The Slytherin Captain
There was a bright side to James' new relationship with Lily, as it meant that Claudia and Sirius were definitely old news. By the middle of October, Claudia managed to go one entire wonderful day without getting annoyed by jibes or gossip. Things were finally getting back to normal. They could even sit together in the library in peace, without everyone pointing at them and whispering.
One chilly Sunday afternoon, they were doing just that, wrapped in huge jumpers and buried under a mountain of Transfiguration.
"I'm bored." Sirius whispered and slid his icy hand under Claudia's clothes.
"I'm working." Claudia protested. But Sirius did not care. His fingers were travelling up her spine, giving her goosebumps and ruining her concentration. When he reached the middle of her back, he had suddenly stopped and began fumbling around.
"Looking for something?" Claudia chuckled, put her quill down and turned towards her boyfriend. The movement meant that Sirius' hand drifted across her back and onto her side and chest. To feel his cold hand on her naked, warm body was exhilarating. She no longer minded that her studying got interrupted. Not one bit.
"You made me revise Transfiguration for three hours, while you sit here bra-less?" Sirius whispered and pulled her even closer to him. Their lips were millimetres from touching.
"I didn't make you." Claudia laughed. "You came willingly to avoid having to watch James practice. And you did zero work." She added in a whisper and kissed him. Sirius was not the only one who was having a hard time keeping his hands to himself.
Sirius kept hold of her with one of his hands and with the other, began scooping their things from the table and dropping them into his bag.
"Are we leaving?" Claudia whispered before kissing him again.
"Do not toy with me, Avery." Sirius replied, his breathing a little faster than usual.
Hand-in-hand, they hurried towards the Gryffindor Tower. Claudia waited in the corridor, while Sirius went to pick up the invisibility cloak that they usually used to sneak into the Slytherin's apartments unseen.
"I have an idea." Sirius smiled when he emerged through the portrait of a middle-aged woman that was guarding the entrance to the Gryffindor Tower. He threw the cloak over Claudia and guided her through a small tunnel and into the Gryffindor common room.
The common room was circular, full of squashy armchairs and tables, and so red it made Claudia's eyes hurt. Before she could look around properly, however, Sirius nudged her towards a mahogany staircase and up towards his dormitory.
The dormitory was furnished in a similar style to the common room. It was a bright room with large windows and comfortable-looking four-poster beds. She hated to admit it, even to herself, but it looked rather cosier than the dungeon rooms that housed the Slytherins. But before she could appreciate the finer detail of the room's design, Sirius reached for her head, took off the cloak and threw it onto his bed.
"What now?" Claudia smiled and put her arms around his neck.
"Remus is helping Pomfrey with something in the hospital wing, James is at practice, and Peter is watching him." Sirius whispered and glanced at his watch. "By my calculations, we have at least two hours before anyone is back."
Claudia slid her hands under Sirius' t-shirt and helped him get out of it. Then, she pushed him onto the bed that she assumed was his. It was by far the messiest one of the lot. She climbed on top of him and took off her top too.
She lowered her body onto his and kissed him. Even though they were still both wearing jeans, Claudia could feel that Sirius did not need any further incitement. And neither did she. She slid her hand down his chest and stomach, and in between her legs to undo his trousers. Once she did that, her hand travelled a little further down still.
Sirius shut his eyes and his body tensed up. She moved her hand up again, drew a circle around his bellybutton and then slowly slid it back inside his trousers.
"This is torture." Sirius whispered, with his eyes still shut.
"Yeah. You really seem to hate it." Claudia smirked and kissed him again. Just as she did that, she heard voices. Her heart jumped into her throat and she sat up bolt upright.
She had a split second to decide what to do. The voices were getting louder and louder. Claudia jumped out of bed, grabbed her clothes from the floor and threw the invisibility cloak over her head. Seconds later, the door flung open and half the Gryffindor Quidditch team waltzed into the room. That was a close call.
"What are you doing?" James asked, looking at Sirius, who just about succeeded in pulling his duvet up towards his chest.
"Taking a nap." Sirius replied and put his hands behind his head as casually as he could. Claudia had to try awfully hard not to laugh at him. He looked so flustered that James must have thought he caught him doing something indecent to himself.
"Anyway." James replied, scowling at Sirius a little, and walked over to his trunk. "I wrote it down here. The Slytherins used this manoeuvre to score almost half their points last year. I did some research over the summer and there are a couple of things we can do to counter it."
