maple syrup | remus lupin [1]

8. quidditch practice

And of course, her stepbrothers and their friends were the main attractions. Well, mostly Nolan. Nicolas had always been more of a follower, being a year younger and all.

Nolan and Nicolas were both beaters on the team, Evan a keeper and Regulus Black a seeker. They all stood together facing the Ravenclaw team, looking far too proud of themselves.

Claudia was angry without even hearing the conversation as Nolan spoke to Inez and the Ravenclaw team captain Stephen Boot.

"I've already told you Clarke, the pitch is ours for another ten minutes!" Inez yelled at him, to which he shook his head.

"But how could ten minutes possibly help your terrible team?" He smiled meanly. "And besides, why did Slughorn inform us that the pitch was free if it wasn't?"

"Maybe he was wrong?" Mary Johnson, a second year chaser, spoke up.

"Shut your mouth you filthy little mudblood!" Nolan snapped, which caused the whole team to look at him in disgust, and an angry Claudia to storm right up to him.

"Stop calling people that you complete arse!" She hissed, "And especially not to a twelve year old! Are you completely daft?"

"What's wrong little Claude? Angry because daddy wouldn't let you play quidditch?" He teased.

That was true. Charles didn't let Claudia play quidditch. It was apparently "unladylike", and the last thing she should do if she was going to find a suitable pureblooded husband to marry, because that was the only purpose of her life.

Claudia was to marry a pureblooded boy - which was Charles' biggest concern in life considering most of them didn't want a halfblood.

But, they did want a Maple, and most of the boys trailed after the girl since she always behaved just the way she was supposed to - at least that's what most people saw.

Claudia wanted to play Quidditch badly. She had played it when she lived with her mother, as well as with her aunt, and it was always a talent of hers. She used to play it with her American cousins and aunts and uncles - people she wasn't allowed to see anymore - and she used to play the position of Seeker.

"No! I'm angry because you keep walking around pretending that you are better than everyone else just because of your blood status!" She spat, to which Nolan narrowed his eyes.

Claudia didn't believe in that blood-supremacist crap, she was simply disgusted by it. At home she had to pretend like she was fine with it, which caused her insides to turn every time. She told her stepbrothers off at Hogwarts for saying disgusting things about muggleborns and halfbloods, but she never repeated it or did it in a way that made them furious.

Her father had of course gathered that she wasn't all for blood supremacy, which was another one of his reasons to hate her. Her brothers did tell him that she told them to stop saying mean things, but when he asked her about it she said it was because she wanted to protect her brothers' reputations.

That lie did not go past him.

"Your father will hear from me," Nolan said sternly, and Claudia felt a pit form in her stomach, but she shrugged it off and looked away, only to see the sad look on Mary Johnson's face, tears building up in her eyes.

Claudia locked eyes with Inez, silently telling her that Nolan was not worth it - since she had a tendency of taking things a bit too far. After that she grabbed Mary's hand softly and led her away from the Slytherins.

"Don't go, Sunshine!" Evan yelled after her. Claudia was too annoyed to even pay attention to him in that moment.

She walked towards the castle with the girl, only to stop by the entrance as she heard a small stifled sob from beside her.