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Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters (besides Clara)
Later that same day, Harry, Ron and Hermoine all headed down to the Great Hall for breakfast. There was a quietness between the three of them after the talk Harry and Ron had while they proceeded down the staircase.
"Is there something the matter with you two?" Hermoine blurted as they reached the bottom of the stairs. Harry wasn't sure if she had noticed the silence between them, but sure enough, she noticed.
"No, were just er…tired," Harry replied, halfway in a daze. He wasn't prepared to have a better excuse then that for why they were quiet. Hermoine's eyebrows shot up as she looked between Ron and Harry, expecting them to elaborate.
They did not, however; so she just sighed and kept walking as she said, "Don't tell me you both are still moping over Clara being gone?"
Harry stared at her with disbelief; how she could think they were still moping over Clara when they were never moping in the first place? Sure, they were sad that she was gone, but they didn't mope about it! As Harry was just simply staring, Ron managed to sputter, "D—but, we…we never were moping!"
Hermoine let out a laugh at this comment. Ron was gawking at her with an irritated expression when he realized, she actually thought that he was joking. When Hermoine just kept on laughing, it was too much for Ron. "There was nothing funny about that!"
Hermoine managed to collect herself as she said lightly, "You don't have to deny it, both of you have been pining about her since she left." As she looked between the two of them, she was still smiling at what Ron had said. Hermoine found it preposterous that Ron tried to say he didn't think about Clara every waking second.
"I have NOT been pining," Ron tried to say defensively. He hated to admit how much he really did like Clara.
"Oh, really? Well, then why is it that every time you hear her name, you drop everything you are doing and listen?"Hermoine wasn't smiling any longer; she was just staring at Ron, awaiting an answer. She had never liked Clara one bit, and the fact that her two best friends would totally ignore her opinion was hurtful.
"Okay, fine. So I miss her, big deal," Ron replied, trying to pass it off like it actually was no big deal. Hermoine didn't see it that way though; she thought it was a huge deal.
Harry was remaining silent during this heated debate because he saw no reason to get himself caught up in the middle of it. The last thing he wanted was to talk about Clara with Ron. Harry found it difficult to speak to Ron about Clara, which was understandable, given the unfortunate circumstances. He hated keeping a secret from Ron, but he had done it before, and he could manage to do so now. It was all he could do.
"Ron, why do insist on being embarrassed about liking someone? You should have done something about it!" Hermoine urged, as they entered the Great Hall. Harry was wondering why Hermoine would say this, when she knew that he had kissed Clara. He thought that she understood that he had feelings for Clara too, but he could never do that to Ron. Maybe she didn't know, Harry supposed, maybe must have thought that he kissed Clara, but felt nothing towards her. Which Harry was sorry to say, was a lie.
"Enough you guys. Let's talk about something else," Harry asked quietly while sitting down at the table. Ron just shrugged and let the subject drop, but Hermoine stared at Harry for what seemed like hours, until she finally sat down next to him.
The rest of breakfast went by fast as they talked about everything besides Clara. Harry was glad that Hermoine didn't push the subject, but was wondering what was on her mind when she was looking at him. He pushed this thought to the back of his mind however, as he prepared to go to class.
The bell rang, and the three of them all got up to get ready to go to Transfiguration. As they walked out of the Great Hall, Harry spotted Hagrid looking distressed while talking to Dumbledore. A second later, Ron noticed Hagrid's distress as well and called out to him, "Hagrid!"
Hagrid stopped talking to Dumbledore, and turned to look at them. He looked guilty somehow, like a child who had stolen an extra cookie or something. He was hiding something. "Yer shud get ter class now" Hagrid mumbled as he quickly walked in the opposite direction of them.
Harry was a little stunned at Hagrid's behavior, but he made a mental note to visit him as soon as possible to see what was wrong. He knew that something had to be wrong for Hagrid to act this way.
"What was wrong with him?" questioned Hermoine as they kept walking to class. Both Harry and Ron just shook there heads in wonderment because neither of them had a clue. It was odd conduct, no question about it, but Harry knew they could get it out of Hagrid what was wrong when they went to visit him.
Finally, Ron, Harry, and Hermoine arrived at Transfiguration class and plopped down in their usual seats. They turned towards each other and Ron spoke exactly what was one Harry's mind, "Were visiting him as soon as school is out."
They all nodded in agreement as Professor McGonagall entered the classroom and called the class to order. She explained to them that they would be learning how to transform their desks, into a dog. It was a difficult task that would require their full attention, but the whole class, all Harry thought about was knowing what Hagrid was up to.
"Harry, you are waving your wand wrong. It is not in a circle, but more of a zig-zag, see," Hermoine suggested at him when he yet again turned his desk into a headless dog. His focus was somewhere else though, and it was useless to even try. Ron wasn't having much luck either; his dogs always had an extra tail and no legs.
"Okay, I'll try," Harry responded, halfheartedly. Before he could though, there was a small knock on the door.
"Come in" said Professor McGonagall with a curious expression on her face.
