"Which road do you choose?" The giant purple gummy bear asked Claire. She looked back and forth - one path was paved with chocolate, the other surrounded by trees of cotton candy. Tough choice, especially when-

"CLAIRE! Jesus, you sleep like a log!"

Claire woke violently from her sugar-filled sleep to the sound of her roommate yelling.

"Cynthia, what did I ever do to you. What on earth have I done to deserve this much twerp-osity at... What time is it?" Claire muttered, snuggling deeper into the black satin sheets.

She heard loud footsteps, then the angry huffing and puffing of Cynthia Finnegan from right above her head. Removing her face from her oh-so-comfy pillow, she looked up to see the indignant blonde glaring at her while holding out her phone.

"What's your prob- HOLY HELL it's almost nine!"

"My problem is that your idiotic men have been irritating the Merlin out of me for the last twenty minutes because you didn't meet them at eight thirty, as you promised. God forbid you not show up on time. " Cynthia rolled her eyes then headed out the door of the seventh year Slytherin girls dorm.

Claire chuckled as she rolled out of bed - typical morning for her. The boys causing a fuss, bothering Cynthia until she agreed to come wake her, Cynthia bitching endlessly about the stupidity of both the men and the situation. Sounded about right.

She moved quickly towards her wardrobe, getting dressed in her uniform as fast as possible. She was hungry from dreaming about all of that candy! She scrambled around her dresser for her hairbrush, then upon not finding it, searched for her robes. Upon not finding them, she decided it was going to be one of those days, grabbed her knapsack, and skidded downstairs to the common room.

"I'm alive, I'm here, I'm..."

"Barefoot?" Snarked the brunette laying upside down on the back of the couch.

"Typical Claire." Continued the blonde who was perched on the coffee table. "Luckily, you left everything you own in our room last night. Put on your hooker heels and let's go - I'm bloody starved, and my hot girlfriend is waiting for my gorgeous face."

"Shut up Scor- you aren't THAT attractive. And do you really expect me to go to breakfast in my clubbing shoes?"

JD rolled off the couch and threw the four inch black stilettos at his best female friend. "Wear the damn shoes, or take a lap. I'm hungry."

Claire quickly sat next to Scorpius and slipped them on, wishing she had picked a less obnoxious pair of heels to wear partying last night - so that she wouldn't have to go around looking like a tart all day.

"Claire, your weave... It's um..." JD fumbled for words, running his hands through his own short brown hair.

"I know, I can't find my hairbrush," she responded, rolling her eyes. "I'll just have to do a charm..." With the flick of her wand, her red locks were neatly curled, and her side-swept bangs straighter than a pin.

"There. A little much, but it ought to match the bloody shoes!" She joked with a grin on her china-doll face.

"You snooze, you lose, princess," JD smirked, putting Claire's robe over her shoulders.

"Shut up JD. Let's go - I can't deal with you prats alone this early in the morning. I need assistance. And coffee."

The three musketeers entered the Great Hall together, journeying to their usual spots at the Slytherin table. They had sat in those exact same seats since their friendship began second year - although they had quite a few additions over the years. First Cynthia - Claire's roommate and eventual friend, even though the two often squabbled. Then came Rochester - Rocky for short - a Hufflepuff one year below them. She was sweet as sugar, a little oblivious, and usually pretty entertaining to be around. Then in sixth year, Rose had joined them - she and Scorpius had decided to spend Breakfast at Slytherin table and Lunch at Gryffindor. Add on a few random kids here and there, and that was the average place setting.

"Bacon is a miraculous invention," JD murmured as he sat down in front of a huge platter. Claire acknowledged him with a slight nod - she really needed coffee, right here, right -

A cup of coffee with a ridiculous amount of cream was set right in front of her nose.

"It's like you KNOW," Claire joked, turning to see her best friend Rocky plop down next to her. "You are a saint among women. I adore you."

Rocky twirled her fingers through her sleek black ponytail. "I know you do. Now drink up and get happy!" She smiled, pouring her sacred Fruit Loops cereal into an enormous bowl.

"Good morning everybody! How are you all? Excited for our last week of school? Merlin knows, I am!"

