Claudia woke up just as she fell asleep. In Sirius' arms. She could feel the warmth of his body against hers, and hear his heart beating in his chest. It was not possible to be in a moment more pure, more beautiful. Slowly, she opened her eyes.
In the light of the dying fire, she was just about able to make out the outline of Sirius' face. He was smiling at her.
"Are you watching me sleep?" Claudia muttered. Sirius smiled even more broadly. He looked different, the usual tension in his face was all gone. Claudia did not think it was possible for him to look that… She briefly struggled for the right word. That serene.
"You're beautiful." Sirius exhaled, interrupting her train of thought, and brushed a lock of hair out of Claudia's face.
"Stop it." Claudia chuckled. Whatever she was, she was not beautiful. But she could not stop smiling either.
"What's the time?" She asked, yawning a little.
"I don't care." Sirius replied and planted a kiss on her forehead. Claudia purred and turned over to look at Sirius' watch.
"It's late. I've got to go back." She sighed. She could not imagine anything less appealing. If she could pick a moment to stay in for the rest of her life, this would be it. She never felt this warm, secure, and loved.
"I've been dreaming about this for months." Sirius said and squeezed her in his arms. "Not letting you go, ever." He added and buried his face in the crook of Claudia's neck.
"They'll start a missing person inquiry." Claudia giggled. "Besides, you don't have to come with me." She added and freed herself from Sirius' embrace enough to sit up. She regretted it instantly. The air in the room was cold. She wanted nothing more than to crawl back inside the duvet, their little bubble of warmth and happiness.
It was as if Sirius read her mind. He shuffled closer to Claudia and wrapped his arms around her waist.
"What sort of boyfriend would I be if I let you walk home by yourself?" He quipped and held her tight. "It's still dark outside."
"Boyfriend? Is that what you are?" Claudia chuckled.
"If you let me." He said, with a cheeky smile. They both started laughing at the same time. Of course, she was going to let him. She was done pretending that she could ever truly fight off her feelings for him. And Sirius knew it.
"Only if you promise we'll do this again." Claudia said, making a swooping gesture around the bed.
Sirius grabbed her even tighter and pulled her back down into the covers.
"I'll happily promise you that." He whispered in her ear and kissed her neck.
"We have to go." Claudia pretended to object.
"I know." Sirius said but did not stop kissing her.
"You're such a bad influence." Claudia exhaled, closed her eyes, and passionately kissed him back. She could not care less about being late. Not anymore.
"OK. Let's go then." Sirius pulled away and patted Claudia on her leg.
"Wait. What?" Claudia gasped.
"You were the one who said we had to go." Sirius shrugged and jumped out of bed. He was having way too much fun torturing her like this. He put on his underwear, picked up Claudia's clothes from the floor and threw them at her.
"Chop, chop." He chuckled and finished getting dressed. "I'll get us some coffee."
"I really do hate you sometimes..." Claudia said through gritted teeth, and grudgingly began to put her own clothes on.
Sirius disappeared out of the room and when he came back few minutes later, he was holding a mug of coffee and Claudia's coat.
"Are you feeling up for an interrogation?" Sirius quipped and passed her the steaming mug. "They've all passed out in the living room and, stupidly, I've just woken them up."
"No." Claudia said resolutely and took a sip of the coffee. It was heavenly. "Window?" She asked and passed the mug back to Sirius.
"Coward." Sirius laughed. "I couldn't find your jumper. You can take one of mine. It's freezing outside." He added.
They finished the mug of coffee between them. Claudia pulled on a jumper that Sirius had long outgrown and her coat. Sirius opened the large sash window and jumped out of it. He turned, as if he was going to helped her down, but Claudia beat him to it and jumped into the fresh layer of snow.
"Still won't let me help you, eh?" Sirius quipped.
"Of course, not!" Claudia chuckled.
Sirius put his arms around Claudia's shoulders. She slid hers under his jacket and around his waist. They set off just as the day began to break. It felt so easy, so natural. As if, they had been together for years.
They were almost half-way to Eleanor's house when Claudia suddenly remembered something. She closed her eyes and sighed.
"Can we not tell anyone about this yet?" She asked. "I need to speak with Julius first."
