Dorian wrapped up their family meeting fairly quickly, stating that they have a busy day ahead of them tomorrow and that they all need sleep. Clarissa bid her family goodnight and they split off into their own wings; Clarissa and Damon retiring to the east wing while Dorian and Celeste retiring to the west wing. Giving her brother one last smile, Clarissa entered her room and tiredly hopped into bed.
It was a restless night for her, not used to her bedroom. It bothered her to no end that she seemed to be looking for James' warmth throughout the night, that the warming charm was unhelpful to her. Although James' offer echoed in the back of her mind, she didn't want to be one of those clingy girlfriends who can't live without their boyfriends. Instead, she laid in her bed and just closed her eyes and waited for sleep to take her. It worked, although she found herself waking up every other hour throughout the night. When Clarissa saw the first ray of sun shining through her window, she gave up trying to sleep and went ahead to start her day.
Clarissa freshened up in her bathroom and made her way down to the kitchen for some tea and a light breakfast. Seeing that it was only half past six in the morning, she didn't want to bother their house elf Della for something as simple as tea. To Clarissa's surprise, a cup of tea was waiting for her once she reached the kitchen along with a slice of toast and jam. She saw a house elf, Della she assumed, bustling around. She gave Della her thanks and happily began munching on her toast. One by one, the rest of her family woke up, though Damon was quite groggy still. It was a quiet breakfast, no one in the mood to talk yet seeing at how early it was.
Once everyone was ready to go, Clarissa bringing her wand and phone with her (a habit she has yet to break), the Nox's went through the fireplace and floo'd to the Potter's manor. Fleamont and Euphemia were already bright eyed and ready for the day and she was not surprised to learn that her boyfriend and best friend were still snoring away. Clarissa was tasked to wake both the boys up while the rest of them were to plan how they're going to be teaching the three teens.
Something in the back of Clarissa's mind told her that it would be easier to wake up James first before she tackled Sirius. She found the messy haired, hazel eyed boy lying shirtless face down on his mattress. Taking light steps, Clarissa sat on the edge of the bed and softly called out James' name. Since she only received grunts as her answer, it seemed that she needed to change her way of waking him up. A mischievous smile crept on Clarissa's face as she prepared to pinch/tickle James' side. This method was very effective as the sleeping boy jolted awake and rolled over to get away from Clarissa's fingers. Clarissa laughed at James' startled expression, clearly still half asleep. James became more awake once he realized who was in the room with him, crawling back towards Clarissa to peck her cheek in greeting.
"Morning love," James murmured against her cheek.
"Rise and shine, hon. We have a lot to do today," Clarissa told him, accepting his kiss.
Once her job of waking up James was completed, she told him to head straight down for a quick breakfast while she woke up Sirius. Unsurprisingly, it took a while to wake up Sirius. Just short of dumping water on his head, the curly haired teen finally got up and started to get ready. As he passed by Clarissa on his way to the lavatory, he was grumbling about his interrupted beauty sleep that only made the brunette chuckle.
The two marauders quickly ate their breakfast to not keep everyone else waiting. The adults split the trio up much to their chagrin, with Sirius going with Dorian and Damon while James and Clarissa stayed with the rest of the adults. As a Black, Sirius was introduced to occlumency early on in his childhood. Majority of the pureblood families taught their children from a very young age and though Euphemia and Fleamont tried to do the same with James, they were not as rough with him as Walburga and Orion was to Sirius. Unlike Sirius whose occlumency shields were up but weak, James and Clarissa's shield has yet to be fully established. The Nox gentlemen were to help Sirius restrengthen his shields while the Potters and Nox matriarch helped James and Clarissa.
The couple were brilliant students and didn't take long for them to grasp what the adults were teaching them. By late afternoon, all the teens have slightly stronger shields than when they began. They had to take breaks throughout the day because of how exhausting it is to form a mental shield. The three teens were moaning about their splitting headaches by the time their lessons were finished for the day. The adults told them that dinner would be in an hour and left them to their own devices. Clarissa decided to do more research about horcruxes and fiendfyre in the library, James joining her. Sirius on the other hand opted out of research and chose to go to his room to get a head start on his packing for school.
Clarissa easily chose a number of books to leaf through while James took one from her stack to read through. Tinky found the couple huddled together at a desk, quietly murmuring to each other about the things they found. The house elf interrupted their research to tell them that dinner was ready. The two families enjoyed a delicious meal, courtesy of the house elves. The Nox's retired to their manor right after, worn out from today's affairs.