"James." Sirius cleared his throat. "Can you talk Quidditch tactics somewhere else? You know it makes my head hurt."
"The first thing is called Wollongong Shimmy, where we would…" James ignored him.
"Mate, I really don't think it's wise to continue here." Sirius added through gritted teeth, giving James a significant look.
"Oh." James glared at his best friend. "You go and wait in the common room. I'll be there in a minute." He gestured towards his team.
The moment the team left the dormitory, James turned to Sirius again.
"Where is she?" He barked.
"Not here." Sirius replied innocently and patted down the duvet around him to show he was the only person under it. James looked around the dormitory and frowned.
"Where is my cloak, Pads?" He asked. Sirius shrugged, but his face gave him away. He looked like he was about to laugh. "If you've been using my priceless family heirloom to sneak your girlfriend in here, at least have the decency to tell me." James growled.
"I'm here." Claudia sighed and uncovered her head.
"Great." James scoffed. "I spent all summer finding the right Quidditch strategy and now, the enemy knows."
"It wouldn't work anyway." Claudia smirked. The manoeuvre James was referring to was impervious to the Wollongong Shimmy.
"Give me that cloak back." James said and took a quick step towards her.
"I don't think that's a good idea." Claudia shrieked and jumped backwards towards the wall. She did not quite have the time to put her top back on.
"Aargh." James groaned. "You two will be the death of me." He yelled and stormed out of the dormitory, slamming the door behind him.
Both Claudia and Sirius collapsed in the fit of giggles. She threw off the cloak and began putting her clothes back on.
"What are you doing?" Sirius jumped up from bed and kissed her. "He isn't coming back." He whispered and slid his hand down the small of her back and under the waistband of her jeans.
"You cannot be serious." Claudia chuckled. "Go talk to him."
"I don't want to." Sirius whimpered and kept holding her close. "I much rather stay here."
"I'll go to the Slytherin's apartments." She whispered, while tracing Sirius' chest bone with her fingers. "Once you talk to James, you can join me, and we can do some more Transfiguration revision."
"I can't wait for this stupid game to be over and for the two of you to get on again." Sirius sighed but grudgingly put his own clothes on and followed James.
He was out of breath when he got to the Slytherin's apartments. Needless to say, no more Transfiguration revision was done that day. They only transfigured themselves into a sleepy knot of human flesh.
"Any luck with the thing?" Claudia asked Remus when she joined him, James and Peter for dinner later the same day. She found no poison that would even remotely fit with the ingredients they discovered in Snape's concoction.
"Not yet." Remus replied. "You?"
Claudia shook her head.
"Suspect you've been too busy to research anything." James frowned.
"Get over yourself." Claudia scoffed. "If you really think that the Wollongong Shimmy would work, you are even worse at tactics than I thought you were."
"At least I don't break people's legs when I'm losing a game." James barked. "That's a Slytherin specialty."
"Forgot about your first game?" Claudia laughed. "You tried to break mine!"
"Can we please come back to our Snape problem?" Remus tried to calm them down, just as Sirius joined.
"What's going on?" He asked.
"There are two of them, Pads." Remus sighed. "Quidditch-heads. God help us."
"Didn't you hear?" Sirius asked without raising a smile. Claudia knew instantly that something was wrong. He would have not normally pass on the opportunity to mock her about her Quidditch obsession. "Three more people are in the hospital wing. Same symptoms as Eleanor and Lucy."
"Who?" Claudia gasped.
"Some third-year Ravenclaws." Sirius briefly paused. "I hate to say it Claude, but I don't think this is about you." Claudia closed her eyes. Sirius must have been right. She was not anywhere near any younger Ravenclaws over the last few days.
"What are we going to do about Snivellus?" James asked, also seemingly forgetting Quidditch for the time being.
"I suggest some heavy-handed interrogation." Sirius growled. "Maybe we could take him for a walk in the Forbidden Forest. Let the beasts chew on him until he talks."
Before anyone could reply to veto Sirius' somewhat extreme suggestion, James shushed them all. In a second, Claudia understood why. Lily was joining them for dinner.
Later that same dinner, the Headmaster addressed the school from the staff table.
"Evening!" He began. "You will all be aware that some students have been getting ill in somewhat unexplained circumstances. Thankfully, due to the excellent care provided by Madame Pomfrey, they are all on the mend. We are of course looking into possible causes and would implore anyone with information, however insignificant it may seem, to come forward. Any member of staff, or indeed the head Boy and Head Girl, are here to help."
