Introducing: A Book Addict! (open)

Books! Books everywhere! Shelves and mountains and walls of books all around. Janet takes a deep breath and grins, looking around with wide, sparkling eyes, just taking it all in. If she could live here she would, for this place is her dream come true. She walks down aisles after aisle, browsing book title and running her hands across their spines.

She picks one up and cracks it open, leaning against the bookshelf it was on and sliding down it slowly as she is mentally transported to the world trapped inside the little book. An hour passes before her back starts to hurt and she closes the book, having finished it.

She hugged it to her chest and sighed standing and returning it to the shelf, browsing for more books. She finds a ton more that look interesting and her pile steadily grows as she continues looking. She sighs and stops as she finishes the aisle, her pile having grown to tower above her waist.

She flicks out her wand and mutters a soft Wingardium Leviosa, levitating the books behind her as she explores the store deeper, finding a small reading area in one of the back corners, sinking into a beanbag chair before setting the books beside her and putting her wand away, grabbing the top-most book and beginning to read.

During the summer, Clara usually focused on the muggle side of her studies. She took a few courses online sometimes, accompanied her parents to lectures, occasionally interned at the chemistry school at the University of Bristol, and, of course, read a lot of books. Lately she'd been on a Richard Feynman spree.

But her non-magical studies of quantum physics had led to some rather interesting connections, and left her with new and intriguing questions about the nature of magic.

It happened that her mother was attending a lecture on cognitive-behavioral psychology in London that weekend, so Clara had asked to tag along, and to stop by Diagon Alley to look for books that could be helpful. Her mother had agreed, and so here she was in Flourish and Blotts, scanning the shelves for promising titles.

Of course, her curiosity, as it often did, got the better of her, and she ended up amassing a small collection of unrelated books that just seemed interesting. Books were the one thing that she would, and often did, spend copious amounts of money on--a weakness which ran in her family. Her parents wouldn't blame her. After all, these were wizarding books--she couldn't just find them for free at the local library. If she wanted this knowledge, she'd have to buy it. They'd understand.

She wandered further into the shop, reminding herself that she was looking specifically for books on magical theory and the origins of magic. Unfortunately, this was not a popular subject. She'd never understand that about wizarding society--how could everyone just accept that they were different from the majority of the population, that they could defy the laws of the universe, and not even wonder how or why? There were so many books about how to use magic, but hardly any about what magic actually was. Surely she couldn't be the first to wonder these things? It seemed like such a natural question, yet everyone seemed to skip over it.

With a sigh, she wove her way to the back of the store, four rather sizeable (yet completely unrelated) tomes cradled in her arms as she scoured the shelves for anything remotely useful. All the titles that sounded promising ended up disappointing her in one way or another.

Eventually, the shelves stopped, and she found herself in a reading area. She was about to turn around and go back through for a second look, just in case she might have missed something, when she noticed a girl she recognized sitting in a beanbag with a tall stack of books. Her name was Janet, if she remembered correctly--they'd met before.

"Are you going to read all of those in one day?" she said with some surprise. Even she would have trouble reading so many books in one sitting--it was at least 24 hours' worth of reading material, probably more. But the girl had settled down to read, rather than to purchase. If she could get through all of them, Clara would be very impressed.

Janet jumped and yelped softly as she heard a sudden voice and looked up with wide eyes to see Clara, a Ravenclaw in the year below her. She grinned and relaxed before shrugging. "Ah, I'm going to try. Can you believe how many cool books are here? I've vowed to myself that I'm going to read every last book in here at some point, including any new ones they get in."

She sets her book down, having just finished it, in the small but growing pile on the side opposite the larger unread stack. "I'm a relatively fast reader so I think I can get through these before they close but I'll be back to repeat this cycle if not."

She glanced at the books in the girl's arms. "What do you have there? they look heavy." She gives the girl a friendly grin. "Oh, if you need help finding something let me know. I know this store like the back of my hand so I know where certain topics and genres and authors are. Plus I always have the best recommendations. My dad is always complaining I should have been in Ravenclaw." She rolled her eyes with a small shrug and a grin.

Clara felt slightly guilty for interrupting the other girl. She knew that she herself grew very irritated when someone interrupted her while reading, so she considered apologizing to Janet--but then the other girl smiled, and smiling was not something you did when you were irritated, so Clara figured it must have been fine. Well, it was possible that she was only pretending, but from what Clara had seen of Janet before, she wasn't the type to do that. Or maybe she was just very good at it. Either way, it could be assumed that, since Janet at the very least wished for Clara to believe that she was not unhappy, Clara was probably supposed to act as if this was the case, so her response should be the same. She forewent the apology, and focused instead on Janet's reply.

