Different

traitor

"What are you two doing wandering the halls?" Remus asked, opening the door to his office more and walking in, the girls following and closing the door.

"Claire just needs some products," Hermione said awkwardly.

"For what?" Remus asked.

"For...for that time of the month," Hermione answered. Remus' eyes grew wide with fear and then finally understanding. He blushed almost worse than Claire and Hermione combined, awkwardly clearing his throat a few times.

"Well...um...I don't...I-I...maybe we-" Remus said, awkwardly fumbling through an old supply closet until he found a box.

"What's this?" Claire asked quietly when he handed it to her.

"You, uh...you put it in your underwear," Remus explained. "And this is for the pain."

Claire recognized the pill bottle he handed her, sighing a little that she'd finally have relief.

"Thanks," Claire muttered awkwardly, staring at the ground and trying not to cry. This was mortifying for her, but she didn't quite know why.

"Here," Remus said hurriedly, shoving enough chocolate into Claire's hands to feed an army. Hermione caught the pieces that fell, looking like she didn't know what to do. Remus also didn't look very sure of himself, rubbing the back of his neck, his cheeks still red. He kept clearing his throat like he wanted to say something but couldn't.

"We'll just...go," Hermione said, using her arms to gently push on Claire's back. The two girls hurried out of the office, Remus breathing a sigh of relief that they were gone and he didn't have to deal with any periods. The girls got a few hallways down before breaking out into giggles. Once they called down they helped each other put everything Remus gave them into their bags so they wouldn't drop anything.

"That was so bad!" Hermione gasped, a small giggle escaping her mouth.

"He was so awkward! Why?" Claire asked, guiding the way to her dorms so she could put her stuff up.

"There's a certain stigma around periods," Hermione explained, sounding a little angry. "People, especially boys, seem to think that they're gross. But don't let anyone tell you that. They're natural and there's nothing wrong with them."

Claire nodded gratefully, growing a little more reserved as they got closer to the entrance to the Slytherin common room.

"I-I'm sure no one is back, s-so you c-can come in," Claire said. Hermione looked hesitant but she nodded anyways, not wanting to mess up the progress she had made with Claire. As soon as the door opened it was clear that the train had come early. The common room was filled with Slytherins greeting each other after the break. The whole room went silent when Hermione and Claire walked in, everyone watching them.

"Go!" Hermione hissed, gently pushing Claire in the direction of a staircase. Claire hadn't even noticed that she had frozen, but she was no aware of her shaking hands.

"She's not allowed in here."

No one missed the way Claire cringed when Pansy spoke. Several Slytherins chuckled rudely, while others looked almost scared for Pansy as if they expected Claire to attack.

"S-she-she's he-helping m-me," Claire stammered, staring at the floor next to Pansy's feet.

"I don't care," Pansy snarled, pushing Claire's shoulders. The girl stumbled back a little, bumping into Hermione, who stumbled a little too but luckily didn't fall.

"Sit down, Parkinson," Draco said coldly. Claire's head snapped up at his tone, her blood going cold at his glare pointed towards Pansy. His aura was a dark red, angry and cold, but of course no one else could see that. The two of them seemed to have a staring match before Pansy sighed angrily, stomping off to complain to her friends. Draco met Claire's eye, his demeanor changing completely. He sent her a small smirk, nodding his head to the staircase. Claire sent him a grateful nod, not missing the look of disgust he sent Hermione. No one bothered either girl as they hurried to Claire's dorm, slamming the door shut as soon as they reached it.