The Engagement
"Come with me," Barraclough said to Claudia one slow morning in late September.
"Where are we going?" she asked as she run out of the office after him.
"We're going to interview Colten's deputy," he replied, "I've tried once already but I though it's worth another go."
"And you are taking me with you?"
"Don't make me regret it."
Claudia run after the Senior Auror all the way to the Improper Use of Magic Office. She was nearly out of breath when they got there and Barraclough knocked on a door with a golden label that read, 'Deputy Head, Miss D Umbridge'.
"You can smell the stench of bigotry and careerism all the way here," he said and, with a sigh, knocked. "Brace yourself…"
Before Claudia could ask why, she heard a high-pitched voice through the door. "Enter!"
Barraclough did as he was told and entered a round office that looked nothing like the rooms in the Auror Office. It was covered in fluffy cushions and, on the walls, there were several decorative plates with kittens on them. At a large oak desk sat a short, broad woman with a pale face.
"I told you everything I knew, Aiden," she said overtly sweetly. But Claudia could also hear a hint of viciousness in her voice. She recognised that duplicity. It was exactly the tone her mother deployed when talking to Claudia in front of any company.
"Just double-checking couple of things, Dolores." Barraclough replied resolutely and sat down at the chair opposite their witness, who Claudia assumed to be Miss D Umbridge. "And I brought my trainee. This is Claudia Avery."
"Avery?" Umbridge asked and sat up just a little straighter.
"Yes," Claudia said through gritted teeth.
"Take a seat dear," Umbridge beamed and pointed at a free chair next to Barraclough. "Are you Frederick Avery's daughter?"
"Sadly-" Claudia began but stopped abruptly when she felt a very sharp pain in her calf. Barraclough had kicked her. Suddenly, it all made sense. He did not bring her so that she could learn. He brough her because if there was someone this woman was to speak to with respect, it was Frederick Avery's daughter. "Sadly," Claudia continued, shooting Barraclough a furious look. "I don't see my father much. He is very busy at work."
"That is a shame," Umbridge said with a smile, "your father is a great man, an example to us all."
"He is indeed," Claudia said slowly. "May I ask you a few questions?" she added tentatively with a side glance at Barraclough, who gave her a barely noticeable nod.
"Of course," Dolores said. The change in her mannerism could not have been more obvious.
"We are trying to build a better picture of Mr Colten's life," Claudia began.
"But why, my dear?" Umbridge interrupted her. "From what I have read in the Daily Prophet, he is as guilty as they get."
"The Prophet shouldn't be reporting any of it," Barraclough barked, "it's an active investigation."
Claudia jumped in before either of them could continue. "I know," she said with a smile. "But his defence is going to call a lot of character witnesses to say he was a law-abiding and upstanding wizard. It would be rather helpful if we could line up few witnesses on our own," she added significantly.
"Oh," Umbridge said with a smile. "In that case, you might want to speak to aurors Magpie and Poisonwood. Them and Colten had several disagreements." She paused and lowered her voice to a whisper. "And once, I found a note on his desk. To meet a certain Mrs Rosier in a nearby hotel."
"Thank you," Claudia said as sweetly as she could. "I'm sure all of this will be very helpful."
"We better get going," Barraclough said and stood up abruptly. "Good day, Dolores."
"Likewise, Aiden." Umbridge replied, and returned to her paperwork.
"Impressive," Barraclough whispered as they shut the door behind them.
"Thanks," Claudia smirked. "Glad my family connections are finally good for something," she said with a degree of bitterness in her voice, before continuing. "Is Aiden your first name? Do you know that woman?"
"We were in the same year. In Slytherin."
"You were a Slytherin?" Claudia beamed. "I thought I was the only one."
"Now there are two of us," he replied, and a faint smile crossed his face. "We should go interview Magpie and Poisonwood straightaway," he added.
"And Mrs Rosier?" Claudia asked.
"There, we need to be careful," Barraclough sighed. "If she is the wife of the Rosier I have in mind, we need to be very careful indeed."
"Is he a Death Eater?"
"Who knows," Barraclough whispered. "Probably. He keeps popping up in investigations but so far we did not manage to pin anything on him."
Unfortunately, talking to Magpie and Poisonwood led to nothing. All they had against Colten was that he did not want to hand over some juicy cases to the Auror Office. Rosier was the only lead they had.
Before they had time to investigate any further, the weekend arrived and with it, Lily's and James' engagement party.
Claudia found herself, yet again, in the Grand Hotel Birmingham. She was just checking in on the party-planner to confirm everything was in order, and when she was satisfied it was, she went up to the room where Lily was getting ready to tell her. Lily, Marlene, Mary were all there, as well as a girl that Claudia did not recognise. She was thin and blond.
