TW! abusive behaviours & a tiny mention of suicide.
20 DAYS. There were 20 days left before Claudia would finally return home to Hogwarts; and this time around she didn't really know what to think of it.
Previously she had always waited for the 1st of September like a child who was waiting for Santa Claus on Christmas - but this year she wasn't.
She wanted to go home, sure, but she didn't really know what she was going to face. She didn't know how bad Nicolas would be, how much the Marauders would hate her and how awkward things would be between her and the girls.
But, that didn't change the fact that she would finally be free of her father - and nothing in the whole wide world could be better than that.
The girl was in her bed that night as she looked through her O.W.L results - that so luckily had been passed on to her grandmother by her father, without him even taking a single glance at the letter.
Transfiguration - O
Charms - O
Potions - O
History of Magic - E
Defence Against the Dark Arts - E
Astronomy - E
Herbology - O
Arithmancy - E
Study of Ancient Runes - O
Claudia was satisfied with her grades. Sure, they probably could've been a little better according to the perfectionist that she was - but nonetheless they were good grades, especially considering the rollercoaster that had been Claudia's last few months of fifth year.
In all honesty, the girl was surprised that she didn't flake every single exam - and even further surprised that she only got Outstanding and Exceeds Expectations as her results.
Footsteps alerted the girl as she proudly went over the results, which caused her to immediately shove the letter under her pillow as the familiar face of her father appeared inside the room.
And, to no surprise at all, Claudia's heartbeat immediately sped up - because, to no surprise at all, she was terrified to be in a room alone with him.
"You may come with me to my office," he said as he glanced around the room - not even caring for the bloody dress that lay on Claudia's dresser.
"Right now?" Claudia asked with a frown.
"Yes," he replied. "We must have a word."
Claudia internally cursed since "having a word" was an equivalent to another night spent in horror. But, she followed him nonetheless as her hands shook and her hands searched for her mother's necklace that hung around her neck.
Charles closed the door behind the two of them before he turned around and gave Claudia an unreadable look.
"Your grandmother and I have made a decision," he said slowly as Claudia prepared for the worst. "You are to marry Evan Rosier the summer after you've graduated."
Fuck no!
"What?!" Claudia exclaimed as something far worse than what she had expected happened. "I thought I wasn't going to get betrothed yet?!"
"You weren't," Charles said as a small smirk tried to come over his lips. "But your grandmother surrendered after I managed to convince her. You and Evan will be married, and so be it."
"No."
"No?" Charles questioned as Claudia rolled her eyes.
"No!" She yelled. "I refuse to marry him! I'll marry anyone but him!"
"He is a perfectly fine suitor, Claudia! Behave yourself! And he has agreed to wait!"
"He's not!" She exclaimed. "He's an absolute pig who will only use me as his toy and do things to me and-"
"And I do not care!" Charles yelled. "You will marry him, and that is final!"
"And why do you get to decide that?!"
"Because I am your father and I raised you!"
"Oh, don't go pulling the father card when you and I both know you haven't done anything but to hurt me my entire life! And my mum raised me, not you!"
"Your mother was an insufferable woman! It's no wonder you turned out this way," Charles sighed. "You are a hopeless case, Claudia! And I still continue to help you!"
"You have not and are not helping me in any way," Claudia said with a stone cold glare.
"I've let you stay in my house. I've fed you. I've given you money and clothes and a roof over your head-"
"You haven't done any of those things! Grandmother if anyone has. Don't you think I'm completely stupid!" She spat. "I know you want me dead, and I know why I'm not dead yet. Because you're a fucking coward!"
"Be quiet!" Charles yelled, but Claudia decided to continue despite that.
"You're a fucking coward who is afraid of your own mother," she chuckled menacingly as Charles' face got all red. "But, guess what? I'm not afraid of her, because I've got her right where I need her. If I need something, all I have to do is ask."
"You're-"
"If I need something, all I have to do is tell her that I'll disappear in one way or another. That I'll run away or...kill myself. And that's when she fears me, because she needs me. She needs me to carry on the family legacy because you've been such a fucking disappointment. Because your brother was the one to die....instead of you, even though she always loved him more-"
"Claudia Maple!"
"And you know what else?" She asked, chuckling yet again as she received no response. "I know your weaknesses."
"And what are those?" Charles asked as he rolled his eyes.
"You're terrified of grandmother...and you're terrified of me."
"Oh, how could I possibly be terrified of my own daughter?!" Charles asked in an annoyed tone.
"I know you see her when you look at me," she replied. "I know you see my mum. And I know you hated her so, because you think that she caused your own mother to hate you. But guess what? I was the one who caused your own mother to hate you."
"How?!"
"Because she saw just how rotten you are the moment a little girl ran towards her own dad with a happy smile on her face, only for you to tell her to wipe the chocolate off of her face and that she looked terrible. That your own little, tiny, adorable baby girl looked terrible."
"You best be quiet now, Claudia!" Charles snapped, but Claudia continued to ignore him.
"You need me, father. If you kill me, you kill yourself. You and I know both know that."
"I don't care!"
"But you do," she smiled. "Because you're selfish. And I will find a way out of this engagement. Because that's exactly how I function. I will not marry Evan Rosier, not in two years, not ever."
"You have no idea what you're getting yourself into," Charles spat, but Claudia merely chuckled again.
Because she honestly didn't care.
"Oh, but I do," she sighed. "The fact that all my clothes have bloodstains on them and that I have more bruises than I can count proves that-"
Claudia couldn't finish her sentence as her father neared her and grabbed the necklace with his hand - only to rip it off and break it.
Her mother's necklace.
Claudia looked at her father out of pure disbelief as tears welled her eyes - because she did not have much left of her mother and now he had to take that little thing away to.
"Fuck you," she said as a single tear fell down her cheek. "No wonder she didn't love you."
"Stupid girl!" Charles yelled angrily as he pulled down the curtains with a flick of his wand.
But, what he did next surprised Claudia out of her mind.
Because, instead of aiming his wand at her and uttering a curse that would cause her to fall down to her knees, the man aimed his wand upwards and uttered something in a whisper that Claudia barely heard.
And suddenly, a load of black smoke filled the air as Charles left and locked the door.
And Claudia couldn't breathe.
And when she did breathe, it was as if she was swallowing acid.
She cried and she screamed - but no one helped.
She was stuck. All alone in a room where the oxygen ran out and was replaced by an acidic smoke - and suddenly she grew weak.
Because it was as if the air had become poison.
And Claudia was being poisoned as she breathed to survive.
And then Claudia passed out - only to wake up a few hours later, coughing and having shortness of breath as realised that there were 19 days left.
And those would be, at the time, the longest 19 days of Claudia's life.
THE END OF PART V.
__________________________________
and so it goes - part v.
let's go back home!
let's build up moonsyrup again!
and let's introduce another character!
Lupita Nyong'o
as
Fayola Ingannamorte
(aka Professor Ingannamorte!)
<3