"YOU...YOU'RE A FUCKING..." Claudia stammered out as her stepbrother stared into her eyes with an unreadable look on his face, the dark mark showcased before them as Claudia pulled up his sleeve.
"You're a fucking death eater," she said, backing off and not even attempting to hide the fury she felt. "Of course! I should've expected this! I mean Nolan was all cheery the last month of summer walking around and shoving it into my face to prove a point! Of course you are one too! Shit, I should've known you were just like the rest of them! Like I used to think. And now? Am I supposed to just trust you when in reality you're probably bringing me straight to my father so that he can-"
"Shut up," said Nicolas, slapping a hand over her mouth and walking further with her into the alleyway, something that only scared Claudia more which inevitably caused her to kick him on the leg.
"Do not fucking touch me," she said coldly, starting to walk off only for Nicolas to sigh audibly and grab her arm and drag her back. "Hey, idiot?! Do you not know English?! I said do not fucking touch-"
"Claudia, I need you to listen," Nicolas said, a deep frown on his face as he let go of her arm. "I need you to listen very carefully."
"And why should I do that?!" She questioned. "So that you can pass time whilst you wait for my father to arrive?!"
"Your father isn't coming here," Nicolas said, clearly annoyed. "I'm not tricking you into anything. I promise."
"You promise?" Claudia scoffed.
"I promise. Now, just hear me out, okay?"
"You want me to hear you out whilst you make a bunch of excuses to why you're apart of a fucking cult that kills innocent people?!"
Nicolas sighed again, his face turning into a grimace, "Sort of."
"Oh, piss off, Nicolas!" She said, walking off only for Nicolas to decide to talk instead of pulling her back.
"So what, you're just going to walk out there?" He questioned. "Whilst your father could be anywhere?"
"Well, I don't suppose I'm safe here either now, am I?"
Nicolas sighed for the millionth time that day, his mouth trying to get out what he meant to say.
And, eventually, he found the right words to some extent.
"It was for Regulus," he said, causing the girl to stop abruptly.
"What do you mean?" She asked, turning around.
"I only got it to protect Regulus."
"I really don't understand what you mean there."
"We're all practically forced into joining him. You will probably be too."
Claudia looked up into his eyes with a panicked look, "But I'm a halfblood."
"So is he."
"Well, isn't that fucking ironic," Claudia chuckled angrily. "If he's a halfblood, why is he so goddamn obsessed with killing people who aren't pureblooded?!"
"That's a good question," said Nicolas. "But I have no answer to it. He is desperate, Claudia. He wants as many people as possible to join him."
"Even kids?"
"Even kids," Nicolas nodded. "And, if we refuse, who knows what our parents will do to us? It's easier to just accept our fate."
"There are ways," said Claudia. "To get out of it. There has to be."
"I think your father will do horrible things to you if you don't do it one day, Claudia."
"I don't care."
"Well, you should," Nicolas frowned. "Everybody else does. I do. Some of us joined him because we wanted to, and some of us joined him because we were scared of what would happen if we didn't."
"Which reason did you join for?"
"Neither," he said, looking up into her eyes. "They could only take a specific number that day. We all gathered at this ball and we had to raise our hands if we wanted to join."
"Did you?"
"Yes," Nicolas nodded, an almost guilty look in his eyes. "Most of us did. All of us, pretty much. You know Elisabeth Verlice in my year?"
"Yeah."
"She didn't raise her hand. And then her parents apparated her home. And do you know where she is now?"
"No."
"In St. Mungo's, fighting for her life," he said. "Her little brother found her, apparently. He managed to get her to a nice wizard nearby is what I've heard. But do you see the point, Claudia?"
"I do," she nodded. "But what happened with you and Regulus?"
"As I said, they could only take a specific number that day."
"Number of what?"
"Number of kids who would get the mark," he explained. "I don't remember how many, specifically, but it was around fifteen or twenty. Anyway, we were standing in this line and I was right behind Reg. And then, with only five people left in front of him I did the math. He was the last one who would get it. So, I switched places with him."
"You did?"
"Mhm," he nodded. "He was fucking terrified, Claudia. I had to."
"He's just 15," the girl said out of disbelief.
"And that doesn't matter, apparently," Nicolas shrugged. "But do you see what I mean? We're all just made to be his soldiers. And all people like us want is for our parents to be proud of us, so we accept it."
"I get it," she sighed. "But what will you do now?"
"What do you mean?"
"You getting that mark doesn't just mean that you protected Regulus for a little while," she said. "Even if I'm grateful that you did. We both need to do that. He deserves it."
"He does."
