There was nothing but screams and flashing lights. Claire was walking through spells cast both ways, green lights flashing. She couldn't see any faces, just blurs of bodies falling. An overwhelming feeling overcame her, and she knew in that moment that there was nothing they could do. The battle had to happen, even if they didn't win.
She came back with a loud gasp, jolting out of Draco's arms. The other teens jumped back in surprise, a game of wizards chess in front of them.
"Glad to see you all were worried about me," Claire said, blinking at the harsh lights in the room. Her head was pounding but she was used to the pain by now.
"You were taking a long time," Ron shrugged, making Hermione roll her eyes.
"What did you see?" Harry questioned, looking eager to know. Claire hesitated and looked at the other teens, all of them looking nervous.
"Nothing much," Claire admitted. She hesitated before continuing, making the decision to lie. "It wasn't bad. I think I know how to help and what to do."
"Wonderful!" Hermione gasped. "What do we need to do?"
"I think it's too late to do anything," Draco spoke up, noticing the slight waver in Claire's voice. The tone of his voice made the others share a look, Ron and Blaise abandoning their game as they left the room, leaving only Draco and Claire.
"There's nothing we can do," Claire whispered. Draco sighed and pulled her closer to his chest, placing a kiss to the top of her head.
"At least we can say we tried."
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The next few days were spent trying to convince the Gryffindor trio that they didn't need any help. The teens were eager to help with the wardrobe, but there was no point. Claire ended up playing many quidditch matches in the cold so that she would distract them. Hermione was the only one who really noticed, and Claire couldn't figure out if she actually knew the truth or not.
"So, what's the plan for today?"
Claire grinned and rolled over, putting her head on Draco's chest as his arm went around her shoulders, pulling her closer. She traced the Slytherin logo on his pajama shirt as she pondered their options. It was a Saturday so they didn't have any classes. A particularly bad nightmare brought her into the boys dorm the night before, and she was fine staying there all day.
"Hmm...what about a good book and then we sneak off to the Room of Requirement?" Claire suggested. Draco grinned, the action making her stomach flutter. Claire giggled and shoved her face into his side, making him laugh and pull her up so she was sitting over his stomach.
"My beauty," Draco whispered, sitting up to connect their lips. Claire smiled, grabbing the back of his hair and pulling him closer. Their lips moved together while Draco's hand went to Claire's shorts, pulling the string to loosen them. The sound of the door opening make Claire gasp and pull away.
"Good morning kiddos!" Theo yelled. Draco groaned, dropping his head onto Claire's shoulder. The girl moved so she was laying next to Draco again instead of on top of him, pulling the curtain away so the other two boys could see them.
"So you are awake!" Blaise said happily, a smirk on his face. Draco flicked him off, collapsing backwards onto the bed with a huff.
"Don't be so upset. If you two aren't careful we're going to have little Malfoys running around, and I'm not ready to be an uncle yet," Theo warned. Claire flicked him off as well.
"Why is everyone so entranced by our sex life?" Claire asked Draco, overdramatically flipping over to look at him.
"Because they're not getting any," Draco responded, a smirk on his face. Claire's laugh was interrupted by a pillow being thrown at them.
"I am too getting some," Blaise complained under his breath, but everyone heard. Theo's head snapped over, his eyes wide. Draco raised his eyebrows and propped himself up on his eyebrows.
"From who?" Draco questioned. Blaise looked shocked that everyone had heard him, his cheeks going red.
"It's not a big deal," Blaise responded, busying himself by making up the bed.
"No, who is it? I thought we told each other everything?" Theo asked, an edge to his voice. Claire furrowed her eyebrows at his tone, wondering why the boy was so upset.
"Promise not to freak out?" Blaise sighed, sitting down on his bed and staring at his hands. His leg was going a mile a minute, making Claire frown. Once everyone had voiced their approval, Blaise sighed. "A Ravenclaw...bloke."
The room was silent for a moment, each of them realizing what was said. Claire was silent, observing the reactions of those around her since she already had her suspicions. Draco didn't care, although he did look shocked. Theo, on the other hand, was barely breathing, his face a pale color. He blinked rapidly before clearing his throat, starting to say something before running out of the room.
"That's what I thought," Blaise laughed dryly. "I never should have said anything."
"I'll go talk to him," Draco assured him, giving his friend a pat on the shoulder before leaving.
"If it makes you feel any better, I don't think he's upset," Claire tried to help, sitting next to Blaise. "In fact, I think the opposite."
"Yeah, right," Blaise scoffed.
"No, really!" Claire exclaimed. "Just give him time. You know how hard it is. But if you ever need anyone to talk to, I'm here. And you can talk to my dads if you want."
"I think I might want to do that," Blaise agreed. Claire smiled and stood up, getting lightheaded for a second. An image of Ron in the hospital wing flashed past, making the girl gasp. "What is it?"
"No time!"
Claire hurried to put on one of Draco's jackets since she was just wearing a tank top before she ran out of the room, her feet still bare. Other students looked at her like she was crazy, which she was in that second. Her body took her to Professor Slughorn's office at the same time as Ron and Harry.
"What's happening?" Claire gasped, helping Harry by letting Ron lean on her as well.
"Romilda Vane!" Ron gasped, pointing to a picture on the wall.
"Someone ate my chocolates that had the love draught in them," Harry complained. Claire stifled a laugh as the elderly professor opened the door, not looking very happy.
"It's always you, Potter," Slughorn complained under his breath, letting the students walk in behind him.
"Where's Romilda?" Ron questioned, looking around the room as if she was going to pop up randomly.
