Transfigure your mind | Benji

Bear knew Benji was on shift as a library assistant. It was hard to miss when Benji was on shift as the boy entertainingly talked anyones ear off it seemed.

What had started as a conversation at the counter when he’d went to check out a few books to take back to his common room ended up with him pushing a cart full of take backs. A cart that was followed by Benji being directed to help him out. He was more than used to carts full of take backs being nudged towards him. He had a gift of knowing where many of the books went due to sheer amount of time he spent in the library. He was also willing to give back to the library when asked to put books back.

As he put a book on wand wood back he looked towards Benji missing something the other boy said and said “ That can’t be true. “ Hoping that his lack of belief at whatever Benji had said would trigger the other boy to repeat it.

As he’d simply gotten distracted by a book on the cart. A book that as he heard Benji continue confused him more.

So with a smirk he tried distracting Benji from his words momentarily saying “ What section for a title of Transfiguring the Mind? “ All he’d looked at was the title on the front cover. The cover wasn’t useful as it oddly had a rather formal print on it and not picture. He flipped over the book as he held up the cover for Benji to make his guess.

The back of the cover was blank except for a small phrase on the bottom that made him squint in confusion. He read the phrase out loud with confusion in his voice “ Back cover has small text saying. Change your perspective. Transfigure your mind. “

Words that made him have zero clue what section it should go in. Yes, the title was odd. However, he wasn’t used to being able to not guess a section by the title and cover. Nor had he seen this book before in the library - something that was becoming less common as the year went on. He didn’t even have a guess of section as he put that book down and put another book on flora in the Herbology section they were standing in.

Benji was indeed on shift, but Bear had shown up and the Hufflepuff had decided it was now Bear's shift, and he was just along for the ride.

The Ravenclaw always seemed a bit confused on how he'd ended up with library duties, but he never complained and appeared happy to do it, which made Benji's job all the easier. He hated his duties and preferred to be left to his own devices. Currently those were jabbering at Bear.

“It is true," Benji said, solemn as a priest. “Professor Rutherford's missing thumb is displayed in the staff lounge. For morale.” He nodded as Bear looked back at him, as though to drive the truth of his words in and then sighed heavily. "I mean think about it, Bear. You see your co-worker's thumb on display for his insolence and you think...eh...maybe don't get on Professor Haswell's bad side this week."

“What section for a title of Transfiguring the Mind?“

Benji cocked his head slightly at the book Bear waved around, not recognizing that it was an attempt at a distraction. "Uh..." he glanced up at the section they were in. Theoretics and Philosophy of Magic. That...probably wasn't right. He guessed it could be depending on the context and what exactly the book attempted to convey but -

“ Back cover has small text saying. Change your perspective. Transfigure your mind. “

"Definitely this section," Benji said, plucking the book from Bear's hand and flinging it haphazardly at the shelf with little care. Cass would be by later, and he was a stickler. He'd put it back for them.

"So anyways, as I was saying," Benji said, wandering past his library hostage to take the lead. He paused, looking back over his shoulder. He raised his eyebrows a bit and nodded in the direction he was headed. "Coming?"

He had to shake his head. Though if anyone had a clue of the staff lounge it would be Benji as he was a professor’s kid, or somehow related to Professor Laurence. He still didn’t fully believe it though.

He whispered “ Think we could sneak in and add some nail polish to it. Bet that would get us zero homework for a week. “

He regretted the statement the minute he said it. As the reason he’d, probably they, would have no homework was expulsion. He doubted with everything that had happened at Hogwarts if she was using a severed thumb as a trophy she likely didn't have a sense of humor.

As disinterested as he was in many things at Hogwarts he preferred being at Hogwarts to being at home in Belfast. There was no way his mother would let him hang about Knockturn. He was surprised he was allowed to hang out there most of last summer.

It was Benji's voice that brought him back to thoughts of the book he was holding. Or now not holding.

"Definitely this section,"

He looked at the shelf that Benji placed the book on and while he was confused by the book he didn’t think it was right. It definitely didn’t fit on that shelf. Thought he was distracted by Benji passing him and followed his friend.

If the mis-sorting bothered him later he could always come back. The reality was he’d likely not remember the mis-sorting at all. Though he might remember his confusion on the book. Which might make him remember where he placed it to retrieve it later.

He followed his friend pulling the cart they had along and putting back a few books as they past shelves. He asked “ What caught your interest? “ A question asked of genuine curiosity as he didn’t understand why Benji was often in the library.

“ Think we could sneak in and add some nail polish to it. Bet that would get us zero homework for a week. “

"Hell yes," Benji said immediately, with absolutely zero hesitation. There was nothing more than the boy loved than a bit of harmless vandalism, and could it really be called that if the action was to make the thumb look a bit less jarring? "Let's do it. We could go on Friday night. I have a patrol then and all the staff usually turn in early or go out to Hogsmeade or something. What colors are you thinking? Rae probably has a nice selection."

