That evening Harry, Hermione and Ron were sitting in the library, doing
their homework. On a table in the corner sat Claire and Draco Crabbe and
Goyle came into the library but Draco saw them before Claire, and behind
her back motioned for them to leave. Looking disappointed they turned and
went back out again. A moment later, both Claire and Draco laughed loudly.
'I wish we could hear what they are saying,' Harry said angrily.
'Actually, there is a way,' Ron said, taking a small box from his pocket.
'What's that?' Hermione asked. Ron opened the box. Inside was a winged extendable ear and a pair of lips.
'What you do,' Ron said, 'is you put this spell on the ear,' he held out a small piece of paper, 'and they follow the person round so you can hear what they are saying. This is the receiver,' he pointed to the lips, 'and they work up to a mile away.'
'Wow, Fred and George are genius's,' Harry said, impressed. He looked at the piece of paper. On it was written 'Loco [NAME] Specifico'.
'Shall I try it?' Ron asked. Harry nodded. Ron picked up his wand, and pointed it at the ear, saying quietly, 'Loco Claire Specifco.' The ear immediately sprung to life. It flew up into the air, and zoomed over the table where Draco and Claire were sitting. It went and lurked under the table where they could not see it, but it could hear them. The lips started moving and Claire's voice started coming through them. It was barely audible though, so Ron turned the small knob on the back of them, which turned the volume up.
'.I wish you were in my Defense Against the Dark Arts class,' Claire was saying. 'It would make it so much more interesting.'
'I know, but when am I ever going to need to protect myself from the dark arts, eh?' Draco said. 'Claire, I'm so glad you've seen the light and realized who you should be hanging around with.'
'Me too Draco, I just love spending time with you, you're so.'
'Excuse me, Claire, could I have a word with you?' Harry, Ron and Hermione had been so busy watching the lips speak Claire and Draco's words that they hadn't noticed Professor Weasley come in.
'Of course,' Claire said, getting to her feet. She then clapped her hands together once and looked a little confused about why she had done it.
'I bet that was it,' Hermione said excitedly. 'Clapping her hands, that was the sign that she's under a spell.' They watched as Claire followed Professor Weasley from the room, and the extendable ear soured after them.
The lips were still for a few minutes as they walked. From the length of time they took, it sounded like they were going to Professor Weasley's office. After a tense silence, the lips sprung into action. It was Professor Weasley's voice.
'I'm sorry I dragged you up here Claire, I just need you to do something for me.'
'That's alright Annabelle,' Claire said. 'What is it?'
'This is probably going to sound a little strange, but could you put your hand on this mirror for me?' Professor Weasley asked.
'Okay.' Claire said, sounding a little confused.
'A magic mirror.' Hermione muttered during the brief pause.
'Okay, now take your hand away Claire,' Professor Weasley instructed.
'Annabelle, I don't understand, why has the mirror turned pink? And why isn't it reflecting my face, why is it showing Uncle Severus?' Claire asked, even more confused.
'Snape,' Harry muttered.
'Claire, I'd like you to come with me,' Professor Weasley said gravely. Harry, Ron and Hermione then had to wait another few minutes.
'I can't believe it's Snape,' Hermione said. 'I mean, I never thought he'd go as far to put his own niece under a spell.'
'I can believe it,' Harry said bitterly.
'Yeah, that git would do anything to get at Harry, when are you going to realize that he's evil Hermione?' Ron said.
'I don't think he's evil Ron,' Hermione said. 'He's just.got problems.'
'Wait here a moment Claire, I need to speak to your uncle alone,' the lips started talking again, in Professor Weasley's voice.
'Okay,' Claire said quietly. A moment later, Professor Weasley spoke again.
'Severus.'
'Annabelle. What are you doing here?' Snape's voice had a strange quality to it that Harry had never heard before.
'I've come to talk to you about Claire, Severus. I know what you've done to her' Professor Weasley said coolly.
'Done to her? I'm not quite sure what you.'
'Don't pretend you don't know,' Professor Weasley snapped. 'I never thought you'd sink this low, as to bewitch our own niece.'
'Have you told her?' Snape asked urgently. 'Please don't tell me you've told her.'
'No,' Professor Weasley assured him. 'You're going to tell her.'
'I.can't tell her. She'll never forgive me.please Annabelle.'
'Why did you do it Severus?' Professor Weasley asked.
'You don't know what it was like Annabelle,' Snape said bitterly. 'Seeing her with Harry, it was like James had a piece of the one thing that I love most in this world.'
'James is gone, Severus. Harry is his son, not his ghost. You've got to realize that!' Professor Weasley said.
'I just thought that if Claire and Draco got to know each other, then they were bound to be friends. The potion is due to wear off soon anyway. Do we really need to tell her?' Snape asked desperately.
'I can't let this go Severus, for Claire's sake. I care about her too. If you don't tell her, then I will. Look Severus, I'm not just doing this for Claire, I'm worried about you too. How long is this James thing going to go on? It's not healthy, I don't know why you can't just move on.' Snape obviously did not want to discuss this, because he said, 'I want to speak to my niece Annabelle, where is she?'
'She's outside,' Professor Weasley told him. 'Severus, I am sorry, but you know I couldn't let this.'
'Just get her,' Snape said icily.
'Claire, can you come in your uncle wants to talk to you,' Professor Weasley said slightly louder than she had been speaking before.
'Hi Uncle Severus, what's up?' Claire asked.
'I think I'll leave you two to it,' Professor Weasley said. 'Severus, I'll talk to you later.'
'What's going on Uncle Severus?' Claire asked.
'Listen Claire, you really like Draco Malfoy at the moment, don't you?' Snape asked carefully
'Oh yes, Uncle Severus. Draco is so.' Claire began dreamily.
'Well, there's a reason for that. See I knew that you and Draco would get on, if you had the chance to get to know one another. And you are, aren't you? But the reason you do like him so much at the moment.is because of me,' Snape said. It sounded as though he was struggling to say all this.
'What do you mean?' Claire asked, completely confused.
'Well I thought that if I gave you something which would make you like Draco for a couple of days, you would carry on liking him after it wore of. I was just doing what I thought was best for you, giving you the chance to get to know Draco so you would make some more suitable friends..'
'You mean.you gave a me potion and that's why I like Draco so much?' Claire asked, sounding hurt, realizing what he meant.
'I only thought that I was doing what's best for you.' Snape said. 'Here, drink this. It's an antidote; it'll make the potion wear off instantly. Then you'll see.you'll still like Draco and you'll know I was right.'
'Give it to me now Uncle,' Claire said in an unfeeling voice. There was silence as Claire drunk the potion.
'I can't believe this,' Ron said quietly to Harry.
'I know,' Harry said tensely. They waited with baited breath, wondering whether Snape was right and Claire would still like Draco, or whether she would be back to her old self.
'Uncle Severus, I can't believe you did this to me. You completely betrayed my trust. Now I'm going to find Harry and apologize. And I just hope he can accept my apology after what I have done. Not just him, Ron and Hermione too, my real friends.' As Claire stormed from the dungeons, they could hear her sobbing. Harry had been filled with a warm joy when Claire had spoken her last words, but now the sound of her crying was unbearable.
'Turn it off Ron,' Harry said. Ron slowly turned to volume dial to silent, but he was smiling. 'She likes us again!' Harry had to find her. He got to his feet, and left the library. Ron went to get up and follow him, but Hermione put out her hand to stop him.
