mirrorball

chapter sixteen

"Clara Dupont." the voice of her father echoed through the hall. At least he wasn't yelling, "How DARE you enter that ridiculous club!" Scratch that. All heads were turned towards Clara, and she wanted to shrivel up and die. But she couldn't do that, she would force herself to be strong. "And don't think I'm stupid enough to believe that it didn't actually happen, I'm no fool. I raised you to be better than this. You shouldn't be running around with those kinds of people! You are a Dupont! Duponts do not hang around delusionals and traitors. As soon as you get home this summer, you'll be relearning what it means to embrace tradition. Disobey me again and there will be consequences much bigger than embarrassment and humiliation. That's a promise. I am beyond disappointed in you, Clara. "

The letter shriveled up and Clara let out a shaky breath. She got up as silently as she could, and walked towards the Great Hall doors. She caught Draco's eyes, he almost looked sorry. Godric that boy was too confusing to deal with. She exited the large doors and began to run. She didn't know where she was going, but all she wanted was to get away. She needed to cry, she needed to be alone. A quiet patch of grass under a tree in the courtyard was the chosen spot. There was still another thirty minutes of breakfast, and that was plenty of time for Clara to let things flow with no one to watch. Her eyes began to water and she pushed her head into her hands as tears began to spill out. The salty drops of humiliation ran down her cheeks quickly, as if racing to her chin. Her head began to pound, which only made her cry more, and Clara tried to ignore the giant sobs that were escaping her lips.

Tiny footsteps brought Clara's head up. She sobbed once more, and searched for the creator of the sound.

"Luna?" 

"Er- not quite." Harry Potter's voice said quietly.

"No." Clara said. She got up and began walking. Harry's arms were quickly wrapped around her, apparently she had misjudged which direction his voice had come from. "No, no no no, no no-"

Clara's cries were hushed by Harry, who had brought her back to the tree. Clara hid her face in her hands and struggled against Harry.

"Please, leave me alone, Potter."

"Why? Too proud to cry in front of people?"

"If you must know, yes I am. So I'd really prefer-"

"That's stupid. Maybe if you let people know you're hurting they wouldn't be so scared of you."

"How many times do I have to tell you?" Clara said, her hands still covering her face, "I like it that way."

"Well, you don't look too scary right now." Clara's shoulders dropped and she let her body fall back to the ground. Harry sat next to her, and tugged at her arms. "You honestly just look pathetic."

A sob escaped from Clara, causing her grip to loosen. Harry took this opportunity to remove her hands from her face. Clara looked at Harry completely defeated. Her eyes were puffy and she knew she looked like hell. Tears began to flood her eyes again as he examined her.

The crying started once more and Harry paused for a moment. Clara pushed herself into his chest and immediately his arms were wrapped around her and his hand was patting her head. Clara sobbed loudly, no longer able to control the emotions that were trapped inside of her. It took ten minutes until Clara's eyes were too dry to produce any more tears. She rested her head on Harry and played with his vest. Harry tapped her slightly and she raised her head. He smiled slightly at her and pushed some hair out of her face.

"You look like shit."

"Godric, I hate you."

Clara sat up and smiled at the boy. He laughed and brushed off his trousers, which were slightly covered in dirt. She leaned her head against the tree, taking in this moment. It wasn't peaceful, that's for sure, but she was calmer than she'd felt all year.