"This is my sister, Petunia," Lily said to Claudia and turned to the blond girl. Claudia narrowed her eyes and measured her. She remembered all too well who Lily compared her sister to when they got drunk a few weeks back. "And this is Claudia, my friend," Lily added. Claudia had to smirk. It sounded strange when Lily called her that.
"Nice to meet you," Petunia said flatly.
"Likewise," Claudia mumbled and then addressed Lily, "everything is ready. You four have fun, I'll see you downstairs."
"Get ready with us," Lily pleaded. "Tuney is great with make-up and hair. She's doing all of ours."
"I'm not sure…" Claudia whispered.
"Come on, bridesmaid," Lily smiled. "Get on with the programme."
"Bridesmaid?"
"Of course."
"Fine," Claudia sighed. "Where do you want me?"
Petunia pointed towards an empty chair and got to work. There were no mirrors, and Claudia had no clue what Lily's sister was up to. She could feel a lot of pulling in her hair and smell some kind of foul spray, before Petunia even moved onto the make-up.
"Close your eyes," she said. For the next twenty minutes, Claudia sat rigid in the chair while this stranger touched her face with fingers and brushes. She winced at every touch. Finally, she applied the mascara and lipstick. "All done."
Claudia opened her eyes and looked into the mirror that Petunia was holding up.
She barely suppressed a gasp and stared at her reflection in horror.
Her short hair was back-combed so high it looked like a motorcycle helmet. When she touched it, she realised it was about as stiff too.
Her eyes were so heavy with purple eye shadow she could barely keep them open, and her lips were bright red. She hardly recognised herself, and not in a good way!
"What do you think?" Petunia asked.
"It's different," Claudia uttered, the shock still making it impossible for her to speak properly.
"I think you look pretty," Mary said. Claudia could not help but notice Lily's friend was also sporting the same eyeshadow and lipstick. But, somehow, it looked alright on her.
"Thanks," Claudia replied. "I'm going to get changed," she added and headed back to her and Sirius' room.
The moment Sirius set eyes on his girlfriend, he burst out laughing.
"That settles it," Claudia scoffed. "I knew I look like someone put lipstick on a ghoul."
"What the fuck's happened to you?" Sirius asked, trying and failing to suppress giggling. "I've never seen anyone look this uncomfortable in my life."
"Lily's sister happened." She sighed and looked at her watch. "People will start arriving soon. Can you go downstairs and greet everyone? I need to wash this off."
"Sure," he smiled. "I'd kiss you but…"
"Just go," she scoffed, and marched into the bathroom.
Claudia had to use all the cotton pads she brought to get rid of all that make-up. She used Sirius' conditioner and brush to get her hair back to normal volume. And after a quick shower, some gentle blow-drying, a bit of eyeliner and lip gloss, she was ready to get dressed. She threw on her dress and set off downstairs.
"Is everything ok?" she asked when she found Sirius.
"Now it is." He smiled and kissed her. He reached towards a bouquet on a nearby mantelpiece and broke off a single purple blossom. "You aren't a ghoul," he whispered, placed the flower behind Claudia's ear and kissed her again. "You're beautiful."
"Ehm, ehm," someone cleared their throat next to them. Claudia grudgingly parted with Sirius' lips and turned her head to see Lily's sister. "My sister was wondering if you knew what time the toast was supposed to be," she said icily.
"Tell Lily I'll be right there," Claudia mumbled, hopeful that she could steal another kiss before duty called.
"Tell her yourself," Petunia hissed and marched away. The absence of her handy work on Claudia's face was clearly bothering her.
Claudia went to find Lily.
"Back to being a tomboy, I see." Lily smiled when she spotted her. "You really did look pretty, you know."
"Your sister seems really annoyed," Claudia grimaced, "I'm sorry."
"It's not your fault," Lily said, "there was a bit of a kerfuffle at her wedding. She's been on edge since."
"What kind of kerfuffle?"
"Her husband is a patronising ass, and James was bit drunk."
"Say no more," Claudia chuckled. "Anyway, toast is at eight."
"Thank you," Lily said with a smile. "I meant it with the bridesmaid, by the way. I would be honoured."
"Thank you." Claudia smiled and brushed Lily's shoulder.
"Now, let's get these animals to sit down for dinner before we run out of canapes."
The dinner that followed was a bit awkward. Lily and James took the opportunity to tell everyone that the times had changed, and they were moving in together. James' parents took it well enough, but you could see it on Lily's family's faces that they were horrified.
Alice seemed little annoyed too. But Claudia suspected that had more to do with the fact that there was an empty seat next to her, rather than James' and Lily's living situation. Frank had not shown up.
Claudia and Sirius were finally in their hotel room, lying exhausted on the bed, fully dressed. Neither of them could face getting up, even to brush their teeth when they heard a tentative knock on the door.
"It's your turn," Sirius said. "I got up to get us water."
