We Will Shine {Book 6 in the Star of Gryffindor Series}

Chapter 27 - Seeing Things

~Astra~

"Colette, are you done yet?"

Colette shushed me without taking her eyes off the back of the book she was holding. We were in Flourish and Blotts. We'd come here to do some Christmas shopping, but I'd actually just ended up walking around on my own. She been here, holed up in a dark and dusty corner of the bookstore, looking through every book about seers they had.

I sighed and slumped against the bookshelf. "It's not that big a deal, you know. We're not at Hogwarts. We can use Google."

"As if any of this would be on the Internet," Colette scoffed. She was flipping through the book now, but abruptly shut it and put it back on the shelf.

I rolled my eyes as she pulled out the next one. There was already a stack of books half a meter high next to her. "Are you buying all of those?"

"I'm not buying any of them," she said casually.

I raised an eyebrow. "I hope you're not planning on stealing them, because I think Aunt Andromeda might not appreciate having stolen books in the house."

Colette finally looked up at me, seeming slightly offended. "Of course I'm not going to steal them. I'd never get away with that."

"Well, if you're not going to buy them, and you're not going to steal them, what's the point of even looking?"

She set the book she was holding back on the shelf, then took her wand out. "Just wait." She stepped back from the stack, then pointed her wand toward it. "Exemplum," she said. A white mist came out of her wand, and surrounded the stack. After a few seconds, it faded.

I stared at where the mist had been for a moment, then glanced at her. "Okay? What was that?"

Colette smiled, then flicked her wand. The mist emerged again, but this time arranged itself into something resembling a page. She picked up the top book on the stack, flipped to the middle, then held it out for me to compare. "It's an exact copy," she explained.

I blinked. "I'm pretty sure that's illegal."

Colette shrugged. "Knowledge shouldn't be hidden behind money."

"Okay, yeah, but that's piracy," I said, frowning. She gave me a confused look, and I sighed. "Illegal. Against copyright laws. You could get it a lot of trouble."

"I'm not using it for profit, and I'm not stupid," Colette said. She started putting books back on the shelf. "I'm not going to get caught."

"That's not the point," I said, wincing. "It's wrong. You shouldn't break the law."

"You break rules all the time," Colette snapped. "Why is this different?"

"Those are rules. Maybe I shouldn't, but they're still different. They're not the law."

"And the law is inherently good?" Colette shook her head. "Think whatever you want of me, Astra. I'm not hurting anyone, so I don't see why you're getting upset."

I sighed. This wasn't an argument I was going to win. Once Colette's mind was made up, it was almost impossible to change it. I just wished she hadn't told me, because I felt a little guilty as we walked out of the store with nothing. When we got back to the house, I made a point to leave the room as soon as she started recalling the books. Unfortunately, she hardly noticed.

It didn't help that I knew she was researching for my sake. Sure, she was simply interested in seers now, but it was because of me, and ultimately, he goal was to learn something that could help me, somehow. I stood out in the hall, cursing myself for this unwanted "gift." Not only was it incredibly hard to live with, but it was turning my friend into a criminal.