'Leave them Ron,' she said. Harry walked in the direction of the dungeons, further and further down into the school. Finally he found Claire, walking towards him in the direction of the library. She was crying. When she saw Harry, she ran to him.
'Oh Harry, I'm so sorry.' she sobbed. Harry put his arms around her, and she cried on his shoulder.
'Shhh, it's okay,' he said soothingly.
'No, it's not,' Claire choked. 'I've treated you so badly.can you ever forgive me Harry?'
'Of course,' he said without hesitation.
'Oh, thank you,' she smiled. 'But it wasn't me.it was Uncle Severus. He wanted me to be friends with Draco so he put a spell on me.' Harry decided it wouldn't be a good idea to mention that he already knew all this, so he kept quiet '.I can't believe he would do this to me. He's my only family and I love him so much.and he's completely betrayed me. Oh Harry,' fresh tears began to fall. Harry knew that there was only one thing that he could say to make her feel better, even though it would kill him to say it. 'I'm sure your uncle was only trying to do what he thought was best for you.'
'Don't defend him Harry, what he did was unforgivable. Can you imagine if someone you were that close to tried to control you like that, tried to turn you into somebody that you're not?' Claire said angrily.
'No, I can't imagine,' Harry said. 'But I don't have anyone left who could do that to me.'
'I'm sorry Harry, I didn't think, I.' Claire apologized.
'It's okay, I just know that your Uncle really does care about you, no matter what I think of him and no matter what you think of him right now. Now come on, dry those eyes and let's go up to the library. I'm sure Ron and Hermione will want to see you,' Harry told her. As they started walking back in the direction Harry had just come from, Harry grabbed the extendable ear that was still flying along behind Claire, and put it in his pocket.
Now Claire was reunited with Harry, Ron and Hermione they had a great weekend. The only bad thing was that Claire was still upset about her Uncle. The first Potions lesson of the next week was on Tuesday. Draco had saved the seat beside him for Claire and was surprised when she did not sit in it. He was even more surprised that she sat back with Harry and Hermione.
'Claire, why don't you come and sit here,' Draco said, turning to talk to her.
'Um, no thanks Draco,' Claire declined. 'I'd rather not.' Draco looked like he'd been slapped. 'Well, where have you been, I haven't seen you all weekend?'
'I've been spending time with my real friends, I was neglecting them a bit,' Claire told him. 'Maybe you should start paying a bit more attention to your friends, or you might end up losing them too,' she indicated to Crabbe and Goyle. Just then Professor Snape walked in, and Draco turned back round to face the front. The lesson was quite awkward. Claire didn't put up her hand once and she could barely look at her Uncle. When he came around to look at their potions they were making, he commented on how good Claire's was, and she didn't even acknowledge him. At the end of the lesson, Snape said,
'Claire, can I have a word please?'
'Sorry Professor, I've got somewhere I've really got to be,' Claire said, before leaving the classroom.
'Don't you think you're being a little hard on him?' Hermione asked Claire as they walked to History of Magic General Studies.
'I don't think so,' Claire said. 'He hasn't even apologized to me yet.'
'Well maybe that was what he wanted to talk to you about,' Hermione said.
'Look Hermione, what he did to me was serious. I'm not just going to forget about it,' Claire said.
'I know that it's wrong to put a spell on someone without his or her consent, but how serious was the spell? Okay so you didn't like us for a couple of days but still.' Hermione pointed out.
'Why is everyone defending him so suddenly?"' Claire asked. 'It's the principle. You don't put a spell on somebody without them knowing especially your own family!'
'Just don't forget that he is your family,' Harry pointed out.
'I'll treat him like family when he starts to act like it,' Claire said angrily. After lunch they had a free period and Harry and Claire went to the Gryffindor common room, but Ron and Hermione said they wanted to go to the library to do some homework.
'I know this might sound completely weird, but don't you think Ron and Hermione would make a cute couple,' Claire asked.
'Well they argue like they've been married for ten years,' Harry pointed out, and Claire giggled.
'You know, I was a bit of a matchmaker at my old school, how about I try and get them together? Oh, wait a minute, you're not interested in Hermione, are you?' Claire checked. Harry laughed and shook his head. 'No, Hermione is definitely just a friend.'
'Good,' Claire smiled. They reached the portrait of the Fat Lady, and Harry spoke the password,
'Hobgoblin.' The portrait swung inwards, and they went into the cozy common room. Seamus and Dean were sitting in two armchairs by the fireplace, Ginny on Dean's lap. Harry and Claire went and sat in a corner.
'I love having free periods now,' Claire said.
'Yeah,' Harry agreed. 'It's nice having a break between lessons.'
'We've got Charms next, haven't we?' Claire asked. Harry nodded.
'Look Harry, I just wanted to apologize again for the whole Draco thing. I know I was under the influence of magic, but still, I feel as though there could have been something I could have done differently.'
'Don't be silly,' Harry smiled. 'I know it wasn't your fault, and don't try and tell yourself that it is.' Claire smiled back at him. 'You know.Draco said a lot of mean stuff about you, and because of the way I felt about him, I agreed with him, but I didn't mean a word of it.'
'I know you didn't,' Harry insisted. 'Claire, you weren't yourself, you've just got to try and forget about what happened. I'm just relieved we got you back.'
'Yeah?' Claire grinned.
'Well, I mean to say all of us are,' Harry said quickly. 'Ron Hermione and me. But.particularly me.'
'Harry I.listen, I feel like I can trust you now and because of what you've been through I guess I can feel like I can talk to you. I think I can tell you what.well basically why I've been at school in America for the last 5 years,' Claire said, taking her time to consider what she was saying.
'You can tell me anything,' Harry told her. Claire took a deep breath. 'Okay. My mother was a muggle; my father was a wizard. My mother knew this but she didn't really know much about our world. My father was part of the fight against Voldemort when my mother fell pregnant with me, and he was killed by Death Eaters before I was even born. My mother was distraught. She had me and kept me away from the wizarding world and told me nothing about it, hoping I would not be one myself. She believed that most wizards are evil because of all the evil that was around then, what she didn't know was that you defeated Voldemort less than a year later. But she was faced with a problem because obviously I am a witch. Which put a sort of a barrier between my mother and I, because she still believed that most witches and wizards are evil. When she realised what I was she contacted my father's brother, Uncle Severus for help. I think my mother was a little afraid of me, so I spent a lot of time with Uncle Severus what I was growing up. When I got to the age where I needed to be sent to school, of course Uncle Severus wanted me to go to Hogwarts. But my mother wanted me sent away. As far as she was concerned, if I had to go into the wizarding community she wanted it to be as far away as possible from where my father was killed. And I have a feeling she wasn't to keen on the idea of me coming home every Christmas having learnt all this magic, because I went to school in America, I could only come home over the summer. And on school holidays when I should have been my mother coming over to visit me, it was Uncle Severus. And I would spend a lot of time in the summer staying with him too, so you can see why we are so close. It's strange but I feel closer to him than I do my own mother. I know this is going to sound wicked, But it feels more like Uncle Severus is my father, and I don't have a mother, when in reality I have a mother but my father is dead. Well, anyway, last year, when everything happened with Voldemort Uncle Severus had to express to my mother that he was unhappy with me being so far away and that he would feel a lot better if I was at Hogwarts where he could keep a close eye on me. And besides, I was old enough to decide for myself where I went to school, and if she wanted me to stay with him during holidays, that was fine. How could my mother argue with that? So I came here. So that's it really. The story of my life.' Harry looked at Claire in relative shock. After everything Harry had been through, he found it hard to think about other people's pain, but it seemed like Claire had experienced a little of what Harry had to endure. Now things that Harry had not understood before fell into place.
