Christmas
It was nearly time say goodbye to Hogwarts and head to London for Christmas. Claudia has not spent holiday with her family for a year and was dreading it. Marcus' threat on the day of the Quidditch try-outs was still hanging over her head. She was determined to find out more about her father, but was also scared of what she might uncover.
Alice suggested that Claudia comes and stays with her family for a few days. Claudia would want nothing more than that and was wrecking her brain trying to figure out how to obtain her parents' permission. It was not going to be easy; she remembered only too well how unhappy they were when they found out she was friends with Alice Adler.
They became friends when Claudia first arrived at Hogwarts and Alice was in her second year. Alice broke her leg falling from a broom a year earlier and was retaking the flying lessons that were normally taken by first years. Claudia was a natural and Madam Hooch suggested that she helps Alice out.
In return, Alice helped tutor Claudia in charms when she was struggling with her wand. They were friends ever since.
Alice was clever and very principled. She never minced words and always spoke her mind. Especially when giving advice. Claudia liked that about her. Even though, she did not always like the advice itself.
Initially, neither Alice's nor Claudia's parents were very happy about their friendship. According to Claudia's father, the Adlers were a family of half-bloods and blood-traitors. And since she recently found out that Alice's dad knew her father and You-Know-Who at school, she was beginning to understand why the Adlers did not like their friendship either. They must have changed their mind though since they invited her over for Christmas.
She suspected that Alice has worked on them for the past three years and convinced them that Claudia was not exactly what you would expect from Frederic Avery's daughter. Alice, on the other hand, was still a persona non grata in the Avery household.
Something else weighed on Claudia's mind. The book she stole from the restricted section of the library. It was enormous and she was not sure she would be able to conceal it in her trunk for the entirety of the holiday. She remembered only too well what happened to her books in the summer.
Then it struck her – the shrinking charm. By a stroke of luck, the next class were Charms. She could ask Professor Flitwick about it.
"Professor Flitwick?" Claudia raised her hand at the end of the class. "When we covered shrinking charms, you mentioned that their use on humans is dangerous. Are there any other things that you shouldn't use the charm on?" She asked.
Professor Flitwick smiled, he loved it when students took an interest.
"There are some. What exactly do you have in mind, Miss Avery?" Flitwick asked in return.
"Papers. Books. Things that might make it easier for us to pack for the holidays." She replied as casually as possible.
"Most of these yes." Flitwick nodded. "Unless some powerful magic has been placed on them to prevent tempering. In which case, a shrinking charm could damage it." Flitwick finished, just as the bell rang.
That was disappointing. Claudia would not dare risk damaging the book.
"Easier for us to pack for the holidays?" Sirius smirked at Claudia as she walked past his desk out of the Charms classroom.
Claudia shrugged. She looked around the classroom. It was nearly empty.
"There wouldn't be much point stealing it, if I just deliver it straight to my father and Marcus… I could put a bow on it. Make it a Christmas present." She shrugged.
This made Sirius laugh. "Well, my offer still stands. I can hide it for you in the castle." He said.
"Where?" Asked Claudia, with a hint of suspicion in her voice.
"That I'm not going to tell you." Sirius shook his head. He paused, seeing scepticism on Claudia's face. "But you can trust me. If the teachers knew about it, I would've been expelled a long time ago."
Claudia though about it. It sounded a lot better than hiding it under the noses of the very people she was trying to keep it from.
"OK then. If you could." She said. "Thank you." She added, as they were leaving the classroom.
Claudia spent most of the journey back on the Hogwarts Express thinking of a way to get herself to Alice's for Christmas. She should have asked Sirius. He always had an answer when it came to sneaking around and breaking the rules.
They were at King's Cross before she knew it. By a stroke of luck, Marcus went straight from the train to Diagon Alley. Claudia found herself in the car alone with her mother.
She knew what was coming. A seemingly endless interrogation about her social life at Hogwarts. And boys. Her mother never asked about her marks or Quidditch. It was infuriating.
Normally, Claudia would be dreading it, but she figured it was her best chance of getting a permission to visit Alice over the holidays. There was no way her father would have granted it.
The lecturing began. Claudia learned that in order to be happier she ought to buy more make-up, wear dresses, be nicer and smile more.
"And what about your friends? Any of them started dating yet?" Cassandra asked. Finally, the question Claudia had been waiting for.
"Alice has been on few dates in Madam Puddifoot's." Claudia replied with a smile. This was not strictly speaking true. Alice once had a butterbeer with a boy, who turned out to be her distant cousin. Unsurprisingly, it was not something she was keen to broadcast.
"Speaking of Alice. She invited me to stay with her parents for couple of days. Could I go?" Claudia added, hopefully.
"I'm not sure, my dear." Replied Cassandra. "You know what your father says about the Adlers."
