Right. Library. Matt's far-from-favourite place. He wouldn't say he hated it, but... he never really fancied going down there for no reason.

Which meant, of course, that he did have a reason to be there that day.

The Gryffindor approached the front desk because that place was so 'unkown' to him he didn't really know where to start.

Cool desk, though, he had to admit. The new librarian might be kind of cool after all. Creative.

Or maybe just one big nerd.

Welp, Matt would have to find out. So he stood there, waiting for the guy to show up and help him find what he wanted.

Kalen was stacking some books in his office when he saw someone waiting at the front desk, the former Slytherin instantly put down the tomea he was holding and made his way out to the desk.

He smiled down at the boy and raised an eyebrow at him.

"Hello. " He didn't quite have all the names of the students down yet, especially ones that didn't come in often.. "I'm Kalen Kennedy," He said by way of introduction.. "How may I help you? " He asked with a smile as he put a hand on his desk and waited to hear what the young Gryffindor wanted.

Matt was looking at the cool desk when he heard someone saying hello. Probably to him, so he looked up to see who he guessed was the new guy.

"Hey there." He greeted the man. When the new librarian introduced himself, Matt couldn't help but stifle a chuckle. Kalen, HAHA. That was his cousin's house-elf's name and Matt thought that the fact this guy had the same name as a house-elf was hilarious.

Anyway, he cleared his throat to try and somewhat hold his composure. Lol. "I'm Matt. You see, Mr Ken, I'm in my fifth year now, so that means I'm taking my OWLs at the end of the term." Yuck. "I'm looking to become an Auror so I need all the study I can get." The boy nearly rolled his eyes at his own remark. Knowing himself, he would probably only get half the study he needed done, if that. But oh well, it was worth a try. "So. What books have you got for me?"

Did he need more information? Because Matt didn't really know what exactly he was going for there. Defense Against the Dark Arts, sure, and maybe Potions and Transfiguration, but... what else? He didn't know.

How ODD.

How very, very...V E R Y odd were Cornelius' intentions. They strode into the library in a confident manner. Not cocky. It was a stride of someone with a purpose. Someone sure of themselves and sure of where they were head to. His robes bellowed behind him, his curls bounced with the volume in them.

Cornelius Orion Baltazar knew how to make an entrance.

He did not stop, nor did he spare anyone or anything a glance. Once he reached the front desk, that's when he paused and leaned against the wood and cleared his throat rather loudly.

How to summon a librarian? Especially his girlfriend's uncle? Was there a bell around here? He did not think this part through.

Kalen raised an eyebrow as the younger man seemed to chuckle a bit as he heard his name. He kept a calm expression on his face, but he was secretly wondering what this kid would look like with bright green freckles smattered across his face.. Oh he could only hope he would catch him sleeping somewhere.

"The name is Kennedy, so I would appreciate you address me as such.He said in a calm but kind manner, his voice smooth as he listened to Matt speak, "Ahh OWLS of course." That would bring in even the most un library like people to darken the halls of this great place. Some people didn't know what they had.

"An Auror hmm?" He said as he leaned on his desk for a moment, his brow furrowed in thought. There were several books he could recommend, but he would only do the main ones.. He stood straight up and with a wave of his wand, five books came flying across the library towards them. Kalen caught each one with ease and then set them down on the desk, stacked neatly, and pushed them towards.

"So to become an Auror, You need high marks in five subjects, nothing under Exceeds Expectations mind you." He said as he examined the books he had summoned. "The subjects are Potions, Defense against the Dark Arts, Charms, Transfiguration and Herbology. These.." He said as he motioned to the books. "Are OWLS books for each course. I think they will be handy. I know my nephew used something similar when he studied for them." He nodded at looked at the young man..

Kalen was once again attempting to put his books away in his office, when he heard a throat clear near his desk and the green eyed man stuck his head out of his office in order to see Azura's boyfriend standing there..

Oh Merlin.

Kalen stepped back into his office for a moment to gather himself mentally for this, before putting on a calm smile and walking towards the desk.

"Ahh Mr. Baltazar, how may I help you today?"