"Didn't you break up?" Sirius replied.
"I guess so." Claudia whispered. Seeing a bewildered look on Sirius' face, she continued. "We broke up. But he deserves to hear this from me first."
"I don't think he deserves anything." Sirius mumbled. "But fine."
"Don't you start as well." Claudia teased him. "One jealous boyfriend was plenty."
"Boyfriend." Sirius grinned and drew Claudia even closer to him. "That's going to take a while to get used to."
Just as the sun came out over the horizon, they arrived at Eleanor's house. It was time to say good-bye.
"I have to go in." Claudia whispered between kisses. She was standing on the top of the kerb, with Sirius standing on the road. She was still shorter than him, but not by much. Her arms were resting on his shoulders. He held her tightly by the waist.
"Not yet." Sirius uttered and slowly slid his hands down onto her bum and under the hem of her skirt.
Suddenly, he froze and tilted his head slightly to look over Claudia's shoulder.
"What is…" Claudia began to ask but did not get the opportunity to finish, as Sirius spoke first.
"Hi Eleanor." He grimaced in the direction of the house.
Claudia closed her eyes tight. They were not able to keep this a secret for long. She turned as well and saw her friend peaking at them from behind the hedge. She was blushing.
"I was beginning to worry that something happened to you." Eleanor said. "But I see you're just fine." She added, giggling. She gave them an awkward wave and disappeared back into the house.
"I really need to go in." Claudia said and dropped her face on Sirius' shoulder. "Before everyone sees us."
"I'll see you on the train." He whispered. Claudia gave him one more kiss and began to walk towards the front door. She stopped after few steps and turned back towards Sirius. She remembered last Christmas. She remembered their sweet good-bye in front of her parents' house, before everything was ruined by that stupid note. This was just like that again.
"I won't do anything stupid..." Sirius said. He must have seen the hesitation and sadness on Claudia's face.
"Yes, you will." Claudia smirked. "Just talk to me this time, and we're going to be fine." She replied.
Sirius put his hands in his pockets and shrugged. Claudia could swear he was blushing a bit. She smiled at him and disappeared into the house.
Claudia shut the door and leaned against it. She was grinning again.
"I don't know who I was expecting to bring you home, but I was not expecting him." Eleanor popped her head out of the kitchen. She was still giggling. "How did that even happen?" She asked.
"Do you remember when I told you about my first kiss?" Claudia replied.
"The mysterious friend! That was him?" Eleanor gasped. "I need details!" Claudia was in no mood to talk about what just happened. She wanted to go to bed, shut her eyes and dream about last night all over again.
"I need to get some sleep…" Claudia said, yawning.
"Fine." Eleanor rolled her eyes.
Claudia began to walk to her room when she remembered Eleanor's inability to find any conversation topic off limits.
"Eleanor… Please don't tell anyone about this yet." Claudia said. Eleanor bit her lip but nodded.
"And do keep the skirt. I don't really want it back." Eleanor's voice followed Claudia down the corridor. "Not after what I've just seen." Claudia could feel her cheeks burning as she shut the bedroom door behind her.
Claudia curled up in bed. She wrapped her own arms around her and took a deep breath. She could still smell Sirius and his cologne on her skin and clothes. Claudia closed her eyes and saw herself in Sirius' bed again. And with that picture in her mind, she fell asleep.
Eleanor came to wake her up as the noon was approaching, as her parents were due back any time now. Claudia took a quick shower and put on some fresh clothes. She, however, could not quite resist putting Sirius' jumper back on. With Eleanor's parents back, they all went for a lovely lunch in the local pub and spend the afternoon playing board games.
"I'll leave you to some family time." Claudia said at about seven o'clock after she annihilated them in something called Monopoly and left for her room. She climbed into bed and took out her notebook to write to her boyfriend. The thought of calling Sirius that still made her giggle.
But before she even opened the notebook, she heard a light knock on her window. And then another. She jumped up from bed and went to open it.
"What are you doing here?" She asked when she saw Sirius grinning at her from the ground.
But Sirius did not reply. He jumped up, sat on the windowsill, and pulled Claudia into a tight hug. Then, he kissed her.
