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Post by Claire on Jan 14, 2005 12:58:46 GMT
Dragging her feet back up the stairs, Claire pushed open the door, wanting to fall through it onto the floor and either cry or scream.
Instead she had "work" to do. Pathetically closing the door behind her, she walked over to the fire and slumped herself into a chair. Her eyes were red from both crying and tiredness.
Looking over to Kiki, who was still at the window, she got up the strength to speak.
"You wanted to talk?" she stated rather than asked.
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Post by Kiki on Jan 15, 2005 4:06:03 GMT
Kiki turned to Claire as she stumbled back through the door and watched as she collapsed into a chair. Suddenley a thought nagged at Kiki, repeatedly insisting that tonight was possibly not the best night to discuss some of this. Claire was clearly distraught, and it would do both of them well to get some sleep and rest before they began to talk about the situation unravelling in front of them. Kiki knew that now would be a good time to sort out some things, however others could be left for a time when they were both less stressed.
Kiki crossed the room and sat on an armchair next to Claire and wondered how to begin.
"I know you and I have never been the greatest of friends," Kiki started simply, not wanting this talk to drag into the early hours of the morning.
"But I wanted to talk to you about how the both of us will handle this. Do you think it's the best option for Rose to be sleeping in a seperate room from the rest of the students? Surely if we want her to slot back in, as inconspicious as possible, it would be a better solution for her to stay in the Ravenclaw Common Room surrounded by students who could get used to her prescence? If she built up some strong friendships within the Common Room, then perhaps some students would find themselves more loyal to Rose," Kiki turned her purple eyes onto Claire, waiting to hear her opinon on the matter.
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Post by Claire on Jan 15, 2005 16:22:27 GMT
Claire heard the words that the Ministress spoke. Her head turned up from the fire that she was watching and looked at her. Inside her emotions wanted to burst out and tear into the ex-Head Girl, but her head suppressed the urge.
"Rose is going to re-join the student body," she stated. "She will be sorted once again and sleep in the dormitories of that house. Tomorrow."
Claire stood and peared down at Kiki. "Tonight she sleeps in the safety of her own company. She needs a good night sleep before she is thrown into tomorow. Thrown into a day of more confusion, hundreds of students who will be performing the magic she knows nothing of!?"
Her emotions spilt. "You would have her shuffled into a dormitory in the middle of the night. Surrounded by others that she doesn't know? You think she would sleep then?" Claire snapped.
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Post by Kiki on Jan 17, 2005 7:44:24 GMT
Kiki ignored the snarkiness of Claire's comments and linked her hands together patiently.
"Of course not," She said evenly. "I merely assumed that you were planning on keeping Rose seperate from the dormitories from the way you talked of the Room of Requirement,"
Kiki could see Claire's struggle to keep her emotions in check. Anger flickered through Claire's eyes and Kiki couldn't help but imagine some was directed at her. She wasn't sure whether to invite Claire to bring her wrath down upon her, or to leave her be and let her reign them in otherwise.
For the moment, she decided to keep silent. Three seconds after she chose that path, a thought drifted across her mind and Kiki had said it before she could prevent herself.
"People experience the hectism and confusion of this school every day. They are called new students. Rose will simply be another one that is slightly more recognised than most. A bit like Harry Potter if you will," However, once the words had fallen from her mouth, Kiki didn't regret them. Claire was still treating Rose as if she was different from the rest of the students. Although Rose had a past that everyone but her seemed to know of, essentially she was no different from the rest.
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Post by Claire on Jan 18, 2005 12:11:20 GMT
Claire sighed, tired from the night's events. "I know Rose will be fine - she can cope with anything life throws at her. I just know it will be a bit of a shock - so many people in so little time." Claire calmed as she spoke the words. Her body was too lethargic to be dealing with anything and she couldn't now muster the strength to fight anymore.
Walking to the bed, she sat upon it and stroked the velvet throw. A deep feeling of loss had settled within her. In one night she has lost a Headmistress, lost her best friend, her lover, but had gained a student.
Arranging her dress, like appearances mattered, she looked up to Kiki. "Would you like a drink? Alcoholic or non - its up to you."
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Post by Kiki on Jan 18, 2005 12:21:23 GMT
Knowing it would be a mistake to refuse a drink offered, Kiki mused over her choices for a drink.
"I think I'll have a Gillywater, thanks Claire," Kiki wondered to herself how the two of them were going to form some sort of bond, be it tentative or firm. She'd always liked Claire, but had never really gotten to know her incredibly well. She could see how much Claire was hurting, and Kiki was at a loss at how to make her feel a little better.
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Post by Claire on Jan 18, 2005 12:38:15 GMT
Claire made her way to the drinks trolley and poured Kiki her Gillywater. She then poured herself a firewater into a tall glass and added some soda.
