A Distraction of Books (Humphrey)

Professors Posts : 147

Term was not due to start for a week or so, and she had already gotten used to the placing of everything. There was a ever-growing pile of books on her shelf as she read and reread new and old novels, both fiction and non; whatever she could get her hands on that sounded remotely interesting, she read, passing time to when term started. When the news of a masquerade ball came as a nice surprise - a welcoming ball she expected, but not one with masks. Writing to her parents at once, her mother had responded with a list of suggestions and even included a catalogue of masks.

Having spent a few days narrowing down her list to a few of her favourite, all that was left to do was buy a dress - none she had were suitable - and so, a few days before that of the ball, she made her way down to Avalon village. As Brooke walked towards the clothing shop, her gaze travelled to the sign on the window of Tomes and Scrolls boasting of a store wide sale. Completely forgetting her goal of finding a dress, she turned and entered the bookshop; grabbing a basket, she started browsing the shelves, mentally setting a limit of five books.

She was so caught up in searching that she didn't see the person next to her until, reaching over to grab a particularly interesting title, she bumped into him, and heard a thump of a falling book. "Oh my gosh, I am so sorry!" she apologized at once, bending down to pick up the object.

Dragon Trainers In-Training Posts : 87

Humphrey had, not surprisingly, found his way into the bookstore Tomes and Scrolls while doing some shopping in Avalon. After finding two new notebooks for writing his music and stories in, the young fresh out of Hogwarts began searching for books. He liked to read a little bit of everything, but his favorites were probably fantasy and science-fiction novels. Some of the worlds people created were so interesting and far-fetched that they simply captivated him. One of his favorite authors was Orson Scott Card, but he had quite a long list he enjoyed reading. Also, despite the fact he was technically an adult now, he often enjoyed teen novels. More than once a book had turned out to be a little too childish, but he'd also found a few real gems from the genre.

Browsing through the store, grabbing a few books from the shelves that he knew he wanted to read, Humphrey eventually came across another of his favorite sections, classic novels. The books people wrote back in the day had so much originality and character to them, and he enjoyed some of the poetry as well. Twain, Shakespeare, and Dickens were a few of his favorites. One book jumped out at him and caught his eye, The Divine Comedies by Dante. This copy had excellent pictures as well, and he started reading from a section while he was standing in the middle of the aisle. Completely oblivious to the world, he didn't even notice the girl next to him until she'd knocked into him. His book hit the floor, and he returned to the world around him with a start, jerked out ofhis imaginings of the story.

"Oh my gosh, I am so sorry!"

Waving the girl's apology away, he carefully took the book back from her and set it on his growing stack of books to purchase. At the moment it was only at four, but it was going to be tough getting out of there without more. "It's quite alright, most likely my fault for stopping to read in the middle of an aisle. I'm Humphrey by the way, Humphrey Williams." he said, awkwardly holding out a hand while trying to keep a firm hold on his books. He wasn't good at social situations like this, but he tried to make the best of the situation.

Professors Posts : 147

Chuckling, she motioned to the book he had placed in his basket. "How would you know if you like it unless you try it? I've been found guilty of doing just that, so no worries," she said with another laugh, smiling at him. It was quite true; Brooke had, on numerous occasions, actually sat down in an aisle to read a particularly interesting book she had come across, fully intending to buy it, but too absorbed by the story to wait till after she had purchased it.

Holding out a hand, she said, "I'm Brooke Walters, nice to meet you!" Besides books, this was another thing she thoroughly enjoyed: meeting new people and making friends. Considering that the boy in front of her looked well-read, she glanced down at her own basket, which held 2 more books than her limit, and at the shelf. While not really having a particular genre to call her favourite - she liked 'whatever was good' - Classics were something she never gave much consideration before. A few of the more common Muggle ones her grandparents introduced to her notwithstanding, Brooke sighed softly to herself, realizing that she was definitely about to come away with more books than she intended.

"So, which would you suggest is a must read? I've been planning on trying out Muggle classics; I've only read a few before," she commented to the boy, eyes travelling through the shelves of books and wondering how much the discount was for this section. Mentally moving her limit from 5 books (which she had obviously already overshot) to 50 Galleons, she gently set down her basket.

Dragon Trainers In-Training Posts : 87

He couldn't help but laugh with the girl, nodding in agreement. "You have a good point there, but I already knew I'd love this book so I have no excuse." Humphrey confided. It was tough to go wrong with the classic by Dante. There was something special about the flow of the language that always transported him into the world the writer was trying to portray. When that happened it was tough to pull him out of it and back to reality, that was for sure.

Shaking the girl's hand, he gave her a tentative smile. "Nice to meet you too, Brooke." Surprisingly, Humphrey actually meant it. Usually he didn't like meeting people or making friends, but for some reason he felt oddly at ease with her. Something told him they were going to be good friends, which was pretty crazy for him since he'd never really had anybody he would consider a good friend before. Looking at Brooke, he noticed that she was collecting quite a few books just like he was. Maybe that was the reason they were getting along well, they were both bookworms. That seemed a logical explanation to him, even though it was only a hunch.

