The library was on of Penelope's favorite places in the whole school. She was always coming in for books to help her with school or things that she wanted to research on her own. Another thing that she loved about the library was the smell of the books, especially some of the older ones. However, she was not just here for books today. She was her to see the amazing Ravenclaw HoH/librarian/her second favorite Hogwarts staff member right after Professor Cassie, Mr. Kitridge. "Hello Mr. Kitridge." Penelope had questions to ask him and she still hadn't forgotten about the wombats.

Marsha loved books. If she hadn't been lucky to end up in the Pride, she would have wanted to be a Ravenclaw. For her love of learning and books and knowledge. Obviously. However, right now she wanted to find somewhere quiet (which definitely wasn't the Gryffindor common room) to sit and read and see what amazing things she could learn from her new text books. Was it too early to start studying and practising? She didn't think so... but maybe she should check.

Waiting behind an older looking girl, Marsha waited in line to speak to the man. When it was her turn she smiled at him. "Excuse me... Am I allowed to sit here and read?" She blinked and hoped that the answer was yes. "And is it okay to practise what we have been learning in class? ..... Or should we leave that for a room that doesn't have hundreds of pretty books?" She added as an after thought.

Zhenya had decided during the summer holidays that she was going to go hard with the studying at the start of term. Not the middle, not a week before NEWT's, but NOW! So, she entered the library, her new glasses pushed up her nose, three books under her arms, and she made her way to the front desk. For a few reasons, actually. But first of all, "Hello Professor Kitridge," she said happily, blinking, then correcting herself. "Er… Mr. Kitridge." Why was she always doing that?

Peeking out behind an enormous stack of books on the front desk counter upon hearing his name Leo gently pushed them to the side so that he got a good view of the eagle fourth year girl standing in front of him. His face cracked up into a beam as Leo recognized her. "Hello Penelope. It’s lovely to see you again. Did you have a good summer?"

His gaze shifted momentarily to the enormous stack of books as he laid his wand down on top of a piece of parchment. He’d continue with labelling the books before he distributed them to his colleagues. Eyes focusing on Penelope again he asked. "Do you need something new to read?"



Leo was waiting for Penelope’s answer when a younger girl with flaming red hair approached the front desk. Without much preamble she asked him a series of questions in quick succession. Turning to the girl he said smiling "Welcome to the library. I don’t think we’ve met. I’m Mr Kitridge, the school librarian." Gesturing to a thumb to the nearest tables and desks spread out around the library he said. "You are allowed to sit and read anywhere in the library where there is tables, desks or couches. Only place that is off limits is the Restricted Section." Nodding he affirmed as an afterthought. "It is okay to practice what you’ve learned in classes in the library. I suggest using the study area if you want some extra privacy." It was the place he had used in his school days too.



Working on an order list for new magazines, pamphlets and books to complete the collection in the corner room Leo didn't hear Zhenya approach until she spoke to him which almost made him jump out of his skin and fall off his chair. He gave a nervous laugh as he greeted the snake seventh year with a smile after straightening himself up on the chair. "Hello Zhenya. You startled me." He took a minute to calm himself down before he asked in usual calm tone. "How was your summer?" gesturing to the books under her arm Leo continued. "Do you want to loan those books?"

Zhenya's eyes widened in shock as she saw she had startled the librarian. "Oh I'm sorry Mr. Kitridge, I should have made more announcing noise or something." Oops… she gave him the time to recompose, then replied. "It was really good, I went to Seattle to see an old friend. We saw the space needle! How was your summer?" She looked at the books under her arm and shook her head, "Oh, no, these are from my brother. But I was wondering if you would be able to help. I'm taking ancient runes and astronomy, but I really struggle with those lessons. I hoped you might have some er… books which might help me study for my exams. Something easy to understand that explains key theories and definitions." She didn't want to say a beginner book, but something she could have open with her seventh year texts that she could flip to when she got a bit confused.