"Hero of our generation you are," Claudia scoffed and got up. She picked up her wand from the night table and walked slowly and silently over to the door.
Through the spyhole in the door, she saw Alice. Her face was all puffy, and she was desperately trying to dry her eyes.
Claudia swung the door open. "What happened?" she gasped. She could barely remember the last time she saw her best friend cry. This must have been bad.
Alice walked in without a word and dropped to sit on the bed. She looked at Sirius, then at Claudia.
"I need the bathroom anyway," Sirius said and got up. It was clear that Alice wanted to talk to Claudia alone.
"What's going on?" Claudia whispered when it was just the two of them.
"I think Frank's having an affair," Alice replied. Her tears were now flowing freely again. "He's distant, like he's hiding something from me. He never has time, and his excuses are pathetic. We work in the same office, for Merlin's sake. I know when he's working late!" she added and put her face in her hands.
"I'll get you a tissue," Claudia said and walked over to the bathroom, where Sirius was sitting by the door, clearly eavesdropping.
"No way Longbottom is having an affair," he mumbled. "Got to be the Order –"
"Shush!" Claudia hissed and put a finger across her lips. "You've been to his house, right? Could you see if he's there?" she whispered to Sirius as she bent over to get a pack of tissues from the drawers. "He needs to come clean." With those words, Claudia shut the drawer and returned to the bedroom, tissues in hand.
"Alice, Frank's just not the type," she whispered.
"You don't know that," Alice replied angrily, but stopped when she noticed Sirius walking past.
"Don't mind me," he mumbled. "Just going out for a walk."
"I don't even know that," Alice resumed. "We've spent no real time together. We're supposed to go on holiday next month but who knows."
Claudia tried her best to distract Alice for the next twenty minutes. Just as she was running out of things to say, Sirius came back, trailed by Frank.
Alice shot Claudia a very annoyed look.
Claudia put her hand on her friend's arm. "Trust me. You do want to hear this." She walked over to Sirius and dragged him away. "We'll be in the corridor."
They sat on the floor by the door. Claudia put her head on Sirius' shoulder and they waited.
"Why didn't you tell me?" they heard a raised voice coming out of the room, few minutes later. "You had me thinking you were having an affair!"
"I would not want to be in his shoes right now," Sirius mumbled.
"Speaking from experience, Alice can be terrifying when you try to hide things from her. She's going to kill me when she found out I knew."
"This is the stupidest thing I've ever heard." Alice's voice carried through the thin walls again. "How is not knowing keeping me safe?"
"I see why you two are best friends," Sirius smirked. Claudia poked him with her elbow playfully.
The argument between Alice and Frank dropped into an inaudible mumble again. But not for long.
"What do you mean?" Alice yelled. "Not appropriate for a married man? Are you married?"
"Uh oh," Sirius whispered. Claudia jumped up, and they both rushed to their room to help prevent the impending bloodshed.
"No. Of course, not!" Frank quickly defended himself. Alice was standing in the middle of the room. She was bright red in her face and her fists were clenched. "But I was hoping to be married quite soon," Frank added.
"What are you saying?" she said, her voice now much softer and breaking slightly.
"This isn't exactly how I planned it," Frank mumbled and glanced at Sirius and Claudia, who were both standing on the threshold of the room, completely frozen. "But what the hell."
Frank dropped to one knee and rummaged through the breast pocket of his jacket. "Alice Adler." He finally said and produced a ring. "Will you do me the honour of becoming my wife?"
"You have a ring," Alice stuttered.
"Had it on me for months," Frank said, blushing. "I just saw it one day and knew it was the one I would want to give you."
"I don't feel like we should be here," Sirius uttered and took few steps back into the corridor, dragging Claudia with him.
They grinned at each other and kissed.
"We better get going," Claudia heard a faint voice behind her. She turned. There were Frank and Alice standing in the door, holding hands and smiling coyly.
"I said 'yes'," Alice whispered.
Claudia flung her arms around her best friend.
"I'm so sorry I didn't tell you," she uttered in Alice's ear. "Frank made me swear."
"I thought of a perfect punishment for you," Alice chuckled. "You're going to plan my wedding."
Claudia opened her mouth to protest, but Alice cut her off.
"Lily told me who really planned this party," Alice chuckled. "So don't even try to weasel your way out of this one." She added, and let go of Claudia.
"This is what I get for being nice." Claudia scoffed.
Frank and Alice disappeared down the corridor, and Claudia and Sirius finally managed to get to bed. At breakfast the following day, Claudia was chatting with Lily when she spotted something unusual. Mary and Remus were coming down to breakfast together, walking perhaps a foot closer to each other than one would expect.
"Are those two a thing?" Claudia whispered in Lily's ear.
