Valentine's Day
"Let's go through the plan again…" Said Claudia to Alice as they were on the way to the library, about a week later. "You distract Pince and I will try to slip into the Restricted Section. I need ten minutes. When I'm done…" She said, but Alice interrupted. She did not look too happy about what she was being asked to do.
"When you're done, you'll cast a spell to make the candlestick fall over and I'll make sure Pince notices before anyone can extinguish it. To give you time to get out of there." She finished in a tired voice. They have been through it at least a dozen times. Claudia smiled. She knew this was not easy for Alice.
"It'll be fine. I promise." She said.
But it was far from fine. Alice's distraction did not work and Pince caught Claudia in the corner of her eye, just as she put one leg over the rope.
"Where do you think you're going?" She barked. Claudia got so startled that she dropped the books she was holding as decoy.
"Nowhere, Madame Pince. Just dropped something…" She said and picked up her possessions. Alice was grimacing at her. Pince did not look like she believed Claudia for a second. She was bound to watch them like a hawk for the rest of the day. They would have to find another way into the Restricted Section if they wanted to get their hands on the necromancy book.
"Well, that was a disaster." Exhaled Claudia, as she sat down trying to regroup in the corner of the library.
"Can't you just ask a teacher for a permission slip?" Alice asked. Claudia narrowed her eyebrows. She was trying to remember if there was anything in the OWLs curriculum that may require a permission slip for the necromancy book, but she could not think of anything…
"I don't have a good enough reason. You?" Claudia asked. Alice looked down at her hands. There was a long pause. Claudia was growing impatient. If Alice had a solution, why did not she say anything earlier?!
"I need to pick a project for Dark Arts. I was going to write about the imperius curse. But I could, I suppose…" Alice said quietly. Claudia was practically jumping up and down in her chair.
"But would he let you switch, the Professor? And pick the inferi?" She whispered urgently.
"I think so…" Alice shrugged. "But I'm not sure I want to do that." She sighed.
"Please. It's really important." Claudia whispered.
"They're repulsive. I don't want to spend a whole year reading and writing about them." Alice said. She was not giving up without a fight. Claudia smiled at her again.
"I know they're repulsive. But that's why Marcus needs to be stopped. We need to find out what he is up to." She said, resolutely. Alice took a deep breath and thought about it.
"Fine." She said finally. "I'll do it." Claudia's face lit up. "But I'm not getting into trouble with Pince again. Or lying to her… She's nice." Alice added. Claudia rolled her eyes. What was the Gryffindors' problem with lying?! So tiresome…
"Fine. If you manage to get the permission slip, we won't have to lie." She replied. Alice took another deep breath.
"I'll try tomorrow." She sighed. Claudia clapped excitedly. She could not wait to get her hands on that book again.
Claudia did not know what Alice said or did, but her best friend was gripping the permission slip in her hand, when the two of them met up in the Great Hall the following day. Claudia could barely eat and made Alice take the permission to Pince straight after lunch. But Pince was still weary of them after the earlier incident. She would only let Alice read the book at the librarian's desk and watched her closely.
Claudia was sitting nervously across the library staring in Alice's direction. She was unable to keep still and was kicking herself. Why did she not read the book properly herself when she had the chance? Or copied it like she did the Moste Potente Potions that summer in Bavaria. She would not need to be sitting here now like an idiot, watching Alice do all the hard work. She could not actually do it. She left the library and went for a walk in the grounds.
But she could not walk around for long. She did not want to wait a second longer than was necessary, so went and waited for Alice in front of the Great Hall.
"So? What did you find?" She asked, impatiently, when Alice joined her.
"Not here." Alice hissed and went to find a quiet corner. They sat down.
"It's proper dark magic." Alice whispered. Claudia had only just noticed that Alice was quite pale.
"The book just said that there were spells. But not really describe them in detail… Just hints…" Alice continued.
"What hints?" Claudia asked, abruptly. Alice shushed her and looked around nervously.
"It just said something about incantations in a tongue I've never heard of. And…" Alice paused and swallowed hard. "And that there is a special way to murder someone that gets you better results." She added. Alice was now as white as a sheet.
Claudia looked away. She was now as pale and shaken as Alice. Of course, she knew that inferi were reanimated corpses. But she always thought that you could just go to a graveyard and raise people that were long dead. Not that her brother would need to become a murderer to do this. Alice recovered her composure first.
