'Harry? Harry! Are you all right?'
Harry opened his eyes and the pain instantly subsided, although he was left
with an insistent throbbing on his forehead. Harry was in his bed, his
covers askew. Ron was standing over him, and a little distance back stood
Neville, Seamus and Dean, looking anxious.
'Are you okay Harry?' Seamus asked tentatively. 'You were screaming.' Harry couldn't answer for a moment.
'Voldemort.he killed someone. A woman. I saw it.I was there.' Harry gasped. He felt very short of breath.
'I'm going to get Dumbledore,' Ron said without hesitation.
'No,' Harry protested feebly, but it was too late, Ron was gone.
'What happened Harry?' Neville asked.
'I'm not sure.' Harry said. 'I was in a field.there was loads of people. There was a woman and Voldemort he.he killed her.'
'Are you sure it wasn't just a dream Harry?' Dean asked. Harry shook his head. 'It was real.I can tell.'
Just then, Claire and Hermione burst in. 'Is everything okay?' Claire asked anxiously.
'We heard shouting,' Hermione said. She looked over at the bed where everyone was crowded round Harry. 'Harry, are you alright?'
'He had a nightmare,' Seamus said.
'It wasn't a nightmare,' Harry corrected. 'It was real.'
'Are you sure it wasn't just a vivid dream?' Dean asked.
'No!' Harry insisted. Silence fell over the room as Dumbledore came back in followed by Ron.
'Everyone back to your beds,' Dumbledore commanded. 'Harry doesn't need you all fussing round him.' Everyone reluctantly went back to their beds.
'I hope you're okay Harry,' Claire said as they left the room.
'Harry, could you come with me?' Dumbledore asked.
'Okay,' Harry said, getting out of bed. His legs trembled a little when he put his weight on them and he felt drained and weak. Harry clutched his scar as he walked, for it still hurt. Dumbledore took Harry to the hospital wing.
'Oh no, I'm fine, I don't need to see.'Harry protested.
'Just to make sure you're okay,' Dumbledore said, looking at Harry over his half-moon spectacles. 'Also, I thought it would be a good place to talk to you in private. I thought you might find it easier to tell me exactly what happened without all your friends listening in.' Harry submitted and followed Dumbledore into the starch white ward. Madam Pomfrey was in there, fussing about with sheets. As soon as Harry walked in she hurried him over to his bed and started taking his temperature and all sorts of other vital statistics. Eventually, she came to a verdict.
'This boy is in perfect health,' she proclaimed.
'I told you,' Harry muttered.
'Now, Madam Pomfrey, if you wouldn't mind, I'd like to talk to Harry alone,' Dumbledore said politely
'Of course Professor,' Madam Pomfrey agreed. 'Now you take care Harry.' With that, she left.
'Now Harry,' Dumbledore said. 'Tell me exactly what happened. You know last time you had a dream like this, Voldemort was sending it to you to trick you.'
'I'm sure this wasn't one of those dreams, I think I was seeing what he was seeing. I was experiencing what was happening right then,' Harry explained.
'What exactly happened?' Dumbledore asked. Harry explained the dream in great detail. The only thing he didn't mention was that the woman had originally been Claire, and he tried to tell it from a point of view that didn't make it sound like he was Voldemort. Dumbledore asked Harry questions for a while before finally letting him go back to bed. Harry was glad, he was physically exhausted. But before Harry left, Dumbledore added one last thing.
'Harry I really think it would be a good idea if you carried on with your Occulemcy.' Harry sighed. 'Do I have to?'
'I think it would be for your own good,' Dumbledore nodded. 'But go up to bed now, I'll arrange something tomorrow.'
Great, Harry thought, walking back to the Gryffindor tower. Just what I needed, more time spent with Snape.
The next day, everyone was being sympathetic with Harry. Harry really didn't need everyone fussing round him and told everyone he was fine. The spent the day relaxing and doing homework. After the commotion of the previous night, Harry forgot to ask Claire about speaking to Hermione until late in the afternoon.
'What did she say?' he asked as soon as they got a moment alone together.
'Well, I asked her what she thought about Ron, like I was just having a girly chat with her. She said that he was "a good friend but in all honesty he could sometimes be annoying." I said that "I didn't mean it like that but what did she think of him in a romantic way?" She said she'd "never thought about him like that before." I said "well think about it now." Basically I ended up persuading her that it would be a good idea for her to say yes if he asked her to the Halloween Party.' Claire explained.
'Nice one,' Harry grinned. 'Is there anything you can't do?'
'I'm sure one day I'll find something,' Claire said playfully. 'So are you thinking of asking anyone?'
'Well there is someone I wouldn't mind going with,' Harry admitted. 'I don't know if I'll ask her though.'
'Well, whoever it is sure is a lucky girl,' Claire smiled. Harry felt a glow of warmth inside, but he knew she was probably just saying that to be nice. But the feeling was almost enough to drown out the aching from Harry's scar, which had been bothering him all day.
'So, how are you Harry?' Claire asked. 'I know you don't want to talk about it but I'm just concerned about you.'
'That's twice you've been woken up in the night by me, I'm sorry,' Harry apologized. 'The thing is, Voldemort somehow transferred some of his powers to me all those years ago. So now sometimes when he's feeling angry my scar hurts badly and sometimes I have dreams about what he's doing.'
'I know, Hermione told me,' Claire admitted. 'You saved Ron's dads life by having one of those dreams. And the last one you had.'
'Well anyway I had one of those dreams last night. It was bad because he killed a woman, and it's like I'm seeing it and there's nothing I can do about it and by the time I wake up she's already dead.'