"But Alice is no trouble. She is one of the most popular girls at school." Claudia said, pulling her most innocent face.
Cassandra's face softened. Claudia sensed her plan was working and continued.
"All girls admire how she dresses and how she does her hair. She could teach me." Claudia was now really struggling to keep a straight face.
"Fine." Cassandra sighed. "You can go… I will speak to your father. But… You will behave at the Christmas party. And you will wear whatever I put out for you."
Claudia's face dropped a bit, but she recovered her smile quickly.
"Of course." She said sweetly. "Thank you, mum."
The dreaded party had finally arrived. Just one more evening and she will be stepping into the fireplace to go to Alice's. She put on the dress that her mother had put out for her – it was touch too sparkly but not anywhere near as bad as it could have been.
After an hour of excruciating small talk with some distant relatives, she finally managed to free herself and found her Slytherin classmates in the crowd. Julius was looking at her, his mouth slightly open.
"You look nice." He said finally, somewhat stuttering.
Claudia remembered what she was wearing. She grimaced, looked over her dress and gave a small curtsy.
"My mother's choice." She mumbled, before continuing. "I'm afraid there will be no Quidditch today. I'm under strict orders to behave."
Julius laughed. But Regulus was frowning. Something was clearly bothering him.
"Why have you been talking to my brother?" Regulus asked sharply. "I saw you in Hogsmeade."
Claudia had to think quickly. She could hardly admit the truth.
"We've just been paired up to do a muggle studies project together." She lied.
"Didn't look like it. It looked like you were both having the time of your lives. Chatting away and laughing." He continued, still disgruntled.
Claudia had the distinct impression that he was jealous. He was always desperate for his brother to notice him and hated Sirius' Gryffindor friends. Or indeed anyone that Sirius spent time with.
"Muggle studies can be funny." Said Claudia. "Same goes for your brother." She added, muttering under her breath.
Regulus clearly heard her and was quite angry now. "I could think of other ways to describe him… And I don't know why they teach that rubbish anyway. Muggles need us to rule them, not study them."
Claudia raised her eyebrows. "Who have you been talking to?" She asked, sarcastically.
But before Regulus could respond, Claudia's mother joined them accompanied by a tall woman, who looked like she has just stepped out from an old paining. She was covered in expensive jewellery and looked like she had not smiled for years.
"Looks like we've interrupted something, Cassandra." She said. Her face barely moved.
"Nonsense, my dear." Replied Claudia's mother before continuing. "You know my daughter, Claudia. She is in the same year as your Sirius. In Slytherin of course."
Claudia smiled and bowed her head slightly. She noticed that, for a fraction of a second, Mrs Black's eyes narrowed when Sirius' name was mentioned.
Claudia expected Mrs Black to say something about Sirius. But she did not even acknowledge that Claudia's mother mentioned his name.
"Regulus speaks highly of you. He says that you are on the house team now and likely to make prefect. Your parents must be very proud of you." Mrs Black finished, turning towards Cassandra.
"Very proud indeed." Claudia's mother smiled and nodded.
This was a barefaced lie. Claudia was going to say something snarky but remembered that she was under strict instructions to behave. There was no surest way to get herself grounded than to embarrass her mother in front of this women. It was her mother's life ambition to weasel her way into the good graces of the Most Noble and Ancient House of Black.
Instead, Claudia excused herself and pretended to go and check on the house-elf. The salmon puffs needed replenishing.
On her way to the kitchen, Claudia saw her father talking to a man she did not know. The man was handing her father a black envelope and they spoke in hushed voice. Claudia could not understand a thing. Their conversation was very brief. The man did not go back to the party and disappeared down the hallway and out of the house. Claudia's father went into his study and emerged seconds later locking the door behind him. There was no sign of the letter.
Claudia contemplated breaking into her father's office. The letter could be important. It could be relevant to what Marcus was looking for.
On the other hand, it was more likely to be Ministry business. The house was full of her father's colleagues.
And if she was caught, she would be stuck at home for the rest of the break. She was not ready to risk that.
She was sure it was just Ministry business…
She went up to bed that day very proud of herself. She managed to play nice all week and now it was time to reap the reward.
The following morning, Claudia said goodbye to her parents by the kitchen fireplace. She got the distinct impression that they were not speaking to each other. That was not surprising; her father must have been furious about her mother giving Claudia permission to visit the Adlers. But Claudia did not care. She threw some Floo Powder into the flames and disappeared.
Claudia has never been to Alice's house. It was an old cottage and all you could see from the windows was rolling countryside covered in a thin layer of snow.
Alice showed Claudia around the village. It was small; just one shop, a pub and a post office.
"No wonder you know so much about muggles." Said Claudia. "You practically need to become one to fit in here!"
Alice laughed. "We had a couple of close calls. But I like it here, it's home."
