Quidditch Rivalries
January gave way to February and it was the time again for the Slytherin Quidditch team to assemble for their customary pre-match breakfast. But the mood in the Great Hall was somewhat muted. Everyone was talking in hushed voices, and there was neither cheering nor booing when Claudia walked over to the Slytherin table.
"What's going on?" She asked Anthony, who was the first team member there.
"Couple of second-years collapsed just now." He replied. "They had to be taken to the hospital wing."
"When will the little ones learn how to handle their butterbeer?" Claudia shook her head. "Please tell me they weren't Slytherins and I don't have to deal with them later." She was starting to become quite tired of her prefect duties.
"Hufflepuffs. And it looked more serious than that." Anthony replied, looking extremely worried. "Hope they'll be ok."
"I'm sure they will be." Claudia tried to give him an encouraging smile. The last thing she needed today was for her most reliable player to breakdown over something this trivial.
"Anthony." Said someone so sharply it made Claudia jump. She turned and saw Regulus behind her. "Your brother's been telling me that it's going to be him, rather than you, covering me today."
"That's right." Claudia jumped in. After all, this was her decision. "Ravenclaw's chasers are better than Gryffindor's. We need the more experienced beater to handle that." She briefly looked at Chris. "No offence."
"So, I'm going to be the sacrificial lamb, again?" Regulus barked.
"Nobody is being sacrificed." Claudia said as patiently as she could. "It's just the better strategy."
"I don't know why I bother." Regulus said angrily and dropped into his chair. "Nobody appreciates my talent."
"Oh, shut it." Julius said suddenly. "You know full well that Claudia's right."
"Still on her side." Regulus rolled his eyes. "I'd pity you if you weren't so pathetic."
"Enough." Claudia barked. "Can we just stop the bickering for one minute? We have a game to win."
"Hear, hear." Whispered Chris and tucked into his breakfast. The rest of the team grumbled but eventually followed suit.
As they were about to leave for the pitch, Claudia grabbed Julius' arm.
"Thank you." She whispered. "I know this can't be easy for you."
"I just want to win." He replied and freed himself from her grasp. "And you were right. There is nothing more to it."
Claudia watched Julius march out of the Great Hall when Chris whispered in her ear.
"It's going to get easier." He said.
"I don't see how." Claudia sighed. "If his head gets any bigger, he won't be needing a broom to fly."
"I don't mean Regulus." Chris chuckled. "I mean your ex."
"Should have listened to Parkinson. Bad idea to date a teammate." Claudia replied as they began walking together to the pitch.
"It always struck me." Chris began and paused. "Sorry if that's bit direct… That he was way more into you, than you were into him."
"I just…" Claudia sighed. "It was a bad idea. Got sort of stuck." She added.
"I wish you better luck next time." Chris winked at her.
"Thanks." Claudia giggled. She did not need luck, not anymore. "Anyway… Let's hurry up. Need to get there before Regulus decides to re-do the whole tactical board."
Mercifully, Regulus did not meddle with the tactics any further, and the team managed to keep it together during the game. The chasers played as well as they did against Gryffindor and Regulus was back to his best. He caught the snitch barely an hour into the game. Claudia felt that he caught it a touch too early but did not have it in her to argue. It had been a year since they won a game, and it felt as good as ever. Hopefully, it would still be enough to give them a chance at the Quidditch Cup.
As mid-February approached, the atmosphere in the whole school changed. For the worse, as everyone started obsessing about Valentine's Day. Even with a boyfriend that she loved, Claudia found the prospect of it horrifying. The cards, the dates, the presents. Everyone losing their mind over secret admirers. The whole thing made her cringe. But then, she remembered something. Sirius seemed to like her for who she was. She was sure he would not be upset in the slightest if they decided to skip the whole charade. And she was right, Sirius looked relieved and they agreed to meet in the Alchemy lab on Valentine's evening to make progress on the alkahest.
Claudia had successfully transfigured the cauldron into the forcefield while waiting for him. Around six, Sirius finally arrived, with his arms full of chocolates and cards, and his face full of fury.
"Are they all for me?" Claudia laughed. The look on Sirius' face made it obvious that was not the case.
"Not funny." Sirius growled and dumped them in the bin.
"Oi! I'm peckish. We could have eaten those." Claudia protested.