'Claire.I'm sorry.'
'Don't be, I'm not. Uncle Severus has been as good as two parents. That is why I'm so hurt about what he did to me, because I never thought that he would do anything to hurt me,' Claire smiled. Harry was overcome by that smile; a sign of such beautiful optimism that looked like it could face anything. Suddenly, he was overcome with the urge to hold her close and shelter her from the world, keep her safe and happy and ensure that nothing would ever hurt her. He wanted to feel the soft warmth of her skin and the silky caress of her hair. He longed more than anything to kiss her, to feel her lips press against his.These thoughts hit him like a train but he shook them quickly from his mind. Claire obviously needed his support and what was he thinking? About the clear blue of her eyes. Harry felt bad.
'Well,' he said, 'obviously I don't need to tell you that I know what it's like to lose a parent, or never know your father. So if you need someone to talk to.'
'I don't like to dwell on the past,' Claire admitted. 'And why should I be sad? I never knew my father, and how can you miss what you never had? What I do know is that someone needs to defeat that evil that had prevented me from ever meeting him, from you ever meeting your parents. And someone nearly did once.' Claire smiled again. Harry smiled back. He felt like she was paying him a compliment for something that he couldn't even remember doing.
'Do you ever worry..?' Harry asked tentatively. 'That'll you'll lose even more people you love? Sometimes I think that when I'm around I'm putting the people I'm close to in danger because of who I am,' Harry was voicing thoughts he had never shared with anyone. ' Like you. I thought we'd just started to get close and then I'd lost you.'
'I'm sorry Harry.'Claire said looking distressed. 'I didn't mean.'
'It's okay,' Harry assured her. You're back now. It was just an example.'
'Harry, you can never blame yourself for the bad things that happen. Crimes are the fault of those who perpetrate them and no one else,' Claire told him. Harry nodded. 'You're right.' Just then, Hermione and Ron came in.
'Hey Harry guess what,' Ron said, walking over. 'There's going to be a Halloween Party.'
'We just saw a notice on the noticeboard. You have to dress up,' Hermione added rather excitedly. 'Won't that be fun Claire?'
'Sure,' Claire smiled. 'We can give each other a make-over, look really nice, yeah?'
'Yeah!' Hermione said happily. 'I'm going to go and see what I have to wear,' she said.
'I'll come with you,' Claire said, following Hermione up to their dormitory. 'See you in a bit Harry.'
'So are you going to ask someone to go to the party with you?' Ron asked. Harry shrugged, thinking he would love to ask Claire, but probably would be far to shy to ask.
'I was thinking of maybe asking Claire.' Ron said slightly unsurely.
'Claire.' Harry nearly choked on the chocolate frog he had just taken a bite out of.
'Why, don't you think she'd want to go with me?' Ron asked worriedly.
'No it's just.I thought you might ask Hermione,' Harry said quickly.
'Hermione?' Ron frowned.
'Well yeah, I mean I thought there was something going on between you and Hermione lately,' Harry said, the only indication he had of that was Claire's earlier comment of getting them together.
'Me.and Hermione?' Ron repeated. 'No, I don't think so. Why, did she tell you that she likes me?'
'No,' Harry said quickly. 'Just an impression I got. But think about it, yeah? Asking Hermione to the party, that is.'
'Do you just think that Claire will turn me down?' Ron asked.
'No, no,' Harry said raising his hands. 'I didn't mean that at all.'
'Good,' Ron said. Harry sighed with relief.
'Well, I'm probably not going to ask anyone,' Harry said. 'I'm sure it'll be way more fun without having to worry about a girl anyway.'
'Maybe you're right. Maybe we should just all go as friends,' Ron mused. Harry looked up the clock. It was nearly time to go to Charms. A couple of minutes later Claire and Hermione came back down, ready to go to their lesson.
Harry, Ron, Claire and Hermione arranged to go into Hogsmead the next weekend. As sixth formers, they were allowed to go whenever they wanted, as long as they signed a book to say they were going out of school before they left. Harry and Ron wanted to raid Zonko's and Honeydukes but Claire and Hermione wanted to find nice outfits for Halloween. Walking across the Hogwarts grounds, they saw Draco Malfoy, who looked terribly bitter that Claire was with Harry.
'Hey Claire,' he called to her. 'Want to go with me to the Halloween Party?'
'Um, no thanks Draco,' Claire called back politely. Draco's cheeks flushed.
'When are you going to get the hint that she ain't interested,' Ron called.
'Ron!' Claire hissed.
'And like she's interested in you Weasley,' Draco countered. 'Oh well, at least you know she's not friends with you for your money, eh?'
'Least she wants to be my friend, Malfoy,' Ron shouted, before walking out of the Hogwarts gates.
'You know, you two are as bad as each other,' Claire said, shaking her head.
'How can you say that I'm as bad as him?' Ron retorted.
'Okay, maybe not.'Claire admitted. 'But still.'
'Oh well, let's forget about that creep,' Hermione interjected. 'And get shopping!' The girls and boys spilt up when they reached Hogsmead and agreed to meet up in an hour in The Three Broomsticks. Claire and Hermione went to a dress shop, and Ron and Harry went to Zonkos. After just less that an hour, Ron and Harry were walking to The Three Broomsticks when Harry spotted a beautiful shining jewel in the window of a small shop. Harry stopped and looked at it. It was a silver necklace with a pentagram in a heart, and shining pink jewels. He could just picture it around Claire's neck. He looked at the price tag beside it, and realised he had just enough Galleons left to buy it.
'I just want to go in here for a sec, Ron,' Harry said to his friend who was looking at the broomstick in the window of the next shop.
'Okay,' Ron said, not taking his eyes from the broom. Harry went into the shop. It smelt pungently of incense. There was a very old, short woman sitting behind the counter.
'Um, excuse me, could I have that heart necklace in the window?' Harry asked.
'Are you sure you can afford that, boy?' the woman asked, skeptically raising an eyebrow.
'Yes, if the price you've put up is right,' Harry informed her.
'Powerful necklace, that is,' the woman warned him getting up and going over to the window. 'Given to me by a traveler. Who knows what powers it possesses?' Harry wondered if the woman was trying to put him off buying it. Maybe she though he was going to pay her with fake Galleons. She took the necklace from the display in the window, and put it into a plush red case.
'That'll be 7 Galleons please,' the woman demanded, holding out her hand. Harry gave her the last of his money.
'Thank you very much,' the woman said, pouring the coins into her till. 'Have a nice day.'
'Thank you,' Harry replied as he walked from the shop. It was good being back in the fresh air. It had been very stuffy in the shop. Ron was still staring at the broom.
'Come on Ron,' Harry said, dragging his friend away towards The Three Broomsticks.
'What did you buy Harry?' Ron asked.
'Oh, nothing much,' Harry said flippantly. Claire and Hermione were already sitting in The Three Broomsticks.
'Hi Harry, hi Ron,' they both said. Hermione seemed cheerful, but Claire seemed a little gloomy.
'You girls get anything nice?' Ron asked.
'Oh yes, I found what I'm wearing for the Halloween party,' Hermione said brightly.
