"Hey Clara! Wait up!" A yell rang out through the stone hallways, causing many heads to turn towards the source of the sound, including a head covered in curly blonde hair. The girl stopped in the middle of the hall and waved goodbye to her friends as a boy with mousy brown hair reached her with a smile on his face.
"Hi Remus." Clara smiled at her friend, her bright blue eyes shining behind a pair of stylish glasses.
"What did you think of that exam?" Remus asked as the pair began to walk down the ever-changing staircase. Clara groaned as they reached the main entrance.
"I should have studied more. That question on bogarts totally threw me."
"Yeah, that was a tricky one. I totally got stuck on the bubble-headed spell... I couldn't remember the incantation for the life of me." They entered the crowded grand hall and walked over to the table littered with students of all ages, all wearing red and gold lined robes.
"Hey Moony! Over here." A boy with glasses and messy dark brown hair called to Remus. James and Peter were sitting up towards the teacher's table playing a game of wizard's chess. As Clara and Remus sat down, James knocked Peter's piece over, effectively ending the game. "Nice try mate. Maybe one day you'll be able to beat the blind witch from the Hog's Head." Peter sighed in defeat before clearing off his place and piling his plate with food.
"That's not very nice behavior James." Clara stated as she poured a glass of lemonade. James chuckled as he took a huge bite of ham.
"Nice behavior doesn't win many games now does it Clarey?" She rolled her eyes before pulling out a small brown notebook and looking over sloppily written notes. She pulled a sandwich off the tray and began to munch quietly. "And speaking of winning games, are you ready for this Saturday? Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw you know."
"James, am I ever not ready for a quidditch game? It'll be fine, so don't worry."
"Well maybe if you didn't still make googly-eyes at that McNash bloke every chance you get we wouldn't have to worry about winning." A dark voice interrupted. Clara glared at Sirius as he sat next to James, a huge smirk on his face.
"Excuse me, but I do NOT make 'googly-eyes' at Steven every chance I get!" She snapped at Black, making him smirk even more, "And even if I did, James basically goes brain-dead every time he even thinks about Evan's and you never say anything to him!" Right on queue, James' got his stupid Lily-face: A wide grin and glossed over eyes, surrounded by a pink face. Clara rolled her eyes again.
"That's cause James's love is unrequited. You and Steven have a history and that makes him a bigger threat to our victory." Sirius responded, mocking Clara by exaggerating the name of her recently ex-boyfriend.
"Oh, so because we used to date you think I'll go easy on him?" The tension in the group was starting to sour and Remus attempted to smooth over the ruffled fur by mentioning the next class they all had together. Clara and Sirius were having none of it.
"That's exactly what I think." Sirius' dark eyes twinkled with challenge as he helped himself to some food. "Women are irrational and unpredictable and the quidditch cup is too important to sacrifice because of your broken heart."
"For your information," Clara stuffed her notebook back in her bag as she shouted at Sirius. Her voice became so loud that several people stopped talking and began to watch as she rose from the table. "I was the one who broke up with him. And not all women are like the pathetic slags that you like to stuff and abandon, so piss off." She threw her bag over her shoulder and fixed her glasses in a huff before placing both hands on the table and leaning towards her shocked friend.
"And another thing, I would start picking girls to snog a little more carefully. You know that Rebecca and Stacey sit right next to each other in Herbology, right?" With that final pearl of wisdom, Clara twisted on her foot and marched away, ignoring the plethora of stares that she received as she made her way to the large wooden door. The marauders sat in surprised silence as they all watched her leave. Remus was the first to break the silence.
"You know, maybe if you spent more time listening to her, instead of checking her out, you would have known that McNash cheated on her. She's pissed and is probably going to send him to the hospital wing this Saturday." James's eyes narrowed at his friend before scanning the Ravenclaw tables until he found the tall blonde chaser. He was sitting with several other members of the team and laughing heartily.
"Well, looks like we'll be playing a little dirty on Saturday. McNash needs to be taught a lesson."
"Why wait till then? We have potions with him next hour." Peter reminded them all as he bit into a custard pie. James beamed at him.
"Wormtail, you are brilliant." The chubby boy flushed in pride before burying himself in his pie.
"I don't see why she yells at me about this stuff. Moony's the only one who knew about McNash." Sirius stated in irritation as he put more food on his plate.
"Because I'm the only one who asked."
"No, it's because you two gossip like women when you go on your little prefect dates at night." Remus blushed slightly.
"We do not!"
"Regardless, Saturday is going to be amazing. Kicking Ravenclaw's arse, plus a full moon. What a perfect weekend." James ran a hand through his hair and mussed it up like normal, smiling wide.
"Yeah, perfect for you... I'm going to need a new robe soon." Remus looked sadly at his slightly worn out robes. "Oh well, I guess it can't be helped."
