Quidditch Finals
Few days after Claudia's excursion into the Forbidden Forest, she was sitting in the Hogwarts grounds with Julius and Eleanor. She paid no attention to what the two of them were chatting about. She was trying to figure out what to do next. Who, if anyone, to tell.
Talking to Sirius just was not an option. That would just make things even more complicated. Why could he not just disappear from the face of the Earth.
Claudia looked and Julius and studied his face. She did not him anything yet and had no idea how he would react if she told him what she saw her brother do.
Claudia sighed. Obviously, the best option would be to tell Alice. After all, they have been investigating Marcus together. But she could not.
There would have been nothing Claudia could have to convince Alice not to run straight to her dad and tell him everything. But it was too early. It was just Marcus' word against hers. Well, and Sirius'. But that was not likely to be helpful. He was not exactly a reliable witness.
And even if Alice's dad believed her, what could he actually do? If he started a real investigation, Claudia's father would find out about in minutes and put a stop to it. Claudia was sure about that.
She would just have to avoid Alice for the few weeks until the end of term. Her best friend was getting a lot better at seeing through Claudia's schemes. There was no way she would be able to keep this from her.
She had to wait for Marcus to make a mistake. Or force him to make one. He might get caught… And shipped off to Azkaban. Claudia paused and smirked. They might all end up in Azkaban and she would be free.
Claudia train of thought was interrupted when Eleanor and Julius stopped talking. They were both looking at her.
"Hm?" Claudia muttered.
"Welcome back to Earth." Giggled Eleanor. "I was just wondering if you have any plans for your Birthday." She added.
"Wake up. Study. Eat. Study. Quidditch practice. Study. Aaand study…. Like every single bloody day." Claudia replied, with a sigh. She quite liked studying, but the OWLs revision was becoming overwhelming, even for her. Claudia looked towards Julius, who was smiling coyly and avoiding her gaze. She frowned. "Please tell me you haven't been planning anything." She said in his direction.
"It's your Birthday!" Julius shrugged but kept smiling coyly. Claudia closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
"Please don't make it a big deal. I'm only turning sixteen!" She pleaded with her boyfriend. Eleanor giggled. Claudia had no idea why.
"Sixteen is a bigger deal in the muggle world than it's here." She said.
"Why?" Asked Julius, clearly desperate for any sort of ammunition. "You can buy cigarettes, have sex." Eleanor said causally.
Julius, who had just taken a sip of his pumpkin juice began choking.
Claudia short Eleanor a warning look. Why would she even mention something like that?
Thankfully, Julius was also more than happy to pretend as if Eleanor did not just throw a grenade between them.
"Of course, your Birthday is a big deal. We've been together for three months. We have to do something a bit special." He said, like nothing happened. Claudia was becoming quite annoyed with him.
"So, I need to do something I don't want to, just because it's expected of me?!" She barked. Julius rolled his eyes.
"What do you want to do, then?" He asked, as patiently as he could.
"I don't know. Just hang out." Replied Claudia.
"We hang out every day." Julius said. He was not convinced.
"Hang out with cake?" She asked tentatively. That did not help.
"I have to go." Said Julius, stood up and began to walk away. He was clearly not happy about this.
Claudia was scowling after him. She looked at Eleanor, ready to complain. But Eleanor laughed.
"Don't you look at me. I agree with him… I told you I pity anyone who asks you out." She said. But Julius was not the only thing that Claudia wanted to complain about.
"Why did you have to mention sex? Are you insane?" Claudia asked, her eyes wide. Eleanor did not look phased in the slightest.
"Have you not talked about it?" She asked.
"No!" Claudia squealed and shook her head.
"Are you going to?" Eleanor added, smiling a little.
"What? Do it? Or talk about it?" Asked Claudia, perplexed. Eleanor raised an eyebrow. She definitely meant the former. Claudia had no idea what to say. She could not even look Eleanor in the eye. Instead, she looked at her watch.
"Quidditch practice. Need to run." She whispered, stood up and run off.
Claudia could not stop thinking about what Eleanor said the whole way to the pitch. She once had a conversation with her mother about sex. It was one of the worse things that she had to endure. Cassandra never actually mentioned the word 'sex'. She spoke about it like it was this huge secret. An unspoken price to be dangled in front of the chosen boyfriend. Dangled, but never actually given. Not until after the wedding.
The whole thing was completely medieval. What was the point in playing games like that? Claudia was never going to get married anyway. It was just not for her, being someone's wife. Someone's mother. Just the thought of that made her shudder. It was stupid. Almost as stupid as this birthday business.