Calm, cool and smooth..

And not at all like the nervous wreck he was on the inside.. Really.. he needed an uncle manual for this sort of stuff.

Cornelius smiled. Naturally. But his eyes quickly squinted when the man approached him with familiarity. "How do you know who I am?" For all the man knew Cornelius was Peter Crowdwell. Ah, who was he kidding? He didn't look like a Peter Crowdwell.

What the hell was even a Peter Crowdwell????

Not him.

Wait. The boy's mind quickly thought. Christmas. This man probably remember him--RATS. Crud. GAH.

It didn't matter. Wait. Maybe it did. Crud. "Ah, from Christmas," Cornelius quickly added. Though, there had been a pause. "I have questions," the Slytherin finally began, barely gathering that cool he normally carried. You see, his plans were hardly foiled. This was unexpectedly foiled. That's what happens when he let his heart take the wheel rather than his mind.

Mind: three. Heart (finally): one.

"Asking for a friend, of course," he said. "This friend would like this--" he motioned with a finger between them, "to stay between us." As in, no telling Azura.

Oh good Merlin, this was already a terrible, TERRIBLE idea.

Kalen smiled a bit as the younger Slytherin spoke and he smiled. "You are dating my niece aren't you? Unless there was someone else I saw her snuggling with at the feast?" He asked with a bit of a small smirk on his face. It seemed like this kid was rather nervous as well!

Kalen felt ever so slightly better, but of course it would depend on the subject matter of this meeting to see if he would fully relax or not.

Christmas?

Ohh yes!

"Yes I was briefly at the manor for Christmas. Though I was thinking this summer at the manor for the masquerade party, I was there as a chaperone. " He said with a smile as the boy rambled a bit..

"Questions for a friend? Of course.. " He said with a knowing smile.. "Do not worry Mr.Baltazar, none of this will leave my lips.. though perhaps you would like to have these questions answered in a more private place? My office perhaps? "

And maybe some tea would help things? Tea always helped him calm down..

...

That. Was. Not. Funny.

Cornelius just stared at the man. Stared. Azura snuggling with someone else? That made something stir in the boy. Jealousy? He wasn't the jealous type. Being jealous meant insecurity. He wasn't insecure in himself nor in Azura. A tiny little worm of a thought wedged in his mind. In fact, it's been there for quite sometime, and every time it made it's presence known Cornelius would try to stomp on it, but this worm was clever and it hid. Then repeated the process all over again.

Christopher. The worm's name is Christopher and Cornelius didn't like it one bit.

The boy cleared his throat. "That actually isn't amusing, sir," Cornelius said as politely as he could muster. Was the librarian trying to crush him? Sure. Go ahead. Drop yo books on him while he was down, why don't you. Dramatic, much?

Ah. The party. "Right," Cornelius nodded. His focus had been solely bestowed upon Azura, so the boy just went along with the flow. She had been gorgeous that night. When wasn't she, though?

Privacy was offered and the boy took like hot chocolate on a snowy day. "Yes, that's perfect!" he said with an eager nod. No need for gossip. Merlin knows he despises that. Lead the way, mister book-nerd!

Oh, great. That type of person. Matt actually did role his eyes, but realising that probably wouldn't make the man like him any better,
he looked the librarian in the eyes and smiled. The smugness in his lips didn't reach his eyes, and he took a moment to accept the fact this guy didn't like his name being shortened.

Too bad.

"Yeep." Was all he said in confirmation when the man said the word 'Auror'. He'd not call him Mr K. For now. The librarian was already sorting some books out, so Matt left him to it and simply watched as some of the objects came zooming through the air.

The Gryffindor nodded as he sighed. Exceed Expetations in all 5 subjects. Tha twould take some good hard work and Matt HAD to be bothered about this. Too much of a fuss, but it'd be the price he would have to pay to become an Auror, he supposed. He frowned in surprise, looking at one of the books the guy has just summoned. "Herbology? How's tending flowers going to help me to become an Auror?" Shallow Matt was being shallow, but he was hoping he would only need to take his favourite subjects that year. But then again, as long as he didn't have to take History of Magic again, he was happy.