'Oh Harry,' Claire put her hand on his in an act of comfort. The feeling of her skin against his sent tingles up Harry's arm. 'I just wish I could do something to help you, but this whole thing is so big it's out of my control.' Harry smiled at her. 'Just being my friend is helping.' Claire smiled back at him.
All too soon it was Monday morning. Their first lesson was Defense Against the Dark Arts, and Professor Weasley was happy to see Claire sitting with Harry, Hermione and Ron again. They had to research for their project that lesson. It would have been rather boring, but Harry just enjoyed spending the time with Claire. Harry was contemplating asking Claire if she wanted to go to the Halloween Party with him. But something held him back. It wasn't just the fact that he knew Ron had been thinking about asking her; Harry was also scared of rejection. He didn't want Claire to feel pressured into saying yes, but he knew it could make things weird if she said no. So Harry said nothing. He had five days to pluck up the courage, so he saw no rush. By their next Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson, on Wednesday afternoon, Harry still felt like he had time. Potions that Tuesday had been less frosty than before, Claire was being civil with her Uncle. Their next Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson was on Friday afternoon at the end of the day. There were a couple of hours before the Party, and Harry still hadn't asked Claire. Ron had complied with Claire's plans and asked Hermione is she wanted to go with him to the Party, as "friends". Hermione had said yes, which had made Claire happy. She had been successful! Harry knew, as Hermione and Ron were talking to Neville, that if he didn't ask Claire now, then he never would be able to.
'Oh well, Harry,' Claire said. 'We've got Ron and Hermione together, but neither of us have anyone to go to the Party with. You didn't ask your mystery girl, did you?' Harry shook his head. 'I wanted to, but I know someone else who wanted to go with her, and I didn't want to upset them.'
'Ah, you should've gone for it,' Claire said encouragingly. 'You can't live your life to please other people, if you wanted to go with her you should've asked.'
'Yeah but what if I was close to the person who liked her too and I didn't want to risk our friendship,' Harry pointed out.
'Well if you really liked her, I'm sure whoever it is would understand,' Claire smiled. 'Oh well, it's probably too late now anyway, whoever it is probably already has a date.'
'No, they don't,' Harry told her.
'Oh,' Claire said. 'Well, maybe you should ask them before it's too late then.'
'Maybe I will,' Harry said thoughtfully. 'See Claire, the person I was thinking of asking to the Halloween Party.was you.'
'Oh.' realization dawned on Claire's face. 'Oh I see. And that's why you didn't want to.because of Ron.' Harry nodded. He tried to gauge her reaction. She didn't seem disgusted which was a good thing. But then again, she wasn't jumping for joy either. She seemed like she was thinking about it.
'Well what about if we went together.but just didn't mention it to Ron. I mean, just say we're going together as friends because we had no one else to go with. You don't have to mention that you wanted to ask me. Do you think that's a good idea?' Claire asked. Did that mean she wanted to go with him? 'Yeah, a very good idea,' Harry grinned. That had been much easier than he had thought.
Later that evening, Ron, Harry, Dean, Seamus and Neville were waiting for their dates for the Party in the common room. Harry had told Ron about going with Claire, and Ron seemed to be okay with it. Seamus was going with Lavender, Neville with Pavarti and Dean with Ginny. The only one that was supposed to be properly romantic was Dean and Ginny, although Harry was feeling an excited anticipation in his stomach about going with Claire. First Ginny came down; the Pavarti and Lavender until Ron and Harry were left waiting for Hermione and Claire. Harry grinned at Ron's outfit. He was dressed as a pirate, and looked quite comical.
'Don't you laugh, pale face,' Ron retorted. Harry's dark hair was slicked back and he was wearing a black cloak and fangs, imitating a vampire. Finally, Claire and Hermione came down the stairs. Hermione came first, completely transformed. She was wearing a flowing blue silk dress that hugged in all the right places. On her back were round, transparent wings, with blue sparkles. On her feet, which poked out under her dress were sparkling blue shoes. Her hair and make-up had been done perfectly, courtesy of Claire, and she looked lovely. It was even better because she looked such a contrast to usual. Ron looked gobsmacked, and Harry wished he could tell Ron to close his mouth.
'Hermione you look.great.' Ron stuttered.
'I'm a fairy,' Hermione said happily, waving the blue wand with a star on the end that she held in her hand, which was emitting sparkles. Behind Hermione was Claire. In Harry's eyes, if Hermione looked nice, then Claire looked divine. She was wearing a white dress with a strapless corset top with silver detail, and a long, trailing satin skirt. A golden halo had been enchanted to hover above her head, and large, feathered wings were coming out of her back. Her hair shone and her face was flawless. She seemed to radiate like she was a real angel.
'You're an angel,' Harry murmured. Claire beamed. Hermione was holding Ron's arm in readiness to go down to the party.
'Um, you two go ahead, I just need to talk to Claire for a moment,' Harry said to them.
'See you down there mate,' Ron grinned, leading Hermione from the Gryffindor tower towards the Great Hall.
'What is it Harry?' Claire asked, facing him. Harry picked up a small red box he had put down on a table.
'This is for you,' he said, holding it out to her. 'To show you what you mean to me.' Smiling, Claire took the box. She opened it, and her face lit up. 'Wow Harry, it's beautiful! Oh my gosh, you really didn't have to.'
'I wanted to,' Harry said, taking the necklace from her, and unfastening it. Claire turned around, and Harry did the clap back up around her neck. Standing behind her, for a moment he longed to stroke the perfect curve of her shoulder, Instead, he turned her back around to see her lovely face.
'Thank you Harry,' Claire smiled, and lent forward and kissed him on the cheek. 'Now come on, let's get down to that party.' She took his hand and led him from the common room. Harry could still feel her kiss burning into his cheek as they walked. As they neared the Great Hall, who should they cross paths with, but Snape and Professor Weasley.
