They were in the first week of classes and Laurel had so far spent her time when she wasn't teaching or prepping for classes leading lost students in the right direction for classes or more pressingly where to find the girl's loo. The castle was big, so she very much understood the new student's lost feeling and having it hard to navigate the floors. It was fairly easy to get lost.

Heading into the library and not spotting Kalen by the front desk Laurel headed into the book labyrinth to search for the books she needed for her creature divination readings theme for next week's classes. Walking further inside Laurel's eyes darted left and right trying to find a system. Did Kalen alphabetize after genre or author or something different?

Since Laurel wasn't looking up at just that moment she didn't see the two books that fell from the nearest shelves before they hit her in the head and she yelped out."Ouch!"

Sitting in one of the nooks, surrounded by the comforting smell of books and the careful calm of the library was one of Remy’s new favourite places to study. Especially when he was reading about something new, something that needed his concentration to go unbroken for longer than five minutes. Anything like that, meant that he couldn’t study in the common room; the noise and distractions were too frequent there, regardless of how much he loved his fellow Hufflepuffs.

Turning over the page of his potions book where he was looking into the brewing of the Mutatio Animalia potion which would be required at some point if he got the go ahead from the Headmistress and the Professors Stewart and Meyers. He hoped he would, but one - or even all of them - may have something to say about him trying and studying… so here was to lea--

Blinking at the sudden noise - and lack of physical people that he could see - Remy placed his book down on the table and stood slowly from his chair. ”Hello?” He called out softly, so to not disturb too many people. ”Are you okay?” He added, as he moved through the maze in the generaldirection of the voice that he had heard.

”Oh, Professor… What happened?!” Remy asked, his eyebrows high in concern as he moved towards her. ”Are you dizzy? Do you need to sit down?”

With one hand Laurel rubbed her head where the books had thumped down hard causing some pain to erupt. Kneeling down she picked up the books to study the titles of the heavy volumes. One book was the 'Creature Book of Creatures' and the other was 'Encyclopaedia of the Wizarding world' and neither was the books Laurel had been looking for sadly.

Hearing a soft voice calling out hello? are you okay? from somewhere further into the maze Laurel didn't make the connection that the student was talking and concerned for her wellbeing until he came into view. He was a badger but not one in her classes so she wasn't totally sure on his name. "Hi Remy is it?" Smiling Laurel reassured. "I'm all right. I'm not dizzy or anything I will probably get a bump on my head though. Two books just fell out of from the top shelves and landed on my head. I had no chance to duck. Did you see anyone on the other side?"

Concern read easily on his face, as he watched Professor Vance gently rubbing her head before looking up as he came into view. He gave her a nod, confirming her suspicions over his name. ”Remy, that’s right Professor.” But he wasn’t worried about himself right now, she’d yelped pretty loudly - and books could hurt. He would know, his siblings occasionally threw them at him when they were in a tantrum. And they could throw hard when they were upset or yelling. Even though they weren’t three yet.

Stepping closer, he started to raise his hand to her head before he stopped. ”Can I check you aren’t bleeding for you? If you have split your scalp, you should really go and see Healer Reed.” Then he shut up so that he could listen to her, looking over his shoulder at the section of the maze he had come from. ”No, sorry Professor. I didn’t see anyone else. I’ve been alone since I got here as far as I know.”

Looking down at the two hands in her hand, and then upwards at the book wall, he looked for where they had originally been placed. ”Would you like me to put them back?” His height had to come in useful for something, after all. Raising his empty hand as she decided if she needed the books or not, he checked the space to make sure there was nothing obstructing where he was going to put them. No, nothing. Hmmm…. Wonder what happened there to make them fall….???

The seventh year badger was clearly concerned for her well being. It was nice of him, but Laurel didn't need Remy to check to see if her head was bleeding or in worse case she had split open her scalp and needed to go see River for medical attention. Shaking her head she evaded Remy's offer to check her head by repeating firmly, and taking a few steps back from him. "I'm fine, Remy! My head's not bleeding only throbbing a little and I don't need to trouble Healer Reed for just getting whacked in the head by two books." Talk about embarrassing much? No that was not happening. Laurel was not going to go see River for this, not unless she really needed to.

How Remy knew to ask to check her head for bleeding was suspicious unless of course he wanted to become a healer. She was not going to be his first patient. She was his professor even if he didn't take her subject. It'd be too awkward. Focusing on the books in her arms she said "Yes, thank you. Please put the books back where they belong." They weren't the books she had been looking for anyway. That Remy hadn't seen anyone else was odd but this was a magical school. So it was possible that the books had acted on their own accord. "So why are you in the library at this hour Remy and not with your friends?"

