A small fire ((Kori))

[cleo]

Cleo’s temper flared. Her ’darling’ grandparents had had friends over once again. And her so ’adorable’ grandmother had been complaining on how much trouble it was bringing Cleo up again. Cleo scoffed as she slipped in black pants. Like their grandparents ever bothered with her unless it was needed for good show. Cleo’s grandparents edspised her for being an illegal child of their daughter. Cleo shunned them for pushing away her mother and her.
Adding a deep cherry-red tope and the same colours boots, Cleo threw the strap of her small black backpack over her shoulder. She wanted to get out. Get some fresh air. Glancing at the door to her room cleo hesitated for a moment. She didn’t really want to go back downstairs and pass her grandmother with her friends again. The decision came easily.

Throwing her leg over a window-ledge Cleo was on the window-ledge in a matter of moments. Grabbing hold of an old ash growing behind her window Cleo descended to the ground with practiced grace. Even with high heels she never stumbled, which showed exactly how often she had used the tree to escape from the old manor. The huge mansion sometimes seemed to almost suffocate her. Slipping through the garden Cleo exited it through a hidden door in the hedge – that was mostly used by gardeners – and raised her wand. A moment later the knights bus pulled to a screeching stop in front of her. Paying the driver the required price Cleo made her way into the back of the bus after letting the driver know she wanted to go to London.

It was merely 15 minutes later when the Knights Bus stopped in front of the Ministry building. The Diagon Alley was still closed so the Knight Bus didn’t let peopl eoff in front of the Leaky Cauldron right now. Shifting the straps of her ag to be on both shoulders Cleo looked up and down the street. Making her decision quickly cleo turned to the right and walked down the streets in a rather quick pace. It wasn’t that she was hurrying somewhere. Cleo was just impatient and wanted to reach her destination. Moving through the streets of London quickly Cleo soon became part of the ever-bustling crowd. However she had a goal in front of her. In no time Cleo had reached a small store on a corner. The small bell over the door tingled a greeting as Cleo pushed the door open and opened. This wasn’t a big store. It wasn’t widely known for the regular crowd. But the store was very appreciated for it sold rareites, books that some people had never heard of, first editions. Cleo inhaled the specific smell of ol, well-kept books.

„Good day, Gersh,“ Cleo greeted the old gray-haired woman behind the counter receiving a small smile in responce.
„Cleo, you bring life back to my old heart. Come, take a cookie. These are your favorites with peanuts and raisins. Have your grandparents been on your back again? Come and tell me, you’ll feel better,“ the woman – and owner of the store – said brightly offering cleo a cookie from the big plate.
„Thanks. I’ll just look around the store for a bit, alright?“ Cleo asked already dropping her bag behind the counter and making her way between the shelves, her fingers sometimes touching a book briefly, whiele her eyes lingered on some other book. Cleo looked up curiously from the book she had been flipping through when the small bell above the door sang out it’s greeting again. Who else would be coming to the store at this time? Her question was soon answered as she heard footsteps and a moment later a person stepped between the same shelves Cleo was at.

[koriwilliams]

They were all read. All of them. Every single book, Kori owned. All read. Kori sighed and closed the sliding door to the large library of the house. She had read them all. Of course, that was all in the course of her lifetime. Never had she thought she would run out of books to read. Her father had a rather large library of books, considering her mother always had a book with her everywhere they went. Michael often told Kori: 'Your mother brought Pride and Prejudice to our first date...it was there on the table during the whole date.' Kori always figured that was another thing she inherited from Julia, besides the love for dance; her love for books.

She sighed and decided to look through her fathers office, maybe he had some books she had never read. Michael's office had always been off limits to her...even now. Kori knew she was a mature, young adult, but her father didn't seem to see past her clumsiness. She knew she shouldn't take anything of her father's without asking, but there were books in that office that she hadn't even dreamt of reading. Kori opened the office door slowly, and entered it so quick she made no noise. It was nicely furnished, with leather armchairs around a fireplace, a grand desk by a large bay window, and three bookshelves lining the wall facing the fireplace.

