Chapter 1
Running. Why is it that every eventful situation starts with running? Running from something, from someone… It never ends the way one thinks it would. Clara knew that feeling all too well. Having come from a long line of Slytherins of course she would be sorted into that house, but she never really liked the people, not like her father said she would at least. She had fun with them well enough, but it always felt wrong… like she never belonged with them. Of course when she told her father this, he slapped her and told her to never speak like that again. She was a Slytherin, he said, and there was nothing she could do about it so she might as well suck it up. He was right of course, he always was.
"Clara!" Fifteen-year-old Jenny Ryals yelled running after her best friend, "Get your arse back here and let me fix your hair. We have to be at King's Cross in an hour and I refuse to let you out and about looking like a troll! You're not even dressed yet!"
Running. Clara was always running. Whether it be down the hall of her friends giant manor, or down the halls of her own manor, or even down the halls of Hogwarts, fifteen-year-old Clara Hathaway was always running.
"I'll have you know that my hair looks fine," Clara yelled back looking over her shoulder at the dark haired girl with black eyes so deep one could easily fall forever in them chasing her. "You would see that if you'd stop running, love! And as for my clothes, well I thought I could just wear this."
Clara turned around running backwards to show off her short shorts and tight tank top.
"Damn it! Just a little straightening. I swear it won't do much."
Clara grabbed a lock of her milky brown hair. Naturally wavy (even thought her roots were as straight as can be), naturally long, and naturally silky. She tried to imagine herself with straight hair but the image was to horrifying to think of.
"At least let me do your makeup!" Jenny said catching up with Clara who was starting to lose herself in her own thoughts.
"Absolutely not! I would rather not have my checks painted red with more blush than anyone person would ever need. I would also rather not have to wear the ugliest green eye shadow know to mankind. I want to try and not look like a idiot. I will do my own makeup thank you, and I will do my own hair."
"Outfit then. At least let me do that for my mate."
Clara sighed. Jenny was always like this. They met when they were nine and since Jenny's mother died when she was seven she decided to take one the rolls of motherhood with her best friend. Clara never minded considering she had never had a mother before. Her mother died giving birth to her and for that her father had always hated her, so when Jenny came along she was delighted to have someone treat her like more than a nuisance.
"Fine," she could never say no to her best friend. "But I want more than one option and I get to pick which ever one I want with no further discussion about it."
Jenny smiled widely and dragged Clara back to her bedroom. The walls were decorated with posters of Quidditch players and boy bands. Jenny loved making her parents mad, that way maybe they'd pay the slightest bit of attention to her, and so she covered her room in Muggle things. She had a radio, a record player, a television (although she hadn't figured out how exactly to use that one yet), many Muggle posters and pictures that she had taken with her Muggle camera. And even though she had all of this in hopes that her parents would come into her room and yell at her, they never did.
Clara popped onto the king size bed, that she thought seemed a little too big for one small girl to take up, and watched as her best friend dug through the mountains of clothes, that Clara had brought with her when coming to this house, in her also oversized closet. While Jenny was huffing in frustration and picking up shirts and skirts just to throw them back down, Clara laid back and looked up at the tall ceiling. She imagined it was the night sky and stared looking through the constellations. She found Orion, Andromeda, Aquarius, and Cassiopeia. She remembered learning about all the stories when she was young, and loving the fact that she could learn more about them when she got to Hogwarts.
"I can't believe this is our fifth year there," Jenny said snapping Clara out of her thoughts.
"Yeah," Clara said looking at her friend, "You know I heard from a fifth year, well now sixth year, that this is going to our hardest year yet."
"Which means you need to stay out of trouble. Now that I'm a prefect, I can give you detention."
Clara sat up and stared at Jenny. "You'd give your best mate a detention?"
"Absobloodylutly. I don't want word of any type of trouble getting back to your father."
Clara winced. About a year ago she had turned up on Jenny's door step beaten and bloody asking to stay for a while. Of course Jenny let her and even though she asked multiple times Clara would not tell her what happened. Soon enough she had figured it out and told Clara never to go back there again.
You can live here with me, she had said, Merlin knows I need the company.
But Clara couldn't stay. She never could. Her father would get mad, and making her father mad had been the one of the two only things to ever frighten her. Last time something like that happened, he'd almost killed her. She had to miss the first semester of her second year because of it.
"Yeah well…" Clara said quietly looking down at her hands.
Sensing the tension Jenny started looking faster through Clara's clothing.