Claudia never really enjoyed her birthday. Her mother would not allow her more than two slices of cake. "Must watch your figure." Claudia rolled her eyes just as the thought of that. She always had to pretend that she liked the presents her family bought for her. Or rather, the presents they bought for the daughter they wanted her to be.
And then there were the heartfelt cards from her mother. "My dearest girl… I miss you so much… I wish you all the happiness in the world…" Heartfelt cards that were followed by a slap across Claudia's face the moment she said something insolent or misbehaved in front of someone her mother worshiped.
And now, on top of all that, she had to worry about what Julius was planning. The worst thing would be if he tried doing something romantic in front of the whole school. Claudia would probably just die of embarrassment.
So, she waited for her birthday with dread. Finally, it arrived. Julius grabbed Claudia's hand right after the morning classes. He was holding a food basket.
"Let's get out of here." He whispered and led Claudia to a nice spot by the lake for a picnic. They finished their food lunch and all the cake. Claudia was lying on the grass, unable to move. She looked at Julius and smiled.
"Is this want you had planned? It was nice…" She said. Surprisingly, she actually meant it.
"Not exactly. But I'm glad you liked it." Julius replied. Claudia thought that he would have been disappointed, having to change his plans last minute. But he did not look it. Claudia sat back up and kissed him. Maybe he was getting to understand her after all. She took a deep breath. She had to tell him if she wanted them to have a chance.
"Julius… I need to ask you something. In Dark Arts… Do you remember the lesson on inferi?" Claudia whispered. She did not know how else to approach it.
"Really, now?" Julius chuckled. "I'd rather do this." He whispered, leaned towards Claudia and gave her a long kiss. There was never going to be a better time. Claudia was determined to tell him, but Julius got there first.
"I've got something else for you." He said and pulled out a box from his pocket. Claudia opened it. It looked like a really expensive golden necklace. She stared at it, then at Julius.
"Do you like it?" Julius asked. Claudia smiled at him.
"Yeah." She whispered. Never did she wear jewellery. But what else was she supposed to say? She already upset him with her insistence on the low-key celebration. If she complained about the present, it would crush him. It was not like she did not have practice at pretending she liked presents. She let Julius put the necklace on her and they made their way back to the castle.
Claudia would only have to wear it for a few days. On Saturday, it was their final Quidditch game. They were going to win the cup and all will be forgotten.
And it was not just the usual Slytherin arrogance that made the team believe that. They were flying astonishingly well in practice. No one would be able to touch them. Least of all Hufflepuff, who were the bottom of the championship.
The team breakfast on the morning of the game was the most joyous one yet. Julius was grinning at Claudia. She could hardly remember seeing him this happy before. There were laughs and jokes all around. Rowle was barking butterbeer orders at his friends. Even Parkinson, always so keen to remind them to keep their heads and focus on the game, looked relaxed. They had this in the bag.
Just before they were about to leave for the pitch, Regulus picked up the Hufflepuff team sheet.
"I thought it was her." He smirked. The team looked up at him. No one knew what he was talking about. "The new chaser they had to draw in at the last minute, Holt. My brother's latest girlfriend…" Regulus smirked. Claudia could swear Regulus was looking straight at her when he said it, as if he was waiting for a reaction. But she was not going to give him any grounds to think that it bothered her. Anyway, she should not care who Sirius was dating now. He was not her problem anymore. She had a boyfriend. She turned to Julius.
"Let's go." She said as calmly as she could. Julius put his arm around her and they set off for the pitch. Claudia tried very hard not to focus on what Regulus just told them. She could not wait to hold the cup in her hands. That would make it all better.
Finally, the teams lined up in the middle of the field. Claudia was glaring at the Hufflepuffs. There were two girls on the team and both looked like they were Sirius' type. Tall, blond, pretty… Claudia scoffed. Typical, she thought to herself. What was I even thinking?!
She watched one of the girls look over her shoulder to where the Gryffindor students were sitting. She smiled and waved. That must have been her. Claudia closed her eyes. She desperately did not want to care. But she could not help it. Her chest was swirling with all sorts of emotions. None of them particularly pleasant.
Thankfully, Madame Hooch blew the whistle and the teams kicked off the ground.
It was a fast-paced, end-to-end start to the game. Ten minutes in, Claudia found herself alongside Holt, the quaffle in under her arm. She had a sudden strong urge to knock the Hufflepuff chaser off her broom. Claudia closed her eyes for a fraction of a second and took a deep breath. "Focus! Now is not the time!" She muttered to herself... But the brief distraction was enough. Claudia lost her balance and dropped the quaffle. Holt laughed and dived after it. Claudia followed her down. She was not going to let this girl humiliate her, again...