'Claire,' Snape smiled. 'Harry,' he added with a nod with as little loathing as he could muster. 'I see you're wearing the dress,' he added to his niece.
'Yes, it's perfect,' Claire smiled. 'Are you going to the Party with Annabelle?' She looked at their Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, who was dressed as a cat and blushing a little pink now.
'Well, I wouldn't say that I'm going with her, I mean, we're going together but that doesn't mean that we're going with each other,' Snape said awkwardly.
'I see, Uncle Severus,' Claire laughed. 'Well.I'm going with Harry,' she looked up at him to see how he reacted. Snape swallowed and smiled. It looked a little forced, but it was still a smile. 'That's nice, I hope you enjoy yourselves.' Claire gave her uncle a smile that told him that a reaction like that had almost made up for what he did. 'Thanks Uncle Severus, you too.' With that, they all walked into the Great Hall.
All the tables in the Great Hall had been moved to the far end, put in a long line and covered with food. Loud music was playing from where Lee Jordan was DJing. Everywhere there were werewolves and bats and pumpkins and skeletons. One boy was clanking about in a full suit of armor. Nowhere in the room could Harry see anyone as beautiful as Claire. Even Cho Chang, who was dressed in Chinese costume didn't compare. They spotted Ron and Hermione over by the food table, so they tried to make their way through the crowd of people to them. This was easier said than done, the Hall was packed. As they pushed through the crowd, they came face to face with Draco Malfoy. For Harry, it was like looking into a warped mirror, for Draco too was dressed as a vampire.
'Potter,' Draco drawled, his upper lip curling. I see you've chosen to copy my costume. Haven't quite pulled it off as well as me though, have you?'
'No that's because I haven't got the complexion of a vampire though, have I Malfoy?' Harry came back. Draco looked Claire up and down. 'You look truly angelic Claire. Far to good for Potter.'
'I know Claire looks like a real angel, but that doesn't mean she wanted to go with a real vampire,' Harry said snidely.
'Um, Harry,' Claire interrupted. 'Shall we got and find Ron and Hermione?'
'Good idea,' Harry said. 'There's a bad smell round here.'
'I'll see you later then Claire,' Draco smiled at her. 'When you get bored of Potter.'
'Bye Draco,' Claire sighed, and followed Harry on through the Hall. Finally they reached the food table where Ron and Hermione were filling up on Butterbeer and Pumpkin Pasties.
'Hi guys,' Ron said when he saw them approaching.
'Hi Harry, hi Claire,' Hermione smiled.
'Hey Ron,' Claire said. 'Guess who your Aunt's here with?'
'Who?' Ron asked.
'My uncle,' Claire grinned. Ron stared at Claire in disbelief. 'My Aunt Annabelle is here with your Uncle Snape?' Claire nodded.
'Seriously?' Ron asked. Claire nodded again. 'Blimey.'
'We just saw Draco Malfoy,' Harry added. 'Also dressed as a vampire.'
'I bet he was gutted that you're with Harry,' Ron grinned at Claire.
'Just a bit,' Harry laughed. 'Shall we have some food Claire?'
'Sure,' Claire agreed, and for a while, they all ate and talked. But soon Claire was getting bored.
'Harry,' she suggested. 'Why don't we dance?'
'Umm.' Harry was not too sure about this.
'Oh come on, please,' Claire begged.
'Well.' Harry thought about it. 'Okay.' Claire led Harry onto the dancefloor. A slow song was playing, which was perfect. Claire took Harry's arm and put it around her waist and then held his other hand. Together, they began to move to the music. Harry hadn't realised that he would enjoy dancing so much. At first he felt self- conscious but soon he found himself getting lost in the music and the feeling of moving in time with Claire and gazing into her eyes. All too soon the song was over, but then there was another, and another, and another. Before they knew it, they were both too tired that they had to stop. They went and sat down.
'Now that was fun, wasn't it,' Claire smiled at Harry.
'Yeah,' Harry agreed. They looked around the room. Draco was standing at the food table with Pansy Parkinson. They were looking at people on the dancefloor and laughing at them. Snape and Professor Weasley were standing on the edge of the room, talking. Claire watched with interest as at first they avoided making eye contact, but as they fell into conversation their eyes met more and more and they began to smile at one another.
'Hey, look over there,' Harry pointed to a corner where they could make out Hermione and Ron standing. Ron was running his hand over Hermione's soft hair and she was smiling shyly. She put her hand on his shoulder and he put his arm around her waist and pulled her closer. And slowly, he placed a tentative kiss on her lips. Claire positively whooped with excitement.
'I knew it! I so knew it! The matchmaker strikes again,' she said excitedly. Harry was a little unnerved by the sight of his two best friends kissing, but he laughed at Claire's excitement. Claire looked back over her Uncle. Professor Weasley was now pulling him onto the dancefloor. They put their arms around each other and began to slow dance.
'Ahhh, how sweet is that?' Claire cooed. Harry watched as Snape ran his hand down Professor Weasley's cheek, and Harry personally found it rather sickening. He liked Professor Weasley and this too unnerved him, to see her dancing with Snape.
'You know, it's getting too hot and far too romantic in here. How about we go for a walk?' Harry suggested.
'Okay,' Claire agreed. They got up and went out the front door. For a long while they walked around talking about who was with who and what everyone was wearing. The sky was darkening and the sun was setting painting the sky beautiful colours. The stars and the moon were just starting to come out. They went and sat beside the lake and looked out over the cool clear surface that mirrored the sky.
'I'm glad you decided to ask me tonight,' Claire grinned. 'It's been really fun coming with you.'
'Yeah, I'm glad you persuaded me to ask you,' Harry laughed.
'And I'm glad we got Hermione and Ron to come together,' Claire added.
