Les Tomes de Fabron: Plot Twist

Just because Oz was no longer swimming in cash didn't mean he was going to stop reading books. He had failed to pull any casual reading books from his shelf upon his departure from Hollow Manor last Christmas, thinking it best to grab his school books so he would be able to study for exams. It hadn't bothered him for awhile, but once he had moved into his own apartment, he found the absence of books to make the place all the more lonely. He found times where he was stuck inside due to bad weather without a method of entertaining himself and missed the scent of books dearly. Surely he could spare some of his low income on a few books? It would definitely pay off by saving his sanity.

He had heard of the small bookshop in Paris called Les Tomes de Fabron which sold obscure books from a pair of pretentious coffee drinkers last time he played a show at the Brew Brothers. What really intrigued him was the fact that the place was known for having decent prices on books, which was what he really needed. He had almost gotten lost on the streets of Paris looking for it, but sighed a huge relief as he walked in. Immediately he could catch the whiff of unturned pages. He loved the smell of books.

The funds jangling in his pocket allowed him to buy two, maybe three if he found some particularly cheaply priced books, so Osmund was going to make them good. He almost wanted to ask for help finding the most desirable books of the lot but decided to look for a bit on his own. He pulled one from a shelf and examined it, read the synopsis on the back, then parted it's pages and gently inhaled. He missed the scent so dearly and surely fresh books would add some decent smell to his musky and smoky smelling apartment. He closed the book and returned it to its resting spot and was about to move on to the next section of the store when he was met with a pair of eyes. Osmund scowled and wondered just how much she had seen.

Linette worked in a bookstore and that bookstore meant discounts.  However, it didn't mean she wouldn't visit other bookshops to see what they had on offer.  This particular bookshop had come highly recommended by a friend of her brother's.  Linette hadn't been aware her brother made friends with anyone who could read never mind knew which bookshops were the best places to go.  Naturally Linette was adamant that Benoit take her there as soon as possible.  In return he grumbled about her needing to pass her apparation test.  

It was a surprise a couple of days later to have her brother knocking on her door in Cheval and offer to take her to Paris in exchange for teaching her how to apparate.  Considering how inconvenient not being able to travel far on her own was Linette took him up on his offer and shook hands on it.  Really, when you thought about it, everything was to her advantage and none to Benoit.  What happened to her pain in the neck brother?  Had he really matured as much as their mother claimed he had?  If he had then Linette was willing to meet him half way and not try to pick a fight with her brother.  She already felt the strain of the estrangement with Louise.

The moment she entered the store she could already feel that this was a special place.  As special as The Book Cellar.  Maybe even more special.   Well then.  If she ever got her apparation license then she would seriously consider changing bookshops.  That was if this place was looking for employees.  Leaving her brother to peruse the Quidditch section Linette walked further in amongst the bookshelves one hand brushing against the spines.   She stopped short when she saw a familiar figure doing a familiar task with the book he'd pulled off the shelf.  She opened her mouth with the intention to tease him about his book sniffing but mid thought she changed her mind.  "You've found out about this place too?" she asked.   Teasing now that they'd graduated seemed to suddenly feel that little bit childish.  Yet that old habit was threatening to explode.  Linette turned to the shelf and pulled out a book.   "Now that's odd.  It's just exactly what I needed.  That doesn't happen to me very often."  She brushed her fingers over the title which pronounced the book to be the ultimate guide in the art of apparation.  Judging by the thickness of it, the author obviously had more to say about the spell than anything Linette had ever heard.

Osmund could only expect to be running into members of his year around the areas of Paris every now and then, it was only logical. But here? In this little obscure bookshop tucked away between other shops in Paris and of all people, the one girl in his year that Osmund dreaded the most? It felt too improbable to be real and even more so that he had noticed her presence right when he was sniffing a book. It was like the two things went together; book sniffing and Linette. It almost soured the act of book sniffing, for everytime he would do it, he would be only forced to think of the girl.

