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Lola liked the library.

Okay, so it wasn't the gorgeous glass building at the Angel Academy, with the planets and stars spinning around the ceiling and the wonderful hum of ethereal music everywhere, but it was pretty neat anyway, all things considered. She was currently sitting in a large armchair, legs pulled up underneath her, and was reading a large and dusty book about demons. What with that demon that Brice had told her about (http://community.livejournal.com/hogwarts_hocus/1329824.html#cutid1), she figured it couldn't hurt. Her spectacles were firmly perched on her nose, and she peered up from behind them at the woman in the library.

"Hello," she said brightly to Cuddy and smiled a bit. "Looking for something in particular?"

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Cuddy looked up at the friendly voice and immediately smiled in return. She hadn't met many people as of yet, and this face was bright and welcoming.

"Not really," she admitted. "It's all sort of new to me here, and I was just looking around. But it seems like everything's here, doesn't it?"

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"Yeah, mostly about magic, though there's other stuff too." Lola closed the book but kept a finger by the page she was at, and placed the heavy, leather-bound volume on her lap. "One of these days, I'm going to borrow a whole bunch of them and lock myself into my room for a while, just sucking up all that educational goodness..."

She grinned a bit, patting the book. "For now I'm settling with this one. It's kind of dull." And in Latin. As an angel, she could unerstand it perfectly. Lola sighed. "I hate dull books. Plus," she added and shook her head, "the bad guys seem to be winning."

In a second, she was over it and sent off another smile. "So how long have you been here?"

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Cuddy liked her instantly. "I'm a doctor," she explained, "so I'll probably be reading every medical book that I can get my hands on. Anything about science, but I'm about expanding my horizons." She grinned, laughing lightly.

"You're fluent in Latin?" It wasn't rare, but it was slightly out of the ordinary and it could make for interesting conversation. Latin was one of the more beautiful languages, as hard as it was for some to pick up.

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Lola laughed a little as well, an energetic, throaty laugh that started somewhere in her boots. "I didn't know science and magic could mix. You can find anything here though, I'm pretty sure. It's kind of a weird place. Though a doctor, huh? We've got a lot of those, I think..."

She shrugged. "Yeah. Well, I understand every language, really. It's sort of a perk." She hesitated, but only for a second. This was Hogwarts. There were weirder people than her here, and besides, she liked Cuddy. "I'm an angel."

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"I've heard," Cuddy said in agreement, though she was curious as to just how many doctors were around and where they had all come from. It wouldn't greatly surprise her if she was surrounded by most of her staff and had no clue of it.

"An angel?"

Now that merited astonishment. Curious, Cuddy tilted her head to regard the girl but still in a friendly way.

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"Yeah. Died, got to Heaven, became an angel, the whole story." Lola waved her hand vaguely and shrugged again. "It happens. Not the career I would have anticipated, but the outfits are completely luminous!" She was currently wearing a bright orange strappy top, stylishly faded dark blue jeans, a white belt with a glimmering rhinestone buckle, and chocolate coloured boots. Oh yeah. Totally luminous!

She paused and then rolled her eyes, letting out another little laugh. "Oh, I'm sorry." Lola extended her hand politely. "Lola Sanchez, but you can call me Lollie. Nice to meet you."

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Now this was quite possibly the most interesting story Cuddy had heard in..a very long time. And something in her was immediately inclined not to believe it, but then again she was among witchcraft, wizardrey, and talking hats.

Why not angels, too?

So instead of acting astonished, Cuddy took the extended hand. "Lisa Cuddy, and you're free to call me Lisa," she smiled. "It's nice to meet you, too."

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She didn't look like an angel. Lola appeared to be your average teenage girl, though with a certain energy sizzling around her. No wings, no halo, no glowing white robes. Just a cheerful smile and a perky disposition.

"Lisa," repeated Lola easily and smiled. "So where do you come from? I mean, before you got to Hogwarts, not before you started talking to me just now."

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"I'm from Princeton, in New Jersey," Cuddy said, though she wasn't sure if that would mean anything to this girl. If she really was an angel, she might well know. "Back there, I was a doctor. I was one of those people that pretty much dedicated their lives to their work."

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"Ah. Those people." Lola nodded, a smile still curving her lips. She did know of Princeton in New Jersey, but had never been there herself. "I know a lot of people like that. So are you going to practice any medicine here?"

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"I hope to," Lisa admitted, thinking about this place and how strange it was. "It'll be a new environment here, but I really would like to practice medicine. If I can be of help, I'd like to try."

