Keith was freed from the abyss that was the recesses of his mind after Julius had suddenly spoken to him. He looked up abruptly, giving off the impression that he was startled. His expression went from looking fearful to looking relieved as he recognized that the one who had caught his attention was a fellow student, albeit one from a different house. He contemplated for a moment, trying to decide if he should tell Julius about his unusual anxiety.
"I--um, I'm fine... physically, that is. It's just that--well you probably won't believe me--" he stammered, glancing down at his schoolbag again. He sighed heavily and suddenly his nervousness was replaced with seriousness. He looked around and then spoke in a quiet, yet audible voice. "Do you remember Umbridge's announcement? That thing about 'highly volatile and highly important' books being stolen from the restricted section of the library? Well, I wasn't one of the people who stole a restricted book, but I did encounter a seemingly ordinary book that teaches curses on some pages..."
A worried expression appeared on his face. "Concerned, I... tried to show the librarian a page that taught Fiendfyre, but then the page in question disappeared, so she didn't believe me. It's almost like... the book's sentient, or something. A book like that is dangerous, so..." He put both of his elbows on the table and placed his hands on the sides of his head. "Like a total fucking idiot, I borrowed the damn thing, thinking that if the faculty couldn't take care of the problem, I could, but now it seems that the faculty was already aware of the book's existence, which means that they could be the ones responsible for the book being there in the first place, and because they keep records of who borrows what--"
How strange.
That wasn't something you'd hear everyday. This sounded pretty dire too. Given how things went along since the start of the year, the staff faculty has been off-putting, even to Julius's tolerance. So it was a no-brainer that Keith was anxious on when they'll trace records to him holding onto that particular book.
❝ That's heavily concerning... almost like a setup... ❞ There's no telling on what else that book could be capable of, and Keith's giving it away that just having the book in his possession was a big deal. What could he even do in this situation?
❝ So you're fearing that they'll catch on, is what you're saying? ❞ Julius lowered his voice to a barely audible whisper, keeping an eye for any eavesdroppers. ❝ If you don't mind me suggesting, have you considered passing the book to someone else? Or getting rid of it? The records they have can't change, but I doubt that it'll end well if it goes back to them and continue to leave it in the library for other students to pick up. ❞ A prying thought to take the book for himself was awfully tempting, but he was aware that messing with curses wasn't a laughing matter.
@Otto
❝ That's heavily concerning... almost like a setup... ❞ There's no telling on what else that book could be capable of, and Keith's giving it away that just having the book in his possession was a big deal. What could he even do in this situation?
❝ So you're fearing that they'll catch on, is what you're saying? ❞ Julius lowered his voice to a barely audible whisper, keeping an eye for any eavesdroppers. ❝ If you don't mind me suggesting, have you considered passing the book to someone else? Or getting rid of it? The records they have can't change, but I doubt that it'll end well if it goes back to them and continue to leave it in the library for other students to pick up. ❞ A prying thought to take the book for himself was awfully tempting, but he was aware that messing with curses wasn't a laughing matter.
@Otto