"How fucking dare they!" the Minister yelled at Luella as he walked into the office that housed the Minister's assistants. "I need that legislation. Bunch of pompous arses-" He suddenly stopped and turned to Berenice. "And you should have warned me-"

Berenice raised her eyes. "Excuse me, Minister?"

"It's your job to warn me that I'm about to walk into a lion's den."

"But, I-" The rest of the sentence was strangled. Claudia could see tears began to emerge in Berenice's eyes.

"I will not tolerate such incompetence-"

"Minister!" Luella interjected resolutely.

But the Minister was not deterred. "You made me look like a fool-"

"Minister!" Luella voice was now so firm it bordered on yelling. That made the Minister freeze and look at her sheepishly. "A word in your office, please!" the Principle Private Secretary added in a tone that would scare a Dementor.

The Minister huffed, turned on his heel and marched into his own, personal office. Luella briefly placed her hand on Berenice's shoulder. "Leave this with me," she whispered.

Berenice stifled a thank you and collapsed back into her chair.

Claudia smiled awkwardly at her friend. "He was out of line," she mumbled. "You're good at your job, and you did warn him."

"I know I did."

"That man needs to get laid," mumbled one of the other assistants to the Minister, which resulted in muffled laughter around the office.

Berenice could not help but chuckle too. "Hundred galleons if you suggest it to him," she said and drew one last sob.

The chuckling got interrupted by Millicent Bagnold. "I've got a meeting with him at three."

"He's here," Claudia said.

Ms Bagnold sat down on a sofa where all the Minister's guests waited for their turn and opened a file to read. Claudia could not take her eyes of her. There was something imposing about this lady. Something that made Claudia instantly respect her. Every now and then, Ms Bagnold glanced at a watch and frowned more and more with each time. She clearly did not appreciate being kept waiting. Not even by the Minister.

Fifteen minutes or so after Ms Bagnold's arrival, Luella finally came out. "I'm afraid the Minister will not be able to see you, Millicent," she mumbled apologetically.

"Why?"

"There are some outstanding issues to resolve from the Wizengamont session earlier."

"I would hope so." Ms Bagnold frowned. "But I would have thought he might want the advice of his ethics chief after being accused of abusing his power."

"I will let him know you're available if he wants advice," Luella said.

"He does not deserve you, Luella," Ms Bagnold sighed and patted the Principal Private Secretary on her shoulder. "I don't know how you cope with him."

"I will let you know if he wants to reschedule the meeting."

Ms Bagnold chuckled and left the office.

Claudia tiptoed towards Luella's desk. "I know this isn't the best time. But I just wanted to remind you I'm leaving early today and have tomorrow off."

Luella leaned closer to Claudia. "Get out of here while you can, quietly and fast."

Later that evening, free from the clutches of the angry Minister, Claudia and Sirius were getting off a muggle train in Edinburgh. It was the safest way to get there; take Floo to York to shake off anyone who may have followed them, and then a muggle train from York to Edinburgh.

On the platform, Sirius threw his tattered backpack over his shoulder, grabbed Claudia's hand and they set off.

"This is not the direction of the hotel," she mumbled when Sirius took an unexpected turn. It was nice, albeit chilly, to be back in Scotland.

"That's because we're staying somewhere significantly nicer this time."

"Where?"

"Patience," Sirius replied with a wry smile.

"You know I have none of that," Claudia said with a laugh. "Where are we staying?"

Sirius came to a sudden standstill. "Here," he nodded towards a huge ornate building right next to the station. "The North British Hotel, the best Edinburg has to offer."

"Seriously?"

"I thought we deserved a treat."

Arms around each other, they stumbled into a grand lobby, flooded in the soft light.

"I feel seriously underdressed," Claudia mumbled looking down at her oversized jeans and jumper, and a leather jacket that was beginning to show signs of wear.

"I feel like I'm in my parent's sitting room," Sirius smirked and crossed the lobby towards the concierge. "Got a room booked. Under Minchum."

"Minchum?" Claudia mumbled in his ear, as the concierge looked through an old leather volume. She did not need a reminder of the Minister right at this moment.

"First thing that popped into my head," Sirius shrugged.

"Here you are Mr Minchum," the concierge said but trailed off and his brows came together. "You booked one of our top suites."

"Is that a problem?" Sirius said casually and leaned over the counter.

"Not a problem," the concierge recovered his false smile but could not quite stop his eyes darting from Claudia's shabby appearance to Sirius' disintegrating bag. "However, I will be requiring a small deposit."

