Welcome

[Esaias Greyback]

Well, if the fact that Hogwarts had gone to hell wasn’t enough of a sign that the world was going to end, this certainly was. An omen. Apocalypse was nigh. Very bloody nigh. After all, this sort of thing didn’t happen often. It was worthy of rumors, writing home!, taking pictures? All of the above. If anyone saw this particularly unbelievable act taking place in the most unbelievable of rooms, they would have very believably fainted. You didn’t have to know Esaias Greyback very well at all to know that this act was a feat. According to popular belief, he was damn near illiterate. He didn’t do classwork, essays were late if he turned them in at all, he didn’t say much, and therefore must not understand how to string together sentences. These were all things he took in his stride. What did he care what others thought? Well, he didn’t. As long as they weren’t trying t use them against him. He’d grown accustomed to - and very comfortable with - the fact that he would go down in history as the spawn of Fenrir Greyback, angry werewolf, and the guy who beat you up for chewing gum. Yeah, that was him.

But the library? If you were looking to meet Esaias Greyback, the library was a place on your list that you crossed off immediately. Numero uno, in fact. His presence, shady as usual and as much a mystery as the spark of his temper, baffled even him, though he certainly wouldn’t admit this fact. Maybe. Probably not. Furthermore, the book in his hands was purely for the pictures. Except there were no pictures, just words, but who the hell - if any who at all - would really have to know? He had to keep up appearances, didn’t he? Save himself the trouble of too many questions and having to beat someone with a copy of The Mystical Properties of Dragon Excrement, which happened to be the nearest book on hand, as he couldn’t bear losing his place that he was currently reading. And enjoying, much to his surprise. Had he known you could actually enjoy yourself reading, he might have taken it up sooner. But seeing as it had only been his last resort in an attempt to keep himself occupied [since no one wanted anyone hexed or mauled], that probably wasn’t as likely as he was giving himself credit for.

All the same, he was there. And he was reading. And that was worth something, but he didn’t know what and he probably didn’t care. He was still thinking that one over. He was hiding regardless. After locating a book with a cover that interested him and words he liked, he’d snuck off to an understandably abandoned half of the library [with books like The Mystical Properties of Dragon Excrement being one of the least vile on the shelves, who wanted to be there?], sat down on the floor with his back to the wall, and endured the squinting he had to do to read in the shadow of the shelves and the high window that cast light too far into the aisle for comfort. His book of choice was ragged, to say the least. Every so often pages would just pop from the binding, and he half expected them to crumble in his hands. The aforementioned binding was peeling away wherever appropriate. The spine was almost completely missing and the more he read the more the back cover tore from the shredded thing. And for whatever reason, which Esaias the Apathetic couldn’t be bothered to name, he was making damn sure it didn’t pull away completely. He cradled it like the fragile thing it was. Dear God, help him. He was losing his nerve. His spiky, snarky nerve.

[Adhara Zabini]

A sigh emitted from parted lips as she scoured the aisles. Adhara Zabini began picking her way through the columns with as much caution as someone walking through a minefield. The librarian eyed her ambiguously, her gaze following the Slytherin aisle after aisle until she was out of the old woman’s line of vision. The librarian had always been a bit brusque. Her disregard for politeness and her blunt manner had always irritated Adhara (ironically), but nevertheless the seventh year kept coming back to stock up on reading material. Well, it was the only place she could really go to get books. Thin fingers ran along the varnished oak shelf of the Charms section, her hand finally resting on the spine of “Charms: A Detailed Encyclopedia Of Spells”. Picking it up, she idly flipped the leather front to read the small section at the beginning. Nothing. It was useless. She slid the book back, a grumble of disdain soon amounting. What was she looking for anyway? That’s right, a book for that stupid Charms project she’d been late in doing. This was a last ditch attempt to get something done by tomorrow. After much deliberation and aisle tracing she’d finally decided on a book, plucking it from the shelf. It’ll have to do.

The Zabini girl was about to turn round and head straight the librarian’s desk to take the book out. But then she spotted something, a sight so odd it made her look twice, if not three times. Esaias Greyback in a library. The very sight made her want to chuckle in amusement, and yet she was bewildered at the same time. Merlin, he reads? she thought to herself, not confident to voice such opinions towards someone who she always regarded as intelligent. True, most had whispered rumors of illiteracy in her ear but she had never listened to such ridiculous garbage. He was happy to let the world believe he wasn’t the brightest crayon in the box, but Adhara thought differently. Maybe it was their similar personalities that made her see there was more to him than necessarily met the eye. Had she been in a vindictive mood, she would have made a snuck in some mocking comment in his direction, but respect and wariness kept her in her place when dealing with Mr. Greyback. Adhara debated whether to walk over. Esaias had that aura about him. Mystery. He was an impossible one to work out, she’d stopped trying long ago.

Nevertheless, she strode over, an indifferent scowl masking her dark features. “May I sit?” she asked, slumping uninvited beside him anyway, book still clutched to chest. You’d think she was holding onto the thing as though her life depended on it, she wasn’t sure why that was. Loosening her grip, she finally allowed the book to fall beside her rather desolately. Silence reigned between the two for a few fragile seconds before she broke it. “I never knew you read,” she said simply. Truth be told, this was the last place that she thought Esaias Greyback would haunt. Then again, there were many things she didn’t know about him. Perhaps it would even be easier to list the things she did know about him (for the compilation of that would be much shorter).
What was this exactly? A meeting of two compulsive liars? True, they were both among the best manipulators in the school, but no one could exactly call them the best of friends. I suppose mutual respect and…faint liking could perhaps be associated – and that was being far too generous in their terms.