Not So Quiet In The Library

[sandburg_zone]

The library wasn't as quiet as it could have been. There was the undercurrent thumping of drums coming from within the librarian's office. And with it, male voices chanting in latin, and with that the cat wail sounds of some eye-liner wearing lead singer that Blair Sandburg, current librarian at Hogwarts, had never heard of, but which he was

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[profmoony]

Coming to the library to look for a book on nixies, Remus raised an eyebrow at the mix of sounds emanating from the library office. This librarian was certainly a different sort than the snarky Bernard Black (of whom Remus had been rather fond). What was this bloke's name... Sandburg? Yes. And he'd had a very interesting conversation with the fellow at his Sorting.

He wanted to talk to Sandburg some more about that, and about the music he was listening to, and also wanted to know if he was going to be punished somehow for the overdue genetics textbook he'd loaned to Stephen. Black probably would've suggested castration or branding; hopefully Sandburg would be a little more laid-back.

He knocked lightly on the office door. "Hello? Am I interrupting anything?"

[sandburg_zone]

There were piles of magical recordings on Blair's desk, but he wasn't so wrapped up in what he was doing he couldn't look up and smile at a new arrival. This time, however, it wasn't a student but a fellow member of the staff.

"Lupin. Good to see you. No, come in, interrupt away, man."

[profmoony]

Remus leaned against the doorjamb and surveyed Sandburg's office. "I just thought I'd re-introduce myself, since it's been a while since your Sorting. And I was curious about the music you're listening to." He frowned. "Do you have three records going at once? How very Steve Reich."

[sandburg_zone]

"Drumming!" Blair said, mentioning the 90 minute piece. "Y'know, Mom said she met Reich one time. But I just like noting how the ancient rythmns never really went away. I did a combination once showing how the war chant of the Yanomamo headhunters could be found in the cellars and garages of Seattle and Cascade. Ancient rythmns in modern compositions - made the first row of my anthropology class wake up and pay attention for five minutes."

[profmoony]

"Well, that doesn't surprise me. It's all based around the human heartbeat, isn't it?" Remus dredged up one of his odd bits of trivia, as he often did. "Did you know that humans automatically rock babies at the same rate as the average heartbeat? 70 beats per minute or however much it is. It's completely instinctual."

[sandburg_zone]

Blair's grin grew wider. "I did know in fact. The human heart beat can also soothe most upset adults. Play music with that beat, or let a friend rest on your chest and it's your heartbeat that calms them as much as kind words and hands."

Blair curled one leg under himself in his seat and nodded. "It's all the hind brain. The inner cave man." He laughed suddenly, thinking of Jim. "Though most of us don't want to admit to still having that."

[profmoony]

"I'm a bit more familiar with the hind brain than I'd really like to be," said Remus dryly. "Perhaps that's why I favor more cerebral types of music. Although I quite like this, too."

[sandburg_zone]

Blair smiled again. "This is cerebral. It's engaging a host of different spots on your brain. The drumming is elemental and instinctive, the lead singer is totally cognitive and the chanting smooths it all together almost like a trance. Brain food."

He leaned back in his chair. "But I don't think this is the type of brain food you had in mind when you stopped in, so how can I help you? I'm here to serve."

[profmoony]

"Oh, well, I mostly just wanted to say hello. Also, I have a book out which I've loaned to a friend, and it's been out for quite some time, and... well, I don't really want to nag him about returning it right now. He's going through a bit of a hard time and I'm not even sure if he's read it. Can I renew it or... something?" He wasn't sure about the new library procedures, or even if there were any.

[sandburg_zone]

Blair pulled a red folder from a file on a shelf beside him and flipped it open. "Yes, Lupin, Remus. Staff: Transfigurations Professor."

Blair looked up. "Pretty hefty fine. Would you like to buy the book for your friend, so I can replace the textbook?"