'Don't you think it's kinda.weird?' Harry asked.
'Not really,' Claire admitted. 'But that's because I haven't known them as long as you.'
'Yeah. It's just going to take some getting used to,' Harry said, rather glumly.
'I'm sorry Harry, have I interfered where I shouldn't have done?' Claire asked worriedly.
'No, I mean if it works out for them then I'll be happy for them. It just seems a bit strange at the moment,' Harry explained. Claire nodded. She then shivered. It was a warm evening, but it was getting colder.
'Are you cold?' Harry asked.
'A little,' Claire admitted. Harry removed his cloak and put it around Claire's shoulders. Claire smiled at him gratefully. 'Thanks Harry.' They gazed into one another's eyes but Harry's seemed to glaze over suddenly, and he turned away.
'Harry, what's wrong?' Claire asked with concern.
'I'm sorry Claire,' Harry choked. 'It's just at times like this when I'm really happy, I remember how much I miss Sirius.'
'Oh Harry,' Claire put a comforting arm around him.
'I'm sorry,' Harry apologized. He felt like an idiot.
'You know, sometimes in America I would just get suddenly get really sad because I missed Uncle Severus so much. But I always knew that however much I missed him, he was always at the other end of an owl, and eventually I would be seeing him again. I can't imagine what it would be like if he were gone and I knew that I'd seen him for the last time.' Harry sniffed. 'Let's talk about something else, eh?'
'Sure,' Claire said.
'It's not that I can't talk to you, just not tonight,' Harry said, giving her a weak smile.
'Of course,' Claire agreed. 'Tonight is going to be special.' They looked up at the stars and Harry vaguely wondered if Voldemort was out there somewhere, looking up at those same stars. But he wasn't going to think about Voldemort tonight. He was going to forget about the burden on his shoulders for one night.
'Have you forgiven your Uncle then?' Harry asked.
'Well, at the end of the day he is family and he's all I've got. But I'm not going to forget what he did in a hurry. But tonight he just proved that he could be happy for you and me, even if he doesn't like you. Do you get what I mean?' Claire asked. Harry nodded. 'I might have to have some extra lessons with your Uncle. Occulemcy. To help with my dreams.'
'Occulemcy.I've heard of that before,' Claire said.
'It's hard.' Harry admitted. Claire nodded. They were quiet for a moment, listening to the music wafting from the castle.
'Harry, I'm so glad I met you. I was worried, coming over here from America, that I might not fit in here. But you've made things really good for me.' Harry smiled. 'I'm glad. I'm glad you came here, you've made life more interesting, you know?' Claire smiled. 'Thanks.' Harry looked into her blue eyes and suddenly he was overwhelmed by the urge to kiss her. Harry wasn't sure if he should; was this actually a date, did she feel the same way about him, was this the right moment? But everything just seemed to fall into place and their heads moved closer together. The last thing Harry remembered before closing his eyes and parting his lips a little, were her blue eyes. Their lips met and they gently pressed against each other. Harry moved closer and kissed her harder, their tongues caressing one another. Harry never wanted the kiss to end, his head was spinning and he was intoxicated, but after what seemed like both a millisecond and an eternity, the kiss ended. They looked at one another, and Claire blushed and looked away. She laughed nervously.
'Maybe we should go back in now,' she suggested.
'Yeah,' Harry agreed, a little confused. They went back into the Great Hall, and sat down. They looked around. Draco and Pansy were now standing boredly, Pansy eating aimlessly. The music was slower now and couples were dancing in each other's arms. Claire watched fondly as Snape held Professor Weasley and slowly moved to the music. This gave Harry a chance to muse over what had happened outside. They had kissed, and what a kiss it had been. Harry had never felt anything like that in his life before, and he wanted to feel it again. But he had no idea what Claire was thinking. Did she regret the kiss? Did she really think of him as just a friend? Harry really wished he knew what was going on.
'Can you see Ron and Hermione anywhere?' Claire asked. Harry looked around. His two best friends were nowhere to be seen.
'Maybe they're back up in the common room,' Harry suggested.
'Shall we go and have a look?' Claire asked.
'Maybe we should leave them to it,' Harry said.
'Nah, I think they've have more than enough time alone, they should stop being anti-social and come back and join the party,' Claire said enthusiastically.
'Okay,' Harry agreed, and they got up and left the Great Hall together. They went up to the Gryffindor tower and into the common room. Ron and Hermione were in there, talking.
'What you two up to?' Claire asked.
'Ah, we just needed a break from the Party,' Ron said. 'Honestly, there really is something wrong with your uncle and my aunt.'
'Aw, I think they're sweet,' Claire smiled.
'Hmmm,' Ron said skeptically. 'Do you think we could go back down there?'
'Okay,' Claire said.
'Um, Harry could I talk to you for a minute?' Hermione asked.
'Sure,' Harry said. 'We'll come down in a minute.'
'Fine,' Claire said, and she and Ron left the common room.
'What is it?' Harry asked.
'Oh Harry, it's so bad, Ron kissed me,' Hermione said.
'Why is that bad?' Harry frowned.
'Because we're just friends! We were supposed to be going to this Party as friends,' she said anxiously.
'Oh dear.' Harry said.
'Yeah, and now things have been really awkward.'
'Are you sure you and Ron are just friends' Harry asked.
'Yes!' Hermione insisted. 'I'm sure!'
'Well look, I'm sure if you just talk to him, he'll understand,' Harry told her.
'I do hope so. But I don't want to put our friendship in danger,' Hermione said sadly.
'Well, if you like, I'll try and talk to him. Now come on, let's go down to the Party,' Harry smiled.
