The kareoke went on for a while longer, and when everyone had sung, Lee put the music back on. When he had done this, Harry and Claire who were picking at food on the table noticed there were a few people gathering around him. They went over to see what was going on. Lee was trying to put a spell on a big bottle of lemonade.

'What you doing Lee?' Harry asked.

'Well, I couldn't turn water into wine, so I'm trying to turn this lemonade into an alcopop.'

'Cool,' Claire said. She looked over at Hermione who was talking to Seamus. 'Better not Hermione realize what you're doing though, or you'll get a lecture.'

'Right,' Lee nodded. 'Okay, here goes. Liquidus alchochangeus!' He waved his wand over the lemonade. The only visible change was the clear liquid changed into pale blue. 'Well...' Lee said, scratching his head. 'I'm not sure if that was supposed to happen. Now for the taste test. Er...who want's to...I know, Claire, it's your birthday, you get the first taste.'

'Erm...thanks Lee,' Claire said unsurely, taking the large bottle from him. She put the bottle to her lips, and took a swig. 'Wow, that's really nice!' Was her verdict.

'Great!' Lee exclaimed.

'What's really nice?' Hermione asked from behind Claire's shoulder.

'Um, this lemonade that um Lee got from Hogsmeade,' Claire lied.

'Funny colour for lemonade. Can I try some?'

'Sure you can Hermione,' Lee said quickly, a grin on his face. 'Who else wants some?' He started filling plastic cups with the liquid. This helped liven up the party considerably and soon everyone was really enjoying themselves, even Hermione.

'Hey Claire, sing that Real Emotion song again,' Dean suggested, when a boring song came on.

'Oh no, I couldn't...'

'Yeah, go on Claire,' Lee agreed. He grabbed the magic microphone and handed it to her.

'Well, okay,' Claire agreed. She tapped it with her wand, and the music began to play. She started to sing, and Harry was once again enchanted. But this time, she danced as well. This encouraged everyone else to start dancing, and some of the younger Gryffindor girls even tried copying Claire's moves, but Harry couldn't take his eyes off of Claire. He was so attracted to her, and he felt like doing things he had never wanted to do before. Suddenly he had to look away, before the same thing happened as before. Calm down Harry, he thought to himself. It had to be the alcohol, and yet he hadn't had that much yet... He went over to the food table and drank a glass of water. When this party was over he would have to have a cold shower. He picked up a handful of Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans and ate them one by one. He suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder, and he quickly spun around.

'Well, what did you think?' It was Claire, an eager look on her face.

'I thought you were amazing,' Ron said before Harry could answer, walking up beside Claire.

'Thanks Ron,' Claire smiled.

'Harry, be a mate, pour me some more of this,' Ron said, holding out his nearly empty plastic cup of Lee's 'lemonade'. Harry wondered briefly how much Ron had had, and how much alcohol was actually in the lemonade. He noticed as he poured the liquid into Ron's cup, that the bottle magically refilled itself.

'Seriously Claire, you are a great singer. And a great dancer, and I mean great...' he said suggestively. He smiled at Claire, and then looked down the front of her dress.

'Um, Ron, maybe you should have a glass of water instead,' Claire suggested.

'No, I like this thanks,' Ron said. Claire sighed.

A sudden loud burst of laughter made them all look to the right. Hermione was sitting on a chair, not in her usual upright position, but slumped down, laughing hysterically. It looked like Ron wasn't the only one a little worse for ware.

'I'm going to go and see if she's alright,' Claire said, a little worried about her friend, and went over to Hermione.

Meanwhile, Ron spotted Ginny and Dean looking like they were getting very cozy in a corner.

'I'm going to go and see what's going on over there,' Ron said, marching over to them.

Harry stood and watched for a moment, and then Claire came back over to him. 'She's fine,' she said. 'Just a bit tipsy. Not used to drinking.' She was quiet for a moment, and looked as if she were thinking. 'Now we're alone, do you think I could talk to you Harry?'

'Sure,' he said.

'Um...maybe we'd better sit down,' Claire suggested.

'Okay,' Harry agreed. They sat down where it was quiet.

'So, what's up?' Harry asked.