James shifted uncomfortably in his seat.
"I hope someone comes forward." Lily whispered. "This is just so horrible."
Nobody said a word in response, so Lily continued.
"All these poor children in the hospital wing."
There was more silence.
"What is it with all of you?" Lily frowned.
"You've interrupted a Quidditch argument." Claudia jumped in before anyone else even thought about confessing to her.
"Stupid game." Lily rolled her eyes.
"I like her." Sirius smiled and pointed towards Lily. "Finally, someone else who gets it."
Claudia forced out a little chuckle. James tried to laugh too, but failed. Of course they had information, but could they just walk into Dumbledore's office and make baseless allegations about Snape again? They could not. Not after what he made Claudia and Sirius swear last autumn.
Neither Claudia nor James had much time to worry about Snape for the next few weeks, as the first game of the season was fast approaching, and they were either at practice or scratching their heads over tactical boards. From the Slytherin perspective, the preparations were going about as well as Claudia could expect. The team was flying well, and Creusa and Rupert were settling in nicely. And although Emilius had a long way to go before he was a true replacement for Julius, he too was getting better. Claudia allowed herself to hope that it might be alright after all.
Until one afternoon, when she got a note from Slughorn asking her to see him at her earliest convenience. Apparently, he had Quidditch matters to discuss with her. He better not try to tell her how to do her job again, Claudia thought as she made her way to Slughorn's office.
"You wanted to see me, Professor?" Claudia asked in a tired voice. She really did not have time for Slughorn's pathetic Quidditch insights.
"Sit down, Miss Avery." Slughorn said, gesturing at a chair. "There is no point beating about the bush. Some of the Slytherin Quidditch team have been to see me. They are concerned about how you run the team."
"What are they concerned about exactly?" She asked, somewhat taken aback by Slughorn's directness.
"They seemed surprised by some of your decisions on appointments to the team. For example, I understand that Mr Nott is not playing this year." Slughorn replied.
"Mr Nott decided not to try-out." Claudia was getting rather annoyed now. "There is not much I can do about that."
"There may also have been a suggestion that Gryffindor team knows what our tactics is." Slughorn added, ignoring her point about Julius. "And that perhaps your boyfriend has something to do with that."
"That's nonsense." Claudia said angrily and stood up. "I would never leak our tactics to Gryffindor. And Sirius would never ask me to. You have to believe me."
Slughorn again gestured to the chair, and Claudia grudgingly complied.
"It doesn't matter what I believe, Miss Avery." He whispered. "The team does not have confidence in you anymore. So, I have just appointed Mr Black to replace you with immediate effect."
"So, I'm supposed to answer to Regulus now?" Claudia barked.
"Well, not quite." Slughorn stuttered. "He does not want you on the team and asked me for permission to try-out for a new chaser. A permission that I have granted."
It was as if someone punched Claudia in the stomach. This could not be happening, she thought. Not like this. That captaincy was everything to her.
Mindlessly, Claudia stood up and left Slughorn's office without uttering another word. She walked out of the castle, not really thinking where her legs carried her, and soon, she found herself standing in the middle of the Quidditch pitch. Tears were streaming down her cheeks.
Claudia walked over to the base of one of the hoops and sat down.
She had no idea how long she sat on the pitch. She replayed every single try-out and every single game in her head. Over and over again. It was her dream to be on the team. To become the captain. A dream that was now over. Because Regulus was a sneaky, jealous little shit.
It was nearly dark when Sirius sat down next to her.
"I don't know what to say." He whispered.
"I know you think Quidditch is dumb." Claudia mumbled through the tears. "But it was the first thing I was ever any good at."
"If it wasn't for Quidditch and those try-outs in fourth year, I would probably never get to know you." Sirius whispered. "I owe that stupid game everything."
Claudia reached out for his hand and squeezed it.
"Ouch." Sirius hissed and pulled his hand back. Claudia looked at it and noticed it was badly bruised and swollen.
"What did you do?" She asked.
"May have gotten into a fight with my brother." Sirius said sheepishly.
"Over me?" Claudia could not help but smile a little.
"To be honest, I wanted to punch him for years." Sirius replied and began examining his injury.
"Give me that." Claudia whispered, reached for Sirius' injured hand, and pulled it towards her. Then, she took out her wand and began casting some simple healing spells.
"You aren't mad?" Sirius asked.