Accepting Zhenya's apology Leo said with a shake of his head. "It wasn't entirely your fault. I was so caught up in what I was doing that I didn’t see you approach. If I had been more aware you wouldn’t have startled me." It happened to him sometimes when he got too caught up. A troll could walk by and he wouldn’t notice. Curious he asked "What is the space needle? Is it a space museum?" It sounded like Aireys field though. "My summer was lovely and busy. One of the best parts was the field to Loch Ness. You participated in that too didn't you?"

"Ah..." Leo said understanding. "You're studying for your NEWT’s right?" Turning his back to Zhenya for a moment he went over and browsed around among the books he had waiting to be put back on the shelves. Finding what he looked for he picked up the books and placed them on the counter in front of Zhenya. "You could look in these two books and see if they seem helpful to you. They are supposed to explain key theories, definitions and whatnot for Astronomy and Ancient Runes in a simple and easy way, complete with descriptive pictures. I've got copies of old NEWT exams for both subjects too if you are interested?"

Zhenya nodded once. "I get that way too sometimes," she said. "Especially if it's a good book." How could she explain the space needle? She thought for a moment, replaying the day, and said "It's a really tall observation tower. I think that's how they describe it. You get to the top and look out over Seattle. It was really high." Good thing she wasn't afraid of heights. Loch Ness - of course! She nodded enthusiastically, "I did, yes! That was a lot of fun."

Gulp. "Yes," she sighed, "OWL's weren't much fun, I'm not looking forward to NEWT's." Though who did, really? Zhenya looked at the two books which looked perfect for what she needed them for. But even more perfect - past exam papers! Zhenya's eyes widened, "Oh yes please Mr. Kitridge," she said. That would be absolutely perfect for her study!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nordic Witch

Peeking out behind an enormous stack of books on the front desk counter upon hearing his name Leo gently pushed them to the side so that he got a good view of the eagle fourth year girl standing in front of him. His face cracked up into a beam as Leo recognized her. "Hello Penelope. It’s lovely to see you again. Did you have a good summer?"

His gaze shifted momentarily to the enormous stack of books as he laid his wand down on top of a piece of parchment. He’d continue with labelling the books before he distributed them to his colleagues. Eyes focusing on Penelope again he asked. "Do you need something new to read?"

That was a lot of books. There was a librarian somewhere behind there, right? Here he was. Penelope smiled at Mr. Kitridge as he appeared from behind the stack of books. "I had a good summer. How was yours? Have you had any more problems with wombats in the library?" It really bothered her that there would be Australian animals in Scotland, at Hogwarts, inside the castle, in the library, and apparently only in certain areas of the library. How was this not a school wide problem? Where did the wombats come from? How did they get in? Did Professor Thompson have any wombats? Were there ever any actual wombats in the library? She was probably thinking way too much about this, but she wasn't going to stop thinking about wombats until she had figured out the answers to her questions.

Oh, right books. Penelope smiled at Mr. Kitridge. She always needed something new to read. "Are there any books that you would suggest?" If not, she would just wander around the library until she found books that caught her interest.

SPOILER!!: Marsha

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tiro MacMhuirich

Marsha loved books. If she hadn't been lucky to end up in the Pride, she would have wanted to be a Ravenclaw. For her love of learning and books and knowledge. Obviously. However, right now she wanted to find somewhere quiet (which definitely wasn't the Gryffindor common room) to sit and read and see what amazing things she could learn from her new text books. Was it too early to start studying and practising? She didn't think so... but maybe she should check.

Waiting behind an older looking girl, Marsha waited in line to speak to the man. When it was her turn she smiled at him. "Excuse me... Am I allowed to sit here and read?" She blinked and hoped that the answer was yes. "And is it okay to practise what we have been learning in class? ..... Or should we leave that for a room that doesn't have hundreds of pretty books?" She added as an after thought.