The steps backwards made it obvious that the Professor didn’t want help, and he held his hands upto show he didn’t mean her any harm. ”Okay Professor, I was just offering.” It wasn’t like he hadn’t seen Healer Head check head wounds often enough in the Hospital Wing over the past year. But it was fine, he just hoped if she started to feel dizzy she would go and see the Healer -concussions were definitely important. That was something he knew from Quidditch let along from the studying he’d been doing with Healer Reed.

Taking the two books from her hand, the tall Hufflepuff turned around and looked for the gap. When he found them, he reached upwards and easily slotted the two books back into place. ”I think they simply weren’t pressed back into their space enough.” Well, it was better that, than Peeves picking on the Professor specifically anyway.

Turning back around to face the blonde Professor he shrugged one of his shoulders. ”Studying, its NEWT year.” He said as if that explained everything.

Needing a break from his office, Gaston decided a trip to the library was in order. The library was one of his favorite places in the school. It reminded him of long days in his childhood spent in the town library with his mother. It was such a shame she would never see the Hogwarts library. She would love the book maze!

He meandered down one of the maze's paths, causally picking up a book or two as he went. He happened upon a romance novel that he hadn't read yet and skimmed through a few pages. This one looked interesting! Instead of adding it to the stack with the other books he'd already picked, he kept this one open in front of him and kept reading as eh went.

Sigh. She hadn't taken the steps backwards away from Remy to imply that she thought he meant her harm. Laurel had just wanted to get back her personal space plus in truth she was not comfortable with the idea of a student checking her head for injuries. It could lead to unwanted gossip and she didn't want that on any of them. Trying to smooth things over Laurel said "Thank you Remy. I appreciate the offer, but I'm fine. If don't remain fine then I promise to go see Healer Reed, all right?" She could stretch herself that far at least.

Watching Remy easily put the heavy books back in their respective holes on the shelves Laurel shrugged her shoulders. "It's possible or Peeves played a prank, but then we most likely would have heard him. I'll speak to Mr. Kennedy. He'll look into it."

"Ah I see. Newt year studies. Are you going to be taking exams in all subjects or just the core ones?" He wasn't going to be taking Divination that much Laurel already knew since Remy wasn't in her classes.

Camilla enjoyed reading. She had spent many evenings sat beside the fireplace or window with a cup of tea and a good book. This was mainly why she did have two bookcases in her office but that didn't stop her from making the occasional trip to the library in search of new books or old favorites.

Entering the library and having no idea what she was really looking for, Cami headed towards the book maze. With all these books piled high there was noway she wouldn't be able to find several that appealed to her! It wasn't long before she was deep into the maze, two books cradled in her arm as she reached up taking another book down. Skimming over the description on the back of the book she was about to put it back before thinking that perhaps Emme would like it.

Turning on her heel she nearly walked right into someone. Blinking she couldn't help but smile when she saw their face. "Gaston, hello there," she glanced at the book he was reading. "Reading anything good there?"

Remy gave her a soft smile and a nod of his head. ”Good idea.... Concussions can cause a lot of problems if they aren’t caught… Definitely worth going to Healer Reed over.” You know. Just going to say that out loud so that Professor Vance did know. He didn’t want to not say, and then for something serious to happen. He’d rather he told her… even if she already new. Whoops.

He nodded as he turned back around to face her. ”Perhaps a student booby trapped this part of the maze?” Who knew, but he knew he hadn’t seen or heard anyone else in here… and he didn’t think he had been that engrossed in his potions textbook to ignore someone else completely. At least he hoped he hadn’t. He didn’t like being rude and ignoring anyone.

”A mixture in both, I guess. I’m taking Charms, DADA, Herbology, Potions and Transfiguration, as well as continuing Arithmancy and CoMC… Remy listed off his main seven NEWT classes. ”I have picked up a few further extra-curriculars, I’ll be continuing my time in the Hospital Wing with Healer Reed and my training with Professor Hirsch….” He paused, thinking about what else he was doing this year…. All the more to fill the empty time when he couldn’t be with Toric and Selene… and better his likelihood of getting into University. ”Oh, and I am starting training with Professor Stewart.” He finished with a grin.

Gaston continued on his was through the maze, his nose buried in the book he was reading. He was so absorbed in the story that he forgot to pay attention to where he was going... until an unexpected voice cause him to look up. He hadn't crashed into anyone, had he?

He smiled when he saw Cami. "Hello, Cami," he replied, chuckling a little at the question she asked. "Yeah. What can I say? I can never resist a good love story." He smiled sheepishly, running a hand through his dark hair. Why had he told her that? She was probably going to think he was a huge sap now! "It looks like you've found something interesting too," he added in an attempt to change the subject as his eyes fell to the books in her arms.

