LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 24
~ Book gathering ~
The Queen walks back to where she left Hermione and she sees her standing awkwardly waiting.
"Hermione, I'm back, what did Luna and Fleur have to say to the explanation?"
"Oh, that it's fine, apparently they called ahead of time and only got to the library 5 minutes before you told me to call them... I asked why they would do that and the only thing that Luna said was your name, it took me several seconds to understand what she meant. It seems that in this short time of her knowing you, she already adapted to you getting in... Different scenarios"
"Ah, she's a perceptive one, well, all the better then, at least they didn't have to wait for a long time, should we make our way to them?"
"Okay"
And so the Ravenclaw and the Gryffindor go on their merry way.
"Where did you disappear off to?" Hermione asks the Queen.
"To talk to Triple H"
"Triple H?"
"Yeah, Holly Holland the Hufflepuff"
"Oh, the girl that was in the hospital wing with us... You also named her already..."
"How could I not? The name fits her perfectly, in fact, I feel like that's my second best-given name overall"
"Second? What's the first then?"
"Moon"
"Moon... That's Luna Lovegood, correct?"
"Indeed it is"
"Why do you call her that?"
"Because her name has an association with the Moon"
"No, I know that, what I mean is, why do you call her that in particular? Because both of you have the same name, so technically, you could be called 'Moon' as well"
"Well... I don't know if it's my place to tell you, but instead of being called Moon for her entire life or even her own name, people instead took the other association with the name 'Luna', the lunacy and lunatic part. And called her 'Loony' and that just won't do, anybody that calls her that way in front of me, will have the Queen to deal with, but anyway, that's about it"
"I think I've heard that before while walking around Hogwarts if I remember correctly, so that's what it was. Why not just call her by her name though? It can't be because of your own name, you already allowed everybody else to call you 'Lun' to not mix you up. You haven't called anybody else differently, Ginny is still Ginny, Fleur is either Delacour or Fleur an-"
"And Hermione is still Hermione, right?"
"Mhm" Hermione nods.
"Well, why don't you think about it for a bit? Remember what happened during my sorting speech?"
"Uh... Wait, you called out to her by saying 'Moon' while staring up to the ceiling... It was a bit random, but it makes sense now. She's one of your 'wife' candidates? It's quite obvious now that I think about it"
"Correct"
"When did you two meet?"
"On the train express thingy which headed towards Hogwarts"
"Wait, you were on the Hogwarts Express? Then how did nobody else talk about seeing you? Pretty sure somebody with crimson hair and eyes would get some attention... I'd know all about that"
The Queen takes out her wand from her ear and says 'Invisibilicedo' and turns invisible.
"Oh... Yeah that was obvious, wasn't it?" Hermione says right after the Queen shows up again.
"Somewhat, but what did you mean by saying 'I'd know all about that'?"
"Oh... Um...The bushy hair and the buck teeth, that's what some students have said about me over the years before the Golden Trio thing got popular"
"Well the bushy hair is actually not bad, neither are the teeth, so I see no problem"
"Mhm, thank you. Where were you during the first week of lessons then?"
"You're very curious for a Gryffindor"
"Ah... Sorry"
"No, no, it's fine. Take it as a compliment, anyway, I was... Here and there"
"Okay... Back to the previous question, if Luna is one of the seven girls you've chosen and she has the 'Moon' nickname, then why doesn't Fleur have one? I don't know you very well, but I have a feeling that you'd give a name for her too, as she's another one chosen by you"
"Good observation and indeed you are right about that... But unlike how it was with Luna, it's not as easy to think of something that fits, because not only does she share my name, she has never been called 'Moon' before, that's what I like, having an original name only I can call her. With Ron Weasley, I named him Weasel, Draco I named Nothing, and then Holly, I named Triple H. Because they don't really matter, so I can call them whatever I like. But Fleur is just as important as Luna, so I can't just give her a bad name... She's a Veela, so I thought of calling her 'Birdie'... But that just sounds more 'mocking' than endearing. so I am still debating with myself on what to call her. There was also the name 'Deli', obviously, it's her last name shortened, but I think I can come up with something better"
"Hmm... That does make sense, why do you like naming things so much? The Magiphone, all of these names for different people"
"Because it's boring to call something the name that everybody else does and it's quite fun to do so with people like Draco, it gets him mad just to be called that way, the only way he can be entertaining to watch"
"Alright, then why name for Ginny or me?"
