Interesting, will be looking forward to learn exactly what is wrong with Hermione. 

That is a very promising and interesting start. I love libraries and books as objects as well, and it's great to have Hermione working at this place. I'm a bit surprised on the sellotape and nylon thread of her workplace, though - is she really supposed to use sellotape on a book, no matter how ancient or modern?

Author's Response: No, she isn't going to use the sellotape on Brother Lucretius ;) Though it is a tool that can always be useful for various purposes, and hence is on her table. Thank you for commenting :)

Alcina vom Steinsberg's response: I'm glad to hear that! ;o) It's so difficult to get people NOT using sellotape on books, and I really got the impresson by the listing of the tools. ;o)

I can really imagine a Bronte library in York. And can imagine Hermione & Severus wandering through the old streets, before going for tea and scones at Bettys Tearooms... eventually.

I laughed at Hermione reminding herself to be nice to the library patrons. Having worked retail I completely sympathize with her :). Great start, looking forward to more.

ARGLEBARGLE!

Somehow, I had it in my mind that there were four chapters of this, and I was terribly disappointed when I came to the end of chapter one and had no place to click for more:( Hermione and libraries go together like scones and lemon curd, so this story is already heading for my favorites list:)Can't wait for more:)Fizzabella

Great start, I look forward to more.  A library plus Hermione and Severus, each with a past to be revealed, can always get my attention.

very promising start

interesting start, looking forward to learning why she is not in the wizarding society.

My cat doesn't want me to type right now or I would have much to say. Well done, dear author. 

From a recovered control freak, this is very deep. I look forward to Hermione's surrender and release.  It's the only way to remain sane.  One has to let it go. There are some who will think less of you when you learn to do so. You may seem weak to them, but they don't matter. They are ignorant and have much to learn about surviving life. Great job, dear author. 

Now it's starting to get interesting. Poor Hermione with PTSD.  I love the book binding. It's like holding time in your hands. My husband and I collect old tomes. You open a page in the middle and wonder how many years it has been since another human has set eyes on this page and wonder who it might have been and in that moment you and they are kindred spirits. The page has been waiting like a time capsule for perhaps over a hundred years for the next person to turn to it and the air from that last moment is released from the page. I also love the things we find people have saved in the old books too. I can appreciate Hermione's love for this job. 

What a lovely, and very right, concept, that books soak up magic as part of their history.  That it takes hands and skill to repair them, not magic.  This is just wonderful:Restoring books without magic was pretty much the same thing as restoring them with magic. The limitations in the use of magic that had to be applied while handling ancient books were so many that discouraged most wizards from using extensive magic altogether. Ancient parchment was a very delicate thing, and even an imperceptible change in the flow of charms could alter the composition of the ink or of the support. Besides that, ancient parchment, still retaining the magic of the time in which it had been written upon for the first time, responded only to magic that had the same characteristics of the one that had created it. In practice, to restore a Saxon-dated manuscript, the restorer had to recreate a Saxon surrounding, filled with Saxon-time air – the parchment was only too sensible to oxygen changes – and to perform Saxon spells. Better if the restorer could turn directly into a Saxon. Yes, there were some restorers who used Time-Turners to reach their goal, but overall the whole magical procedure was so impractical that many wizarding restorers preferred to use simply their manual skills.

The fact that English isn't your first language somehow makes the writing more poignant. I had to puzzle out some sentences, which meant that I had to think hard about what they meant. And what the characters meant. Thank you. Well done.

Hi, I don't know if you even come to PP any more, but wanted to let you know that I just finished (started and read through and finished all in the past 24 hours) Summer in York.  It' great! I love the word play and the allusions to Richard3, and the way they help each other heal.  I love how human these characters are.  I love that Snape is as ugly as he is supposed to be, and has such a complicated beautiful soul, and that Hermione has grown up believably.  This is a great story!

Acceptance and feeling content are so much more valuable than a job. I'm glad Hermione realized this. Although as she said she could definitely handle both jobs. This is a terrific story that I enjoyed following. Looking forward to Severus' POV.

First of all, many thanks for this highly interesting tale. Hermione in a muggle library, doing book binding, and learning for an ‚exam’, very suitable. How ever did you come up with her problem with the fixed images and intrusive thoughts? Her struggle with these obsessions, this whole internal adventure has been a very fascinating read. And Severus’ role in all these endeavours, his insights, his being now a muggle without being able to do any magic at all, his attitude to his new life, their o so slowly growing relationship – I enjoyed each and every chapter. What I thought very funny was Hermione not recognising that she’s in love with Severus, because she thinks that only her romantic feelings for Chris counts for love. Anyway, again many thanks and I certainly will look out for Severus' POV.

Nice romantic beginning to the chapter. I think Hermione is protesting too much when she says she isn't in love with Severus. I really enjoyed what you wrote about music and how it evolves. Very eloquent.

Why do I think she ended up back in the Bronte library? Because he had proven to her that there really was no difference.  She had nothing to prove to anyone but herself and once she proved it TO herself, she could finally be happy and at peace. I hope that by one o'clock, she came to terms with every worry in her frizzy little head.

Was it ever the job or was it acceptance? :)

This is a very enjoyable story, and now that it is completed, I am looking forward to reading it again in its entirty without having to wait for the next chapter.   I am looking forward to your next story.

I have to admit that obsessive thinking and obsession in general is not something I understand well.  How can something that she did noting but obsess about for the entire summer be so unimportant as to not be worth mentioning.  She had this job so wound up with her identity that it seemed if she didn't get it she would kill herself.  How did it move so quickly to not being particularly relevent?I like this story because each of characters has a lot of broken edges and neither fits well anywhere.  I think it is a well-sold myth that there are whole people who fit well in whole places.  I have never met one.Thanks for the story.  I appreciate your original viewpoint.

very good!  I love forward to more!

This was a stellar final chapter, stellar as in "star-like" and you can extend that metaphor however you wish; it was just very lovely to read Hermione's thoughts and had the appeal of an epiphany moment, which reminded me both of my own very fleeting moments of such a thing in the past, and with the aspect of love thrown in, "Aurora Leigh-ian." The picture at the beginning was a great touch, depicting Hermione's thoughtful state - consternation, even - but the message felt very positive. Overall, this was a very enjoyable story. Thank you for sharing it.

So, did she get the job or not? Other than that, this is a positive keeper and gets a spot on my list. ^_^