"Not this time." Claudia smiled at him. Normally, she would hate that he got involved in something that was her problem. She did not exactly know why, but she was ok with it today. "But don't make a habit out of it." She added, wiping her eyes one last time.
They sat in silence, while Claudia continued to heal Sirius' hand.
"What happened between you and Regulus anyway?" Claudia asked, casting her mind back to her broken relationship with her own brother. She knew why she and Marcus were not talking, but so far only got glimpses of the fractured relationship between the Black brothers.
"We used to be close before Hogwarts." Sirius sighed. "But then, I got here, made new friends. Being in different houses and different years, we barely got to see each other. And when we got home for the summer holidays, we were just completely different people."
"How different?" Claudia asked, turning Sirius' hand over to check whether it was getting any better.
"I started doing everything I could to annoy my parents." Sirius began. "Regulus tried to keep up but ultimately, did not have the stomach for it. He snitched on me one time too many. One summer, he told mother about a prank I was planning for my father's Birthday party. He thought she would take it easier on me if she found out beforehand. She did not." Sirius finished in a barely audible whisper.
"The Crutiatus curse?" Claudia uttered, remembering what he told her back in the summer when they were talking about their childhoods on the top of the Astronomy Tower.
"You cannot imagine the pain, Claude." Sirius whispered and looked at his shoes. "When I was lying in my room, practically paralysed, I made a vow that they were all dead to me. Reg included."
"I remember Regulus at that age. All he wanted was to be your friend." Claudia whispered. "It's scary how much he has changed."
"Please, don't say it again." Sirius mumbled and closed his eyes. Claudia knew instantly what he meant. Her suspicion that Regulus was interested in emulating Marcus and Snape, and wanted to join the Death Eaters. "I can't face thinking about it."
"Better?" Claudia asked and pointed towards Sirius' hand. She did not want to push him to talk about Regulus. It was clearly hitting him a lot harder than he realised, and when he was ready, he would tell her.
"Nope." Sirius shook his head and chuckled. "You're a terrible healer." He took out his own wand and cast healing spells that were significantly more complicated and effective. The bruise began to disappear almost instantly.
"Why did you let me continue then?" Claudia frowned and folded her arms across her chest. "You know I don't like being made to look a fool."
"I kind of like it when you're looking after me." Sirius mumbled. "It's sweet."
"Don't you dare call me sweet." Claudia chuckled and punched Sirius' arm. "I have a reputation to maintain."
"I think you're sweet." Sirius laughed and hugged her. "And there is nothing you can do about it."
They sat on the Quidditch pitch until it was nearly dark. Claudia managed to sneak back into her dormitory without seeing any of her former teammates. She was not quite ready to face them. She was certain she would lose her composure and crumble at the mere sight of them, and did not want to give them the satisfaction.
A week had passed after her expulsion from the Quidditch team, before she was feeling even remotely herself again. She was by no means over it, but between the demanding research on poisons and studying for her NEWTs, she was keeping busy enough to keep her mind off it. Besides, Sirius' Birthday was approaching, and she needed to recruit Eleanor and her parents to help her order him some muggle books on how to fix that stupid motorbike of his. She managed it just in time and unsurprisingly, Sirius loved them.
"I've got a surprise for you too." Sirius smiled once he unwrapped them. "I'm having a party tonight and old McGonagall said you can come."
"Hang on." Claudia frowned. "McGonagall is letting me into the Gryffindor common room? You're kidding, right?" Professor McGonagall was notorious for her strictness.
But Sirius was not kidding, and at eight o'clock that evening, Claudia was staring at the portrait guarding the entrance to Gryffindor Tower, waiting for Sirius to let her in.
By the time she got there, the party was already in full swing. Sirius was running around, much like he did at the New Year's Eve party James hosted, and soon, Claudia found herself sitting with Lily and her friends who she remembered all too well from the disastrous May Ball. Remus was hanging out with them too.
"Josh and I sometime swap school ties." Mary blushed. She had just spent at least ten minutes gushing about her new boyfriend. "I guess that's not really an option for you." She added with a cheeky look towards Claudia.
"I think Sirius would rather die than wear a Slytherin tie." Claudia laughed. She did not add that she felt the same way about the Gryffindor one. There were too many of them around, and she did not have quite enough to drink to be feeling that brave.
"I'm sure Sirius can be really romantic." Mary giggled. "What kind of stuff does he do?"
