Charming

January 25th, 1895 - Crowdy Memorial Library

Marley was three months old now and Elsie was doing a few hours here and there at the library again. It felt good, now that she was more recovered, to be out and about again. She loved her babies, obviously. There was also something about being back to work that had her feeling more herself than she had in a long time. Els was not cut out to stay home full time. Despite the somewhat-regular arrival of her children, she would be remiss to give this up any time soon. Perhaps a longer gap this time would help. At least that was the goal. Who knew what would happen in reality.

Today she was only in to help out behind the desk for a few hours. Marley was a champion napper and could go for a decent stretch without her, so Elsie was taking advantage. She wasn't quite up to reshelving or moving around too much yet, but she was good at pointing people in the right direction and bookkeeping from her perch behind the large desk near the front entrance.

A cold wind swept through as the doors opened and Elsie smiled from the cushioned stool she was perched on. She tried not to be too intrusive when people first came on, offering a welcoming smile before anything else. Most people who came in knew what they were looking for and where to go, but not always and Elsie was available in that case. She tucked a few cards back in their slots in the draws when she realized someone had indeed approached the desk. "Good afternoon," she greeted with another warm smile, realizing she recognized who it was coming her way. "Something I can help you with?"

With an audible pop, Isla appeared in a private passage in London and hurridely walked out into the street before making her way to the memorial library amongst the crowds. She didn't have a huge amount of time to be in London today which is why she had apparated, but she had managed to somehow create as if from nothing, a few hours of personal time to run some tasks done. It was cold as the professor walked through the streets and she might be quite glad to get into the library where she knew it would be much more cosy.

She crossed the road and was finally greeted with her destination, popping inside. She was correct, the warmth that greeted her was perfect and she was quickly hit by the sent of books. Her boots tapped on the surface as she placed her hat on a stand and then looked around the room to see who was about. A warm smile greeted her, one she knew and one she hoped would be here to coincide with her own availability. She walked over, returning the smile. "Good afternoon, Mrs. Kirke" she said with playful formality. "I'm in the market for a quite obscure out of print text you might have.. but first I might like an update on little one?" her face tilted and her eyebrow raised inquisitively. New motherhood was the fastest way to have a lady vanish from the face of the earth so it was good to see her about.

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Elsie was equally as excited to talk about obscure texts as she was about the children, so she could accommodate both requests easily enough! "Marley is good, a champion sleeper compared to her siblings." Ben had been the best napper, but Maisie was still up at night sometimes, even as she approached her second birthday. Thank Merlin Tyb was just as ready to get up with her in the middle of the night while Els handled Marley. Maisie was going through a daddy phase anyway, which was entirely understandable. "Growing like a weed, smiling and cooing." She could go on, but left it with, "It never gets old, even on the third one." And likely only halfway done, if her husband has his way. Maybe they ought to go for seven, have a full quidditch team. That would be amusing.

"How have you been? School treating you alright?" Elsie asked as she set aside what she'd been organizing. Once upon a time, long before her marriage had been possible, she'd had thoughts of waiting for the librarian spot at the school to open up, but it had never panned out and probably for the better. She wouldn't have been able to stay after their little scandal. Mr. Ainsworth was far more accommodating than she deserved here.

Isla's eyes widened happily listening to her speak of the children and how well they were doing "That is lovely to hear, and I'm glad you are enjoying it. It must be exhausting with them all being so close together too.", he eldest brother was off to Hogwarts by the time she was born which must have been a little relief to their parents.

"School is good." she said with a wry smile and a a proud nod. "A lot to do, I'm told the first year is the busiest as you have to settle in and get your lesson plans how you want, but it's a challenge I am enjoying." her pride in herself for her appointment would be apparent from the way she spoke of the school.

"Are you working much at the moment? With the demands of the little ones?" she asked her friend.

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"Exhausting it is, but rewarding." Elsie hadn't always thought she would have her little family and so she was extremely grateful for the life she and Tyb had been able to build together. "I couldn't do it without good help, and my husband of course." Tyb was so involved, she couldn't leave him out.

She listened with a smile as Isla described how her first year was going. "Yes, I can imagine getting it all put together is the hardest part." Figuring out how everything was supposed to go, making lessons, grading assignments, it was a lot of work. After that it would get easier, she assumed. Fixes here and there, but once the curriculum was figured out, it probably wouldn't be too bad.

"Part time, afternoons here and there, mostly here behind the desk." With each pregnancy, Elsie rather thought her body grew more and more accustomed to the process, so she felt better, earlier this time. "It keeps me sane." Most women in her position, especially with Tyb's promotion a couple of years ago, would have quit working altogether, but Elsie just couldn't give it up.

Isla was pleased for her friend. "I'm glad it's something you can do, the mind needs to be kept sharp, not just for your kids but as you say, your own sanity." she had been forced to work for financial reasons when she was married, and she had never managed to have children so she couldn't say for certain that her situation would have been similar, but she liked to think that even if she had been a mother she would never have entirely given up work.

She let out a little giggle and put her hand to her mouth to stifle it "I'm sorry, I just had a picture in you in my mind chasing an enchanted book around the library in your late stages of pregnancy." she smirked and recomposed herself giving a soft smile to confirm she no longer had the humorous image running through her mind. "It won't be long I suppose before Bentley is following you into work to pick out books of his own?" she said gleefully, a child's mind was an astonishing thing.

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Elsie's laugh was soft and her smile more knowing. "I do not move quickly in any capacity, in the latter half." Even with chasing after two toddlers this time, Elsie had never been particularly quick unless she noticed one of them put something in their mouth that did not belong there. Then she moved much more quickly than was expected. Mom-reflexes, Tyb had called them. He had far better instincts for that, from his time playing quidditch, but mostly to catch someone or something before they fell.

"I highly suspect he will take after his father, flying around my garden and giving me a heart attack, rather than indoors reading." Bentley was Tyb in miniature, the only difference was he had her blue eyes. Other than that, from his hair, to his personality, to his penchant for chaos were all her husband; and she absolutely loved it, even if she would go grey long before her time. Maisie was almost as bad and so Elsie had to hope that Marley would be more lowkey than the other two. "He does enjoy his bedtime stories." Probably because Tyb was so animated when he read them.

Her smile brimmed as they discussed the antics of the child. "Then if it's only a single book a night you will just have to make sure you curate the very best ones for him." She could help with some recommendations perhaps, she always enjoyed picking out books for other people's children, sometimes she picked out ones that were a little bit advanced but she always found ones with pretty pictures.

She walked along the bookshelf a little to examine the titles. "So this text I have been looking for, I have it on good authority... questionable authority." she corrected herself with a smile. "That your library picked it up with a donation that was bequeathed to you by a Mrs Barrington, do you know if her works have been sorted?" The elderly woman had been a charms aficionado in her younger years and had kept many pieces of literature

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Elsie Kirke

Isla Bowen

Elsie Kirke

Isla Bowen

Elsie Kirke

Isla Bowen

Elsie Kirke

Isla Bowen