Chapter Text
This was it. Enough was enough.
Harry needed to get away from the Dursleys.
But he was only 14 years old - too young for Thorpe Park to accept him for a summer job cleaning vomit from the rollercoasters.
As Harry walked down Little Whinging High Street, he saw a sign in a window that would go on to change his life forever.
Harry made his way into Little Whinging Library. Someone in a green lanyard with a they/them pronoun badge was sitting behind the desk engaged in a whispered conversation with a toy penguin. They looked up as Harry approached.
"Err.. Can I become a Summer Reading Challenge volunteer?" Harry asked awkwardly.
The person on the desk smiled an enormous smile. "How old are you?" they questioned.
"I'm fourteen," Harry replied.
"Then yes! Just fill in the online application, then I can do your interview today, then an adult who's responsible for you has to sign some forms, then you're ours forever!"
"I'm Daisy, by the way," they said, leading Harry over to a public computer.
"Err.. I'm Harry."
"Awesome! Now fill in the form!"
"So why do you want to be a Summer Reading Challenge volunteer?" asked Daisy, who was now wearing glasses.
"To get out of the house," Harry responded. "Also my friend Hermione really likes libraries".
"Hermione sounds great! But don't worry, you're valid. Do you like books?"
"Sure?" Harry replied.
"Great! Do you consider yourself brave enough to endure terrifying trials of courage?"
"Err.. yes?"
"You're totally hired!" Daisy said with a smile. "Now just get your responsible adults to sign these forms and then we can work out your hours".
Fortunately, at the age of 14 Harry had become very proficient at forging his Uncle Vernon's signature.
"Wow, that was fast!" said Daisy as Harry handed back his forms about 10 minutes later.
"Yeah, my Aunt and Uncle live near here," Harry responded quickly.
"Right. So, training. First, I guess I give you a tour..."
"The stickers on the side of the books all have meanings".
"This is the self-service machine. It lights up different colours to communicate how it's feeling. Pink means it's hungry, red means it's lonely, that sort of thing".
"The ceiling leaks sometimes. Don't worry about it".
"If anyone says the word 'asbestos', come and get me".
"These are the computers. They still run on Windows 7 and a lot of the network restrictions can be bypassed with some basic Python. There also used to be more of them but the government took them away from us".
"If a child wants to chew a book, direct them to these ones. Actually, if a child wants to chew anything direct them to one of these books".
"This is the secret staff area which also includes the toilet. We only have to let people pee when we have events happening. If there's no event, tell them to go to Costa next door. But also tell them to buy something because otherwise the Costa people get smad at me".
"The fire door isn't actually physically alarmed. It's.. metaphorically alarmed".
"This is the cupboard. It's where we go to cry and have private conversations. We also keep things here".
"If you gotta use the toilet or if you're freaking out or you really don't wanna do something, just tell me. You're a volunteer so by showing up you're already performing a minor miracle".
Daisy spun around with a smile. "Any questions?"