His ex-girlfriend was always one up for contributing to chaos. She'd probably want to join them on their little adventure. He'd ask her later. Surely Bear wouldn't mind one more.

As they wandered up the aisle, he looked back over his shoulder at Bear. "Caught my interest?" he asked and gave a little shrug of his shoulders. Nothing really. He just preferred to have the work 'done' sooner than later. "Nothing, just that we have some gum scraping to do after this. I'm dead-set on finding the culprit. Whoever keeps doing it has another thing coming."

He was sick of it honestly. It was gross and Benji didn't enjoy scraping someone else's mastications off the the desks. He grinned again as he nodded Bear on, grabbing a book and shoving it between two others with little care. "What books are you into these days, mate? Don't Ravenclaws always have a new fixation they're studying?"

He listened as his random spurt of joke turned into a practically full fledged plan from Benji. All he had to do was add a color.

To which he quickly responded “ Pink. If not something bright. “ An odd color, but he figured it would catch the most attention without representing a house. Well maybe someone would accidentally think it was a light red, but that would be a Gryffindor problem. Neither him or Benji were Gryffindor’s so it wouldn’t point back to them.

Could the baubles above them be snitches and tell Professor Laurence the joke of a plan he regretted suggesting. Then he whispered “ The baubles don’t report back things said right? “ He didn’t want to get expelled before even doing anything. He admittedly didn’t want to get expelled and was hoping Benji’s involvement worst case would dullen the blow to detention. He could more than handle detentions as the reality was he was far too distracted from his own goals half the time. Like now as he pulled a cart along.

He gave Benji a look of slight disbelief. How Benji could be in the library and more interested in who was leaving gum on the tables than the books that surrounded them was baffling. He could care less who the gum leaving idiot was.

Yes, it was annoying. Though it was an annoyance for others as it was the one job he usually weaseled his way out of doing. He did have some thoughts on the subject though.

He said “ Have you considered not scraping the gum? I suspect if we conjure some sort of flat tray under the table and then use a conjuration spell to reduce the gum back to a liquid by reducing it’s density we could get it to drip off. Then banish the lot. “

He even had some theories on spells that would work. Not that he’d tested them.

He chuckled as Benji asked if he had any new fixations he was studying. He said “ Still the same ones. Even with all the sorting of books back haven’t been inspired into any new ones. “

“ Pink. If not something bright. “

"Good choice," Benji nodded, appreciating that Bear wasn't immediately deferring to keeping their antics lowkey. If they were going to do something, they may as well do it well, and a pink-painted thumb would certainly stand out. Benji didn't mind so much the idea of getting caught and often took pride in his 'work'. Bear on the other hand seemed a little more...nervous about the outcome, despite his enthusiasm for bright colors.

“ The baubles don’t report back things said right? “

"Nah," Benji said with a dismissive shrug. "They don't talk or anything like that, other than screaming a name, but they're not parrots and won't go telling Julia what we said." If they did, the entire school would likely be under lock and key for the things he'd overheard in the library. For some reason, people seemed to like to have interesting conversations here. "Besides, its the actual snitches you have to keep an eye out for," he nodded over to a table of Slytherins that were eyeballing him. "Never hesitate to get one up on you, that lot."

“ Have you considered not scraping the gum? I suspect if we conjure some sort of flat tray under the table and then use a conjuration spell to reduce the gum back to a liquid by reducing it’s density we could get it to drip off. Then banish the lot. “

"And if someone bumps the tray, then we have chewed up gum goo all over us, Bear." He grinned widely. "I like it. Think we should try it out now?" Having finished the book returns, Benji pushed the cart off into a corner, knowing, again, that Cass would take care of it later if he came by. No need for them to exert themselves.

"There's a table full of it over here," he said leading the way. "You should see if Rosie will give you access to the Restricted Section," his voice came over his shoulder. "Ravenclaws seem to love it in there."

He nodded to Benji when he agreed with his choice in color. A color that was so bright that he still thought it unwise. Though if they were going to pull such a prank no reason to hold back on the color.

If they were to be caught they’d be caught.

Even better he now had more information on the baubles. He said “ They usually stay quiet around me but I always wondered and felt a bit weird with how they linger. “ Yes, his comment had been made from a place more concerned with not getting caught for what he just said. Though the confirmation that they weren’t floating tattle tales bobbing about in the air was comforting.

He chuckled at Benji’s comment about that group of Slytherin’s at the table. He whispered “ If you need ammo. Pretty sure glasses over there is paying blondie to do all their schoolwork. “ The fact that blondie was using that detail for more than the money and as a point to hold over glasses’ head went unsaid. He wasn’t friends with any of them, so he wasn’t getting involved.

He hadn’t thought of the situation of if someone bumped the tray. He wasn’t going to worry about it now either. At some point the cleaning would become a task for the house elves or someone more magically skilled than himself. As long as the gum didn’t hurt the books he honestly didn’t care.