"They're all laced with love potion." Sirius frowned.
"Of course, they are." Claudia rolled her eyes. Sirius did not laugh. He still was in no mood for jokes. "What happened?" She added. "Surely it cannot be a surprise to you that half the school is in love with you."
"It doesn't matter." Sirius growled and began unpacking his books. Claudia looked at him from beneath her eyelashes, leaving him under no illusion that she knew something was bothering him. "Fine." Sirius sighed. "It's James. He's been encouraging this." He gestured towards the bin overflowing with chocolate boxes. "Hoping I'll get sick of you and date someone else. Someone who is not the enemy."
"Right." Claudia laughed nervously. This kind of talk still make her self-conscious.
"Which I'm not going to do." Sirius whispered and gave her shoulder a brief squeeze. "I just wish he focused on his own love life."
"James has a love life?" Claudia asked, somewhat surprised that Sirius' best friend could be in love with someone other than himself.
"He's obsessed with Lily Evans." Sirius replied. "And I mean obsessed. It's not healthy."
"They would make the worst couple in the world." Claudia grimaced.
"Is there anyone you actually like?" Sirius asked, his usual smirk slowly returning to his face.
"I like you!" Claudia replied, defensively. "And winning, so let's get going." She added and pointed to the transfigured cauldron.
"You and James are more alike than either of you'll ever admit." Sirius uttered under his breath. Claudia did not catch the rest of his sentence but could swear the words single-minded and competitive were used.
"In the spirit of Valentine's Day, I'll pretend I haven't heard that." Claudia giggled and went to get the needed ingredients from the cupboard.
"What do we need to do with these seashells again?" Sirius asked, flipping through the book.
"Heat them to eight-hundred-fifty degrees." Claudia replied, took out a dozen or so seashells from the box and put them on a metal tray. "I thought we could melt them with the cursed fire." She added, tongue in cheek. Sirius shook his head but could not help but smile a little. "Too soon?" Claudia laughed, remembering their row last year.
"It will always be too soon." Sirius chuckled. "Besides, I think the modified fireplace oven over there might just be preferable to using dark magic."
"If you insist." She rolled her eyes and shoved the cast iron tray into the oven. It was time to wait, before taking the next step – mixing the molten seashells with alcohol.
"Do you think it's drinkable?" Sirius asked, sniffing the bottle of alcohol. Claudia was not quite sure whether he was joking or not.
"Of course not! It's hundred percent." She shrieked and grabbed the bottle when she saw he began moving it to his lips. "It would kill you."
Sirius poured the molten seashells into the force-field. Claudia measured out the right amount of alcohol and stood over the cauldron.
"Ready?" She asked, outstretched her arm, and poured the alcohol in.
The moment the first drop touched the substance in the cauldron, the alcohol ignited, and a tower of fire shot up high above their heads.
Claudia jumped away from the fire, tripped over a chair, and tumbled to the ground. The glass she was holding shattered in her hand.
"Are you ok?" Sirius asked and grabbed her hands in his to examine them. He was kneeling in front of her.
"I think so." Claudia replied. She managed to move her arm out of the way of fire just in time.
"Your hair is bit scorched." Sirius frowned and run Claudia's fringe between his fingers.
"It'll grow back." Claudia smiled at him. Sirius brushed her hair out of her face. Then, he shook his head and smiled. "What?" She laughed.
"I've spent so long wanting to kiss you that I keep forgetting that now I actually can." Sirius whispered. She looked into his eyes and brought her hands up to his face. They kissed. Every time, it still felt like their first time. Like there was no one and nothing else in the world. Just the two of them, in a moment of perfect happiness.
Eventually, they managed to find their concentration again and come back to the textbook.
"Ah. That explains it." Claudia said and began to read out loud.
"Pure alcohol ignites over three-hundred-sixty degrees. Any substance that it is being mixed with must, thus, first be sufficiently cooled down."
"Here is a thermometer." Sirius smirked and grabbed some contraption out of the cupboard. So, they tried again. This time, they waited too long, and the mixture went solid.
"Third time is the charm." Sirius quipped as he took out another tray of seashells from the oven. They watched it closely.
"It's starting to thicken." Claudia said finally. She took a deep breath and carefully poured the alcohol into the mixture. And it worked. There was no fire, and the quicklime and alcohol mixed beautifully. The first step was done.