Claudia pressed herself against the broom and drew level with her opponent. She kicked her away, swooped in and had the quaffle back. She shot back up, smirking. It felt good. But before she could get any nearer the Hufflepuff hoops, she heard Madam Hooch blow the whistle.
"Penalty to Hufflepuff!" She yelled. Claudia shrugged. For that little bump?! Unfair… Hufflepuff scored.
Few minutes later, Holt flew over Claudia and kicked her in the head. Claudia was furious. There is no way that was accidental. Rowle saw what happened and elbowed one of the other Hufflepuff chasers in the stomach. Another penalty. Another ten points to Hufflepuff.
The game only got nastier from there. Claudia did not even know how the other penalties were conceded, there were just too many.
Parkinson was yelling at them from the top of his lungs to calm down, but no-one cared. The discipline of this well-drilled Slytherin team had completely disintegrated.
Claudia and Holt were flying side-by-side again, around the edge of the stadium. What was the point of trying to keep it together? Claudia sped up and bumped into Holt with all the force she could muster. The opposing chaser was knocked off her broom and tumbled down the side of the stands. Madame Hooch blew the whistle again.
"Avery! That's enough! One more foul like this and I'll give you a ban for next year. Penalty to Hufflepuff!" Hooch screamed. But Claudia could not care less. She watched Holt holding onto her leg and being carried off the field on a stretcher. Her leg was clearly broken.
"Serves you right, you cow." She muttered. It was terrifying how good it made her feel. She shivered. She could be just as cruel as the rest of her family.
Claudia glanced at the scoreboard. It was even worse than she thought. Slytherin had barely any points. Even if Regulus caught the snitch now, they would probably lose the cup. They needed more points and fast. Regulus knew this. He was flying around at full speed, trying to distract the Hufflepuff seeker and block his path whenever the snitch made an appearance. This cost Slytherin yet more penalties.
But even that was not enough. The Hufflepuff seeker got lucky. Regulus got hit by a bludger, just as the snitch appeared in the middle of the pitch. The Hufflepuff dived for it and the game was over.
Claudia looked at the scoreboard again, desperately trying to do the math in her head. It was not good. Ravenclaw needed mere sixty points in their last game to claim the championship.
There was no way back from this. Slytherin lost.
The mood in the dressing room was arctic. Everybody knew the championship was over.
Parkinson, who was now in his seventh year and thus just lost his final chance to win the cup as captain walked out of the changing rooms without a word.
Anthony and Regulus were sniping at each other over the loose bludger.
"We can forget it now." Said Rowle and kicked a spare quaffle across the room. "Gryffindor would rather eat their own limbs then let us win the cup." He added angrily. Claudia, who was already furious, rolled her eyes.
"Really? Are we going to focus on Gryffindor? The game was ours to win today. Hufflepuff were utter garbage." She took barely enough time to breathe. "All we need to do is clean up our game and we are unbeatable. We have no one else to blame but ourselves!" She continued, yelling.
Regulus stopped scowling at Anthony and turned to Claudia.
"Don't go all sanctimonious on us. You're the one who fucking started it?!" He shouted at her. Claudia knew that. But she did not need Regulus pointing that out. She just thought of a perfect insult to throw back at him but before she could say anything, Julius jumped in.
"Leave her be. That was an accident." He said through gritted teeth. Regulus snorted.
"Right, an accident." He said. Claudia had had enough. She run out of the dressing room, slamming the door behind her.
It was getting dark and began to rain. Claudia did not know what to do or where to go. So she wondered around the grounds. Her mind was completely blank with rage. She did not want to see anyone. She waited until the whole school was at dinner and then slipped back into the castle, running straight into the showers. She took off her Quidditch robes. They were covered in mud and making her cold. She run the water and slumped on the floor.
She hugged her legs and dropped her head onto her knees. There was no way she could hold the tears in any longer.
She began to sob uncontrollably.
How could she let Sirius get to her this much? She wanted that Quidditch cup more than anything else. And now, it was gone.
Claudia had no idea how long she stayed in that shower. When she managed to get out of there, it was nearly midnight. She snuck into her dormitory and went straight to bed.
If Claudia could stay hidden behind the curtains of her bed for the rest of her life, she would. But she knew she would have to emerge eventually and it was probably better just to get it over with. She stepped into the common room and immediately saw Julius. He was waiting for her.
"Hi." Said Claudia. She could not bring herself to raise a smile.
