THE AFTERMATH of Sirius cheating on Betty was filled with negative effects.
Betty was a mess, but she tried her hardest to make people think that she wasn't. The attention the school was giving Inez had now been placed on Betty, who was handling it worse than Inez was.
The same night she found out, she had returned at 2 am drunk and been met by Claudia.
And to say that comforting her was difficult would be an understatement. She refused to be hugged, refused to be touched. She even refused to look Claudia in the eyes.
Claudia had to simply give up and go to bed, hoping that things would be better the next day.
But, they weren't.
Betty was distant. She didn't say much, and she had been out at night doing god knows what three out of the five passing days. And after that, she would return looking slightly disheveled, lovebites often apparent on her skin.
But her friends decided to let it be and not ask her about it. It was natural in ways, since Inez had been doing the same when things were terrible for her. Even though it was harder for some than others, they had to just accept that Betty was hurting and simple one-night stands wouldn't make matters much worse.
Or at least, that's what they thought.
And when it came to Sirius, things weren't much better. He didn't speak much either, and he didn't join in on the pranks the Marauders pulled. The difference here was that Sirius didn't even look in the direction of girls, with the exception of Betty and Claudia.
Why Claudia you may ask?
Well, after Betty had disappeared and Inez and Pandora ran to try to find her, Claudia had yelled at Sirius for the first time.
And it scared her to death, because she didn't feel like herself when she did so. She felt like her father.
But, nonetheless, she had yelled.
And, she had also repeatedly hit him with a book that Remus had given her almost a little too enthusiastically just so he would suffer a little bit.
Sirius was one of his best friends, but that didn't mean that he wouldn't help his girl let Sirius face the actions of his consequences. Remus belivied that Sirius deserved it, and he had no obligations against being Claudia's partner in crime when it came to that.
So, Sirius ended up missing two girls instead of just one. Claudia ignored them all, despite the fact that the only one she despised was Sirius.
It had only been five days and Claudia was just doing it because Betty needed her, and she decided to be there no matter how much she pushed her away.
But, as they were sat in potions, Claudia couldn't stop looking longingly at Remus, who was sat next to James. They were laughing over something, and Claudia found herself smiling when she heard the familiar laughter, the best sound she knew.
Betty, who tried her hardest to not look back at a staring Sirius, noticed this. And for the very first time in five days, Betty had a small smile on her face.
"Don't ignore him on my behalf, Claudia," Betty whispered to her.
Claudia tore her eyes off of Remus and looked at Betty. "What?"
"He makes you happy," Betty said. "Don't ignore someone who makes you happy."
Betty, of course, wasn't following her own advice. Sirius had some explaining to do, but she wouldn't let him. He had hurt her, badly, and for now she didn't care about the fact that he had once made her feel like the happiest girl alive.
"It's only been like five days, though," Claudia said
as she turned her gaze back to Remus. "It's nothing."
As she said that, Remus turned around slightly in order to look at her, which he had been doing all class since he knew she sat there. And when he did, he was happy to find Claudia looking right back at him, causing him to give her a small wave as his smile grew.
Betty scoffed at the sight of that and the smile that returned to Claudia's face. "You adore him, he adores you, so go talk to him. You can talk to all of them for all I care, with the exception of Mr. Pig. When it comes to him I would prefer it if you yelled."
"Trust me, I've already done that," Claudia said as she and Betty looked at Sirius.
Betty found herself softening at the hopeful puppy eyes he wore as he finally received some attention from the two, but as soon as he saw how angrily they looked at him, he pouted again.
"Good," Betty said when the class was dismissed. "Now, go talk to loverboy!"
"Now?!" Claudia questioned, ignoring the use of nickname.
"Yes, now!" Betty said as she gave Claudia a small push in his direction when they exited the classroom.
Trying to approach the boy was a lot easier than Claudia had thought. She had memorised Nolan and Nicolas' schedules so she knew that they were both in class.