'There was nothing there for me though,' Claire said. 'I have absolutely nothing to wear. I guess I won't be able to go to the ball after all.' She sighed. Harry and Ron looked at each other.
'Can't Hermione lend you something?' Ron asked.
'Maybe,' Claire said, but she didn't seem too happy about it.
When they got back to the castle that afternoon, they went up to the Gryffindor common room.
'Hey, Claire,' Ginny called when they walked in. She was sitting playing Wizarding Chess with Dean. 'That's for you, I think.' She pointed to a large parcel sitting by the fire. Curiously, Claire went over to it. There was a card on it reading,
brbrcenterClaire,
Sorry
Love SSbrbr
'It's from Uncle Severus,' Claire said tersely. 'If he thinks he is going to buy me back.'
'I'm sure he's not trying to buy you back,' Hermione said soothingly. 'He probably just wants to show you how sorry he is.'
'Maybe I shouldn't open it.' Claire pondered.
'No, I think you should, Hermione said. 'See what it is, at least. You don't have to accept it.'
'Okay.' Claire gave in. She pulled off the wrapping paper, to reveal shining white material. Claire pulled it out. It was a dress.
'Oh my gosh,' she murmured in awe. 'How did he know..?' Harry and Ron who were sitting a little way away came over to look, but Claire quickly grabbed the dress and ran up to her dormitory. Harry and Ron watched her, confused.
'What's all that about?' Ron asked.
'I don't think she wanted you to see what it was,' Hermione said.
'Why?' Harry asked.
'Beats me,' Hermione lied.
'So does this mean you've forgiven Snape then?' Ron asked as they walked to dinner that evening.
'Not quite yet,' Claire said. 'He needs to regain my trust first, and I don't know how he's going to do that, but it's not going to be as easy as waving a wand. Or putting a Potion on me, come to that.' When they reached the dining hall, Snape was sitting at the teacher's table, beside Professor Weasley. He looked over at Claire as she walked in. She gave him a tiniest of smiles, and he smiled back at her. He knew that he was far from forgiven, but he had begun to bridge the gap.
Everyone was very glad that Claire was sitting back at the Gryffindor table.
'Hey Claire,' Seamus said to her across the table. 'You going to this Halloween party?'
'Yeah,' Claire nodded.
'Well, if you need a handsome escort, you know where to come,' he winked.
'Thanks Seamus,' Claire laughed.
'What are you going as?' Ginny asked. Claire lent across the table and whispered in her ear.
'Ohhh, nice,' Ginny smiled. 'I can't wait, it's going to be so much fun.'
'Yeah,' Claire agreed. She heard Hermione giggle, and looked over to see what had made her laugh. Ron was saying something to her, which was apparently very funny because Hermione was laughing a lot.
'We really should get those two together,' Claire whispered in Harry's ear. Harry checked to make sure they weren't listening, and then said back to Claire in a quiet tone, 'I'm not sure if he was interested. I suggested he ask her to the Halloween party, and he seemed quite surprised I suggested it, apparently hadn't even crossed his mind. He was more interested in asking you.'
'Me?' Claire looked surprised now. 'Really? Well I mean I like Ron a lot but I really do think he and Hermione make a better couple. Oh, do you think Ron's going to ask me, I don't think I'll have the heart to say no, I wouldn't want it to affect out friendship.'
'I don't know,' Harry said. 'But not if we can get him to ask Hermione first.'
After dinner they all went up to the common room. They all sat and helped each other with their Charms homework for a little while, which had to be in on their next lesson on Monday afternoon. When they were done, Hermione packed up her things and yawned loudly. 'I think I'm going to get off to bed now. You coming Claire?'
'No, I think I'll stay up for a bit longer,' Claire said.
'Okay, bye then,' Hermione said, walking over to the stairs up to the girl's dormitory.
''Night Hermione,' Harry called.
'Goodnight Hermione,' Ron added.
''Night,' she called back down the stairs.
'So,' Claire said to Ron when Hermione was out of earshot. 'Here's an idea, why don't you ask Hermione to go to the Halloween party with you? I'm sure she'd say yes.' Ron frowned. 'Harry said the exact same thing. Why does everyone think there's something going on between Hermione and me?'
'Really? Harry you said that?' Claire asked, feigning surprise.
'Yeah,' Harry nodded. 'Funny you should think it too.'
'Well.to be honest I hadn't really thought about it,' Ron admitted. 'I've never thought of Hermione like that before. Although, she did look really nice when we had the Yule Ball.'
'And she's going to look even nicer this year, because I am going to give her a total make-over,' Claire grinned.
'Well, I'll certainly think about it,' Ron said. 'In fact, I think I might go to bed and think about it now.'
'Well I'm going to stay here for a bit. Not really tired yet,' Harry said.
'Okay,' Ron nodded, and went up to his room. Again, Harry and Claire were left alone in the common room.
'You know,' Harry said, 'it's all well and good persuading Ron to ask Hermione to the party, but what if she says no?'
'Hmmm, good point,' Claire said. 'Well, maybe I can catch her before she goes to sleep, use my magic powers on her. 'Night Harry,' Claire got up, and went over to the stairs up to the girl's dormitory.
''Night,' Harry called after her. He was left alone to think. Every day he spent with Claire, Harry felt like he liked her more. But Harry felt guilty. The more he thought about Claire, the less he was thinking about Sirius. Although Harry knew it was the only thing he could do, he felt guilty for getting on with his life. But what else was there? Life was moving on, things were happening every day. Harry decided that he would just have to remember Sirius, and remember that he would have wanted Harry to enjoy his life. Harry was a little worried though. Although it felt like life was getting back to normal, he knew that it wasn't. Voldemort was out there somewhere and he was getting stronger all the time. Harry could feel it.
Harry was in a field, dancing with Claire. It was dark, and people, who were laughing and smiling, surrounded them. Some of them were holding torches whose flickering light illuminated Claire's pretty face. But suddenly, Harry felt as though he was being overcome by something. The smiling faces darkened and Harry could see that they were cloaked. The laughter changed to shouts and jeers. Harry looked down at Claire who was now lying limply in his arms. Her eyes were open and her breathing was erratic and she looked very pale. Harry took his wand, pointed it at the woman, and heard himself murmuring words that he wasn't even aware he was saying. A bolt came from his wand and struck the girl, making her cry out in pain and her body jolt sharply. There was a raucous cheer from the crowd. The girl was shaking violently now and her pale brow was beaded with cold sweat. Harry then realised that it wasn't Claire. He wasn't sure if had never been Claire in the first place, or if she had changed, but now it was a grown woman he held in his arms. She looked older than her years, and she looked dreadfully tired as if she wished deaths sweet kiss would just come and take her. Again, Harry's wand was aimed at the woman, and he spoke the words, which unleashed a punishment of pain upon her. The woman cried out, tears now streaming down her cheeks. The crowd were loving it.
'Please, she whimpered. 'Please.'
'Shall I finish her off?' Harry heard himself shout. The crowd replied loudly with affirmative.
'Nooo,' the woman pleaded.
'Avada Krevada!' Harry proclaimed loudly. The he felt the power of the curse leave his wand like the recoil from a bullet from a gun. The woman's body slumped in his arms; she was dead. Harry let her fall to the floor and there was an almighty cry from the crowd around him. It was deafeningly loud. So loud it was hurting Harry's head. The pain was growing and growing and the people were getting closer and closer. Harry realised that the pain was not in his ears, but his scar. It was a blinding pain and the roaring around him was getting louder and louder making the pain worse and worse and the people were getting closer and closer, closing in around Harry until he was shrouded in darkness.