This was one of those times that a parent would have told a child 'See this is why we don't read while we're walking around'. Only, Camilla wasn't a child she was a grown women and a professor. It was a good thing she hadn't actually walked into Gaston or she would have been really embarrassed. Hopefully from the smile on the mans face he wasn't at all upset with nearly having them walk right into one another.

"Really? I like my own fair share of love stories but a good mystery book is something I always have trouble putting down," she admitted giving him a warm smile. Love stories though? It wasn't often one heard a man say such things, Camilla knew Gaston was a sweet man though so it seemed right for him. Her own gaze drifted down to the few books she was holding in her arms. "A few. I was actually hoping Emme would enjoy some of these. She likes reading about creatures." So anything creature related was what she was looking for. "You wouldn't happen to know of any good for her age, would you?" All suggestions were welcome.

Gaston dropped his gaze to hide the blush rising to his cheeks. Thankfully, Cami's reaction to that little revelation hadn't been as bad as he was dreading. Oh, so she was a fan of mysteries? "Then you and my father have something in common," he said with a slight chuckle. "He's a fan of mysteries too." Made sense given his line of work, come to think of it. "Do you have a favorite mystery?"

Then the conversation turned to Emmeline, and his expression changed. "Oh? How is she?" he asked, his eyes betraying every bit of concern he felt. He hoped things were going better for her now! He smiled a little when she mentioned creatures. He was well aware of Emmeline's fascination with creatures already, and he thought it was adorable! Now if he could just come up with some good book recommendations...

He was lost in thought for a moment as his mind wandered back through long days spent in the library as a child, hoping some of the creature books he read long ago would come back to him. He could really use his mother's expertise on books right now! Then an idea occurred to him! "Do you think she'd like the Doctor Dolittle books?" he said. "They're about a doctor who talks to animals..."

Laurel appreciated the consideration Remy showed for her health but he was not a healer or an adult yet by a few years still. She was going to note his recommendation but she was going to decide for herself if she were to come in a state where she needed to get checked out. Letting out an inaudible sigh she said patiently. "It was just a few books. I'm fine. My head has even stopped hurting."

Furrowing her brows Laurel asked "And why exactly would a student have booby trapped this particular part of the maze? It's not like it holds any extra special books.?" It was all very odd. Remy hadn't heard anyone and she hadn't either. Could it have been Kalen that had accidentally pushed the books out from the other side. "Did you see Mr Kennedy when you came into the library, Remy?"

Making big eyes at the dire list Remy listed off along with curriculars and training with three professors Laurel said. "My, my sounds your school days are pretty full. You still have time to hang out with your friends and house mates though I hope?" Because if he didn't then she was going to advice him to drop something.

"Really? I shall have to meet him sometime so him and I can sit and talk about the books we've read," she laughed softly though it may have sounded like she was teasing she was actually being serious. Anyone that enjoyed books was always a welcome for her to sit with a talk to. She enjoyed trading books and hearing about other good stories worth reading. "Hmm..that's really tough. I enjoy many books and all for different reasons." If it caught her attention she was reading it whether or not it was a mystery.

The quick change in Gaston at the mention of Emmeline made Cami smile warmly. It made her feel really happy that the staff was behind her in becoming the young girls legal guardian and they were not only there for Emme but for her as well. "She's doing really well. I think she's coming around much more now." As with everything it took time but she had been able to see a change in the lioness of the past few months.

Doctor Dolittle? For a moment the brunette had no idea what her colleague was talking about. As he continued talking a memory came back to her and she nodded slowly. "That's also a muggle movie, isn't it?" She was almost sure that it was. "I think she might like it. It's rather cute and couldn't hurt to try. Do you know if it's in the library?" If they couldn't find it maybe she could ask Kalen if he would be able to get a copy in.

Gaston laughed a little along with Cami, taking care to to make too much noise. They were in a library, after all! "you may just get your chance," he replied. "He and my mother are coming in for Christmas." He was looking forward to the holiday. It was nice being on speaking terms with his family again! Then Cami was answering his question, and he nodded in agreement. "I know what you mean; I'm the same way," he said.

Gaston returned Cami's smile with a small, though slightly sad one of his own as the conversation turned to Emmeline. It broke his heart to think of all that poor girl had gone through last term, and he wanted to help in any way he could! Her situation hit a little too close to home for him... not the abandonment, of course, but the parental disapproval was something he could relate to! He bowed his head to hide the sadness in his eyes, but hearing that she was doing better now eased his mind.