"Well, would you like me to call you 'Know-it-all'?"
"No!" Hermione quickly shouts.
"There you go, to me, that name would be something to brag about, it instantly says that you're better than others but to you... Well, your reaction said it all. But anyway, it's not a viable option because others use it, which is the same reason why I wouldn't use 'Mione, I am pretty sure others are calling you that"
"I suppose that makes sense... Wait, if that's how you do things, then do you have a name for professor Dumble-"
"Lun" Hermione's question to the Queen gets cut off by the voice of Luna Lovegood, it seems the duo has made it all the way to the Library while conversing.
"Well, hello, Moon, Fleur" The Queen greets first.
"'Ello Lun, 'Ello 'Ermione" Fleur greets right after.
"Hi, Fleur and Luna" Hermione greets as well.
"Greetings, Hermione" And Luna finishes the greetings.
"Lun, how did it feel hitting a Malfoy?" Luna asks the Queen.
"Almost the same as it would feel punching anybody else, but there was one difference"
"That is?"
"He went down easier than any other opponent I've faced so far"
"'ow many 'ave you faced?" Fleur asks.
"Mhm... A moderate amount, let's just say that, but, let's not stand here any longer and actually visit this library because at this point I just want to sit down and relax"
"Alright, let's go in" Hermione says and goes inside first, the other three following right after.
As the Queen enters last, she looks around and is quite impressed by the number of books she sees, but it still trumps the book amount she has actually seen overall.
"Let's go sit down" Hermione says and leads the way to her favorite table in the whole library and yes, she obviously has one. So the three just follow, Fleur and the Queen are the only ones that are looking around while doing so. The two longer-term Hogwarts students don't seem as interested.
The four sit down and Hermione can't stop herself from asking "What's up with the 'The Royal Three' on all of your clothes?"
"Lun 'ere, wanted to 'ave a name for ze zree of us, just like ze Golden Trio"
"But why?" Hermione continues her questioning.
"No reason, just because I wanted to" The Queen answers.
"Lun isn't telling the whole truth, she did it because she wanted to steal the 'formula' from you, Harry Potter and Ron Weasley and the Golden Trio, why? I am not sure, but I have a feeling it's because she wants to beat you in popularity but that's just my guess" Luna adds to the answer.
"What Moon said" The Queen agrees "Anyways, let's talk books since we are in an appropriate place to do so, what would you recommend a fellow book enjoyer, Brightest witch of her age?" She asks Hermione.
"Hmm... You certainly don't need help on school subjects, so those are out of the question, have you read 'History of Magic'?"
"Yeah, pretty boring..."
"I would disagree"
"Well it was a decent read for the first few times, but on the fourth time... It turned boring, now? I don't think I even want to see touch the book again"
"Oh... What about 'Hogwarts: A history'?"
"Yeah, pretty good"
"Mhm, I like it too, what was your favorite part?"
"Easy, the founders of Hogwarts and their thoughts on boys' and girls' dormitories, they only protected the girls' dormitory, how did they not think of doing the same to the boys' is hilarious, like that would stop them from doing nightly activities..."
"Lun I don't think that's why they did it" Luna comments.
"Perhaps, but you can't tell me that it doesn't happen"
"Mhm" Luna hums while looking off to the side again.
"Alright... Modern Magical History?" Hermione says quickly.
"Boring" The Queen answers just as fast.
"Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century?"
"Less so, but still boring"
"An Appraisal of Magical Education in Europe?"
"Lame and in my opinion, an extremely weak and inefficient read, but I might have to reread it and pay more attention to the parts where Beauxbatons show up"
"I don't really care for this one, but Quidditch Through the Ages?"
"HA! Absolutely not, next"
"Wait, why not?"
"No answer, next"
"Bu-"
"Neeeext"
"Uh... The Tales of Beedle the Bard... By Beedle the Bard"
"Oh? I don't think I've read that one, what's it about? By the name, I can suspect that the author is quite self-loving and that it's multiple stories in one book"
"Yes, it's a book of stories for children, but some of the tales in it are quite interesting"
"Hmm... I wouldn't mind checking it out"
"Great, let me just go get it" Hermione is about to stand up and do that.
"No, no, why pick one and go again, when instead we can pick a few in one go. So, keep them coming and I will see if I am interested in something else"
"Ah, yeah, sure. Um... Flesh-Eating Trees of the World"
"Oooooh" The Queen lets out an impressed sound.
