Harry Potter and Claire Smith's Adventures: Book Four

The Nightmare on Christmas

Chapter 19: The Nightmare on Christmas

Students were assigned heavy workloads over the holidays; though that didn't mean they actually did any of it. Most students found themselves choosing to spend their break having fun rather than doing work. Hermione, being amongst the few who actually wanted to work, spent the first days of break finishing her assignments.

Due to the announcement of the Yule Ball, there was a lot more students staying at Hogwarts over the break compared to the previous years. Fred and George took advantage of these potential customers by promoting their Canary Creams and Firework Messages; Claire assisted them when needed. Both the Canary Creams and Firework Messages were instant successes. Within the first hour of selling, they sold one hundred Canary Creams and two hundred Firework Messages. The Firework Messages seemed to create even more hype for the upcoming holiday dance.

The holiday atmosphere became more visible with thickly fallen snow on the castle and its grounds. Hagrid's hut resembled an iced gingerbread house and the pale blue Beauxbaton's carriage looked like a frosted pumpkin next to Hagrid's home. The Durmstrang ship's portholes were glazed over with a thin layer of ice and the riggings were white with frost. The interior of the castle was decorated extravagantly with holiday decorations. Everlasting icicles were attached to the banisters of the marble staircases and the Great Hall's usual decor of twelve Christmas tress were adorned with everything from luminous holly berries to real, hooting, golden owls. The suits of armor were charmed to sing Christmas carols; most of the time they only knew half the lyrics and Peeves would fill in the gaps with some of his own, all of which weren't very appropriate. The decorations weren't the only things outdoing themselves though. The house-elves down in the kitchen served a series of rich, warming stews and savory puddings, and only Fleur Delacour seemed to be able to find anything to complain about.

"It is too 'eavy, all zis 'Ogwarts food," they heard her saying grumpily as they left the Great Hall behind her one evening (Ron took to skulking behind Harry, keen not to be spotted by Fleur; Claire was told by Ginny that he'd tried to ask Fleur to the ball and it didn't end well). "I will not fit into my dress robes!"

"Oooh how disappointing," Hermione snapped as Fleur went out into the entrance hall. "She really thinks a lot of herself, that one, doesn't she?"

"Hermione—who are you going to the ball with?" Ron said.

Claire rolled her eyes at Ron; he'd kept springing this question on Hermione for the past week, hoping to startle her into a response by asking when she least expected it. However, Hermione would merely frown and say, "I'm not telling you."

"Would you leave her alone, Ron?" Claire snapped. "You've asked Hermione who's she's taking to the ball everyday for the past week!"

"No, I haven't," Ron muttered.

"You're joking, Weasley!" Malfoy said, behind them. "You're not telling me someone's asked that to the ball? Not the long-molared Mudblood?"

Claire, Harry, and Ron whipped around, but Hermione said loudly, waving to somebody over Malfoy's shoulder, "Hello, Professor Moody!"

Malfoy went pale and jumped backward, looking wildly around for Moody, but he was still up at the staff table, finishing his stew.

"Twitchy little ferret, aren't you, Malfoy?" Claire smirked, and the four friends went up the marble staircase laughing heartily.

"Hermione," Ron said, looking sideways at her, suddenly frowning, "your teeth..."

"What about them?" she said.

"Well, they're different...I've just noticed..."

Claire rolled her eyes at his obliviousness. "Little late, aren't you?"

"Of course they're different—did you expect me to keep those fangs Malfoy gave me?" Hermione said to Ron.

"No, I mean, they're different to how they were before he put that hex on you..." Ron said, "They're all...straight and—and normal-sized."

Hermione suddenly smiled very mischievously, and Claire and Harry noticed it too.

"Well...when I went up to Madam Pomfrey to get them shrunk, she held up a mirror and told me to stop her when they were back to normal," she said. "And I just...let her carry on a bit." She smiled even more widely. "Mum and Dad won't be too pleased. I've been trying to persuade them to let me shrink them for ages, but they wanted me to get braces. You know, they're dentists, they just don't think teeth and magic should—look! Pigwideon's back!"

Ron's tiny owl was twittering madly on the top of the icicle-laden banisters, a scroll of parchment tied to his left leg. People passing him were pointing and laughing, and a group of third-year girls paused and said, "Oh look at the weeny owl! Isn't it cute?"