'Well...' Claire looked as if she were finding whatever it was hard to say. She looked around. It was getting late. The majority of people had given up and gone to bed. Ginny, who had been forced away from Dean by Ron, was helping Hermione up to bed, and Ron had fallen asleep on a chair. 'Uncle Severus told me something today. You see my mum never really wanted me to know anything about the wizarding world when I was growing up, so she never told me. But now she's gone Uncle Severus said he thought I was old enough and it was time I should know...'

'What is it Claire?' Harry asked.

'Well...because my mother was a squib her family basically disowned her. She never spoke to me about them, even Uncle Severus didn't know. But he found out when she died. Her maiden name...it was Black. Your Godfather Sirius...was my Uncle.'

Harry was gobsmacked. 'Oh my gosh Claire...'

'For a moment I thought that I was going to have this whole new family, that if anything ever happened to Uncle Severus I wouldn't be alone in the world, and then he told me who it was...' Claire's voice cracked. 'I'll never even know him.' She looked at Harry. 'I'm sorry Harry.' There were tears in her eyes. 'I'm sorry, I'm being selfish again. At least I've got Uncle Severus and he's not a muggle...and at least I didn't meet Uncle Sirius to get close to him before he died...'

'Claire, listen to me,' Harry said, taking her hands in hers. 'You don't have to apologize to me for being unhappy. Just because things that you consider to be worse have happened to me, doesn't mean your pain is any less. I'm here for you, I don't mind listening to your problems, because I know you'd listen to me if I needed to talk to you.'

'Of course I would Harry. And I know I can talk to you, it's just I feel like because you are so strong, I should be strong as well.'

Harry shook his head. 'I'm only strong because of you. I was a mess, but you've helped me pull things together. You've helped me see that bad things happen, but you have to move on.' He looked at Clare with real love. She looked back at him. Suddenly the atmosphere was really intense. Harry felt the feelings of desire that he had been feeling earlier stirring up inside him. He looked Claire up and down. Her chest was rising up and down with her breathing, and a slit in the side of her dress revealed a long, tanned leg with a silver stiletto at the bottom. Claire wasn't like Cho Chang, whose body was lean from rigorous sports, Claire's shape was more feminine and her skin looked soft. Harry suddenly wanted to feel her, run his hands over her skin, which suddenly looked so appealing. The moon shone in through the window making her hair shine and her dress sparkle. For a moment Harry stopped breathing, and it felt like they were suspended in time, staring into one another's eyes. Harry begun to feel very turned on. In his mind he imagined pulling Claire to him and kissing her, but he was afraid, what would happen if he did?

'Maybe...maybe we should tidy up,' Claire said softly. She stood up, and started putting all the left over food into one bowl. Harry watched her from behind. Suddenly, he couldn't stand it. Lust overcame him, he didn't care if she pushed him away, and he had to risk it. He stood up, grabbed her waist, and turned her around. She looked up at him, startled. Harry lifted his hands from her hips and put them on her cheeks. And then, he kissed her. Not because they were drunk or because of a game, but a real, passionate kiss. He kissed her with pure desire. Finally he got a hold of his senses, and pulled away.

'I'm.... I'm sorry Claire. I just...you're just so...gorgeous.'

Claire smiled. 'Thank you Harry. And...I don't mind you know.'

'Really?' Harry asked. His heart leapt, looking down at her, he just wanted to grab her and kiss her again.

'Really,' Claire confirmed.

Harry smiled. Claire smiled back at him. Then slowly he moved forward and put his arms around her. She put her arms up around his neck, tilted her head, and Harry lent down and kissed her again. Yet again that night he felt a familiar stirring of desire in his trousers. He started stroking her back, moving his hands slowly up to her shoulders. He left them still on her shoulders for a moment, then started moving up her neck, until he was running his fingers through her silky hair. Then he moved his hands back down to the small of her back, and begun caressing there again. Then, tentatively he moved his hands down onto her arse. Claire didn't stop kissing him or push him away, so Harry begun to caress her and squeeze her soft skin. The bulge in Harry's trousers was throbbing painfully now; he wanted her so badly. He pulled her body as close to his as he could, feeling her curves pressing against him. He knew Claire could tell how turned on he was, but he was far beyond caring. He moved his hands back up her spine, to the zip of her dress. He clasped it in his fingers, and slowly begun to draw it downwards. Claire's skin trembled slightly, and felt cool to the touch, and Harry gently smoothed his finger over it. When the zip reached the bottom, Harry ran his hands back up Claire's bare back, onto her shoulders. He slipped the straps from her shoulders, and in a flurry of material, the dress fell to the floor. Claire gasped and pulled back.

