Chapter 21

"Tell me again what he said," Lily said quietly as they exited the library and made their way back to the Gryffindor Common Room. Claire sighed, they had tried to dissect Remus' words at least a dozen times in the last few weeks. It had become a constant topic of conversation between them in the moments that they were alone and not surrounded by friends or roommates. She didn't feel any closer to decoding the interaction than she did the second after it happened.

"That his happy memory was the first day he met me," Lily smiled over at Claire, "Don't look at me like that, it could mean anything."

"Oh come on," Lily elbowed her lightly in the ribs and shook her head, "That could only mean one thing."

"We are good friends," Claire was consistently fluctuating between believing that Remus liked her and convincing herself that she was making it all up, "Our friendship could be the happy memory-"

"You said he stepped closer to you," Lily interrupted her, her mind clearly made up, "He was only inches away from you, almost as if he was going to-"

"He didn't though," Claire felt her heart sink, this had been the sticking point for her all along. Everything in that moment was perfect until Remus suddenly pulled away and left the room. It was as if he had suddenly realized that he didn't want to be so close to her.

She had wanted to be close to him, it was all she seemed to be able to think about recently. During their most recent Potions class, she had completely messed up the assignment and ended up with purple smoke curling above her cauldron. Professor Slughorn went easy on her since she was usually so attentive, but she was embarrassed. James and Sirius had pestered her after class to figure out what had happened, but she wasn't about to admit to them that she had been daydreaming about what it would feel like to press her lips to Remus'.

"Maybe he did have homework to do," Lily glanced over at Claire, trying to come up with a good explanation for the unsatisfying end to Claire's story.

"Maybe he just doesn't want to date me," Claire avoided looking at Lily as she said this, she knew that Lily would never agree with that statement. It was one of the things that made her such a good friend, she was eternally supportive. However, that didn't prevent Claire from worrying that she had been reading too much between the lines and giving meaning to things that should be taken as they were.

"Do you actually believe that he doesn't want to date you?" Claire could hear Lily's voice beside her, but Claire was looking down at the ground analyzing the cracks in the old stone floor instead of looking at her friend.

"I'm not sure," Claire wanted to desperately change the topic of conversation, the first thing that popped into her head was Severus. In the last couple of weeks, they found they were either analyzing Remus' behavior or talking over Lily's concerns about the people Snape was surrounding himself with, "Any updates on Severus?"

"No," Lily sighed, clearly looking disappointed, "I worry that he's starting to actually believe some of the things his friends are telling him."

"Has he-"

"No," Lily said, answering her question before she could even ask it, "He's assured me multiple times that he doesn't think that I'm undeserving of being here. That doesn't change the fact that his friends feel that way."

"It also sounds as if you're the exception," Claire said carefully, not wanting to accuse Severus of anything and upset Lily.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean," Claire looked at her and adjusted the bag on her shoulder, "It sounds as if he might think that I'm undeserving of being here or Mary… or anyone else who is from a Muggle family."

"I don't think so," Lily looked ahead, avoiding eye contact, "Or… at least I hope not."

Claire turned the corner and saw the portrait of the Fat Lady, she was putting bright red lipstick on her lips and admiring her reflection in a small mirror. When she heard footsteps she looked in their direction and smiled at the girls.

"Good afternoon!" She said in her bright cheery voice, Claire couldn't help but smile.

"You're looking lovely today," Claire commented, admiring the bright lip color, "Red is really your color."

"Oh, I know!" The lady was flattered and gave a twirl around in her frame so that she could show off her intricate dress, "I love a bold lip, it really accentuates my features."

"It does," Claire agreed kindly.

"Fizzing Whizbees," Lily said with a smile as the Fat Lady finished up her lipstick and puckered her lips at them.

"You two have a lovely day," She said before her portrait swung out of the way of the entrance to the Common Room, "If you need any makeup tips, you know where to find me!"

Lily and Claire climbed through the portrait hole and made their way through the busy Common Room and up to their dormitory. When they opened the door, Claire noticed that Mary was sitting on Marlene's bed. Marlene was sitting beside her, eyes bloodshot and her nose slightly running. As soon as Marlene looked up and saw Claire she got up from the bed and ran to the bathroom, slamming the door behind her.

"What on earth was that about?" Claire said, feeling as though she had done something horribly wrong that she wasn't aware of.