'Okay,' Hermione nodded. They went from the Gryffindor common room down to the Great Hall. The looked around and saw Ron and Claire sitting on the far side of the room. They watched them, they looked like they were watching their relations and talking. And suddenly, without reason or warning, they were kissing.
'Are you okay Harry?' Seamus asked tentatively. 'You were screaming.' Harry couldn't answer for a moment.
'Voldemort.he killed someone. A woman. I saw it.I was there.' Harry gasped. He felt very short of breath.
'I'm going to get Dumbledore,' Ron said without hesitation.
'No,' Harry protested feebly, but it was too late, Ron was gone.
'What happened Harry?' Neville asked.
'I'm not sure.' Harry said. 'I was in a field.there was loads of people. There was a woman and Voldemort he.he killed her.'
'Are you sure it wasn't just a dream Harry?' Dean asked. Harry shook his head. 'It was real.I can tell.'
Just then, Claire and Hermione burst in. 'Is everything okay?' Claire asked anxiously.
'We heard shouting,' Hermione said. She looked over at the bed where everyone was crowded round Harry. 'Harry, are you alright?'
'He had a nightmare,' Seamus said.
'It wasn't a nightmare,' Harry corrected. 'It was real.'
'Are you sure it wasn't just a vivid dream?' Dean asked.
'No!' Harry insisted. Silence fell over the room as Dumbledore came back in followed by Ron.
'Everyone back to your beds,' Dumbledore commanded. 'Harry doesn't need you all fussing round him.' Everyone reluctantly went back to their beds.
'I hope you're okay Harry,' Claire said as they left the room.
'Harry, could you come with me?' Dumbledore asked.
'Okay,' Harry said, getting out of bed. His legs trembled a little when he put his weight on them and he felt drained and weak. Harry clutched his scar as he walked, for it still hurt. Dumbledore took Harry to the hospital wing.
'Oh no, I'm fine, I don't need to see.'Harry protested.
'Just to make sure you're okay,' Dumbledore said, looking at Harry over his half-moon spectacles. 'Also, I thought it would be a good place to talk to you in private. I thought you might find it easier to tell me exactly what happened without all your friends listening in.' Harry submitted and followed Dumbledore into the starch white ward. Madam Pomfrey was in there, fussing about with sheets. As soon as Harry walked in she hurried him over to his bed and started taking his temperature and all sorts of other vital statistics. Eventually, she came to a verdict.
'This boy is in perfect health,' she proclaimed.
'I told you,' Harry muttered.
'Now, Madam Pomfrey, if you wouldn't mind, I'd like to talk to Harry alone,' Dumbledore said politely
'Of course Professor,' Madam Pomfrey agreed. 'Now you take care Harry.' With that, she left.
'Now Harry,' Dumbledore said. 'Tell me exactly what happened. You know last time you had a dream like this, Voldemort was sending it to you to trick you.'
'I'm sure this wasn't one of those dreams, I think I was seeing what he was seeing. I was experiencing what was happening right then,' Harry explained.
'What exactly happened?' Dumbledore asked. Harry explained the dream in great detail. The only thing he didn't mention was that the woman had originally been Claire, and he tried to tell it from a point of view that didn't make it sound like he was Voldemort. Dumbledore asked Harry questions for a while before finally letting him go back to bed. Harry was glad, he was physically exhausted. But before Harry left, Dumbledore added one last thing.
'Harry I really think it would be a good idea if you carried on with your Occulemcy.' Harry sighed. 'Do I have to?'
'I think it would be for your own good,' Dumbledore nodded. 'But go up to bed now, I'll arrange something tomorrow.'
Great, Harry thought, walking back to the Gryffindor tower. Just what I needed, more time spent with Snape.
The next day, everyone was being sympathetic with Harry. Harry really didn't need everyone fussing round him and told everyone he was fine. The spent the day relaxing and doing homework. After the commotion of the previous night, Harry forgot to ask Claire about speaking to Hermione until late in the afternoon.
'What did she say?' he asked as soon as they got a moment alone together.
'Well, I asked her what she thought about Ron, like I was just having a girly chat with her. She said that he was "a good friend but in all honesty he could sometimes be annoying." I said that "I didn't mean it like that but what did she think of him in a romantic way?" She said she'd "never thought about him like that before." I said "well think about it now." Basically I ended up persuading her that it would be a good idea for her to say yes if he asked her to the Halloween Party.' Claire explained.
'Nice one,' Harry grinned. 'Is there anything you can't do?'
'I'm sure one day I'll find something,' Claire said playfully. 'So are you thinking of asking anyone?'
'Well there is someone I wouldn't mind going with,' Harry admitted. 'I don't know if I'll ask her though.'
'Well, whoever it is sure is a lucky girl,' Claire smiled. Harry felt a glow of warmth inside, but he knew she was probably just saying that to be nice. But the feeling was almost enough to drown out the aching from Harry's scar, which had been bothering him all day.
'So, how are you Harry?' Claire asked. 'I know you don't want to talk about it but I'm just concerned about you.'
'That's twice you've been woken up in the night by me, I'm sorry,' Harry apologized. 'The thing is, Voldemort somehow transferred some of his powers to me all those years ago. So now sometimes when he's feeling angry my scar hurts badly and sometimes I have dreams about what he's doing.'
'I know, Hermione told me,' Claire admitted. 'You saved Ron's dads life by having one of those dreams. And the last one you had.'
'Well anyway I had one of those dreams last night. It was bad because he killed a woman, and it's like I'm seeing it and there's nothing I can do about it and by the time I wake up she's already dead.'
'Oh Harry,' Claire put her hand on his in an act of comfort. The feeling of her skin against his sent tingles up Harry's arm. 'I just wish I could do something to help you, but this whole thing is so big it's out of my control.' Harry smiled at her. 'Just being my friend is helping.' Claire smiled back at him.
