➥COMPLETED
Nova Black hadn't thought she would ever set a toe behind those thick castle walls she had fought to forget about during the past thirteen years, but here she was at Plattform 9¾, staring at the scarlet train in front of her with wobbly k...
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"NOVA? NOVA Black?"
"As in Sirius Black?"
"Dumbledore has to be kidding!"
Dumbledore's introduction of the new librarian didn't gain neither him, nor Nova many fans in the Great Hall. Whispers grew louder to a point where students did no longer try to hide their shock. Her name had always been a curse to her, and now said curse had hit its peak. People feared her from the start, they always had, and to be honest, they had every reason to. The Blacks weren't known for their kindness.
Lacking the arrogant grace her family was enveloped in, back then in her own school days, other students soon found out that there was nothing to fear about when Nova was around. Shy and all bottled up as she was, you could think they would just leave her alone. But everything changed after her first year. After Sirius had graduated and Regulus had died ...
This castle was reminding her of all the misery she had shoved into a pitch black corner of her mind a long time ago ...
Dumbledore had started speaking again, introducing two more new staff members, but Nova did barely listen. Maybe it hadn't been the best idea to come back. Not in times like these ...
"Don't break ya head, Nova", said Hagrid, sitting next to her. "There will always be some of them complaining. Look at the Slytherins", he then added, nodding towards the table Nova had been sitting during her own days of school for seven years. "None of them is much fancying that Dumbledore allows me to teach. An' that's an understatement."
Nova's head flinched back, eyes snapping up to Hagrid's face. She hadn't even noticed he had gotten out of his seat, when Dumbledore had announced the two new teachers. But maybe that was because Hagrid was so tall, it didn't make much of a difference, if he was standing or sitting ...
As the feast was over, Nova glued herself on Madame Pinces' heels. Her dormitory was somewhere close to the old librarian's one, and gladly the elder lady wasn't much up to a chat either. So reaching her bedroom without wasting even a single word, Nova was glad that unlike as a student, now she had a room for her own, and quickly she locked the door behind her, admiring the new solitude in this wide room. There was a bed in the left corner in the back of the room, hidden behind a dark wooden paravane, a tall cupboard of the same wood in the corner across from her bed, way too big for all her clothes, that fitted in her trunk. A desk was placed in front of a high window, that faced the Black Lake sparkling in the dim light of a crescent moon outside, and to the windows left and right were two tall shelves filled with thick leathery books, that made her heart jump.
"Could be worse", she mumbled to herself, stepping in front of the window to have a better look over the grounds, that slumbered peaceful under a sky full of stars. A shiver ran down her spine, as she spotted the Dementors at the borders from afar, creeping through the night like demons.
She turned away and walked over to the bed. Her bed. For today, she decided, it was time to call it a night, even though she feared what tomorrow would bring. But her eyes grew tired, and she fell into a peaceful sleep the moment her head met the soft pillow.
•✧•
"... AND FINALLY the restricted section", said Madame Pince, as they reached the back of Hogwarts' library after a quick instruction had been given to Nova.
She didn't really need it. She had spent most of her days in this place back then, and it hadn't changed a bit. Books awaited her, greeting her like old friends. As if they had just remained in the shelves like that, waiting all those years for her return.
"Students try to sneak into the restricted section every now and then", Madame Pince explained what Nova already knew. "But who am I telling this? I caught your brother, James Potter and the little Pettigrew more often sneaking in there than any other student ever since. I must admit I am very grateful that the Weasley twins aren't into reading. I'm not sure if they are even able to read anything but the rules they break ..."
Nova threw another glance at the restricted section of the library, wondering what her brother might had searched in there. Was it dark magic? A first sign that he was on his way to the dark side? On the other hand, James Potter and Peter Pettigrew were with him. James Potter, the one he had sold to his master, and Peter Pettigrew, the one he had murdered in the most cold-blooded way ... Had he already planned their deaths back then?
"If you have any questions, feel free to ask", said Madame Pince, tearing Nova out of her dark thoughts. "Usually, the first weeks are quite serene. Students don't tend to come in here before the first deadlines of their homeworks are about to come to a surprising end. That's not before the end of the second week. Use this quiet time wisely. The rest of the year, especially the weeks before the final exams, students try to turn this place into a living hell. Always remember: no food, no music, no fire, no noise in here!"
"Thank you, Madame Pince", said Nova, gratefully smiling at the elder woman for having taken her time to explain everything to the newbie. "I think I'm getting along."
"I know you will", said Madame Pince and with a seldom smile on her old face, she turned around and walked back to her desk.
Nova, for the first time, as she was surrounded by books, felt that it maybe wasn't that bad to be back. Maybe this job was something that would turn out like a dream; one of the good ones. Strolling down the aisles of shelves that was topping her in hight by several feet, she inhaled the beloved scent of old parchment, for a moment even closing her eyes, allowing her to feel this moment of bliss.