"Stupid little feathery git!" Ron hissed, hurrying up the stairs and snatching up Pigwideon. "You bring letters to the addressee! You don't hang around showing off!"

"No need to take your anger out on a helpless owl, Ron." Claire said.

Ron ignored her as Pigwideon hooted happily, his head protruding over Ron's fist. The third-year girls all looked very shocked.

"Clear off!" Ron snapped at them, waving the fist holding Pigwideon, who hooted more happily than ever as he soared through the air. "Here—take it, Harry," Ron added in an undertone as the third-year girls scuttled away looking scandalized and muttering 'Animal abuse' under their breaths. Ron pulled Sirius and Carina's reply off Pigwideon's leg, Harry pocketed it, and they hurried back to Gryffindor Tower to read it.

The Gryffindor common room was crowded and loud when the four friends arrived. They managed to situate themselves at one of the empty tables as Harry read the letter out loud:

Dear Harry,

Congratulations on getting past the Horntail. We knew you could do it! Whoever put your name in the goblet shouldn't be feeling too happy right now!

Don't get complacent, though, Harry. You've only done one task; whoever put you in for the tournament's got plenty more opportunity if they're trying to hurt you. Especially, if Claire's dreams are true and Voldemort's insider is using the tournament to plot your death.

Keep your eyes open—particularly when the person we discussed is around—and concentrate on keeping yourself out of trouble.

"They sound exactly like Moody," Harry said quietly. "'Constant vigilance!' You'd think I walk around with my eyes shut, banging off the walls..."

"Well, you don't do that, I hope. But they're right. You still have two tasks to go through and you haven't prepared for them yet." Claire said.

"You really ought to have a look at that egg and start working out what it means." Hermione agreed.

"He's got ages!" Ron snapped at them.

"It took us two months to prepare for the first task, Ron." Hermione argued. "He should take advantage of every second."

"Was that all they said?" Claire intervened, interrupting their bickering.

Harry continued to read the letter.

Onto a brighter topic, you might be seeing Carina, Remus, and I at Hogwarts soon. We have some news to share with you and Claire. It took a lot of convincing, but the Ministry is going to let me visit you both. Until then, keep in touch and see you two soon.

Sirius, Carina, and Remus

"Did he say when they're coming?" Claire asked.

Harry shook his head. "No, it just says soon."

"Well, now that you're done reading the letter, you should start on the egg." Hermione said.

"Or you could play a game of chess and worry about the egg later." Ron said.

"Yeah, okay," Harry said to Ron. Then, spotting the look on Claire's and Hermione's faces, he said, "Come on, how'm I supposed to concentrate with all this noise going on? I won't even be able to hear the egg over this lot."

"Hate to agree, but he has a point, Hermione." Claire said.

"Oh I suppose you're right," Hermione sighed.

"I'll start working on the egg after the Yule Ball, alright?" Harry promised them.

"Fine, just don't complain to us if you can't figure out the egg in time." Hermione said.

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The days leading up to Christmas passed rather quickly. Claire soon found herself waking up Christmas morning to Ginny bursting into her and Hermione's dorm.

"Rise and shine!" Ginny said brightly, throwing a present on Claire and Hermione's beds. "Happy Christmas!"

"Ow!" Claire muttered sleepily as Ginny's present hit her head. She rubbed the side of her head that got hit. "You could've been a bit more quiet. We have roommates, you know."

"I saw them leave before I came in." Ginny said simply.

"Oh, they're lovely, Ginny!" Hermione, who was already awake, had opened her gift. She was holding a pair of flower earrings the same shade as her dress for the Yule Ball.

"Aren't they? I thought they'd go really well with your dress." Ginny said. She then turned to Claire. "Well, aren't you going to open your gift?"

"I'm getting to that. I just woke up." Claire yawned as she sat up in her bed, holding her gift. She glanced briefly at the foot of her bed where her trunk was to see a pile of presents then turned her attention to the present Ginny threw at her. Her gift was inside a shiny, gold box about the size of her palm. A red bow adorned the top. Claire opened the lid revealing a pair of golden tassel earrings with teal blue gems at the end of each tassel. She assumed they were for tonight.

