Strange Times Ahead (Harry Potter x Male Strange Reader)

Chapter 3

After a while of looking around, (F/N) finally found his way to the library. Stepping inside, the entire room was almost as big as the Great Hall, with the shelves going so far up that it reached the ceiling! He almost asked aloud how people could reach the books they need, but his questions were answered when he saw a book levitate from a stack of them on the bottom shelf to a place higher-up on the shelf.

Approaching one of the shelves, (F/N) reached a hand out. He could feel the current of magic, the up and down flow that the books went along with. He walked down the aisles of shelves, feeling the current himself, and amazed by the feeling of it. It was packed neatly, similar to the corridor of "water" that he felt when he walked down the halls.

He then came upon a spiral staircase, leading up to another floor. When he was there, he could feel a stronger current of magic flowing out of it. It was more potent than the other currents from the other books. He turned his gaze upwards, to a sign that read "Restricted".

A school of magic that has a set of restricted books from students? Wasn't the point of a school library to give students access to all books?

(F/N) strained his eyes to see if he could get a glimpse of what was at the top of the staircase, wanting to satiate the curiosity of what the restricted section of the library holds. But his curiosity was soon interrupted when he heard someone clear their throat behind him.

"Ahem," he quickly turned around and saw another student, staring at him with a stern look. He was dressed in a school uniform, much like (F/N), but he had red and gold on his vest. Looking towards the badge on the vest, (F/N) saw that this kid was from Gryffindor.

The kid in question looked to be from Asia, further east from Europe. His hands were behind his back, almost like a butler when he was awaiting orders from his master.

"Can I help you?" The kid asked, slightly leaning forward. It was obvious he wasn't asking to help him, more like to tell (F/N) that someone was watching him. "The library doesn't get many early visitors, especially when it's a couple of hours before class."

"I was just coming here to read for a bit," (F/N) replied. "Didn't want to read in my dorm, especially with all the fuss going on in the common room." The kid in front of him paused for a moment. The situation sounded familiar to him, but he kept to the topic.

"There are empty tables down the center aisle," he said, motioning towards one of the wider aisle of shelves. (F/N) took a glance down, and saw that there were, indeed, tables. Some already had books on them, but they were likely left behind by students.

"Thanks, uh..." When he went to give thanks, he soon realized that he didn't know the kid's name, only the house from which he was in.

"Dhargey," the boy answered, watching (F/N) just stare at him awkwardly after hearing a foreign name.

"Dhargey, okay," (F/N) whispered to himself. "Do you have any recommendations?" Dhargey pulled out his wand and flicked it towards a set of bookshelves. A book was pulled from the shelf and raced over to his hands. Firmly catching it, he then handed it over to (F/N).

"Standard Book of Spells," he said. He could feel how Dhargey was acting, given that the "Standard Book of Spells" was a book he had to pick up at one of the many stores that were in the magical alley: Diagon Alley. (F/N) gave a half-hearted smile and took the book.

"Thanks," he said, before heading over towards the tables in the center. (F/N) took a seat and placed the book he got on the table, peeling back the hardcover page and reaching the first few pages to actually read.

Dhargey watched (F/N) as he walked behind a counter, doing some little tasks here and there, likely as his duty as an aide to the librarian. But one thing he noticed was how (F/N)'s hands shook as he took the book, which got him curious to continue watching (F/N).