All too soon it was Monday morning. Their first lesson was Defense Against the Dark Arts, and Professor Weasley was happy to see Claire sitting with Harry, Hermione and Ron again. They had to research for their project that lesson. It would have been rather boring, but Harry just enjoyed spending the time with Claire. Harry was contemplating asking Claire if she wanted to go to the Halloween Party with him. But something held him back. It wasn't just the fact that he knew Ron had been thinking about asking her; Harry was also scared of rejection. He didn't want Claire to feel pressured into saying yes, but he knew it could make things weird if she said no. So Harry said nothing. He had five days to pluck up the courage, so he saw no rush. By their next Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson, on Wednesday afternoon, Harry still felt like he had time. Potions that Tuesday had been less frosty than before, Claire was being civil with her Uncle. Their next Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson was on Friday afternoon at the end of the day. There were a couple of hours before the Party, and Harry still hadn't asked Claire. Ron had complied with Claire's plans and asked Hermione is she wanted to go with him to the Party, as "friends". Hermione had said yes, which had made Claire happy. She had been successful! Harry knew, as Hermione and Ron were talking to Neville, that if he didn't ask Claire now, then he never would be able to.
'Oh well, Harry,' Claire said. 'We've got Ron and Hermione together, but neither of us have anyone to go to the Party with. You didn't ask your mystery girl, did you?' Harry shook his head. 'I wanted to, but I know someone else who wanted to go with her, and I didn't want to upset them.'
'Ah, you should've gone for it,' Claire said encouragingly. 'You can't live your life to please other people, if you wanted to go with her you should've asked.'
'Yeah but what if I was close to the person who liked her too and I didn't want to risk our friendship,' Harry pointed out.
'Well if you really liked her, I'm sure whoever it is would understand,' Claire smiled. 'Oh well, it's probably too late now anyway, whoever it is probably already has a date.'
'No, they don't,' Harry told her.
'Oh,' Claire said. 'Well, maybe you should ask them before it's too late then.'
'Maybe I will,' Harry said thoughtfully. 'See Claire, the person I was thinking of asking to the Halloween Party.was you.'
'Oh.' realization dawned on Claire's face. 'Oh I see. And that's why you didn't want to.because of Ron.' Harry nodded. He tried to gauge her reaction. She didn't seem disgusted which was a good thing. But then again, she wasn't jumping for joy either. She seemed like she was thinking about it.
'Well what about if we went together.but just didn't mention it to Ron. I mean, just say we're going together as friends because we had no one else to go with. You don't have to mention that you wanted to ask me. Do you think that's a good idea?' Claire asked. Did that mean she wanted to go with him? 'Yeah, a very good idea,' Harry grinned. That had been much easier than he had thought.
Later that evening, Ron, Harry, Dean, Seamus and Neville were waiting for their dates for the Party in the common room. Harry had told Ron about going with Claire, and Ron seemed to be okay with it. Seamus was going with Lavender, Neville with Pavarti and Dean with Ginny. The only one that was supposed to be properly romantic was Dean and Ginny, although Harry was feeling an excited anticipation in his stomach about going with Claire. First Ginny came down; the Pavarti and Lavender until Ron and Harry were left waiting for Hermione and Claire. Harry grinned at Ron's outfit. He was dressed as a pirate, and looked quite comical.
'Don't you laugh, pale face,' Ron retorted. Harry's dark hair was slicked back and he was wearing a black cloak and fangs, imitating a vampire. Finally, Claire and Hermione came down the stairs. Hermione came first, completely transformed. She was wearing a flowing blue silk dress that hugged in all the right places. On her back were round, transparent wings, with blue sparkles. On her feet, which poked out under her dress were sparkling blue shoes. Her hair and make-up had been done perfectly, courtesy of Claire, and she looked lovely. It was even better because she looked such a contrast to usual. Ron looked gobsmacked, and Harry wished he could tell Ron to close his mouth.
'Hermione you look.great.' Ron stuttered.
'I'm a fairy,' Hermione said happily, waving the blue wand with a star on the end that she held in her hand, which was emitting sparkles. Behind Hermione was Claire. In Harry's eyes, if Hermione looked nice, then Claire looked divine. She was wearing a white dress with a strapless corset top with silver detail, and a long, trailing satin skirt. A golden halo had been enchanted to hover above her head, and large, feathered wings were coming out of her back. Her hair shone and her face was flawless. She seemed to radiate like she was a real angel.
'You're an angel,' Harry murmured. Claire beamed. Hermione was holding Ron's arm in readiness to go down to the party.
'Um, you two go ahead, I just need to talk to Claire for a moment,' Harry said to them.
'See you down there mate,' Ron grinned, leading Hermione from the Gryffindor tower towards the Great Hall.
'What is it Harry?' Claire asked, facing him. Harry picked up a small red box he had put down on a table.
'This is for you,' he said, holding it out to her. 'To show you what you mean to me.' Smiling, Claire took the box. She opened it, and her face lit up. 'Wow Harry, it's beautiful! Oh my gosh, you really didn't have to.'
'I wanted to,' Harry said, taking the necklace from her, and unfastening it. Claire turned around, and Harry did the clap back up around her neck. Standing behind her, for a moment he longed to stroke the perfect curve of her shoulder, Instead, he turned her back around to see her lovely face.
'Thank you Harry,' Claire smiled, and lent forward and kissed him on the cheek. 'Now come on, let's get down to that party.' She took his hand and led him from the common room. Harry could still feel her kiss burning into his cheek as they walked. As they neared the Great Hall, who should they cross paths with, but Snape and Professor Weasley.
'Claire,' Snape smiled. 'Harry,' he added with a nod with as little loathing as he could muster. 'I see you're wearing the dress,' he added to his niece.