Claudia practically fell into Sirius' embrace. She was tired, hot, sweating and covered in soot.
"You taste like the sea." Claudia quipped as she kissed him.
"And you smell like hell." Sirius replied and pressed his body against hers. She suddenly felt an overwhelming urge to rip his shirt off.
"I know the perfect place to wash it all off." Claudia whispered and kissed him. "Prefects' bathroom." They kissed again. "There is a pool." Another kiss. "And all kinds of bubbles."
"Well. If there are bubbles, we'll just need check to it out." Sirius replied, with a wry smile and tugged his hands inside the back pockets of Claudia's jeans.
"Get your cloak and go to the fifth floor, the fourth door to the left of a statue of Boris the Bewildered." Claudia smiled. "I'll tidy up this mess and meet you there in ten." She added.
"There are far worse ways to spend Valentine's Day." Sirius uttered as they were saying good night, hiding under the cloak by the steps leading to the Slytherin common room. He was certainly right. The prefects' bathroom proved to be a perfect setting for a romantic end to their evening. "I'm just not sure the mermaid portrait will recover after what she's seen." He quipped. Claudia did not laugh.
"I hate this." She whispered. "Having to go back in there and sleep in the cold bed. Alone."
"We could go and sleep…" Sirius began to say.
"My roommates wouldn't cover for me." Claudia interrupted him and buried her face in Sirius' chest. "It's late. I have to go in, or they'll get suspicious." It took Claudia another twenty minutes, however, to leave the warmth of her boyfriend's embrace and set off for the Slytherin dormitories.
A week or so after Valentine's Day, Claudia arrived early to the alchemy classroom only to find that James and Sirius were already there. She walked over to them and peaked over Sirius' shoulder to see what he was working on. It looked like he was desperately trying to finish the Transfiguration essay that was due that afternoon.
"I'm not going to disturb you." Claudia chuckled and squeezed his shoulder.
"Please do." Sirius laughed, grabbed her by the waist and pulled her down to sit on his lap. They both looked in James' direction. He was squarely ignoring them, just as he has been ever since he found out about them. Claudia outstretched her neck to see what he was scribbling. It did not look like Transfiguration.
"Can you tell her to go away?" James barked and hid his parchment from view. "I'm trying to work on tactics here."
"You guys have tactics?" Claudia laughed. "I've just assumed you fly around as fast as you can, smashing things… Well, that's what it looks like anyway."
"You're right. We need a new approach." James growled. "Maybe I need to start sleeping with your best friend. To mess with your head."
"James…" Sirius hissed. To Claudia, it certainly sounded like a warning.
"Do you really think that?" Claudia asked James, her eyes narrowing. "That I'm doing this for Quidditch."
James growled again but did not say anything. He was doing his best again to pretend that neither of them existed.
"Yes, he does." Sirius said slowly. "He thinks that Regulus planned this whole thing to take down the Gryffindor team."
"How? You aren't even on the team!" Claudia scoffed.
"I didn't say it made sense, did I?" Sirius smirked.
Claudia heard the door handle screech. She jumped up from Sirius' lap and dropped to the seat next to him. And just in time, as the head of Severus Snape emerged through the door frame. When he saw that Sirius and James were already in the classroom, he cursed and disappeared faster than a puff of smoke.
"I forgot to tell you." Sirius whispered as he watched the door shut behind Snape. "I've been to check out that cupboard again. There was fresh soot there. He must have been back."
"I've barely seen him since Christmas. I do wonder what he's up to." Claudia replied, then paused and looked in James' direction. Something had just occurred to her and she was not sure whether to continue her thought in front of him. "Do you think that it's maybe one of those trials? Like Marcus had to do?" She added, speaking so quietly that only Sirius could hear her.
"What would You-Know-Who want with him?" Sirius whispered back. Claudia noticed James stopped scribbling but kept his eyes firmly on the parchment. He was clearly listening to their conversation. But she decided to continue anyway.
"You underestimate him at your peril." Claudia frowned. "He basically knows more about potions than Slughorn already. And if he was to succeed in making whatever he's been given as an alchemy assignment."
"Elixir of immortality." Sirius jumped in. He was not laughing anymore. "That's what his assignment is."