"Did you really think I could wait till tomorrow to kiss you again?" He whispered.
"I'll get my coat." Claudia chuckled, pushed Sirius gently back down to the ground, and shut the window behind him.
"I'm going for a walk." Claudia said as she poked her head into the living room. "Might have a look around town. It'll be beautiful tonight."
"It's quite late. Eleanor will come with you." Replied Mrs King. Eleanor began to get up.
"I don't want to be a bother. And I'll be back by nine." Claudia shook her head and gave Eleanor a significant look. Eleanor understood and, mercifully, Mrs King dropped it. Claudia run out of the door before either of Eleanor's parents changed their minds.
Sirius and Claudia walked to town and before long found themselves sitting in a small pub. They were perched next to each other on a bench, crouching over a little table. Two pints of the lovely muggle beer and some pork scratchings were laying on the table in front of them.
"The jumper looks cute on you." Sirius whispered and wrapped his arm around Claudia's shoulders.
"If my mother saw me." Claudia replied and dropped her head back onto Sirius' shoulder. He leaned towards her and kissed her. They got completely lost in the moment.
"Should we head back?" Claudia whispered. "I promised to be back by nine."
"You're such a goody two shoes." Sirius smirked.
"Am I?" Claudia laughed and run her fingers across Sirius' chest. "Would a goody two shoes be wondering what kind of silencing charm might work on her bedroom?"
"Nulla Sonus." Sirius replied before Claudia even finished her question. "I'm very good with silencing charms." He grinned.
"What are we going to do back at school?" Claudia chuckled, as they began putting their coats back on.
"If only there was a place that only the two of us knew about." Sirius smirked. "That already had a bed in it."
"Wait. You want to do it in Slytherin's rooms? In his bed?" Claudia asked, somewhat bemused.
"I'm sure the old man won't mind." Sirius shrugged. "We are both purebloods after all." They both burst out laughing. Given their views on the pureblood mania, the thought of Slytherin approving of their union was entertaining.
In an embrace, they left the pub and walked back to Eleanor's house. Claudia said good night to the Kings, went back to her room and let Sirius in through the window.
The following morning, it was his turn to sneak back into his bed before anyone else noticed he spent the night elsewhere. Claudia was still half-asleep when Sirius got up and got dressed. He crouched down next to her and kissed her on the forehead.
"I love you." He whispered and pulled the blanket over her naked shoulder.
Claudia purred. Sometimes it was ok to be a girl. At least she did not have to wade through snow to walk him home. She could stay in bed.
"I love you too." She tried to say back, but all she could hear was an incomprehensible mumble. Her eyes felt too heavy. She fell asleep again.
Later that morning, Claudia sat down with the other prefects in the designated carriage. Emmanuel arrived not long after she did. He was still giving her the evil eye. Claudia could feel the happiness drain out of her. She knew she had to talk to Julius sooner rather than later. She did not want to, but she had no choice. She set off to find him.
But first, she stuck her head into the compartment where Alice was sitting.
"How was your holiday?" Asked one of Alice's friends.
"It was good." Claudia replied. She could not help but to glance at Alice and grin.
"Is there something you want to share with us?" Alice smirked.
"No." Claudia shook her head, but the grin stayed on her face. "I need to run…. Bathroom." She added significantly.
"I'm coming with you." Alice uttered and followed Claudia out of the compartment. Alice barely had a chance to close the door behind her when Claudia flung her arms around Alice's neck.
"Thank you for talking some sense into me." She whispered. When Alice did not look like she knew what was going on, Claudia let go off her and continued. "Eleanor is not the only person from our year who lives in Winchester. The Potters too. And the fugitive they're hiding." Claudia giggled.
"Did you see him?" Alice asked.
"You could say that." Claudia said and burst out laughing. "Every last bit of him… Twice."
"Claudia!" Alice exclaimed. She managed to sound shocked, amused, and little judgemental all at the same time.
Claudia did not care in the slightest. Instead, she hugged her best friend again.
"I didn't even know it was possible to feel this happy." She whispered.
"So, are you two like a couple now?" Alice asked. Claudia smiled and nodded. "You and Sirius? An actual couple?" Alice added, just to double check.