"They're really pretty." Claire said. "Thanks, Ginny."

Claire got up and removed the pile of presents on her trunk to her bed. She then opened her trunk to get their presents. Claire had the same idea as Ginny for gifts. She had bought Hermione a necklace with a periwinkle blue flower pendant on a silver chain. It surprisingly matched the earrings Ginny bought for Hermione. For Ginny, Claire managed to find a gold bracelet with an intricate design of various swirls with a light greenish color. Hermione and Ginny were happy with Claire's gifts. It was then Hermione's turn to give them presents. Hermione also bought them jewelry for the ball: gold studded earrings for Ginny and a coral colored bracelet for Claire. After Hermione gave them their presents, they turned to their other presents at the foot of their beds. (Ginny had brought the presents from her room to their dorm.) Before they opened their gifts, Hermione spoke up.

"Why don't we bring our gifts to the boys' dorms and we can all open up the rest of our presents together?" Hermione suggested.

Ginny and Claire agreed and the three of them gathered their presents and the presents for the boys before setting off to the boys' dorms. When they reached the boys' dormitory, they opened the door to see Harry, Ron (he was sporting a new Chudley Cannon hat that clashed horribly with his red hair), Neville, Seamus, Dean, and Dobby the house-elf.

"Happy Christmas!" The three girls greeted them.

"I thought girls weren't allowed in the boys' dormitory." Seamus said.

"Girls are allowed in the boys' dorms, just not the other way around." Hermione replied.

"That's unfair!" Seamus complained.

"Don't complain to us. We didn't come up with the rules. Mind if I set these here, Harry?" Claire asked, motioning to put her presents on his bed.

"Go ahead." Harry said.

"Hello, Dobby." Claire smiled at the friendly house-elf who was wearing a too big Weasley Sweater with a white R on the front. "I see Ron gave you his sweater. Would you like me to shrink it for you?"

Dobby nodded. Claire pulled out her wand and waved it at Dobby's sweater. The sleeves shorten to the length of Dobby's arms and the torso shrunk to fit him like a dress. She then changed the R to a D.

"There you go. And here's the gift I promised you, Dobby. Happy Christmas." Claire pulled one of the smaller sized gifts from her pile and handed it to him.

Dobby's eyes filled with excitement. "Thank you, Claire Smith. Thank you."

"You're welcome, Dobby." Claire said.

Dobby tore off the wrapping paper revealing two different fluffy socks. One was decorated with various fruits and the other had green stars on it. Dobby's eyes filled with tears and Claire thought for a moment that he didn't like the socks. That is until Dobby practically tackled her legs (Dobby was very short) in a hug.

"Dobby loves them, Miss! Dobby loves them very much! You're too kind!" Dobby exclaimed, while the boys, Ginny, and Hermione were snickering at Dobby's reaction.

"I'm glad you like them, Dobby." Claire said, awkwardly patting his head.

Dobby released Claire's legs from the hug. "Dobby has gift for you!"

"You didn't have to get me anything—"

But Dobby had already pulled a pair of socks out; the left sock was white with black music notes while the right sock was decorated with stars and planets in the solar system. Claire smiled gratefully at her gift. She thought they were pretty cool.

"Dobby is making them himself, miss!" the elf said happily. "He is buying the wool out of his wages, miss!"

"That's great, Dobby. I really like them." Claire thanked the elf.

Dobby smiled brightly. "Thank you. Dobby must go now, we is already making Christmas dinner in the kitchens! Goodbye Harry Potter and Claire Smith!"

Dobby hurried out the dormitory, waving good-bye to the others as he passed.

"I can't believe they don't give the elves holidays off." Hermione complained.

"Hermione lay off that S.P.E.W. stuff. It's Christmas!" Ron said.

Hermione sighed and muttered, "Fine."

"Who's ready to open presents?" Ginny said.

They all cheered and handed out gifts to their rightful owners. Claire got her usual Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Jelly Beans from Ron, a Weird Sister t-shirt from Harry (which she thanked him for a minute straight when she opened the gift), a Weasley sweater from Mrs. Weasley (it was light blue with a black C in the middle), and some pranking items from Fred and George. There were three presents left: one was from her uncle in a small box, one from her parents in a medium-sized box, and one from Remus in a box bigger than Sirius's but smaller than her parents'. She opened Remus's gift first to find Kurt Cobain's Autobiography. Claire was excited to get this book as Hermione had told her about the book. Then she opened Sirius's gift revealing a knife. There was a note attached.