'I wish we could hear what they are saying,' Harry said angrily.
'Actually, there is a way,' Ron said, taking a small box from his pocket.
'What's that?' Hermione asked. Ron opened the box. Inside was a winged extendable ear and a pair of lips.
'What you do,' Ron said, 'is you put this spell on the ear,' he held out a small piece of paper, 'and they follow the person round so you can hear what they are saying. This is the receiver,' he pointed to the lips, 'and they work up to a mile away.'
'Wow, Fred and George are genius's,' Harry said, impressed. He looked at the piece of paper. On it was written 'Loco [NAME] Specifico'.
'Shall I try it?' Ron asked. Harry nodded. Ron picked up his wand, and pointed it at the ear, saying quietly, 'Loco Claire Specifco.' The ear immediately sprung to life. It flew up into the air, and zoomed over the table where Draco and Claire were sitting. It went and lurked under the table where they could not see it, but it could hear them. The lips started moving and Claire's voice started coming through them. It was barely audible though, so Ron turned the small knob on the back of them, which turned the volume up.
'.I wish you were in my Defense Against the Dark Arts class,' Claire was saying. 'It would make it so much more interesting.'
'I know, but when am I ever going to need to protect myself from the dark arts, eh?' Draco said. 'Claire, I'm so glad you've seen the light and realized who you should be hanging around with.'
'Me too Draco, I just love spending time with you, you're so.'
'Excuse me, Claire, could I have a word with you?' Harry, Ron and Hermione had been so busy watching the lips speak Claire and Draco's words that they hadn't noticed Professor Weasley come in.
'Of course,' Claire said, getting to her feet. She then clapped her hands together once and looked a little confused about why she had done it.
'I bet that was it,' Hermione said excitedly. 'Clapping her hands, that was the sign that she's under a spell.' They watched as Claire followed Professor Weasley from the room, and the extendable ear soured after them.
The lips were still for a few minutes as they walked. From the length of time they took, it sounded like they were going to Professor Weasley's office. After a tense silence, the lips sprung into action. It was Professor Weasley's voice.
'I'm sorry I dragged you up here Claire, I just need you to do something for me.'
'That's alright Annabelle,' Claire said. 'What is it?'
'This is probably going to sound a little strange, but could you put your hand on this mirror for me?' Professor Weasley asked.
'Okay.' Claire said, sounding a little confused.
'A magic mirror.' Hermione muttered during the brief pause.
'Okay, now take your hand away Claire,' Professor Weasley instructed.
'Annabelle, I don't understand, why has the mirror turned pink? And why isn't it reflecting my face, why is it showing Uncle Severus?' Claire asked, even more confused.
'Snape,' Harry muttered.
'Claire, I'd like you to come with me,' Professor Weasley said gravely. Harry, Ron and Hermione then had to wait another few minutes.
'I can't believe it's Snape,' Hermione said. 'I mean, I never thought he'd go as far to put his own niece under a spell.'
'I can believe it,' Harry said bitterly.
'Yeah, that git would do anything to get at Harry, when are you going to realize that he's evil Hermione?' Ron said.
'I don't think he's evil Ron,' Hermione said. 'He's just.got problems.'
'Wait here a moment Claire, I need to speak to your uncle alone,' the lips started talking again, in Professor Weasley's voice.
'Okay,' Claire said quietly. A moment later, Professor Weasley spoke again.
'Severus.'
'Annabelle. What are you doing here?' Snape's voice had a strange quality to it that Harry had never heard before.
'I've come to talk to you about Claire, Severus. I know what you've done to her' Professor Weasley said coolly.
'Done to her? I'm not quite sure what you.'
'Don't pretend you don't know,' Professor Weasley snapped. 'I never thought you'd sink this low, as to bewitch our own niece.'
'Have you told her?' Snape asked urgently. 'Please don't tell me you've told her.'
'No,' Professor Weasley assured him. 'You're going to tell her.'
'I.can't tell her. She'll never forgive me.please Annabelle.'
'Why did you do it Severus?' Professor Weasley asked.
'You don't know what it was like Annabelle,' Snape said bitterly. 'Seeing her with Harry, it was like James had a piece of the one thing that I love most in this world.'
'James is gone, Severus. Harry is his son, not his ghost. You've got to realize that!' Professor Weasley said.
'I just thought that if Claire and Draco got to know each other, then they were bound to be friends. The potion is due to wear off soon anyway. Do we really need to tell her?' Snape asked desperately.
'I can't let this go Severus, for Claire's sake. I care about her too. If you don't tell her, then I will. Look Severus, I'm not just doing this for Claire, I'm worried about you too. How long is this James thing going to go on? It's not healthy, I don't know why you can't just move on.' Snape obviously did not want to discuss this, because he said, 'I want to speak to my niece Annabelle, where is she?'
'She's outside,' Professor Weasley told him. 'Severus, I am sorry, but you know I couldn't let this.'
'Just get her,' Snape said icily.
'Claire, can you come in your uncle wants to talk to you,' Professor Weasley said slightly louder than she had been speaking before.
'Hi Uncle Severus, what's up?' Claire asked.
'I think I'll leave you two to it,' Professor Weasley said. 'Severus, I'll talk to you later.'
'What's going on Uncle Severus?' Claire asked.
'Listen Claire, you really like Draco Malfoy at the moment, don't you?' Snape asked carefully
'Oh yes, Uncle Severus. Draco is so.' Claire began dreamily.
'Well, there's a reason for that. See I knew that you and Draco would get on, if you had the chance to get to know one another. And you are, aren't you? But the reason you do like him so much at the moment.is because of me,' Snape said. It sounded as though he was struggling to say all this.
'What do you mean?' Claire asked, completely confused.
'Well I thought that if I gave you something which would make you like Draco for a couple of days, you would carry on liking him after it wore of. I was just doing what I thought was best for you, giving you the chance to get to know Draco so you would make some more suitable friends..'
'You mean.you gave a me potion and that's why I like Draco so much?' Claire asked, sounding hurt, realizing what he meant.
'I only thought that I was doing what's best for you.' Snape said. 'Here, drink this. It's an antidote; it'll make the potion wear off instantly. Then you'll see.you'll still like Draco and you'll know I was right.'
'Give it to me now Uncle,' Claire said in an unfeeling voice. There was silence as Claire drunk the potion.
'I can't believe this,' Ron said quietly to Harry.
'I know,' Harry said tensely. They waited with baited breath, wondering whether Snape was right and Claire would still like Draco, or whether she would be back to her old self.
'Uncle Severus, I can't believe you did this to me. You completely betrayed my trust. Now I'm going to find Harry and apologize. And I just hope he can accept my apology after what I have done. Not just him, Ron and Hermione too, my real friends.' As Claire stormed from the dungeons, they could hear her sobbing. Harry had been filled with a warm joy when Claire had spoken her last words, but now the sound of her crying was unbearable.
'Turn it off Ron,' Harry said. Ron slowly turned to volume dial to silent, but he was smiling. 'She likes us again!' Harry had to find her. He got to his feet, and left the library. Ron went to get up and follow him, but Hermione put out her hand to stop him.
'Leave them Ron,' she said. Harry walked in the direction of the dungeons, further and further down into the school. Finally he found Claire, walking towards him in the direction of the library. She was crying. When she saw Harry, she ran to him.