"Is it another one that you'd like to check out?"
"Oh, no, I've read it already, I just remembered, it's the big disappointment of the bunch of books that I read, the name is so great, yet the content... Utterly disappointing"
"Oh... Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them?"
"Meh, boring"
"What? How is it boring?" Hermione asks perplexed.
"It just is"
"It... Just is?"
"Yeah, but hey, seeing as you like it, I am pretty sure that my Moon would like to discuss with you, she really likes magical creatures"
"Lun is right, I do like them, but I won't be bringing any of them close to Lun, for she might hurt them... I still can't believe she wants to do such a thing"
"She... wants to hurt them?" Hermione asks slowly.
"Yep, she's terrible"
"Hey, hey, all I've said is that what's the point if I can't fight them... How am I terrible?" The Queen inquires to her Moon.
"You just are"
"... Wow, so now you're going to use my tactics against me"
"It's the tactics of a person named Luna and that just so happens to be my name"
"Damn your flawless logic"
"Thank you"
"... What's next?" The Queen turns to face Hermione again.
"You can read Gilderoy Lockhart's booklist" Luna says instead, so the Queen turns to face her again.
"Ugh!" The Queen hears Hermione groan.
"Oh, he has books written? What are they about?" She asks anyway.
"Ugh!" Hermione groans again before answering "About himself... All of it is about himself"
"Oh..."
"Yeah, it's terr-"
"It's genius" The Queen quickly says, interrupting Hermione.
"What...?" Hermione questions.
"Why don't I do that? I already have a book about my family, so why not write about myself, what an amazing idea, I might need to read all of those books to see what I can write for mine"
"... Are you for real?" Hermione continues questioning.
"Lun is always serious" Luna says "Even when waking somebody up early in the morning"
"Oh..." Hermione lets out defeated.
"Hehe, thanks for the suggestion, Moon"
"You're welcome"
"Now, is there something else, Hermione?" The Queen asks.
"Well, most of the books I would normally try and recommend are for learning spells and inner workings of magic and that's what this library has most of... But you don't need those, so without looking into it, for now, I can only recommend 'Home Life and Social Habits of British Muggles', I feel like you would like it because you seem to be fascinated with Muggle things"
"You'd be correct, hit me up with more of those, I've got plenty of wizarding stuff in my head, so why not add more from the Muggle side"
"Great, so do I go and get them now?"
"I will go with you, but before that" The Queen looks at the French lady who's been quietly looking around the place the whole time "Fleur" Delacour turns to face the Queen at the call of her name.
"What is it?"
"Would you like to read something?"
"No, Beaxbautons 'as most of ze books zat 'ermione listed out to you, so it just 'appens so zat I 'ave read them... But now zat I zink about it, I wouldn't mind taking a look at ze 'ogwarts: A 'istory, seeing as I will be 'ere for a year, so why not learn about it"
"Okay, will do, now, let's go Hermione"
Hermione nods and stands up alongside the Queen and now both of them go around the different bookcases, well that would be the case, if the Queen wasn't here with Hermione who seems to know where every book is by memory, they already have Hogwarts: A History and Beedle the Bard tales in hand, now the Muggle book is the last one left.
As the Queen follows after the Gryffindor, she sees a sign that says 'restricted area' and instantly gets intrigued. But stays silent for now, she'll bring it up once she gets back to the table, if she'll go exploring it, then everybody will go with her, not only Hermione. And so, after walking for a while, they pick the last book and go to the librarian, the stern and disciple driving Madam Irma Pince.
"Good morning, Madam Pince, I would like to borrow these three books" Hermione says smiling.
"Good morning, Ms. Granger, you know that you don't need to come to me every time you borrow books, unlike anybody else, I know and trust you to be nice to these precious books, and... Ms. Crimson" Madam Irma first says to Hermione and then faces the Queen.
"Hi, library woman, how is this morning treating you so far?" The Queen asks without care.
"... It was better before you showed up. Seeing as you're a new student, here's a warning to you: I implore you to show more respect towards me and the books of this library, otherwise there will be consequences and they can be as awful as I imagine since it's within my power to make them"
"Uh-huh, got it, will do, Library Woman, now, let's go, Hermione, seeing as she already told you that you don't need to come here to tell her that you're borrowing books" And so the Queen turns around and starts walking away ignoring the deadly glare sent her way by Madam Pince.
Hermione awkwardly smiles at the stern woman and starts following after the Queen.