They repeated this schedule for the remaining days the three teens had before they go back to Hogwarts. Dueling was also incorporated in their lessons, mostly from Damon but the adults also gave their input from experience. It was an exhausting three days. Unfortunately, they would be unable to continue their lessons once school starts but the teens promised to keep doing their shield strengthening exercises in their spare times and practice their dueling in the room of requirement.
It was finally the night before Clarissa goes to Hogwarts and she could not be more excited and nervous about it. The two marauders were in her room helping her pack her trunk—well James was helping her pack her trunk, Sirius on the other hand was just lying on her bed throwing a quaffle in the air. Clarissa has never been to a boarding school so she was unsure of how much she should bring in terms of clothes and what things she needed to bring. James helped her pack her school robes and her regular clothes. He started blushing slightly when he accidentally opened her drawer of knickers, but in the end gave her a suggestive smile which in turn made her blush. Quickly grabbing her underwear, she hastily stuffed them in her trunk, though not deep enough because Sirius was able to grab a particularly lacey pair with his fingers and whistled lowly. With a huff, Clarissa took them away from him, calling him a prat under her breath.
"So, you nervous for tomorrow Clar?" Sirius asked, going back to throwing the quaffle in the air.
Clarissa bit her lip as she thought about her answer.
"I mean, I've dreamt of going to Hogwarts since I found out about it so of course I'm excited, but…"
James paused his folding and turned to look at his girlfriend, worry etched on her face.
"But…?" Prompted James.
"I don't know," Clarissa said with a shrug, "I guess I'm just nervous about seeing everybody but not knowing them and classes and stuff. I mean, who knows if I can even do anything!"
James grasped her hands and guided her to sit on her bed, Sirius shuffling to make space for the two.
"We can't say we know how you're feeling but we'll be with you every step of the way Clar. You don't have to worry about being alone, that's for sure," Sirius comforted her.
"Pads is right love, we'll be here for you," James added, stroking her hand.
Clarissa smiled at her two boys softly, "You guys are the best, you know that?"
Sirius and James preened at the compliment.
"So we've been told," Sirius said smugly, making Clarissa roll her eyes.
With a sigh, Clarissa stood up from her position to finish her packing. Both boys helped this time around and they finished in record time. The boys had to convince her not to bring her entire book collection, stating that Hogwarts also has an impressive library and with Dumbledore knowing about her predicament, she'll be able to access the restricted section no problem. By eleven o'clock, the two boys were bidding Clarissa a good night and promised her they would be awake on time to leave for 10:45 sharp.
The trio will be taking the King's Cross entrance to Platform 9 and ¾, Clarissa pleading to go through the brick wall. It didn't take much to convince her parents or James and Sirius if she were being honest. The two marauders having only used the barrier once or twice seeing as it was more efficient to use the Floo network or for their parents to apparate them there. However, tomorrow the two families will be apparating to King's Cross to fulfill Clarissa's wishes.
Knowing that it will take her some time to sleep because of all the excitement, Clarissa picked an interesting book from her personal collection and dimmed the lights in her room to help her fall asleep quicker or at the very least make her drowsy. It proved to be more difficult than she hoped to fall asleep. Hearing the clock strike two in the morning didn't do anything to ease her anxiety of what the day holds tomorrow (or later). Clarissa knew she had to rely on her foreknowledge about the characters she's about to meet as well as trust James and Sirius for having her back on explaining why she all of a sudden doesn't remember certain details about her so-called friends. Clarissa prays to whoever is listening that her subconscious will take the lead and help her out.
Before she knew it, Della was waking her up to get ready for her departure. With only an hour left until they had to leave, Clarissa was thankful that she packed her belongings last night. She was able to take her time in the shower and ate a small breakfast, afraid she won't be able to stomach it because of her nerves (and also when they have to apparate later on).
"How are you feeling about going back to Hogwarts sweetheart?" Celeste asked her daughter as she watched her pick at her food.
Clarissa shrugged her shoulders, "Nervous. Excited. Scared. Like I'm about to throw up."
Damon chortled quietly from his spot, ignoring Clarissa's glare.
"Oh, it's understandable you feel that way, but just remember that you have James and Sirius with you. I also want you to not be so hung up about the horcruxes and enjoy your time in school."
Clarissa looked at her mother, appalled that she could think anything was more important than the horcruxes. She opened her mouth, ready to argue but Celeste held her hand up.
"No buts! I know they're important but right now there's only so much we can do about them at the moment. It's not what you want to hear, but the best thing for you to do right now is to complete your education and practice what we've taught you these past few days."