She had seen it all, the booksniffing, most certainly, and yet she didn't even mention it. It was times like these that Osmund was really thrown for a loop and paused for a moment to recollect himself before finding himself able to answer her. "Yeah it's quite popular among the book readers," he said, passively. No need to go into the whole story about him eavesdropping, mostly because it was a rather dull one. "Nice to see you again too."

He hadn't noticed the section he was in until Linette claimed that the book he had so happened to have plucked up was of what she needed. He rose an eyebrow one he looked back at the title. "Apparating? You mean you don't know how?" Perhaps he had been too eager himself to learn the talent and take the test as soon as he had become of age, but he worried how Linette managed to get around without it. Certainly she must be living with rather kind housemates. He handed over the book to her. "Have fun reading it. Looks like the author was paid by the word," He joked and was about to walk away when it occurred to him that Linette knew books as well as he did, perhaps even better.

Retracing his steps and facing Linette again, Osmund started, "Hey since I found the book you needed, think you could lend me some reading suggestions in exchange?"

Linette shrugged. "I know how to apparate. Sort of. I just keep failing my test. A finger nail here. A hair there. That sort of thing. Between you and me I think my brother's ashamed of me 'cause he's one of the people who does the testing." She could just picture the other people working in the transport section of the Ministry sniggering behind his back. No wonder why he was desperate for his sister to learn and learn fast. She weighed the book in her hand and nodded. "I think..." Linette stopped as she realised he was already walking away. Oh well. She had her book and she had her brother. She would eventually get the hang of apparating without splinching.

She was a little surprised when Osmund turned back around to face her again. Linette considered the wizard and his question thoughtfully. It was the sort of thing she was required to do for a living now that she worked at the Book Cellar. "I could do that. The first very important question I have to ask before suggesting anything is what do you like to sn...I mean read." Old habits apparently died hard and Linette had been a little surprised she'd managed to stop before blurting out the entire word. "After all you wouldn't want to be recommended something which you'd hate to read from someone who'll read anything and everything would you?" That was the one reason why her employer was so fast to offer her the position. Someone who had read a lot and should, hopefully, know what the customers wanted.

After years with dealing with the teasing, Osmund only knew what Linette was going to say, but what was surprising was how she caught herself. It was amazing how graduation and a few months could change a person. He was taken aback yet again but her surprising maturity but didn't want to say anything for fear of jinxing it.

"Ummm, I could use a cook book. I've been cooking without one and things have been going mediocre with that. Something simple and on the beginners side," he replied, her question was actually a tad bit harder than one would think. He needed some lark reading as well as a practical book. He tried to think of the things he read for fun when he was living at Hollow Manor but he could only think of titles and not genres and felt it to be fruitless to buy books he had already read. Not to mention said titles might be considered a bit juvenile to him now. "I could also use something to read just for entertainment sake. I'm pretty open to suggestions on that one. Just no romances, please."

"A cookbook for beginners and something which isn't romance," Linette said for clarification and nodded. "Got it." The task sounded simple enough. Her only issue was the need to orient her way around this shop and see if they had any order. The Book Cellar was organised chaos but this place could be organised in a similar fashion to the Beauxbatons library for all she knew. She glanced up at the shelf above her and the one across from her before nodding. "Good. Labels. That'll help. All I need to do is work out where I'll find the two sections we need. Cooking and I think murder/mystery. That should be good for your entertainment."

Soon enough she was off in amongst the shelves. "Try to keep up," she called over her shoulder as she watched for the signs above and the people in front. "Ah. Here we are. Cookbooks." Soon enough she was studying some of the spines with a very concentrated effort. There had to be something here which was for complete beginners and to save time Linette decided that if it didn't state that on the spine it wasn't worth the effort pulling it off the shelf. She loved reading but this search was not for her own benefit. "Ah. Here we are. Cooking for the Beginner Wizard." She smirked as she pulled it out. "Clearly someone thought wizards are in more need of something like this than witches. Have a look and I'll see if there's anything else here." Linette shoved the book toward Osmund before scanning the shelves of cookbooks again.

