Marcus' Victory

Claudia did not know why she went to see the game between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw. Rowle was right, Gryffindor would rather eat their own limbs than let Slytherin win the cup. It was painful to watch. The buggers were not even trying. There were times when they just passed the quaffle straight to the opposition.

Claudia would do anything to wipe the smug smile off James Potter's face. But there was nothing she could have done. And so the points racked up.

Thirty, forty, fifty, sixty… Three quarters of the stadium erupted in a huge cheer.

The cup was Ravenclaw's.

Claudia kicked the seat in front of her. She knew it was nearly impossible for Slytherin to win the cup this year but went to watch the game with the tiniest flicker of hope. Now, it was all gone.

"Bad luck." Said Joseph. He was the Ravenclaw boy that Alice was dating. She finally summoned enough courage to introduce him to Claudia. She could have hardly picked a worse time to do that. Claudia was in a foul mood and had no intention of even trying to make a good impression on him.

"Thanks." She replied sarcastically. Alice frowned at her. Claudia did promise her that she would be nice.

"Normally, I'd be ok with you dating a Ravenclaw... But don't make me be nice to him today." Claudia said to Alice, who was still frowning. But Joseph laughed.

"You lot need to let someone else win it for a change… It was getting boring for the rest of us." He quipped. It almost made Claudia smile.

"Should we hang out? Drown our sorrows?" Asked Julius. He had clearly come to terms with the loss more easily than his girlfriend. He also looked very keen to spend some time with another couple. Perhaps he was hoping that it might convince his own girlfriend to do more 'couply' things.

Claudia was not keen on that, in the slightest. She shook her head.

"I need to go and study." She replied.

"Again? Can't you take a break?" Julius asked, somewhat annoyed. But Claudia was resolute.

"No. I need to look at Herbology. It will be a miracle if I get an EE." She replied.

"Why do you need an EE?" Julius was not letting this go.

"Because I want to take the NEWT. Obviously…" Claudia barked.

"Why? I thought you hated Herbology?" Julius continued.

"I do. But I need to take it." Claudia said.

"Why?" Asked Julius one last time.

"Enough with the questions! I just do..." Claudia snapped finally.

"You want to apply to be an auror, don't you?" Alice pitched in.

"How did you guess?" Claudia replied, still spikey. Alice chuckled.

"There really isn't much else that would make you work hard in Herbology, is there? And I always thought you'd do something that aligns with your interests..." She smirked. Claudia was not in the mood for jokes. It certainly was not funny dropping hints like this in front of Julius. But she did not get a chance to respond.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Julius asked.

"I didn't tell anyone." Claudia shrugged.

"But why?" Julius protested.

"Because it's no-one's business. I'm going now…" Claudia said, turned on her heel and left. She really could not cope with the interrogation. As she descended from the stadium, she heard Alice shouting after her.

"Claudia! Wait!" Alice caught up with her, panting slightly.

"Are you ok?" She whispered.

"I'm fine. Just a lot on." Claudia sighed. But Alice still looked concerned.

"You and Julius are definitely ok?" She followed-up. Claudia looked around.

"I don't know… I think he might have found out about You-Know-Who." She whispered.

"About the artefact?" Alice asked.

"The other You-Know-Who." Claudia sighed.

"Ah. Because you tried to kill his girlfriend in front of the whole school?" Alice smirked.

"I didn't try to kill her... Anyway, that wasn't it. We've had an argument the other day, Julius saw us and must have guessed." Claudia replied.

"Argument? What about?" Alice wanted to know.

Claudia went quiet. She suddenly remembered why she had been avoiding Alice all these weeks. She could not face telling her about the crup, about Sirius saving her in the Forbidden Forest, about any of it. She just wanted to be left in peace and not have her choices questioned all the time.

"Nothing." She whispered. Alice's eyes narrowed.

"What are you not telling me?" She asked.

"Nothing. I really have to go." Claudia shook her head again and started running down the stairs.

"Claudia!" Alice shouted after her, but Claudia did not stop.