'Yes, it's perfect,' Claire smiled. 'Are you going to the Party with Annabelle?' She looked at their Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, who was dressed as a cat and blushing a little pink now.
'Well, I wouldn't say that I'm going with her, I mean, we're going together but that doesn't mean that we're going with each other,' Snape said awkwardly.
'I see, Uncle Severus,' Claire laughed. 'Well.I'm going with Harry,' she looked up at him to see how he reacted. Snape swallowed and smiled. It looked a little forced, but it was still a smile. 'That's nice, I hope you enjoy yourselves.' Claire gave her uncle a smile that told him that a reaction like that had almost made up for what he did. 'Thanks Uncle Severus, you too.' With that, they all walked into the Great Hall.
All the tables in the Great Hall had been moved to the far end, put in a long line and covered with food. Loud music was playing from where Lee Jordan was DJing. Everywhere there were werewolves and bats and pumpkins and skeletons. One boy was clanking about in a full suit of armor. Nowhere in the room could Harry see anyone as beautiful as Claire. Even Cho Chang, who was dressed in Chinese costume didn't compare. They spotted Ron and Hermione over by the food table, so they tried to make their way through the crowd of people to them. This was easier said than done, the Hall was packed. As they pushed through the crowd, they came face to face with Draco Malfoy. For Harry, it was like looking into a warped mirror, for Draco too was dressed as a vampire.
'Potter,' Draco drawled, his upper lip curling. I see you've chosen to copy my costume. Haven't quite pulled it off as well as me though, have you?'
'No that's because I haven't got the complexion of a vampire though, have I Malfoy?' Harry came back. Draco looked Claire up and down. 'You look truly angelic Claire. Far to good for Potter.'
'I know Claire looks like a real angel, but that doesn't mean she wanted to go with a real vampire,' Harry said snidely.
'Um, Harry,' Claire interrupted. 'Shall we got and find Ron and Hermione?'
'Good idea,' Harry said. 'There's a bad smell round here.'
'I'll see you later then Claire,' Draco smiled at her. 'When you get bored of Potter.'
'Bye Draco,' Claire sighed, and followed Harry on through the Hall. Finally they reached the food table where Ron and Hermione were filling up on Butterbeer and Pumpkin Pasties.
'Hi guys,' Ron said when he saw them approaching.
'Hi Harry, hi Claire,' Hermione smiled.
'Hey Ron,' Claire said. 'Guess who your Aunt's here with?'
'Who?' Ron asked.
'My uncle,' Claire grinned. Ron stared at Claire in disbelief. 'My Aunt Annabelle is here with your Uncle Snape?' Claire nodded.
'Seriously?' Ron asked. Claire nodded again. 'Blimey.'
'We just saw Draco Malfoy,' Harry added. 'Also dressed as a vampire.'
'I bet he was gutted that you're with Harry,' Ron grinned at Claire.
'Just a bit,' Harry laughed. 'Shall we have some food Claire?'
'Sure,' Claire agreed, and for a while, they all ate and talked. But soon Claire was getting bored.
'Harry,' she suggested. 'Why don't we dance?'
'Umm.' Harry was not too sure about this.
'Oh come on, please,' Claire begged.
'Well.' Harry thought about it. 'Okay.' Claire led Harry onto the dancefloor. A slow song was playing, which was perfect. Claire took Harry's arm and put it around her waist and then held his other hand. Together, they began to move to the music. Harry hadn't realised that he would enjoy dancing so much. At first he felt self- conscious but soon he found himself getting lost in the music and the feeling of moving in time with Claire and gazing into her eyes. All too soon the song was over, but then there was another, and another, and another. Before they knew it, they were both too tired that they had to stop. They went and sat down.
'Now that was fun, wasn't it,' Claire smiled at Harry.
'Yeah,' Harry agreed. They looked around the room. Draco was standing at the food table with Pansy Parkinson. They were looking at people on the dancefloor and laughing at them. Snape and Professor Weasley were standing on the edge of the room, talking. Claire watched with interest as at first they avoided making eye contact, but as they fell into conversation their eyes met more and more and they began to smile at one another.
'Hey, look over there,' Harry pointed to a corner where they could make out Hermione and Ron standing. Ron was running his hand over Hermione's soft hair and she was smiling shyly. She put her hand on his shoulder and he put his arm around her waist and pulled her closer. And slowly, he placed a tentative kiss on her lips. Claire positively whooped with excitement.
'I knew it! I so knew it! The matchmaker strikes again,' she said excitedly. Harry was a little unnerved by the sight of his two best friends kissing, but he laughed at Claire's excitement. Claire looked back over her Uncle. Professor Weasley was now pulling him onto the dancefloor. They put their arms around each other and began to slow dance.
'Ahhh, how sweet is that?' Claire cooed. Harry watched as Snape ran his hand down Professor Weasley's cheek, and Harry personally found it rather sickening. He liked Professor Weasley and this too unnerved him, to see her dancing with Snape.
'You know, it's getting too hot and far too romantic in here. How about we go for a walk?' Harry suggested.
'Okay,' Claire agreed. They got up and went out the front door. For a long while they walked around talking about who was with who and what everyone was wearing. The sky was darkening and the sun was setting painting the sky beautiful colours. The stars and the moon were just starting to come out. They went and sat beside the lake and looked out over the cool clear surface that mirrored the sky.
'I'm glad you decided to ask me tonight,' Claire grinned. 'It's been really fun coming with you.'
'Yeah, I'm glad you persuaded me to ask you,' Harry laughed.
'And I'm glad we got Hermione and Ron to come together,' Claire added.
'Don't you think it's kinda.weird?' Harry asked.
'Not really,' Claire admitted. 'But that's because I haven't known them as long as you.'
