading about unicorns in a bright pink book.

George concluded that if the students were not reading the books in the Library then they must have been booked out en masse, he could not understand why every single book would have been taken all at once. He wondered if there was some sort of massive homework assignment across several year groups that required a bucket load of references related to dragons, but none of his memories recalled any event like that taking place except during the Tri-Wizard Cup. He was struggling to rationalise the absence of an entire section of the Hogwarts Library, so George decided to ask the one person he had previously attempted to avoid, the Hogwarts librarian.

George made his way to the centre of the Library, there was a circular open space illuminated with a huge golden chandelier decorated with thousands of rubies. Directly underneath the mesmerising chandelier, in stark contrast, was a large dull desk in the shape of a horseshoe. The desk looked well made but there were no decorative elements whatsoever, it looked like something a medieval IKEA would design. All of the varnish had worn away from hundreds of years of books sliding across it, a shallow valley had formed in the oak where the students would return their books. The desk was surrounded by books stacked in small and neat piles which came up to George's knees.

Sitting at a grand wooden chair behind the desk was an old scowling woman reading the thickest book George had ever seen, the stress on the binding was on the verge of tearing the book in two. The woman was looking through a dented silver magnifying glass to examine the microscopic text on the page of the massive book. She was flicking from page to page in quick succession as if she was comparing them or perhaps looking for inconsistencies. The woman appeared to be very old as her wrinkly face scrunched up whilst she strained her eyes to read, George thought that she looked a bit like she was sucking on a sour-sweet.

Even with the magnifying glass, she was obviously struggling to read the absurdly small handwriting. George didn't blame her for struggling to read from the book since even he couldn't distinguish what had been written once he walked up to the desk. There was a small brass bell right in front of him which was begging to be rung but George thought it would be a much smarter idea to wait instead, she didn't look like the sort who liked being interrupted. George decided to use this free time to inspect the woman's appearance, his eyes were already gravitating towards her since she was peculiar even by the other professor's standards.

She was wearing a thick black robe which appeared to be covered in a layer of dust, but upon closer inspection, George realised that there were incredibly fine grey patterns stitched into the robes in the shape of cobwebs. Even though the Library was very well heated, she was wearing a thick jet-black scarf which was coiled around her neck repeatedly. The scarf appeared to be woven out of some sort of expensive silk and the light shining from the chandelier above made it look like an adder was strangling her. The scarf being a little too tight would explain why her face looked so unnaturally red.

The most outstanding item of this woman's clothing was the large worn-out top hat on her head, it was extremely hard to miss since it was over a foot tall. That hat piercing the heavens is what separated the librarian from the rest of the staff and made her easy to spot in a crowd. If a student needed a book in the Library and they didn't know where to find it, instinctively they would look for the top hat peeking over the shelves and instantly know where the librarian was hiding. Whether the librarian deliberately wore the top hat for that reason or simply wore it as a fashion choice was unknown, few were willing to ask because she was known for having a short temper.

George's attention was brought back down to the desk as the librarian finished reading the book and closed it abruptly, the weight of the book was enough to make the entire table shake and he jumped in surprise. The librarian looked quite infuriated as she slammed the magnifying glass on the table and glared in his direction.

She asked him with annoyance written all over her face, "come on, out with it. What do you want?"

George allowed a blush to form on his face as he spoke apologetically, "I'm sorry for bothering you, Miss. If you're busy, I could come ba…"

"I wouldn't be talking to you if I was busy now, would I? Are you handing in an overdue book you accidentally took home with you over the summer holidays?", the librarian assumed with a judging gaze.

George shook his head left and right nervously, "not at all, Miss Librarian. This is my first term at Hogwarts."

She looked at him doubtfully in a way similar to Snape as she asked, "you're a first-year?"

George timidly nodded in response, he had a feeling that acting nervous around her was the right decision. This woman was looking for someone to vent her pent-up emotions on and George didn't want to take that bullet. The next poor sap who walks up to her desk can have that honour for all he cared.

She reclined back into her creaking chair and tutted, "you're tall for a first-year, must be that tripe those house elves are feeding you lot. That's why I make my own food, that way I know what I'm eating."

She shook her head disapprovingly before continuing, "Well, if that's the case, then what do you need?"