"Why the bloody hell haven't you packed yet? I mean honestly we have to leave in," she looked at the clock and screamed, "Forty five minuets! Here! Through this on, you look good in anything you wear anyway."
Jenny threw her a pale blue, almost white, sweater that constantly slid off her shoulder, and a pair of black shorts. As Clara was putting on the shorts, Jenny threw a pair of black combat boots at her head telling her to pack her things when she was done before walking out. When Clara was finished dressing she looked at the state of the room. Her clothes were everywhere, none of her trunks packed, her owl not in its cage (all though that was no surprise). But Clara Hathaway did not stress. With a simple wave of her hand, the room organized it's self and in a matter of second she was ready to leave.
Now no normal fifteen-year-old witch should be able to do that, but then again Clara was no normal fifteen-year-old witch. She was more powerful than most anyone else, even some of the teachers. Dumbledore had said that it was because of her mother, but he was never sure. Her father said that she was just a freak with unstable powers, but he knew exactly where it came from. Clara was never supposed to find out, but after overhearing a meeting with some of his…friends… she knew too. Jenny thought she was lucky to have this kind of power no matter where it came from, but Clara always thought differently. She was tired of everyone cowering away from her when she got mad or upset. Even Jenny did that at times. She was learning to control her power so why couldn't everyone just ignore it? It was hard enough knowing what came with the power, let alone everyone looking at her like she had some incurable disease.
"Clar Clar?" Jenny called from the den.
"Coming!" Clara yelled back. She took one last look at the room before dragging her things behind her as she walked out.
"Come on!" Jenny said pulling Clara's arm. "We have to get on the train or it'll leave us, we barley made it as it is."
Clara snorted. "We're twenty minuets early. Calm your tits Jen Jen. The train isn't going to leave for like ever."
Jenny groaned. As she started to put her trunks onto the train, Clara got an idea. An idea she knew that she would regret but also knew that it would be so worth it. Jenny's back was turned and with a moment of hesitation, Clara pulled out the wand that she had hidden in her back pocket, pointed it at Jenny's head and whispered the spell.
In seconds Jenny Ryals' black hair turned a bright pink. Clara covered her mouth holding her breath trying not to laugh at her friend. The best part was, Jenny didn't even notice. Clara knew that wouldn't last long, so in the midst of holding her breath she started backing away as quietly as she could. Jenny, who was too wrapped up in loading her things onto the train, bent forward and saw a strand of her hair. Clara backed up even faster taking the advantage of her friend's confusion.
"Clara?" Jenny asked anger starting to drip from her voice.
"Hmm?" answered still trying to hold her laughter.
"I'm going to kill you." And with that Clara turned around and ran as fast as she could. Jenny however just stalked after her with a murderous look on her face.
Clara turned around to see that she had lost her best mate in the crowd. Of course while making sure that she was, in fact, hidden in the large group of people, she lost her balance while quickly walking backwards. She would have fallen flat on her arse if someone had not been there to switch places with her.
Clara's back hit someone else's and instead of her falling she accidentally pushed the person to the ground. She quickly turned around and faced four boys, three of them standing smiles on their faces and one face first on the floor of the train station.
The first one she noticed was tall with messy black hair that stuck out in all direction and round glasses around his beautiful hazel eyes. The next one looked like the tallest of the boys with dirty blonde, pretty much drown, hair and sandy brown eyes. The smaller one on his left was a bit pudgy but still handsome with somewhat yellowish hair and black eyes. He was the least attractive out of the three that she was looking at. Which reminded her…
"Oh my God!" she exclaimed helping the last boy up by the arm. "Shit, I am so sorry I didn't even see you and…"
Her voice was caught in her throat as the last boy turned around. To say he looked like a God with his black hair and stormy grey eyes would be an understatement. He stared at her in what seemed to be shock and amusement.
"Holy shit…" she said in a quiet voice. She looked him over one more time before raising an eyebrow at him then at his friends, "Has anyone ever told you four that you're all kinda hot?"
All four of the boys laughed.
"Many times, love." Mr. Grey eyes said.
Clara smirked at him. She was about to say something when she heard her name.
"HATHAWAY!"
She whipped her head around to see Jenny stalking towards her.
"Ah," she said turning back to the boys with wide eyes and a panicked smile, "Sorry to cut this absolutely wonderful conversation short boys, but staring at the four of you isn't really worth dying over. Sorry again for knocking you down."