Kori had been in there once, and only once. When she was little, around the age of 5. Michael had set her in the office so she wouldn't disrupt something going on in the kitchen. She remembered looking at picture books in front of the fire. Kori blinked at the memory, and walked over to the bookshelves. She ran her finger along the spines of the books, and paused at a few but continued searching. Nothing struck her fancy, so she turned to leave, when a glint caught her eye. Kori turned on her heel and stared at a glass box. In it was a rose and a book. Kori walked over, and stared down into the box. The book's title read; Pride and Prejudice. Kori let out a breath as her fingers slid across the edge of the case. If only she could read that sacred book, but she was aware of Michael's love for that book. She wouldn't dare take it out.

Biting her lip, Kori backed toward the office door. Behind her was a small stand, with a large bowl full of large marbles on it. She bumped into it, causing the large bowl of large marbles to fall off the stand. The large marbles rolled toward the case and knocked ino it's stand. Kori breathed in sharply as the stand began to wobble, "Oh no..." She let out. The stand continued to wobble, and it was as if it were going in slow motion. Then ever so slowly, the case fell and shattered. The book flew across the floor and slid near the hearth of the fireplace. Kori whimpered and watched as it came to a stop right infront of the grate. Everything became still. Silent and still. Kori walked over and picked up the copy of the book. Maybe it was going to be alright and all she had to do was replace the case.

The book fell apart at the seams. Kori blinked and bent down to pick up the pages as they fluttered everywhere. She sighed when she realised it was useless, she would have to buy another copy. Maybe he wouldn't know the difference between the two, she lied to herself. Kori stood up, gathered as much of the book as she could, and went into the living room. She grabbed her jumper, slipped it on, and started her journey to find a bookstore. The sun shone brightly down on her, it was a little bit too cheery for her liking. Kori walked into the streets of London, looking everywhere she could for a bookstore. Finally, one came into view. Without a moments thought,she dodged into the book store.

Going down the aisles, she scanned for the book. Saying to herself over and over again, "Pride and Prejudice." She entered another aisle and saw a girl there, with red hair, looking at her. She was familiar, as if she knew her from school..."Cleo Hardwick, Ravenclaw fifth year." Registered in Kori's mind. She approached the girl and raised an eyebrow, "Do you know if I can find a copy of Pride and Prejudice here? My copy sort of, um..." She held up the book and it's remains, "...yeah."

[cleo]

Cleo watched the girl approach and sharp ears managed to catch the words „Pride and Prejudice“. At leas thte girl had good taste in books. Watching the girl Cleo felt a msall bang inside her. This bookstore was her sanctuary. Always had been when her grand-parents got too much to bare. She would come here, talk to Gersh, eat cokies and drink sweet green tea. And everything would seem better. Her mother had liked to come here too. That was how Cleo had found the book store in the first place. Hespera had mentioned it a lot of times in her diaries. So Cleo had came to investigate. And she had fallen in love with the store. She felt over-protective of it, and of the books it held. Cleo herself could never own a book-stre. She loved books too dearly to ever be able to sell one. She even had all her school-books properly saved and placed on a trunk at the base of her bed.

The girl spoke to her. Cleo, who looked up sharply. She seemed somewhat familiar. But Cleo couldn’t say from where. She probably went to Hogwarts as well. But since she had enever talked to her before Cleo couldn’t place a name on her face. She didn’t really spend overly much time in her common room either, prefering the serenity of more secluded places.
An almost strangled cry burst forwrad from Cleo’s lips as she burst forward grabbing the book. The book – it was first edition! Paper-cover, but still.... And now it was... it was shameful!