"Fine," Sirius smirked and reached into his pocket to take out a bundle of muggle money. He took out a few notes and put them on the counter. "Would that be enough?"

"Sir-" The concierge, somewhat taken aback, reached for the money. "That's more than the room, Sir," he whispered with a slight bow.

"Put the rest on our tap," Sirius said curtly. "Key?"

"You enjoyed that," Claudia said with a smile once they refused help with their luggage, and were safely in the lift.

"Maybe," he whispered and brushed Claudia's hair out of her face.

The room was old-fashioned but grand, and it was now Claudia's turn to feel like she had walked into her parents' sitting room.

"Should we go out to get some food? I'm hungry," she said as they finished putting up the protective charms.

Sirius fell onto the bed. "Room service?"

"Sure," Claudia leaped into the bed next to him. "Have you seen the size of this bathroom? Not even my parents have anything like that…"

Sirius run his hand down Claudia's leg and planted a gentle kiss or two on her neck. "I wouldn't say no to a bath."

"Let's order food first."

"What do you want?"

"Steak and cake."

Sirius chuckled, kissed her again and then reached for the phone. Claudia got up and went to run the bath. Within minutes, Sirius had joined her, holding a bottle of champagne in his hand. They passed the bottle between them as they took a bath, ate their dinner in bed, loosely wrapped in hotel bathrobes.

Tipsy and full, Claudia fell into the dozen pillows that were meticulously lined up on the bed. Sirius crawled towards her and tugged on the belt of her bathrobe. He kissed her stomach. "Do you think the bed will hold up this time?" He mumbled before planting another kiss, and another…

The bed did hold up, Claudia and Sirius woke up late and – after two hours of just lying in bed - slowly staggered to have breakfast in the dining room. Claudia felt like every muscle in her body had turned into jelly. But the weather was too beautiful to spend the whole day in bed, so they set off for a little wander around town. They did not talk much. But they walked with their arms around each other, enjoying every second of the care-free morning. There were no Death Eaters to dodge, no Ministers to please, and no missions to go on. It was a stark reminder of what their life could have been like if they were born in a different place, or time.

Claudia felt exhausted. She felt like the only thing that powered her over the last year was sheer will (and industrial quantities of coffee). But now that she was relaxed, she felt the tiredness. She felt how drained she was after all that stress.

In the early afternoon, the stroll took them past a large, square building.

'EMPIRE STRIKES BACK' was printed in huge letters above the entrance.

Sirius squeezed Claudia's hand in excitement. "Have you ever been in the cinema?"

"Once, I think…" she replied, trying to remember her holiday with Eleanor's family.

"Let's go. Remus told me about these movies. Should be fun."

They bought the tickets and some sweets and took their seats. The room was, dark and the cinema was nearly empty on the account of it still only being early afternoon.

Claudia's head was resting on Sirius' shoulder and his hair was tickling the side of her face with every breath she took. Sirius fingers sought warmth underneath Claudia's jumper and were dancing, rather distractingly, over her bare skin. She had no strength left to stay awake. Not like this.

Sirius chortled and Claudia opened her eyes. How they were closed she did not even remember.

"They are exactly like James and Lily in the early days," Sirius whispered, pointing at the two people on screen – a young woman with braids on her head and a brash man dressed in rather tight pants and a waistcoat. "The bickering… it was constant!"

Claudia managed to keep her eyes open just long enough to see a figure, dressed in flowing dark robes, waltzing into view while dramatic music played.

"It's not very subtle who the baddies are, is it?" she mumbled. "The black costumes, the music… I wish it was this obvious in real life."

"Well, the death eating fuckers do have those masks they started to wear recently."

But Claudia's eyes were now firmly planted on the cinema screen. Spaceship after spaceship running in front of her eyes. "How did they do this? Without magic?"

"No idea…"

Soon enough, they got to laugh at James' and Lily's expense again, as Leia and Han (the couple from the earlier scene) kissed. "This is exactly what I imagine James' first kiss to be like. I bet he didn't know either whether Lily was going to kiss him back or punch him in the face."

"You're the one to talk," Claudia smirked. "You were so scared, I had to be the one to-"

But Sirius did not want to hear any more of those accusations. He leaned towards Claudia and kissed her. As their lips slowly parted, he whispered. "I wasn't scared of you. I was scared of-" he sighed. "I don't even know what I was scared of."

"Relying on someone, trusting someone…" she whispered. "You don't have to tell me it's hard."

"We've been together for too long," Sirius chuckled and kissed her again.

