black coffee | remus lupin [2]

15. wait and see!

a/n: i'm excited about this chapter. hopefully you are too. it's extremely long. get ready!!!

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

CLAUDIA WAS PANICKING inside. Why the hell did she say yes? Why didn't she just politely decline, say a nice goodbye and then opt for never returning ever again?

Of course, it was that damn small little smile on Remus' face that somehow convinced her and made her say to herself that a few hours spent in their company wouldn't mess things up.

But she knew that it would, deep inside.

And she fucking hated herself for, once again, making stupid decisions.

She was a Ravenclaw for Rowena's sake, so why was her being stupid such a recurring theme in her life?!

But, it seemed that everyone else were delighted that she was there, even if all they did was walk inside the manor. It looked pretty much like it used to inside; warm and homely. Though, Claudia could tell that it was Lily and James who were behind the decorations and furniture at this point and not Euphemia and Fleamont, and honestly that made her feel a hundred different emotions all at once.

"Lily," she whispered to her redheaded friend as James shut the door and said something random to Remus. "I still need to owl Regulus."

Lily nodded as she took a soft hold of Claudia's wrist, "Keep your dirty hands away from my kitchen, boys. Claudia's going to help me."

The redhead dragged her along into the kitchen, and Claudia followed without hesitation.

Lily opened a drawer, and then she handed Claudia what she needed so that she could write a quick message to Regulus. Claudia thanked her and quickly scribbled down that she was going to stay for dinner at Pandora's house, going even further with her lie even though she hated it.

Who have I become? She thought to herself as Lily helped her send the letter off with the family owl. I can't do this...

"Lily?"

"Yeah?"

"I have to go home," Claudia whispered, looking around herself in a frenzy. "I don't know why I said yes, and I'm very sorry but I can't be here-"

"It's okay," Lily said with a gentle smile. "Stay. This still doesn't mean anything. Even if the others are here too-"

"Lily, you know that that's not true," Claudia said. "I am so sorry, but-"

"You're staying," Lily said sternly. "Look, I'm very sorry that we got the days mixed up and basically lured you into a trap on accident by inviting you here. But, now that you're here, don't you want to stay?"

"I guess," Claudia mumbled.

"Thought so," Lily said with a content little smile and a nod. "I have no idea why you left, Claudia, but spending just a few hours with us doesn't mean that you'll be back for good. We all understand that. We're not stupid. And, honestly, I think we could all use a bit of fun for once. We could all use a bit of Claudia."