"What are we going to do? How can we stop him?" She asked. Claudia looked at Alice and shook her head.
"We can't stop him learning a spell…" She said.
"Then we have to tell someone. What about my dad?" Alice jumped in. Claudia sighed.
"We need a proof that he's actually up to something bad… We wait. We follow him." Claudia said impatiently. They had been through this before.
Alice did not look happy about that suggestion at all.
"That's dangerous." She whispered. Claudia knew Alice was right. But it had to be done.
"We will be in a lot more danger if he succeeds." Claudia replied. Alice bit her lip. She could not argue with that.
So, over the next few days, they began to devise a plan to keep an eye on Marcus.
"I can ask someone to keep an eye on him in class." Alice whispered, blushing profusely.
"Who? Wait… Are you telling me…?" Claudia asked, chuckling. But before she could say anything else, Alice interrupted.
"We are just friends…" She sad. Claudia rolled her eyes.
"Right, I've heard that before. And you are about as believable as I was…" She said, remembering how she was trying to convince everyone, including herself, that there was nothing more to her friendship with Sirius. A shadow crossed her face. Thinking about him was still deeply upsetting. But Alice did not notice. She looked busy dealing with her own emotions. Claudia never seen Alice like this before. She looked pitiful and completely lost for words.
"Fine, his name is Joseph. He's in Marcus' year. In Ravenclaw." Alice whispered so quietly that Claudia could barely hear.
"And?" Asked Claudia, eyes twinkling.
"And we are going on a date." Alice added. She was as red as the Gryffindor jumper she was wearing.
"I want to meet him!" Exclaimed Claudia.
"Absolutely not." Alice replied sharply. She was back to her old self. Claudia was about to ask why but there was no need. "You'll just scare him off." Alice added. That made Claudia laugh.
"You're probably right… But I still want to meet him." She said.
"Fine. After the date. If it goes well." Alice replied. She looked uncomfortable and Claudia did not want to torment her any further. The inferi was causing them both quite a lot of stress already.
"Good. That's sorted. And I can keep an eye on him in the common room…" She said. Alice was visibly relieved that this was the end of that particular conversation.
"I'll take the library." Alice continued.
"He doesn't go to the library. Hates books. I'd be surprised if he could read…" Claudia smirked. "But keep an eye on Snape in there. He practically lives there." She added. Alice took a long pause, looking bit nervous.
"Well, they can't get to him there." She said, quietly. Claudia must have looked like she did not know what Alice was talking about. "Sirius and the others." Alice added, looking away. Claudia took a deep breath. It took all her strength to talk about him.
"I made him promise he won't do anything to Marcus. I have foolishly forgot to make him promise not to bully Severus." She said. Her voice was shaking a little.
"I thought it would bother you. The bullying…" Alice replied.
"Why should it bother me of all people…?" Claudia shrugged. "Severus and I have never really been friends." She added but then it struck her. "Ah, because I've been bullied?" She asked.
"Well, yes." Alice whispered.
"Look, Severus is no saint." Claudia paused, thinking back to when Marcus attacked her. She never really thought about it before. "He just stood there and watched Marcus hurt me. Smirking." She whispered. Months had passed but it was still upsetting. Alice bit her lip. She looked like she was dying to say something but did not dare to.
"What?" Claudia barked defensively. Alice sighed.
"Do you think he would turn out like this if they haven't bullied him all these years?" She asked.
"Did I turn out to be a Death Eater?" Claudia quipped. She was frowning. Alice was not being fair.
"Is he a Death Eater too?" She asked.
"It's only a matter of time…" Claudia shrugged.
They finished their dinner in silence and made their way out of the Great Hall. As they were about to part ways, Claudia turned to Alice and whispered.
"Please be careful… They know someone is helping me. It doesn't take a genius to work out it's you. And Marcus is a thug." Alice gave her a brief smile, but Claudia knew she was worried. She would have much rather told her dad and let the Ministry take care of it. But they needed a proof first.
So they watched and watched. Marcus did not seem to be up to much. Snape did, however, spent an awful lot of time in the library. He also had this really old book with him which did not have any inscription or library labels. It reminded Claudia of the dark magic book she found in Tomes and Scrolls. But she could not for the life of her figure out what exactly it was that Severus was reading. Every time she got anywhere near him, he hid the book immediately.
It was nearly mid-February now. Claudia just got back from a particularly gruelling Quidditch practice and joined Eleanor and Alice at dinner, dying for a hot plate of soup.