Then cami's question jerked him out of his thoughts. "Yes, it is," he replied, smiling a little. He was glad she seemed to like that idea. "I don't know if it's in the library, but I have an idea where it would be if it is..." See, having a librarian for a mother came in handy sometimes! "Well, unless Kalen put it somewhere here in the maze anyway. Maybe we should search here first?"

Oh! Cami smiled listening as Gaston said his mother and brother were coming for the holiday's. "That sounds wonderful, no doubt that you're very excited to have them come?" It seemed like he was though one never could be to sure honestly. "I would love to meet them if you all have the time. Perhaps we all could have dinner one night, that way you'll get to see Emmeline outside of Hogwarts as well." A nice friendly dinner just the six of them... make that seven she would ask Kay to come as well. "There's so many books that appeal to me for different reasons."

Oh, no. Not that sad smile. Camilla gave the man standing before her a smile and a gentle playful nudge. "Don't get all sad on me, Gaston. She's doing really well for a girl her age and with each day she's opening up to me more and more." It was a bit slow going at times but it was all progress and any progress at this stage of things was good progress.

He thought he knew where the book might be in the library. This was good and made her smile. "That sounds like a good idea. A walk through here and if we don't find it we can check the shelves." Then as a last resort she would ask Kalen if need be. With a smile and a purpose to her steps, Cami turned to fall into step beside Gaston making her way down the closest aisle in the maze of books.

She didn't really have the time to be wandering through the book maze. Quite the opposite. As of the last few months the Ravenclaw had found herself with a schedule so tight that it was a wonder she hadn't suffocated under the weight of all she had to do.

It was for that reason that she was here.

When things got too winding and out of hand, it was always best to simply drop everything and recover--at least for her. What better way to unwind than to get lost in a maze of books and hopefully even more lost in a thrilling tale. Actually...it didn't even have to be a work of fiction. She'd take an informative read too so long as it was something she was currently invested in. The point was to simply take an afternoon breather before throwing herself into what had become an exceptionally busy life for someone who wasn't even doing OWLs.

As she walked along, Jessa lightly ran her fingers across the spines of a few books. There were interesting titles for sure but she wanted to find the right one.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaniDiNardo

She didn't really have the time to be wandering through the book maze. Quite the opposite. As of the last few months the Ravenclaw had found herself with a schedule so tight that it was a wonder she hadn't suffocated under the weight of all she had to do.

It was for that reason that she was here.

When things got too winding and out of hand, it was always best to simply drop everything and recover--at least for her. What better way to unwind than to get lost in a maze of books and hopefully even more lost in a thrilling tale. Actually...it didn't even have to be a work of fiction. She'd take an informative read too so long as it was something she was currently invested in. The point was to simply take an afternoon breather before throwing herself into what had become an exceptionally busy life for someone who wasn't even doing OWLs.

As she walked along, Jessa lightly ran her fingers across the spines of a few books. There were interesting titles for sure but she wanted to find the right one.

Natalie was SHAMEFULLY entering the book maze for the first time. It had seemed a little daunting and taunting at first and she wasn't sure if she had the TIME to get lost in a book maze, but this time in the library, it was just calling her name and she finally couldn't resist. So, in she went.

Her mouth hung open a little bit as her big blue eyes scanned over aaaaall the books that surrounded her. She thought the library was impressive, but THIS was cool too. Now she wanted to go home and make a book maze with all the books that her and her mum had. They probably didn't have enough... but they could totally buy more.

"Wooooowww..." the young Slytherin whispered, as if she was melting into her happy place. That was, until she realized she wasn't alone.

"Oh," she squeaked, realizing Jess as also in the maze. "Hi."

She hadn't actually been expecting to run into anyone while she went through the maze, finding it was big enough to lose yourself and others without really trying. The fact she DID run into someone, however, was a non-issue for the simple reason that Jessa didn't typically mind having company--unless she was in the middle of the type of experiment that needed absolute concentration, in which case...company was the last thing she needed.

This wasn't an experiment. This was exact opposite, in fact it was a well needed break. The Ravenclaw smiled wide at the greeting. "Hey Nat." Her hand lowered from the section of books she'd just been perusing, falling lightly to her side. "Come to get lost in a good book too, or where you looking for something specific?" Or, actually, it could've been both in a maze like this one.

"I found the most brilliant book in here last week. It's got me with high hopes I'll find another." Circe knew she'd hardly been able to put it down.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaniDiNardo

She hadn't actually been expecting to run into anyone while she went through the maze, finding it was big enough to lose yourself and others without really trying. The fact she DID run into someone, however, was a non-issue for the simple reason that Jessa didn't typically mind having company--unless she was in the middle of the type of experiment that needed absolute concentration, in which case...company was the last thing she needed.