"She's on her way," Harry answered, looking to Claire for help. The girl just shrugged in response.
"Here, drink this before she gets here," Professor Slughorn instructed, handing Ron a glass of some potion. "It'll help the nerves."
"Good idea!" Ron gasped, drowning the glass down in one sip. Within seconds the teens demeanor changed and he looked confused as to where he was.
"Don't eat my chocolates, mate," Harry joked. Ron groaned, hiding his face in his hands.
"You'll have a nasty headache for the next few days," Slughorn warned. "And stay away from Miss. Vane as well. It seems as if these chocolates were quite strong."
"I don't think I can ever eat chocolate again," Ron mumbled.
"This might cheer your spirits," Slughorn advised, handing each of them a glass.
"What is it?" Claire questioned, the smell making her go lightheaded and her stomach turn.
"Some wine that was sent to me to give to Professor Dumbledore. I keep forgetting about it, but I'm sure he won't mind if it doesn't get up to him," Slughorn laughed.
"Cheers," Ron grumbled, tossing his cup back and swallowing it in one go. Claire's mind was going fuzzy from the smell but she knew that something was wrong with the wine. She closed her eyes and thought about everything that had happened, gasping and putting the cup down loudly.
"Don't drink it!" Claire exclaimed. Harry immediately listened to her, putting his cup down and then grabbing the cup from Slughorn's hands.
"What has gotten into you? That's a very expensive brand!" The professor complained, but his question was answered when Ron started choking, grabbing his throat with panicked eyes.
"Do something, Professor!" Harry yelled, but the man was just staring at the teen with wide eyes. The boy cursed and then started rummaging through the desk, grabbing something a forcing it down Ron's throat.
"A bezoar," Slughorn whispered to himself. Ron stopped choking, going limp instead.
"Is he okay?" Claire asked, her hands shaking as she tried to find his pulse. She breathed a sigh of relief when she felt his heart pounding, although it was weak. Harry shared a panicked look with her, both of them realizing just how close they were to death.
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"How did the Draught of Living Death even end up in the wine? It makes no sense."
Claire opened one eye to look at the adults, all of them gathered around Ron's bed. She was pretending to be asleep, but she was eavesdropping instead. Mrs. Weasley was sitting there, her eyes still red.
"It was sent to me on accident," Slughorn replied, looking upset and scared.
"You know how," Harry hissed. Claire jumped, making the adults look over to them. Claire feigned just waking up, yawning and stretching.
"I think it's time you went back to your dorm," Remus advised. Claire pouted but nodded. Remus guided Claire and Harry out, making it far enough away that no one else could hear before picking an empty classroom, closing and locking the door.
"It wasn't Draco," Claire said immediately. While Remus had arrived hours earlier, they hadn't gotten time to just talk about what happened with all the panic around them.
"Then how did you know?" Harry asked angrily. "Cause from where I'm sitting, you're the cunning snake."
"Behave, Harry," Remus said, a snap in his voice. Harry looked surprised for a second at the tone that Remus had used. Claire frowned, upset that Harry could think that she was capable of something like that.
"Draco got the wine, but he didn't send it. It was sitting in his room for months," Claire revealed. Remus' jaw tensed while Harry scoffed, kicking the leg of a chair.
"Where is he? We'll have to ask him since you haven't been in his dorm," Remus replied.
"She's in his bed more than she's in her own," Harry scoffed under his breath. Claire's eyes widened in anger, giving him an angry look. He was a little sheepish, but it was obvious that he didn't regret what he said.
"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that," Remus finally said after a moment of silence, giving his daughter a firm look. "When was the last time you remember seeing it?"
"It was when Professor Snape did our room evaluations to see how clean they were," Claire gasped. "The bottle was in a locked box in one of his drawers. I went to take a sweater probably a day or two after the evaluation and the box was gone. I figured Draco had just moved it and forgot to ask."
"Are you sure that Draco didn't send it?" Remus inquired.
"100%. He would have told me," Claire responded.
"So it was Snape," Harry spat. "He's the reason that Ron is in the Hospital Wing."
"I'll handle it," Remus said firmly.
"Sure, just like you've handled everything else," Harry said sarcastically. "Your daughter is fucking a Death Eater every night, but you've got everything handled."
"Go to hell, Potter!" Claire gasped, staring at Harry as if he had gone mad. The boy looked exhausted, his eyes brimming with tears and his body practically shaking with anger.
"I'll see you there!" Harry exclaimed. "When you go to Azkaban, I'll be sure to tell the Dementors that you're the first to go!"
"Get the fuck away from me!" Claire yelled, tears running down her face.
"Gladly!" Harry scoffed, slamming the door as he went.
"I think... I think it's best if you come home with me," Remus said softly, wiping a tear away before it could fall. Claire whipped around, looking shocked. "Sirius and I can continue your education, away from all of this. You'd be safe."
"I am safe," Claire argued.
"You could have died if you had any of that wine today," Remus sighed. "And honestly, Draco hasn't done much to help us. The rest of the Order that knows about him is unsure of where his loyalties lie."
"He's a teenager, just like me! He's my age!" Claire complained. "What is he supposed to do? Do they want him to get killed?"
"I know," Remus started, stepping forward to grab Claire's hand. She angrily wiped it away, making Remus sigh. "Please, Claire. Come home where I can watch you. Make sure that you're safe."
"I'm not leaving," Claire said quietly, breaking down and letting the tears fully fall. Remus embraced his daughter, wanting to cry as well.
In that moment, they both felt too young for the weight on their shoulders.