Back at Hogwarts
The following morning was hectic. Trunks and packages were scattered around the house. The stressed house-elf was running around, trying to fit everything into the family car. Cassandra was in tears, lashing out at everyone who stepped out of line.
At the Platform 9¾, Claudia stood rigid while her mother hugged her, made a hollow promise to write regularly (she never did), and finally, with a sigh of relief, climbed onto the Hogwarts Express. She found an empty compartment, threw her bag into the corner and sat down with a thud. Finally, the summer from hell was over.
Few minutes later, Claudia's best friend Alice Adler burst into the compartment.
"What the hell happened to you?" She asked, sounding almost angry. "Where have you been all summer?"
Claudia stood up and without a word gave Alice a long hug.
"You hug people now? This must be bad." Alice said and forced Claudia to sit back down. "Tell me what's going on!"
"My parents sent me away for the whole summer. I got locked up in with my great aunt in Bavaria." Claudia explained.
"Why would they do that?" Alice asked, looking somewhat perplexed. She was a great friend but did not understand Claudia's relationship with her parents, as her own parents were unusually loving and kind. Well, at least it seemed unusual to Claudia.
"Because they can." Claudia shrugged. "They felt that I needed reminding what is expected from me… Their latest attempt to change me for the better."
"Well, I hope it didn't work." Alice said, her eyes twinkling.
"Well, it bloody well did not." Claudia said and laughed. This was the first time she laughed in weeks.
Even before the Hogwarts Express left London, Claudia resumed working on her pile of homework. Luckily, Claudia's other friends Pauline, Lucy and Eleanor joined them in their compartment, took mercy on Claudia and helped her out a bit. Alice, who was a year above them, had also pitched in. With their help, Claudia was nearly done by the time the Hogwarts Expressed pulled into Hogsmeade Station.
Pauline, Lucy, Eleanor and Alice were the friends that Claudia's parents did not approve of. Lucy and Eleanor were both muggle-born and while Pauline and Alice were from wizarding families, they were not the sort of families that her parents saw eye to eye with. Pauline's parents owned a publishing company and Alice's dad was an auror.
Unfortunately for Claudia, none of her friends were in Slytherin. Lucy and Pauline were as Ravenclaw as they get, Eleanor was in Hufflepuff and Alice in Gryffindor. So, as they entered the Great Hall, Claudia had to say goodbye to them all and go sit at the Slytherin table.
There were not many people in Slytherin house that she was on friendly terms with. As she approached the table, she saw the other Slytherin girls in her year huddled together. They were all very pretty and acted as if there was nothing more important in the world. They also bullied Claudia mercilessly. She hated these girls. They were shallow, just like her mother, and all they ever talked about were boys. Deep down Claudia knew, however, that she was also little jealous of them. She was quite plain looking with her mousy hair and a nose just bit too large for her face. She never had a boy being interested in her. No-one ever offered to carry her books or sent her a Valentine card. She had boys for friends, but they just did not see her that way.
There were two boys in her year in particular, Julius Nott and Emmanuel Callahan, who Claudia was friends with, as they were not part of her brother's gang. She saw them at the Slytherin table sitting with Regulus Black, who was a quiet boy one year below Claudia. It was these three that Claudia played the fateful game of two-on-two Quidditch that landed her in the Bavarian exile. She walked over to them and sat down next to Emmanuel.
"How's the gazebo, Regulus?" Claudia asked jokingly.
Regulus did not answer. He was very distracted and kept looking towards the Gryffindor table.
"Regulus!" Barked Julius. "Snap out of it."
"What is it?" Regulus asked, looking at him all confused.
"Would you stop obsessing about your brother?" Emmanuel pitched in, clearly quite annoyed.
"He isn't interested in being your friend. We are." Julius pitched in. "But our patience is wearing thin."
"Sorry." Regulus said, looking down at his hands. "I really thought that being at Hogwarts together will bring us closer. I always knew he hated our parents, but I didn't quite realise how much he hated me."