Hearing another voice, Penelope turned around to see a first year girl. Could they read in the library? It was a library. There were books here. People read books and did there homework here. "Why wouldn't you be allowed to read in the library?" You did not need to ask if you could read in a library. Listening as Mr. Kitridge explained where everyone was allowed, Penelope added, "The last time a student went into the restricted section without Mr. Kitridge, half the school got possessed by characters from a fairytale book that got out of the restricted section." It probably wasn't actually as many people as half of the school, but it had been a significant number of students and professors. Had any students been allowed in the restricted section since the fairytale book had been captured? Just don't go into the restricted section, it was best for everyone. Thinking of the fairytale book, she still didn't understand how books could possess people, but it was better to not go poking around the restricted section to find out.

Penelope turned back to Mr. Kitridge and leaned in a little closer. "Can I come see you in your office when you're not busy in the library?" You know, somewhere a little more private where she could talk to him without first years asking permission to read in a library and any other people who might need to see Mr. Kitridge for help finding books.

"Exactly," Leo exclaimed. "A good book can definitely take up your whole attention span. I personally think those are the best ones." The books that made you lose track of time and space were the best. When Zhenya explained what the space needle was Leo said "Oh I see. That sounds fun. I don't think I've ever been to an observation tower before." Maybe something that Zhenya could tell Airey about. It was his field after all.

Nodding he agreed with a big beam. "Yes it was. What did you think was the best part of the field trip? Seeing the kelpie? If Leo had had the chance to go when he had been in school the kelpie encounter probably would have been one of the high points. Rummaging around under the counter he soon produced 3 copies of old exams for the two subjects which he handed to Zhenya saying. "Here you are, I hope they’ll make the revision easier and more understandable."



Turning to Penelope he said with a smile. "I had a lovely and busy summer. One of the high points was definitely the trip to Loch Ness with all you students." Shaking his head Leo answered. "No, no further troubles with wombats thank fully. I finally remembered where they had come from and they’ve been returned to their owner now." Good riddance too. They had been nothing but trouble.

"I've got a good new child detective series you might want to try out? The protagonist is a girl about your age too." Eyes trailing over the books in the big stack he took two out and showed them to Penelope. "Here, have a look and see if you'd want to try one of them."

The comment that Penelope interjected with in his conversation with the other girl was the last thing Leo had wanted her to say. He quickly tried to smooth it over by saying "The fairytale book is gone from Hogwarts and will not possess anyone at this school again. Since then I’ve also taken steps to increase the security in the section and no books from there shall hopefully cause any problems in the future." If that happened he’d get help from the new DADA professor. Student’s visiting the library was supposed to feel safe.

As Penelope leaned in asking for a more private conversation Leo nodded and said "Sure, just stop by my office sometime when it fits your class schedule and we’ll have a chat in private." He was curious to know what the girl could have on her heart that she needed to talk to him about with a first year present.

Marsha’s face burst into a huge grin as Mr Kitridge introduced him. Aunt Benny had been right, her Head of House was amazing. ”Hi Mr. Kitridge, I’m Marsha!” GRIN for the man. ”It is lovely to meet you, my aunts and uncles have all said wonderful things about you!” Whoops. Maybe they wouldn’t want him to know that… oh well. She would deal with that later if she had to. Hehe.

YES! Sofas to get comfy on AND read, this was like a dream come true.. And although it was much bigger, it smelled and looked a lot like Grandpa Derek’s study/library at home. That thought made her happy and she smiled. She double blinked a he told her they were allowed to practise in here. That was amazing. It seemed much quieter and less distracting here than it was in the Gryffindor Common Room. She could see herself loving the library. ”Thank you so much.” She said with a large smile at the man. ”I didn’t want to get into trouble already if you weren’t supposed to practise here. I love books too much to be banned from the library!”

Blinking, Marsha turned to look at the older looking girl who had.. also replied to her. Her chest clenched slightly at the girls comment. She didn’t like feeling stupid, and the girl had done just that. Tilting her head to the side slightly the red-head looked at her some more. ”The town I’m from doesn’t have a big enough library to have seats and a reading area. The whole room is filled with books… Besides, those chairs could have been reserved for Professors, or senior students or for groups or for anything else that I don’t know about yet.” Frown. She wasn’t stupid, she wasnt.