'Oh Harry, I'm so sorry.' she sobbed. Harry put his arms around her, and she cried on his shoulder.
'Shhh, it's okay,' he said soothingly.
'No, it's not,' Claire choked. 'I've treated you so badly.can you ever forgive me Harry?'
'Of course,' he said without hesitation.
'Oh, thank you,' she smiled. 'But it wasn't me.it was Uncle Severus. He wanted me to be friends with Draco so he put a spell on me.' Harry decided it wouldn't be a good idea to mention that he already knew all this, so he kept quiet '.I can't believe he would do this to me. He's my only family and I love him so much.and he's completely betrayed me. Oh Harry,' fresh tears began to fall. Harry knew that there was only one thing that he could say to make her feel better, even though it would kill him to say it. 'I'm sure your uncle was only trying to do what he thought was best for you.'
'Don't defend him Harry, what he did was unforgivable. Can you imagine if someone you were that close to tried to control you like that, tried to turn you into somebody that you're not?' Claire said angrily.
'No, I can't imagine,' Harry said. 'But I don't have anyone left who could do that to me.'
'I'm sorry Harry, I didn't think, I.' Claire apologized.
'It's okay, I just know that your Uncle really does care about you, no matter what I think of him and no matter what you think of him right now. Now come on, dry those eyes and let's go up to the library. I'm sure Ron and Hermione will want to see you,' Harry told her. As they started walking back in the direction Harry had just come from, Harry grabbed the extendable ear that was still flying along behind Claire, and put it in his pocket.
Now Claire was reunited with Harry, Ron and Hermione they had a great weekend. The only bad thing was that Claire was still upset about her Uncle. The first Potions lesson of the next week was on Tuesday. Draco had saved the seat beside him for Claire and was surprised when she did not sit in it. He was even more surprised that she sat back with Harry and Hermione.
'Claire, why don't you come and sit here,' Draco said, turning to talk to her.
'Um, no thanks Draco,' Claire declined. 'I'd rather not.' Draco looked like he'd been slapped. 'Well, where have you been, I haven't seen you all weekend?'
'I've been spending time with my real friends, I was neglecting them a bit,' Claire told him. 'Maybe you should start paying a bit more attention to your friends, or you might end up losing them too,' she indicated to Crabbe and Goyle. Just then Professor Snape walked in, and Draco turned back round to face the front. The lesson was quite awkward. Claire didn't put up her hand once and she could barely look at her Uncle. When he came around to look at their potions they were making, he commented on how good Claire's was, and she didn't even acknowledge him. At the end of the lesson, Snape said,
'Claire, can I have a word please?'
'Sorry Professor, I've got somewhere I've really got to be,' Claire said, before leaving the classroom.
'Don't you think you're being a little hard on him?' Hermione asked Claire as they walked to History of Magic General Studies.
'I don't think so,' Claire said. 'He hasn't even apologized to me yet.'
'Well maybe that was what he wanted to talk to you about,' Hermione said.
'Look Hermione, what he did to me was serious. I'm not just going to forget about it,' Claire said.
'I know that it's wrong to put a spell on someone without his or her consent, but how serious was the spell? Okay so you didn't like us for a couple of days but still.' Hermione pointed out.
'Why is everyone defending him so suddenly?"' Claire asked. 'It's the principle. You don't put a spell on somebody without them knowing especially your own family!'
'Just don't forget that he is your family,' Harry pointed out.
'I'll treat him like family when he starts to act like it,' Claire said angrily. After lunch they had a free period and Harry and Claire went to the Gryffindor common room, but Ron and Hermione said they wanted to go to the library to do some homework.
'I know this might sound completely weird, but don't you think Ron and Hermione would make a cute couple,' Claire asked.
'Well they argue like they've been married for ten years,' Harry pointed out, and Claire giggled.
'You know, I was a bit of a matchmaker at my old school, how about I try and get them together? Oh, wait a minute, you're not interested in Hermione, are you?' Claire checked. Harry laughed and shook his head. 'No, Hermione is definitely just a friend.'
'Good,' Claire smiled. They reached the portrait of the Fat Lady, and Harry spoke the password,
'Hobgoblin.' The portrait swung inwards, and they went into the cozy common room. Seamus and Dean were sitting in two armchairs by the fireplace, Ginny on Dean's lap. Harry and Claire went and sat in a corner.
'I love having free periods now,' Claire said.
'Yeah,' Harry agreed. 'It's nice having a break between lessons.'
'We've got Charms next, haven't we?' Claire asked. Harry nodded.
'Look Harry, I just wanted to apologize again for the whole Draco thing. I know I was under the influence of magic, but still, I feel as though there could have been something I could have done differently.'
'Don't be silly,' Harry smiled. 'I know it wasn't your fault, and don't try and tell yourself that it is.' Claire smiled back at him. 'You know.Draco said a lot of mean stuff about you, and because of the way I felt about him, I agreed with him, but I didn't mean a word of it.'
'I know you didn't,' Harry insisted. 'Claire, you weren't yourself, you've just got to try and forget about what happened. I'm just relieved we got you back.'
'Yeah?' Claire grinned.
'Well, I mean to say all of us are,' Harry said quickly. 'Ron Hermione and me. But.particularly me.'
'Harry I.listen, I feel like I can trust you now and because of what you've been through I guess I can feel like I can talk to you. I think I can tell you what.well basically why I've been at school in America for the last 5 years,' Claire said, taking her time to consider what she was saying.
'You can tell me anything,' Harry told her. Claire took a deep breath. 'Okay. My mother was a muggle; my father was a wizard. My mother knew this but she didn't really know much about our world. My father was part of the fight against Voldemort when my mother fell pregnant with me, and he was killed by Death Eaters before I was even born. My mother was distraught. She had me and kept me away from the wizarding world and told me nothing about it, hoping I would not be one myself. She believed that most wizards are evil because of all the evil that was around then, what she didn't know was that you defeated Voldemort less than a year later. But she was faced with a problem because obviously I am a witch. Which put a sort of a barrier between my mother and I, because she still believed that most witches and wizards are evil. When she realised what I was she contacted my father's brother, Uncle Severus for help. I think my mother was a little afraid of me, so I spent a lot of time with Uncle Severus what I was growing up. When I got to the age where I needed to be sent to school, of course Uncle Severus wanted me to go to Hogwarts. But my mother wanted me sent away. As far as she was concerned, if I had to go into the wizarding community she wanted it to be as far away as possible from where my father was killed. And I have a feeling she wasn't to keen on the idea of me coming home every Christmas having learnt all this magic, because I went to school in America, I could only come home over the summer. And on school holidays when I should have been my mother coming over to visit me, it was Uncle Severus. And I would spend a lot of time in the summer staying with him too, so you can see why we are so close. It's strange but I feel closer to him than I do my own mother. I know this is going to sound wicked, But it feels more like Uncle Severus is my father, and I don't have a mother, when in reality I have a mother but my father is dead. Well, anyway, last year, when everything happened with Voldemort Uncle Severus had to express to my mother that he was unhappy with me being so far away and that he would feel a lot better if I was at Hogwarts where he could keep a close eye on me. And besides, I was old enough to decide for myself where I went to school, and if she wanted me to stay with him during holidays, that was fine. How could my mother argue with that? So I came here. So that's it really. The story of my life.' Harry looked at Claire in relative shock. After everything Harry had been through, he found it hard to think about other people's pain, but it seemed like Claire had experienced a little of what Harry had to endure. Now things that Harry had not understood before fell into place.
