Crossroads of Two Worlds

36-Worlds of Knowledge

Pictured is Josephine Marren

I didn't yet know the spell to turn English writing to Ancient Greek, so, either I would sit in silence for the hours I knew that my friend would want to spend here, or I could find the store owner to ask if she knew the spell.

Neither plan seemed all that appealing, but eventually, I resigned myself to the silent sitting option. The owner didn't need to be yet another person confused by me, so I found a chair and sat.

...............

Sitting in silence lasted a grand total of seven minutes before I started to grow antsy. This wasn't going to work.

Rising from the (very uncomfortable) chair, I moved towards the back of the shop. I found, in an old armchair tucked in the corner, a white-haired woman, whom I assumed to be the owner of the shop and of the husky voice that greeted us earlier. She didn't look up from her novel when I approached.

"Excuse me, ma'am?"

Startled, the woman's round, rim-less glasses were jolted askew as she sat up and looked at me. After fixing her glasses, she smiled kindly at me and stood up. Her movement didn't seem hindered or slowed, she actually looked extremely healthy for an older woman.

"How can I help you? Are you ready to purchase your items?"

I shook my head, "No, I-uh, know this is a strange question, but would you happen to have any knowledge on how visually translate English to Ancient Greek?"

She smiled at me knowingly and raised one finger in the air, "I do, in fact. But if you'd permit, I have a whole collection of Greek books inspired by an old school friend of mine. I'd love to show you the collection that she started out."

I grinned at the owner of my new favorite store in Diagon Alley, "I'd love that!"

I followed her to a corner of the store that held yet another bookshelf... labelled in English. But before I could restate my linguistic requests, she whipped out a beautiful, cherry wood wand and tapped in three points on the shelf. Then, just like the brick wall in The Leaky Cauldron, the bookshelf moved, spun around ninety degrees to show a completely different room connected.

The old woman led me into the room and I immediately went towards one of the shelves on the left of the circular room.

"This is amazing!" I exclaimed, reading the titles written in Anceint Greek and skimming my fingers over the old, but still intact book spines.

I turned back to the old woman to see her smiling, "My friend was much like you, a little too smart for her own good."

I was confused, did she know about demigods or not? Did she know what I was?

"Was your friend a witch?"

The older woman smiled gently, "An extremely powerful one, dearie. I know what you are, too. But you're different, aren't you?"

I could feel my eyes widen out of my control as I looked at her, "Please, ma'am... I-"

She held up her hands, "No, dearie. I won't hurt you or rat you out. I want to help in whatever way I can, starting with this. This room will always be open to you."

And then, by some means of magic, she was gone. It wasn't apparation, because there was no cracking sound in her disappearance.

And now I had this place to myself.

..........

The books ranged from Wizard-Demigod relations to the creatures in either world. The hundreds of books that she'd left me with were all written in the only language I could read without struggle, and I found that both of the worlds I lived in had more similarities between them than I could ever have dreamed possible.

And so I was lost in this room, and inside my own head, for about two hours. Until, that is, the woman who had presented me with no name for herself, popped back into the room by the same means she'd left.

"Your friend is about to start looking for you, she's put all of her books away."

Buried under twenty books that I'd tried to absorb information from, I looked up at her hopelessly, "But I- didn't finish!"

The old woman brushed my comment off with a wave of her wrinkled, bony hand, "Not to worry Alana, did you think my shop would close before you ever returned? Relax, child. You may take some of the books with you if you please and you are always welcome here, even after I have passed, you will be able to access this room."

Thank the gods. There was too much knowledge that I had yet to gain for me to leave this room and never return. I stood up from my perch in the chair after stacking all of the books to the side.

I opened my mouth to speak but the woman beat me to it, "If ever you need assistance you may call upon me. We old witches have little else to do."

"That's very kind of you, but how will I call upon you if I don't have your name? You seem to know mine, somehow."

She smiled and I could have sworn that I saw her eyes dart to my grandmother's locket before flicking back up to my face, "I know exactly who you are, yes. I suppose it would be fair for you to know the same. Josephine Marren. I've owned this shop for forty-something years. Now we've got to get you to your friend, she's worrying, I'm sure."

"You're probably right."

Laughing, she responded to me, "Of course I'm right, dear!"

..........

I bought Maya an owl so she could send me mail while I was away. I figured that if a muggle-born wizard's parents could have one, then so could my demigod best friend. I just hoped that no one would find out.

She picked out a beautiful barn owl that she quickly named Aegeus. He was a beautiful creature, really, with his stunning red and blue lwings and pale, heart-shaped face.
He hated my owl, but that was no matter.

After eating lunch at a sandwich shop in muggle London, Maya proclaimed that we had to go back to camp. So instead of having to wrestle her into the fireplace like I did on the way here, she beat me there and beckoned me to hurry. She still held my arm rather tightly as we left Diagon Alley.

The Floo network spit us out right where I'd intended, in the Big House, at Chiron's feet. Or rather, at his hooves. We pulled ourselves off of the floor and I sighed at our filthy clothes, "I wish Rose's mum were here."

"Hermione is quite amazing, isn't she?" Chiron stated.

I looked up at the old centaur with curiosity, "how well do you know her?"

He shrugged, his arms still crossed, "Quite well! I've known her for over twenty years now. Who besides that genius girl could have summoned demigods to help fight in the last wizarding war? The wizards certainly wouldn't have survived without any help from outside sources. Miss Granger sure did her research on our kind. Athena herself grew a soft spot for the curious young heroine, I've never seen someone who loved learning so much as Hermione Granger."

I thought back to my meeting with Hermione and how I had wondered if she knew what I was. She must have figured it out in mere moments! Dang, and here I was thinking that I was doing such a good job keeping my secrets!