This wasn't an experiment. This was exact opposite, in fact it was a well needed break. The Ravenclaw smiled wide at the greeting. "Hey Nat." Her hand lowered from the section of books she'd just been perusing, falling lightly to her side. "Come to get lost in a good book too, or where you looking for something specific?" Or, actually, it could've been both in a maze like this one.

"I found the most brilliant book in here last week. It's got me with high hopes I'll find another." Circe knew she'd hardly been able to put it down.

Well, she was glad that she hadn't interrupted anything. Jessa was a smart girl and Natalie didn't want to interrupt anything going on in that big brain of hers. "I guess I kinda came to get lost," she replied with a small smile. "I hadn't been in here yet, so..." It was finally time. She had TIME to get lost now. No homework or distractions.

"Well, with all the books in here, I'm sure you can find another good one." Natalie didn't have a hard time finding good books to read in this library. It seemed like the shelves were never ending. She could only imagine how much MORE was in the restricted section. She heard there was scary stuff in there, but some of it HAD to be cool.

Now that she had found a friend (err.. acquaintance?), Natalie paused and looked at some nearby books to see if anything caught her eye.

Ah, so she had come to get lost too. Jessa watched Nat for a moment, before glancing around the maze once more. "Yeah..." She agreed, there really were a whole ton of books in here on so many different subjects that a girl could actually develop a few new interests that she never had when she first entered the maze. That was the real beauty about the place--but getting lost was fun too so....

"We're barely beyond the entrance. Let's get lost for real." She suggested, looking to the path that lay before them.

"Mr. Kennedy will show up if we really need any help, but I doubt we will. The two of us, I bet we'd be able to figure our way through, no problem." Jessa replaced the book she'd been looking at back onto the shelf, not particularly in the mood for mechanical engineering. Today wasn't a learning day at all. A light--but interesting--read was what she was after.

"What sort of books are you into?" She continued, now moving further into the maze. Nat was coming, yeah?

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaniDiNardo

Ah, so she had come to get lost too. Jessa watched Nat for a moment, before glancing around the maze once more. "Yeah..." She agreed, there really were a whole ton of books in here on so many different subjects that a girl could actually develop a few new interests that she never had when she first entered the maze. That was the real beauty about the place--but getting lost was fun too so....

"We're barely beyond the entrance. Let's get lost for real." She suggested, looking to the path that lay before them.

"Mr. Kennedy will show up if we really need any help, but I doubt we will. The two of us, I bet we'd be able to figure our way through, no problem." Jessa replaced the book she'd been looking at back onto the shelf, not particularly in the mood for mechanical engineering. Today wasn't a learning day at all. A light--but interesting--read was what she was after.

"What sort of books are you into?" She continued, now moving further into the maze. Nat was coming, yeah?

Natalie liked Jessa's idea to get lost. Mazes could be scary, but this was a book maze and she highly doubted there was anything frightening in there. And like she said, Natalie was sure the librarian could save them before they got TOO lost and died of starvation. See, this was a good idea. Unlike Jessa's idea two years ago where she wanted to jump off the bridge and see if something caught them before they splattered onto the rocks down below.

Natalie skipped ahead to fall in sync with Jessa's stride, looking around at all the books. "I like lots of books. I like adventure books. Mum buys me a lot of those. But I've also got a collection on mermaids and I've been reading some on Mooncalves lately." That was her most recent obsession, mooncalves. She had been wanting to somehow get permission to go out at night and see them again, but with all the scary things happening, she doubted it would be possible.

"What about you?"

Oh good she was coming! Jessa kept her pace casual, leisurely as the two headed further into the maze. It was neat how the man had taken the time to make such an elaborate design. Chances were half the student population didn't even know this thing existed but that was okay, it meant less chances of this place being crowded and her having the worst luck finding the best books. A bit selfish but...what would most Gryffindors be doing with a good book anyway?

"You've been reading up on mooncalves?" The mermaid stuff she knew about thanks to Derf and who didn't like a good adventure but mooncalves gave the Ravenclaw pause."D'you think you read enough to know how to get up an personal with one?--Under the assumption we could find one, that is."

Curiously, Jessa peered down one corridor before heading in the opposite direction. "I like all sorts. Adventure ones like you, but I also like practical ones about on things like anatomy and necromancy and genetic modification. Things that help with my experiments. Romance ones are alright too but most of them are unrealistic and impractical so they frustrate me." She didn't like when things stopped adding up and making sense. Merlin.