There was a long pause. Even the mere thought of You-Know-Who in possession of the elixir of immortality was horrifying. The silence got interrupted by the door to the classroom creaking again. This time, it was Green – the Ravenclaw Quidditch captain – who walked in.
"Great." James growled and hastily put all his Quidditch papers back into his bag. "It's like the Captain's meeting here. Anyone else wants a peak of the Gryffindor tactics?" He added theatrically.
"Sod off, Potter." Green barked back and crashed into his seat. It made Claudia giggle. She was clearly not the only Quidditch captain that James was at odds with.
"Miss Avery. A moment." Dumbledore said at the end of the lesson. "How are you recuperating?" He asked. "Your injuries did not seem to affect you during the Quidditch game."
"I'm fine. Thank you, Sir." Claudia mumbled.
"Sit. Sit." Dumbledore implored her and pointed to a chair in front of the teacher's desk. "I was just curious. What are you planning to do after you leave school?" He asked.
"Well, I thought I might want to join the Ministry. Maybe. I haven't thought about it too much." That was a lie. She thought about it every Herbology lesson. Her ambition to become an auror was the only reason why she put herself through that particular nightmare on a weekly basis. It was taking all the determination she had.
"I see. You wish to continue the family tradition?" Dumbledore asked, his eyes twinkling.
"Not quite." Claudia laughed. "I thought. Maybe I want to apply to the Auror Office."
"Obvious choice." The Headmaster replied. "Given your extracurricular activities." He added with a wink. Claudia chuckled. It felt good, having the Headmaster treat her like an old accomplice. "An old friend spoke to me the other day." Dumbledore continued. "He was looking for suitable students to undertake summer placements at the Ministry. I took the liberty to mention your name."
"Did you?" Claudia gasped, her eyes wide. "I would absolutely love a summer placement there. Thank you."
"It might not exactly be in the Auror Office, but you might find it interesting regardless. If you do not mind running into your father every now and then." Dumbledore said significantly.
"I barely know what he is up to at the Ministry." Claudia replied.
"You are not the only one." Dumbledore said with a barely noticeable smirk. Before Claudia could ask what the Headmaster meant by that, Dumbledore continued. "I need to go. But my friend would like to have a chat with you. Expect a letter with a date and time."
"Like an interview?" Claudia asked, suddenly sounding bit flustered.
"Exactly like an interview." Replied Dumbledore, just as he vanished.
Claudia did not have to wait long for the note. Her interview was to take place on Friday, 11 March. That only gave her three weeks! Three weeks she was going to spent obsessing about and preparing for it. She remembered all too well her fake interview at the Daily Prophet office last year. Never again was she going through anything like that unprepared.
The best thing about it was not even the placement. If Claudia managed to get it, and Alice succeeded in her auror application, they would work in the same building! They could go for lunch. It would all be so proper and grown up. Alice was almost as excited about the prospect of that as Claudia. Or she would have been, if she managed to get her nose out of her NEWTs revision for one second.
The time passed in a flash and Claudia's Ministry interview was just few days away. Like every Tuesday morning, she had a free period and was planning to do some more preparation. But as she left the Great Hall after breakfast, she spotted Sirius. He was sitting on the stairs and holding a piece of parchment in his hands. He was pale and rigid. Claudia knew instantly that something was wrong.
"Is everything ok?" She whispered and brushed his shoulder. Sirius did not say a word and handed her the parchment. She stood over him and skimmed it.
Dear Mr Black,
I am sorry to inform you that your uncle Alphard has passed away this weekend. He always spoke very highly of you and wanted me to tell you that he is very proud of the young man you have become.
The funeral will take place at 12 noon this Friday, 11 March at the Abney Cemetery in Stoke Newington.
His last will and testament be read at the office of Fisher & Barnes, the wizarding solicitors at 50 Church Street, N16 0NB, London.
Yours sincerely,
Augustus F. Hawthorne
"I'm sorry." Claudia said quietly, handed back the letter, and sat down next to Sirius. "I didn't know you had an uncle."
"He was my mother's brother." Sirius whispered on a verge of tears. "Him and my cousin Andromeda, were the only members of the family that were in any way nice to me." Sighed Sirius. "Didn't get to see him too much though. My mother didn't like him around."
Claudia looked around. They were alone so she reached for Sirius' hand and squeezed it.