Though he did feel a bit bad abandoning the cart unfinished. Hopefully those books wouldn’t get too lost, though perhaps considering he was working with Benji abandoning it was best. He went towards the table and pointed his wand beneath it can conjured a very simple tray to cover the ground under it.

With a smile he whispered “ I’m not responsible if you step on the tray and send the gum flying at that table over there when we are done. “ His head nodding towards the Slytherins. A feat only possible if the tray was slid out from under the table then kicked likely - though still potentially possible. It was left unsaid that if Benji did do that he'd take measures to protect the books from being impacted. Which considering the idea in his head involved wind might make it worse for the Slytherins and him technically somewhat responsible. As he thought on it hopefully Benji didn't take him up on that joke he'd made.

Then Benji mentioned the restricted section which earned a curious look. He said " Really. You think? I'm definitely curious to look around, but without a reason haven't put in the effort of a request to get into it. Enough books out here still. "

“ They usually stay quiet around me but I always wondered and felt a bit weird with how they linger. “

"Don't feel weird," Benji said easily, "They're weird, you know? It's like government surveillance or something, wielded by a little angry librarian." He grinned widely, his voice full of affection for his mother, even if she was overkill in his opinion. He could be trusted. Most of the others couldn't but Cass and Rosie ran a tight ship around here. Sometimes. They'd probably all be fine without baubles. It wasn't like the library would descend into literary anarchy without them.

It was all nerds that hung out here anyway.

Not Benji. But others.

“ If you need ammo. Pretty sure glasses over there is paying blondie to do all their schoolwork. “

INTERESTING. Benji's eyes lit up at the fresh information Bear had just provided him. What a mate, honestly. What could be better than a friend that fed you secrets about other people that you could use against them? Especially the Slytherins who tended to be the most insufferable lot.

Rae and Ren being the exceptions of course.

"Thanks mate," he whispered back, catching Glasses's eye with a smug smirk. The boy looked confused for a moment and then threw up a rude gesture, just in a bauble's line of sight. The bauble shrieked and pounced, nibbling harshly at the boy's upright finger in punishment. Benji chuckled glancing back at Bear. "Better got more nail polish. Seems we'll have a middle finger to display with that thumb."

He watched as Bear conjured a tray beneath the table, deciding a step back was definitely in order. He'd definitely step on the tray of liquified gum goo if the two thought they could aim it correctly to the offending table. Julia would be...annoyed if she found out, but if he and Bear booked it quick enough, she'd never be the wiser.

Unless the Slytherins snitched, but he wasn't overly concerned about that in the moment.

" Really. You think? I'm definitely curious to look around, but without a reason haven't put in the effort of a request to get into it. Enough books out here still. "

"Yeah for sure. Rosie likes you, and she trusts Ravenclaws in general." He gave a shrug, the obvious meaning behind that. "She'll make you fill out some long old form, but after that you're golden. She won't give me or Rae access, so you'll have to tell us what you find out about spring solstice rituals. I hear it's a doozy." He grinned at his friend, not sure if Bear already knew what those entailed. Julia had mentioned it in their first class at the beginning of the year, and while the girls had seemed way too interested in them, Benji would be a liar if he said he wasn't the slightest bit curious.

He laughed as Benji described Professor Laurence as an angry little librarian. Though if the baubles didn’t make angry noises at people he knew there would be a lot more cleaning up in the Library. The sheer amount of gum under the tables with them was proof of the trouble that they’d have without. He almost suggested putting baubles underneath the tables but he didn’t want his shoes destroyed when he decided to prop his legs up on a chair near him. Which he often did when he was studying in the library.

Agreeing he said “ Definitely weird. Probably some of that weird old magic Professor Laurence likes in them. “

Magic that he firmly believed wasn’t that weird and was more commonly talked about in places like Knockturn Alley than Hogwarts. However, he had years of his grandparents teaching him that words had their audience and there were assumptions made about people from Knockturn Alley. Assumptions his mother taught him to avoid having applied to himself hence her telling him to be less interested in talking about his grandparent’s shop.

His mother’s advice didn’t work. Bear loved talking about clocks and his grandparent’s clock shop if anyone gave him the opportunity.

Thankfully for Benji the bauble going after the rude Slytherin distracted him from slipping clocks into the conversation.

He tilted his head towards Benji and said “ That long form is why I haven’t bothered with the restricted section. It’s also probably why people try to sneak in as I think the detentions take less time if you get caught. “

Then Benji brought up spring solstice rituals and said “ Solstice and Equinox rituals at their core are some of the earliest acknowledgements of the impacts of time on the magical world. With the sun’s phases being critical points in that cycle. Some argue the moon’s phases have more impacts on magic as seen with werewolves, but I think if you go deeper in magic the Sun’s phases become more important. “

It was all rather interesting how time impacted many of the older magics. Though most like Professor Laurence seemed to focus on the more ritual aspects and the impacts of the rituals. Not the impact of time to the development and success of those rituals.