"I don't know why I bother!" Alice voice carried across the stadium. She sounded angry.

"I don't know either. Just leave me be." Claudia muttered to herself but did not turn back.

Claudia continued to be miserable over the next few days. She just hid in the library, drowning her emotions in homework and revision. At least she did not feel like she was falling behind with her OWLs. If anything, she was in real danger of being overprepared.

Julius had taken a similar approach to dealing with their problems. He pretended as if nothing had happened. He ignored their argument and never brought up Sirius. But Claudia knew full well that what he saw between them had been bothering him. She noticed him scowling at Sirius across the Great Hall. It was driving Claudia mad. Why did not he just say something?!

Sirius appeared to be in a weird mood too. He seemed even louder and more disruptive in class than usual. And his pranks were turning nastier.

Every time Claudia made eye contact with him, he did something stupid. Setting of fireworks inside the castle. Blowing up Snape's caldron in potions and covering half of the Slytherins in their year with Hair-Raising Potion. Jinxing everyone he did not like the look of. It was as if he was trying to make Claudia give him detention. She did her best to ignore him. He was Lupin's problem now.

But other prefects were not quite so lenient. Sirius spent more time in detention these days that he did in class. How he managed to do any revision for his OWLs was anyone's guess.

Claudia had had enough. Enough of Sirius. Enough of Alice. Enough of Julius. She was trying to hide from them all in the library again. But it was not working. Julius just sat down next to her.

"Come outside?" He asked.

"I really have to…" Claudia began to protest.

"I know, study. You can study outside." Julius added. Claudia opened her mouth again, but Julius cut her off. "I won't disturb you. I just want to spend some time with you. I don't mind if you study. But I can't be here anymore." He looked around the library in disgust.

"Fine." Claudia said and begin to pack up her things. It did not feel like she had much of a choice if she wanted to keep dating him. Whether she wanted that or not, she did not know. But she just did not have the time or energy to think about it right now.

Outside was a rubbish place to study, but Julius was largely keeping his promise and did not bother her. He was doing an essay and occasionally whispering with Emmanuel, who was sitting with them. But the relative peace did not last long. Just before lunch, Regulus walked up to their little group.

"Emmanuel, you coming?" He asked.

"Coming where?" Asked Julius. He sounded bit puzzled. Emmanuel was his best friends and as far as Claudia could tell, they did not have any secrets. Claudia looked up from her book. Maybe Julius can be mad at someone else for a change. Emmanuel glanced nervously at Claudia. He looked like he was hiding something.

"Nowhere." He whispered and began to get up. This was getting strange.

"Spill it." Claudia barked. She was half curious and half annoyed that she interrupted her studying for this nonsense.

"Your brother asked us to have lunch with him." Regulus smirked.

"And you're going?" Claudia asked Emmanuel. There was no point engaging Regulus on this.

"It's just lunch." Protested Emmanuel.

"Right… Just lunch. Don't be an idiot. He's going to recruit you…" She growled.

"Recruit him to what exactly?" Asked Regulus mockingly. Claudia frowned. She could not tell them what he was going to try and recruit them into. They would think she had gone mad.

"To his stupid little gang. He wants you to continue his good work when he finally leaves here." Claudia said instead.

"Gang? Is that what it is?" Regulus laughed. Claudia did not enjoy being mocked. Especially not by Regulus. His presence had been annoying her for months. He was being a moron on the Quidditch pitch, he kept dropping stupid hints about her and Sirius, and worse of all, he still had his brother's eyes!

"How would you describe it, then? He goes around the school like he owns it, spouting nonsense about being better than everyone because he is a pureblood." Claudia said.

"It's not nonsense." Regulus scoffed. Claudia rolled her eyes.

"Of course, it is! It does not make us better than anyone else. Look at Marcus, he is as pureblood as they get and can barely count to ten." She said sarcastically. Regulus twisted his face and sniggered.

"You sound just like my brother. You two would get on…" He said. Here we go again. Claudia did not dare look at Julius.