"Well, it is a bookstore," she said drily at the mention of cool books. It was to be expected, after all, that a bookstore would have many books. The older girl's ambitions, however, were very much appreciated by the young Ravenclaw. Reading an entire bookstore was a worthy goal indeed. Clara would do so herself is she had the time and/or money. As it was, she needed to prioritize, so she found herself being far more selective than she would like to be in an ideal world. If the other girl thought she could do it though, Clara would certainly encourage the endeavor.

"Good luck," she said, and she meant it.

Clara thought that Janet was probably selling herself short with the word "relatively." She'd already finished a few of her books, apparently, and if she expected to finish the entire stack before closing time, then she was an even faster reader then Clara was. At the mention of repeating the cycle, Clara realized that Janet probably didn't actually buy much from the store, she simply came often enough and stayed long enough that she could read everything she wanted without purchasing a thing. Clara wished she lived close enough to Diagon Alley to do that.

At Janet's question, Clara looked down at her own small but heavy stack and shrugged. "Um, a history of non-European magical styles and traditions, a guide to practical application of ancient runes, a book of obscure spells and potions, and a book on the theory of nonverbal magic."

She was quite pleased with her selection, and honestly couldn't wait to begin reading them. However, she didn't really have the option of sitting down for hours like Janet did, since her mother was waiting for her down the street.

The final book she'd mentioned was the closest she'd found so far to what she was looking for, and probably the most helpful in answering her current questions. It was, however, a little more specific than she'd hoped, so she'd like to find something better if possible.

When Janet offered to help her find something, Clara gladly took the opportunity. "Did you know of any books on the origins of magic, or theoretical magical principles? I can't seem to find any."

Clara tilted her head at Janet's comment about her father. "Well, Ravenclaw isn't necessarily defined by reading. And just because you possess a trait, that doesn't mean it's the most important part of your identity, or what you value the most. It could just be a hobby, or a means to an end."

Janet grinned and nodded to the other girl, in response to the wishing of good luck. "Thank you. It never hurts to be ambitious right? It's so great to see you again."

As she listened to the books the other girl had piled in her arms she lifted one eyebrow. "Wow. A bit of light reading eh?" She winked and gave her a teasing smile before listening to the request. She nodded and stood. "I think I know a couple books that will be perfect. Including.."

She turned to her own stack of books and slipped one from the middle, holding it out to Clara with a grin. "This one should be right along those lines, and I know where a couple more are. Here, follow me." She gestured in a small wave for the other girl to follow before turning and walkig towards the middle of the store, looking over one shelf specifically with a concentrated frown.

As she searched she smiled and glanced at the other girl. "You're right of course. It isn't just about whether you like to read or not, I think he mostly says it to bug my mom. She was a Slytherin like me. Though, if I wasn't a snake I woud probably have been in ravenclaw."

"It should be right.. about.." She knelt and ran a finger across the spines, searching for the title. "Here we are." She grabbed two books and stood, handing them to Clara. "These are by the same author but the subjects are slightly different. They are best read together." She grinned and stuck her hands in her pockets. "Anything else I can do for you?"

Clara just nodded, unsure how to respond to the sentiment Janet expressed. She supposed she had enjoyed talking to the other girl the last time they had met, so it wasn't unpleasant running into her again, but saying so seemed a bit like small talk to her, and she didn't feel it was necessary.

At the mention of light reading, Clara looked down at the stack of thick books, shifting them slightly as her arms grew tired. "Not really," she deadpanned. "They're quite heavy."

She shifted her current pile to rest on her hip as she accepted the book from Janet's pile. It was thinner than the ones she had already, and the title was simply Principles of Magic. That sounded promising. She added it to her stack.

"Thank you," she remembered to say as she trailed behind Janet toward a section she hadn't scanned quite so thoroughly. She didn't really acknowledge Janet's musings about her parents, as she wasn't sure that they required a reply, or if so, what she should say. Instead, she inspected the new book with some interest, flipping it open to the first page and scanning the introduction.

She stood back a little as Janet bent down and grabbed two more books from the shelf. Holding her growing pile under her chin, she awkwardly reached out and received the books Janet offered, finally giving up and setting the stack she already had on the floor beside her. Then she glanced over the covers of the new additions, recognizing one of them.

One was Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling. It was required reading in their first year at Hogwarts, which meant she'd already read it over and taken thorough notes. It was the one book she'd actually read on the subject, and the basis of all her current knowledge. Waffling was widely considered "the father of magical theory" after all, and one of the only wizards she knew of who had studied it extensively. The other book was also by Waffling, but she'd never heard of it before. Applications of the Fundamental Laws of Magic.

She couldn't believe she'd never seen it. It must not be well-known, but it looked, for all intents and purposes, like a sequel which went more in depth. She handed the first book back to Janet, her eyes glued to the second.