But their mood was ruined by that black-clad villain, who was using telepathy powers to strangle one of his underlings. Claudia was about to point out that this felt rather familiar also, but her blood froze when she looked over at Sirius.

He was leaning over his knees, and his fingers were clutching his hair so hard his knuckles were white. Claudia touched his back – he flinched briefly – and she could feel he was taking short, shallow breaths.

"Are you alright?" she whispered in his ear.

"Yeah, I'm alright." He managed between laboured breaths.

"Do you want to leave?"

Sirius shook his head and slowly sat up straight. "No." He took a few deep breaths. "I'm alright."

Claudia squeezed his hand; it was all sweaty. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah. It's just-" he trailed off.

"Regulus?"

"Yeah…"

For the rest of the movie, Claudia could barely take her eyes of Sirius, watching his every facial expression, every move.

He made eye contact and smiled. "Are you not watching? The green goblin just said that unless you have patience, you end up on the dark side." He let out a little laugh. "I think we'd both be fucked if that was really the case," he added, still chuckling.

But Claudia could not bring herself to join. This was Sirius. Sirius! Having a panic attack in a middle of a dumb movie. And worst thing was that it was not the least surprising. She cuddled up to his arm and held onto it with dear life.

"I'm your father,"

People in the theatre gasp when this sentence left the villain's mouth, as the hero of the movie trembled severely injured and in a near-death situation.

"Join me and we can rule the galaxy as father and son."

"Did not expect THAT plot twist," Sirius uttered.

"Boo-hoo," Claudia mumbled. "So his father is a monster. So is mine and you don't see me crying about it."

The hero saved, the movie was soon over, and Claudia and Sirius decided to walk up the hill where they had their dinner last time. And just like last time, they decided to buy fish and chips on their way.

But no matter how hard Claudia tried, she could not stop thinking about the end of that movie. It was easy to laugh off the fact that her father was a monster, a murderer… But how dd he get there? She knew almost nothing about him. What was he like when he was Claudia's age?

"Chip?" Sirius held out the bag as they walked in silence towards the foot of the hill.

"I'm not hungry…"

"Are you okay, Claude?"

"Hmmm?" she mumbled, still not entirely sure what Sirius was asking her.

"Are you okay?"

Claudia sighed "The movie. It was meant to be a bit of fun, but-" She paused and took that chip after all to compose herself. "Do you think we'll ever be able to just go see a movie?" she said with her mouth full. "Without you having a panic attack, or me having an existential crisis?"

"Are you having an existential crisis?"

"My father…" She took another chip. "Why is he the way he is? Was he ever just like us? Just like me?"

"I doubt he ever ate chips from a bag dressed in jeans."

"This isn't a joke!"

"I'm sorry," Sirius sighed. "I don't know how to deal with it. How you deal with it. How you deal with seeing him at work everyday."

"I wonder a lot what it would be like to kill him," she barked. "That helps."

Sirius stopped in his tracks and dragged her to a nearby bench. They were just at the foot of the hill, safely out of earshot of unsuspecting tourists and locals.

"What? You thought about that?" he whispered.

"Of course, I did." Claudia shrugged. "But it would not solve anything. They would just replace him with some other thug and use it to prove they are the good guys. Sticking to the rules is the only thing we have… That's the only way to win."

But that was clearly not the answer to Sirius' worry. "Have you really thought about killing him? For real?"

"Oh, don't be so horrified," Claudia snorted. "I cannot control what I think or feel." Her mind travelled back to the time on the doorstep of her parents' house. It was not a fleeting thought though. She imagined it. She wanted it. Her heart wanted to do it. But her head told her not to.

"You wouldn't go through with it, would you?" Sirius now dropped the fish and chips onto the bench, and fished out a pack of cigarettes out of his jacket pocket.

Claudia looked at him, his grey eyes were staring at her intently. "Genuinely?" she whispered. "I have no idea."

She took Sirius' cigarette out of his hand and dropped her head on his shoulder, blowing the smoke into the darkening sky. For a second, she worried she crossed some kind of line, but her anxiety dissolved when Sirius squeezed her tighter in his arms and kissed her head.

"Promise you'll tell me if you ever decide to do it…" he whispered.

"So that you can stop me or help me?"

It was now Sirius' turn to blow out a cloud of smoke towards the emerging stars. "I have no idea…"

They finished the cigarette and the fish and chips in silence, before Sirius stood up and offered Claudia his hand. "Should we walk up the rest of the way?"

They did and at the top, collapsed into the grass.