"So these are all the books I need for this year?" Matt asked, pulling the stack of books closer to himself and flipping the top one open to have a look. "For theory and practice?"

Kalen was going to let the eye roll go.. for now. But if Matt did that one more time, he would end up with bubblegum pink freckles and some points taken away. He didn't appreciate the lack of respect from the young Gryffindor.

He blinked though at the boy as he spoke.. "Well, Herbology is much more than just tending flowers, how are you going to handle a criminal if you can't handle a highly dangerous plant? Not to mention learning about ingredients to go in potions would be mighty helpful I think. " He said with a nod of his head as he looked over the books he had summoned..

"Well, those are the first set of books, Theory mostly.. There will be another set for practice and of course your lessons should help prepare you as well. " He said with a nod.

Kyle approached the desk, questions swimming through his mind. He wondered if there were even really books on the topic at hand. Well, there had to be studies on this sort of thing, hadn't there? Children did it, after all. And Jace could do it. He hoped the librarian wasn't too busy. He wasn't honestly certain where to look among the library for such books.

Kalen was busy arranging his books under his desk, he was once again looking for a specific one and he couldn't seem to find it. Merlin, he needed to put books he wanted a little more accessible, and not on the bottom row of his desk, or in the fourth book to the right in the maze..

Kalen glanced up and saw a younger bit approaching his desk and he straightened out and smiled kindly down at him. "Hello, can I help you? " He asked as he glanced down at his desk again.

"Yeah um..." Kyle took a deep breath. "I was wondering if you have any books on wandless magic, or studies on children using magic before they've gotten their first want." Please say yes. Please say yes. Please say yes.

The Librarian raised an eye brow as the young boy spoke.. Wandless magic hmm? This was the second time he had been discussing this very subject with someone in so short of a time span! Were classes teaching it and he wasn't aware?

Hmmm.. Kalen made a mental note to ask next time he was in the staff room, but for now his attention was turned to the child in front of him.

"We do indeed have a section on wandless magic, would you like books on how to learn how to learn to do wandless magic? Or more specifically the studies of children doing magic before they got their wand? " He asked as he mentally started to go through the books they had in that section..

Hoepfully the boys answer would help him narrow down the possible tomes he could summon in the subject..

Though he looked rather young to be doing wandless magic.. Kalen himself wasn't super good at it..

Kyle smiled brightly. So there were books on the subject! And actually learning how to do it! "Oh, I would love to learn how to do wandless magic! I just thought the studies might help because before we get our wands, we do little bits of magic here and there, and my friend's father thought that if children did magic before they get their wands, then surely they could cultivate that further. So my friend's been practicing, and all he can do right now is levitate a small ball of earth. I'd love to do it with him, but I have no idea how to even get started!"

Okay, maybe that was a bit more than the librarian needed to know, but he was so excited! The books probably went over how to cast actual spells!

Kalen looked down at the young man as he talked and he nodded. "Well I can most certainly find you some hooks on the subject.." Kalen said as he raised his hand and motioned to a far bookshelf..

See he could do wandless magic too.. it was just hard as heck and he only had three spells mastered!

A few books came zooming through the library and Kal caught them easily and studied them for a few moments before nodding.

"Okay, these should help you out.. I do recommend though, if you really want to learn wandless magic, you should talk to Professir Hirsch or Professor Marchand about it. They are the Defense Againt the Dark Arts and the Charms Professor..They can help help you out more, especially if you need a hands on approach.. " Some people learned just fine while reading books.. other people needed to see it in order for it to sink in.

Kyle smiled brightly. "Thank you, sir! I'll be sure to talk to them about it. I'm going to sit down and read these right away, though. Hopefully they'll give me a foundation to start." He gathered the books and hummed lightly to himself as he made his way to a table to start reading.

Kalen smiled warmly at the young child and he nodded. "Good luck with your studies, I wish you well on your endeavors.. if you have any questions or need more books, please let me know. " He said with a nod as he watched the boy scamper off and he shook his head a bit..

Wandless magic so young?

Ahh well..