Woah. Fairytales? Blinking, she seemed to remember a comment or two in the past in hushed whispers from her family about that - but they had never given her any details and she hadn’t asked. After all, if they had wanted her to know they wouldn’t have tried to hide it from her in the first place. Yup. She did give Mr Kitridge a soft smile though. ”I’m sure you would manage to keep us and the books safe.” Because the books were obviously just as important as the students were.

It was perfect when someone understood what a good book could do to someone. Not everyone did, which was a shame. They didn't know what they were missing out on. "Did you read anything good over the holidays? I read a good one about a muggle called Sherlock Holmes. Have you heard about him?"

Zhenya had to think about that. It was fun, exciting, a little bit scary, and exhausting. All in one! "I liked seeing the kelpie too, but I mostly just enjoyed being able to go under water like that. I'd never done it before. So many things underwater that we have no idea about just from looking down into the water."

WOW lots of exam papers! Zhenya made an ooooh sound as she looked at them. They would be perfect help for her! Especially seeing as she could cross reference everything with the other books. Hopefully they would all combine nicely to help with her study and knowledge, and understanding the topics. "Thank you Mr. Kitridge, this will be a HUGE help," she said appreciatively.

Smiling broadly Leo said "It's a pleasure to meet you Marsha." It was nice with a so happy and excited fresh face to the library. Aunts and uncles, wow was he already that old? Pushing any thoughts of his age out his mind he asked curiously. "To what houses did your aunts and uncles belong?" Many students had gone to Hogwarts and left since he had started working there many years ago now. It was nice to know that he was well respected though and that Marsha’s relatives hadn’t spoken badly about him.

Understanding Leo nodded "It's always better to ask one question too many than to wish you had when you can’t redo an action." Marsha seemed to be a sensible young woman. He let Marsha answer Penelope’s comment without interjecting. If he needed to interject he’d do it depending on Penelope’s response back. For now he was quiet.

Smiling softly he said "I always do. Both the students that go here and the books in the library are very important to me and I take steps to keep them safe." And everyone knew that.



Racking his brain Leo smiled. "Yes I did. I read a muggle adventure novel by an author called Desmond Bagley. It was a thrilling read." Furrowing his brows he nodded. "I've definitely heard of Sherlock Holmes, he is a muggle detective that solves crimes, right?" If he recalled correctly the muggle section of the library did hold a few novels about this Sherlock Holmes too. But Zhenya probably already knew that.

Grinning he said as the topic changed to the field trip. "I enjoyed going underwater too. It's quite exciting to know that so many different creatures and plants live underwater. You could ask your professors in CoMC and herbology if you can't explore the lake bottom. I'm sure there is much exciting and thrilling to see down there just like at the loch."

As Zhenya's attention focused on the NEWT exam papers Leo smiled softly. "You're welcome dear. Do you need anything else?"

A thrilling read, hey? Zhenya made a mental note that if she needed new material to read, she would be asking Mr. Kitridge for the name of that book. She hoped that would be soon! She didn't want to be spending all term on study. She nodded "Yeah, and he works with a doctor called Watson. It was so good! He's ridiculously smart, but a little…" what was the right word? "Eccentric." Yeah, that was it.

She hadn't even thought of that! Imagine what could be underneath their own lake? "That's a great idea! I'm sure it would help with revision for seven years of information." She looked down and made sure the exam papers and textbook were there, as well as her other ones. She was strong, she would manage. "No, that's about all for now thank you. I might come back in a few weeks for different exam papers, would that be okay?" she asked. Hopefully there wasn't a limit or anything.

Finally reaching the library Hady headed straight for the front desk where she spotted Mr. Kitridge. He had been really nice to her last term and was a huge help so maybe he'd be able to help her and Angel today. Reaching the desk she smiled lightly. "Hello, Mr. Kitridge. Angel and I were hoping that maybe you would be able to answer a few questions for us." She shifted her gaze towards her friend beside her before looking back to the librarian.