"Do you ever wonder…" Claudia whispered. Something had been on her mind throughout the hike up the hill. "Do you wonder how your life would have turned out if your parents were kind to you?"

"I wouldn't have run away," Sirius shrugged. "I'd be the head of the family now. Probably counting coin all day… I'd still have the bike though."

"And I'd be a Death Eater."

"No, Claude-" Sirius caressed her face. "Don't say that. You wouldn't have…"

"Yes, I would," she said with a bitter smile. "You don't have to pretend otherwise. I know who I am. I just confessed having homicidal thoughts…"

"Claude, you don't give yourself enough credit. You are a kind person."

Claudia laughed. "Right…" she scoffed.

"It's true! You want to do good in this world. You care about doing the right thing. You always have."

"You should take a trip inside my head to see what horrors you find there…"

Sirius put his hand on her heart. "I know what goes on in here. The way you care about me-"

"Well, I love you," Claudia interrupted him.

"And it's not just me. James told me about your help with his dad's business. And Lily" - he swallowed – "Lily showed me the letter you wrote to her."

"She shouldn't have done that," Claudia whispered but raised a small smile.

Sirius wrapped her in his arms. "And I saw you at the funeral with Harry," Sirius mumbled into her hair. "You were so good together. Watching you two just-"

That made Claudia laugh for real. "We aren't getting one," she replied. "We would fuck any kid up beyond repair."

Sirius grinned. "I only just got you back. No way I'm scaring you away with talk of kids."

Claudia sat up straight, studying her boyfriend's face. "Do you want one, though? One day?"

Sirius shrugged. "Maybe. It would be nice to do it right, you know. One day. When the war is over…"

Claudia kept staring at him.

"You aren't sold…" Sirius mumbled.

She sighed, remembering their conversation in the cinema. "I'm scared…" she uttered. They have come far since he beginning when they both struggled with expressing their thoughts and emotions. "I think it might be for the better if the Avery bloodline ends with me."

"I get that," Sirius sighed.

After that, they sat there in silence. It was now totally dark; the warm lights of the city were twinkling at their feet. The wind was picking up though, and the temperature was dropping. Involuntarily, Claudia shivered.

"Are you cold?"

"It's freezing."

Sirius grabbed her hand and apparated them both straight to the hotel room. There was no more drinking, steaks, or sex. They took a warm bath and went straight back to bed.

But Claudia could not sleep. She was lying there, staring at the dark, ornate ceiling.

"You awake, Claude?"

"Yeah," she mumbled.

"I would try to stop you," Sirius answered her question from hours ago. "Not because I don't think he deserves it, or that it would be wrong… But because you don't deserve to have that on your conscience."

Claudia turned over and buried her face in Sirius' chest. All was good again, at least until the next disaster that threatened to ruin their life came.

"How was your trip?" Berenice asked the moment Claudia walked through the door of the Minister's private office the following morning.

"Nice," Claudia mumbled and darted to her desk. She had no intention of re-living what was supposed to be an opportunity to get away from it all, but instead turned out to be a stark reminder that they will never be able to put this war behind them.

Mercifully, Berenice left her alone to read a paper that the DMLE produced on a potential new law to combat the rising number of hate-crimes against muggleborns. It was interesting, Claudia thought. But it was going to be controversial. The Minister was never going to get that through, not in his current position.

But her thought got interrupted when the Minister walked into his outer office.

"Everyone, my office," he said. "Now."

"Five galleon he's resigning," Claudia whispered as the got up.

"Deal."

They were the last ones to enter and Berenice closed the door behind everyone.

"I have decided to-" the Minister took a deep breath. Claudia and Berenice exchanged a look. "I have decided to call an election. I will make the announcement to the public shortly, but I wanted you all to know first." He cleared his throat. "I will of course run in this election."

Berenice smirked at Claudia. "You owe me," she mouthed.

"Luella" – the Minister turned to his Principle Private Secretary – "take the team through what that means for them."

"The election is going to take place in January at the earliest," Luella began. "The most important thing for you all to remember is that you are not to get involved in the campaign. You are all Ministry officials, and your duty is to the institution, not to whoever is occupying this office or any of the candidates."

"Berenice, Oliver, you will be assisting me in coordinating the whole endeavour," Luella continued. "Claudia, you will work with DMLE to make sure the security is up to snuff. A decision will need to be made on whether in-person voting will be allowed, or whether there will only be postal ballots. In any case, any campaigning events will need securing, candidates will need protecting."