'Yeah. It's just going to take some getting used to,' Harry said, rather glumly.
'I'm sorry Harry, have I interfered where I shouldn't have done?' Claire asked worriedly.
'No, I mean if it works out for them then I'll be happy for them. It just seems a bit strange at the moment,' Harry explained. Claire nodded. She then shivered. It was a warm evening, but it was getting colder.
'Are you cold?' Harry asked.
'A little,' Claire admitted. Harry removed his cloak and put it around Claire's shoulders. Claire smiled at him gratefully. 'Thanks Harry.' They gazed into one another's eyes but Harry's seemed to glaze over suddenly, and he turned away.
'Harry, what's wrong?' Claire asked with concern.
'I'm sorry Claire,' Harry choked. 'It's just at times like this when I'm really happy, I remember how much I miss Sirius.'
'Oh Harry,' Claire put a comforting arm around him.
'I'm sorry,' Harry apologized. He felt like an idiot.
'You know, sometimes in America I would just get suddenly get really sad because I missed Uncle Severus so much. But I always knew that however much I missed him, he was always at the other end of an owl, and eventually I would be seeing him again. I can't imagine what it would be like if he were gone and I knew that I'd seen him for the last time.' Harry sniffed. 'Let's talk about something else, eh?'
'Sure,' Claire said.
'It's not that I can't talk to you, just not tonight,' Harry said, giving her a weak smile.
'Of course,' Claire agreed. 'Tonight is going to be special.' They looked up at the stars and Harry vaguely wondered if Voldemort was out there somewhere, looking up at those same stars. But he wasn't going to think about Voldemort tonight. He was going to forget about the burden on his shoulders for one night.
'Have you forgiven your Uncle then?' Harry asked.
'Well, at the end of the day he is family and he's all I've got. But I'm not going to forget what he did in a hurry. But tonight he just proved that he could be happy for you and me, even if he doesn't like you. Do you get what I mean?' Claire asked. Harry nodded. 'I might have to have some extra lessons with your Uncle. Occulemcy. To help with my dreams.'
'Occulemcy.I've heard of that before,' Claire said.
'It's hard.' Harry admitted. Claire nodded. They were quiet for a moment, listening to the music wafting from the castle.
'Harry, I'm so glad I met you. I was worried, coming over here from America, that I might not fit in here. But you've made things really good for me.' Harry smiled. 'I'm glad. I'm glad you came here, you've made life more interesting, you know?' Claire smiled. 'Thanks.' Harry looked into her blue eyes and suddenly he was overwhelmed by the urge to kiss her. Harry wasn't sure if he should; was this actually a date, did she feel the same way about him, was this the right moment? But everything just seemed to fall into place and their heads moved closer together. The last thing Harry remembered before closing his eyes and parting his lips a little, were her blue eyes. Their lips met and they gently pressed against each other. Harry moved closer and kissed her harder, their tongues caressing one another. Harry never wanted the kiss to end, his head was spinning and he was intoxicated, but after what seemed like both a millisecond and an eternity, the kiss ended. They looked at one another, and Claire blushed and looked away. She laughed nervously.
'Maybe we should go back in now,' she suggested.
'Yeah,' Harry agreed, a little confused. They went back into the Great Hall, and sat down. They looked around. Draco and Pansy were now standing boredly, Pansy eating aimlessly. The music was slower now and couples were dancing in each other's arms. Claire watched fondly as Snape held Professor Weasley and slowly moved to the music. This gave Harry a chance to muse over what had happened outside. They had kissed, and what a kiss it had been. Harry had never felt anything like that in his life before, and he wanted to feel it again. But he had no idea what Claire was thinking. Did she regret the kiss? Did she really think of him as just a friend? Harry really wished he knew what was going on.
'Can you see Ron and Hermione anywhere?' Claire asked. Harry looked around. His two best friends were nowhere to be seen.
'Maybe they're back up in the common room,' Harry suggested.
'Shall we go and have a look?' Claire asked.
'Maybe we should leave them to it,' Harry said.
'Nah, I think they've have more than enough time alone, they should stop being anti-social and come back and join the party,' Claire said enthusiastically.
'Okay,' Harry agreed, and they got up and left the Great Hall together. They went up to the Gryffindor tower and into the common room. Ron and Hermione were in there, talking.
'What you two up to?' Claire asked.
'Ah, we just needed a break from the Party,' Ron said. 'Honestly, there really is something wrong with your uncle and my aunt.'
'Aw, I think they're sweet,' Claire smiled.
'Hmmm,' Ron said skeptically. 'Do you think we could go back down there?'
'Okay,' Claire said.
'Um, Harry could I talk to you for a minute?' Hermione asked.
'Sure,' Harry said. 'We'll come down in a minute.'
'Fine,' Claire said, and she and Ron left the common room.
'What is it?' Harry asked.
'Oh Harry, it's so bad, Ron kissed me,' Hermione said.
'Why is that bad?' Harry frowned.
'Because we're just friends! We were supposed to be going to this Party as friends,' she said anxiously.
'Oh dear.' Harry said.
'Yeah, and now things have been really awkward.'
'Are you sure you and Ron are just friends' Harry asked.
'Yes!' Hermione insisted. 'I'm sure!'
'Well look, I'm sure if you just talk to him, he'll understand,' Harry told her.
'I do hope so. But I don't want to put our friendship in danger,' Hermione said sadly.
'Well, if you like, I'll try and talk to him. Now come on, let's go down to the Party,' Harry smiled.
'Okay,' Hermione nodded. They went from the Gryffindor common room down to the Great Hall. The looked around and saw Ron and Claire sitting on the far side of the room. They watched them, they looked like they were watching their relations and talking. And suddenly, without reason or warning, they were kissing.