Although she knew that Abdo was reliable and a speedy worker, even Claudia wasn't expecting such a speedy reply to her query. Masoumeh brought the reply, meaning he must have written it the previous evening and asked Mariam to send it on.
The usual group were separated, owing to the fact that Fred was refusing to speak to or even look at Claudia. Claudia was sat with the girls and Kieran, and Fred sat with his twin and Lee. It was exceptionally awkward, but now she had a distraction. After feeding Masoumeh some cornflakes (which the owl clearly didn't think much of), she opened the letter and read her dad's familiar handwriting.
Dear Claudia,
I hope you are having a fun holiday. I have read your letter regarding your friends and Ludo Bagman, and will look into it. Between you and I, there have been many mutterings around the Ministry about him, but nothing anyone can prove. I can't promise any success, but I will do my best.
With all my love,
Dad
Claudia pondered for a moment about telling George. Then, spitefully, she decided against it. Let Fred suffer for a bit. He was being absolutely ridiculous and foul, all because he was jealous that Viktor tried to talk to her, be friendly towards her even. Wasn't it obvious that he and Hermione were mad about each other?
"You've only been going out five minutes and he's already being difficult," Katie said bluntly but not unkindly.
"I can't say I'm surprised, unfortunately," Angelina said, glancing at Fred. "He's always been hard work - compared to George, anyway."
"We've been going out for five minutes, I'm honestly not in the mood for drama this early on," Claudia said, unimpressed. She avoided looking at Fred, because she didn't want to make herself any angrier. For the first time, she wished she'd stayed at home instead of returning to Hogwarts.
"Cheer up." Alicia reached across the table and squeezed her hand. "What should we do today that's fun?" She clapped her hands excitedly. "Oh! I know! Have you ever attempted to play Quidditch?"
"Not since first year," Claudia replied, thinking back to those early days of lessons. "I wasn't very talented."
"No problem," Alicia beamed. "We can show you, can't we, girls?"
Twenty minutes later, the four Gryffindor girls were walking down to the grounds, each carrying a broomstick; Alicia and Angelina held the box containing the balls between them. Seeing as the Quidditch pitch no longer existed, the girls had to play out in the open space (after seeking permission from McGonagall, of course). Claudia was a bit worried about flying for the first time in three years.
"Don't be silly!" Alicia replied, when she shared her fears. "You won't fall or anything! We'll catch you, won't we, girls?"
"Yeah," Katie and Angelina said in unison, without confidence.
"At least I hope I do," Katie said in a low voice, but luckily neither Alicia nor Claudia heard her. Angelina nudged her and smirked as they found an open patch of grass where they could play.
Claudia felt completely ridiculous straddling the broomstick, as if she were a child pretending to fly.
"Remember, you've got to want to go up," Angelina reminded her patiently, also on the ground with her broom.
"I'm not sure I do," Claudia admitted shakily. She gripped the broom tighter, aware of her sweaty palms, and willed herself to rise up in the air. A second later, she blinked and found herself a metre above the ground. Letting out a whoop, Claudia dared to fly around in a small circle.
Angelina, Alicia and Katie cheered. Mounting their brooms, they effortlessly kicked themselves from the ground and rose to join her.
"Alright, let's try passing the Quaffle round," Angelina said, soaring back down to the ground to unlock the box and remove the red ball. "You think you can take your hands off the broom, Claudia?"
"I don't know!" Claudia shouted down to her honestly. She looked up, locked eyes with Katie and laughed, before slowly raising her trembling hands until they were level with her face. Claudia cheered.
"Maybe I'm not so bad at this!" she said delightedly, before feeling herself wobble and gripping the broom tightly once more, veering slightly to the left. The others laughed and so did she. This was far more fun than she thought it would be, and she wasn't thinking about Fred.
After having a go at hitting the Bludger (she wasn't very good) and catching the Snitch (even worse – it was pure luck that Katie managed to grab it and stuff it back into the box), they decided to try out some of the moves that they'd all seen in Quidditch matches.
"So, what team do you support?" Katie asked after they'd all failed spectacularly at performing a Wronski Feint.
"The Quobaiyat Alrraqisat," Claudia said. "Al Quobaiyat is where I was born, and alrraqisat means dancers."
"Wow," Alicia said, looking mildly impressed as she always did whenever Claudia mentioned her home country or her culture. "It makes my team sound boring."
"She supports the Wimbourne Wasps," Angelina told her with a grin. "They're the team who insist on buzzing like a bunch of idiots at every game to try and distract the other team."
Claudia fought a laugh, especially when Alicia's face turned to thunder. "And you guys?"
"We support the Holyhead Harpies," Katie said, and Angelina nodded. "We love Gwenog Jones."
"Isn't her cousin in your year?" Angelina asked.