Claudia had tuned out what other instructions Luella gave the other assistant to daydream about how exciting this was going to be. And once the briefing was over, she spent the rest of the day in meetings about election organisation, talking to the Minister's political team (the handful of people working for the Minister who were not Ministry employees and could therefore be engaged in his campaign) about a schedule of campaign events.

"Do we have the Prophet yet?" Claudia mumbled when she opened her eyes the following morning. She could feel on her face the room was freezing cold, and the last thing she wanted to do was to get out from under the duvet and search for the papers.

Sirius took mercy on his girlfriend, got up, and walked through the icy flat to get them a coffee and the papers, which were now being delivered to the garage under a false name as to not leave any trace.

"You aren't going to like this…" Sirius mumbled and threw the Prophet on the duvet before sitting back on the bed.

Claudia snatched the front page and froze.

'EXCLUSIVE: AVERY PUTS HIS HAT IN THE RING'

"Looks like you were right," Sirius' voice shook her out of a trance. "About your father running."

"I'm always right," Claudia sighed. "For better or worse." Her eyes scanned the page for the article.

'Frederic Avery, an experienced official from the Department of International Cooperation is today announcing his intention to run for the position of the Minister of Magic.

"This war has gone on for long enough," he said exclusively to the Prophet. It is time to end the intransigence of the current regime, restore peace and return the wizarding society to its former glory."

Mr Avery will thank his only son and glamorous wife for their support in the upcoming campaign. It is unknown to the Prophet what role his infamous daughter might play.'

"For fuck's sake," Claudia sighed. "I don't want to be in the newspapers again."

"I think that's the least of our problems if he gets elected."

"I know that-" she snapped. Frustrated, she threw the paper to the floor and jumped out of bed. "Going to the shower," she mumbled as her teeth clattered from the cold.

"Do you think he could actually win?" Sirius shouted after her.

"I don't want to talk about it."

The shower did nothing to improve Claudia's mood. She stomped into the kitchen and picked up the bread knife to cut up some bread. A nice thin slice…

"Ouch-" she screamed and grabbed her finger. For a moment, nothing came. Maybe she did not cut herself. But that hope was short-lived. Blood began to stream through the gaps between the fingers of her uninjured hand, and Claudia collapsed to the floor in sobs.

Sirius kneeled in front of her and healed it with one swish of his wand. "You're going to be alright. We are going to be alright."

The anger that she felt dissolved and was replaced by sheer desperation. "Unlikely. Everything is crap."

"I know." Sirius sighed and wrapped his arm around her. "I wish people just got their shit together before we lose this war," he grumbled. "Like, we all know your father is a Death Eater. But he's allowed to run for Minister? That's bullshit."

"Tell me about it."

"And I hate what's doing it to you."

Claudia looked up at her boyfriend. He was paler than she remembered. You could tell from his cheekbones he had lost weight, and there were dark circles under his eyes. "I'll be fine," she whispered. "I have you."

"Forget work today…"

"I can't. I have to go in."

"If it makes you feel any better, I'm going to be sitting around a safe house all day. I got some prisoners to guard." Sirius tried to smile but she knew him too well, it was clear he was a little concerned.

"Prisoners?"

"Oscar wanted us to keep them hidden for a week or so while he tries to find what they know, before Crouch gets his hands on them and sends them to Azkaban."

"Sounds like Oscar…"

"Meet home at eight before heading to the party?"

"The party… Yeah." she sighed. "I almost forgot."

But there was no respite for Claudia when she made it to the office.

"Morning, Avery!" Luella said. "The Minister wants to see you later."

"Grand," Claudia mumbled and dropped to her desk.

"Forgot you were an Avery." Tristan, one of the assistants asked. "Do you know Frederick? The guy running for Minister?"

"Well, he is my father…"

"Really? Didn't realise."

"Well, I've been trying to forget it."

"What is he like?"

Claudia sighed. "I need to go to the bathroom." She grabbed her notebook and disappeared. She closed the toilet seat and sat down on top of it, cross-legged. She felt a little bad being grumpy and defensive all morning. This was their downfall last time. Not again.

She picked up the notebook and a quill. "People are being very annoying. I don't want to explain to anyone why my father is an arse."

It did not take Sirius long to reply. "Just tell them he didn't want you to be an auror. Or that they don't like your boyfriend…"

"That's a good idea." She paused and scratched her head. "Sorry about getting so annoyed this morning."

"It's alright, Claude. If I was in your shoes, I'd be smashing up furniture."

Claudia chortled. "I love you."

"Love you too."

