"Were you ever going to tell me?" Clara asked her father, a few hours after finding the note from her mother.
"Dear, you said you didn't want to know, I wasn't going to go against your wishes like that," Lewis sighed. His daughter was curled into herself on the couch, her eyes red and puffy.
"I know, but…" she trailed off, before shaking her head and closing her eyes.
"Would you like some dinner? I made your favorite."
She glared at her dad. Logically, she knew he was trying to help, but she didn't want to look at the situation logically.
"No, dad, I'm not hungry. I'm going to bed."
Clara stood and turned, before looking back.
"Sorry. I just need some time."
Everything was different now. In the dark, she laid in bed and stared at the ceiling. All this time, Clara had assumed that it was her father's Muggleness or a lack of affection that had caused her mother to leave all those years ago. But it wasn't. How could the woman have looked at her husband and young daughter and decided that they didn't deserve her love and attention just because they couldn't do magic? She couldn't help but wonder if they would have been fine if Clara hadn't happened. Had they planned for her? Was she an experiment, created to save a dying marriage with her outstanding magical ability that came a year too late? She was crying again. Maybe if her mother had left before Clara was old enough to remember her, it wouldn't have been as bad. But no, she had waited until the girl was 8 years old, full of love to give to her mother. Even as a child, Clara could remember the expectant look on her mother's face every morning. Now she knew why.
The morning came slowly. Clara had barely slept, despite her sore, swollen eyes. Everything hurt. Lewis came in several times to check on her, and each time she pretended to be asleep. He would sit on the edge of the bed and look at her, smooth her hair, and leave. Maybe talking would help, but she didn't have the energy for that. Around noon, she finally decided to sit up. Her immediate, piercing headache almost caused her to pass out. A glass of water sat on her nightstand, left by her father during the night, so she sipped the lukewarm water until she felt somewhat better. With a sigh, she stood and looked in the mirror. Her dark hair was matted to her head, the waves now bent and sticking out in odd places, and her face was red and puffy. Before venturing out of her room, she brushed her hair out quickly and pulled it into a bun. She walked out into the hall and stopped by the washroom to splash cold water on her face. It helped, slightly.
"Darling," Lewis rose from the couch and walked over to give his daughter a warm hug.
"Hi, dad."
He pulled away to look at her, "Oh, Clara. I'm so sorry you found out that way. If you would like to talk about it, I am always here, but I understand if you don't want to."
Clara shook her head and sat on the couch.
"I'll make you some tea," her father left for the kitchen.
She couldn't take it out on him. As much as Clara wanted to, he was just as hurt by her mother's abandonment. He was all she had, and she couldn't let her mother pull them apart. While she wasn't ready to talk about it, she also wasn't going to shut him out. Before Clara could talk herself out of it, she walked into the kitchen and gave her father a hug.
The next week passed. There were tears shed, a month's supply of tea drunk, and more hugs than Clara had received in her entire 16 years. She could not wait to return to Hogwarts, to be with her friends and forget about her home problems. On Friday morning, the girl was awakened by a tapping on her window.
"Finally!" she grinned, before jumping out of bed and rushing to the window. She pulled it open and the dark grey owl landed on the windowsill. He stuck out his leg and offered Clara the letter attached.
"Thank you, sir," she curtseyed as she untied the string. As soon as his job was finished, the owl took flight. Clara closed the window and sat on her bed to read her letter and supply list.
"Let's go early," Lewis decided. Clara was standing in the kitchen with her father, reading him her supply list.
"Are you sure? You don't need to go to work?" she asked.
"I haven't used one sick day this year… I think this is a worthy cause. It's been a tough week for us. Are you up to it?"
Clara just smiled and nodded.
Lewis walked over to the telephone mounted on the wall and coughed hard.
"Have to get the voice right, you see," he grinned at his daughter, before dialing his office.
Clara returned to her bedroom and looked through her wardrobe. After deciding on an outfit, she quickly got dressed and brushed her hair. Lewis had finished his phone call and was waiting outside of his bedroom.
"Ready?"
"Yes… we need to stop by Gringotts, as well. My purse is a bit light."
Her father sighed, "Do you make it disappear?"
"No magic outside of Hogwarts, dad. It's all going to good use, I promise," she grinned.
They made it to The Leaky Cauldron by noon. After a quick visit with Florean, who was now much busier with the first of the students, Clara worked through her list. She was finished within two hours. On their way back through The Leaky Cauldron, the pair stopped and ate an early dinner.
"Clara, thank you for not being too upset with me."
She looked up from her burger, "I'm not going to say I wasn't angry. But I understand why you didn't tell me."
Lewis smiled.
"Oh well, it's her loss, isn't it? She's off who knows where, while we're here, getting free ice creams," Clara enjoyed seeing her father happy. She was willing to push aside some of her negativity to cheer him up.
Lewis and Clara were home before dark. They spent the evening relaxing in front of the television, watching pointless comedies. Clara was sprawled on the couch, flipping through her new school books, while Lewis was sitting in his armchair.
"I hope our new Defense professor is nice," Clara voiced, "Last year's was a nightmare."
"What happened to her?"
"Oh… I'm not sure. She vanished. A few students saw her going towards the Forbidden Forest, but after that, who knows."
"That's awful," her father looked shocked.
"Not really. Atrocious woman."
Clara's final week at home was uneventful. She spent most of her time packing or reading bits of her new books. While she wasn't a top student, she did like to be prepared, and she was still fascinated by the information she learned. It made sense that a Muggle-born, Hermione Granger, was the top student in school. The Purebloods were usually bored by the school subjects, but the students from Muggle backgrounds were enthralled by the new way of life. She enjoyed all of her classes, but her absolute favorite was Transfiguration. Taught by the head of Gryffindor house, Professor McGonagall, it wasn't popular among her fellow Slytherins, but Clara was not shy about how idiotic she found this to be. The old woman was fantastic, and she made the already interesting subject completely captivating. One day before the train would leave King's Cross Station, Clara had already finished several chapters in her copy of A Guide To Advanced Transfiguration.
For her last dinner before leaving, Lewis made his daughter her favorite meal - roast beef and potatoes. As they sat at the dining table, Clara made her father make some plans for the year. She refused to let him do nothing but work and sleep.
"Darling, I'll be fine," he promised.
"I don't want you to be fine, dad, I want you to have a good time! Surely you could go out with people from work once in a while?"
"There is Jim... " Lewis looked thoughtful.
"See? Invite good old Jim over! Go out to a pub… just please don't sit around the house alone all year. Promise me?" Clara gave him the look - it had paid for more than half of her wardrobe.
"Alright," he sighed, smiling, "I will try. Don't think that gets you out of sending me weekly letters, though."
"Oh, heavens, no! Never," his daughter faked a horrified expression and laughed.
"You're okay, aren't you?" Lewis went serious.
Clara shrugged, before nodding, "Yeah. I can't just dwell on what has already happened. I'll drive myself insane. That goes for both of us."
Her father nodded, "I know. We have each other. That's enough for me."