Kalen moved from his desk and went back to magically sorting the books that were piling up behind his desk.

This guy... was funny. It took Matt a lot to keep his smile in place without letting out a scoff. Serious librarian seemed to be boring and serious. Eh. Very fitting, if you asked Matt.

Right, it took Matt a LOT of strength to keep his face straight and not roll his eyes again when Mr K spoke about plants and criminals. My oh my, was this some sort of test already? Matt had heard some bosses could be hard work to deal with. All the fifth year managed to do was to keep his smile from looking too much like a mocking smirk. "I guess you're right." Matt was friendly, alright? "I'm sure it's a tad different, though, dealing with 'dangerous' plants and dealing with criminals." He added with a shrug.

THEN AGAIN. This guy was being helpful.

OOOoooorrrrrrr one could argue he was just doing his job.

MAN, the library was a gloomy place. Matt was not going back there any time soon.

"Amazing." He told the man after his explanation about theory and practice. Matt was certain he was going to get all the practice he needed in lessons, but since he was already there... "Yeah, could I get the ones for practice too, please?" The least amount of times he had to take a visit to that place the better.

Did he mention he felt physically weird being in the library? Yep, he did. Weeeeeird place. Matt was not a fan, clearly.

There was one in every house.. two in his if he could remember right. But always that one who hated this place and books and just about everything Kalen stood for.. He could almost see the wheels turning..thinking he was boring and stuffy...

Mmm..

Kalen held up his hand and summoned the next set of books, the practice ones.. "Dangerous plants, or criminals.. one needs the same attitude to deal with them.." He said as the books flew towards him and for a moment he considered not catching them..

But he WAS the librarian and an adult.. he wasn't going to let one teenager get the best of him.

"There you are.. " He said as he pushed the stack towards him, "Is there anything else you need? " Like magenta freckles all over your face?

Matt snorted as the librarian compared plants with criminals."Sure." He said, knowing fully well now why the man was a librarian and not an Auror, haha.

He could also see he was getting on the guy's nerves and it amused him. That was what Matt lived for - getting on people's nerves.

The fifteen year-old watched the man stack another pile of books for him and looked up with a cheeky smile on his face. Anything else he needed? "How about a nice smile from the librarian?" Mahahaha.

Kalen wondered what Matt would say if he knew that Kalen had not only a nephew in the Auror Program, but his littlest brother was an Auror as well, his second eldest brother was a healer and the best person he had ever known was a herbologist.. Might shock his socks off to learn how all that stuff worked together but..

His eldest brother didn't count.. he was a.. deserter? Wanderer? Whatever he was.. Kalen hadn't talked to him in years..

A smile hmm..

Not likely..

He raised an eyebrow at the boy and tilted his head.. "Have a good day Matt.. and feel free to come in and use the chairs by the window.. I've heard students say they are lovely for napping.. " Eh hem..

Matt was already refraining himself from rolling his eyes at Mr K's remark about him coming back to the library to study by the windows when...

Lol, did the man actually make a joke? Matt approved. "Good call, I might as well!" The Gryffindor grinned and levitated both piles of books. Heck, that wasn't like him at all, leaving the LIBRARY with not one, but TWO piles of books.

Being an Auror had better be worth all this fuss.

"Thanks for the tip, Mr K." He added, refering to the nap place, of course. Giving the man a salute, the fifth year then walked out of the place and made his way up to his dormroom to drop off all of those... heavy things.

Okay.
So the rumor was the new librarian was hot. With all the new faces at the feast, Noelle hadn't seen him but Olly had good taste which meant that he had to be good looking.

Noelle had been in the library a few times to study and what not, but she wanted to actually glimpse the Librarian instead of having her nose buried in a book.

Taking a few laps around the front desk, she probably looked suspicious. She would catch a glimpse of that librarian though! She moved to put another book down and started walking by the front desk again, just to see if he was there. Only she wasn't paying attention. Which meant that when she accidentally dropped a book, it landed on her foot. The book hadn't been a light one. It made her stumble and Noelle went crashing into the front desk.

Which was made entirely of books.

Merlin's beard.