"Hey guys, are we ever gonna tell Clara about, well... you know." Peter whispered to his friends secretly, his face comically serious. The other boys also fixed their faces into thinking scowls, Remus going slightly pale.
"I-I don't know..."
"I suppose she's earned it. She has put up with a lot these past years." James reminded them.
"But what if she... doesn't approve." Remus's tone shallowed out, becoming a little terrified at the prospect of loosing his friend because of his condition.
"It's Clara, Moony. Worst case scenario is she gets pissed cause we didn't tell her sooner." Sirius reminded him before taking as gulp of milk.
"Yeah, then she'll start on an animagus. What do you think she'd pick? My guess is a cougar." Sirius spit out the milk that had almost slithered down his throat.
"NO!" He sputtered and choked on the liquid caught in his windpipe. After several moments of drama and James patting him on the back harshly, he could finally speak again. "No way! Clara can't become an animagus." His tone was dark and threatening. Remus was shocked to see his best friend acting this way.
"Why not Sirius?"
"You know she's going to want to." James added, reminding them all of how ambitious their female friend could be. Several shudders ripped through the members. "Clara get's what she wants."
"It's too dangerous! You know how much we risked by doing it, how many unexplainable trips to the hospital wing we had to cover up." His tone was unbelievable, as if he couldn't fathom his friends even suggesting that Clara attempt to do something so dangerous. The other three stared at Black in utter shock.
"Ehhh, Sirius, are you feeling ok?" Peter asked.
"I'm perfectly fine," He got up and grabbed his bag, "But I'd better go fix this mess." More shocked glances.
"You-you're going to apologize to Clara?" Remus asked in an astounded voice. Sirius gave him a quizzical look, as if questioning his brilliant friend's sanity.
"Are you daft? I've got to get a hold of Rebecca before the next Herbology class and break up with her." Sirius nodded a goodbye to his friends and walked from the table, leaving a laughing James, a confused Peter, and a tired Remus, who sat shaking his head.
X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X
On Thursday night Clara walked down into the common room to wait for Remus so they could go to the weekly prefect meeting together. It had been 2 days since she had hung out with the guys, still furious at Sirius, so this night alone with her friend was very needed. Classes and quidditch practices had been hard without someone to laugh and joke along with. Clara had many girl friends to talk to, but it was never the same as hanging out with the 'marauders' (She refused to allow anyone to call her one). When she reached the warm and busy common room, her friend Emily, who was sitting on the big couch with Lily Evans, immediately flagged her down.
"Clara, did you hear the latest scoop?" Emily was the house gossip, but Clara always got the best news from her chatty friend, so she didn't mind in the slightest. Whenever her brown haired friend had something really important or surprising to tell, she always began the conversation in this way. Clara sat on the wooden coffee table in front of them with a smile.
"No, but I'm sure your going to tell me." Lily laughed as she opened a book, already knowing the juicy gossip, and allowing Clara Emily's full attention. The short girl also had a severe case of ADD. Emily opened her mouth and took a deep breath, "Wait. Skip the Sirius Black parts. I'm not interested in his lady drama right now." Emily looked chest fallen as she stared at her friend with wide eyes.
"But it's all about Sirius! Oh come on Lala, you will love this! Believe me. Besides, it's not Sirius-girl drama this time. It's more like... Sirius-James-unfortunate boy drama." This got Clara's attention because it meant one of two things: 1. Sirius and James were in a fight, but she was positive that was not true. When Black and Potter fought, the world knew about it. Which meant that it had to be the second option, the two had pulled an amazing prank on some unsuspecting, but often deserving, fool. Clara scooted closer to her friend and Lily rolled her eyes from behind her book. She didn't find the antics of the marauders very amusing, which is why her and Clara weren't very close friends.
"Ok then, spill!"
"Well, you know that total plonker you dumped last month?" Clara cringed a little at the mention of her ex-boyfriend. "Well, today in potions, James and Sirius set up their table next to his and started talking to them about the international quidditch rules or something dumb like that." Clara thought back to her last potions class and remembered that Slughorn had sent her to collect herbs from Professor Sprout during the hour. She hadn't returned to the room until way after the class had ended. "Anyway, so they just sat there talking to him and then all of a sudden his potion exploded on top of him, covering him head-to-toe in this icky purple slime! But that isn't even the worst part!" Emily slapped her hands in front of her face and giggled in anticipation. She didn't continue the story.
"So what happened?" Clara urged her friend to continue, desperate to hear what she had missed. Emily cracked a huge smile and opened her mouth.
"Honestly, I think the bloke must have a family history of childhood hair loss." James explained loudly as the four boys descended from their dormitory. All three girls on the couch stared at them as they entered the room; everyone dressed in casual clothing but Remus, who still donned his robes.