"Just because your wretched brother happens to agree with me, doesn't mean I'm wrong." She replied.

Regulus' was really enjoying himself now. He turned to Julius.

"What about you? Are you on the same side as my brother?" He asked, mockingly. Julius looked at Regulus. Then at Claudia. Then back at Regulus.

"Drop it." He hissed.

"You didn't answer the question. Do you think my brother is right? Want to be his best mate?" Regulus pressed the point.

"I said drop it." Julius replied. He was really quite annoyed now.

"Should have known you will never disagree with her. Just pathetic." Regulus quipped.

Julius opened his mouth but thought better of it. He opened his book and hid his face behind it. He was seething.

"You really are an asshole. Just leave him…" Said Claudia in Regulus' direction but did not quite finish.

"I don't need you to defend me." Julius said through gritted teeth. Awkward silence ensued. Mercifully, Claudia spotted Marcus walking towards the castle.

"You two better go. Here comes your lunch date." She smirked in Regulus' and Emmanuel's direction.

But before either of them could move, a massive black dog appeared out of nowhere and bitten Marcus in the leg. He squealed like a pig. It was the least dignified thing that Claudia had ever seen. The dog was gone again before Marcus could take his wand out. So instead he scuppered back to the castle as fast as his injured leg allowed him to. His trousers were ripped, and the sound of muffled laughter followed him all the way back. No one quite dared to laugh in his face though. Cowards, Claudia thought.

But she just could not stop laughing. It was the first time she laughed in weeks…. Wherever that dog came from, it deserved an enormous treat.

Just as she thought that though, the dog appeared again and run straight towards her. Claudia jumped up from the grass and took a step back. She was always bit scared of dogs – or anything she could not reason with - and she certainly did not want to end up same way as her brother.

But the dog was wagging its tail and practically skipping. If dogs could smile, Claudia could swear it would be grinning at her. It came right up to her and poked her in the leg with its nose. She laughed some more. Then it did it again. Claudia overcame her fear, buried her hand in the fur on the top of its head and scratched it. The dog let out an excited bark and run off.

"That made me feel so much better." Claudia exhaled and dropped back to the floor. Julius stood up abruptly.

"He's still your brother. You might try to be a little nicer to him. To all of us, actually…" He said grumpily and walked off.

Claudia watched after him. Maybe she should tell him about what Marcus was up to. If he knew, he would not say such stupid things. But then again, she should not have to tell him. Sirius figured it out himself ages ago.

Claudia remembered the very beginning of their fourth year, Sirius coming to her aid when she got on the Quidditch team instead of Marcus and he took it rather badly. She remembered Sirius helping her break into the restricted section. The two of them hiding under his cloak after curfew, chatting and having fun. Claudia groaned. The thought of Sirius made her mad again.

"Enough with the moping already. He doesn't deserve this." She whispered to herself and reached into her bag for the Defence Against the Dark Arts textbook. What she was going to do once the exams were over, she did not know.

The OWLs were rather uneventful, Claudia thought. The exception was Professor Flitwick getting knocked over by a pile of parchments at the end of the Dark Arts exam one morning. And with only Transfiguration left, it was unlikely that the OWLs were going to be a blast. Claudia liked Professor McGonagall, but she was not one for jokes.

Later the same day, Claudia was having dinner with Eleanor, the only person that she could actually talk to without getting annoyed these days. The only person who did not try to constantly interrogate her.

Eleanor was telling her about her plans for the summer. She was going to spend four weeks, caravanning in France with her parents. Claudia had no idea what caravanning was, but it did sound interesting.

"I wish I could come with you." Claudia sighed.

"Would your parents let you?" Eleanor asked, sounding a bit surprised.

"Maybe." Claudia shrugged. She could not really imagine her father saying no to her. Even if she asked him if she could go on a muggle holiday. Eleanor broke into a huge grin.

"Then do come! My parents won't mind. They keep asking if I want to bring a friend. I just figured you would never be allowed to go." She said, sounding very excited. It almost took Claudia by surprise. Never had anyone expressed this much joy about spending time with her.