Claudia smiled. She did not really understand. She did not know what it meant to have a real home - a place one would always look forward to returning to, a place one would miss.
They got back just in time to help Alice's mum with dinner.
Claudia nearly cut her finger off trying to cut up some carrots. She was embarrassed that she never had to cook before. They had house-elves and neither of her parents ever set foot in the kitchen, other than to issue orders.
Luckily, she was a proficient potioneer and her instincts soon took over.
The vegetable soup that she made with Alice tasted nearly as good as the one they were served in Hogwarts. It was strangely satisfying, sitting down to dinner that she helped to prepare.
Alice's dad got back from work late.
"It's getting worse." He said in a flat voice as he joined them at dinner. He looked at Claudia. "But I'm not going to bore you with Ministry business. I'm sure your father would have told you everything about it." Mr Adler said with a hint of sarcasm.
"Dad!" Alice said sharply and gave her father a knowing look.
Claudia knew this look too well - Mr Adler has done something he was not supposed to. Claudia suspected that he was under orders from his daughter not to bring up Claudia's father.
Claudia ignored Alice and smiled at Mr Adler. "My father doesn't tell me anything. And I would love to hear more about what's going on at the Ministry." She replied.
Mr Adler had few more spoons of soup, before putting down his cutlery. He spoke slowly.
"I presume you've heard of You-Know-Who?" Claudia nodded. Mr Adler continued. "Well, he's been very active lately. Building up an army. He has been reaching out to old friends and gathering followers among wizards. They call themselves Death Eaters…"
Claudia swallowed. Old friends. The way Mr Adler said it and looked at her made her believe the worst.
"And dark creatures too." Mr Adler finished.
"Dark creatures?" Claudia's eyes widened. "What kind of dark creatures?" She asked.
"Werewolfs, trolls, you name it." Mr Adler replied. "There are even rumours that You-Know-Who has been intending to use dark magic to turn muggles into an army of mindless pawns." He added.
Claudia wondered whether these mindless pawns could be reanimated corpses, the inferi. It was a thought almost too horrible to contemplate.
"Why is he doing it? What does he want?" Asked Claudia. She knew of You-Know-Who, but it never occurred to her to dwell on his motives. Mr Adler shrugged.
"Power, I suppose. He wants to rule the wizarding world and mould it in its own image. Purge the wizarding world of muggle-borns and use magic to rule over muggles, to enslave them." He said glumly.
This sounded familiar to Claudia. This was the same view that her brother and father always held. Even Regulus mentioned it at the Christmas party.
"I can see how this would be popular among some of the wizarding families I know." She sighed.
Mr Adler nodded. He looked disgusted.
"But what makes You-Know-Who different? As Claudia says, there are plenty of wizards who believe in this stuff!" Alice pitched in.
"There is a difference between complaining about muggle-borns from the comfort of your drawing room, and actually wanting to purge them from the face of the Earth." Said Mr Adler.
Purge?" Alice whispered.
She looked terrified. Mrs Adler shifted uncomfortably in her chair.
"He is also powerful. You-Know-Who practices powerful – extremely powerful - dark magic, the likes of which we have not seen since Grindelwald." Mr Adler added.
Mrs Adler was now ready to intervene. "But the Ministry are going to stop him, aren't they?" She asked sharply. Leaving her husband under no illusion about how he should respond.
"Of course, of course." Said Mr Adler, giving both Alice and Claudia a reassuring smile. But Claudia could see through it. He was not sure at all.
"What is the Ministry doing to stop him?" Asked Claudia, hoping to continue the conversation.
"That's classified, I'm afraid." Replied Mr Adler. "Although. You might want to keep an eye out for the Daily Prophet over the next couple of weeks." He added with a wink.
Mrs Adler looked at her watch and ushered them both upstairs. It was time to go to bed.
Claudia was lying on a camp bed in Alice's room staring at the ceiling. She was replaying the conversation at dinner in her head.
"Claudia, are you asleep?" She heard Alice whisper.
"Not really. Can't stop thinking about what your dad said." Claudia replied. She could practically hear Alice think in the dark.
"Do you think your father is one of those… those Death Eaters?" Alice asked.
Claudia sighed. She could not stop thinking about that since dinner. She always knew it was a possibility. Her father held the same views as You-Know-Who, he went to school with him. And what about the man he was speaking to at the party? He looked like a dark wizard.
"I think he might be." She said finally.
There was a long pause.
"Promise me you'll be careful. Not pursue that thing with Marcus." Alice said finally.
"I'll be careful." Claudia said absently.
Her mind was already elsewhere. She was determined to continue looking into what Marcus was up to. But Alice was right, she had to be more careful. This was no harmless competition with her brother, this was a fight against You-Know-Who. Fight that could determine who lives and who dies. She remembered the black letter in her father's study. She had been so stupid. How could she let go of the opportunity to find out what was inside?!