"But even if you just meant to protect him, you're now in this, Nicolas. You're stuck on the other side."
"I always have been."
"I don't think you have," she said. "Being apart of his side means that he'll use you for whatever he needs. He might make you kill people. He might make you kill innocents. He might make you kill people like me."
"Like you?"
"People who don't agree with his idiotic opinions," she said. "If it came down to it, would you kill someone like me? Would you kill someone just because of their blood?"
Nicolas stared at the girl.
Of course not, he wanted to say. But he couldn't get it out.
And, before he managed to finally say it, Ingannamorte appeared.
"Oh, Ms. Maple," she breathed, nearing the girl and placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. "You must be freezing. Let's get you inside the castle, yes?"
"Okay," Claudia nodded, still staring at Nicolas as if she was still waiting for him to answer her question.
But he didn't.
"Thank you, professor," he said instead. "I guess she's in good hands now."
"She is," Ingannamorte smiled. "We're good from here."
So then, without another word, Claudia and Ingannamorte left Nicolas, the boy burying his face in his hands before apparating away again.
Then, Claudia was surprised to find Ingannamorte sneaking her into the cellar of Honeydukes.
"Let's take this way," she said, referring to the secret passageway that went all the way from Honeydukes to Hogwarts.
"How do you know about this?" Claudia asked.
"Found Mr. Pettigrew leaving it with a load of chocolate frogs in his hands," she said amusedly. "That boy is terrible at keeping secrets."
"Sounds like Pete," Claudia grinned.
"Well, are you ready to go?"
And then, after walking for what felt like forever, Claudia had come to the conclusion that maybe Ingannamorte wasn't as bad as she assumed that she was.
She was kind. And funny. And she felt young and old at the same time - as if she had experienced a million lives in just thirty eight years.
Little did Claudia know that she actually had done that.
Ingannamorte was most of all understanding. And Claudia honestly felt like maybe joining her little club wouldn't be so bad.
So, as they finally stepped inside Hogwarts, Claudia made her decision.
"I think I might join your club now," she said.
"Finally!" Ingannamorte smiled. "It won't disappoint you, I promise. First class is Thursday the week we start. Mr. Lupin can probably tell you where and when."
"He probably can," Claudia smiled.
"Well, I best get going," said the professor.
"Thank you for the help!"
"Of course," the woman smiled, and then she ran off.
Like, actually ran.
•••
Far away from Scotland, the Potter manor was filled with several concerned individuals, all of which sat in the manor's living room as the parents made tea, preparing for the conversion that was to come.
Remus was sat in an armchair, absentmindedly playing with the hems of his jumper as all his friends spoke quietly and sporadically.
The sound of a tray being placed on the coffee table caused Remus to finally look up after more than an hour of just being concerned about Claudia and stroking River, who was sat beside him.
"Kids, we need to talk," said Fleamont as Euphemia shakily placed out teacups for all nine kids, considering that the girls were yet to leave since it was still early in the morning.
"About what?" Asked James with a frown.
"Claudia," said Lyall, sharing a subtle glance at his son, who immediately seemed far more intent on listening at the mention of the girl.
All the teenagers shared confused glances as Euphemia cleared her throat, "We have noticed a few things."
"Some signs," said Hope. "And we weren't going to bring it up with all of you but we think that it might be for the best right now. You're all Claudia's closest friends, it seems."
"What's this about, mum?" Asked Remus, sitting up straight with a concerned look on his face.
Hope took a deep breath, her eyes softening at the sight of her son, "Claudia flinches."
"What?"
"Claudia flinches sometimes when we enter the room unannounced or sometimes when we touch her or make a lot of noise," Hope said.
"And her personality can change in just the blink of an eye," said Fleamont. "At any mention of her father she gets quiet and defensive and almost upset."
Oh.
"She's anxious and she struggles to be confident," said Euphemia. "All she said when she tried on dresses with us was that she felt too bony to wear them. And, when she tried them on we saw scars."
"She talks of her father as if she is scared of him," Lyall spoke. "She has troubles with sleeping. Troubles with trusting."
"And her hands were shaking," finished Beatrice.
"What're you all on about?" Asked Sirius.
"Sweethearts," Euphemia said, bending down and caressing Sirius' cheek as she looked around at all of them. "We think something is wrong with Claudia."
"What exactly?" Asked Lily.
"We think that she might to be a victim of child abuse," said Fleamont.
At that, everyone went quiet.
With the exception of Marlene and Lily, who knew but also didn't know, everyone already knew. So, they had no idea what to say.
"It's alright if this is a lot to take in," Euphemia said, a gentle yet sad smile on her face.
