I let out a sigh as I leaned back against my door; I doubted I'd be getting a personal visit anytime soon. Walking towards my sad excuse for a bed, I leant down and pulled back the loose board beneath it. The book was just as I had left it.
Pulling it up from the hidey-ho, I plopped down onto my bed, admiring the gold rose embossing on its spine as it lay on my lap. If books were people, this book was an elegant and powerful woman cloaked in black - a woman to be feared, but a woman whom the world yearned with curiosity for. I sighed with envy; she was a woman I strived to become.
I carefully turned over the cover, finding that the book held a lingering smell of lavender that wafted beneath your nose at each turning of a page. The first page held a single sentence in beautiful cursive: notre avenir est plein de secrets, presque aussi complet que notre passé
French.
I groaned.
My mother always boasted about French being the "Language of Love", and I agreed. It was a beautiful language, and I knew it well, but I was hardly fluent.
I turned over the page. It was blank. Flipping over the other pages I found them to be blank as well... was this a mistake? Had my mother given me the wrong book?
Just as I was about to close the book in defeat: magic happened.
In the middle of the page I watched a sentence be written in by some invisible hand/pen/quill/???
Newly scribbled in, the page was no longer blank, and it now read:
Welcome, Master Vivienne Celia Rosewood
I sat wide-eyed and bewildered.
How may I help you?
One would have thought I'd been turned to stone! I sat frozen, and unmoving. The book was... communicating with me. I began to fluster about: What do I do? Do I just ask? Can it hear me?Where do I begin?
"H-... Hello" I spoke with a shaky little voice, feeling a bit silly as I sat alone in my room.... talking to a book.
Hello, Miss Rosewood.
With each new sentence it replaced the other, not leaving any trace of what was previously said.
I took a deep breath, I needed to focus, and keep an open mind.
I became more confident, I believed in my mother, I trust her, so I would have to trust the book and it's powers... whatever powers it may have besides literacy.
"What..." I thought about what I was going to say before continuing, "What are you?"
I am the book in your hand.
Was this thing messing with me? I chuckled lightly before continuing, "Please explain, Book"
I am this book. I have no name, I am not a whole being, I am nothing, and I am this book.
"Are you... alive?"
No, but I am not dead. One would have to be alive before being dead.
...
I was never alive.
"You refer to yourself as I, a book is not an 'I'. A book is 'it'."
I am a conscious embodying this book. I am I. Myself. I am not 'it'.
I smile down at the page, "You're not just an object. You are a mind, a being. One such as yourself deserves a name, I can't call you Book, that's not who you are, is it?"
I have no name.
Who I am? I am I.
I 'exist' within this book. It is my vessel.
I sighed, rolling my eyes; I guess I'd have to make up a name for this... book "fine, then what kind of book is this?"
This book is enchanted, I am a companion of sorts, I provide answers to questions you need answered, and I can also provide a stimulating conversation if the need for one were to ever arise.
...
That is as good of an answer that I can give at this time.
"Can I call you Nym?"
No.
"Alright, then how about-"
I have no name.
"Aren't I your master?"
....
Yes.
Smiling, I let out a triumphant laugh, "Well, until you think of a better name, I'll just have to call you Nym"
....
After our little banter, I asked Nym various questions about Hogwarts, and after getting all my answers I now knew as much as I needed to know, for now:
Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry is a large age-old castle up in Scotland. Getting there would require a couple of hours in a train - queue inward groaning. The school has 4 houses, and an enchanted sorting hat that allocates which house you'll be in according to your traits - Nym says that a lot more actually goes into the sorting hats decision, and that this was only the simple way to put it. The 4 houses include: Slytherin, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw.
Personally, after hearing the different descriptions for each house, I hoped that I'd get into Ravenclaw.
Nym suggested that before I do anything, I should first look into getting myself a wand... and other basic supplies (e.g. uniform, robes, books... you get the idea). I, of course, asked where I'd find those things, to which Nym informed me of Diagon Alley.
Diagon Alley was apparently a market place for Witches and Wizards, and where the students of Hogwarts haul butts to for supplies before the beginning of a new year. Nym says that it's likely, while I'm there, I would bump into students doing their pre-school shopping, and that it would be a good opportunity to meet/socialize with those of whom I would be attending Hogwarts with.
"Nym..."
Yes, Miss Rosewood?
"I don't have any money."
Your mother has informed me that, should you need it, there is a large sum of money available for you in your vault at Gringotts.
I became excited, "You're in contact with my mother?!"
No, I apologize. That is something I am unable to do. Your mother simply informed me of various matters before this book came into your possession.
...
I have knowledge on many things, but there are times when certain conditions must be met before I am able to give you the answer you seek.
****
I rushed down the stairs, sending the sounds of hurrying feet throughout the building. At the bottom of the stairs stood Tom, Mrs. Pam, and Professor Dumbledore. Mrs. Pam was fussing about with the buttons of Tom's oversized dark grey coat while Dumbledore simply smiled up at me as I descended down the last few steps. Today we were going to Diagon Alley (I assumed). The professor had signed us out for the day, and I was certain it was so he could help us gather supplies - and where else to go but Diagon Alley?
"Now, you two better be on your best behavior! Don't give Professor Dumbledore here any trouble, alright?" Mrs. Pam fussed at the two of us.
Tom sighed. He'd already walked out into the guard's reception area, waiting impatiently by the black double doors. I could tell he was curious about where we were going. The professor chuckled, bided farewell to Mrs. Pam, promising he'll bring us back on time, and then signaled for me to follow him to the exit.
****
*See Below: Exert from the Harry Potter Wikia on Hogwarts Houses for people unaware of the houses and their descriptions and wish to know what Nym basically told Vivienne: *
The Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is divided into four houses, each bearing the last name of its founder: Godric Gryffindor,Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw and Salazar Slytherin.
Gryffindor: values bravery, daring, nerve, and chivalry. Its emblematic animal is the lion and its colours are scarlet and gold.
Hufflepuff: founded by Helga Hufflepuff, values hard work, patience, loyalty, and fair play rather than a particular aptitude in its members. Its emblematic animal is the badger, and Yellow and Black are its colours.
Ravenclaw: values intelligence, knowledge, and wit. Its emblematic animal is the eagle, and its colours are blue and bronze.
Slytherin: house values ambition, cunning and resourcefulness and was founded by Salazar Slytherin. Its emblematic animal is the serpent, and its colours are emerald green and silver.
A/N: I edited in the house descriptions.
When I originally wrote this chapter I excluded a self-written description as I didn't really remember the details all too well at the time of writing it, and forgive me for being lazy and simply exerting something straight off the wikia, but I didn't want to bore in too much information as it's a rare case for someone unaware of the Harry Potter world to be reading a Harry Potter Fanfiction, and most readers will likely already know the basics of sorting/houses.