Fixing the strap of her bag up higher onto her shoulder the third year once more looked to Angel. Did she wasn't to be the one to ask since it had been her idea?

Grinning Leo said "It sounds like you really liked the book. You've inspired me to want to read a Sherlock Holmes novel too when time allows." You were supposed to like the books you read and find pleasure in reading them. The books that were obligatory for school you had to read regardless if you enjoyed reading them or not.

Smiling Leo replied. "You're welcome Zhenya. I'm glad I could be of assistance. And you can of course come back and get new exam copies for the other subjects any time you like." It was an offer that he extended to all those studying for OWL’s and NEWT exams.



Leo had just leaned back in his chair by the front desk, stretched his legs out comfortably and was intending to close his eyes for a moment to nurture his headache when Hady and Angel approached him. Sitting up straighter, he smiled warmly as they stopped in front of him. "Hello Hady and Angel." His gaze shifted between them curiously. "It depends on the questions I suppose, but I can give it a try. What did you want to ask me about?" What could the two girls have on their minds now? Was it something good or shifty?

Angel looked at Hady and the Librarian. "Hope your having a good day Mr Librarian, Sir." Angel was enjoying herself today and she really hoped that the Librarian wouldn't mind the next question. "I was wondering, right." Angel spoke to her feet in case the Librarian thought it was a silly idea. "I was wondering if we could have a sleep over, like with all the houses involved." Angel turned to Hady. "I think Hady might be able to tell you more." Angel was suddenly feeling very shy about asking this now.

SPOILER!!: Leo!

Leo had just leaned back in his chair by the front desk, stretched his legs out comfortably and was intending to close his eyes for a moment to nurture his headache when Hady and Angel approached him. Sitting up straighter, he smiled warmly as they stopped in front of him. "Hello Hady and Angel." His gaze shifted between them curiously. "It depends on the questions I suppose, but I can give it a try. What did you want to ask me about?" What could the two girls have on their minds now? Was it something good or shifty?

SPOILER!!: Angel!

Angel looked at Hady and the Librarian. "Hope your having a good day Mr Librarian, Sir." Angel was enjoying herself today and she really hoped that the Librarian wouldn't mind the next question. "I was wondering, right." Angel spoke to her feet in case the Librarian thought it was a silly idea. "I was wondering if we could have a sleep over, like with all the houses involved." Angel turned to Hady. "I think Hady might be able to tell you more." Angel was suddenly feeling very shy about asking this now.

From the second Angel had opened her mouth and began to speak Hady wasn't so sure about it. However it was much to late to change her mind and well a girl's slumber party did sounds epic.

Hady gave her friend an encouraging smile as she began to explain but then the older girl had stopped. Was something wrong? Shifting her attention to her friend she lately laid a hand on the girls shoulder before turning once more to Mr. Kitridge. "What Angel is asking here is that both her and I thought it would be really fun for all the girls to have a huge slumber party of sorts. With snacks, drinks and games where we can all just talk and get to know each other really. Something to take our minds off of homework, lessons and tests for the older years as well as bring house unity."

Had she explained that well enough? It sounds good to her really. "The problem is we weren't sure who we needed to speak with or where this could be done since all the girls would be invited..."

Marsha grinned happily at the man. ”And you too, I’ve been looking forward to it.” Well, it wasn’t like she was lying! Benny, Xander and Xandra always spoke highly of him. ”Well, quite a few of them are in their final years right now… but four of them are specifically in Ravenclaw.” BEEEAM.

”Benedetta and Xander are both in their Seventh years, Alexandra is in her Sixth year and Evan is in his fifth year.” She smiled, grinning. She didn’t think she needed to tell him that Alexandra was blind - she was pretty sure that there was only one Alexandra in their year. ”In case you haven’t figured out from them - our family is a little weird and very extended.” She giggled a little at the look of horror on the mans face. She knew most people thought of older people when you heard the term aunt and uncles… but there were 16, almost 17 years of a gap between her Tad who was the eldest and Alyssa, the youngest who was currently a 5th year Hufflepuff… and since she had been born just after he left Hogwarts… well, here she was. Hehe.