Claudia nodded. "Megan Jones? Yeah. I don't know her, though."
"You're friends with her, Ange, aren't you?" Alicia asked, but before Angelina could reply, a distraction came in the form of two red-heads and Lee Jordan.
"Hello, ladies," Lee said, squinting up at them. The sun had come out and it looked like it was going to be another nice day.
"Intruding on our game, Lee? Tut tut," Katie said, smiling down at him. The smile she was giving him was very different to the one she flashed at her other friends, but Claudia couldn't work out why.
"Nah, just happened to come across you," Lee said casually, shielding his eyes with one hand and grinning cheekily. Beside him, George was smiling too but Fred still had a sour expression across his face.
The game seemed to have come to a natural end, so the girls lowered their brooms down until they were able to dismount and join the guys. Claudia hung back, not particularly keen to be anywhere near Fred.
"Why didn't you ask us to join you?" George said, pretending to look offended. "Is it because you knew we'd win against you lot any day?"
Alicia swiped at him playfully. "Of course not. We just didn't want to upset you two by beating you without even trying."
"I'm amazed Viktor hasn't turned up to play with you guys," said Fred, arms folded and deliberately not looking at Claudia. "I mean, he's pretty obsessed with one of you, and that person hasn't exactly tried to ward him off-"
"I'm not listening to this," Claudia muttered to the girls, and strode off with her broom under her arm. She could hear Angelina snapping at Fred, and Alicia and Katie calling her back, but she didn't listen. Fighting back angry tears, she stormed into the castle, almost slamming into a second year barely bigger than herself.
All the way back up to Gryffindor tower, she was fuming. How dare Fred behave like this? Any more comments from him, and Claudia decided she wouldn't be responsible for what came out of her mouth in response.
There was little to do alone in the castle. Claudia had done all her schoolwork and was avoiding the library as much as possible. Only one activity sprang to mind. Changing out of the Quidditch outfit that Katie had lent to her (much too big, but of course she couldn't say anything), she dug out her dance outfit, the same pink hoodie and flared purple trousers that Marcus and his friends had enjoyed.
~~~(O.O)~~~
Claudia put her all into the Saidi dance she was teaching herself. Using a heavy stick as a prop, she thudded it to the ground in time to the music; each time the stick collided with the floor, she imagined Karkaroff or Marcus' face beneath it. One time, Fred's face popped into her mind, but she dismissed it. Was she really that angry with him? He was no Karkaroff.
It wasn't a feminine or delicate dance, quite the opposite to her Arabic baladi dance with the gold-trimmed veil, but it suited her mood. Her grandmother Asanath Talaat Abd Elaziz had been a dancer in her youth too, and was particularly talented when performing Saidi dances thanks to her Egyptian upbringing.
After she was satisfied with her progress, Claudia allowed herself a one-woman hafla, putting her favourite record on and dancing to her heart's content. She even sang a song that she'd made up herself inspired by this song, thinking that no one would hear her. Claudia wanted to be a singer almost as much as she wanted to be a dancer, but thought she lacked the talent for it.
She left the danceroom, locking it carefully behind her, and turned around to see Karkaroff skulking along the edge of the corridor, staring straight at her. Her heart leapt out of her chest.
"Oh mon dieu!" Placing a hand over her heart, she glared at the man who was causing so much anxiety and anguish for her.
"Such a pretty voice," Karkaroff said, with a wicked smile. Looking at his teeth made Claudia want to retch. "Was that you singing?"
Claudia turned on her heel and fled, trying to ignore the low, rumbling chuckle echoing behind her.
~~~(O.O)~~~
On her way back to Gryffindor tower, Claudia bumped into George, who looked to be heading downstairs.
"Hey, Claudia." He gave her a tired, lopsided sort of smile and ran his hand through his hair. "Sorry about Fred earlier, dunno what's the matter with him at the moment…"
"It's okay, it's not your fault," Claudia pointed out, feeling annoyed once again at the thought of George's twin.
"Did you hear anything back from your dad?" George asked, cocking his head to one side. "I mean, I know you only sent it off the other day," he added quickly. "It's just…"
Claudia was almost going to let the whole thing go, but one look at George's quietly desperate face convinced her that it was the right thing to do. It was morally right but she did also want to support her friend (even if his twin was a pain in the arse). She remembered Ludo Bagman visiting one of her Charms lessons much earlier on in the school year. Although he wasn't the sort of man to leer at young girls, he had winked at her after asking her some basic questions about the lessons, and Claudia had gotten a bad vibe from him then. Ludo was too charming, too over-confident and friendly.
"Yeah, my dad actually replied straight away. I didn't tell you at breakfast because of Fred. I think the reply's in the common room."
George abandoned his previous mission and followed her in the common room.
"I've heard a few people gossiping about you and Fred today," George told her as a few pairs of eyes swivelled in her direction.