Her confusion over his age made sense once George considered it, he wasn't exactly your average eleven-year-old anymore. His body was quite significantly larger than the rest of his fellow first years, he was probably six inches taller on average. He looked like a third-year at a glance which might work in his favour depending on who he's talking to. Although, he doubted his age made a difference to this particular woman at the moment.

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George politely asked her, "I was just perusing the magical creature section and noticed that all the books related to dragons were absent. I was wondering if you could be so kind as to tell me where I could find them."

The old woman's grumpy face morphed into a smug smile as she rolled her eyes and leaned forward. Going off her body language, George had a feeling that he was not the first to ask her that question.

She rested her chin on her knuckles and said, "it's the same every year, you new students never change. I'm surprised you haven't worked it out already, those books were taken because of people like you."

"People like me? I'm afraid I don't understand", George asked perplexed.

Her smile broadened as she spoke suggestively, "you're not the only one you know. A lot of the first years can't help themselves, you're just a bit too slow off the mark."

George had no idea what this woman was implying. She seemed to be suggesting that there were other first-years like him but that couldn't be possible. Unless the school was full of dragon-human hybrids such as himself, he doubted that the other first-years were reading these books for the same reasons as him.

George insisted whilst concentrating on keeping his tone polite, "I'm afraid I don't understand what you mean, Miss. Could you elaborate?"

Her smile faded slightly as she once again reclined back into her chair and spoke, "you can address me as Madam Pince. To answer your question; I thought the reason was obvious but maybe my expectations were too high. I'll try to keep my explanation as simple as possible.

First years, like yourself, get swept up with all the mystery and wonder of the magical world when they come to Hogwarts for the first time. Most of the muggle-borns and half-bloods come to the Library and indulge their childish curiosities, I get you lot running at me in the dozens for the first month or two asking about whether X is real.

Dragons are always a favourite so it's no wonder all the books had been taken, you shouldn't be surprised if you find out that a few of your friends have been reading them before they go to bed. I can't say I blame you lot, I was the same during my first month at Hogwarts. Although I was more interested in Griffins than Dragons, they're much more beautiful and majestic creatures in my humble opinion. I would have some recommendations for you but those books will be equally as unavailable."

Whilst ignoring the back-handed comments from Pince, George realised where he was going wrong, he was holding the other first-years in too high of a regard. Unlike him, they spent the majority of their time leisurely. Emptying his local Library back in Yorkshire did help educate George on where a normal eleven-year-olds interests lay. When it came to fantasy children's books, dragons were a common contributor to the stories to make them more engaging.

An eleven-year-old wizard's mind is fundamentally the same as a muggle's, therefore their interests would overlap. In some ways, George envied the ability to be fascinated by something that wasn't relevant to his life, he never liked reading fiction unless it was to add trivia to his persona. Regardless of his personal feelings, George still needed those books.

"Is there a chance that those books would be returned any time soon?", he asked Pince optimistically.

Pince continued to smile but her eyes became apathetic as she answered, "I'm afraid that in previous years, most new students returned their books only after a month passed. A month is the default longest time a student can loan a book and they all choose that option so you will have to wait until mid-October. If you're desperate, you could always check the returns I've not had the chance to shelve."

A glimmer of hope returned to George as he asked enthusiastically, "and where would I find the returns, Madam Pince?"

Pince gestured towards the ground as she said, "they're right by your feet, dear."

George smiled and nodded at Pince before looking down at all the books neatly stacked around her desk. There were around thirty books of varying sizes and colours with the top book's cover reading 'Advanced Potion-Making by Libartius Borage'. George could only perceive that as a bad omen as he reached down and began to look through the books one by one. To his amazement, he came across a yellow book with an image of a vibrant Chinese dragon on the cover. His excitement was quickly extinguished as he read the title, the book was called 'Dragon Breeding for Pleasure and Profit'. This wasn't exactly what George had in mind when it came to learning more about himself.

He doubted that there would ever be a time in his life when he would be thinking, "if only there was a book to teach me pick-up lines to attract females of the scaly and fire-breathing variety."

Regardless, beggars can't be choosers and this was all he had available. George sighed whilst picking the book up and placing it on the table so Pince could check it out for him.

Pince glanced at the book and sneered as she said sarcastically, "well, at least you found something related to dragons. Now, do you want to read it here or in your own time?"

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