”But, we have had students in every year from my when my Dad started up until now… well, with Alyssa and them in their fifth year… then there was a four year gap and then here I am! But my cousins are far too young for Hogwarts yet…” She was babbling. She… should stop talking now.

”I’m sure you do! Thank you for answering my questions, I would never disrespect a library.” She smiled at the man. Yup, she would have been happy in Ravenclaw too - but Gryffindor had chosen her so here she was, in red and gold.

Glancing over at Angel he nodded. "I'm having a splendid day, thank you for asking. I hope you two are too?" Leo was though more curious about what they were wondering about then talking about something that was the equivalent to talking about the weather.

Angel started and then Hady took over to finish off explaining their idea which was basically a giant slumber party for the girls of all the houses. Raising a brow he asked not saying no or yes to the idea just yet. "Why shall it be a sleepover just for the girls of all the houses? Why don’t you want boys to be invited too? Do you think they’ll think it’s unfair if just the girls get’s to have some fun together?"

Placing his hands on the counter in front of him and interlacing his finger Leo continued. "An idea like this would need to be discussed between all the four heads of houses and Headmistress Truebridge. It's something that would require a lot of planning since it would involve hundreds of students and requires security measures and prefect and staff chaperons."



Marsha pretty much baffled him with her long explanation of who in her family went to Hogwarts and in what houses and years. She had lost him somewhere in the beginning. Leo did his best to keep face though and just smiled in agreement. "Your family tree really has a lot of branches too it, it’s nice though that all family members have chosen to study at Hogwarts instead of at other wizarding schools in Europe."

"You're welcome dear. Do you have any more questions? Need something new to read?" Leo wondered. It never hurt to ask even if Marsha seemed perfectly qualified to find something she wanted to read without his assistance.

Angel looked at the Professor and smiled. "I'm good." Angel then listened as the Professor went on and on until he said the boys would think it was unfair and she blushed. "Professor, I don't mean to be cheeky or anything, but I didn't think boys liked sleep-overs." Angel had never heard of boys doing that, they played football and things like that. "I just didn't think they would be interested in this sort of thing." Angel was being truthful there. "You could have two sir, one for girls and one for boys... after all we all like different things and they could have some fun and get to know each other as well." Angel was a bit worried now, was the Librarian going to fall out with her.

SPOILER!!: Leo

Glancing over at Angel he nodded. "I'm having a splendid day, thank you for asking. I hope you two are too?" Leo was though more curious about what they were wondering about then talking about something that was the equivalent to talking about the weather.

Angel started and then Hady took over to finish off explaining their idea which was basically a giant slumber party for the girls of all the houses. Raising a brow he asked not saying no or yes to the idea just yet. "Why shall it be a sleepover just for the girls of all the houses? Why don’t you want boys to be invited too? Do you think they’ll think it’s unfair if just the girls get’s to have some fun together?"

Placing his hands on the counter in front of him and interlacing his finger Leo continued. "An idea like this would need to be discussed between all the four heads of houses and Headmistress Truebridge. It's something that would require a lot of planning since it would involve hundreds of students and requires security measures and prefect and staff chaperons."

SPOILER!!: Angel

Angel looked at the Professor and smiled. "I'm good." Angel then listened as the Professor went on and on until he said the boys would think it was unfair and she blushed. "Professor, I don't mean to be cheeky or anything, but I didn't think boys liked sleep-overs." Angel had never heard of boys doing that, they played football and things like that. "I just didn't think they would be interested in this sort of thing." Angel was being truthful there. "You could have two sir, one for girls and one for boys... after all we all like different things and they could have some fun and get to know each other as well." Angel was a bit worried now, was the Librarian going to fall out with her.