"I do hope so," Lily giggled. "Mary wanted to ask him out for ages. She desperately wanted to go with him to that ball when he asked you. "
"I didn't make many friends that evening, did I?" Claudia grimaced. "Marlene still hates me."
"Nah," Lily reassured her friend. "She doesn't. She's over her crush on Sirius."
They had to stop gossiping as Mary and Remus joined them. Remus was smiling shyly, and Claudia knew exactly what that meant. She was glad he finally managed to find a little bit of happiness for himself.
Barely a minute later, James, Sirius and Peter turned up. "Can we borrow him?" James asked.
Claudia and the other girls watched as James dragged Remus to the other corner of the room and handed him what looked like a key. There was an animated conversation. It looked like Remus was trying to give it back and James and Sirius were having none of it.
"What do you think is going on?" Claudia asked.
"I'm sure Sirius will tell you." Lily smiled.
"Tell me!"
"I was sworn to secrecy."
But Claudia did not have to wait for long to find out, as Sirius told her on their way home. James and Sirius decided to rent Remus a studio in Camden, so that he could finally move out of his father's house and did not have to live in the hovel on the moor that he used for his transformations since leaving Hogwarts.
Just as they got home, a small owl landed on their windowsill. It brought a brief note that read, 'Warehouse C, Canal Reach, King's Cross'. It was the location of the next Order meeting that was due to take place in two days' time.
It took them ages to find the warehouse. When they finally got there, Frank was already up and speaking.
"Few weeks ago, James, Sirius and I met with a source who passed on some further findings of that research Daily Prophet began spouting," Frank explained.
"How bad is it?" Fabian asked.
"You'll have a job on your hands, trying to balance it out," Frank replied. "It's obviously bogus, but convincingly written."
"More importantly," Moody jumped in. Claudia was getting the sense her boss was not a patient person. "We know who's funding it. Lucius Malfoy."
Sirius groaned and so did a couple of the others. Claudia was pretty sure she knew why. She met him once at the Blacks' Christmas party and he looked like a right asshole.
"He was in my year at Hogwarts," a young man, who Claudia was pretty sure was Fabian's brother Gideon, pitched in first. "From what I remember, very rich and very opinionated. He once tried to recruit me into a secret Sacred Twenty-Eight club he was running."
"Did it turn out to be the Death Eaters?" Fabian chimed in jokingly.
"We will never know," Gideon replied. "Should've joined, really..."
"Anything to add, Black?" Moody asked. "Since you're related?"
"I don't know him." Sirius said through gritted teeth. Clearly, he did not enjoy being reminded of his family in front of everyone. "My cousin married him around the same time I've left home."
Sirius was spared further interrogation as Dumbledore walked into the meeting at this precise moment.
"We're just talking about the propaganda campaign," Fabian explained as Dumbledore sat down.
"Good timing," Dumbledore said and reached into his pocket. "These started appearing around Hogwarts," he added and threw a bunch of leaflets on the table.
Sirius picked one up, and Claudia peeked over his shoulder to read it. It was the same garbage she read in the Daily Prophet few months back. Muggleborns were not born strong enough to contain their magical powers. They were unstable. They needed to be tightly monitored and controlled.
"Any idea who's behind it?" someone asked.
"I have a hunch," Dumbledore whispered and looked towards Sirius, who has been staring at the leaflet and crunching the edges in his hands.
"Are you going to stop him?" he said through gritted teeth. "This is vile."
"Frankly, I am somewhat relieved that this is what they have chosen to spend their energy on this year." The Headmaster said and gave the new recruits a knowing look. It was true. Handing out some leaflets was a lot better than trying to eradicate all the muggleborns of Hogwarts. "Moreover, it had inspired bit of a response from the rest of the students."
"Heart-warming… Can we move on?" Moody barked sarcastically, but did not wait for an answer. "Prewett, report back next week on any developments at the Prophet."
With that, the meeting moved onto the next agenda item, You-Know-Who's attempts to recruit dark creatures into his ranks. Claudia found it hard to concentrate on the account of Sirius sitting next to her, clearly fuming. He was breathing heavily and tearing the leaflet into dozens of little pieces.
"Are you alright?" Claudia whispered as the meeting was breaking up.
"I'm not alright," Sirius hissed. "Reminds me of what happened. Shouldn't have let him get away with it."
"Come on," Claudia replied and tried to touch his arm, but Sirius pulled away. "We've been through this," she added in a tired voice.
"I don't want to talk about it, alright?" he snapped. "Can we just go?"
Sirius had not said a word the entire way home.
"I'm going to the garage for a bit," he finally spoke when they were standing in the mews in front of their building.
"It's late."
"Don't wait up."
Claudia sighed, but made her way upstairs. They had been dating for over a year and a half, and friends for much longer, and she knew by now when best to leave him be. When he was ready, he would talk to her.