"I've already read this one," she said absentmindedly, referring to the first book. "I had no idea he'd written a second. Thank you," she said, and this time she actually meant it.

She glanced up at Janet again, considering. "You've read these? Are you interested in this sort of thing?"

Janet grinned as the girl commented on the book's weight. "Oh, I'm sure. I was just being sarcastic. Those books are pretty advanced."

Janet waved the girl away with a small shake of her head. "Think nothing of it. I've read it before, I was just wanting to look for something but I remembered it by the time I got it over to the chair. I simply didn't feel like putting it back." She lifted one shoulder in a small shrug. "You're doing me a favor by saving me the effort of remembering where it goes."

Janet grinned as Clara cracked open the first book she was offered. "Now, I'm not exactly sure if that's what you're looking for but I think these other two will be pretty on point."

Janet nodded as Clara handed back the first of the two new book, and placed it back on the shelf where it belonged, smiling as she watched Clara study the cover of the second.

She then tore her gaze from the book to ask Janet a question to which she responded with a small shrug and a slightly sheepish grin, not wanting to seem like she was bragging or something. She gestured to the long shelf and nodded. "Yes, I've finished this shelf, those two books included."

"I honestly wasn't overly interested in it before I read them, partly from being undereducated, but after reading the simpler one by him I got into the subject a little more. It's pretty cool! This shelf has some other stuff that is slightly similar to those books but not quite as.. I don't know, in detail, or quite on the same level as those. I think that stack is your best bet."

She frowned slightly as she realized why the stack was set down. "Oh, do you need some help carrying those? I'm developing quite the muscles from carrying books around this store all the time." She smirked and winked, pretending to flex her muscles before giggling.

As was often the case, Janet seemed to have missed Clara's joke. She was used to it by now, her wit was understated, and her delivery straight faced. Not many people picked up on it.

She nodded along to Janet's reasoning. "Oh, good," she said, glad to hear that she'd made things more convenient for the other girl. As usual, she got the impression from Janet that her words were genuine, and not simply to make her feel better. Normally, she had a hard time determining such things, but there was something about Janet that made her feel more at ease than she usually did in social situations. When she attempted to pinpoint what it was, she decided on that: Janet simply felt trustworthy and sincere. For once in her life, she decided not to think too hard about it. Sometimes the obvious answer was the right one.

As she perused the second book she had been given, she nodded appreciatively at Janet's review of the shelf as a whole. Her judgement saved Clara a lot of work, sparing her from having to read the entire shelf herself in order to determine the most useful information.

She was happy to hear that she was not the only one who found the subject intriguing, although she was slightly disappointed at the flippancy of the term "pretty cool." She knew she couldn't expect everyone to share her level of passion, but Clara thought it should be only reasonable to care a great deal about the fundamental principles of the world. A deeper understanding of how existing things worked would allow for future innovation.

She glanced down at her growing stack of heavy books. She'd put it down mostly because it was awkward and cumbersome, and hard to balance with one hand while she accepted new books with the other. But it was also just extremely heavy, and her arms were growing tired. The new additions would add to the weight as well. Perhaps it would be best to take Janet up on her offer.

"If you wouldn't mind," she agreed, taking the top two books off the pile, along with the one she was already holding, leaving three for Janet. This was probably enough for one day. She decided to head toward the front again to purchase them.

Janet shook her head with a smile. "Not at all. Happy to help." She bent down, picking up the other three books and grinning at Clara. She began walking with her towards the front of the store. "So what other things do you like to read about? Do you read strictly non-fiction or are you interested in various fiction genres as well?" She looked at the other girl as they walked, genuinely interested in getting to know her better.

"So, where are you heading after this? Do you have a bunch of shopping left to do?" She shifted the books slightly, moving their weight so as to not hurt her arms or anything. "I could always follow you around and carry all your stuff for you." She then realized it sounded like she was complaining and chuckled. "I'm being serious too, I literally have nothing better to do other than reading by myself over in the corner."

Tatyana made her way into Flourish and Blotts, her list of school supplies grasped firmly in her hand. She scanned down the paper until she found the first book she was to buy--her Potions book. A quiet sigh of dread escaped her lips as she looked round the store for these particular books; not watching where she was going, she almost tripped over an older girl who was busy reading.

"Excuse me." she muttered quickly, moving away from the other girl as quickly as she could. She walked down a nearby aisle and sighed in aggravation. There were books on divination, books on herbology--she quickly grabbed one of these, as it was another required book she needed--books on astronomy...Tatyana was overwhelmed by the numbers and sizes of the books in the store. She walked by the other student again, on her way to examine the books even more closely, trying to find the rest of the schoolbooks that were on her school supply list. She had a feeling she would be in there for a while.