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"Well, good luck!" said Lola brightly, and she meant it, too. "If you need any help adjusting to this place, I'm only an owling away." Heh. Weird word. 'Owling.'

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"Thank you," Cuddy said, and she meant it. Her smile was bright, even around the confusion as to what an owling was. "I appreciate it. Feel free to come see me anytime."

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Camilla spent much of her time in the library, these days. It was something of a routine: mornings in the library, afternoon walks, visit a Sorting or two, then back to the books.

A woman unfamiliar at first glance seemed to be drinking in the atmosphere. "It's lovely, isn't it?" Camilla said, voice lowered as proper library etiquette would demand; and then, "Oh! I remember you (http://community.livejournal.com/hogwarts_hocus/1266148.html?thread=64567780#t64567780). Doctor Cuddy, isn't it? You aren't lost, are you?"

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The voice was vaguely familiar and Cuddy smiled when she recognized the face. Someone that had been there to help her earlier, when she'd arrived.

"Hello Camilla," she said warmly, pleased that the name had come to her memory. "No, I'm not lost at all. I was just sort of wandering, and ended up here."

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"You've had good luck then." Camilla smiled. "It's easier to get lost in this castle than people might suppose. The library's a good place to have ended up. How are you settling in, so far, then?"

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"I've been lost a few times," Cuddy admitted, laughing, but softly. "The changing staircases startled me more than once, but I think I'm getting used to the ground moving under my feet." She paused and considered. "I'm settling in well. I was sorted into Ravenclaw, though talking to a hat was a new thing for me."

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Camilla, who'd come to Hogwarts intentionally, had been prepared for any number of strangenesses. The talking hat had been one of them. (The appearance of her brother and of Bunny Corcoran, not so much.) "The Hat is certainly sui generis," she offered politely. "Ravenclaw is a fairly easy house to find, in any event, since there's no longer any real need for a password. The common room door's usually propped right open, thanks to the bar. I'm a Gryffindor, myself. I had to sit on my suitcases outside the common room for a bit before someone came by and let me in."

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That caught Cuddy's attention. "A password?" she asked. "It makes sense, though, for a school this size. I'm not quite sure what my mind made it out to be, but it's really a beautiful place. I guess it gets easier with time to find the way around, though."

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"Most things do get easier," Camilla agreed, less brightly than she might have done. Not everything did get easier, with old enemies and would-be lovers popping up in the Sorting Room one after another. But maybe Cuddy would have better luck. "Did you ever find that House you were looking for?"

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"I did," Cuddy said, her smile brightening visibly. "He was pretty much as I thought he'd be but it was good to see a familiar face from home." Even if House was as ornery as ever, part of her was still glad to have him here.

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"That's good to hear," Camilla said. "It's not always the most welcome development, to have people you know very well show up without warning." She looked away when she said it.

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"No, I can't imagine it would be." Cuddy noted the sensitivity of the topic and didn't push it further. "What brings you here today?"

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canes-can-kill.livejournal.com

House hated the library. It wasn't so much the people (although they were annoying at best), or the fact that every book was to do with magic, but rather the mindless restrictions of a library. Specifically, the whole 'no talking loudly' thing - what was up with that?

Of course, there were times when he needed to be there, especially when he was actually trying to research something. Something that may or may not have to do with explosions and whether they would kill demons. So when House spotted a familiar face, he couldn't resist temptation. "Dr Cuddy, shame on you," House announced loudly, having sneaked up behind her. "The Karma Sutra? Is your love life really that boring?"

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Had the voice belonged to anyone other than one Greg House, Cuddy might well have flushed scarlet to the very roots of her hair. Instead the only color that touched her face was that of crimson indignation, and she snapped the book closed while turning to face him. It was no accident that she tucked it with cover outward, so he could see Sorcery and Medicine displayed in scripted text.

"Yours must be," she said easily, "since the Kama Sutra's been removed. Violating school policy, House?"

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canes-can-kill.livejournal.com

Sniffing in mocking disdain, House pulled out the chair next to Cuddy and slumped down into it, kicking his feet up onto the table. He propped his cane against the same table and made an exaggerated show of looking at the real title of the book that Cuddy was reading. Well, that wasn't nearly as interesting as he'd been hoping.

"Already knowledgeable about school policy," House shook his head sadly, pointedly ignoring the jab about his own love life. He'd save that little piece of information when it would really be inappropriate. "Sad, really. You should be out and about, flaunting your low-cut blouses and trying to take over the school, shouldn't you?"

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