Then she pushed past the boys and tried to walk as fast as she could away before hearing, "Oh no you don't!" she turned to see that Jenny was now running. Clara screamed a high-pitched scream and ran.
"Get back here Hathaway so I can kill you!"
Clara started running in large circles with her pink haired friend chasing right behind her. "Oh come on Jen Jen! You look fit with pink hair, doesn't she boys?"
Clara looked over to the boys who were watching them and laughing the whole time.
"Oh yeah," Mr. Hazel eyes said, "So totally fit."
"Shut up, Potter, before I hex you." Jenny growled.
Clara suddenly stopped in her tracks making Jenny plow right into her. The girls both went down in surprised yelps. The four boys stood over the girls still laughing while Clara looked up to Mr. Hazel eyes trying to blow her hair out of her face. "Potter?"
"That's me," he grinned.
"As in James Potter?"
"Yep."
"As in the leader of the infamous Marauders?"
James Potter raised an eyebrow at her. "The very same."
"Which would mean that you three," she said slowly pointing at the others.
"Are the other three members, yeah." Mr. Grey eyes.
Clara had only heard of the Marauders before. She'd never actually met them. She's also seen some of their pranks and could only hope that they would never do anything to her. Clara admired the Marauders and the way they teased people. Some people, like Lilly Evans (who she has met), hated the four because they were what she called "bullies", but Clara didn't care. In fact one of her goals before she graduated was to get to know them and have sex with at least one of them.
"Well," she said getting up as quick as she could and brushing herself off, "If I had known I would be in the presences of royalty, I would have gussied up a bit."
"Look good to me," Mr. Grey eyes winked at her. "I'm-"
"Wait wait wait! Let me guess," she said putting her hands up stopping him.
She clapped her hands together and rubbed them before looking at Mr. Sandy eyes. She smiled only to have a smile returned. "You have got to be Remus Lupin. The kind one."
He laughed and nodded, "That's me."
"Clara," Jenny's disapproving voice came from behind her, "Why are you talking to these blood traitors?"
But her friend wasn't listening, "Yeah, yeah Jen Jen. In a minuet."
She looked at Mr. Black eyes and he nervously smiled back and looked down at his feet. "You must be Peter Pettigrew. The quiet one."
Peter just nodded.
She turned to potter next, "James Potter obviously. The funny one."
He flashed a grin.
The she turned to the last boy. "And that makes you Sirius Black. The sex god."
Sirius barked out a laugh and wiggled his eyebrows at her. "You know us, love, but we don't know you."
"I'm Clara Hathaway and-"
"And she's leaving," Jenny said hotly pulling her friend by the arm.
Clara, however, put up a fight. "Oh come on Jen Jen! Five minuets! Please? You know I've always wanted to meet them. Pretty please with a Hufflepuff on top? I mean you have the prefect's meeting and everything and you know you can't leave me alone so-" she final shook her arm free and ran to Potter clinging to his arm, "-why not leave me in the capable hands of these four? I swear I'll behave!"
Clara batted her eyes at her best friend. Jenny knew that she was never going to be able to say no, even though she didn't know why Clara wanted to be associated with filth like them. But finally after staring long and hard at her mate, Jenny gave in. "Ugh, fine. Do whatever you want with these four, but I swear on Merlin's beard if I hear of you getting into trouble, even the slightest bit, there's going to be hell to pay do you understand me Clara?"
Clara let go of Potter's arm and saluted Jenny, "Ma'am yes ma'am!"
"I mean it Clar Clar. You got in enough trouble last time, and your father-"
"Calm your tits, love. You know he's not going to find out about anything I do this year."
Jenny gave her a very worried look. "You said that last year…"
Clara's smile wavered a little in remembrance of what happened over the summer. But she shook the thoughts away and ran up and hugged her friend, practically pouncing on her. "Jen Jen, you worry too much. Look, go to your prefects meeting, flirt with some guys, make fun of people; I don't know. Just don't worry so much about me. I'm fine and I've always been fine."
Jenny rolled her eyes before giving Clara one last sad look and waving goodbye. When she was out of sight, Clara turned to the boys who all had weird looks of worry and understanding on their faces.
"Well, it was nice meeting you guys. Have fun with whatever it was you were doing before I so rudely interrupted." The she turned and walked away, well tried walking away before Potter grabbed her hand.
"Where do you think you're going?" he asked.
She looked where he was holing her then back to his face surprise written all over her. Most people just let her walk away and do whatever it is she wants to do… so why was this one stopping her?
