Hellooo! This chapter has a lot of mother-daughter bonding between Ellie and Clara just coz I want to do that coz it's cute. They're going back to Hogwarts too, and everyone's gonna find out that they're together :3 yay! Remember to review!

DISCLAIMER: I do not own anything.

Chapter 25 - Clara

The day had come for them to go back to school and Clara really didn't want to go. It was unusual for her to feel this way, as she loved Hogwarts so much, but her and John had had so much fun that she wanted to stay at home forever.

Clara sat down to breakfast slightly miserably, and began to pour herself some cereal when her father came in.

"Hey, love. I haven't told you, but I'm not going to be able to see you off today. I've had an urgent call from work and I have to leave in ten minutes," he said, doing up his tie.

"Oh, really?" She said.

"I'm sorry, darling. Your mother will take you. Karen said that she's going to take John separately but you'll meet at the station. I'll say goodbye when I leave, okay?"

"Yeah, sure. Where is mum? Is she still in bed?" Clara asked.

"No, I think she's just coming. Don't worry, you won't be late. Are you all packed?" her dad asked her.

"Yep, there are just a couple of things but that's fine. I'm taking a bit more because I think we've decided that were not coming home for Easter. We've got our OWLS so I think we're going to stay at Hogwarts and revise," Clara said.

"Oh yeah, that's fair enough. I still remember how stressful that was. If you need anything you can write any time. I remember that chocolate helped me back then."

Clara laughed.

"Morning all!" her mum's joyful voice exclaimed as she walked into the kitchen. She picked up some toast and quickly dropped it on a plate.

Her mother had such a young soul. Clara saw her as more of a friend than a parent. Ellie Oswald had guided her through life and made sure she enjoyed the experience. Although she'd never admit it, she favoured her mum more than her dad, which she felt a little guilty about.

"Has dad told you?" Her mum asked her as she sat down.

"Yeah, are we going in the Volkswagen today?" Clara asked. They rarely used the Volkswagen together as a family, but her mum loved going for drives in her Polo alone in her free time. She adored the car and always made sure it was in great condition.

"Yes, actually. Since it's just you and me today, I think we could spoil Polo with a ride," she said.

Clara smiled. It amused her how her mum called it 'Polo'.

"Right, I'm off then, ladies," her dad said, walking up to Clara's chair, ready to say goodbye for another few months.

Clara stood up and hugged him. "Bye, dad," she said.

"See you, Clara. You smash those OWLs for your old man, okay? We all know you have your mother's brains in you," he said, breaking the hug. Clara heard her mum chuckle behind her.

"I will, dad. Have fun at work, if that's even possible," she said.

"Haha, I'll try," her dad said, before putting on his cloak and walking towards the door. He gave her mum a quick kiss, before leaving the house.

"Looks like it's just us now then. I think we should go in about ten minutes. It'll take us a couple of hours to get there in the Polo," she said after glancing at her watch.

Clara dedicated those last ten minutes to last minute packing. She checked a couple of times that she had everything, before tugging her trunk and Fidget down the stairs.

Her mum loaded the trunk into the car and strapped Fidget's cage to the back seat so it wouldn't move about on the way. Clara watched her mum as she did this. She looked so trendy in her dungarees. Clara wouldn't be able to pull that off herself.

Soon after that they were belted up and on their way to King's Cross in London. It was quite a journey from Bradford, but Clara didn't mind as she got to spend the time with her mum.

"Hey mum, can I ask you a question?" Clara said as she searched the glove compartment for sweets..

"Yeah," her mum said, keeping her eyes on the road in front of her. "Would you pass a lemon sherbert, first."

Clara obeyed and continued, "Did you date anyone else before dad?"

"Um, well yes, I did. I had a couple of boyfriends before your dad. Although, I think I was your dad's first girlfriend. And last," her mum said, sucking on the sherbert lemon.

"Okay, well did you ever wonder why you were with those people afterwards. Like, you think "what made me think I liked that person?" because you have no clue yourself?"

"Wow, such a detailed question. I'm guessing you're feeling that way, coz it's not one of those questions you randomly ask, right?"

"Yeah, it's Danny. He was my first boyfriend and I don't even remember why I liked him now. He turned out to be a bit of a prick in the end. To be really honest, he was jealous because John was sticking his nose in," Clara ended with a laugh.