As soon as the words left Rose Weasley's mouth, JD's head hit the table with a resounding thud.

"What? Was it something I said?"

"No honey, you're just a little too perky for a table of sleepy Slytherins on a Monday morning," Scorpius soothed his confused girlfriend, patting the bench next to him for her to sit down.

"Oh," the chipper Gryffindor nodded in understanding, then grabbed a spoonful of scrambled eggs. "Morning Claire!" She exclaimed, trying again to make conversation.

"Morning Rose," She answered the poor girl with a small smile. JD's head snapped up.

"What is this! We get bitch-bitch-bitch and Rose gets a nice happy greeting? I disagree!"

"That's because I'm prettier than you," Rose interjected with a smirk, high-fiving Claire across the solid oak table.

"Damn straight you are," Scor grinned. "I have to wake up to his disgusting face every morning."

"Hey Scor?" Claire pondered, slowly chewing on her watermelon. "You know that JD's hotter than you, right?"

The lean blonde leapt up from his seat, throwing his hands down on the table. "SO not TRUE! Everyone goes for the Malfoy looks!"

Claire rolled her eyes. "Take a lap, Malfoy."

Scorpius's mouth gaped. "What the hell? Why?!"

"You're being a twat, it's too damn early, and you made me wear my hooker heels. Take a bloody lap. Great hall. Go. Or I'll seriously maim you."

Scor huffed, straightened, then began running a lap, all the way around the Great Hall, scowling and muttering at the celebratory cheers of his fellow schoolmates.

"Claire-bear, marry me."

"Sorry JD, brunettes just aren't my type."

"Hey Rosie, what's your boyfriend doing?"

Claire looked up from her sausage to see James Potter staring questioningly at Scor.

"Taking a lap. Claire gave it to him!"

Claire froze, staring at her fork.

"A lap?" James asked her in his smooth baritone voice.

"Typical Slytherin punishment for being stupid, obnoxious, and/or generally irritating." Claire answered James quietly, hating being put on the spot.

"That's a fun thing," James snorted, then sat down next to Rose and started talking to her about something his mother had sent him in the post. Scorpius returned and began stuffing his face as if nothing had happened. Claire just stared at her food.

It wasn't that she didn't like James Potter.

She just... Didn't know him. At all.

And the problem with that was the fact that after being in classes with each other for seven years, not to mention that her best friend had been dating his cousin for almost two years... She really SHOULD have known him. She had never bothered to be his friend - and that made her feel like a terrible human being, because he was always perfectly courteous to her. He just made her feel awkward. All the freaking time. Around her circle of friends, she was Claire - the confident, funny, sarcastic, talented Slytherin. Around James, and a majority of the school, she was Claire - the super nice, quiet, smart Sytherin who didn't really belong in her own house. It had always been that way, and quite frankly, she didn't know how to change it.

"Claire? You ready for class?" She looked up to see the rest of their group standing, JD holding her bag and looking at her like he could read her mind.

"Yeah, sorry, falling asleep," she quickly covered - JD and Scor were her best friends, but the three of them were also Slytherins, and they didn't discuss their feels in public. They all exited the Great Hall together - Rose and Scorpius holding hands, walking behind James and Lily who were arguing loudly about something. Cynthia followed the lovebirds, having her daily bitch-fest with Albus Potter. Rocky skipped along beside them, humming along to a tune nobody else could hear - and she and JD brought up the rear.

JD grabbed her hand, swinging their arms back and forth like little kids on the playground.

"What is it with him, Claira?"

"Nothing," she blushed defensively, not looking him in the eye.

"Then why does he make you so nervous?" He muttered quietly in her ear as they reached the Defense classroom. He led the way to their assigned desk, not expecting an answer - which was good, because Claire didn't have one.

She didn't know what it was about James Potter - she just wanted it to go away.

Hi! Twitch here! So, I know you've heard this a million times before, but this is my very first story! I've been trying to write for about five years now and I've finally achieved it - so PLEASE REVIEW! Even if it's just a short one! Pretty please with sugar on top! I promise it will be a fun story ;)

With Love, Twitch