Like every evening, she began to scan the Great Hall to see what Marcus and Severus were up to. Marcus was sitting with his gang, who were laughing at his lame jokes. And Severus was sitting by himself, hidden behind a book. She was desperate for them to make a move. She was on top of her Quidditch game and homework and was in real danger of becoming bored again.
As Claudia's eyes travelled across the Great Hall, she noticed Daisy sitting further along her table. She was poking her dinner with a fork and looked like she had been crying. Eleanor noticed that Claudia was looking in Daisy's direction.
"Rumour has it that Sirius had not asked her out for Valentine's Day... And when she brought it up, he just shrugged and walked away. They haven't spoken since." Eleanor whispered. Claudia felt like she ought to feel bad for Daisy. She knew that her predicament was not really Daisy's fault. But Claudia just was not a big enough person to bring herself to do it. If anything, it made her feel a bit happy. She was just about ok that Sirius and her did not speak anymore. But seeing him with Daisy would have brought all the anger back again. She could not go thought that again.
"Do you have any plans for Valentine's Day?" Claudia asked Eleanor to change the subject. She really was not ready to discuss Sirius' love life with anyone. Eleanor blushed.
"Do you know Ian Fletcher? I think he might ask me out… At least I hope so. You?" Asked Eleanor in return.
"Me? No way." Claudia laughed. "Have you ever known me to have any plans on Valentine's Day? It's just not my thing." She added. She was not being entirely flippant here. Even if she had a boyfriend, the usual Valentine's traditions filled her with absolute dread. The heartfelt cards, the flowers, the silly little teashop in Hogsmeade. It was all awful.
"I pity anyone who tries to ask you out…" Eleanor chuckled. That made Claudia laugh.
"So do I." She replied.
Claudia was, therefore, completely bemused to see a brown owl drop a little red envelope in her lap at breakfast few days later. All her reservations about Valentine's Day were forgotten in an instant. Maybe, just maybe, it was from Sirius. He had broken up with Daisy after all.
But Claudia's heart sank when the handwriting was not his. How could she let herself have hope. Even for that brief moment. He did not deserve that.
Claudia opened the envelope with curiosity and her jaw practically hit the table when she read the message.
"Happy Valentine's Day. I cannot believe it took me this long to ask, but will you have a tea with me? Julius"
Claudia looked up from the note and scanned the Great Hall to see where Julius was sitting. When she finally found him, their eyes locked. He must have been watching her. Claudia smiled at him and waved uncomfortably. She did not know what else to do. Julius blushed and returned to his breakfast. Well, this is very awkward, Claudia thought to herself.
Claudia looked back at the note and did not even notice that Alice and Eleanor had joined her at breakfast.
"Who is the poor soul that sent you this!?" Asked Eleanor excitedly.
"Julius." Claudia whispered, still entirely perplexed. Eleanor chuckled.
"That poor boy has been in love with you for ages." Eleanor said, chuckling.
"No, he hasn't." Claudia scoffed. "We're just friends. All we ever talk about is Quidditch…" She continued but Eleanor looked far from convinced. "How would you even know?" Added Claudia, still convinced that this was some sort of an elaborate joke.
"It's the way he looks at you. And he's always making sure you're ok… You had no idea?" Asked Eleanor, giggling. Claudia did not even have a chance to respond, as Alice burst out laughing.
"Of course not. She's useless at this." Claudia could not help but to chuckle also. She really was useless.
"You should go out with him. He seems nice." Whispered Alice. Claudia sighed and looked again toward where Julius was sitting.
"He's nice. But also a bit… I don't know… Dull?" She said.
"Dull might not be the worst thing for you right now." Alice replied through gritted teeth. Claudia knew exactly what, or rather who, Alice was talking about. She shot her best friend a menacing look, but Alice was not done. "You need to start somewhere and Julius seems like a perfectly sensible place to start."
Claudia wanted to protest. She did not need Alice's help to get over Sirius. She wanted to tell her that there was nothing to get over anymore. But Eleanor was sitting with them and she did not know.
"I'll think about it." Was all that Claudia could bring herself to say, so she submerged herself into Transfiguration instead.
Later that evening, Claudia was sitting on her bed, turning the Valentine's card over in her hand. Julius was nice, not stupid, tall and good-looking, in a sort of measured proper way. If they did go out, Claudia's mother was going to have a field day. A sensible, pure-blood boy! Probably a good reason not to go on that date, Claudia thought to herself. But that made her laugh. Even by her standards, that would be a dumb thing to do.