"Fantastique," Claudia sighed. She locked eyes with Hermione, who had a curiously quizzical expression on her face, and smiled before heading up to the dorm. Meanwhile, George, who was beginning to put two and two together, strode towards Hermione.
"Hi Hermione, you okay?" She was sat alone in the common room with some knitting. George was quite determined to steer the conversation well away from S.P.E.W.
"Yes, I'm fine. Just doing some knitting." Hermione gestured pointlessly at her lap. "I've heard some of the others talking about Fred and Claudia."
"Yeah, that's what I've come to talk to you about…" He sat down beside her and leaned forwards.
"You and Krum are still a thing, yeah?" George asked, cutting to the point.
Hermione blushed and giggled a bit. "We are." Then she smirked in a most un-Hermione-ish way. "Hasn't Viktor got something to do with why Fred is so upset?"
"Well, yeah," George admitted. "I didn't want to make things awkward, but Fred thinks Viktor fancies Claudia."
To his immense relief, Hermione let out a small chuckle. "I gathered that. They're just friends. Viktor's helping Claudia with something- I don't know if she told you?"
"Told me what?" George asked, as footsteps sounded down the stairs.
"Oh- never mind!" Hermione said, looking sheepish. "Do you want me to say anything to Claudia?"
"No, no. Could you talk to Fred and tell him in no uncertain terms that Viktor is not trying to seduce her and that he's being ridiculous? I think it needs to come from Fred himself."
Hermione nodded as Claudia appeared, waving a letter at George. He said goodbye to Hermione and walked with Claudia away from everyone else.
Claudia handed him the letter and watched as he quickly read it. George's face lit up, confirming her decision to show him as a good one.
"This is brilliant. Thanks, Claudia." He hugged her and she smiled to herself, squashed against him. "I won't get my hopes up, just in case, but this could be the start to something."
~~~(O.O)~~~
After lunch, where thankfully Fred was nowhere to be seen, Claudia realised she'd left her belly dancing belt in the danceroom. She was fairly keen to get it back, especially as it was one of her favourites; it was a gorgeous warm yellow.
After retrieving it from the room and locking it securely, Claudia turned and almost leapt out of her skin.
"You have seriously got to leave me alone," Claudia said weakly.
"Or what?" Karkaroff asked aggressively, pushing his face close to hers. She held his gaze defiantly. The fear suddenly evaporated, leaving a feeling of mixed anger and bravery.
"Or you'll have my father to answer to," Claudia replied, pushing her face close to his in response. Blinking, Karkaroff took a step back, looking down at her with an expression of pure confusion. Then his face contorted hideously.
"You can't threaten me!" He poked himself in the chest, glaring at her.
"Oh yes I can. You've been harassing me, a student, ever since the Yule Ball. Who do you think's going to look worse? Me, the little student avoiding the teacher, or you, the teacher who won't stop following a fourteen year old?"
She walked a few steps, then turned back. "My Arab relatives know magic you Europeans can only dream of."
And with that, Claudia strutted calmly away, leaving a speechless Karkaroff behind her.
~~~(O.O)~~~
Having finally stood up to her tormenter, Claudia felt like a different person. She felt like singing as she returned to the common room. Her good mood lasted all the way until dinner, and even the prospect of seeing Fred couldn't dampen her mood.
She sat with Angelina, Alicia and Katie, who were all relieved to see her in a much better mood.
"We had a go at Fred for you," Alicia informed her helpfully. Claudia waved this off.
"Thanks, but I'm so over it now. He'll come back in his own good time, you'll see."
"Blimey," Angelina said, exchanging glances with both Katie and Alicia. "Did someone give you Felix Felicis or what?"
They all giggled, then an odd silence suddenly descended on the girls, and Claudia looked up to see an awkward Fred had approached. He was looking at her guiltily.
"Mind if I sit down?" Fred asked, and Claudia nodded wordlessly. She stared expectantly as he began speaking, then stopped.
"I- Uh, well- Look, I'm sorry, Claudia. I know I've cocked up really badly."
"Finally," Katie said dramatically, before Angelina shushed her.
"Hermione's been to speak to me. She's put me right on a few things, including the whole Krum incident. I've been a right idiot, Claudia. I totally forgot that he's obsessed with Hermione, too obsessed to notice even your charms."
"Flattery will get you nowhere, Frederick," Claudia said – but she was smiling. It turned out she'd been right. "Want to take a walk after dinner?"
Fred visibly brightened. "Most definitely."
"There's a few things I have to tell you, anyway," Claudia said mysteriously, glancing first at Krum, then at her jean pocket where her father's letter was folded.
I feel like I'm writing so many filler chapters atm :( but I'm enjoying the writing process and it's slowly getting to where I want it to be! If you're enjoying, please follow/favourite/review!