"You disappeared last night." Julius whispered. Claudia sighed and collapsed onto the sofa.
"Sorry, I was upset." She replied.
"I was upset too. We could have been upset together." Julius said and sat down next to her.
"Right…" Claudia gave him the briefest of smiles, but could not bring herself to say anything else.
"The thing Regulus said yesterday..." Julius began to say. Claudia's heart jumped. Did he manage to figure out just why she lost her head yesterday?
"You don't blame yourself, do you? For losing the game?... Because it was not your fault. It was an accident…" Julius continued. Phew. Claudia put her head on Julius' shoulder. He hugged her.
Claudia was grateful that Julius did not suspect anything. Maybe dating someone less smart had its advantages, she thought to herself. But that thought made her feel immediately guilty. Julius might not have been as smart, but he was nice. In fact, lot nicer than Claudia could ever hope to be.
"Breakfast?" She asked, with a more genuine smile.
"Sure." Julius replied and kissed her head.
They ate their breakfast in the corner of the Great Hall, mostly in silence. And they were not alone in that. The rest of the team were scattered around the Hall, drowning their sorrows in pumpkin juice.
Parkinson in particular looked like he cried all night. Claudia could not look him in the eye. The guilt was overwhelming.
"Let's get out of here. I need to go to the library…" Claudia whispered. They were nearly out of the Great Hall when they found themselves face-to-face with Sirius and his girlfriend. She was still on crutches. The break must have been really bad if Madame Pomfrey could not fix it overnight. Oh well, Claudia thought. Nothing I can do now.
Claudia noticed that Sirius tried to steer his girlfriend away, but she would not let him. She hobbled right toward Claudia.
"Do you have anything to say to me?" Holt asked, icily. Claudia shook her head. There was no way she was apologising. "I really think you should apologise to me." The Hufflepuff continued.
"I'm sorry you feel that way." Claudia replied.
"Let's go, Leanne." Muttered Sirius and began walking away.
"No!" She barked and yanked him back to her side. "I would appreciate some support though. Tell her to apologise!" She implored Sirius. Claudia scoffed. She folded her arms and stared right at him.
"Yeah. Tell me to apologise." She said, coldly. Sirius, who has been avoiding her eye until now, finally looked at her. Their eyes were locked for a very long time. You could cut the tension with a knife.
Sirius turned to Leanne and opened his mouth, but no actual words came out. Instead, he just groaned and walked away in the direction of the Gryffindor table. He took extra care to knock Julius off balance as he did.
"Watch it, Black!" Julius shouted after him. But Sirius did not turn back. Just raised his hand and made a rude gesture.
"Have a good day." Claudia said to Leanne through gritted teeth and began walking out of the Great Hall. She could feel that Julius took a step or two to follow her out. Claudia turned to him.
"I'll see you in the common room." She said and run out. She just wanted to be alone.
Claudia did not go to the library. She would have been too easily discoverable there. Instead, she found a quiet corner of the castle and took out her books there. She was thankful every day about the upcoming OWLs. It was a great excuse to forget everything and disappear into her books. But she could not escape for long. She had potions in the afternoon and nothing in the worlds would make her miss that.
Claudia snuck into the classroom just as Slughorn started talking and sat down next to Julius. Every opportunity there was, he looked like he wanted to talk to her. There was nothing that Claudia wanted to do less than that right now. She left the table every time it looked like Julius might say something. She was out vials... She needed to wipe her cauldron... She needed to pick up mandrake leaves from the cupboard...
At least the last one was not a lie. Claudia looked up the shelf and sighed. What idiot put the mandrake leaves right at the top. She tried to stretch but could not reach. Someone walked up right next to her and picked up the jar. It was Sirius. He was frowning a little.
"Was that really necessary? On the pitch? And in the Great Hall?" He asked.
"I'm not a nice person. Sorry if that's a surprise to you." Claudia replied and snatched the jar from him. She wanted to walk away but could not.
"Just stop." She said.
"Stop what?" Sirius barked.
"Stop following me… Stop helping me… Stop breathing… I don't care." She barked at him. Sirius looked very annoyed now.
"Fine. Next time, I'll just let them kill you. Is that what you want?" He asked.
"Works for me." Replied Claudia. "At least I won't have to deal with you again." She added.
She stomped back to her table. Julius was watching her, she was sure of that. But the moment she looked at him, he looked away and buried his face in his textbook.
Claudia had never seen him read with such intensity. She was not very good at talking to people, but she was good at reading them.
Julius had figured it all out. There was no other explanation.