The Girl Who Saw Tomorrow » Harry Potter

1.20 | Blind Faith

Margaret had barely opened her mouth but Madam Pince was already glaring at her.

It was a bright early morning of the last weekend of September and Margaret had made her way to the library before going to breakfast.

She was a fairly curious person, the anticipation of finding out what book Dumbledore wanted her to read had almost brought her to the library after dinner the previous night. However, she had managed to drag her feet back to the common room, telling herself that she could always go the next day as Dumbledore had told her to do.

"Headmaster Dumbledore has asked me to read this book," Margaret says in a low voice, not wanting to piss off the strict librarian even more.

Madam Pince narrowed her eyes and took the sealed parchment. She got her wand out of her robes and pointed at it, and the envelope opened itself up in front of her. She then brought it closer to her face and examined thoroughly, making sure it wasn't forged.

"Hmm... The book mentioned, Les Contes D'Animaux Fumés, can be found in the Restricted Section," says Madam Pince in a business-like tone. Margaret's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "You have the permission to go retrieve it, according to Headmaster... You'll find it on the third shelf to the left, at the very end near the closed window."

"Thank you, Madam Pince," Margaret says, eager to find the book even more now since it was from the sacred Restricted Section. She had half-turned around when Pince called her name. "Yes?"

"Do NOT," says the librarian sharply, "as much as blink at any other book; is that clear?"

Margaret nodded, eyes wide. "Crystal."

"Good then. Go now, before I change my mind."

Margaret turned on her heel and stalked towards the far end of the fairly empty library without a glance back. She reached the wooden-framed glass door and stopped, looking up at the engraved bronze sign that read Restricted Section. Hesitantly, she reached forward and tilted the horizontal handle downwards. The door unlocked with a click.

Heart thumping in anticipation, Margaret slowly pushed the creaky door forward and took small steps inside. Once she was inside the boundaries of the closed-off section, she pushed the door behind her, not shutting it completely but enough for the lock to touch the door frame.

The Restricted Section didn't look much different from the rest of the library. It contained a long aisle of about seven shelves on each side - so about fourteen shelves in total.

The only difference was that the place was only lit up by yellow balls of floating light in the middle of the aisle ceiling. Even though it was morning and the sun shone outside, all windows were closed, stopping any natural light from pouring in. After the continuous rain in the past few days, the place had a cold and damp atmosphere that made it seem far older than the rest of the library.

Margaret rubbed her arms that, despite concealed by the sleeves of her blue hoodie, were covered in goosebumps. She shivered involuntarily, not liking the place much. She knew that many books related to dark arts were present here as well as books on subjects that were not taught at Hogwarts. Her previous excitement was replaced by slight nervousness.

Taking a deep breath, Margaret sauntered down the aisle, counting the shelves and finding the third one on the left quickly. Madam Pince had mentioned that the book would be near the end of the shelf, beside the closed window; however, it was so dark, Margaret had no choice but to use Lumos to find the book.

Thankfully, she found it quickly. Les Contes D'Animaux Fumés was huge as if an encyclopedia. So huge, in fact, that it was cemented between two books on its either side. Margaret sighed, then transferred her wand to hold her teeth, and used both her hands and all her might to pull out the stubborn book.