"Uh… well if you must know, I was planning to go find a nice snog and relax for a bit until Jenny was done with her meeting. Then we were probably going go find a compartment and take a nap or something…"
"You promised your friend you would stay with us," said Pettigrew.
Clara snorted and rolled her eyes, "Yeah, well, I also promised her I would never turn her hair pink again but did you see her five seconds ago?"
The corner of Potter's and Black's mouths twitched.
"You've done that before?" Black asked quietly.
"Never mind that," Potter said waving his hand at Black, "When Marauders make a promise we stick to them."
She laughed. "Well I guess it's a good thing I'm not a Marauder, or I would be fifteen pounds lighter and a whole lot smarter."
"You seem pretty smart to me," Lupin said.
She winked at him, "You just don't know me yet."
"Plus you said that you had always wanted to meet us," Black said smiling, "So let's get to know each other."
Clara opened her mouth just to close it again. She could feel the heat rushing to her face. Had she really said that? Ugh! She thought, I'm so lame.
"It's okay, love," Black said moving to take one arm while Potter took the other, "We defiantly want to get to know you too."
"Well," she said mostly to herself, "This was a total backfire."
All four of the boys laughed.
"No! Please stop I- I can't anymore…. I…" Clara was laughing so hard that it was becoming difficult to breath properly.
James laughed, "No really! Here I am about to pour the glitter in his trunk and I could tell he was having a nightmare but I wasn't about to wake him up so I just watched, and then he wakes up screaming like a little girl, and I swear Hathaway he pissed himself."
Sirius and Peter, who were both chuckling, always liked hearing this story about James' journeys to the Ravenclaw tower and how Irving Thompson called for his mommy. Remus would have loved it too if he wasn't at the prefect's meeting. Really; a Marauder a prefect? What a joke.
"Clara," the girl sitting in front of Sirius and James said after catching her breath.
"What?"
"Call me Clara. Hathaway is a terrible name."
"How come?" Peter asked.
The compartment had gone quiet. All three boys looked at their new friend, who smiled even though she was broken inside and hid her feelings even though all she wanted to do was cry. It was the way she was raised. She could never show her feelings to her father, because he would scold her. She could never show her feelings to Jenny because she would worry. Even when Clara had showed up on Jenny's' door step the summer before last with bruises covering her face and blood running down her broken arm, she still just laughed it off and pretended as if she had fallen on the way there.
"No reason," she answered even more quietly than the question that was asked.
"Clara…" Sirius started, but was interrupted.
"So!" Clara said snapping back to her happy self once more, "Did any of you know you'd be sharing a compartment with a Slytherin today? Or am I just lucky?"
"I'd say we're the lucky ones," Sirius said.
"Yeah," said James, "You're not much a Slytherin."
There was a snort at the door. Clara and her new friends looked up only to see Lucius Malfoy, Amycus Carrow, Evan Rosier, and Severus Snape. Clara knew the four boys standing in front of her well, and she also knew that they were up to no good.
"Hathaway not much a Slytherin?" Carrow snorted, "Yeah and my mother was a pixie."
"Your mother was a pixie?" Clara asked smirking at him. "Wow, didn't Carrow senior was into that kind of stuff. But to each his own I suppose."
Carrow narrowed his eyes at her. "Watch it bitch."
"How about you both watch it," Malfoy said with a bored look on his face. "Amycus apologize to Hathaway, Hathaway take back what you said about his dad."
"Sorry," Carrow said.
"I take back what I said," Clara said still smirking.
"Hathaway… lookin' fit this year," Rosier said.
Clara looked at him for a few more seconds before she started to gag and cough. "I-I'm sorry," she said between coughs, "but your face is giving me this sickening feeling and it just makes me want to," she started gagging again.
"He's got a point though," Malfoy said, "The summer has been very good to you."
"Well thanks, hon, but all four of you still repulse me."
"We need to talk," Snape said quietly.
Clara and Severus never really talked much to each other. In fact, they made it a point to flat out ignore each other, so him saying more than one word to her was a surprise. It must be serious.
"About?"
"You know what it's about." Malfoy said.
Clara sat back and put her index finger to her chin and tapped it.
"Hmmmm…" she said, "Could it possibly be about how much of a prat you are?" Malfoy tensed up but still kept his smile. "No, no, that's not it. You already know how much of a prat you are… Could it be about Carrow senior's late night fun time?" Carrow took a step forward with an evil look on his face, just to be held back by Rosier. "Nah. You guys aren't that perverted… Maybe it's about Snape's love for a certain red-head." Snape blushed something fierce and out the corner of her eye she could see James tense up as well. "No. Couldn't be, right Snapey? Maybe it's-"
"Maybe it's the fact that we know what you heard at the last meeting." Carrow said with his eyes still narrowed at her.