"Hmmm, let me think here..." Humphrey said, scratching his chin as he thought. With all of the great classics there right in front of him, it was hard for him to pick just one for her to try. "One that you definitely have to read is this one here, The Wizard of Oz. Quite a unique and interesting story, that one." he told her, handing it to her. "Another classic that is an absolute must is The Picture of Dorian Gray." Humphrey added, grabbing that off the shelf as well. "And, although it's not a classic, let me check and see if they have Howl's Moving Castle..." he trailed off, going off in search of it. Returning with the book held high, he added it onto her growing pile. "Sorry, seems I got a little carried away." he admitted with a chuckle.

Professors Posts : 147

"You have a good point there, but I already knew I'd love this book so I have no excuse."

Winking playfully, she joked, "Yes, but each print is different. You have to make sure the font isn't too small, right?" Grinning at him, she added, "Excuses are easy to come up with when you want to approve something you've done."

Accepting the first book, she glanced at the cover, frowning in thought. "It sounds familiar, I may have already read it.." she started, trailing off as she tried to think. Something about a good witch and a bad witch - although not witches like she was - and a Muggle girl and a dog, if she remembered correctly. "Door..- Dora..- Dorothy! That's her name, right? And mulch-kids or something," she exclaimed. "I think I've got that one back home." Still placing in her basket, she commented with a slight smile, "No harm in rereading."

Nodding and accepting each book he gave her, she laughed at his comment. "No, it's fine! Honestly, I'm a fast reader; I'll go through these quickly." Pausing, she tried to mentally calculate the total amount there, and, with a grin, realized she could still afford to pick out a few more. Scanning the shelves, she let out a, 'hmmm', frowning a little before turning to him.

"Hey, there's this one my mum told me to get - Anne of Green Gables, if I'm not mistaken. Any idea who the author is?" Motioning to the rows of books, she added, "It's arranged according to author name, not title."

Dragon Trainers In-Training Posts : 87

"Yes, but each print is different. You have to make sure the font isn't too small, right?"

"Excuses are easy to come up with when you want to approve something you've done."

The comment about making sure the font isn't too small had him laughing softly to himself, she had a point. "Well hopefully that won't be a problem, if it was I'd most likely be needing glasses. What might be more accurate in this instance though is the artwork featured in here, some of it looks exactly as I picture the story." Humphrey told her, showing her one of the beautiful illustrations in the book. "As for excuses being easy to come up with, I actually find I'm often a little too hard on myself. But maybe this is one instance I can lighten up a little. This is another recommendation by the way, The Divine Comedies by Dante. Inferno in particular is an amazing piece of literature. Classic." he informed her with a grin. Get him talking about books, and it was tough getting him to stop.

"It sounds familiar, I may have already read it.."

"Door..- Dora..- Dorothy! That's her name, right? And mulch-kids or something,"

"I think I've got that one back home."

"No harm in rereading."

If she had read it before he wouldn't be surprised. The Wizard of Oz was one of the few books popular in both wizard and muggle crowds. Despite the fact that it was unknown whether the author was or wasn't a wizard, Humphrey suspected not, the story was magical in its own way and the movie had catapulted a great story to a wider audience. "Not surprised if you have, it's quite popular. And the word you are looking for is Munchkins, Brooke, not mulch-kids." he corrected with a chuckle. If she wanted to buy a book she had back at home, that was her choice. Usually he tried not to buy multiple copies of books he already owned, unless it was one of his absolute favorites that is. "Go right ahead then, it's good enough so that the story doesn't grow stale. Not all books people call classics are, some are a chore to get through just once." he admitted.

"No, it's fine! Honestly, I'm a fast reader; I'll go through these quickly."

After the conversation they'd been having he wasn't at all surprised that she went through books as fast as he did. Humphrey had the same problem, which was why he often lived at the library back at home in Bath. It had gotten to the point where people had recommended he volunteer or take a job there, which wasn't a bad idea. Because he would be busy at Merlin's Academy he had turned it down, although he'd told them he might try to work a little the next summer. "Why doesn't that surprise me?" he asked, a light teasing tone to his voice. "I've been told before that I live at the library, back at home. Since I can't afford to buy all the books I want I spend a pretty good amount of time there. Thinking about working there next summer, since I already know it better than some of the people who work there." Humphrey told her with a light blush at admitting that. Sadly it was true, not everybody who worked there had as much time to familiarize themselves with the layout of the library. They knew enough to get by, but he was often better off on his own if looking for something.

"Hey, there's this one my mum told me to get - Anne of Green Gables, if I'm not mistaken. Any idea who the author is?"

"It's arranged according to author name, not title."

"Hmm, Anne of Green Gables sounds familiar, probably read it at one point." Humphrey said quietly, biting his lip while he tried to place the name of the author. "I would certainly hope it's arranged by author, that's the best way to do things I think." he replied, appalled at the thought of it being any other way. "Got it! Lucy Maud Montgomery, L. M. Montgomery for short." he told her triumphantly. Scanning the shelves, he quickly found Montgomery and Anne of Green Gables with it. He placed it carefully on top of the large stack, hoping it wouldn't tip over. "You got it, or do you need a hand carrying all that?"

» When The Wolves Come Out [Humphrey]
» Afraid of the Dark [Humphrey]
» Humphrey Needs A Ship!
» Late night running. (Humphrey and Thana)
» Dragons and New Friends (Humphrey)

A Distraction of Books (Humphrey)

A Distraction of Books (Humphrey)

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