There's No Place Like Home (Victoria)

Grayson took a seat in his normal spot behind the librarian's desk and sighed. Was it his third year here already? Time had flown, and yet it seemed like nothing had really happened.

Of course, much had happened. Terrible things had happened--two students had died at the end of last year, a good number of his colleagues had been let go and replaced, the ICWW affair seemed much too quiet...he couldn't shake the feeling that something was going explode very soon, and they'd have to deal with the fallout. But at the same time, nothing had really happened to him, specifically.

His life went on in the same old way. Over the summer, he'd officially moved in with his mother, selling his house in Ireland as it didn't serve much purpose--he was rarely there anyway. Now he was able to witness in close quarters how his mother's memory began to deteriorate. It was gradual, but noticeable enough to worry him. Not that there was much he could do. It was simply a side effect of aging.

He'd kept up with the Summit as best he could, but it was all suspiciously hush-hush. Something horrible had happened, that was all he knew. Other than that...well, the days went by and blurred together. How he wished he could go back a decade and forget all of this responsibility. How he wished he could run off to the Himalayas, or the Andes, and do something exciting--something that felt worthwhile and rewarding. But he supposed everyone had to grow up and settle down at some point, and it seemed his time had come.

So here he sat, for his third year in a row, sitting in the same chair at the same desk, organizing the same old bookcases, and adding new names to the same old record books. He wondered if this is what it felt like to have a midlife crisis.

Grayson glanced up as someone approached, turning his full attention to the unfamiliar young woman, his interest piqued by the new face. While he didn't recognize her, there was something about her that reminded him vaguely of...someone. He didn't have time to put his finger on it before she started talking.

He gazed up at her, eyebrows slightly raised as she freely dispensed all of the information he could possibly be looking for without him even having to ask. He sorted through all of the information in his mind, nodding his understanding as she told him who she was, what she was doing there, why she looked somewhat familiar (he thought he'd heard Jake mention his sister as some point--he could see some family resemblance), what she needed from him, and, as a side note, why he should trust her, and even her age. It seemed she'd thought all of this through before coming in.

He took a moment to process her request before he responded. He certainly believed her when she said she'd take good care of the books, and he really had no problem with giving her a pass, but he wasn't entirely certain of the school's policies regarding this sort of thing, as it had never happened to him before. That, and her request seemed...well, rather an unnecessary amount of work for one visit. He tilted his head to the side and leaned back slightly in his chair.

"I see," he started slowly. "Well, while I would certainly trust you with your own library pass, Miss Newbury--nice to meet you, by the way--I am assuming this is a one time visit? I think, unless you plan to return with relative frequency in the future, it may be far simpler just to sign out whatever books you need under your brother's name. That would make things easier to keep track of, and," he leaned in somewhat conspiratorially, "to be honest, I have no idea if I'm allowed to give you your own pass, so this should hopefully bypass any regulations that may or may not be in place, of which I am currently unaware."

He glanced sheepishly at the door, as if expecting the headmistress to walk in at any moment, before looking back to her with a playful expression.

"Grayson," the librarian supplied when Victoria left her greeting hanging. "Victoria, then," he corrected himself, smiling softly. He hadn't expected her to care much for formalities--after all, he knew her brother never did--but it was always better to be safe than sorry, and, well, he was raised to be polite.

Her face lit up when he said she could check out books under her brother's name, and he chuckled. He couldn't remember the last time he'd seen someone so genuinely excited about books--it was rather refreshing. He imagined if he were a more expressive person, he'd have made a similar face when he'd first arrived as the librarian. In fact, he was fairly certain he had worn that exact expression when he'd arrived for the first time as a student. Life, it seemed, had not worn down Victoria's enthusiasm the way it had his. It made him glad, in a way, that not everyone lost their excitement when they grew up.

He laughed as she joked about her brother, knowing there was some truth to it. Jake had come in once or twice, but he only remembered because those occasions were rare enough to be noteworthy--he could probably count them on one hand. "I've got the records to prove it," he nodded in mock seriousness.

Grayson shrugged when she asked if anything needed to be done. "If you think it's necessary, you can ask his permission, but I don't imagine he'll mind. The system is fairly relaxed. Basically, I'll just sign anything out under his name--maximum is five at a time--and I'll expect him to return them within four weeks. I doubt anyone is going to check and verify that it was really him. As long as he knows, and doesn't plan to check out anything himself, you should be fine."

Personally, he didn't think verification was really necessary--he trusted her as much as he trusted any of the students--but he shrugged and followed protocol. "I suppose I probably should. Do you need help finding anything while you're here?"

"I suspect he learns by doing," Grayson replied. "I find Defense Against the Dark Arts is generally grasped better that way." While he certainly loved books, Grayson had to admit there were some things they simply couldn't teach you, and he hardly looked down on anyone for not enjoying reading.

Grayson laughed easily at the woman's joking tone. That's right, he remembered, she was lawyer, wasn't she? She'd be careful with the rules then. "Ask him, then, that's probably the best thing to do."

Grayson's eyes twinkled humourously as he replied to Victoria's comment. "Nothing's changed since I was here, either, except that we have a few more books. And a new librarian."

He perked up as she described what she was looking for. They didn't have a travel section, per se, as not many students came in looking to book a flight, and while he did know a couple of decent suggestions, that wasn't what had piqued his interest. Better than book suggestions, he had personal experience. Someplace magical, with history. That wasn't too hard.

"Well, there's always Germany, if you're looking for something relatively close by. If you'd like to go a little farther, Turkey is lovely, and has what you're looking for. If you really don't mind distance though, I'd suggest Nepal. Kathmandu has plenty of magic and plenty of history, and Pokhara is absolutely stunning, as well as tourist friendly. Lalitpur has incredible cultural celebrations--if you want rich history, and especially artwork, go there."

He stopped himself before he got too excited, realizing she hadn't actually asked him for his travel advice, she'd been asking for book suggestions.

"But if you want to do some research yourself, Hans Mikkelsen has a couple books in aisle three on the bottom shelf."

Grayson bowed his head to concede her point, smiling at how fondly the woman spoke of her brother. When he was younger, he'd often wished for a sibling, and he admitted he envied slightly how close the two of them seemed to be.

He laughed, flattered at her estimate of his age. "Thirty-five, but close enough. I'll take it." He waved off her compliment with a bashful half-shrug. "Well, thank you. I do suppose Madam Pince was rather...severe."

He was relieved when Victoria appeared to appreciate his little spiel--not that she seemed the type to grow annoyed by such things. In fact she seemed quite interested in what he had to say, a fact that made him vaguely uncomfortable, as he was not normally one to talk about himself. At the same time, however, she was quite easy to talk to, and he figured if there was any particular sort of person who could get him to reveal his thoughts, Victoria was probably one of them.

When asked if he liked to travel, he hesitated for a moment before settling on a vague, "I've been here and there." If she asked for more information, he'd supply some details, but really, it was hard to determine which ones were important. He'd had quite a few interesting experiences, and he really wouldn't know where to start if someone asked.

He wasn't hiding anything, per se, he was simply rather private by nature; a side effect of a quiet childhood without very many friends. If someone were truly interested in learning about his life, he wouldn't avoid the subject, but he hadn't met very many people intent on getting to know him.