Claudia and Julius had been friends for a long time. Ever since they met on their first ride on the Hogwarts Express. Claudia never thought about Julius that way. But maybe she should have. She was sick to death, moping about Sirius. Alice was right, he did not deserve that. And what harm could one date do… That settled it, she was going to go.
They agreed to go at the next Hogsmeade weekend. But before then, there was still the small matter of the second Quidditch game to get through. It was a nervy game against Ravenclaw. The chasers just were not clicking and Julius had a nightmare of a game. All they could manage was to buy Regulus enough time to catch the snitch. They won by mere seventy points. But with their big victory against Gryffindor earlier, all was still in their hands. Even so, Claudia could not remember a more subdued party in the Slytherin common room.
The team was sitting largely in silence, all clutching their drinks and staring into space. They were a great team, cut above everyone else. Doing this badly was outright bizarre. They had no idea how to deal with it… The only one who had a cause to celebrate was Regulus.
"Maybe, I should replicate myself and play all the positions." He roared. Nobody laughed, least of all Julius who went all red. He knew he had not done well at all. "Or at least keeper. Can't do worse than Nott." Regulus continued.
Julius stood up abruptly, pushed Regulus out of the way and run out of the Slytherin common room. Claudia shook her head and put down her glass.
"You really are a moron." She said to Regulus and followed Julius out of the door. She found him sitting on nearby steps and sat down next to him.
"He doesn't mean it. It's just the butterbeer talking." She whispered. "Everyone has bad days… You're a great kee…" But Claudia did not finish that sentence. Julius leaned in and gave her a brief kiss.
She must have looked really startled because he began to apologise almost instantly. But there was no need. It made Claudia feel good. She shuffled closer to him and kissed him back.
Neither of them really had any idea what to do next. They sat awkwardly on the step, until Julius reached for Claudia's hand and squeezed it.
"We should get back". He said.
"Really?" Claudia asked. "I feel a lot better… Wouldn't mind another butterbeer." He whispered, with a broad smile…They stood up and began walking back toward the party. Julius let go of Claudia's hand when they entered the common room, which was now nearly empty. The rest of the team had gone to bed and the party was dying down.
They sat down on the sofa and Julius grabbed another butterbeer. He sipped it in silence. Claudia could not help but smile. It was all very weird.
Emmanuel soon joined them.
"You missed an almighty argument… Regulus and Anthony were at it again." Emmanuel said. He looked at them, his eyes narrowing. "Where have you two been, anyway?" He added.
Claudia realised that they were sitting very close to each other. She turned to Julius, who was now bright red in the face. Neither of them said anything but Emmanuel's face had lit up like a Christmas tree.
"Is there something you want to tell me?" He asked, his eyes twinkling.
"Don't know what you're talking about." Claudia replied, taking a sip of her gilywater. Julius was chuckling.
"Finally. I won't have to listen to the constant moping." Emmanuel laughed.
"I wasn't moping!" Protested Julius.
"Right… I'm going to bed." Said Emmanuel. "You two have fun." He smirked.
They watched him leave. When he did, Julius put his arm around Claudia and leaned back into the sofa. Claudia studied his face.
"About that date…" She said, finally. "I didn't want to say anything before." She added.
"You don't want to go anymore, do you?" Julius sighed. He sat up and began to move his arm away. Claudia stopped him.
"I do… But not to that teashop. It's horrifying. Can't we just go to the Three Broomsticks?" She asked.
"Are you sure?" Julius replied, looking tad disappointed.
"Please." Claudia said and yawned. It had been a long day.
"Fine. Let's go to bed." Replied Julius.
They stole another brief kiss at the bottom of the staircase, said good night and went to their separate dormitories. But Claudia could not sleep.
She was lying on her bed, long into the night. She was trying to process what just happened. Never in a million years did she thought that she would ever kiss Julius. They were friends since they were eleven. It was weird.
She sighed. The kiss was nothing like her kiss with Sirius. That was like being struck by lightening. In a good way. Claudia could still feel it now when she closed her eyes and thought about it. But they were drunk and sitting on the top of London covered in snow. It was beautiful. And definitely more romantic that sitting by the broom cupboard after a particularly miserable Quidditch game.
There was nothing more to it, Claudia was sure.
It was going to get easier.
It must.