"Is your mother going to come to the funeral?" Claudia asked.
"Not if it's in Stoke Newington she isn't." Sirius smirked. "It's the wrong sort of neighbourhood. Full of muggles and freaks." He added, imitating his mother's icy voice.
"I'll be in London for my Ministry interview that day. I can come with you." Claudia replied.
"James is coming too." Sirius said.
"We'll behave, I promise." Claudia jumped in before Sirius could say anything else. She heard some hushed voices, so she let go of Sirius' hand and moved a foot further away.
"I hate that we have to do this." Sirius growled and stood up.
"Let's get out of here." Claudia whispered. They snuck into the nearest classroom. Claudia gave Sirius a tight hug the moment they shut the door behind them. When she looked up at him, she felt a tear drop land on her cheek. And then another.
"I'm sorry." Sirius mumbled. "As my father says, boys don't cry."
"Your father is a moron." Claudia smiled. She stood up on her tiptoes and wiped his tears with her thumb. Then, she kissed him on the cheek. They spent the rest of the morning hiding in that classroom. Claudia was sitting on the floor, reading her interview notes. Sirius was lying with his head in her lap, still clutching onto the letter. Claudia was running her fingers through his hair, curling it absentmindedly around her fingers. It was moments like these that made her realise just how much she loved him. Whenever they were together, doing even the most ordinary thing, she felt at peace.
On Friday morning, Claudia got special dispensation to use one of the fireplaces to the travel to the Ministry of Magic. When she presented herself at reception, she could barely remember her name. Her palms were sweating, and her heart was beating million times a minute. However, it turned out that her nerves were not necessary. The interview was a complete joke. Oscar Murray, who was the man Dumbledore told her about, chatted with her for about ten minutes, asked about Dumbledore and then offered her a placement in the Minister's Private Office on the spot.
Somewhat annoyed that she spent so much time preparing for such a pointless meeting, Claudia slowly made her way up to Stoke Newington to meet with Sirius and James at the cemetery. It was a beautiful place, full of old gravestones and even older trees. Little paths ran through it in all sorts of directions. After a good half an hour, she finally found them. The funeral was about to start.
Claudia could scarcely believe her eyes when she saw Sirius. He looked exactly like you would expect the eldest son and heir of the Most Noble and Ancient House of Black to look, if you did not know him. He was wearing a silver embroidered coat, a black shirt with a raised collar and his hair was all tidy and pulled back.
"You look very… Pureblood." Claudia said and planted a kiss on Sirius' cheek. James, who was standing next to him growled. Claudia shot him a warning look. She promised Sirius she would behave and was hoping that James would have enough sense to do the same.
"Uncle Alphard sent me this for Christmas." Sirius said glumly, tugging at the sleeve of the coat. "Seemed only appropriate that I wore it, even if it means I look like a fucking posh boy… How was the interview?"
"Complete joke." Claudia sniggered. "But they offered me the placement so I'm not complaining."
The officiant began speaking and the small congregation fell silent. Sirius gave Claudia a squeeze.
"Proud of you." He whispered.
There were not that many people at the funeral. At the centre of it, there was a man dressed in intricate dark grey robes, wearing oversized sunglasses that were presumably hiding his puffy eyes. He was surrounded by perhaps dozen other people, who were trying to support and console him. To little avail.
At the end of the service, this man walked up to Sirius.
"Young Sirius, I presume?" He said, his voice shaking. "I'm Augustus Hawthorne, your uncle's friend. He would have loved that you are here." He said and grabbed hold of Sirius' hand. "Shame no one else from the family came." He added bitterly.
"My condolences." Mumbled Sirius. "And I would take the family's absence as a compliment." That brought a fleeting smile to Augustus' face.
"You ought to come to the reading of the will." Augustus added. "Alphard was very clear. Make sure young Sirius comes to the reading, he said. He will hate it if my sister is there. But he needs to come." Augustus' voice was creaking again.
"I'll be there." Sirius reassured him, although a very noticeable line had appeared on his forehead when Augustus mentioned Walburga.
Augustus re-joined the crowd and the three teenagers set of to find the solicitors' office, which turned out to be just across the road from the entrance to the cemetery. As they were standing by the road, waiting to cross, a large car pulled up. The driver opened the door and Walburga had emerged, in her overpampered glory. With her fur coat and heavy jewels, she looked completely out of place in this muggle suburb.