'Harry,' she murmured.

'Oh Claire,' he said longingly, looking her up and down. He wanted her so badly, he had never felt so much sexual tension in his life and he felt as if he were about to explode. She looked so sexy, standing before him in nothing but her underwear, he wanted to feel her body all over, cover her with kisses, and bring her the greatest possible pleasure. But at the same time, he wanted to love her, he wanted to hold her close and protect her from anything bad the world was going to throw at her, he wanted to take away all of her pain. He had never felt such strong potent emotions, and his heart felt fit to burst. Suddenly he felt excited about life and every moment he was going to spend with her. Nothing seemed so bad as long as they would be together. Suddenly he felt the need to kiss her again. He touched his lips against hers, gently and lovingly. Claire kissed him back, and when Harry pulled away, she had tears in her eyes.

'What's wrong?' he asked her softly.

'Nothing, I just...I just...' Claire looked down, and Harry suddenly wondered if all this had been too much for her, if he had been paying too much attention to his primal desires and not to what Claire wanted. But then she reached up and kissed him again, and Harry felt himself becoming lost in the feelings.

He started running his hands over her cool. bare skin, and he felt Claire starting to undo his shirt. Soon it hung open, and he felt Claire's fingers running up his chest, her long nails scraping his skin a little. If it was possible, her slightest touch turned Harry on even more. Claire pushed his shirt from his toned shoulders, and for a moment, Harry felt a little self-conscious. Though Quidditch had made him quite muscled, especially his arms, which he used a great deal in the sport, he still considered himself to be a little weedy. What if Claire didn't like his body? But somehow, it didn't matter, he knew she wouldn't judge him. Besides, he was too concerned with having her to worry about that.

Claire pulled Harry onto the couch, where they sat down and they started kissing again. Ron, who was lying on the opposite side of the room to them, gave a loud snore, and turned over. Harry and Claire both jumped, and looked over at him. When he didn't move again, they both laughed a little nervously. Harry then looked into Claire's eyes, and she looked back at him. He couldn't read her. It was obvious from the fact that she was there that's she wanted to be, but did she feel the intense passion and desire that Harry was feeling?

Harry had a sudden desire to touch her, so he gently placed his fingertips on her forehead and gently started running them down the side of her face. When he reached her neck, he gently caressed her throat and then started travelling down the smooth slope of her chest, into her bra. Claire gasped and Harry looked nervously at her, but it wasn't a look of fear or displeasure on her face, so he continued to feel her. It was the most erotic thing he had ever done, and he didn't think he could take this tension for much longer. He had to have her now. He lent in and kissed Claire, and while he did this, started undoing his trousers. He pulled them and his boxers down hastily, and it felt so good to release his erection. Gently he pushed Claire back onto the couch so her head was resting on the arm. Then he started moving his hands down from her bra onto her stomach, and then even farther down, fingering the lining of her knickers.

'Are...are you sure you want to do this Harry?' Claire asked.

Harry looked at her in surprise. 'I can't think of anything I want more. But if you're not ready, then I'll stop right now. I never want to do anything to hurt you.'

Claire smiled. 'You couldn't hurt me Harry.'

Harry smiled back at her, and ran his finger through her hair. 'You are so beautiful,' he said softly. 'I've never met anyone like you. I don't know what I'd do without you.' He meant every word.

'Kiss me Harry,' Claire whispered.

