Chapter 2: Mother-Daughter Day & A Talk with Sirius
Claire,
We miss you! The Burrow is so boring without you to talk to. How's everything going with your parents and uncle? Anything exciting happen?
Miss you,
Ginny
Dear Claire,
How has your summer been so far? I just finished a book a few days ago and I thought you'd like to read it. It's the biography of Kurt Cobain. Did you hear that he passed away last April? I can't believe he's dead! He was so talented.
I'm really excited to see you, Ron, and Harry for the Quidditch World Cup.
Your Best Friend,
Hermione
Hi, Claire-bear!
George and I sent you some products for the Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. Mum sort of found our papers on the business and some of the products and went mad saying we should've been focusing on our O.W.L.s rather than our pranks (Pfft, school is for nerds). We managed to save some of it and we decided to send it to you for safe keeping. We miss having our little prankster around to mess with Percy and Ron.
Your favorite red-headed twins,
Fred and George
Hello Claire,
I have good news! Dad's got the Quidditch World Cup tickets from work. He got a whole bunch so maybe your parents can come and your uncle. The Burrow's been quiet without you here.
Hope to see you soon,
Ron
Hey Claire,
I can't wait to see you, your parents, and Sirius next week. I can't believe it's has already been a month. The Dursleys haven't been as annoying lately. Remind me to thank your mom for talking to them. How are you doing?
See you soon,
Harry
"Oh, good. You're up," Carina walked into Claire's room.
Claire was currently replying to the letters she had received.
"Yea, I've been up for an hour. I'm replying to my letters," Claire said. "What do you need?"
"Well, I was thinking, if you wanted to, we could have a mother-daughter day," Carina said.
Claire looked up from the parchment raising her eyebrows at her mom. "Depends what we'll be doing. I hate to break it to you but I'm not into getting my nails done or my hair done or whatever girly things mothers and daughters do."
"Good. Because I'm not either." Carina said, with a relieved smile. "I guess you got that trait from me. It's nice to know you inherited something from me."
Claire finished up the letters and folding them into envelopes. "Do you have an owl I can use to send these?"
"No, but we can go to Diagon Alley and get one. We'll need it anyway." Carina said.
"Alright, can we go now?" Claire asked.
"Sure." Carina said. "How do you feel about apparition?"
"I guess that's better than floo powder." Claire said, remembering the mishap in second year when she and Harry used it.
Carina furrowed her eyebrows. "What do you mean?"
"Let's just say the last time I used floo powder, Harry and I met a lady who sold human fingernails." Claire said.
Carina raised her eyebrow. "Alright, then. Grab my arm."
Claire grabbed her arm and she felt the sensation of being forced through a very tight rubber tube. Claire's room disappeared and was soon replaced with the familiar shops of Diagon Alley. The uncomfortable feeling soon vanished and Claire let go of her mom's arm. Claire felt a wave of nausea wash over her, but thankfully she didn't vomit.
"First time appraiting?" Carina asked seeing that Claire looked like she was about to throw up.
"Yep, I was always told by Bill and Charlie that it wasn't the best experience and I have to say I agree." Claire said.
"Well, you're doing better than I did my first time. I ended up throwing up my breakfast. A little advice for when you do apparate, don't apparate on a full stomach unless you want to be tasting it a second time." Carina grimaced.
"Thankfully I have a few more years before I have to experience that," Claire said.
"Alright, let's go get an owl," Carina said.
They walked to the Owl Emporium to be met with the sound of various hoots. Claire went down one of the aisles looking at the multitude of owls. After a few minutes, Claire stumbled upon one owl that stood out from the rest. It was a red owl with light green eyes. The owl stared back at Claire.
"Did you find one yet?" Carina said walking towards her daughter.
"Yea, this one," Claire said pointing towards the bird.
Carina rolled her eyes. "Really, you had to pick a red bird?"
"Well, I just like the fact this owl is different from all the other ones," Claire said simply. "What's wrong with a red owl anyway?"
"Nothing," Carina said. "Just go ahead and get it,"
Claire took the cage that housed the red bird and walked to the register. The lady rung up the owl and some owl food.
"I see you chose the only red owl in the shop. He's a very interesting owl. He must like you because anyone who has ever tried to buy him has almost had their fingers nipped off. Take care of him." The lady said as Claire paid for the owl and the food.