"We know already, mum," James mumbled.
"What?"
"We already know."
"That's what we thought," Fleamont said. "But you needed to tell someone about it. An adult."
"She didn't want us to," Sirius mumbled.
"What matters now isn't what Claudia says that she wants," Euphemia said. "What matters is what's best for her."
"You don't understand," said Remus quietly, causing all heads to turn to him.
"What is it that we don't understand?"
"Everything," the boy sighed, staring at the floor. "We can't just walk in there and take her home with us. They would do everything to keep her there."
"Well, I'd quite like to see them try," said Euphemia confidently.
"Mum," James sighed. "Hear us out, okay?"
"What?"
"The person Claudia saw killing that man in the village wasn't just someone she knew," said Sirius. "It was her father."
"Oh my god," Hope whispered as everyone fell into a state of shock.
"This is where I was going," said Remus. "You can't go to her father's manor and bring her home. You can't report anything to the ministry. You can't even tell the Daily Prophet that Charles Maple is abusing his daughter."
"Why not?" Hope asked. "I mean, we simply must do something! She can't stay there!"
"She can't, and she won't," said Remus. "But you'll get yourselves killed if you try something."
"How about we do it in a way where her father doesn't know who did it?"
"He will find out," Sirius sighed. "The Maples aren't just your average family. Trust me, I know. They're like my family but a hundred times worse. And if the news of what they're up to gets spilled or Claudia disappears her father will find out just where she is, who is behind it and where that person is. And when he knows he will kill everyone."
"But he's got to pay for what he's doing to the poor girl," said Lyall. "He deserves hell."
"And he'll get it," said Remus without missing a beat. "You don't think I'd just leave her there, do you? I'm going to get her out of there."
"We all are," said James. "But right now we cannot do anything but make her feel better. To earn her trust."
"But we must do something!" Hope exclaimed. "We are not just going to ignore it! This is not something you kids should be dealing with in the first place and you cannot make these decisions-"
"Stay out of it!" Remus yelled, surprising everyone. "We aren't just ignoring it! Whenever I'm not thinking about her I'm thinking about how to get her out of there! And you can't just walk in and try to take on her father without a plan! You can't even defend yourself if the time would come, mum!"
"Remus!" Hope yelled.
But the boy didn't fold.
Because he couldn't lose both Claudia and his mum because of a man who Remus wanted nothing more than to ruin.
"I can't let you all go and do something stupid! Because it might kill all of you, and it might kill her! And I'm trying so hard every day, mum. I'm trying to figure out a way to bring her home. I'm trying to make her feel safe and loved, and I am trying to find a goddamn loophole so that she can leave that place without any of us being killed or ending up in Azkaban! But it's so fucking hard, okay?! And all of you acting as if I'm horrible for wanting to do it safely only makes it worse! Because I've considered going to that bloody manor and killing him a million times, and honestly that just scares me even more!"
"Remus..."
"I can't lose any of you to him," he said. "Not her. Not any of you. And if I have to do everything in my power to get her out of there, trust me, I will. I'd do anything."
Anything.
"I would even end up in Azkaban or die if I had to."
"Remus!"
"And I just need all of you to listen to me, okay?! No one knows her like I do! No one knows just how much shit she has to put up with! No one knows just how much she's suffered! And no one knows just how much we all will suffer if we don't think straight whilst we act, okay?! And I don't care that you're adults and that you have lived longer and that you supposedly are smarter because right now you aren't thinking about the fact that getting her out of there shouldn't involve accidentally killing her and yourselves at the same time!"
"Remus, we have to-"
"No!" He yelled. "Listen to me! I'm trying to get you to listen to me!"
"I'm listening," Hope said, tears welling her eyes at the sight of her distraught son. "I'm listening."
But Remus didn't say anything further. Instead, he started shaking.
And suddenly Remus started crying just like he had done after Sirius had lured Snape into the Shrieking Shack, when Claudia had held him.
"Oh, my love," Hope spoke sadly, nearing him and wrapping her arms around him in a hug. "Shh, you're okay."
"I just want her to be safe," he whispered, still crying.
"I know, I know," Hope whispered back. "We'll figure something out, love, okay?"
"I want her to be safe," he repeated.
"She will be, I promise. What do you want us to do to help?"
"I just want you to guide me through it when it's hard," he said, sniffling slightly. "Can you do that?"
END OF PART VIII
____________________________________
and so it goes - part viii.
let's learn more about ingannamorte!
and let's go back to hogwarts!
oh, and for the record the next part is quite...dark but the fluff will never end ;)
hopefully you understand where remus is coming from btw!
<3