So Harry lent down and kissed her. They started caressing each other's bodies, and Harry's hands started moving back down to her knickers, and slowly began to pull them down. Soon they were lying naked in each other's arms; Claire's legs wrapped around Harry, his dick pressing against the inside of her thigh. Harry was getting very hot, his hands were moving everywhere and he was kissing Claire's neck. Even the feeling of Claire's leg against his dick felt good, and he felt himself moving against her. Soon he could bare it no longer, and moved closer to her most sensitive area. Soon he could feel himself pressing against her wet warmth, and the sensation took Harry's breath away. Restraining himself from pushing right into her, he gently slid himself inside. Claire gasped audibly, and Harry pulled himself back out, worried he had hurt her, but Claire pulled him back inside. Soon he was moving in and out without a problem. It was like they fit together perfectly, they were made for each other. The feeling was the most amazing Harry had ever experienced. He had wanted Claire for such a long time, and all evening a great deal of sexual tension had been building up inside him, and now he was letting it out. He pushed himself in and out of Claire, and he could hear her gasping with pleasure, and this turned him on even more. Suddenly he felt like he was going to come. He didn't want to, he wanted to wait for Claire, but he didn't know how long he was going to be able to hold out. He slowed down a little, and tried to think about things that would delay the inevitable. But all he could think about was the beautiful girl that was underneath him. He wished that this could last forever, and this helped him hold back. Claire definitely seemed to enjoy what Harry was doing, she was moaning now. Harry started pushing in and out faster and faster.

'Oh Harry,' Claire gasped. 'I think...I think I'm coming...'

Harry was so glad, he knew he couldn't hold on any longer but he didn't want to disappoint her. He let all thoughts go out of his head, and let the feelings take him over. Ever movement he made felt so good; every sensation was adding so much to the experience. Every push was moving him closer and closer to his peak, and suddenly he felt himself reaching it. He groaned as the height of feeling took him over, pulsing up and down his dick and shaking his whole body. Claire called out, and he knew she was feeling it too. When it was finally over, Harry and Claire lay in each other's arms, sharing the heat they had made. Claire soon fell asleep, but Harry stayed awake a while. He felt so happy and content, but also a little worried. What if the next morning Claire didn't want to know? He didn't know what he would do. He looked down at her sleeping and smiled.

'I love you,' he whispered, and closed his eyes.

Harry awoke and Claire was gone. He was covered with a blanket, and Ron was snoring loudly in a corner. For a moment, the events of the previous night swum through Harry's mind. He wasn't sure where reality ended and his dreams begun. Was his memory playing tricks on him? Had he really slept with Claire? It couldn't be true. And yet everything was telling him that it was. It had been the most amazing night of his life. He felt for a moment on top of the world. But then it hit him, where was Claire? Why would she have gone? You wouldn't leave someone the next morning after doing what they had done if you didn't regret it. Harry felt a sudden stab of fear. What if he had ruined everything by giving in to his lust and making Claire do something she didn't want to? It was the only reason he could think of why she would leave after doing what they'd done. He lay there for a while, not wanting to move. He didn't think he could face Claire if he knew she was going to break his heart. But people would be coming down soon, and he didn't think it would be a good idea for them to walk in on Harry, lying on the sofa, his clothes strewn everywhere. So he grabbed his things and went up to the dormitory. He got dressed. Neville, Seamus and Dean were all still sleeping, and the room was stuffy and full of snoring. Harry decided to go back down to the common room. He sat down on the chair by the window, and looked out over the crisp December morning. He recalled standing with Claire the previous evening, watching fireworks. It seemed a lifetime ago. The events of that evening were life changing, and he knew they would stay with him forever. But sitting there, not knowing how Claire felt was hell.

After a while bleary-eyed people started coming down.

'Great party,' Lavender yawned.

'Thanks,' Harry smiled, but he was unable to muster up enthusiasm.

Lavender gave him a strange look, but made no further comment.

Every time Harry heard someone coming down the stairs, he looked up, his heart beating just a little faster, half wanting to see Claire, half dreading it.

Ron was sleeping like a log, but eventually he stirred when there were quite a few people in the room, all talking to one another. He stretched and rubbed his eyes.

'Morning Harry,' he said, looking over at his friend. 'Ow my head...'

'Feeling okay?' Harry grinned.

'No...' Ron moaned. 'Could you all keep it down a bit,' he snapped to the rest of the common room. They all glared at him and continued talking. 'I think I'm going to go up to bed,' Ron muttered to Harry, and lurched up the stairs.

Not long later, Hermione came down.

'Hi Harry,' she said sickly. She seemed much in the same state as Ron, if not worse.

'Hi Hermione,' Harry said. 'You okay?'

'No,' she said, slumping down in chair. 'Somebody must have spiked one of the drinks yesterday. If I find out who it was, I'm going to kill them...' she looked at Harry. 'This had nothing to do with you did it Harry?'