She slowly dragged her heels back to the office. Everyone stopped chatting when she walked in and tried just a little too hard to avoid her eye contact. "Fine," she hissed just loudly enough for everyone to hear her. "My father and I don't speak. He didn't want me to become an auror. Apparently, it's unbecoming for a young lady. Happy?"

No one dared to say a word. But Claudia must have been a little louder than she wanted to, as the Minister's head appeared in the door of his personal office.

"Avery, a word?"

"I'm sorry for raising my voice," she mumbled once they were alone.

"Not why I wanted to speak to you," the Minister said. "I have never forgotten what I saw when you were interning here."

Claudia swallowed. She had nearly forgotten about the Minister walking in on her father threatening her. "It's alright, Sir. I haven't spoken to him since."

"That's good, that's good," the Minister mumbled. "I'm glad you are safe."

Claudia managed a little smile. "Thank you."

"I was wondering," the Minister continued. "If you were to go and report that. Maybe speak to the Prophet even."

"Ah," Claudia exhaled. It finally clicked. The Minister was not concerned. He wanted her to sink her father's campaign. "No, thank you, Sir," she said coldly and marched out of the office.

"Obnoxious bastard," she mumbled. "Deserves to lose the damn election."

What followed was one of the worst work days Claudia ever had. Everyone kept staring at her, and asking probing questions. She wanted to tell them why she really hated her father. That he was a Death Eater and murderer. But if she snapped and did that, Moody would have her head.

"Miss Avery!" yelled someone after her, as she strode through the atrium, desperate to get out of there.

She turned and saw a small group of men, some with cameras, some with notebooks.

"Can we ask you some questions?"

"In your fucking dreams," Claudia barked and apparated home.

She pushed through the door and kicked the first thing that was in her path, the corner of the couch. "I fucking hate this!" she yelled and collapsed into the sofa.

Sirius dropped next to her, dressed in his tightest jeans and a shirt unbuttoned so low half his chest was showing – tattoos, meteorite necklace and all.

"I forgot about the party," she sighed when she noticed how dressed up he was.

"We don't have to go."

"No, we should," she tried to smile. "I'll get over myself and it'll be nice to see James."

Sirius pulled her into a tight hug until the anxiety drained out of her.

"I'll need go and change. These robes are too scratchy," she mumbled and stood up. "I miss the Auror Office dress code."

Claudia pulled on clean jeans, threw on a plain t-shirt, run some water through her hair, and was ready to go. And within ten minutes, they were both standing on the doorstep of James' and Lily's cottage in Godric's Hollow. James and Lily were there, as well as Alice, Remus and Gideon.

But the first words that came out of James' mouth did not exactly fill Claudia with confidence that she would be able to survive this evening. "I saw the Prophet had another article about your father."

"Tell me about it," Claudia said through gritted teeth. "I've been dodging questions about him all day." Sirius passed her a glass of firewhiskey, which she gladly took. "They all want to know why I'm not by his side, what do I think about my father running. Whether it would be good for my career." She downed the whiskey and extended her hand towards Sirius who obliged and filled it again.

"Do you think he might win?" James asked.

Claudia sunk to the sofa, closed her eyes and drank some more whiskey. She really did not want to have that conversation again.

"It's my birthday, James." Sirius growled. "Can we not talk about the man who wants me dead?"

"But if he's really running-"

"James!" Sirius barked. "No more talk of this, alright?"

For a few seconds, they all sat in silence and drank. Claudia then leaned towards Sirius and whispered a thank you in his ear. But before she could move away again, she could feel his warm touch on the back of her neck, pulling her even closer to him. They kissed. He tasted like whiskey, and cigarettes. For a second, Sirius played with her tongue in between his teeth…

Someone cleared their throat, and with a grin, Claudia peeled away. Sorry," she mumbled and rested her head on Sirius shoulder. He kept stroking her hair, it was as if the time had slowed. Everyone's laughs seemed longer, movements slower.

"I'm going to steal you for a bit," Alice grinned and pulled Claudia up to standing. "I need to head home soon."

"I feel like I haven't seen you for ages," Claudia whispered and hugged her best friend.

"That's because you're a workaholic and my baby is growing teeth."

"How's Neville?"

"Still does not sleep." Alice looked at Claudia with a familiar expression of concern. "How are you holding up about all this? Still in denial?"