"Erghhh." Claudia stuttered, struggling to remember anything she was willing to share and that would not get both of them expelled.
"Come on." Mary encouraged her. "Do you stargaze together? Does he get you flowers? Poems?"
"Poems?" Claudia laughed. "Good grief, no. We just hang out."
Mary looked somewhat disappointed.
"How did you get together?" Marlene pitched in. She tried sounding casual but was anything but. Claudia remembered all too well that it was Marlene who wanted to go with Sirius to that ball, so this must not have been easy for her.
"We've been friends for ages." Claudia replied quickly, hoping that would mask the awkwardness. "It just sort of happened."
"That explains it." Mary giggled. "That he doesn't treat you like an actual girlfriend."
Claudia frowned a little but kept her mouth shut. She was not going to take relationship advice from someone who thought that swapping ties was the height of romance.
"How was your summer?" Lily mercifully changed the subject. Claudia searched for an ulterior motive but could not find any. Lily was clearly just trying to be civil for a change.
"It was good." Claudia replied. "I did a placement at the Ministry. Worked in the Minister's…"
"James told us you stayed with Sirius for a while." Mary did not let her finish that sentence. "In the flat he got."
"Yeah. My parents kicked me out." Claudia replied. "Anyway, the Minister's office was amazing. I would really like to go and work…"
"What is it like?" Mary jumped in again. "Living with a boy?"
"It was fine." Claudia replied through gritted teeth, getting very annoyed that Mary would not let her finish a sentence.
"Tell us everything." Mary whispered and put her arm around Claudia like they were the best of friends.
"Excuse me." Claudia exhaled and moved Mary's arm from her shoulder. "I need to get another drink." She added and disappeared into the crowd.
Claudia stopped by the window on her way to the drinks table. She had no intention of getting back to Lily and her friends in a hurry. These conversations were killing her. Besides, the view from the tower was simply stunning. Even at night, you could see clearly across the grounds as the moon was glowing.
"That was some interrogation." Someone whispered. Claudia turned and saw Remus standing next to her.
"It's all that everyone is interested in these days." Claudia sighed. "I had plans for this year, Remus. I was going to be the Head Girl and the Quidditch captain. Now, I'm just someone's girlfriend. That's all people want to talk about."
"They will stop." Remus whispered and smiled.
"No, they won't." Claudia groaned. "This is what my life was always supposed to be. Find a boyfriend, get married and have half a dozen pureblood children."
"Somehow, I can't see that happening." Remus laughed. "I've seen Sirius with a lot of girls…" He began.
"Thanks for the reminder." Claudia interrupted. "How many of them are at this party?"
"I've seen Sirius with a lot of girls." Remus repeated patiently. "But never before did I feel like we were all gaining a friend for life too. Even James likes you, and that's saying something."
"You're too kind." Claudia smiled.
"Want to go and get that drink?" Remus asked and squeezed her shoulder.
"Sounds good." Claudia whispered, feeling just that little bit better. They fought their way through the crowd together.
"There you are." Sirius practically thrown himself at Claudia and kissed her, the moment she emerged from the crowd next to the table with the drinks. Of course, that was where Sirius was. He was with some boys from the Gryffindor Quidditch team. "Let me introduce you." He added.
"There is no need." Growled a boy who Claudia recognised as one of the Gryffindor beaters. Claudia chuckled and gave them all an awkward wave.
"How are we doing, team?" James joined them too. "Did we get her drunk enough to spill the tactical secrets?"
"Wouldn't be much use." Claudia scoffed.
"I know you're not the captain anymore, but surely you still know the plan for the game on Saturday." James laughed.
"I'm not playing." Claudia replied slowly, her eyes in real danger of overflowing again. "Regulus chucked me off the team."
Before she could react, James flung his arms around her and squeezed her so tight she struggled to breathe.
"I'm so sorry, Claudia." He whispered as he slowly let her go. "I didn't know. I can't even imagine…"
"Did you just call me Claudia?" She asked and wiped her eye, hoping no one would notice she was crying over this again. "Are you ill?"
"Shut up, Avery." James smiled and hugged her again. "I'm trying to be mature and supportive here."
James eventually let go of her, and Claudia finally managed to get that drink. She cuddled up to Sirius on one of the red and comfy sofas, surrounded by the Gryffindor team. They spent the rest of the evening talking Quidditch. It was good to talk about something she knew and understood, something that was hers. She got to be her own person again, not just Sirius' girlfriend.