'Claire.I'm sorry.'
'Don't be, I'm not. Uncle Severus has been as good as two parents. That is why I'm so hurt about what he did to me, because I never thought that he would do anything to hurt me,' Claire smiled. Harry was overcome by that smile; a sign of such beautiful optimism that looked like it could face anything. Suddenly, he was overcome with the urge to hold her close and shelter her from the world, keep her safe and happy and ensure that nothing would ever hurt her. He wanted to feel the soft warmth of her skin and the silky caress of her hair. He longed more than anything to kiss her, to feel her lips press against his.These thoughts hit him like a train but he shook them quickly from his mind. Claire obviously needed his support and what was he thinking? About the clear blue of her eyes. Harry felt bad.
'Well,' he said, 'obviously I don't need to tell you that I know what it's like to lose a parent, or never know your father. So if you need someone to talk to.'
'I don't like to dwell on the past,' Claire admitted. 'And why should I be sad? I never knew my father, and how can you miss what you never had? What I do know is that someone needs to defeat that evil that had prevented me from ever meeting him, from you ever meeting your parents. And someone nearly did once.' Claire smiled again. Harry smiled back. He felt like she was paying him a compliment for something that he couldn't even remember doing.
'Do you ever worry..?' Harry asked tentatively. 'That'll you'll lose even more people you love? Sometimes I think that when I'm around I'm putting the people I'm close to in danger because of who I am,' Harry was voicing thoughts he had never shared with anyone. ' Like you. I thought we'd just started to get close and then I'd lost you.'
'I'm sorry Harry.'Claire said looking distressed. 'I didn't mean.'
'It's okay,' Harry assured her. You're back now. It was just an example.'
'Harry, you can never blame yourself for the bad things that happen. Crimes are the fault of those who perpetrate them and no one else,' Claire told him. Harry nodded. 'You're right.' Just then, Hermione and Ron came in.
'Hey Harry guess what,' Ron said, walking over. 'There's going to be a Halloween Party.'
'We just saw a notice on the noticeboard. You have to dress up,' Hermione added rather excitedly. 'Won't that be fun Claire?'
'Sure,' Claire smiled. 'We can give each other a make-over, look really nice, yeah?'
'Yeah!' Hermione said happily. 'I'm going to go and see what I have to wear,' she said.
'I'll come with you,' Claire said, following Hermione up to their dormitory. 'See you in a bit Harry.'
'So are you going to ask someone to go to the party with you?' Ron asked. Harry shrugged, thinking he would love to ask Claire, but probably would be far to shy to ask.
'I was thinking of maybe asking Claire.' Ron said slightly unsurely.
'Claire.' Harry nearly choked on the chocolate frog he had just taken a bite out of.
'Why, don't you think she'd want to go with me?' Ron asked worriedly.
'No it's just.I thought you might ask Hermione,' Harry said quickly.
'Hermione?' Ron frowned.
'Well yeah, I mean I thought there was something going on between you and Hermione lately,' Harry said, the only indication he had of that was Claire's earlier comment of getting them together.
'Me.and Hermione?' Ron repeated. 'No, I don't think so. Why, did she tell you that she likes me?'
'No,' Harry said quickly. 'Just an impression I got. But think about it, yeah? Asking Hermione to the party, that is.'
'Do you just think that Claire will turn me down?' Ron asked.
'No, no,' Harry said raising his hands. 'I didn't mean that at all.'
'Good,' Ron said. Harry sighed with relief.
'Well, I'm probably not going to ask anyone,' Harry said. 'I'm sure it'll be way more fun without having to worry about a girl anyway.'
'Maybe you're right. Maybe we should just all go as friends,' Ron mused. Harry looked up the clock. It was nearly time to go to Charms. A couple of minutes later Claire and Hermione came back down, ready to go to their lesson.
Harry, Ron, Claire and Hermione arranged to go into Hogsmead the next weekend. As sixth formers, they were allowed to go whenever they wanted, as long as they signed a book to say they were going out of school before they left. Harry and Ron wanted to raid Zonko's and Honeydukes but Claire and Hermione wanted to find nice outfits for Halloween. Walking across the Hogwarts grounds, they saw Draco Malfoy, who looked terribly bitter that Claire was with Harry.
'Hey Claire,' he called to her. 'Want to go with me to the Halloween Party?'
'Um, no thanks Draco,' Claire called back politely. Draco's cheeks flushed.
'When are you going to get the hint that she ain't interested,' Ron called.
'Ron!' Claire hissed.
'And like she's interested in you Weasley,' Draco countered. 'Oh well, at least you know she's not friends with you for your money, eh?'
'Least she wants to be my friend, Malfoy,' Ron shouted, before walking out of the Hogwarts gates.
'You know, you two are as bad as each other,' Claire said, shaking her head.
'How can you say that I'm as bad as him?' Ron retorted.
'Okay, maybe not.'Claire admitted. 'But still.'
'Oh well, let's forget about that creep,' Hermione interjected. 'And get shopping!' The girls and boys spilt up when they reached Hogsmead and agreed to meet up in an hour in The Three Broomsticks. Claire and Hermione went to a dress shop, and Ron and Harry went to Zonkos. After just less that an hour, Ron and Harry were walking to The Three Broomsticks when Harry spotted a beautiful shining jewel in the window of a small shop. Harry stopped and looked at it. It was a silver necklace with a pentagram in a heart, and shining pink jewels. He could just picture it around Claire's neck. He looked at the price tag beside it, and realised he had just enough Galleons left to buy it.
'I just want to go in here for a sec, Ron,' Harry said to his friend who was looking at the broomstick in the window of the next shop.
'Okay,' Ron said, not taking his eyes from the broom. Harry went into the shop. It smelt pungently of incense. There was a very old, short woman sitting behind the counter.
'Um, excuse me, could I have that heart necklace in the window?' Harry asked.
'Are you sure you can afford that, boy?' the woman asked, skeptically raising an eyebrow.
'Yes, if the price you've put up is right,' Harry informed her.
'Powerful necklace, that is,' the woman warned him getting up and going over to the window. 'Given to me by a traveler. Who knows what powers it possesses?' Harry wondered if the woman was trying to put him off buying it. Maybe she though he was going to pay her with fake Galleons. She took the necklace from the display in the window, and put it into a plush red case.
'That'll be 7 Galleons please,' the woman demanded, holding out her hand. Harry gave her the last of his money.
'Thank you very much,' the woman said, pouring the coins into her till. 'Have a nice day.'
'Thank you,' Harry replied as he walked from the shop. It was good being back in the fresh air. It had been very stuffy in the shop. Ron was still staring at the broom.
'Come on Ron,' Harry said, dragging his friend away towards The Three Broomsticks.
'What did you buy Harry?' Ron asked.
'Oh, nothing much,' Harry said flippantly. Claire and Hermione were already sitting in The Three Broomsticks.
'Hi Harry, hi Ron,' they both said. Hermione seemed cheerful, but Claire seemed a little gloomy.
'You girls get anything nice?' Ron asked.
'Oh yes, I found what I'm wearing for the Halloween party,' Hermione said brightly.
'There was nothing there for me though,' Claire said. 'I have absolutely nothing to wear. I guess I won't be able to go to the ball after all.' She sighed. Harry and Ron looked at each other.