"It really isn't worth it." Claudia put her hand on Regulus' shoulder. "Look at me and Marcus. We barely speak when we are in Hogwarts." She tried to reassure him.
"I don't get it. I like your brother." Regulus grimaced.
"Well. He's sitting right there." Emmanuel was really angry now. "Go and talk to him. It's clear that you much rather do that than hang around with us."
Regulus scoffed and turned away.
"We really are a bunch of losers." Julius chuckled. "So pathetic, even little Regulus won't be seen talking to us."
"Oh, come on." Claudia rolled her eyes. "Would you rather run around the castle with my brother jinxing muggle-borns?"
All three of them looked at her longingly but did not say a word.
"On a second through, don't answer that." Claudia frowned. She was glad to have some friends in Slytherin, but sometimes worried if Emmanuel and Julius would join her brother's gang if given half the chance.
The first few weeks of school went extremely quickly, and it was finally time for the one thing that Claudia was looking forward to the most. The Quidditch try-outs.
"Wait for me!" She shouted at Emmanuel and Julius when she saw them leaving the Great Hall at breakfast on the day of the try-outs. "I'm coming with you."
"Coming with us to the Quidditch try outs?" Laughed Emmanuel. "To mock us, I suppose?"
"Well, I thought I might try out to this year." She said quietly, going somewhat red in her face. She looked up expecting a response, but instead she saw both Julius and Emmanuel staring into space behind her. She turned and saw her brother.
"Good luck, bloodtraitor." He sniggered and walked past her without another word.
The try-outs went by very quickly. Claudia barely remembered what happened and before she knew it, they were all waiting for the captain's announcement.
"You flew alright." Julius whispered, leaning over to her.
Claudia was still out of breath, so merely nodded. She felt good.
Julius, who was trying out for keeper did alright too. Emmanuel, on the other hand, dropped the quaffle every time he tried to touch it and looked on the verge of tears. Marcus was standing at the front of the group, smiling confidently.
The wait was finally over. Archibald Parkinson, a tall sixth year, emerged from the captain's office, rolled out a small piece of parchment, and cleared his throat. Everyone suddenly fell very silent.
"Seeker - Macmillan. Keeper - Nott." Parkinson began. Claudia poked Julius with her elbow and have him an encouraging smile.
"Beaters - Cameron and Burke. Chasers - Parkinson, Crabbe and Avery." Marcus punched the air in triumph and high-fived Macmillan, who was standing next to him.
"Sorry, should have been clearer." Continued Parkinson. "Claudia Avery."
Claudia looked up first at Parkinson, then at her brother.
Marcus bit his lip and gone completely red in the face. He pushed a bunch of second years out of the way and stormed off the pitch.
Claudia watched him, completely frozen. She still could not believe it. She made it onto the Quidditch team!
Julius put his arm around Claudia's shoulders and squeezed her tight. She knew that at least he was happy for her.
"OK." Continued Parkinson. "Practice tomorrow at six, don't be late."
Having spent a good hour servicing her broom and altering her new Quidditch robes, Claudia walked out of the changing rooms at dusk and began making her way back to the castle. It still had not sunk in. Marcus has mocked her since her first year, laughing at her for even trying to get on the team. Who was laughing now? She thought to herself. Then she remembered her parents. Her mother was going to explode with rage. Quidditch is for boys! She could practically hear her scream.
"How dare you!" Claudia's thoughts were suddenly interrupted by what was unmistakably her brother's angry voice. " Mixing with mudbloods, embarrassing our family, and now this? You have ruined everything, you filthy little blood traitor! "
Marcus took out his wand and pointed it straight at his sister's face. Claudia look at him defiantly.
"You're pathetic. I beat you fair and square." She said. "And for the record, if anyone is an embarrassment, it's you and your cronies. Bunch of stupid bullies. Just path..." Claudia began to say but she did not get finish that sentence. Marcus threw a jinx in her direction, causing her to fly backwards and land heavily in a puddle of mud.