"Well, yeah. That happens I guess. People change and they realise that that person is not who they want anymore. It's a natural thing, I guess. I mean I'm probably an example, one of the guys I first dated, he was called Jack, and he was the world's biggest flirt and he was incredibly hot, and at the time he was my type. But look now, I'm married to your father, a timid, balding sweetheart. But I guess I changed to get there."

"Mm, yeah," Clara said, deep in thought about what she'd just heard. There was a moment of silence.

"So you like John at the moment?" Her mum asked.

"Yeah I really do now. Like, before I was a bit hesitant about him. He was a bit immature when it came to winning me over Danny, but I guess boys are boys and they like to play rough. But it's like he's grown up now. From our first kiss he's been really caring and...romantic. Which is a quality I didn't realise he had," Clara said.

"Well, people break the boudaries for the ones they love. And we can all see that he really loves you. I was 17 when I met my soul mate, you've been lucky, my child," her mum said.

"You don't even know we're going to get married yet. I mean, we're only 16 now," Clara said.

"Ah, but I'm in the middle of a bet, so I'm counting on it. No pressure."

"Haha, okay then. We'll see. But promise me this. If I don't marry John, you have to perform at my wedding," Clara said.

"Oh, okay. You're on. I'm already prepared because I'm not gonna be doing it."

"Yeah, yeah. Keep talking. I don't even know myself yet, so I'm not leaning towards anything. I'd shake on it, but your driving."

And so the journey went on for the next hour and a half, until they finally reached King's Cross. They had half an hour until the train left Platform 9 and 3/4, so they got themselves some ice cream.

"Have you seen John and Karen yet?" Clara asked her mum as they approached the train after entering the platform.

"No I haven't, but you'll find him. It's alright. You doing Prefect duties?" Her mum asked.

"I'm supposed to, but I'm just going to say I forgot. I don't think they're too strict on the Christmas routes," Clara said as they pushed past people.

"Okay, well anyway, you better get on now, because it's going to leave in a couple of minutes," her mum said.

Clara stopped walking and turned to face her mum. "I love you, mum. I'm really going to miss you," she said.

"Oh, Clara. I love you too. You go and show them what you've got. I'm thinking about you every day, and don't forget to write, okay? See you, love." Ellie kissed her daughter on the forehead before giving her a great hug.

They stood there until the whistle blew, and then Clara ran to get on the train. She waved out of the window to her mum as the train began to move and didn't stop until she was out of sight. She was a little upset, as she'd had such an amazing car journey with her mum. Clara realised that her time with her mum wasn't something to take for granted.

Then she set off to look for her 'boyfriend', having no clue where he would be. She was hoping to avoid the front of the train so that she wouldn't be sucked into the Prefect carriage, so she decided to start from the back.

But she didn't make it all the way, as she spotted John in a compartment with Saxon, Neville, and Katie Bell.

She slid the door open and said "hey guys."

They all responded and she put her trunk away. She sat down next to John and gave him a kiss.

"Woah, mate. When we're you going to tell us about this?" Saxon said in shock.

"I was waiting for Clara to get here, and then we'd tell you together, but now you know," John said, putting his arm around Clara.

"No, no, but how? When? Where? We want the deets, man," Saxon said.

"Alright, mate. Calm your man tits. How, we stuck our tongues down each other's throats. When, Christmas day. Where, her kitchen," John said.

"Yes, John, because you made that sound as romantic as Snape. Basically, we were supposed to be washing dishes and I wanted to complete his Christmas present, so I gave him what he'd been wanting for ages. And I don't regret a thing," Clara said.

"Aww, that is so cute," Katie said.

"Well, it was about time. But I'm happy for you two," Saxon said.

"Thanks, man," John said.

Clara looked over at Neville, who hadn't said anything yet. He looked extremely awkward.

"Aw, Nev. Are you okay?" She asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine... And single," he said

"Don't worry, Nev. You known what I think? There's no point going out with someone it you don't want them. It's better to wait for the one."

At that moment, Clara could feel John's eyes on her, and she felt like the luckiest girlfriend in the world.

Anyone notice the dramatic irony with the 'as romantic as Snape' thing? And also, I wanted to add, that although I try to keep most events as accurate as possible according to the books, I'M MAKING NUNA CANON OKAY COZ IT SHOULD BE.