| Imp
Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: 12 Grimmauld Place
Posts: 419
|  Matt Lanter/The Dark Side/Anakin Skywalker/ Underland/Hookah Smoking Caterpillar
Sorry guys, this took a while to write. I hope it's okay. :/ I'm sorry about the beginning and if it sounds kinda rushed.
Without further note, here's the next part.  The rest of that day went by pretty quietly. They ate, and Jaxon and Reyes finished the chess game Coralie had abandoned. Jaxon left before dinner to be with his family, and later when it got dark everyone went to bed.
Over the next few days, everything started to become a routine. Sage helped Coralie with her reading while Reyes went to work at the Ministry. In return, Coralie helped Sage with all of the housework. The two started to become close, and as every day went by, Sage acted more and more like an older sister. One day, Coralie got out her mother’s old journal, and together they were able to translate some of the recipes scribbled down in the back.
As Jaxon began to notice that Coralie was finally settling down, his visits became less seldom. They were reduced to about once or twice a week, but during that time, the two usually went out to Great Hangleton, where they either ran errands for Sage or Reyes, or met up with friends.
Coralie got to know Lyra better, and Jaxon even introduced her to some of the other kids and teenagers that lived nearby. She only saw Tom Riddle once, though, but she didn’t say anything to him, because he was with his girlfriend.
Coralie was happy to be out of the house, and she was out so often that some of the shop owners began to recognize her. They learnt her name fairly quickly. She was even lucky enough that one time Jaxon took her back to London.
It was the beginning of October, when fall was almost completely settled in, and the air was getting chilly. Coralie pulled her cardigan closer to her and looked around the crowded streets of London, where they had just apparated to. “Why are we here?”
She gripped Jaxon’s hand tightly as she moved aside to let some people pass by her.
“You’ll see.” He replied with a sly smile.
They walked for a little while, weaving in and out of muggles in the process. They passed by multiple shops and news stands before Jaxon finally spoke up.
“Sage told me you’ve been doing better with your reading.” He said calmly.
Coralie looked up and said kind of slowly, “Yeah, I guess so. Why?”
“I was visiting my Dad the other day at work, and I passed by a store you might be interested in seeing.” He said, smiling and crossing his arms casually.
“What kind of store?” She asked, her interest peaking.
Jaxon laughed, “A bookstore.” he said simply.
“A bookstore?”
“Yep.” He cast a sidelong glance at Coralie, and to his delight, she was smiling back at him.
“So where is this bookstore?” she asked.
He chuckled. “This way.” he said, guiding her onto Charing Cross Road.
The passed by a couple of shops, and before the conversation died down, Coralie spoke up. “Jaxon, I don’t have any money.”
“It’s okay.” He said casually. “We can still look around.”
The two stopped in front of an old two story building. Racks and racks of books were piled in the glass windows, and behind them, Coralie could see more in the room beyond.
“How big is this place?” She whispered.
“Told you you’d like it.” Jaxon grinned. He opened the door for her, a bell tingling overhead.
An old man popped his head around one of the shelves. His grey hair appeared to form a cloud around his head, and his beard was short and stubby. A smile spread across his wrinkled face as he moved from behind the shelve and welcomed the newcomers.
“Hello.” He said, wiping a pair of dirty hands on an even dirtier apron. “Have you two been here before.”
“No.” Said Jaxon. Coralie had already disappeared, weaving in and out of the shelves. “We’re just wanted to stop by and have a look around.”
“Ok.” He smiled. “My name’s Albert Edwards, if you need anything just shout. The newer books are up front, and the secondhands are back farther.”
“Thanks, Mr. Edwards.” Jaxon replied.
As the man returned to his work, Jaxon looked between the shelves for Coralie. She had run towards the back of the room, and finally, he found sitting at a small table.
“We’ve only been here for a couple of minutes.” He said, looking around at the pile of books already stacked both on and around the table.
“These were already here.” Coralie said innocently.
“Right.” He rolled his eyes. “What’d you find?” He pulled back a chair and straddled it.
“I don’t know.” She replied, handing him the paperback she was scanning over.
“A Christmas Carol.” Jaxon’s brow furrowed. “Never heard of it.”
“Neither have I.” Coralie joked.
“Maybe it’s a song?” He flipped through some of the pages before throwing back onto the pile, hopeless.
“How about this one?” She handed him a frayed hardcover.
“Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.” He read aloud. “Addy might have this.” His dark eyes skimmed over the faded picture of a girl and a white rabbit. After a moment, he put it back.
“What books do you read?” Coralie asked.
Jaxon hesitated. “I think the last book I read was my school textbook.” He laughed. “Possibly Potions. Or was it Quidditch Through the Ages? Or it might have been Hogwarts, A History. I really don’t remember.”
Coralie laughed, then sighed, then leaned on her elbow. She absentmindedly traced her fingers along the title of another book. Jaxon stood up and browsed through some of the hardcovers on a shelf.
“Thank you, Jaxon. For bringing me here.” Coralie said suddenly.
The boy turned around. “No problem.” He said, a smile playing on his lips.
Coralie looked down at the book in front of her, the one she was tracing with her fingers. It was a red hardcover, with a golden title written in cursive. It was fairly small, and it seemed to be a children’s chapter book.
“How do you pronounce this?” She asked.
Jaxon came over and stood behind her. He placed his hands on the back of the chair before leaning over and squinting down at the cover.
A smile spread over his face as he said, “Cinderella.”
“You’ve heard of it?” She observed.
“Yes.” Jaxon admitted. “Addy used to make me ready this to her every night a couple of years ago.”
“What’s it about?”
“I don’t want to ruin the story for you.” He said slyly.
Coralie leaned back, so that she was looking up at him. Jaxon smiled back down, his hand brushing a few strands of hair away from her face.
“Do you want to get something for lunch?” he asked softly.
“Yeah sure.”
“Go ahead outside. I want to talk to the owner first.” He straightened and glanced around the shop as Coralie nodded and stood up to leave. Erm. How was that?
__________________
~o0o~ But there you were, standing in your own corner
Your eyes were wide, tired, fading just like mine
We could be the best of friends I’m sure of it
But I’m too shy to cross this crowded room besides
Wallflower --------------
I’m not here, no one sees me
Wallflower --------------
I’m by myself, please excuse me
~o0o~
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