"I don't know. I have things to do in London... I'll think about it." She said. She was hoping that she would finally have an opportunity to do some digging over the summer. To find out what Marcus was up to and find a way to force him into a mistake.

But Claudia's train of thought got interrupted by laughter. She turned around to see what was happening and saw Severus walking into the Great Hall. He was staring to the ground and looked like he wished it would swallow him. Eleanor was chuckling too.

"What happened?" Asked Claudia.

"James and Sirius hang him upside down. We've all seen his underpants. It was not pretty." Eleanor replied. Claudia did not say anything. She did not have the strength to neither laugh nor disapprove. She was so tired of all of it. The thought of having to go through two more years like this… It was unthinkable.

Poor Severus did not even get a chance to sit down. He did not get halfway down the Great Hall before Marcus got up and ordered Severus to come with him. He still looked angry and carried a slight limp. Claudia wondered whether Marcus and Severus were plotting revenge on that poor dog. Hopefully, it will not end up the same way as that crup that Marcus has been experimenting on. Dead and disfigured.

Claudia sighed. If she wanted to make any progress in finding out what Marcus was up to before the end of term, it was now or never. She had been ignoring him for long enough. She made an excuse and followed them out of the Great Hall and down the stairs to the dungeon.

Claudia rounded a corner and found herself face to face with Marcus. Severus was standing behind him and they were talking to Regulus and Emmanuel. His plan to recruit those two idiots must have worked, Claudia thought to herself.

"Seen sense? Came to join us?" Asked Regulus, smirking.

"I doubt that very much..." Marcus said, icily.

"You managed to get something right. Must be the first time. Congratulations." Claudia mocked him.

"You have no idea what you're up against." Marcus smirked. This was her chance to goat Marcus into saying something he would regret...

"What am I up against? Bunch of mediocre thugs with overinflated egos?" She asked, trying very hard to sound confident. But inside her robes, she was clutching her wand so tightly, her knuckles must have been white.

Marcus broke into an evil smile. He walked up to Claudia.

"I'll make you regret it all. One day, very soon, I'll personally make you regret it all..." He whispered, slowly.

He gestured towards the other three like they were his servants and walked away. They followed him without another word.

Severus was even more dead-eyed than usual.

Regulus was as smug as ever.

Emmanuel did not dare look Claudia in the eye, but he did follow Marcus too.

"Unbelievable." She muttered to herself. But this was not funny. It was uncomfortable. She remembered all too well what happened last time Marcus threatened her. But this was worse. Marcus did not look scared or clueless anymore. He looked confident. He must have joined the Death Eaters already, Claudia thought to herself. There could be no other reason why he would be this cocky.

She took extra care putting the protective enchantments around her bed that evening. She needed to get some practice in. Otherwise, she would not be able to get a wink of sleep this summer.

As she laid in bed, she hoped that Marcus' confidence was misplaced. Even if he mastered the inferi spell and was allowed to join the Death Eaters, it could not be as powerful as the artefact. Marcus was a mediocre student and when she saw him practicing it in the Forbidden Forest, it looked like Severus was doing most of the work.

There was no way her father would be quite so triumphant. He could not be. She was getting used her freedom and was not ready to go back to how things used to be before she told him that she destroyed the artefact. She needed her father to be scared. She was going to find out soon enough where she stood. Only one more exam to go, she thought. With that, Claudia took out her textbook, opened it and promptly fell asleep on top of it.

Two days later, the OWLs were finally over. Claudia was sitting at breakfast, completely bewildered about what to do next.

She had nothing to study. No Quidditch game to practice for. She did not remember what she used to do before the revision started. How was she going to avoid people now?!

Claudia sighed and unwrapped her copy of the Daily Prophet. It took one glance at the front page of the newspapers to make Claudia forget about all of that.

Someone has been found dead in Hogsmeade. She began to scan the article.