"You're right Prongs. Who were we to know that our hair dying potion would actually cause McNash to go completely bald?" Sirius twirled a red apple in his hands as he plopped down on the chair closest to where Clara was sitting. James, of course, stood next to where Lily sat, much to her chagrin. Peter sat on the floor between the couch and the table with a worried look on his face.
"I think I might have passed you the wrong ingredient James... Did you actually want him bald?" Sirius and James bust out laughing and Clara found it hard not to smile.
"Well, that explains why the potion went so horribly wrong..." Sirius announced sarcastically before taking a bite of his snack. James rubbed the back of his neck, trying to stop laughing so hysterically.
"But padfoot, we must think of it as helping out a fellow sportsman. Now his golden curls can't get into his eyes and obscure his vision during our match on Saturday." This sent all three boys howling with laughter and even Remus chuckled loudly. Clara felt herself smiling for the first time in 2 days, an immense weight sprung from her chest as she looked at each of her friends.
"But I don't think that Marissa Magpie really likes the bald look. Too bad for Steven..." Sirius's mention of the other girl stung Clara's chest and the room went quiet, waiting for a response. She stood up and stretched nonchalantly.
"I guess you just have one more skirt to chase then Padfoot." She smiled at her dark haired friend, who grinned back with sparkling eyes.
"Naw, I don't like the easy birds. Hunting is just too much fun." Clara gave him a pointed look before turning to Remus.
"Ready to go? The castle delinquents await."
"But Clara, we're all right here!" James stated as the two prefects walked from the room, sending everyone back into a fit of laughter. Even Lily chuckled a bit.
Hall duty that night was rather uneventful. Clara and Remus walked through the relatively quiet castle together, talking about a wide range of topics. Clara loved the nights that her and Remus were paired for touring watch because they could study while they walked by discussing their lessons and homework, something they were forbidden to do around the others because it was 'boring and depressing' as Sirius had put it. Tonight they were talking about the animagi class that McGonagall had mentioned to her classes. She warned against any student considering it unless they were serious and highly intelligent.
"I just think it's so interesting. Bending one's own body to become something completely different... It's amazing to think about." Clara said as they emerged from the dungeons.
"Yeah." Remus remarked uncommitted. He was beginning to act rather awkward and Clara wondered what was bothering him. Normally the two could go back and forth for hours on any topic, but he just wasn't biting this one.
"But it's so much work and so exhausting to transform until about the 30th year as an animagus."
"Yep." They started to walk up the grand staircase, towards the library. It was their last stop to check out before they could return to their common rooms for bed.
"If you could pick one animal to transform into for the rest of your life, which one would it be?"
"Uhhh, I don't know... Maybe something fast..." Clara glanced him and noticed how sickly he looked, again. Remus looked utterly exhausted and worn out, not to mention about to vomit at any moment.
"I would wanna be something that can fly. Like an owl... Wizards are always kind to them. But I wouldn't want to actually deliver letters or anything..." She thought for a minute as they climbed another flight of stairs. "Maybe I'll live up to my name and become a hawk? Ehh Remus, get it? Hawkins?"
"Sure." Clara stopped walking and looked at Remus as he went up a few more steps before noticing that he was alone. He turned around with a tired and questioning face.
"What's wrong with you Remus? I know I'm not a great comedian like James and Sirius, but I normally get a chuckle with my corny jokes. Are you rite?" Lupin Smiled down at her without much energy.
"Yeah Clara I'm fine. Just a little tired I guess... With you out of commission the past 2 days I've been listening to all their drama till late at night." He chuckled at her without much heart. As the only female in the group, it was an unwritten law that Clara was required to listen to any and all drama from the boys and then dole out appropriate and effective advice on the subject. She was often dragged into the boys' dormitory at all hours of the night to listen to Lily issues or anything related to Peter's inability to speak to women other than herself. When she fought with the group, the responsibility fell to Remus.
"Oh yeah. Sorry about that." She rubbed the tiredness out of her eyes as she climbed the steps to reach her friend and they continued to walk. This time the conversation fell to the other boys.
"I just wish he would realize that she hates those kind of comments... His life would go so much easier." Remus laughed as they walked towards the fat lady.
"Yeah, Sirius and James need to take a class on how to keep their mouths shut. They would seem so much smarter if they didn't talk." Clara thought back to her most recent argument with the dark haired idiot.
"You know he only does that because it's the only way he gets to you, right?" Remus explained as they reached the lady in pink, who roused rather annoyed.
"Pumpernickel," She said to the painted woman before turning to her friend again with a confused expression.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, Sirius is only really used to feeling two things by women: adoration or hatred. You show neither and that bewilders him, so he sometimes forgets that you're actually a girl and he says stupid and hurtful things. Normally it's without thinking, but sometimes I think it's just to elicit a classic female response."