'Oh...no. I have no idea, who it was,' Harry lied. 'Um...have you spoken to Claire this morning?'

Hermione shook her head. 'She was out like a light when I got up. I don't think she had a good night, I woke up at about 4.30 and she was tossing and turning. But she'd dropped off by the time I woke up again.'

'I see,' Harry said. After the little rest they'd had, he had no idea how long she'd be asleep. However, it seemed that Claire couldn't get much sleep at all, for a while later, she came down the dormitory stairs. Harry, Ron and Hermione were now all sitting around together, not speaking much, all trying to recover from the events of the previous night.

'Hi,' Claire said wearily. She looked shattered. Harry could see that there was something wrong other than just tiredness. He hoped that it wasn't because of him. And yet, he could think of no other explanation. What they had done had to be the predominant thing in her mind, Harry knew it was in his, so how she was acting was no doubt reflecting what she was thinking. Harry didn't think his heart could lower any more, yet it seemed to sink down to his feet now he saw her, looking so naturally beautiful. And the fact that she wasn't showing any definite emotion, but more of an underlying tension bothered Harry even more.

This went on throughout the day. Claire seemed to be acting perfectly normal, but Harry could see there was something different about her. She was hiding something, and she was being quiet and reserved. Quite early in the day, she said she was going to visit her Uncle, and it wasn't until much later she came back. That evening, when Harry could stand it no longer, Harry confronted Claire.

'Claire,' he said, dragging her into a corner. 'Don't you think we should talk about last night?'

'Um...' Claire looked around nervously. 'Not now Harry.'

'Well if not now then when?' Harry asked, frustrated.

'I don't want to talk about it!' Claire's eyes welled up, and she rushed up to her dormitory.

'Hey, what's going on with you two?' Ron asked, as Harry slumped down dejectedly into a chair.

'Nothing,' Harry muttered.

Harry found it hard to get to sleep that night. How could he have let himself get his hopes up? How could he have been so stupid as to think things were going to go well for him for a change? Everything in his life always went horribly wrong, and he was starting to believe it was his fault. Maybe he was cursed; maybe he was destined to gradually lose everyone he was close to, one way or another. And this time, the blame was squarely on him.

Harry was alone in darkness. Where was Claire? He was looking for her, someone had taken her and he was looking for her, he knew that much. And yet all around him it was so dark, he could see nothing all around him. And then, so gently it sounded like a tickle in his ear at first, he could hear laughter. But soon it was all around him, so loud he had to cover his ears. And suddenly it stopped, and there was a flash of bright green light. And Harry could hear Claire screaming. Screaming and screaming and screaming...

Harry awoke with a start. His forehead felt like it had been slashed with a hot knife. Harry was vaguely aware that there was a commotion going on around him. Great, he must have woken everybody up. But as he became a bit more aware of what was going on, he realized this had nothing to do with him. People were leaving his dormitory, and going down to the common room, where Harry could hear something was going on. Harry stumbled out of bed, and, clutching his forehead, followed Seamus down the stairs. There was a group of people gathered around in their nightclothes.

'What's going on?' Harry drowsily asked Hermione, who looked pale and worried.

'Are you okay Harry?' she asked. He was still holding his head.

'Oh yeah,' Harry said. He was still in a lot of pain, but he hated people fussing about his scar. 'What's going on?'

'It's Claire,' Hermione said.

'Claire?' Harry exclaimed. 'What's happened t her? Is she okay?' He was suddenly gripped with worry.

'I don't know,' Hermione said. We were all asleep, and she just started screaming in her sleep. I tried to wake her up, but I couldn't she just carried on screaming...and shaking...Snape and a load of other teachers have gone up there.'

'Oh my gosh...' Harry said. Now he knew how everyone else felt when he had disturbing dreams.

Suddenly, Professor McGonagall, Madam Pomfrey and Snape came down from the girls' dormitory, Snape holding a pale and shaking Claire by the hand.

'Where are you going?' Harry asked, too worried about Claire not to say anything.

'We're going to see Dumbledore,' Snape said.

Claire looked over at Harry. She looked almost afraid, he beautiful eyes wide. And then with that, she was gone.