"Thank you," Claire said and walked out of the shop with her mother.
"So, what are you going to name him?" Carina asked.
Claire looked at the owl who was staring back at her. Claire shrugged. "How about Red or Ginger?"
The owl seemed to have glared at Claire.
"I don't think he likes those names," Carina chuckled seeing the owl's glare.
"Right, I don't know what to call him then. I guess I'll figure out a name later on." Claire said.
"Are you hungry?" Carina asked.
"Yea," Claire said.
"How about we get some ice cream before we head home?" Carina suggested.
"Sounds good to me," Claire agreed.
Carina and Claire walked into Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour. The interior was decorated with black and white check board flooring and various shades of yellows, greens, and purples decorating the walls. A man who looked to be in his late fifties early sixties was behind the counter cleaning the counters. He looked up as he noticed them.
"Carina! I haven't seen you in such a long time! It's good to see you. How are you?" The man asked.
"I'm fine, Florean. How about yourself?" Carina replied.
"I'm quite well. Business has been booming as usual." Florean then spotted Claire. "Is this your daughter?"
Carina nodded. "Yes, this is Claire. We came here to get her an owl and then we decided to get some ice cream before heading home. Claire this is Florean, the owner of this shop."
"Hello." Claire greeted the man.
"Well, what can I get you two?" Florean asked.
"I'll take a butterscotch chocolate," Carina said.
Florean scooped the ice cream into bowl and handed it to Carina. He then looked at Claire. "And for you?"
"I'll take butterbeer flavored ice cream please," Claire said.
Florean gave Claire her ice cream.
"How much?" Carina asked.
Florean shook his head. "Nonsense, it's on the house."
"Thank you, Florean," Carina smiled politely.
"No problem. You two have a good day." Florean said.
"You too, Florean." Carina waved goodbye as they walked out of the ice cream parlour and sat outside at one of the tables.
"So, I assume you knew him when you were my age," Claire said, taking a bite of ice cream.
"Yep, your uncle and I would always come here when we came for school supplies. We'd always tip him decently. He knew about your uncle and I's home problems and always welcomed us here." Carina said.
"Home problems?" Claire raised her eyebrow.
Carina nodded. "Growing up at Grimmauld Place wasn't the most pleasant experience. Your grandmother didn't particularly care for your uncle or I. She seemed to care more for our younger brother Regulus."
"But she's your mother. Surely she didn't choose favorites." Claire said.
Carina sighed. "But she did, Claire. And it was all because we didn't share her insane philosophy that Purebloods were better than muggleborns. Sirius and I went through a lot of abuse there."
"Did you ever leave?" Claire asked.
Carina nodded. "Actually, when we left that's how your father and I met."
"What happened?" Claire asked curiously.
"The night we left we got into a really horrible fight with our parents. They, um, did some terrible things to us that I will never be able to forget." Carina said with a solemn look on her face.
"What do you mean? What did they do?" Claire asked.
Carina cleared her throat. "Your grandfather he, um, did something terrible to me and Sirius tried to stop him but your grandmother performed one of the unforgivable curses on him."
"You mean your own father tried to take advantage of you and Uncle Sirius tried to stop him but your mother performed crucio on him to stop him?" Claire said.
Carina nodded.
Claire was speechless. How could they do something like that? The thought disgusted her.
"Thankfully, something happened before your grandfather went too far," Carina said.
"Dad showed up, didn't he?" Claire replied
"More like crashing into our house," Carina said smiling a little at the memory. "The TARDIS ended up crashing into our living room and our parents were furious. Your father he stepped out of the TARDIS trying to apologize to our parents, but they started to yell at him. He then noticed that Sirius and I had bruises and cuts all over our faces and arms. Your father then started yelling at them saying that they shouldn't be abusing their kids. Our parent were so angry telling him that it was none of his business and that we weren't their kids anymore. My mother then told us to leave and never come back and that's exactly what we did. Sirius and I packed all our things and when we came back downstairs we saw the TARDIS was gone and so was your father. Sirius and I walked out the front door and began walking to James Potter's house."
"You mean you went to live with Harry's father?" Claire questioned.
