Imprisonment

Fifty One

"GET UP!"

Claire sat straight up almost hitting her head on the bed above hers. She blinked several times looking around something wasn't right. This wasn't the school. Then slowly it all came back to her. Everything that had happened the day before. She had been stupid chasing after James.

"Good you're awake."

"How can you sleep when they yell like that?"

The blonde woman forced a small smile as she lowered herself back onto the bed.

"Here have some of this bread."

Claire watched as the woman ripped it up into three smaller pieces. It defiantly wasn't much and Claire appreciated the action. Something told her that this was the woman's rations and she had chosen to share it with her.

"Thank you."

They sat silently munching on the stale bread. It felt like forever before the brunette appeared. She smiled kindly at Claire taking the third section of bread and eating it. Then Claire watched as she reached into her pocket and pulled out another piece of bread.

"This is yours. Don't eat it now though."

"Why not?"

"We only get one piece of bread a day. Save it you'll need to eat later."

As she looked at the tiny piece of food she noted that she would share it with the two women later on. They had already been so kind to her. The brunette had cradled her long into the night allowing her to cry all the tears that she needed to.

Storing the bread in her pocket Claire looked up. The brunette was drinking something from a cup. She took two mouthfuls before handing it to the blonde. Then the blonde did the same before passing it to her. Claire looked and saw milk in the bottom of the cup. She managed to take only two mouthfuls before it was empty. These women were sharing everything with her.

"Thank you both so much."

"That's alright child."

Claire smiled at the brunette realising that she didn't know their names. She nervously looked around to see that some of the women were watching them but ignored it as she spoke up.

"Umm … I'm sorry but I don't know your names?"

The blonde smiled slightly looking at the other woman.

"I'm Luna and this is Hermione."

Claire felt her mouth drop as she looked at the two women. It wasn't possible. It couldn't be. Something told her that they hadn't expected that reaction as they shared a look between themselves. Finally she managed to close her mouth and get her voice back.

"I can't believe it! We thought you were dead."

The two looked startled now as they surveyed her. It was Hermione that spoke up.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean you're James' mum. And you you're Molly and Laura's!"

"You know my son!"

Claire just nodded slowly as the two woman looked more surprised than she felt.

"James is my brother, well adopted brother. My family adopted him when you came back to this world. God Harry told us all about you but I never thought that I'd get to meet you and before James."

Hermione's eyes were wide and she seemed speechless. So instead Claire turned to Luna.

"And Ron told us about you. Not directly of course. He told Laura and Molly and we all know about you now. Wow I just can't believe I've gotten to met you."

"What are my girls like?"

Claire closed her eyes a moment and thought about it. She couldn't help but smile to herself.

"So very different and yet the same. I mean they both have ginger hair. But Molly's is long and curly while Laura has hers short and straight. But it's not ginger like Ron's or his sisters they've both got a blonde touch to it making it seem lighter than it is. Then their eyes are both the palest blue I've ever seen. But it suits them. Then their about the same height, Laura might be slightly taller."

"They sound beautiful."

"Oh they are Luna. But then their personalities are so different. Laura is a pure girl. Everything about her has to be perfect. Then she loves to flirt with the boys and her and my friend Daniel are so alike its scary I mean he's like the male version of her. But you know she wanted to come and find you she believes that to see you will be to have a mum."

"Oh but Molly well she's the complete polar opposite. I mean where as Laura is very practical and needs to see things to believe Molly will believe in anything and everything. I mean her and Neal have these wacky conversations about … oh what was the last thing they were talking about … oh yes Wrackspurts. And then while you'll always find Laura in some short skirt Molly seems to live in trousers. But the thing with them is that their differences make them stronger."

"Molly sounds just like you Luna."

Claire watched as the two women smiled at each other. Luna seemed lost in her own little world for the time being. Claire took this opportunity to talk to Hermione about James.

"You know Ron reckons James is just like his dad. He can be completely reckless, oblivious to all the attention he gets from girls and lives in the air. I don't know how many times he's sat in Ron's office talking to Harry and James senior about Quidditch and the best moves to make to win a game."

"Harry's dead Claire you must be mistaken."

"We have a portrait of him. Harry in the portrait talks to James all the time, as do his grandparents. It's really strange that the only relationship he has with his father is through a painting but its better than nothing."

"Yes I guess it is."

"He's like you too though."

"Pardon."

"Ron says James is the best bits of you and Harry. You see James is a top student. He's got this way of absorbing information that Ron reckons he gets from you. Then there's his love of literature Harry says he had to get that from you. Plus everyone says that he gets his intelligence from you. Harry told me that he was never able to figure out the outcome before the end but you had the logic to do it, James is the same."

Hermione laughed tentatively snapping Luna out from whatever place she was in. A voice sounded from outside and they looked over their shoulder. Luna was the first to turn back to Claire. Her voice was very low as she spoke.

"How did you get here?"

Claire lowered her voice to a whisper to answer the question.

"There was a trap. Somehow Voldemort got word around that you two had escaped. James fell for it and came to rescue you. I followed with my friend Rose and Professor Tonks. But that horrible blonde man grabbed me and I ended up here."

"Malfoy."

"Pardon?"

Claire looked at Hermione as she spoke again.

"The blonde man is Draco Malfoy. He's very dangerous more so than we ever gave him credit for. Listen to me Claire you have to keep your head low and not bring attention to yourself. Don't tell anyone about your friends or where you've come from. And most importantly don't utter a word of how you got here."

"But why?"

The two women shared a look before Hermione spoke up slowly.

"Even the walls have ears in this place."