Cleverly

Leon and Avery

Maybe Cleverly was bored. Maybe she was overwhelmed. Or perhaps she really just wanted a break from reality. Whatever the cause, Cleverly decided to go for a walk. She didn't want to walk down the bustling street of Diagon Alley. Instead, she decided to leave the magical world for a few hours and walk the streets of London.

Cleverly dressed in the best muggle clothing she owned. Jeans and a t-shirt. She took out the small amount of muggle money she still had and walked out of her room in the upper level of the Leaky Cauldron. Feeling around in her bag to make sure she still had her wand, she stepped down the staircase. Her boots softly thudding with each step.

Without looking back, she walked through the pub and out the door. It had been a long time since she had walked down the streets inhabited by muggles freely.

Only a year ago she had been trapped in an orphange. Unable to tell any other children of the possibilities of magic. Now she was free from that. Now she could live her own life. Cleverly had to keep reminding herself of that.

Taking a deep breath, she began down Charing Cross Road. Cleverly had known for years that the Leaky Cauldron was surrounded by bookshops, however she never really considered the thought of actually going in one.

So, without even glancing up at the shop name, she walked into next book shop on her right. It was a small shop. Cleverly heard a soft jingle from the door as she took a step inside.

Standing in the entrance, she took in her surroundings. Her feet stood upon hard and dusty carpet. Bookshelves took up nearly every inch of the place. Each shelf was crammed with books.

Cleverly took a slow step farther into the shop. A few steps later, a voice rang out.
"Hello there!" She jumped and searched for the source of the noise. The person, a male, who had spoken did it unnaturally loud for a building filled with books. It seemed that wherever books were a quiet voice should follow. It was only polite and natural.

Cleverly turned and saw a boy with shaggy, long hair, a few years older than her at the end of a row of books.

"Uh, hi..." she said hesitantly. The boy made his way down the row with a smile across his face.

"Hi!" He repeated just as loudly as before. Then he shook his head, as if he was regaining his senses. "Sorry. I should quiet down. It's just...most people who come here are hard of hearing." He pointed his thumb to a corner she hadn't noticed, where an old man sat with a cup of coffee and a book in his lap.

"Ah, I see," she said awkwardly. "Not much business?"

He shrugged. "A little. It's kind of nice having no one around. Just me and the books." He looked at Cleverly and then shook his head. "No offense or anything! Y--you're free to look around if you want. Avery is over by the café if you'd like something to drink. I'm Leon, by the way." He jut out his hand. She looked down at it for a moment and then met hers with his.

"Cleverly."

He looked a little confused. "Oh! That's your name! Cleverly! Neat."

Leon walked away, calling over-loudly-to 'Avery'. She walked forward and into a stack of books. Second hand books? By the looks of the spine and smell of the pages she could tell they were all used.

Reaching out, Cleverly randomly pulled out a book and gazed at the cover. Just the smell and the feeling of the pages between her fingers gave her a jolt of happiness she hadn't felt in awhile. It reminded her of all the textbooks she had sitting at the bottom of her trunk from her earlier school years.

Transfiguration, Charms, Potions. All of these books were filled with muggles making up makebelief scenarios. All of the wizarding world was like a muggle's imagination come to life. Just like any of these books.