"Yes," Carina said. "He was like another brother to me and Sirius. He was always there for us. However, Sirius and I had barely walked a block before we spotted the TARDIS again. We went towards it and saw your father just outside of it. He spotted us and Sirius and I thanked him. Without him showing up things could've gotten much worse than they already were. Your father then asked if we needed a ride somewhere and we accepted it. The first time we set foot into the TARDIS it was definitely a shock. That's when we discovered he was an alien. We didn't know what to think about that at first. Then we realized if he wanted to harm us he would've just let our parents finish what they started. He dropped us off at the Potters' house and we thought that would be the last time we'd see him."
"I'm assuming it wasn't though," Claire replied.
"Yea, it turns out he ended up at Hogwarts. As a student, mind you. He looked a bit old to be a student even if he was passing as a sixth year, which was the same year your uncle and I were entering." Carina said. "And then your father and I grew closer for the next two years at Hogwarts and the rest is history."
"Was it by accident that dad showed up in your living room?" Claire asked.
"You'll find he has a habit of turning up when you need him the most." Carina said. "Now, enough about me. I want to hear about you. What was it like growing up with the Weasleys?"
Claire told her mom about life at the Weasleys. When she finished her mom seemed to be happy.
"Well, I'm glad that I chose the right people to look after you." Carina said. "You know, I met Molly through her younger brothers Fabian and Gideon. Those two remind a lot of Fred and George you know. Fabian and Gideon were some of my best friends at Hogwarts and I stayed over at there house sometimes over the summer. Molly and I became good friends as a result. Now, what about your three years at Hogwarts? Molly was saying you've been getting into trouble with Harry, Hermione, and Ron."
"Yea, about that," Claire smiled nervously. "We might have had a few encounters with a giant three-headed dogs, a basilik, and Voldemort."
"You what?" Carina exclaimed. "You better start explaining right now."
And that's exactly what Claire did for the next hour and a half. She told her mom about the Sorcerer's Stone in first year, Tom Riddle who turned out to be Voldemort in second year, and of course last year's incident.
Carina was shocked when her daughter finished her story. She couldn't believe that she'd been through all those things in the past three years.
"I think Molly wasn't exaggerating enough when she said you were getting into trouble. You four have been putting your lives in dangers!" Carina stated.
"It's not like we ask for it. It sort of just ends up thrown in our face." Claire said.
"Well, then try not to get wrapped up into anything this year. Ok?" Carina replied.
"Will do, mom," Claire said.
Carina then noticed it was getting late. "We should head back home. Grab my arm."
They apparated home. They noticed they were now in the living room.
"Where have you two been?" Sirius was sitting on the couch.
"We had to get an owl and Claire and I had a mother-daughter day." Carina replied.
"Did you two go get your nails done?" Sirius teased.
He received two identical glares from them. He raised his hands up in surrender.
"I was just joking, geez." Sirius said.
Carina rolled her eyes at her brother. "Have you heard anything about your trial yet?"
"Actually, I did. The trials the end of this week." Sirius said.
"What? And they just told you about it?" Carina exclaimed.
"Yep, so looks like we'll have our work cut out for ourselves." Sirius said. "Dumbledore, Molly, Arthur, and Remus are coming over to help prepare for the trial tomorrow."
"Good. We'll need all the help we can get." Carina then glanced at the clock. "Is the Doctor still in the TARDIS?"
"Yep, I don't know what he's doing though," Sirius glanced at Claire's owl. "So, did you name your owl yet?"
"Well, I tried to name him Red or Ginger but he didn't seem to happy about those names," Claire replied.
"I can imagine why. Those names are boring. You should name him something cool like Fire or Flames or Jinx," Sirius said.
The owl hooted happily at the last name.
"I think your owl wants to be called Jinx," Sirius said.
Claire looked at her owl. "Do you like the name Jinx?"
The owl hooted in reply.
"Jinx it is then." Claire said. "I'm going to go send these letters."
"I'll be cooking dinner if you need me, ok, Claire?" Carina said.
Claire nodded and then went to her room and took Jinx out of his cage.
"Alright, I have a few letters for you to deliver. Ok these three go to the burrow to Ginny, Ron, Fred and George. This letter goes to Hermione in London. And this last letter goes to Harry at Privet Drive. Be careful with that though because his relatives don't really like owls." Claire said.