"Once I tell Julius about it, we will be." Claudia grimaced, hugged Alice again and disappeared down the aisle to go find her ex-boyfriend.
At the beginning of their relationship, Claudia really did think that Julius might be the right boyfriend for her. In the summer, when he admitted disliking the pureblood mania, she even thought she might love him. But then she realised she could not. And not just because she was really in love with someone else. Julius wanted her to be someone she was not. He just wanted a proper girlfriend, someone who would hang on his every word, tell him how smart he was and go on lame dates. There was no way she could ever do that.
"Do you have a minute?" Claudia asked, as she opened the door to his compartment.
Julius gave Emmanuel a significant look, nodded and got up to follow her into the aisle. For a moment, they stood awkwardly there, staring at each other. Finally, Claudia summoned enough courage to do it and took out a small box out of her pocket.
"Oh." Julius smiled. "I got you something too, just in case. But it's in the compartment." He said and took a step or two towards the door.
"It's not a present." Claudia winced. She should have realised this is how it was going to look. "It's the necklace you gave me for my birthday. I can't keep it."
Julius' smile had frozen on his face.
"I'm sorry." Claudia whispered.
"This is about Black, isn't it?" Julius recovered enough to speak. He was frowning now.
"Come on, we haven't been getting on for ages." Claudia replied. "I can't be the person you want me to be."
"Right." Julius replied and snatched the box from her hand. "Because I'm exactly the person you want to be with."
"Can we please just be civil about this?" Claudia sighed.
"Why?" Julius growled. "Do you want me to be happy for you?"
"I just want us to get through the Quidditch season without killing each other." Claudia said through gritted teeth.
"Right, Quidditch…" Julius rolled his eyes and began to walk away. "Yet another thing that is more important to you than I ever was."
"You're still coming to practice, right?" Claudia shouted after him. Julius did not turn back. He shut the door to the compartment after him so forcefully, that the glass shook in the frame.
"That went well." Claudia muttered to herself and began walking back to the prefects' carriage.
Reality came down crashing down on her and she began wondering how everyone else was going to react to her new relationship. Her parents may have disappeared, but they made it very clear that Sirius was not desirable company. Thankfully, Claudia did not really care what they thought. But what about all the girls that dated him before her? She could hear their jibes already. And then, there was Quidditch. Julius was raging with jealousy already, and he did not even know that he was right. Claudia could not even imagine what Regulus was going to say or do.
Claudia was nearly in the prefect carriage when she felt someone's hand on her back.
"Hello." A familiar voice whispered in her ear. Claudia twitched and looked around.
"You've changed your mind already, haven't you?" Sirius said quietly. "And I didn't even get the chance to fuck this up."
"No, that's not it." Claudia replied, squeezing his hand. She looked around again, dragged him int an empty compartment, and locked the door behind them.
"I couldn't tell Julius…" Claudia whispered.
"I still don't get why that matters." Sirius frowned.
"It's Quidditch." Claudia sighed.
"Quidditch? How?" Sirius burst out laughing.
"Well..." Claudia whispered and launched into a monologue. "I'm the captain. And a good one. And despite losing to your lot, we still have a shot at the cup. But! If the team find out that we are dating, the whole thing is going to implode. I cannot lose Julius, he is a great keeper, but he hates you. He's been on edge ever since we started talking again. He blames you for the breakup. And he doesn't even know we are together. And don't get me started on Regulus. He hates you even more. If that's actually possible. I'm not saying we should break up, but…" She finally had to pause for breath.
"But?" Sirius asked tentatively.
"Can we keep this to ourselves? For now?" Claudia replied.
"So, this is what it would be like to date James…" Sirius smirked. "Quidditch first."
Claudia gave him a brief smile.
"Are you ok not telling James right away?" She asked.
"It's going to be fun watching him figure it out." Sirius shrugged.
"Are you sure?" Claudia felt the need to double check. She knew how important James was to him.
"Don't worry, I am used to making allowances for this dumb game." Sirius sighed.
"Quidditch isn't dumb." Claudia frowned and opened her mouth to continue her defence of Quidditch. But Sirius jumped in before she could.
