As always, sending mail to Draco was a challenge. She couldn't use her own owl so she tried to use her friends, but they could barely talk to her because their parents kept watching their mail. Theo and Blaise were no help because Draco wasn't responding to them either. In fact, none of her Slytherin friends were much help because they were all ignoring her letters. Hermione was the only one who would send her letters with any regularity.
After her vision, Claire wanted to figure out what was so important to perform an Unbreakable vow, but no one would answer her. Dumbledore wouldn't let anyone bring it up during Order meetings either. She felt in the dark about everything, which was unusual for her. It made her feel unnerved, and her anxiety was getting worse. She was barely sleeping because she kept having horrible dreams that didn't tell her anything important. The only good thing was knowing that her mother wasn't having visions because it meant that the Order had an advantage.
The only good thing about her dreams was that she saw Leo in them. She usually didn't talk to him, but she watched him to make sure he was safe. He was always in a different place, which slightly worried her, but he always turned around and gave her a reassuring wink or smile and she would wake up not long after.
Luckily for her, the family decided that it would be better to move back to Remus' house since Regulus was there and he couldn't be seen, so they were finally free of Grimmauld, although they had to go back multiple times a week for Order meetings. Claire was rarely allowed to stay home with Regulus, even though he did basically nothing. He mostly sat in his room and read, although he sometimes would join Claire in her garden. Remus was still cold towards the younger boy, but Sirius was still ecstatic and would make sure to spend as much time as possible with him.
"So, Harry will have to stay in the room with you, Reggie. Please don't scare him too much," Sirius said, making Claire blink and look up the copy of The Scarlet Letter that Draco had let her borrow. Regulus snarled a little but just nodded. He wasn't happy to no longer be at Grimmauld, especially since his new room was an office that barely had space for a bed and a desk. He had also left his piano behind, which meant that he kept writing songs without knowing how they sounded.
"He's coming tonight?" Claire asked.
"Dumbledore is picking him up because he has some task to do, so he shouldn't be here until early in the morning."
Claire frowned at Sirius, who also didn't look too happy at the idea.
"Is dinner ready?"
Claire and Sirius both grinned and hurried to the front hallway where Remus had come in. He had been on a mission for the past week and hadn't been able to talk to them at all. Remus scooped Claire up and twirled her around, a bright smile on his face.
"Oh, I've missed you two," Remus sighed, putting Claire down and then embracing Sirius.
"You're happy to be coming back from a mission," Sirius laughed. Remus smiled brighter and gave Sirius a kiss.
"I was able to complete the mission and arrest the Death Eaters without any casualties or injuries. Tonks has learned a lot, and she was able to lead the mission perfectly. Mad-Eye actually smiled for a second," Remus explained, sitting down at the table and nodding at Regulus, who barely nodded back.
"Let's hope my mission goes just as well," Sirius sighed. Since he was now a free man, Sirius was participating in more missions, but this would be his first long term mission since he first joined the Order as a teenager. He would be gone for at least a month, and no one was looking forward to it.
"It will," Remus insisted, placing a kiss on Sirius' forehead, which made Regulus roll his eyes. Claire snickered at the young man, who responded by flicking her off. Claire fake gasped and kicked his shin, and he did the same.
"Merlin help us. They're going to be as bad as Claire and Harry," Sirius laughed.
"Are we sure there's no other place he can sleep? Like the couch? Or the floor?" Regulus questioned, a hint of bitterness in his voice.
"He could sleep outside," Claire added. Regulus nodded and pointed at her in agreement, giving a thumbs up. Remus and Sirius both rolled their eyes, Sirius grinning while Remus looked stone-faced.
"His bed is already in the room," Sirius reminded his brother, who shrugged.
After they are, Regulus went back to his room while the other three sat in the small living room to wait for Harry. Remus was the first to fall asleep, Sirius not long after. Claire just watched random TV shows until a pop was heard outside. She grabbed her wand and threw a pillow at Sirius' face, making him jump awake and fall off the couch with a loud thud. Remus jumped up at the loud noise, blindly pointing his wand around. Claire giggled at the two men, who looked upset to be woken up, Sirius wrapping himself in the blanket.
"Someone is outside. Harry must be here."
The two men sleepily nodded, hurrying to fix their disheveled appearance before they raised their wands and started walking towards the door. Claire kept watching the Muggle show Friends, faintly hearing the voices of Harry and Professor Dumbledore. The professor didn't stay long, allowing Harry to make his way into the living room to find Claire. He sat down next to her and put his head on her shoulder, letting her pat his head.
"I know," Claire said softly, placing a kiss on his forehead. "Just watch this show with me. I think you're a Ross."
"That's mean, Claire," Sirius laughed. Claire grinned and shrugged. Remus and Sirius went back to their room after telling Harry where he would be sleeping and making sure he was comfortable. The two teens didn't need to talk about what happened to Harry with his aunt and uncle, just watching the show.
"That really is an insult. Ross is the worst," Harry complained after a few episodes.
"I know."
Harry flicked Claire off from where he was laying across the couch. Claire grinned and flicked him off as well. They both perked up and peaked over the back of the couch when they heard someone in the kitchen.
"Why do they have so much fucking chocolate in this house? Do they not eat normal food?"
