"Clair, do you think this makes me look fat?" Kate asked me as she stood in front of her full-length mirror.
She was constantly worrying about looking fat, and she'd been ten times worse since she started showing.
"News flash Kate, you're growing another human being inside of you. People know that you're pregnant, and no one's going to call you fat."
No one with any decency, at any rate.
"Ok good, because I really don't want to go anywhere in unflattering attire."
God, she really did get the vanity part of being a pureblood. She radiated with a glow that only a pregnant woman could achieve, and she looked stunning.
"So where are you headed to anyway Kate? You never did say."
Katrina glanced at me from the mirror, looking slightly embarrassed.
"I'm going out with Draco. He said he wanted to talk to me about something, and we haven't talked much since....well… you know...."
Basically, they'd talked a grand total of 0 times. A big fat 0. I still hadn't forgiven my brother for what he did, and I wasn't planning on it any time soon. I was pretty good at holding grudges. I was even better at pretending that nothing was wrong between us. Unless you were in the immediate group that we hang out with, you'd never know there was a problem.
Once and a while Draco sent Crabbe or Goyal over to command my presence, but I refused to be bothered by that prat. Crabbe in particular got cold glares because the "joke" Draco had played.
"Oh, well have fun," I told her unenthusiastically.
"Hey, what's up between you two?"
She'd been bugging me for days, but I hadn't felt up to talking about it. Since she was going to spend significant time with my brother in about fifteen minutes, I figured now would be a good time to tell her.
"He won't tell me who I shagged while I was out of it last year."
Her face instantly showed a mixture of sympathy and pity, "Oh Clair, I'm so sorry for you! You want me to ask him for you?"
Gotta love the 'best friend pity' card. Works like a charm every time.
"Oh, you don't have to, but if you want to then sure."
She only ever did what she wanted, and in this case she wants to, mainly for her own benefit more than for her best friend. Probably wants to fantasize about what my baby would look like. She gave me a quick hug as she exited her dorm room, and I, in a sudden pit of boredom, decided to go on a walk. Walks always calmed me down and gave me a chance to zone out, not worry about anything. Unless I was walking to class, in which case I was focused on getting there and not forgetting anything.
The dungeons were really dreary when one thought about it, but oh well. That's life for a Slytherin. We wanted to please impress others constantly, never doing anything for ourselves that we wanted. Only things that would better our reputations. Like in the case of Kate Valentine and my brother. Draco got her pregnant, which society looks down on, but because they're graduating this year and getting married (supposedly), it's just fine and dandy. In my case last year, it was hushed up, end of story. It made me wonder if the guy figure knew about anything, or if he was just as drunk and oblivious as I was.
If he wasn't drunk, then it's understandable why I haven't heard about it from him; Draco is very good with threats. Merlin knows he wouldn't hesitate going through with it either.
I was thrown out of my not-too-zoned-but-still-zoned state of mind when I walked into a wall in the middle of the hallway. This wall had a pair of arms that came out to catch me from falling and also smelled kind of nice. I looked up into a pair of familiar blue eyes and smiled at my long-time friend.
"Watch where you're going Malfoy," he teased.
I rolled my eyes at him, "Right after you Nott."
Theodore Nott, while my friend and possible fiancée, was not boyfriend material, in my eyes at any rate. Neither was Blaise Zabini for that matter. I believe it was previously stated, but I just thought it should be reinforced. Theodore and Blaise had been my friends since first year, and it would be too weird to marry date them. Besides, I can't picture my name with either of them. Mrs. Clarisse Nott or Mrs. Clarisse Zabini. Both are out just because I don't like their last names replacing mine.
"What are you doing out and about, besides walking into people?"
I rolled my eyes, as I constantly did in his presence. Just because we were friends didn't mean he wasn't a bonehead.
"I was walking, or couldn't you see that from way down the hall, since you were obviously paying attention to where you were walking."
He fell into step beside me, and we began to make our way down the hall, where we would turn and make our way back to the Slytherin common room.
"Of course. What's the deal with you and Draco?"
Way to kill the conversation.
"None of your business. Of course, if you asked him, I'm sure he'd gladly tell you," I added scathingly.
He dropped the subject after that. The rest of the walk was almost uneventful. 'Almost' here being the key word.
"Hey Claire!"
I cringed inwardly as we turned slightly and saw non other than Harry Potter making his way towards me. What was his problem now? Theodore's gaze narrowed until his eyes looked like slits. For some bizarre reason, that wasn't enough to stop him from continuing his advance towards us.
Let me lay out the dilemma; I wasn't totally rude to Potter, and didn't totally dislike his company, try as hard as I could to deny it. The bigger problem here was that Theodore was standing at my side, and not only would he be extremely rude, he'll expect me to join in. If I do, it means I look like a stereotypical jerk. If I don't, Nott will be sure to tell my brother, who will in turn bug me about it. It will be the train ride all over again, a thousand times worse.
"What do you want, Potter?" Nott demanded.
"None of your business, Nott," Har- Potter responded just as coldly.
He turned his attention to me then, "Hey, have you got a minute? I wanted to ask-"
"Where the nearest train to Loserville is? Sorry Gryffindork, you just missed it. I'll tell you what though, I'm sure I can convince them to come back to get you, you're just that important to them."
He threw his head back and laughed cruelly. Potter stood his ground, refusing to stoop to his level.
"No, actually, I wasn't looking for the train, but it's a shame it's gone. It would've done you good to go. Now listen Claire-"
"What do you want with Claire, eh loser? Not only is she way out of your league, but she's a pureblood, and a highly thought of pureblood at that, and Draco will totally kick your arse if you so much as come within five feet of her again. Got it?"
Nott grabbed my hand and dragged me off, and I was grateful that I didn't have to say anything. I glanced back over my shoulder and regretted it. Potter looked just as bad as he would've if I had said something.