"If that makes you feel better." She said sarcastically and got up, brushing dirt off her robes.
Marcus looked like he was about to throw another curse, but before he could, his wand flew out of his hand. Claudia turned around to see who had disarmed Marcus and was astonished to see Regulus' older brother.
"Go and pick on someone else. Preferably your own size." Sirius said casually, putting Marcus' wand into his pocket. "You will get it back later if you behave. Now bugger off."
Marcus hesitated for a bit. It looked like he was considering whether to punch Sirius' face out. He was much bigger and if they fought without magic, Marcus would send Sirius to the hospital wing in a matchbox. Alas, Sirius now had two wands and Marcus had none.
"You haven't heard the end of this, I promise you." Marcus hissed at Claudia, turned on his heel and stomped off to the castle. He had clearly decided that the fight was not worth it.
Claudia stared at Sirius. They have never spoken more than few words outside class. She had no idea what he was doing there.
Claudia remembered her first journey on the Hogwarts Express. Her mother practically pushed her into the compartment where Sirius was sitting, desperate for them to become friends. He was stretched across half the carriage, with his feet up on the seat, and was making a small piece of parchment burn with his wand. Claudia barely had time to introduce herself before Sirius said he had no interest sitting with anyone like her and walked off. She pushed that horrible memory out of her mind and regained her composure.
"That was unusually measured, you know, for you." Claudia smirked, as she continued to brush the mud off her clothes. This made Sirius chuckle. He knew better than anyone what his reputation was like. He was a hot-headed troublemaker.
"You alright?" He asked.
"Yes. Well, apart from having the worst family on the planet." Claudia replied. "I guess you gathered that I just got on the Quidditch team instead of him. And he is not taking it well."
"You got better at flying then?" Sirius asked, barely suppressing a laugh. "Since you crashed into our gazebo?"
"I didn't know you saw that." Claudia said. She may have even blushed a little.
"Everybody saw that." Sirius was laughing openly now. "It caused a huge scandal."
They began walking back to the castle.
"I bet you're glad to be back in Hogwarts." Sirius said, a little frown had appeared on Sirius' forehead. "I wasn't meant to eavesdrop, but I also overheard the argument with your mother. At the party."
Claudia went bright red. She knew full well which 'argument' Sirius was referring to. It was the sort of argument that left her with a bruise or two. She was used to her mother's behaviour by now but did not want other people to know that she was not strong enough to stand up for herself.
"Sorry, I shouldn't have said anything." Sirius mumbled, clearly noticing Claudia's discomfort. "If it's any consolation, my mother is very much like that too."
"Constantly disappointed?" Claudia gave him a brief smile. "Or outright cruel?"
"Disappointed? In you?" Sirius asked. "You've got good grades and now are a fourth year on a house team. They should have me for a son to taste some real disappointment."
"These are the things that my brother is supposed to do." Claudia shrugged. "I'm supposed to look pretty and find a rich, pure-blood boyfriend." She continued, mimicking her mother's voice.
"Ah." Sirius said with a twinkle in his eye. "Shame you weren't around much this summer. Arguing with the pure-blood brigade all alone is getting tiring. Would have been nice to finally have a kindred spirit."
"I think that's exactly what my parents were worried about." Claudia laughed. "They sent me to Germany to remind me what's expected from me."
Claudia and Sirius spent the rest of the walk discussing Claudia's summer. It was refreshing to finally meet someone who understood how she felt about her family. He understood her frustrations, but also the pressure that came with her upbringing.
"See you around, Avery." Sirius said, as they went through the door to the Great Hall. "I'd say good luck in your game, but it's against Gryffindor and James would kill me if he ever found out."
It took Claudia a while to realise what Sirius was talking about. The fact that she was on the Slytherin Quidditch team really had not sunk in yet.
"Bye." Claudia whispered as they parted ways. "And watch out for my brother. He's unlikely to let this go."