The door opened to reveal the one person on Harry's mind for weeks on end, Clara. She was back, and Harry couldn't help but feel breathless, but able to finally breath at the same time. He dropped his wand as she meekly smiled at McGonagall. Clara just stood there and Harry didn't notice if anyone else had realized if she was there or not, but he sure did and he couldn't take his eyes off her.
"Sorry to interrupt Professor, but I just got back," she said. Professor McGonagall nodded, as Clara seemed float towards Harry. He was so happy that she was back and he loved to have her near him. He smiled at her as she came near and it seemed to Harry as if no one else was there.
That was, until Hermoine gave him a violent nudge to shake him out of his dream. She glanced over at Ron, and Harry knew what she meant. He couldn't do this, not in front of Ron. So Harry simply had to watch as Ron got up to hug Clara and laugh with her for the rest of class.
The sadness that Harry felt because he couldn't show his true feelings to Ron, was nothing compared to the happiness he had that Clara was back. He was just happy to be able to see her again, even if he couldn't be with her in the way he wanted to be. Harry didn't know exactly when he realized that he liked Clara so much, but he did know that when he had kissed her, he felt something. It was just when she left, that he must have known that he loved her, in a way that he had never cared for someone before.
The day had been an excellent one for everybody, now that Clara was back in their lives. Ron was happier than Harry had ever seen him and Harry still just loved the fact that he was able to see Clara again. It was now late into the night and everyone was sitting by the fire. Hermoine, Ron, Harry and Clara's faces all glowed with the light the fire projected. Ron had been informing her about everything that had happened while she was gone, including their forever-famous fight in the Great Hall.
While the stories were starting to diminish, Harry realized that Clara hadn't spoken much about what she had done since she left. He wanted to know, but was too polite to ask. Luckily, he didn't have to.
"So, did…er anything happen with you?" asked Ron cautiously, knowing that this might not be the best subject to bring up.
Clara shifted in her sear slightly before she replied, "Well, I had to go to my mothers funeral, which was…not what I expected." She paused while she looked around at all of their puzzled faces as if she was trying to decide whether or not to tell them something. She must have decided to tell them because she continued to say, "I have never told you this, but ever since I was little, I never knew my father. My mom said that he was a bad man and so she had to get away from him. She told me that he died shortly after she left him in London, but she lied to me. At the funeral, my Aunt Rosalind told me the truth."
Harry was taken aback by this new information. He had always wondered what had happened to Clara's father, but always knew that she would tell him when she was ready. Now she was finally telling him, and he wasn't sure if he really wanted to know. Clara didn't need to be reliving whatever happened to her in America, and Harry didn't want her to be uncomfortable while retelling the story. Harry kept his mouth shut though, while Hermoine inquired attentively, "What was the truth?"
Clara shook her head as she stared into the fire; just like she did the night Harry kissed her. She looked just as beautiful as she did that night too, only happier. Her hair was halfway pulled up and was waved perfectly, almost like it was still wet from the shower. She was still wearing what she wore during the day; her baby blue skirt, that seemed to be teasingly short and poofy, and her white off the shoulder top, that was fit her every curve. As Harry stared intently at Clara with penetrating eyes, he remembered Hermoine's question and waited for a response. It took a moment for Clara to decide what to say before she answered, "That my father is still alive, and that he never even knew my mother was pregnant with me. My mom ran away to the U.S. before she told him that she was with child. He never even knew that he was going to be a father."
The room seemed to be silent for a long moment, because no one knew quite what to say; there was nothing anyone could say, either. Clara didn't notice the silence though. Amidst the quietness, Harry observed that she didn't seem to be sad or on the verge of tears, but she seemed to have anger. She was furious with her mother for lying, all those years. Clara must have felt cheated out of having a father, by her own mother, and Harry could relate to that feeling. He always had felt cheated out of having parents by Lord Voldemort.
Now Clara was without a mother, but at least she had the comfort that she had a father, out there somewhere. As this last thought crossed Harry's mind, a question arose as well. Harry felt that he had to ask, "Did your Aunt tell you who your father is? Where to find him?"
Clara shook her head as she replied, "My Aunt didn't even tell me his name; she only said that my father was not the bad man my mother told me he was." Clara swallowed hard as she finished her words and had a conflicted look in her eyes. Harry knew that it would be horrible, having your mother die only to have your Aunt tell you that she was a liar. At least though, she was finally able to know the truth and realize that she has a father out there somewhere. After a few minutes of complete silence from everybody, Clara whispered, "I am tired you guys, thanks for listening and everything, but I'm going up to bed." She smiled faintly before getting up and headed towards the stairs.
Everyone else seemed to be getting ready to go up to bed too, and Harry just had to tell Clara something before she went to sleep. "Clara!" Harry called as he walked over to her. When he was within a foot of her magnetic eyes, he gently whispered, "I missed you"
"I missed you too" as Clara breathlessly whispered these long-awaited words, Harry had a feeling that if Ron and Hermoine weren't in that same room, that Clara would have leaned in for another passionate kiss; and Harry knew, that he would have let her.