This was the most civil Osmund could recall himself and Linette ever acting together. Maybe it was because she was no longer an announcer with his being as the ingredients for every ridicule. He wasn't about to complain, however. Though he had to admit it felt weird asking her for help and then following her around a bookstore in which she didn't even work in to find a few books.

Lucky for him, Linette was still good at finding books and courtesy of some labels, the pair were soon in the section for cookbooks. Not wanting to make Linette do all the work, Osmund's eyes scanned the spines of books on the shelves opposite from where Linette was searching. Every title, however, insinuated extremely hard recipes for fancy meals containing ingredients Osmund was sure he wouldn't be able to afford, lest he gave up on paying his rent. He turned when she announced that she found the right book and Osmund accepted it in his hands and examined it a moment. "Quite straightforward, ain't it?" He replied. He couldn't deny a title like that. It was almost like it was exactly for him. He rolled his eyes in regards to her comment about the word wizard. "Right, thanks. This is more than adequate. Now on to the next challenge. You said Murder Mystery?"

"All that a beginning cook would need," Linette quipped. "Anything more complicated and you'll be eating out every night thanks to all the failed dinners." She nodded toward the cookbook. "Once you've gotten through that then maybe you'll be ready for the rest of it. Even good enough to open your own restaurant." That was something Linette could imagine would be worse than the living death.

Linette grinned and nodded. "Yep. Murder mystery. That'd be somewhere in the fiction section. As to how easy it'll be to find will depend on how this bookshop has it sorted. Different places do it different ways. Lucky for us they at least have things separated out a little bit here." She snapped her fingers. "Enough talk. More move. This way I think." Linette pointed northwards and then moved on through the shelves. "Ah ha. This is your lucky day. Fiction. Crime Fiction which is the same as Murder Mystery. Come to think of it I cannot recall ever reading crime fiction which didn't involve murder." She shrugged. "How about I stand back and let you browse?"

He tucked the cookbook beneath his arm and rose an eyebrow at Linette's rant, which panned in between confidence that Osmund would learn in time and predetermined failure that every meal will end in ashes. "You don't sound too confident," He replied. "Don't think I can actually cook? Well how about we have a little bet. Give me a few months to read and learn from this book and I'll cook for you and if it sucks, you win. If it's adequate or better, I win," Osmund offered. He knew he couldn't be as bad as Linette thought he was.

The red-haired man followed her as she sped through the shop. Though she claimed she didn't know the set up, it didn't seem to take her long to figure things out. "You sure you want me to be reading one of these?" Osmund started, as he leaned forward and examined each title. There certainly was enough to choose from, but most titles sounded too generic to peak his interest. "Don't you think it'll just give me ideas? What happens when I finally crack? You know, you'd probably rank pretty high on the list of people I'd go after," Osmund joked, and then pulled out a few titles. "These don't seem half bad," he presented the three books to Linette in order to let her choose. "Which one do you think is the most messed up? The Death of the Butler? Isn't it always the butler? So if he's dead, who did it? The Sign on the Dark Cellar? Sounds spooky. Or The House of the Hollow? I may or may not have chosen that last one because it has my name in it."

"I don't?" Linette asked with wide-eyed innocence. "Oh I'm sure by the time you get through that you will be able to cook." Osmund must have very little confidence in his abilities if he thought she was up to her old tricks which Linette was sure she hadn't been. Had she? She considered his bet. "Hmm. Let's see. You twisted my ever so innocent remark into something else but I suppose I could go through with this bet."

She laughed at his comment. "Well I'll just have to make sure to stay well away from you just in case I say something to bring your ire upon me." Linette then paused as a book on the opposite side caught her interest. It was romance but Linette did read anything and everything thus didn't care what Osmund might think as she pulled it off the shelf to go with her appartion training book. "Butler? Oh I can assure you that it isn't usually the butler. He's just the first suspect in most murders poor thing. I'm pretty sure that a lot of crime writers think they're being original when the butler turns out innocent. Him being murdered though is different." Linette grinned at his reasoning. "You always did have a strong sense of your self-importance."