The irrational part of her brain thinks there's nothing more pressing than destroying the horcruxes. She knew where they were so why not just do it now to get it over with? However, the more rational and logical part of her brain knows her mother is right. The only horcrux at arm's length is the diadem. Even if she knew where the others were at, she won't be able to do anything to obtain it or fight others for it. Clarissa knew that she has to build up her magical repertoire before proceeding with her mission otherwise she'd be a goner.
Clarissa reluctantly nodded at her mother and finished the last bit of her breakfast. It was nearing 10:45 am so she hastily climbed back up to her room to fetch her trunk. Quickly casting a feather-light charm on her trunk and shrinking it, she stuffed it in her coat pocket. Racing down the stairs, Della caught her arm before she could get to her parents.
"Missy Clary! Here, Della has grabbed your special juice! Missy must drink this before she goes, yes she must!"
Clarissa eyed the goblet Della was extending out for her to grab, confused on what this special juice could be. Damon was on his way to the living area stopped to look at the two of them, quirking an eyebrow at her, a silent way of asking what was going on.
"Should I be concerned about this 'special' juice Della is trying to give me?" Clarissa questioned her brother humorously.
"Oh, that's just to help with your motion sickness. We don't want you throwing up at the Platform now, do we?" He teased before breezing past them, but not before he got a slap on the shoulder from his sister.
Clarissa wrinkled her nose at the thought of the after-effects of apparating and downed the potion immediately, thanking Della afterward. Before she could leave, the house elf snapped her fingers and gave Clarissa a hefty package, telling her it was for Mister Jamesy and the rest of her friends. One last thanks to the house elf, Clarissa ran to where her parents were waiting and grabbed a hold of her father's arm. She felt herself being squeezed through a tight tube, being twisted and pulled in every which way, and for a second she felt like she couldn't breathe. The sensation was over as quickly as it started, and she found herself panting next to her father at a secluded part of King's Cross station. Another two pops and she saw her mother and brother appear beside them.
"You okay? You took your potion, didn't you?" Dorian asked his daughter who was still trying to catch her breath.
"Yeah," breathed out Clarissa, "Yeah I'm fine. Della caught me on my way out. Do you mind enlarging my trunk? I shrunk it before we left."
Clarissa pulled out her trunk from her pocket, ignoring her mother's exasperated expression.
Before her mother could even say anything, she spoke, "Oh c'mon mum. You know they can't tell who uses magic when we're at home. That's only for the muggleborns who live in highly populated muggle areas."
Celeste sighed, "No matter, come now. The train will be leaving soon, I suppose Monty and Mia are there waiting for us already."
Not even realizing her brother left until he came back with a trolley, the Nox family made their way to the barrier of Platform 9 and ¾ where they found the Potters waiting for them. It was surreal to see the magical barrier even though it looks like an ordinary brick wall to her. She felt herself begin to slow down as she came closer to James and the others.
"Morning love! You ready for today?" James asked her, parking his own trolley next to hers.
Clarissa glanced up at him and gave a weak smile, "Define ready."
James rubbed her arm comfortingly," I know you're nervous and that's okay! But this is gonna be exciting for you!"
Clarissa wanted to have more time to put herself together before she went through but seeing as the train leaves in ten minutes, she didn't have that luxury. She gestured for Sirius and James to go through first before gathering her wits and following. It was amazing to see that scarlet train before her eyes. The loud whistle of the train woke her from her daze, and she followed her family into the bustling crowd.
Damon helped her with her trunk as she anxiously stared at the train, fiddling with her fingers. Clarissa wasn't sure if she was ready to part from her family so soon to go to an entirely new environment. She was just starting to get used to being with the Potters and with her "new and magical" family. As if sensing her worries, Celeste hugged her tight and whispered comforting words in her ear before pulling away to let Dorian and Damon have a turn.
"It'll be alright darling, you'll see. We'll owl you every day and we can meet up at Hogsmeade for lunch if you're alright to hang out with your parents," Celeste joked, lightly pinching her cheek which caused Clarissa to pull away while giggling.
"Clar, we should get going. Sirius went on just in case Remus and Peter didn't get a compartment," James told her, breaking up their family moment.
Clarissa turned back to her family and she felt her eyes sting.
She threw her arms around all of them, "I love you all."
James helped her onto the train just as it was about to leave. Clarissa turned to wave one last goodbye to her family and watched as they became smaller and smaller as the train pulled out of the station. Once she couldn't see them anymore, she faced James who was waiting for her.
Taking a deep breath, Clarissa looked at James with determination in her eyes, "Let's do this."