"If she sees me here, I'm dead." Claudia whispered and dived behind James.
"I need to do this alone anyway." Sirius said resolutely and clenched his fists. "You two go wait for me in that Red Lion pub we passed earlier." He did not even wait for an answer. He stepped into the road and followed his mother inside the solicitors' office.
James and Claudia went to wait in the Red Lion as they were told. They were sitting as far away from each other as was possible on the table, and barely exchanged a word.
"I hope he's ok." Claudia whispered and glanced at her watch nervously. Not a minute later, Sirius stormed into the pub, his eyes flaming.
"We're going back to school." He barked. "Let's call the Knight Bus. I'm not staying here another minute." James picked up his coat and began to stand up.
"What happened?" Claudia asked, reached out for Sirius' hand, and made him sit down.
"My mother happened." Sirius growled, grabbed Claudia's beer, and downed it.
"Well, I figured as much." Claudia grimaced. "Care to specify?"
"Uncle Alphard left me bit of money." Sirius sighed. "Actually, a lot of money. Mother had some things to say about that."
"What did she say?" James pitched in. He too was sitting back at the table now.
"That she knew I wouldn't be able to make it on my own, and that I was always going to come crawling back for the family money." Sirius replied. "I can't take the inheritance." He added and held his head in his hands.
"That's exactly what she wants." Claudia whispered in his ear and put her arm around him. "It allows her to hold onto you. To hope that one day you will come back."
"I would never go back there! I'd rather starve to death." Sirius whispered into his hands, still refusing to look at either Claudia or James.
"I believe you." Claudia said gently and buried her hand in his hair. "But if you were to take it, you'd show her you're free. She would know she has no power over you."
Sirius finally raised his head and looked at his girlfriend.
"I could get my own place." He said, breaking into a tiny smile. "Somewhere I could finally call home." Claudia smiled back at him. Sirius planted a quick kiss on her cheek and stood up.
"Alright then. I'll go." He said resolutely. "Get a bottle of champagne. We'll have to celebrate."
"You get your own champagne." Claudia chuckled. "You're the rich one." She watched Sirius stride out of the pub. Then, she turned back to James, who was staring at her.
"He listened to you." James uttered. "He actually listened to you."
"So?" Claudia shrugged. "It's been known to happen before."
Sirius came back not fifteen minutes later. He grabbed Claudia in his arms and without a word gave her a long and passionate kiss.
"You were right." He whispered when he finally let go of her. "The look on my mother's face when I signed the papers. Priceless."
"Shall I get the champagne?" James piped up, still looking uncomfortable in their presence.
"No time." Sirius shook his head. "Augustus invited us to the wake. We have to get going."
They left the pub. After about ten minutes, Sirius pointed at a large townhouse. "Here it is. Sixty-six Milton Grove." The moment they stepped into the hallway, it was clear that this was no ordinary wake. It was more like a party. The music was loud, there was funky food and even some dancing.
"This Augustus bloke is my uncle's partner." Sirius said and pointed at a photograph of the two of them in the hallway. "Suddenly, all of my mother's jibes make sense." He added frowning. "Bigoted old toerag."
They managed to find some drinks and a sofa to sit down on. Sirius went to get some food but got caught in the crowd and was chatting to his uncle's friends. Claudia was watching him. She could not stop smiling. She was so proud of him. Happy for him. He was truly free from his awful family.
The stuffy coat was off, the stiff shirt collar unbuttoned, his hair was back to normal. She always liked Sirius for his personality, and barely noticed how good-looking he was. She certainly noticed now. She chuckled and reached for her drink, still unable to take her eyes off him
"You actually like him…" James interrupted her train of thoughts. Claudia briefly looked at him and smiled.
"I love him." She whispered, as she turned her head back to look at Sirius again. This time, he caught her eye, excused himself and made his way back to where James and Claudia were sitting. He dropped onto the sofa next to his girlfriend.
"When I die, I want a funeral exactly like this one." He laughed and wrapped his arm around her. "Everyone is pissed and having time of their lives."
"I'll keep that in mind." Claudia chuckled and rested her head on his shoulder.
"Fine." James exhaled. Claudia turned back to him. She had little idea what he was on about. "You two win. I'll tolerate this."