Harry sent Claire an inquisitive look and she just grinned. He looked a little worried, but he knew that Claire wouldn't be so calm if there was a problem.
"Hey, Reggie! Come meet your roommate!" Claire called softly. Regulus stuck his head out from the kitchen, making eye contact with Harry long enough to nod and then he went back into the kitchen, the sounds of opening cabinets echoing through the house. Claire rolled her eyes and got up, pulling Harry with her. Regulus barely looked over his shoulder at the two.
"You're Regulus Black!" Harry gasped, his eyes wide.
"No shit," Regulus snorted. Claire threw a chocolate frog at him, but be caught it, sending Claire a wink. Regulus ignored Harry, moving past him to get a cup.
"But...you're dead," Harry sputtered out.
"Was dead," Regulus corrected. Harry looked to Claire for answers, but she just shrugged.
"I don't understand."
"We don't fully either, but let's ignore that because I'm hungry and tired," Regulus said, shoving past Harry without looking at him and slamming his door shut. Harry just sighed because the amount of crazy things that have happened have made him a little desensitized.
"Give him time," Claire assured Harry. "He'll get nicer."
"I don't think he likes me," Harry noted. Claire frowned, knowing that Regulus probably felt awkward because of how similar James and Harry looked.
"Don't worry about that. Let's just go watch the rest of the show."
-------------------------
"Why did you two stay up all night?"
Claire and Harry looked at Remus from inside their blanket fort, which they had constructed around six am. The two teens had stayed up all night watching TV, which Remus was not happy about. Harry had told her all about Professor Slughorn and how difficult it was to convince him to come back to Hogwarts. Claire had seen the professor before in visions, but she hadn't known about Harry and Dumbledore going to see him.
"This was a very bad decision on your part. Now you two will have to sleep all day. Sirius and I had plans for today, and we were very excited."
Claire was about to respond when she felt herself go rigid, her eyes rolling back in her head before everything went blank.
"Where is the girl?"
"I don't know. And even if I did, I would never tell you."
The familiar cackle echoed through the room, overpowering the other voices in the room. A snake slithered over the floor, leading to where a small girl was laying. Her usually long brown hair had been crudely cut, some parts of her skin bleeding from where they had been nicked. Her brown eyes were stained red, blood dripping into them and making the girl blink repeatedly, not allowing any tears to fall. Her body was covered in bruises and cuts and the way that she flinched when a wand was raised showed the torture she had faced. The snake slithered over her, making her small body shiver from fear and disgust.
"My dear, lying does nothing. We know she is no longer at Grimmauld Place. We've ransacked the place, and there's nothing there. So tell us where she is."
The girl spat blood at the feet of the woman. Emaline growled and ripped her up by the throat, choking the girl until she was barely able to gasp, her bloody hands clawing at the older woman's hands. Emaline threw her onto the ground, stomping on her hand and making the girl scream in pain. A Crucio cracked through the air, and the girl started to sob, finally breaking down. This seemed to be funny to the Death Eaters, who started laughing and heckling the girl.
"I don't know where she is! I haven't been able to talk to Claire all summer! Please, I'm telling the truth! Please stop!"
The many adults started laughing until a figure walked forward, making everyone stop and bow. The room went silent, a chill filling the room.
"Why stop the festivities? I would love to see this blood traitor get tortured. Their blood is almost as satisfying to see as that of a muggle."
"Yes, my Lord," Emaline smirked, turning her wand back onto the crying girl, who was shot into the air, her body convulsing in pain. The laughter started up again, Voldemort sneering in satisfaction. Severus Snape was not laughing, his eyes focused on Narcissa Malfoy, who seemed to be blocking someone. Blaise and Theo were there, looking at each other with fear in their eyes while their parents and the others screaming insults and slurs at the child, who was screaming, her voice hoarse.
"Tell me! Where is she?!" Voldemort roared. Emaline brought the girl down to hang right in front of the wizard. The girl was too weak to hold her own head up, so Voldemort roughly grabbed her face, his nails digging into her cheeks and drawing blood. The girl glared and spat blood onto his face, making shocked gasps echo through the room. Voldemort grinned and circled around the girl.
"I'd rather die than tell you where Claire is! She hasn't done anything wrong! You're insane and you'll lose this war! You're no match for Claire or Harry!" The girl screamed, making the Death Eaters roar their disapproval until their Lord raised a hand to silence them.
"Do we have room for blood traitors in our ranks?"
"No, my Lord," the Death Eaters said at once.
"And what do we do with any Blood Traitors?"
"Kill them!'
The girl raised her head, her tears no longer falling. She first looked to a woman who was so similar and yet so different, a woman who just looked disappointed in her daughter, not upset at her impending death. The girl in front of her was crying, whispering pleas for her older sister to come back and follow the Dark Lord. The Death Eaters were chanting 'Kill her!' like it was their favorite song. The girl gave her sister a weak smile and then looked at Blaise and Theo, who had clenched jaws. The three shared a look and a nod before the girl looked past Narcissa Malfoy at the blond haired boy who looked like he had aged ten years. He had a stray tear running down his face as he made eye contact with the girl.
"Protect her!"
And with that, Daphne Greengrass took her last breath.