And the two make their way to the table where the other two were waiting and doing small talk sometimes.
"Hello, ladies, we are back" The Queen is the first to open her mouth.
"'ow was your adventure?" Fleur asks.
"Great, I walked around a lot of shelves, while Hermione walked in front of me, then I had the chance to meet the lovely library woman, she was a treat"
"I don't think that's the same impression she got of you" Hermione sighs out and sits down.
"Probably, anyways, my adventure is yet to end"
Hermione blinks a few times "It hasn't ended yet? But you've told everything that happened"
"Oh, no, no, no, Lady Granger, you're wrong there, for you see!" The Queen raises her hand in the air and points it to the side "I need my allies to continue"
The three girls look in the direction that the Queen pointed to and they see some of the sign which has its end blocked, but they don't need to see it fully to understand.
"Lun, that's the restricted section, it's forbidden" Luna says.
"Moon, you should know me by now"
"I do, that's why I didn't say that you can't go there like I would to anybody else"
"Great, because nothing in this world is forbidden to a Queen, now, ladies, stand up and let's go explore" The Queen says and stands up again. She sees Fleur and Luna stand up, but Hermione isn't doing it.
"Lady Granger?"
"How are you going to get in there without getting unnoticed? Madam Pice will not let you do it"
"Moon"
"Mhm?"
"Is it me or is Lady Granger hearing things that I've never said?"
"It isn't you"
"Fleur"
"Yes?"
"What is it that I've never said?"
"Zat you will go zere unnoticed"
"That is absolutely correct, I will be going right in without caring"
"But..."
"What is it, Lady Granger?"
"... Nothing" She sighs and gets up to follow.
"Amazing choice, now, onwards"
And so the four make their way to the restricted section's entrance, seeing the infamous rope.
But before they can pass through it, the final boss Madam Pince shows up.
"What are you students thinking on doing?" She looks at the group intently.
"Going right over there" The Queen nonchalantly points behind the librarian.
"It's restricted and just as the name implies, it's not a place for any of you" She answers then looks at Hermione who's the most behind.
"And Ms. Granger"
"Y-yes?"
"How is it that you're going along with them?"
"Uh... It just happened?"
"Hmm..." Irma Pince squints sternly at the Gryffindor for a bit, before turning back to the Queen "Ms. Crimson, I suggest you turn around and walk away"
"No can do, library woman, for you see, I have an adven- No, you know what, just like you, I also had my morning ruined by another student, so I am not in the mood to talk a lot... So, how about we do this the easier way" As the Queen starts raising her hand to her ear for her wand, she gets interrupted.
"Don't do it, Lun" By none other than her Moon.
"But why?"
"There's no need, didn't you give a magiphone to the headmaster? So why not call him and ask him to let you get in the restricted area?"
"Oh... Right, it completely slipped my mind, let me do that" The Queen takes out her magiphone out of her bag and writes in the numbers which connects to Dumbledore.
And unlike she thought that she'd have to wait, it gets picked up in one second.
"Okay... That was fast... Were you waiting for me or something?" The Queen says to Dumbledore.
"No, I was about to call you myself, you see, Minerva just left my office, she had a lot to say about you"
"Oh, yeah, that makes sense"
"But anyway, what is it now, what did you do?"
"I've yet to do it this time, you see, I am standing inside the library right now with Granger, Delacour, and Lovegood"
"Okay, you don't need to say more, I can already see where this is going"
"Really?"
"You wanted to get inside the restricted section"
"Correct"
"And Madam Irma stopped you"
"Double correct"
"And you called me... Wait, no, you didn't think of doing that and instead were thinking of hexing the school's personnel again"
"Wow, you are triple correct, I was indeed planning on charming the library woman to sleep"
The Queen speaks nonchalantly with the headmaster in front of four pairs of eyes, three of which are looking at her wide open, all but that of the Moon's.
The Queen hears Dumbledore sigh "And now you called me for?"
"So you could talk with the library woman and tell her to let me inside, I mean, you don't need to... But you might get even more wrinkles the alternative way"
"Fine... Give the device to Madam Irma, she knows how it works, so she doesn't need an explanation"
"Great" She says and pulls away the stick from her ear "Library woman, you got a call from Dumbledore"
"..." Irma stays silent, but takes the magiphone anyways, pulling the stick to her ear "Hello?"
The Queen looks behind her at her group, seeing Fleur and Hermione look at her puzzled, while Luna is looking somewhere else.