"I-" Claudia paused and looked around the room. Remus and Gideon were sitting on the opposite sofa, about foot apart from each other, and chatting to James and Lily. They may have not been paying attention, but they were definitely within earshot. "Let's go to the garden for a bit." She grabbed Sirius' jacket and led Alice out of the back door.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing is wrong," Claudia shrugged and reached into the pocket of Sirius' jacket for his cigarettes.

"You smoke?"

"No," Claudia mumbled and lit it. "Nothing is wrong. I just didn't want the others to pry."

"About your father?"

"It's bugging me. Sirius has been a saint about it, but I'm not sure how much longer I can hold my tongue about who he really is. I feel so hopeless. I have to do something-"

"I'm going to say something you aren't going to like."

Claudia chuckled. "What else is new."

"Please be careful. I know I've said it a million times before, but I will keep saying it over and over. We are not fourteen anymore. The world is a much more dangerous place than it was then. And –" Alice paused and pinched the bridge of her nose. "There is no way I could face losing you."

"I've grown up, you know," Claudia replied. "I know what's at stake." She took a puff of the cigarette.

Alice sighed. "Moments like this, I wish I smoked."

Claudia outstretched her arm and offered Alice the cigarette.

"Can't. Suspect Neville won't enjoy the smell."

"Of course," Claudia mumbled somewhat embarrassed. The cigarette was nearly burned up anyway, so she stubbed it on a nearby garden wall. "Should we go back? It's freezing."

"I have to go home."

They hugged for what felt like an age. When Claudia got back to the living room, she watched Alice disappear in the green flames of the fireplace, before sitting back down next to her boyfriend. Everyone else were just as she left them, except Remus and Gideon, who were now sitting much closer together and Gideon had his arms around Remus' shoulders.

"Have you seen Peter?" Lily asked with a glance at the clock after about an hour of drinking and innocent chatter. It was now nine thirty. "He isn't usually late."

"Are we sure he isn't on a mission?" Remus asked.

"I don't think-" But the rest of Lily's sentence got drowned out by Sirius' whispering.

"Is there any chance we could get out of here?" He said before leaving a trail of gentle kisses on Claudia's neck.

Claudia chuckled before whispering back. "It's your party. I don't think we can just disappear home."

"But I want to," Sirius protested while suggestively drawing shapes on Claudia's lower back.

She could not quite resist to slide her hand through opening in his shirt and kiss him. "Well, you'll just have to wait-"

"What are you two whispering about?" Lily's voice interrupted Claudia's train of thought.

"Claude is ignoring the fact I'm the birthday boy, and my wishes-" Sirius began but Claudia flicked his arm.

"Shut up!" she said with a laugh.

A slight frown had appeared on Lily's face. "We were just wondering if we should go look for Peter."

"He's fine," Sirius shrugged sank back into the sofa. "Probably just lost. I'm not leaving my party because Pettigrew can't tell his arse from his elbow-"

"Peter!" Lily jumped up. "Where have you been?"

Claudia turned abruptly to face the door. Peter was standing in the doorway in a soaked overcoat. In his hand was a nearly empty bottle of wine.

"I waited at their flat for hours!" Peter snapped and angrily pointed at Claudia and Sirius. "They didn't tell me the party would be here!"

"Obviously it was going to be here." Sirius rolled his eyes, not even bothering to turn to face Peter. "You know they have a baby sleeping upstairs, right?"

"Oh, shut up!" Peter yelled.

A total silence ensued. But it did make Sirius turn around.

"I'm sick of you!" Peter continued. "You've been an arse to me ever since school. I don't know why I put up with it."

All Sirius did was to laugh. "You're pissed, Peter. Don't know what you're saying…"

"Peter," Lily whispered. "Sit down, have a cup of coffee."

"And it's all her!" Peter was not deterred and was now jabbing his finger at Claudia. "I hate her-"

"That's enough," Sirius barked and launched himself over the back of the sofa. "You will not talk to Claude like this, do you understand?. Not if you want to stay my friend."

"Friend?" Peter scoffed. "You don't give a shit about me."

Sirius slowly walked up to Peter, nearly baring his teeth. "Keep going like this and you'll be right." Sometimes he resembled that dog he could turn into more than a human.

The ensuing silence got interrupted by the cries of baby Harry.

"Thanks for waking him up," Lily said sarcastically and got up to go sooth her son.

But Claudia only had eyes for Sirius. She climbed over the sofa and reached for his hand, just in case he was thinking about punching Peter's lights out.

"You're going to apologise to Claude right now, not just for this, for everything," Sirius hissed.

Peter scoffed. "I'm going home. I don't have to listen to this."