And, let's face it, Claudia had also memorised Remus' schedule, and she knew that he had Transfiguration soon, so she had to be quick.
She was lucky, because Remus eventually stopped because Peter had to tie his shoe, James and Sirius continuing since they were a bit more in their own world.
Peter saw her awkwardly walking towards them before Remus could, causing a smug smile to come over his lips.
"You know what? I think I forgot my book in the classroom, I'll be right back," he said, heading towards the completely wrong direction.
"The classroom is that way," Remus said with a chuckle, but received no response. Peter instead turned around and gave a small thumbs up to Claudia, who had at that point arrived behind Remus.
Tapping him on his shoulder, Claudia felt slightly confused over what she was supposed to say, but when she saw his face and how he smiled the second he saw her, it instantly became easier.
"Come on," he said, leading her into a nearby broom-closet in case of a Slytherin-emergency.
They couldn't, after all, be certain that things wouldn't get back to Nolan and Nicolas, considering that they had loads of creepy friends who could gossip to them.
"Lumos," they both said in order to light up the small closet, and when they did they noticed they stood closer than expected. They both moved a little backwards at that, causing Claudia to knock something over. Remus luckily caught the bucket before it got the chance to land on her head.
"Was that the same bucket?" Claudia asked, referring to the bucket that had landed on her head when they were in that very closet several months ago.
"I think so," he chuckled as he, being as tall as he was, placed it back on the shelf. "So..."
"So..." she repeated as her eyes drifted around everywhere in order to not look at him. "I'm sorry for ignoring you - all of you. It wasn't very nice of me to do, despite all that happened. I guess I just kind of wanted to be a good friend to Betty, and I'm furious at Sirius and you're all a package deal so I just thought that maybe it would be easier if I-"
Claudia wasn't able to finish her rambling due to a swift kiss on her cheek coming out of nowhere.
"Calm down, love," Remus laughed. "It's fine."
"Really?"
"Yes, really. We understand, all of us do. You're just being a good friend. Nothing to worry about."
"Okay, good," Claudia sighed. "Well, I shouldn't keep you here any longer. You've got class."
"Why not?" The boy asked as he tilted his head to the side.
Claudia was convinced she could cry just by the sight of his sweet, sweet face.
"If there's anyone I'd like to keep me out of class, it's you," he confessed. "Let's skip."
Claudia was taken aback by that, considering the fact that out of the four boys, Remus was always the responsible one who attended his classes and did his homework.
But, when it came to Claudia Remus honestly just wanted to be with her whenever he could, because she was after all rather unattainable.
And, the full moon was in a week, so he could use some cheering up before he would go back to being in pain and hating his entire existence.
"Sure," she said with a smile after a while of thinking. "What are we gonna do?"
Claudia agreed for similar reasons. She wanted to be around him as soon as she got the chance.
"No idea," Remus said with a small chuckle. "There's not much for us to do now, is there?"
"Guess not," she shrugged with a small laugh. "Wanna walk?"
"Where?"
"Dunno, just walk. We'll take the passage to Hogsmeade."
"Sure, that sounds good."
They then walked all the way to Hogsmeade, and there they strolled around for a long time. They talked about everything that came to mind, his parents, her mum, books, movies, music and classes. And it was just the thing the two of them needed.
Eventually they had ended up some distance from the Shrieking Shack, where Claudia had laid down on the wet grass.
"What are you doing?" The boy asked with a laugh. "You'll end up covered in grass."
"Meh, who cares? The snow is finally gone, I've missed it," Claudia said. "Come on!"
Remus eventually gave in and sat down next to her as she placed herself in cross-legged position, looking at the Shrieking Shack.
"Have you heard those rumours about the shack?" She asked as she picked up some grass with her fingers. "That it's haunted?"
"Yeah..." Remus replied, internally cringing at the mention of that, considering it wasn't haunted and that it was actually his screams of agony that came from the shack once a month.
"Do you believe in it?"