"What?" She asks.
"Were you really going to charm her?" Hermione whispers.
"Yeah, what 'Ermione asked" Fleur adds.
"Oh, yeah, for sure" The Queen answers honestly.
The two look at the Queen, who's looking back at them innocently. Their staring contest gets interrupted by the conversation between Madam Pince and Dumbledore, of course, none of them can hear Dumbledore's side, but they can hear Irma's.
"Really?" Irma says bewildered "But..." She tries to argue back "...Fine" She pulls the stick away from her ear after giving up. she puts the stick back in its place and gives it to the Queen, who takes it while smiling.
"Due to having permission, you can pass"
"Of course, thank you, library woman" The Queen says back.
"But!" Irma says sternly "If you rip, tear, shred, bend, fold, deface, disfigure, smear, smudge, throw, drop, or in any other manner damage, mistreat, or show lack of respect towards any of the books here or inside the restricted section, just know, I am watching, I am listening and I'll know if anything happens... So you better behave, or there will be consequences" She says looking straight at the Queen.
"I understand, Madam Pince, but don't worry, I would sooner hurt a person than a book" The Queen says back and passes her as Irma moves out of the way, the other three following right after while bowing their heads to the librarian.
"Now, ladies, time to explore and find ourselves something to read... But how about a competition" The Queen says, turning around to face the others.
"A competition?" Hermione asks.
"Yep, whoever finds the most interesting looking book with an equally interesting title that has either of the words 'death', 'kill', 'murder', 'blood' in its name wins, we will decide on a vote, of course, you won't be allowed to vote for your pick, the prizes for the winner and the last place... A secret... Now are all of you in?" The Queen says with a prideful smile while looking between the three girls.
"I'm in, why not" fleur says first "Besides, all of zese random games and competitions will get me in the mood for ze random tasks for ze tournament"
"I agree as well" Luna says after Fleur, but unlike her, she doesn't comment on it.
"Uh... to not be the one that disagrees, I will do it as well" Hermione says not wanting to be the 'party-pooper'.
"Sweet, let's go, everybody chooses two different lines of bookshelves and that will be your area to find it, we have two hours" Says the Queen, the three girls nodding in understanding.
"Who will pick first though?" Hermione asks.
"Well, why not use the dates of our birthdays as the indicator? The day and the month, whoever has the lowest number added, chooses first and whoever has the largest, goes last"
"Okay... A strange way to do it, but sure" Hermione comments "September 19th is mine so that's 09/19 adding up to 28" Granger says first.
"August 14th, so zat's 22 added up" Fleur says second.
"February 13th is mine, 02/13, turning into 15" Luna says third, but she sees the Queen grinning.
"However, Lun, you only did this to get that information out of us, right?"
"Perhaps"
"But didn't you already know that about us?"
"Correction, I only knew that information about you and Hermione, since Fleur's not from Hogwarts"
"Wait... what?" Hermione says.
"Lun has gotten information on every Hogwarts student, teacher, and person, before coming here, that's how she chose her 'wife' candidates"
"That... It feels wrong" Hermione comments.
"Mhm... But Lun... I have a feeling that you chose this method of deciding who goes first for another reason" Luna says again.
"Oh?"
"It's because you're guaranteed to choose first, isn't it?"
"Oh, definitely" The Queen says smugly.
Luna can only shake her head at that answer while sighing.
"Well at least, we'll get to know when's 'er birzday" Fleur comments.
"That is true, Fleur" Says the Queen "It's January second, so my total is 3... And what a coincidence, it seems I am going to choose first" The Queen says cheerfully.
"Well, it seems, Luna is second, Fleur is third and I will be last" Hermione says ignoring the celebrating Queen.
"Okay... So which two lines do I choose" The Queen says looking at the multitude of lines of shelves.
"By ze way, why does it 'ave to be titled wiz such words?" Fleur asks.
"Well, because I honestly want to know what would interest the three of you when something, in this case, a book, is themed around such topics, I also thought of saying 'fight' or 'duel', but I feel like this is less broad... And also because this is the restricted area, I mean, come on, it has to have books about such things" The Queen explains to the three "Besides for me it will be quite difficult to pick, I can be quite critical sometimes" She also comments.
"Okay, zat's understandable" Fleur nods while saying.
"Good, now... I shall pick..." The Queen thinks out loud.
~ End of Chapter 24 ~