"She's just upset," Mary said in Marlene's absence. Claire could hear her weeping quietly in the bathroom.

"Marlene," Lily said standing close to the bathroom door, "What happened? Do you want to talk about it?"

"She asked out Sirius," Mary said very quietly, Marlene let out a sob in the bathroom.

"I heard that!" She shouted and then blew her nose loudly.

"Sorry!" Mary said in response, shrugging her shoulders when Claire looked at her for clarification.

"Marlene," Lily tried to calm her through the door, "You deserve better than him, he's a complete prat. You're a beautiful girl, I'm sure there is someone out there who would treat you much better than he could."

"I don't want to date someone else," Marlene said in a shaky voice, "I want to date him."

"I'm sorry," Claire said looking in the direction of the bathroom, "But what does any of this have to do with me?"

"You're friends with him," Mary shrugged her shoulders, Claire rolled her eyes. She had no control over Sirius and she would never have any control over him. He was like a walking talking hurricane; there was no telling what he would do or where he would do it.

"Sirius does what he wants," Claire added, "I just happen to hang around with him."

"Oh please," Marlene opened the door to the bathroom, her dark hair trailing behind her, "You could have put in a good word for me, but you didn't."

"I don't tell Sirius who to date," Lily shook her head at Claire as she spoke, indicating for her to drop it. Claire didn't see why she was going to have to take the blame for Sirius not wanting to date Marlene. The anger was completely misplaced if she was going to be angry with anyone it should be Sirius.

Marlene rolled her eyes and made her way over to her bed again, plopping down next to Mary who handed her some more tissues. Claire and Marlene had never been close friends, they were completely different people. They tolerated each other's presence at best. Claire was generally willing to overlook some of the more annoying characteristics of Marlene, but she certainly wasn't willing to be a scapegoat for her hurt feelings.

"Fine," Marlene said in a huff, dabbing some tears from her eyes with the tissues that Mary had given her, "If that's how you want to be about it."

"I'm not being any way about it-"

"We've all seen the way Sirius looks at you," Marlene's voice became shaky again and tears welled up in her eyes, "He won't date me because he's too busy chasing after you."

"What?" Claire looked to Lily for support, but she was busy trying to comfort Marlene, "Sirius is not interested in me."

"We've all seen it," Marlene had tears spilling down her face again onto her robes, "It doesn't matter now, he's all yours. I hope you're happy."

"I don't want him!" Claire said, feeling the panic rise in her voice. How was it possible she was taking the brunt of the blame in this situation? "This is ridiculous."

Marlene broke into sobs again and Mary rubbed her back. Lily glanced at Claire and gave her a sympathetic look while she whispered reassuring things at Marlene who was a sniffling mess again. Claire dropped her books by her bed and strolled out of their dormitory toward the Common Room again. Marlene must be out of her mind with grief, that was the only explanation she could think of for why anyone would have the idea that Sirius was interested in her.

Sirius stretched out on the grass of the grounds, letting the warm sun soak into his skin. They had just finished their final exam of the year and as a way of celebrating all of them had walked out to the grounds together to enjoy the beautiful weather. James had asked Claire repeatedly if she wanted to play Exploding Snap, but she hadn't played him again since the time she had beaten him. Sirius smirked as he watched James stand in front of Claire who was propped up against the tree with a book in hand.

"Oh come on," James begged, his voice sounding desperate, "Just one game."

"What part of no do you not understand?" Claire didn't even look up from her book as she spoke to him. James ruffled his hair in frustration, Sirius caught the eye of Remus who seemed to be enjoying their conversation.

"What are you not confident that you can beat me again?" James hunched over to bring himself closer to Claire, "So convinced that you will lose your winning title?"

"It's funny that you think baiting me like that will work," Claire said with a bored tone, "I am perfectly content to think that my last game of Exploding Snap was the one that broke your undefeated streak."

James grimaced and he collapsed on the ground in defeat, Sirius let out some barking laughter. James' loss hadn't been genuine, Sirius had provided a small amount of assistance to make sure that Claire won that round. It's not that he didn't have confidence that she could beat him on her own, it was more so that he was exhausted listening to James boast all of the time. His Confundus Charm really just sped up the inevitable.

"I can play you," Peter added in an attempt to be helpful.

"Alright," James said, not sounding particularly satisfied with this alternate plan, "You shuffle." James tossed the cards over in Peter's direction and gave one last woeful look over at Claire who couldn't seem to be bothered with his moping.