"The cause of death was unknown… Anonymous source described a horrible sight… White corpse… Paper-thin skin... It had been seen wondering around the village the night before… Ministry remains tight lipped about the whole affair…"

Claudia did not even have to finish the article. She knew instantly what the cause of death was… Marcus. She felt sick again. Her brother was a murderer. She looked towards the Gryffindor table and saw Alice. They barely said a word to each other since the Quidditch Cup Final and Claudia was beginning to miss her best friend. But she just could not tell her about this. Not anymore. Alice would put both of them in danger by insisting they tell the Ministry. But the story was so far-fetched, no-one would believe them. It made no sense for a Hogwarts student to go around and turn people into inferi. Claudia's father would find out. He would have nothing to lose anymore and she would be shipped off to Durmstrang, if she was lucky. No, she could not tell Alice. She needed to protect them both.

"What are you looking at?" Julius asked when he saw her face. She threw him the papers.

"Someone got killed in Hogsmeade." Claudia whispered, gauging his reaction. Maybe, this might be another good opportunity to tell him. Julius read the article. He gave her a reassuring smile.

"You don't need to worry. I'm sure the Ministry will catch whoever did it." He said.

"That's not the…" She began to say, but what was the point of telling him. He would never get it.

"Never mind." Claudia added. Julius got stuck into his toast.

"Do you want to go out for a walk? He asked.

"Sure." Claudia replied, mindlessly. She picked up the paper again and was re-reading at the article. The more she looked at it, the more horrifying it was. There was someone else she could talk to about this. Someone, who already knew how that murder was committed. Sirius.

He probably read the article already. He was always reading the papers. She could forever hear him complain about it across the Great Hall. The Death Eaters were vile… The Ministry was useless… The papers only cover half the truth... Claudia scanned the Great Hall thoroughly but could not see Sirius.

She saw James. He was sitting in the corner of the Hall, almost as if he was in trance. He was pale, quiet and staring into space. James Potter being quiet and without Sirius in tow, that was most unusual.

Pettigrew was sitting next to him. Claudia could not tell whether he was acting just as weird as James. He was always a bit weird.

Remus was not there either. Maybe they just had too much to drink. That would certainly explain all of this.

Claudia did not see Sirius anywhere for the rest of the day. Or indeed for the rest of the term. And before she knew it, she found herself on the Hogwarts Express back to London. She was sitting alone in the prefects' carriage, trying not to listen to any of the rumours explaining Sirius' absence. He was sick. His mother was dead. He was in St Mungo's, gravely injured. All of it was far-fetched. He was going to be fine. He probably just did another stupid thing and had been stuck in detention. If something really bad happened to him, Claudia was sure Regulus would not miss the opportunity to tell her and gloat.

All of this made her think back to the train journey last summer. It almost felt like another lifetime. She was so happy then. She did not know it yet, but she was beginning to fall in love with Sirius. They had just found the artefact. She really thought that they had won. And now, Marcus had mastered the inferi spell. He was a murderer and most likely a Death Eater. And she would have to spend the whole summer in the same house. All alone, surrounded by Death Eaters…

That is why Sirius' absence was making her uneasy. He was her safety net. Even after everything that happened between them, she knew that he would tell the Ministry if something happened to her. He may have been a complete nightmare to date, but he knew right from wrong when it came to the war. He would not leave her to them. He could not have. But if something really did happen to him, Claudia would be in trouble. Real trouble. No. Nothing could have happened to him. He was going to be fine. He was Sirius. He was always going to be fine.

Claudia had no one else to turn to. Alice was still not speaking to her. Julius was, but what use was that. She could not tell him anything. And with the OWLs now finished, he would insist that they spend all their time together. He would want to hang out all summer, Claudia would see him at all the parties. Everyone would be asking them when they are getting engaged. And she would have to introduce him to her mother...

"Nope. Screw this. I can't do that." Claudia muttered to herself and jumped up from her seat. She ran through the train until she found the compartment where Eleanor was sitting. She stuck her head in.

"Can I come to France with you? I really need to get away…"