BURN FOR YOU, sirius black

07. temper tantrum

It'd been four days since her first attack on Severus, three since the second, and Claudia couldn't bring herself to regret anything even if she tried, something she wasn't planning on doing ever.

Much to her displeasure, Madam Pomfrey wasn't keen on keeping a rabid teenage girl who rejected every form of care she offered, along with giving the students who had the misfortune of visiting the woman for everyday bruises and cuts the dirtiest of looks in her infirmary for any longer, quickly kicking the girl out after two nights spent curled up in her lonesome hospital bed despite the blonde's desperate pleas.

Remus had come back the day before Claudia was kicked from the infirmary with nothing but three chocolate bars and an embarrassed smile that made a weak grin creep onto the girl's tired face. He kept a kind distance from her, understanding why she'd be reluctant to any more smothering, especially from a near stranger, respectfully sitting on a chair beside her bed as the two students ate their treats in comfortable silence.

As Claudia stepped out of the infirmary and into the castle corridor, only after attempting to bargain with her caretaker and failing miserably, she felt eyes boring into the back of her head, a feeling she was used to, but always seemed to lift the hairs on her arm and neck. She brushed it off, making her way down the moonlight illuminated empty halls as she sent the sleeping paintings small smiles, envious of the peaceful expression on their faces.

The girl felt her heart drop to her feet as the sound of footsteps rang through her ears, sending alarms blaring throughout her body. Her fingers wrapped around her wand in her uniform skirt pocket, swallowing the nervous lump in her throat as she picked up her pace, feeling herself panic as the footsteps only grew faster. Claudia whipped around, her wand drawn as her chest rose and fell rapidly. She furrowed her eyes at sight before her, letting her arm fall lazily to her side with a sigh. "It's you," Regulus stared back at her with a slight frown on his pale face. "Merlin, Regulus, I could've killed you."

The raven-haired boy chuckled dryly as he stepped towards her. "Why are you so sure you'd be able to kill me?" He asked sarcastically, his arms crossed as he stopped a few feet in front of the blonde, who threw her head back, letting out a loud snort.

"I could kill anyone if I tried, even you Black."

"Confident are we?"

"Of course I am," She answered in a matter-of-fact tone as she shrugged. Regulus shook his head with a sigh as he raised his eyebrows at her confidence. "Why were you following me? Obsessed with me, are you?" She teased with a small smile, contrasting the dark and eerie mood that surrounded the two students.

Regulus rolled his eyes as he walked past Claudia, leaning against the stone wall as he turned his head to look at her, his mouth pursed as he searched for the right words. Claudia followed suit, standing beside him, feeling the hairs on her skin rise at the feeling of the cold surface, her face blank as she allowed the younger boy to sort out his thoughts. "What happened after I left the tower?"

His words formed tension between the two sharp enough to be sliced with a knife, the question hanging in the silence, waiting to be answered. Claudia shifted uncontrollably at the sudden seriousness. "I had a moment, Remus heard, took me to the infirmary. That's all." He nodded at her words, glancing down at the girl, who he still had quite a few inches on despite being a year younger.

He sighed as he let his head fall back, hitting the wall gently. "Was it something I said?" He asked softly, looking up at the ceiling above them, avoiding Claudia's eyes that were glued on his figure.

"Not exactly." She answered truthfully.

He paused for a moment. "What was it about?"

"My brother."