The start of the school year was simultaneously the calmest and most chaotic time of year. The library was empty of most students, creating a quiet atmosphere to stay on track, but the halls were littered with first years of every house, lost and near tears about something Peeves had said, or about running into Myrtle in her bathroom. She felt bad for the little ones, remembering how scary it had been when she had first set foot in the large castle without so much as a flashlight let alone a map of the place, but it didn’t stop the flash of annoyance whenever one of the younger students would burst into the otherwise silent room looking for an adult and for some reason assuming Lily was such.
This had happened four times before Lily finally gave up and gathered her things into her bag. Potions homework could wait. She could ask Remus to sit with her and give that scary stare he could conjure up whenever he needed a break from the common room’s noise. She did as much of a scan as she could to make sure she wouldn’t have to come crashing back in here before the library closed for the night. It was already dark outside and she was tired. Lily knew as soon as she set foot in the common room, the fire would draw her in and she wouldn’t be moving unless necessary for the rest of the night.
She winced involuntarily when the heavy doors creaked open, and she did her best to make herself look busy in case it was yet another eleven year old trying to find the Great Hall or the Owlery or whatever it was that the ghosts were apparently also too busy to point out. From the corner of her eye, she kept trying to glance to see who it was but was having a difficult time being subtle about it. Finally, she just turned with her things, deflating a little when she saw it wasn’t a first year, and she might actually be able to flee upstairs before she yelled at one of them and made them cry.
“Bit late for a library run, don’t you think?”