Time at last! Dear mystery author, what an absolutely spectacular gift. I loved every bit of it to pieces. This is everything I hoped for, and much more. The way you up-end the restrictive, stern ugly spinster image from the books is a pure delight.
Some favourite lines: The idea falls somewhere between absurd and downright disturbing Bless their dear little hearts!
No wanton hair-tossing for her. Her lovers are as carefully and precisely chosen as the titles that make up the shelves of Hogwarts’ library. Great. And the series is like a neat, little line of books in a library.
the uses of Transfiguration she might teach them if it would not cause the entire Board of Governors to drop dead of a simultaneous heart attack We more advanced and more open-minded students would love the masterclass, of course. And see its scholarly worth.
language that would provide her pupils with quite the education on its own I happen to be a language teacher. Please, Miss!
and has kept her out of pleasant surprise at discovering a prodigy Quite. An excellent student is a thing of beauty and a joy forever.
she thinks he must realize she comes for the anecdotes. Another thought that has me salivating Oh, to hear those anecdotes.
From a few stray comments and her fluency in gasps and muffled groans, Irma has deduced she is another of Min’s students. Grin.
secure in the certainty Such a beautifully-understated way of showing why the relationship is important for her, and why she doesn't feel diminished by his lack of attention at other moments.
her signature turquoise-heeled strut Love the way you include the canon elements.
it is with pride that she basks in the awed praise which follows Another believable motivation.
including one memorable occasion when her predecessor chased them out of the stacks without giving Filius a chance to do up his robes. The predecessor must have been a shining example *grin*.
He went off seeking glory, and she was left to build the quiet life she had envisioned for one instead of two. Ouch. Poor Irma.
An old, clichéd story: one she would have preferred never to read, much less play the protagonist. Wonderful meta touch. And perfectly IC for Irma. As is she had regained control of the narrative and made her peace with the abandoned plotlines. Just how she would think of something too hurtful to consider in other terms than the bookish.
And Irma would dearly hate to lose Sundays. Perfectly convincing, too.
Everyone knows there are two types of librarian in the world. But there is only one Irma Pince. And she contains volumes. THIS. Oh, yes. And you've managed to convey some of the contents of those volumes in just 2000 words. While you leave me hungry for lots of the backstory, this was a perfectly satisfactory reading experience.
For ever day of the week.
I'll re-read this often.
Again, thank you, thank you, dear author, for a perfect gift.