"I'm well thank you," Hady replied softly giving Mr. Kitridge a gentle smile. She stood silently as she listened to what the Professor had to say about their idea taking a moment to think about it. Honestly he was right with this and she knew that as it had occurred to her as well before. "Well I must admit at first we were thinking of just a slumber party with just our closest friends but quickly decided we'd like it more if all the girls were invited that way no one was left out and we could make even more friends," Hady explained softly. "Being it's so many girls though maybe something can be posted up on the notice boards and the girls can write down their names if they'd like to attend? As for the boys well the main reason I didn't mention them was the fact that I honestly thought the idea would be instantly turned down if we were to want a co-ed slumber party." This was true. Sure she had no intents what-so-ever in doing anything that would get anyone into trouble but many of her friends were in relationships.

"I wouldn't mind though if a co-ed slumber was easiest. Or like Angel said maybe one for the girls and another for the boys..." Now this was starting to become much bigger then she'd originally planned. Odds were the idea would be shot down since it would end up being a lot of trouble to set up.

Marsha grinned and nodded. ”We all thought so. There were a few of our cousins, like Benny who could have studied elsewhere, but they didn’t want to be the only ones not at Hogwarts… and since their parents were originally from here, they got in. Isn’t that cool?” Big grins, yup.

”No, I think I’m pretty good right now. I just wanted to find out about the Library and figure out what I could and couldn’t do when I study here.” She smiled at the Librarian and grinned at him. ”Although… Do you have anything about Magical Creatures? Anything at all?” She giggled, excited as always when it came to animals of any kind.

Closing his eyes for a moment Leo let Hady and Angel wait as he considered the dynamics and possibilities of the sleepover. It would definitely be a positive push for camaraderie between the girls and that was something he wanted to encourage. Opening his eyes Leo replied. "I think it's a good idea that is definitely worth making happen. We staffers aren’t planning any 'official' sleepovers this year to encourage bonding between students and houses so it’d be up to you two to plan and put it into action. I suggest hosting it in the Room of Requirement for privacy and security purposes."

Letting his gaze wander from one girl to the other Leo said It's up to you, how big you want to make the sleepover but it's probably wise to invite not everyone but a select few girls since if you make it too big it might turn into a catastrophe." As for the question about including boys or not he added."Since this is the first time you do this I think you can exclude the boys and focus on making something for girls and not something co-ed." Keeping it separate was better or Leo would have to worry about if Hady and Angel would ask prefects to join in to keep an eye on things or not.



"Benny? You’re related to Benjamin Atreyu? And yes it's cool as you put it but also a Hogwarts tradition. The school has taught many families, siblings and cousins over the centuries." Leo wondered, trying to connect the dots in his head. It didn’t seem totally impossible considering that he only knew one student named Benny belonging to Gryffindor house that went to Hogwarts. Hopefully Marsha wasn’t expecting him to remember everyone that she was related to presently at Hogwarts. Leo had good memory but if he tried to remember who every student was related to he’d probably get a head ache.

"That's really forthcoming of you Marsha. Not everyone takes time to ask how things work around here before they just start using the library and the books." Leo had had to remind some students over the years about the rules. Thankfully it had never been anything big.

Smiling he said excitedly. "I'm sure I can find something for you. Do you like detective stories? If so I’ve got a light-hearted read about a teenage girl that finds creatures that have mysteriously gone missing." Picking it out a copy of the book he was thinking of from under the counter Leo showed it to Marsha. "Read the back and see what you think. If you don’t like it I can easily find something else."

Wasting no time, Ethan made his way to the Library and went directly towards the Front Desk. It’s not that he can’t search for the right books and resources on his own, but he considered seeking Mr. Kitridge’s help with his quest. He already asked Professor Cassie’s help earlier in the day, but thought it best to seek the Library too. He knew the place was rich in information, so there was nothing to lose by visiting the place.

“Hello, sir.” Ethan gave the Librarian a friendly grin as he stuffed his hands inside his trousers’ pockets. The Slytherin paused to see if Mr. Kitridge was busy, “Is now a good time to bother you with something Mr. Kitridge, or should I go and wait?” he asked as he eyed one of the cozy chairs just across the room, then back to the Librarian.