"Right. Run-" Sirius began in an aggressive tone but Claudia grabbed him by the arm.

"You're both pissed," she hissed at Sirius. "Drop it."

"I cannot believe you're defending him," Sirius growled back.

"I'm not," Claudia whispered, all too aware that Peter was looking at her defiantly. "I just don't want you do something dumb."

"He can't help it," Peter sneered, turned on his heel, and took a few steps towards the front door. And just in time, as Sirius swung his arm at him but narrowly missed. "Thug," Peter mumbled and apparated.

Sirius stood frozen on the spot, breathing heavily.

"Should we go home?" Claudia whispered and put her hand on Sirius' shoulder.

But he shook it off. "You stay here. I need to go clear my head. He grabbed his jacket and strode out of the door.

Claudia collapsed back into the sofa and picked up her glass of firewhiskey. This was going to be just like last time, she thought as she downed it. "He's going to be alright-" she mumbled unconvincingly to James, Remus and Gideon who were the only people left. It did not escape Claudia's attention that Remus and Gideon were now holding hand. She was happy for Remus, happy that he finally felt confident enough to let someone in.

"Claudia," James began. "You don't have to pretend with us-"

But before Claudia could reply, the door flew open and Sirius marched back in, skidded to halt by the sofa Claudia was sitting on, gently pulled her towards him by the shoulders and kissed her.

"I promise not to do anything dumb. I just need to walk for a bit," he whispered as their lips parted. He was now staring into Claudia's eyes so intently, it nearly made him look possessed. "I don't want you to worry, alright? I love you."

"I love you too," she whispered and kissed him back. "I'm going to head home soon."

"I'll be there in an hour, I promise." Sirius gave Claudia one last kiss and vanished.

She turned back to face James again. "He's going to be alright."

With that, Claudia said her goodbyes and apparated home. And just as he promised, Sirius was back within the hour, his mood less angry but more solemn. He climbed into bed and squeezed Claudia in his arms. Nothing needed to be said. They knew they loved each other, and they knew this was not going to be like last time. They have grown so much since.

At six, Claudia got woken up by another of Sirius' nightmares. He was not screaming this time; he was laughing throughout.

"What the hell was this one about?" Claudia mumbled as she rubbed her eyes open.

"Peter was trying to kill me," Sirius chortled sleepily. "Can you believe it?"

"After yesterday, yes," she mumbled and threw her legs over the side of the bed. It was time to go to work. But the moment she stood up- "Big mistake getting up," she clutched her stomach. "Big mistake."

After a detour via the depth of the toilet bowl and a shower, Claudia got dressed and apparated to the Ministry. She had an early meeting about security for the election. Once at her desk, struggling to keep her eyes on the page and the contents of her stomach inside, she picked up the agenda for the meeting.

'Regular update on elections security – Agenda

1.Options for postal voting

2.Security of count location

3.Candidate security

Attendees – The Minister of Magic, Millicent Bagnold (Head of Propriety and Ethics), Maynard Carmichael (Under-Secretary for Election Matters), Achilles Nott (Head of the Census Office), Claudia Avery (Assistant Secretary to the Minister).'

What a line up, Claudia thought. Could have been Buttons and Anderson if they did not get murdered. If only they did not get murdered and replaced by Nott… She frowned. And by Carmichael.

"Fuck," she hissed. It all suddenly made sense. If her hungover brain was not failing her, both Nott and Carmichael were Death Eaters…

"What's up?"

Claudia looked at Berenice. "I forgot about my meeting with Moody," she lied as she gripped the incriminating piece of parchment. Her stomach turned as she stood up, but Claudia could not care less and broke into a run. "Got to find Moody," she huffed.

"Where is the boss?" she asked when she finally made it to her team's usual office

"And hello to you too," Oscar smirked. "What brings you down here, among us mortals?"

"Shut up," she hissed and bit her lip. The nausea was getting too much to handle. "Is he in?"

Oscar's face dropped and he nodded.

Clutching her stomach, Claudia opened the door to Moody's office. "They're trying to steal the election."

"Who is?" Moody barely looked up from the parchment he was reading.

Claudia crossed the room and slid her meeting document under Moody's eyes. "Who do you think?"

"Fucking hell," Moody mumbled and finally looked up at her. His eyes were sharp again. He looked better, healthier and sober.

"Yeah," Claudia sighed and briefly glanced towards the door. Oscar, Ewan and Adebayo have all joined now. "These high-profile murders… Anderson, Buttons… They did not get murdered because they were muggleborn. But because replacing them was the key to power."