"Wh-what?"
"Are you going through or not? I can't stay open all night!" An irritated and muffled voice interrupted the two and forced them to crawl through the portrait hole. The common room was empty when they arrived; the only light was coming from the dying embers of the fireplace. Clara turned to her wise friend and almost gasped. In such low lighting he looked to bad it was frightening. His young face donned wrinkles that looked carved in and his coloring had turned from white to a sickly ash-green color.
"Remus, are you sure you're feeling well? Cause frankly you look awful."
"Oh, ehh..." Remus turned to Clara, her bright blue eyes shining in concern behind her glasses. He wanted so badly to tell her his secret, but he was terrified of her reaction. He was lucky that the others had accepted him so easily and if he lost his friendship with Clara it would kill him. "Yeah Clara I'm fine. I'll be right as rain after I sleep a bit. Goodnight." He left her at the couch and made his way to the steps to the dorms. She remained behind, watching him leave.
"You know Remus, you can trust me." Her quiet voice shocked him and he stopped, but didn't turn around. "I love you guys more than anything in the world and if something is bothering you I wish you would tell me. I don't want you to ever be in pain or hurting." She smiled at his back. "If someone is giving you grief just let me know... I'll kick their arse." A ghost of a smile floated across Remus's lips before he turned back to his friend.
"Thanks Clara. But don't worry, I'll be fine. And if someone if bothering, believe me, you'll be the first one to know." With that he waved goodbye and ascended the stairs. Clara sighed before bringing her hands to her face, rubbing it slowly in fatigue.
"You know if you keep doing that you'll give yourself wrinkles." A deep voice rang out through the silence, causing Clara to look back at the stairs, her hands on her cheeks. Sirius was standing at the foot of the stairs barefoot, wearing a pair of dark grey sweats and a black silk robe that was untied and hung loosely around his upper body, showing a great expanse of his chest.
"Yeah, 'cause premature wrinkles is the first worry on my list of concerns." Sirius chuckled at her sarcasm as he leaned against the archway. "What are you doing up?"
"I don't really sleep that well before a match..." He explained while shrugging his shoulders, causing the robe to open more. Clara had to force herself to keep her blue eyes on his dark ones. She wouldn't be able to survive the embarrassment if Sirius finally caught her checking him out.
"Our match is on Saturday and you're a terrible liar. What's going on?" Sirius laughed at being caught in a lie by his friend and straightened from the wall.
"I just received a letter from home." Clara was instantly on what the guys called mothering-mode. Her cheeks flushed with a heartwarming pink and her eyes got even bigger with a coating of understanding and love. Even her shoulder length blonde hair seemed softer as she slowly approached her friend.
"I'm so sorry Sirius." She put her hand on his arm, warming the spot on contact. "What did the monster say this time?" Sirius smirked, his eyes darkening at the mention of his dearly hated mother.
"Oh the usual...'you're an embarrassment, you shame the family name, you'll never achieve anything'. Regulus must have told them about our little potion mishap..."
"Thanks for that by the way. And sorry for being such a nutter the other day and yelling at you. It wasn't fair, you didn't know about McNash."
"It's ok, I know how emotional you women can get." Clara rolled her eyes before laughing quietly. Her hand was still on his arm, but neither of the seemed to mind the contact. It was warm and soothing for both parties.
"Well, I should get to sleep. And so should you! We have a pop quiz in charms tomorrow and you're not cheating off me again because you fall sleep for the entire class period." She poked him accusingly in the chest with her other hand.
"How do you know about a pop quiz? Aren't they supposed to be surprises." Clara laughed and dropped contact with Sirius before reaching her arms above her head for a much needed stretch.
"Being a good student has its perks you know..." He chuckled darkly before leaning over slightly to be face to face with Clara.
"Not as many as being a Marauder does." The blonde in front of him scoffed before walking past Sirius and up a few steps. Her heart was pounding, and she was afraid that he would be able to hear it.
"Is he really bald?" She questioned quietly. Sirius broke into a full out smile before beginning to laugh again.
"Like a new-born baby..." Clara giggled softly before walking up the remaining steps and out of sight.
"G'night Sirius."
"Night Clara."
His heart didn't stop pounding until the last embers of the fire slowly turned black.
Soooo, I had to write this... It's been in my head for forever...
It's not gonna be just high school life btw... In fact, that's gonna change pretty quick.. hehe! :D Oh and there will be 'adult themes' later on in the story... Don't worry, the people involved are going to be actual adults and maybe not who you'd expect. Harry might show up later... I'm not sure if I want to see him...
Let me know what you think... Sorry that this is such a lame intro chappie, the next one will be WAY more interesante!
Please Review!
Oh and if you wanna, check out the other stories!