"Bloody hell, James – when did you get this good with Polyjuice Potion?!" He laughed, moved closer to Claudia and grabbed her tightly in his arms.
"You think you're funny, don't you?" Claudia frowned. She was not amused.
"I am funny." Sirius smirked and kissed her. "And this is a great way to shut you up when you start talking about Quidditch." He whispered, as his lips parted with Claudia's for a brief moment.
"This isn't fair." Claudia pretended to protest but kissed him back.
The next few weeks went in a blur. In classes or the Great Hall, Claudia could not help but glance at Sirius. There were winks and fleeting smiles between them. Claudia thought that anyone who knew them and had an ounce of emotional awareness must have guessed that they were together. Every spare moment they had, they spent making out in an empty classroom or a hidden corner of the castle. And more often than not, that led to them sneaking to Slytherin's apartments.
One Saturday afternoon at the very end of January, they were lying in the four-poster bed again having just made love. Sirius was running his palm over Claudia's back. He looked deep in thought, as he rested his hand on top of Claudia's shoulder where the most prominent of her scars was. She could see the hatred in his eyes again.
"You have no intention of letting it go, do you?" Claudia sighed.
"No, I don't." Sirius said resolutely.
"But Dumbledore…" Claudia began to say, but Sirius interrupted her.
"I really don't care what the old man said." Sirius frowned. "I'm going to find a proof that it was Snape and he's going to pay."
"You promised…" Claudia whispered.
"I don't give a shit what I promised." Sirius barked.
"But, my father…" Claudia tried intervening again.
"Claude, please." Sirius implored her. "You almost died. Do you think I can let it go? Just cross my fingers and hope it's not going to happen again?"
"Fine." She sighed. "But we are going to look for a proof that it was Snape. And if we find it, we aren't going to do anything rash." That was good enough for Sirius.
"Thank you." He whispered and kissed her. "Now." He added and rolled to the side of the bed. "Let's see what he's up to."
Sirius pulled out a large piece of parchment from of his bag and unfolded it on the bed. It was blank. He took out his wand and pointed it at the very centre.
"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." He said, grinning widely.
Claudia watched in amazement as a map of the Hogwarts castle appeared on the parchment. There were hundreds of tiny dots zipping about, in corridors, classrooms, dormitories. Each with a name attached to it.
"Where did you get this?" She gasped.
"We made it." Sirius replied, grinning some more.
"You haven't." Claudia chuckled and began examining the paper more closely. "You couldn't have."
"So glad to have a girlfriend that believes in my abilities." Sirius smirked.
"I believe in your abilities." Claudia replied. "But this is beyond genius."
"Maybe I'm beyond genius then." Sirius shrugged.
"How does it work?" Claudia asked, still not sure whether she should believe him or not.
"Well." Sirius smiled, shuffled close to Claudia and put his arm around her. "We had to draw this and cast the Homonculous Charm in every bloody corridor, room and alcove in this castle. The charm tracks everybody's movements, you see."
"Hang on." Claudia's eyes narrowed. "This is how you found me in the Forbidden Forest, isn't it?" She asked, remembering how Sirius appeared out of nowhere when she was trailing Marcus and Severus deep in the forest.
"And in the corridor…" Sirius whispered.
"I'm not sure how I feel about this." Claudia frowned. "Have you been stalking me?"
"You wish." Sirius laughed. "I was just looking over the grounds one evening and saw your brother and Snivellus walking toward the forest, with you in pursuit. Obviously, I was going to see what you were up to." Sirius paused and took a deep breath. "And the second time, I just had this horrible flashback to when Marcus attacked you. We had the map open, so I scanned for your marker. It was flickering and I knew instantly something was wrong."
"Was anyone else around? Did you see Snape attack me?" Claudia whispered.
"No, it was just you at that point…" Sirius shook his head. "I didn't have time to look where Snivellus was."
"I wonder where he is now." Claudia said and began to search the map for Snape.
"Here he is." Sirius said grumpily and pointed to the library.
"That reminds me." Claudia sighed. "We need to go and finish that forcefield. We are nearly there." That was true. They've been working hard on it all autumn and were very close to transfiguring an old cauldron to contain the forcefield that would, in turn, contain the alkahest.