'Can't Hermione lend you something?' Ron asked.
'Maybe,' Claire said, but she didn't seem too happy about it.
When they got back to the castle that afternoon, they went up to the Gryffindor common room.
'Hey, Claire,' Ginny called when they walked in. She was sitting playing Wizarding Chess with Dean. 'That's for you, I think.' She pointed to a large parcel sitting by the fire. Curiously, Claire went over to it. There was a card on it reading,
brbrcenterClaire,
Sorry
Love SSbrbr
'It's from Uncle Severus,' Claire said tersely. 'If he thinks he is going to buy me back.'
'I'm sure he's not trying to buy you back,' Hermione said soothingly. 'He probably just wants to show you how sorry he is.'
'Maybe I shouldn't open it.' Claire pondered.
'No, I think you should, Hermione said. 'See what it is, at least. You don't have to accept it.'
'Okay.' Claire gave in. She pulled off the wrapping paper, to reveal shining white material. Claire pulled it out. It was a dress.
'Oh my gosh,' she murmured in awe. 'How did he know..?' Harry and Ron who were sitting a little way away came over to look, but Claire quickly grabbed the dress and ran up to her dormitory. Harry and Ron watched her, confused.
'What's all that about?' Ron asked.
'I don't think she wanted you to see what it was,' Hermione said.
'Why?' Harry asked.
'Beats me,' Hermione lied.
'So does this mean you've forgiven Snape then?' Ron asked as they walked to dinner that evening.
'Not quite yet,' Claire said. 'He needs to regain my trust first, and I don't know how he's going to do that, but it's not going to be as easy as waving a wand. Or putting a Potion on me, come to that.' When they reached the dining hall, Snape was sitting at the teacher's table, beside Professor Weasley. He looked over at Claire as she walked in. She gave him a tiniest of smiles, and he smiled back at her. He knew that he was far from forgiven, but he had begun to bridge the gap.
Everyone was very glad that Claire was sitting back at the Gryffindor table.
'Hey Claire,' Seamus said to her across the table. 'You going to this Halloween party?'
'Yeah,' Claire nodded.
'Well, if you need a handsome escort, you know where to come,' he winked.
'Thanks Seamus,' Claire laughed.
'What are you going as?' Ginny asked. Claire lent across the table and whispered in her ear.
'Ohhh, nice,' Ginny smiled. 'I can't wait, it's going to be so much fun.'
'Yeah,' Claire agreed. She heard Hermione giggle, and looked over to see what had made her laugh. Ron was saying something to her, which was apparently very funny because Hermione was laughing a lot.
'We really should get those two together,' Claire whispered in Harry's ear. Harry checked to make sure they weren't listening, and then said back to Claire in a quiet tone, 'I'm not sure if he was interested. I suggested he ask her to the Halloween party, and he seemed quite surprised I suggested it, apparently hadn't even crossed his mind. He was more interested in asking you.'
'Me?' Claire looked surprised now. 'Really? Well I mean I like Ron a lot but I really do think he and Hermione make a better couple. Oh, do you think Ron's going to ask me, I don't think I'll have the heart to say no, I wouldn't want it to affect out friendship.'
'I don't know,' Harry said. 'But not if we can get him to ask Hermione first.'
After dinner they all went up to the common room. They all sat and helped each other with their Charms homework for a little while, which had to be in on their next lesson on Monday afternoon. When they were done, Hermione packed up her things and yawned loudly. 'I think I'm going to get off to bed now. You coming Claire?'
'No, I think I'll stay up for a bit longer,' Claire said.
'Okay, bye then,' Hermione said, walking over to the stairs up to the girl's dormitory.
''Night Hermione,' Harry called.
'Goodnight Hermione,' Ron added.
''Night,' she called back down the stairs.
'So,' Claire said to Ron when Hermione was out of earshot. 'Here's an idea, why don't you ask Hermione to go to the Halloween party with you? I'm sure she'd say yes.' Ron frowned. 'Harry said the exact same thing. Why does everyone think there's something going on between Hermione and me?'
'Really? Harry you said that?' Claire asked, feigning surprise.
'Yeah,' Harry nodded. 'Funny you should think it too.'
'Well.to be honest I hadn't really thought about it,' Ron admitted. 'I've never thought of Hermione like that before. Although, she did look really nice when we had the Yule Ball.'
'And she's going to look even nicer this year, because I am going to give her a total make-over,' Claire grinned.
'Well, I'll certainly think about it,' Ron said. 'In fact, I think I might go to bed and think about it now.'
'Well I'm going to stay here for a bit. Not really tired yet,' Harry said.
'Okay,' Ron nodded, and went up to his room. Again, Harry and Claire were left alone in the common room.
'You know,' Harry said, 'it's all well and good persuading Ron to ask Hermione to the party, but what if she says no?'
'Hmmm, good point,' Claire said. 'Well, maybe I can catch her before she goes to sleep, use my magic powers on her. 'Night Harry,' Claire got up, and went over to the stairs up to the girl's dormitory.
''Night,' Harry called after her. He was left alone to think. Every day he spent with Claire, Harry felt like he liked her more. But Harry felt guilty. The more he thought about Claire, the less he was thinking about Sirius. Although Harry knew it was the only thing he could do, he felt guilty for getting on with his life. But what else was there? Life was moving on, things were happening every day. Harry decided that he would just have to remember Sirius, and remember that he would have wanted Harry to enjoy his life. Harry was a little worried though. Although it felt like life was getting back to normal, he knew that it wasn't. Voldemort was out there somewhere and he was getting stronger all the time. Harry could feel it.
Harry was in a field, dancing with Claire. It was dark, and people, who were laughing and smiling, surrounded them. Some of them were holding torches whose flickering light illuminated Claire's pretty face. But suddenly, Harry felt as though he was being overcome by something. The smiling faces darkened and Harry could see that they were cloaked. The laughter changed to shouts and jeers. Harry looked down at Claire who was now lying limply in his arms. Her eyes were open and her breathing was erratic and she looked very pale. Harry took his wand, pointed it at the woman, and heard himself murmuring words that he wasn't even aware he was saying. A bolt came from his wand and struck the girl, making her cry out in pain and her body jolt sharply. There was a raucous cheer from the crowd. The girl was shaking violently now and her pale brow was beaded with cold sweat. Harry then realised that it wasn't Claire. He wasn't sure if had never been Claire in the first place, or if she had changed, but now it was a grown woman he held in his arms. She looked older than her years, and she looked dreadfully tired as if she wished deaths sweet kiss would just come and take her. Again, Harry's wand was aimed at the woman, and he spoke the words, which unleashed a punishment of pain upon her. The woman cried out, tears now streaming down her cheeks. The crowd were loving it.
'Please, she whimpered. 'Please.'
'Shall I finish her off?' Harry heard himself shout. The crowd replied loudly with affirmative.
'Nooo,' the woman pleaded.
'Avada Krevada!' Harry proclaimed loudly. The he felt the power of the curse leave his wand like the recoil from a bullet from a gun. The woman's body slumped in his arms; she was dead. Harry let her fall to the floor and there was an almighty cry from the crowd around him. It was deafeningly loud. So loud it was hurting Harry's head. The pain was growing and growing and the people were getting closer and closer. Harry realised that the pain was not in his ears, but his scar. It was a blinding pain and the roaring around him was getting louder and louder making the pain worse and worse and the people were getting closer and closer, closing in around Harry until he was shrouded in darkness.