Picking them up she handed Kiki hers and then sat once again in the chair opposite the Ministeress, by the fireplace.
At a loss as what to say, Claire just sighed once again and looked into the fire.
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Post by Kiki on Jan 18, 2005 12:52:05 GMT
Kiki took a sip of her Gillywater, then stood up, walked around the back of Claire's chair and hugged her rather spontaneously. Kiki really didn't mind how it was recieved, Claire looked as though she needed a hug.
Kiki decided until Claire broke the hug, and stood there, hopefully lending some support.
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Post by Claire on Jan 18, 2005 14:23:27 GMT
A tear slipped down Claire's left cheek. She would have fallen apart at that moment but she knew she had to keep a level head until she was on her own.
"Thankyou Kiki," her voice broke. Her hand rose up to touch one of the arms that kiki held her with. She patted it slightly as if to say I'm OK now.
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Post by Kiki on Jan 19, 2005 10:35:51 GMT
Kiki held on for a few seconds longer, then let go of Claire, glad to have dropped the business facade and instead acting more as two friends then a Headmistress and Ministeress.
She didn't take her seat on the armchair, she instead sat on the floor, leaning against the arm of the chair and in reach of her Gillywater if she wanted it. She sighed, and brushed a lock of hair out of her eyes.
"Everything will be fine," Kiki said, not knowing how she could promise something like this, but knowing that the words may bring some sort of comfort to Claire.
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Post by Claire on Jan 22, 2005 18:24:25 GMT
Claire heard Kiki's words, but the hollowness inside her just swallowed them.
Her body and mind were drained, but her thoughts raced in her head with What ifs... and If onlys...
"So what are we supposed to be talking about?" Claire asked bluntly, eager to get this night over with - the worst night of her life.
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Post by Kiki on Jan 25, 2005 13:18:17 GMT
Kiki shrugged.
"Honestly?" She asked, and ran her finger uneasily around the rim of her glass of Gillywater.
"I was worried about you Claire," She told her. "I was worried how you might handle all of this. I know that on the outside you are trying to put on a brave face, but on the inside you are falling to pieces. If that's happening to me, it must be happening to you tenfold," Kiki stopped suddenly then threw out a hand to apologise.
"I'm sorry, that was a little presumptous of me. Please, feel free to ignore those comments if you will," She took an uneasy sip of her Gillywater and deliberately adverted her gaze to stare into the fire.
She knew somehow that Claire didn't like her. She had no idea to the reason why, but still, there was something that she must've done or else Kiki could think of no other reason why the Headmistress would be holding some sort of grudge against her.
Giving up that train of thought, she took another sip of the Gillywater, letting the cool liquid slip easily down her throat.
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Post by Claire on Jan 26, 2005 12:45:44 GMT
The walls that Claire were building around her continued to grow, as she knew they would. Kiki was right - her insides were falling to pieces, more than anyone could imagine and it felt like she was dying from it.
Rose had lost herself and Claire had lost her too. Now she was losing all emotion, all feelings. As her barriers rose, any warmth contained within her was blocked out too.
"I'm sorry Kiki, but I don't know what to say," she commented as she saw that the Ministeress was staring blankly into the fire. "Everything has changed, at least in my life. And I don't know what I am going to do about it." Claire continued, not in a helpless way, but in a way that held some menace and power.
Rising from the fireside chair, she walked over to the largest window in the room and faced it squarely. Without turning she moved her arm out to the table beside her and picked up the brass candlestick that lay upon it.
In a flash she had struck the window. Glass shattered and dropped upon the floor. Wind reeled into the room as she leant forward, stuck her head out of the opening and screamed.
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Post by Kiki on Jan 27, 2005 9:39:21 GMT
Kiki started slightly as the window smashed, but understood immediately that this was Claire's outlet for her anger. Her own hair whipped around her face at the breeze that had flown violently into the room and she sipped her Gillywater, letting Claire release her anger out the window.
When the scream lessened, Kiki's worry quickly returned. This was a different Claire. Kiki could tell that from Claire's body language. She hadn't known Claire very well at all, but from Rose's descriptions of her and what Kiki had seen from her in the past, she knew that something had happened to Claire, possibly in the last thirty seconds, there was something that had changed inside. She couldn't blame her really. She'd lost Rose.
That's all there was to it.
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Post by Claire on Jan 27, 2005 13:09:58 GMT
As she ran out of breath, Claire's scream trailed off into nothing. She stood, face to the wind, her hair lifting backwards and waving in the breeze.
A sound of breathing reminded her that Kiki was still there and she truned to see her.
Claire's eyes, once a simple brown in colour, had turned dark, a flicker of a flame made it look as if they were moving, but it was the anger and dispair inside her than caused it.
Staring down at Kiki, Claire did nothing.
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