"Really? Now?" Sirius whispered in her ear and run his fingers up and down Claudia's leg.
"Really. Now." Claudia chuckled. "Unless you want me to think you only signed up to Alchemy to get me into your bed."
"Well." Sirius grinned. "It was a consideration." He said but did not get to continue, as Claudia threw his shirt onto his head.
They barely managed to do any studying before James appeared at their table.
"Ready to go?" He asked in Sirius' direction.
"Need to finish this Alchemy thing." Sirius replied.
"Just do it on Saturday, mate." James said in a tired voice. "Everyone is going to the Quidditch game, so you'll have time."
"I was going to come and watch the Quidditch with you." Sirius said, blushing ever so slightly.
"Hang on." James' eyes narrowed. "I can barely make you come to the Gryffindor games. Last time you came to a game that wasn't ours, Leanne forced you to go watch her." He pointed at Claudia. "When this one nearly killed her… Are you telling me there is someone new, again?"
"I just fancy some fresh air…" Sirius said casually, but the corner of his mouth was twitching. There was a long pause. James' eyes were boring into Sirius, then, he looked at Claudia. She had to turn away not to burst out laughing.
"No!" James shouted finally. "She's the Slytherin captain. Literally, the enemy!"
Neither Sirius nor Claudia could hold it in any longer. There was no point pretending anymore. They laughed and briefly reached for each other's hand.
"Why didn't you tell me?" James barked in Sirius' direction.
"Just wanted to see how long before you figure it out." Sirius quipped. "And because you take Quidditch too seriously."
"James, please don't tell anyone." Claudia jumped in, with the smile suddenly wiped off her face. "My team will implode. I'm begging you."
"Why should I care?" James smirked.
"Because I care. And you are meant to be my best friend." Sirius growled, leaving his best friend under no illusion about how important that was.
Claudia could not help but sneer. It felt good to see James put back in his box for once. Sirius turned to her.
"And you should cut it out too." He said, still frowning. "I know that you both care about this stupid game, but I don't. And I'm not getting in the middle of some dumb fights about it!" He added and returned to the Alchemy textbook, leaving James and Claudia to sit at either side of him, arms folded and scowling at each other.
Claudia did not have much time to worry about James' feelings. With the Quidditch game in less than a week, the team had a practice every day. And every free moment, she spent watching Snape's marker on Sirius' map. One afternoon, they had the map spread open on Slytherin's bed again when Snape finally looked like he was up to something fishy. He was lurking in a dungeon corridor for a minute or two and then slowly disappear into a wall.
"What's in there?" Claudia gasped.
"No clue." Sirius said, jumped out of bed and started to put his clothes back on. "The map doesn't show the things we didn't get into. Could be a hidden part of the castle, a secret passage, or a toilet we forgot to draw."
Claudia got dressed as quickly as she could and they both run down to the dungeons to check out where Snape was hiding. It turned out to be even less exciting than a forgotten toilet. There was just a battered door with a sign saying 'Cleaning Supplies'.
They hid in the room opposite and waited for Snape to re-appear on the map. After an hour or so, he did. They waited for him to get back to the common room and went to explore his peculiar hiding place. At a first glance, it looked inconspicuous. But then, Claudia noticed something.
"Look. There is soot on the ground." She whispered and crouched down. "And the floor is still warm. He's been using a cauldron here."
"Why would he be brewing anything in a cleaning closet?" Sirius asked but quickly smirked and began answering his own question. "Because he's brewing something illegal…"
They searched the closet with anticipation but found nothing. They watched Severus for days and seen nothing remotely suspicious or interesting. They even began to give up, thinking they imagined the whole episode. Maybe he was just looking for a cleaning solution after all.
AN: I prefer stories with single POV, but I know that is not the universal preference. Is there a particular part of this story you would like to read from someone else's perspective? Be it Marcus, Julius, Alice, or Sirius. Let me know and I will consider writing it if I have a spare moment. I have done some short stories from Sirius' and Peter's POV already that help me make the characters clearer in my head, so very much keen to give it a go.