Clara's blood froze. Of course that's what it would be about. But she kept her face clam. "I have no idea as to what meeting you are referring."
"Bullshit."
"Carrow, if I knew what the hell you were talking about I would say something about it. I have no clue what think I heard but I was no where near that meeting."
"He wants to talk to you," Malfoy said.
Silence filled the compartment.
"Tell him," Clara said slowly and quietly, "that I have no interest in seeing, talking to, or being any where near him. Now get out."
"Hathaway-"
"I suggest to get out before I loose my temper." she said viscously.
The Marauders never thought she could be this cold, not to mention the looks of pure fear in the eyes of the Slytherin boys.
"Problem here?"
The four Slytherin boys turned to see one Jenny Ryals and one Remus Lupin staring at them with hard looks. The Slytherins eyes their prefect badges and sneered. "Not one that concerns you two." Snape hissed.
"See you later Hathaway," Rosier winked. And with that the four Slytherin boys walked away.
"Clar Clar?" Jenny poked her head inside.
"Oh Jen Jen you'll never guess what happened!" Clara ran up and hugged her friend pulling her inside making her take the exact opposite seat of her, right next to Sirius.
"What's wrong, sweets?" Jenny asked in a careful voice.
"Whenever you left I though I was going to go have a nice snog with some Ravenclaw boy or something, but these four," Clara waved her hand at the Marauders, "made me keep my promise to you. I haven't had a tongue in my mouth all day!"
Jenny laughed, relieved that nothing else had happened. "Good."
Clara looked at her best friend horrified. "Good? Good? How is that good?"
"Because you need to find a husband, not a snog," Jenny said her nose pointed up a bit, "And you'll never do that if people think you're a chav who goes the full monty with any boy she meets."
Clara stuck her tongue out at her friend, "You're so nice to me, Jen Jen." Then she turned to Peter who was sitting right next to her. "Peter?"
"Hmm?"
"Wanna snog?"
"Wha-wha-what?" Peter stuttered making everyone else laugh, "Me and you?"
"Uh huh." Clara said innocently.
"Bu-bu-bu-"
Clara rolled her eyes and laughed. "Calm down Petie ol' boy. I'm not going to force you to do anything you don't want to. But just know, I would gladly suck your face off if it made you happy."
"What about the rest us?" Sirius asked eyes twinkling.
"Ah, the rest of you. Mr. Potter could have lots of girls, but he only has eyes for one… or so I heard. Mr. Lupin is much too sweet to be used so needlessly like that. And you, Mr. Black, you could have anyone you wanted. You are the sex god of Hogwarts after all." She winked.
Everyone but Jenny laughed. She mumbled something about "blood traitors" before deciding to take a nap. About an hour later the conversations had died down and Clara herself decided to take a nap. About an hour after that they were all at Hogwarts. As they were leaving the train, the Marauders stopped Clara.
"So we'll see you at the feast then?" James asked.
"I'm sure you'll see me if you look hard enough," Clara smirked.
"Come sit with us," Peter said, "That way we won't have to look very hard."
Clara paused thinking about the offer that they were giving her. She knew she had to sit with Jenny and the Slytherins… but she didn't know why. Why would she have to sit with the people who she has seen do terrible things, save for one person of course. Why would she have to sit with the people who hate others for no reason whatsoever? She shouldn't, but she would. She would sit with the people who she has seen do terrible things and who hate others for no reason. It's what her father wants.
Clara opened her mouth, but before she could say anything Jenny hissed. "There is no way I'm letting my best friend sit with filthy blood traitors like you. I tolerated you on the train, but now we're at school and I refuse to have anything to do with you or let Clara have anything to do with you."
Clara chuckled at her friend. "Jen Jen-"
But Jenny wasn't having it. "No, Clara, we're leaving and you're never talking to them again. Understand?"
Before she could even answer Jenny stalked off. Clara turned to the four boys who stared after her friend in shock and anger.
"Sorry boys." She smiled sadly at them before running after Jenny. She caught up with her best mate and listened to her rant and rave about the four Gryffindors.
Smiling to herself, Clara knew that she would see those four again. After all she was running when they met, and every eventful situation starts with running.