"I don't know," he said with a shrug. "Do you?"
"I don't know what to believe," she confessed. "Even if it is haunted, shouldn't we just leave the ghosts or whatever alone? Or whatever, whoever, is making those sounds."
"Yeah, we should," he replied with a slow nod. "Well, anyways, I have a question for you."
Claudia was surprised at the quick change of topic, but she decided to ignore questioning that anyways.
"What?"
"What do you want to do with your life?"
"Huh," she said. "I, well, I'm going to carry on my family's legacy, I guess."
"No, what do you want to do with your life?"
"What I want?" She asked, surprised due to the fact that no one had asked her that question before. "Well, I think I'd quite like to be a writer, maybe. Like my mum."
"Your mum was a writer?"
"Yeah," she smiled. "And a bloody good one, for sure."
"Anything I've read?"
"Maybe," she shrugged. "Her biggest work was this book about a Muggle and a wizard's friendship. It sounds a bit cheesy, but it really was good. Sold like crazy, that one. 'The Muggle and The Wizard', also known as the most typical name she could've chosen."
"I think my mum has read that," he said. "What do you want to write?"
"No idea," she sighed. "I don't even know if I will."
"You're going to," he said as he placed his hand on hers. "I'll make sure of it."
"Then I'll have no choice but to write about you then," she replied.
"Really?" He asked with a sheepish smile. "And what would it be like?"
"I don't know what it would be called, but I know what it would be about," she said as she stood up and helped him up, their hands intertwining. "It would be about you, and your friends, and all your mischief."
"Would you be in it?"
Claudia stopped for a moment as she thought. Would she, if there hypothetically would be a book, be in it? She never saw herself being surrounded by those boys after her Hogwarts years. It seemed impossible, so why would she bring back memories that would only remind her of better times?
"No," she replied simply. "It's your book."
"But you're a big part of my story," he pointed out as they started to walk. "If you're gonna write about me, you'll have no choice but to write about yourself. You're stuck with me, remember?"
"Yeah, I guess I'll have to add me into it then," she lied, feeling better since he said that she was a big part of his life.
"Good. Butterbeer?"
"Butterbeer," she said and picked up her pace, practically dragging the boy along.
The two stumbled and laughed all the way to the Three Broomsticks, and as they entered the pub, Madam Rosmerta couldn't help but to smile at the sight.
"I'll get the butterbeers, you'll get the table," Remus said as he left the warmth of Claudia's hand.
"Hang on!" Claudia laughed before he got the chance to walk off to the counter. "Here," she said, handing him some money.
"Claudia, no," the boy interjected.
"Claudia, yes," she said as she opened his palm and placed the galleons in there. "Don't you remember? My father's money is the greatest part about his whole existence."
Remus could think of a greater thing about his whole existence.
"Yeah, alright," he replied, and then he headed towards the counter.
"It's not Hogsmeade day, Remus," Madam Rosmerta pointed out as the boy strutted towards the counter.
"Really?" He said with a grin. "I didn't know that."
Madam Rosmerta rolled her eyes, but a small smile still lived on her lips. "What do you want?"
"Two butterbeers, please," he said as he handed her the money.
The landlady finished up the butterbeers, and gave them to him as she eyed the girl who was patiently waiting for him.
"Is she your girlfriend?" Madam Rosmerta asked with a knowing smile as she nodded towards Claudia.
"No," Remus replied hurriedly, his cheeks immediately flushing, causing the landlady to raise an eyebrow.
"Do you want her to be?"
"Um..." the boy said as he turned around and watched Claudia pick up a napkin for the little boy who had dropped it, since his dad was too busy having a loud conversation with his mates. The little kid smiled brightly at Claudia, causing her to immediately smile back gleefully from how adorable he was.
"Yeah," Remus said with an faint smile, his eyes not leaving Claudia. "I do want that."
And in that very moment, Remus Lupin realised that he was in love with Claudia Maple.
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