„You want to buy a new book to destroy?“ Cleo snapped angrily touching the book cover almost lovingly, „What did you do to it? It has to be repaired. Do you have all the pages? It could be rebind again. Ersh has shown me how. I’m sure she could fix it. Do you have all the pages!“ Cleo demanded again almost harshly. But she just couldn’t tolerate seeing the book, seeing ANY book, in such disgraceful shape.
With a small fire burning in her eyes Cleo looked at the other girl. She almost felt like crying. Why did people treat books so carelessly? Books. The foundation of learning. Of discovereing, of letting your fantas fly? But she didn’t cry. She hadn’t cried in years. Tears were a sing of weakness. And Cleo hadn’t shown her weaknesses to anyone in years. Instead she had a high wall up around her, keeping people away and making sure no one saw her tears. This was just who Cleo was.

[koriwilliams]

Kori let out a quick gasp as the girl reached forward and grabbed her book. At her sharp comment, Kori's eyebrow rose higher: "I don't destroy books! I want to buy a new one so my father won't slaughter me with disappointment for ruining his favourite book! This was by accident, do you think I spend my whole day destroying great literature?!" She already felt horrible about it, and this girl wasn't making it any better. Kori sighed and ran her fingers through her long blond hair.

"No. I don't have all the pages. Some of them flew into the fireplace, and others out the window. If I had all the pages I wouldn't be here, I know how to rebind books. Years of living in a house with them, you tend to know how to repair them. This is beyond repair, thus my appearance here." Kori answered with a timid voice. She didn't mean to ruin the book, it just happened. And it wasn't exactly her fault- if her father's office had been level then it wouldn't have happened. So in reality it was the contractor's fault. Kori knew she was just looking for people to blame.

"So, do you have another copy?" She asked...she felt her ears get hot as she realised this girl was rather upset with the fact that a great book had been ruined so horrible. Normally, Kori would ask someone to fix it with magic- but that someone would be her father, and he couldn't know. Ever.

[cleo]

The girl seemed a bit offended by Cleo’s outcry. But this… the shape of the book… it deserved an outcry. “Into the fireplace? And were ruined? Why did you have a fire burning at this time of year? It’s not like it’s that cold!” Cleo snapped back while muttering under her breath: “Guests can bloody well come some other way but flooing.”
Holding the book gently in her arms Cleo stepped pass the girl and walked back to the counter. Placing the book on the counter Cleo examined the book carefully, trying to organize the leaves.

“Oh, such a nice book has broken. Was it yours, sweetheart? Hear, have a cookie, we’ll see if we can get this book back in order, so don’t worry dear,” Cleo heard Gersh speaking, probably to the other girl but Cleo didn’t pay them any mind. Page 7, that went to the first part. A lot of pages seemed to have stayed in small groups the way they should be aligned. Cleo looked at the pages. They had been starting to get a little yellow with time. Not wanting to spoil the pages anymore Cleo leaned onto the counter rummaging in a shelf below it for a moment. Coming up with a pair of white velvet gloves a few moments later Cleo pulled them on and in a couple of minutes had the pages resorted.

“About a quarter of the pages are missing. And they aren’t from the same spot,” Cleo commented with a sigh as she gently closed the book covers, “The book could be repaired without notice. But if you add the pages from the recent cheap-print versions, then it will be noticeable at first glance. You have a copy from about the same time, but I’m not sure whether it’s worth the trouble of breaking the books. Remember the book with gathered stories in paper-bind that you have with hard-cover as well?” Cleo had spoken to Gersh before turning to the girl and looking at her. Perhaps it had been an accident. Actually Cleo didn’t doubt that very much. But she was upset that a book had been hurt in this accident. The leaves could be taken out of the old book as the hard-cover version was better, but would it be worth it? If this special book held some special meaning? Cleo felt a small bang inside herself once again but she pushed it down forcefully.

“Yes, we have a copy of ‘Pride and Prejudice’. Quite few of them actually from different printing years. Go, Cleo-darling, show them where they are, will you be dear? The arthritis is bad today,” Gersh told Cleo with the smile, as Cleo just nodded and turned: “Come on, they books are in the back.”