Jinx hooted then pointed his beak towards the bag of food.
"Ok, here you go two pellets. You'll get a few more when you come back, ok?" Claire said. "Now, go,"
Claire opened up her bedroom window and Jinx flew away to deliver the letters. Claire decided to go back downstairs. As she left her room, she could hear the song "The Unforgiven" by Metallica playing through one of the doors. She walked down the hall and pressed her ear up against the door. She knocked on the door and she heard shuffling and the song was turned off. Claire opened the door to see Sirius by a record player.
"Oh, hello, Claire," Sirius said. "What did you need?"
"Nothing, I just heard Metallica playing so I was seeing what you were up to," Claire replied. She noticed something off about Sirius. "Are you alright?"
"Yea, I'm fine," Sirius said, but Claire could tell he was lying.
"You're lying," Claire replied. She then remembered something. "It's about the trial, isn't it?"
Sirius chuckled. "You are definitely your mother's daughter."
"You're worried that you'll be sent to back to Azkaban," Claire said.
"They did it before." Sirius said darkly.
"That's because they didn't give you trial. If you had a trial you would've been freed. You shouldn't worry though because Pettigrew is alive and that's enough to keep you away from there." Claire said trying to cheer him up.
"I suppose you're right." Sirius said.
"Of course I'm right. Not to mention we have Dumbledore. No one's lost an argument to Dumbledore before." Claire replied.
"Isn't that the truth. I don't think I've ever seen anyone out argue him," Sirius laughed.
"Dinner's ready!" They heard Carina yell from the kitchen.
"Thank you, Claire," Sirius thanked her. "You are definitely the best niece I've ever had."
"I'm your only niece," Claire rolled her eyes.
"Your point? Now, let's go get some food." Sirius said.
"You don't have to tell me twice," Claire replied.
So Claire spent some time with her mom and uncle! What did you think about how Claire's parents met? That was an emotional part to write when Carina explained why she and Sirius left Grimmauld Place. I liked writing the conversations between Carina and Claire and Claire and Sirius. I feel like Sirius would still be concerned that he'd have to go back to Azkaban after the trial. I would be paranoid too. Especially since he'd have to go back to those dementors. (Shudders.) Anyway, thanks to the new followers: LightningMark, LilyMayRose, and Silverbird22.
Reply to Reviews:
Natekleh: I hope your ankle gets better! I know how that feels. I've sprained, broken, and torn a ligament in my ankle before. (I have a tendency to be sort of a klutz.)
Carpe-Libri: Thank you! Yea the plot is going to be difficult to construct. Which is why the first few chapters have been sort of fillers.
Teckie De Cool: That's an accomplishment! I've never made anyone speechless before! I loved writing the father-daughter relationship.
Rainpelt the Doctor: That's a really good guess. I didn't even think about that. I'll tell you though that's not the reason he's upset. You'll find out at the end of the book why and I hope it'll knock your socks off. Anyway, Claire kissed Harry on the cheek not in a I like you way but sort of like how some people kiss people's cheeks when they greet someone kind of way. Claire wouldn't have cheated on Jason like that. It's not in her character. As far as the Doctor's timeline, when he met Carina he just left Donna Noble (Journey's End) and now this is before the End of Time episode (which this plot will play a key role in the seventh book). Hopefully, that clears things up.
NicoleR85: Thank you!
Timewalker: Glad you liked the father-daughter bonding. And here's the mother-daughter, uncle-niece bonding.
Guest: I'm honored that you think this fan fiction is one of the best crossovers. That made my day! I'm not sure what the ship name for Claire and Harry is yet. I was thinking Carry but I'm not sure. I'll probably have you all vote on that and come up with suggestions. And I'll tell you Claire does go to the ball with a Durmstrang student. This Durmstrang student will definitely be key into the change of the plot of this book. BTW for the book cover of this book there's a picture of Claire wearing a peach colored dress standing next to a guy in a tux. That's suppose to be what she looks like for the Yule Ball and the guy is her date. The guy is played by Milo Ventimiglia (HEROES). He'll be a new character from Durmstrang Institute named Jeremy Anwir.