Sirius watched closely as Remus leaned over and whispered something into Claire's ear. A smile crept over her face and she finally looked up from her book to giggle at Remus. Sirius wondered if she knew that he had used the Confundus Charm on James. He hoped that she didn't; he could still picture the smile on her face when he carried her around the Common Room in celebration. She had been so happy, Sirius had wished that he could have kept that smile on her face forever.

Claire looked over at Sirius and gave him a small smile before looking down at her book again. He stood and wandered his way over to the tree and settled in next to her. Claire's eyes continued to speed over the pages in front of her as he cleared his throat to get her attention.

"You know that term is done and we don't have any more homework right?" Claire looked at him out the corner of her eye as he spoke.

"I'm reading for fun,"

"What could you possibly be reading for fun?" Sirius went to grab the book out of her hands, but she pulled it away from him and into her chest. He smirked at her, satisfied with her response.

"Shakespeare," Claire said quietly.

"Just some light reading I see," Sirius said sarcastically.

"What do you want Sirius?" She shot him a look, he chuckled slightly.

"I can't come over and talk to you?"

"Not without wanting something," Claire smirked at him, feeling as though she had the upper hand, "I'm confused what you could want though since you don't need to plagiarize any more of my essays."

"I just wanted to sit with my friend,"

"Your friend is over there moping about Exploding Snap," Claire pointed over in James' direction as he dealt the cards out to play with Peter.

"How about you just accept that I wanted to sit next to you," Sirius said continuing to chuckle, "And enjoy my presence?"

"Why do you want to sit next to me?" Claire looked at him suspiciously.

"I have my reasons," Sirius winked at her and Claire flushed.

"Are you going to let me read in peace?"

"Yep," Sirius leaned back against the tree and closed his eyes slightly. He drifted off not long after that until he heard a new voice in their group.

"Do you want to grab dinner with me?"

"Evans," Sirius looked up and saw James standing with his chest puffed out slightly and his usually messy hair even more ruffled in the back, "It's sweet of you to ask, I'd love to get dinner with you-"

"I'm not talking to you," Lily shot at him, turning her back in his direction and directly facing Claire.

"If I could make a suggestion though," James said maneuvering himself so that he was in Lily's eyeline again, "It might be better if we went to Hogsmeade instead of the Great Hall-"

"Never in a million years-"

"But if you're that desperate to date me now," James continued on with a smirk on his face, "We could make the Great Hall work. Maybe see if we could get the lights dimmed for some ambiance-"

"James," Claire snapped her book shut and looked at him, "Leave her alone and go back to losing at Exploding Snap."

"I wasn't losing!"

"Sure you weren't," James narrowed his eyes at Claire as he turned his back on Lily and sat back down in front of the cards Peter had dealt.

"So," Lily said taking a deep breath to regain her composure, "Dinner?"

"I think I'm going to stay here for a bit,"

"Okay," Lily said adjusting the bag on her shoulder, "If you'd rather stay out here with them."

"I don't appreciate the way you said them," Sirius growled at Lily, "Like we are some pack of wild animals."

"You practically are-"

"Oh my God!" Claire stood suddenly and looked excited, Remus stood as well looking slightly startled at her outburst.

"What is it?" He asked gently.

"I just got an idea," Claire was clearly attempting to remain calm despite the fact that she was practically bouncing on the balls of her feet, "Lily, I am going to head back up to the castle with you. I will meet you on the path up ahead, I need to talk to Sirius really quickly."

Lily shot Claire a confused look but headed up the path toward the school. Claire knelt down next to Sirius, her eyes bright with excitement.

"What was all of that about?"

"I need you to sneak me into the library tonight-"

"Me? Sneak you in the library?" Sirius pretended as though he was offended by this comment, "I would never dream of doing such a thing."

"Stop goofing around," Claire batted at his arm lightly, "I think I figured it out."

"Figured what out?" Remus' voice came from behind Claire, she turned to look at him with a large grin on her face.

"A way for us to help you."

A/N: Happy Friday everyone! I'm so glad to be back with another chapter this week. My life has become more and more hectic recently because of work and the fact that I get married in a couple of weeks. I hope to be able to keep on schedule for the next week or two and then most likely there will be a small break while I'm out of the country for my honeymoon. I hope that you all enjoy this chapter. Cheers!