For those boys who don't leave you alone. —From your young and hip Uncle Sirius

Claire rolled her eyes as she read the note. Claire opened her parent's gift last. When she opened the lid, there was something small at the bottom of the box. She reached inside and as she pulled the object out it became heavier and longer. When she pulled out the object, her mouth dropped in shock. It was a guitar! It was maroon and the strings were gold. She then noticed a note hanging on the neck of the guitar.

Claire— Your father told me you won a singing contest to sing at the Yule Ball! We couldn't think of a better gift than a guitar. We're so proud of you! Hope you enjoy it!

Love Mom and Dad

"You got a guitar!" Ginny said. "That's so cool! Now you have one to play for tonight!"

"You're playing at the Yule Ball?" Neville asked.

Claire nodded. "I won the contest to sing with the Weird Sisters."

"I didn't know you could sing." Dean said.

"Ron, where are your dress robes for tonight?" Hermione asked. "I found the spell that can transfigure them, but I can only get rid of the lace."

"Anything's better than what it looks like now." Ron said, pulling his robes from his trunk and handing them to Hermione to fix.

As Hermione fixed Ron's robes, Fred and George came into the room, both wearing their Weasley sweaters.

"Jolly, Merry, Happy Christmas to all!" The twins echoed in unison.

They all greeted them.

"Claire, McGonagall wants us to decorate the Great Hall after breakfast." George said.

"Ok, thanks." Claire replied.

"Also, the Weird Sisters will be there and want to rehearse with you." Fred said nonchalantly.

"What?" Claire exclaimed.

"The Weird Sisters—"

"I heard you," Claire interrupted. "I'm just freaking out that they're here and they want to rehearse with me."

"Well, you did win the contest so..." Fred replied.

"No need for the sass," Claire said. "We'd better get changed and head down for breakfast."

"Yeah, I'm starving," Ron agreed.

"Big surprise." Ginny muttered causing Ron to glare at her.

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Ginny, Hermione, and Claire went back to their dorms and changed before heading down to breakfast. Claire dressed in her new Weird Sisters shirt, and she pulled a pair of black jeans and combat boots from her trunk. As she grabbed these items, she saw her father's present and grabbed it, deciding to give to him at breakfast. She put on her Weasley Sweater before leaving her dorm. The three girls walked into the Great Hall and met up with the boys for breakfast. Claire glanced at the teachers' table and noticed her father was missing. She decided to visit him later to give him her gift.

Claire found it hard to focus on breakfast when she knew she was going to be meeting the Weird Sisters soon. Her thoughts swirled around in her head and her nerves were going wild. Her thoughts were cut short when Ginny yelled her name.

"Claire!" Ginny yelled.

"Why are you yelling?" Claire said.

"You weren't answering my question." Ginny said. "We were going to have a snowball fight by the Black Lake after breakfast. You want to join after you're done?"

"Sure, sounds fun." Claire said.

When everyone was done eating, Ron, Ginny, Hermione, and Harry headed to the Black Lake while Claire and the twins stayed behind and waited for the other students to leave. Just as the last student left, Professor McGonagall walked over to her and the twins.

"Oh good, you're already here. We won't need you three to do the snow until after we set up the stage. I suggest you wait to set up the fireworks in the courtyard after you do the snow." Professor McGonagall instructed them.

"What can we do until then?" George asked.

"The Weird Sisters will be here in ten minutes to rehearse with Miss Smith, so you three can help Professor Flitwick set up the stage. Merlin knows he'll need help setting up the speakers." Professor McGonagall glanced near the teachers' table. Professor Flitwick had waved his wand making the table disappear. A large stage replaced it and there were four large speakers three times the size of Professor Flitwick next to it. "Though he could levitate them by himself, it'd be safer if you three helped him. When you're done with that, then you can go on with the snow."

"Sure thing, Minnie!" Fred said.

Professor McGonagall gave him a stern glare. "That's Professor McGonagall to you, Mr. Weasley."

She then left to set the tables for the dance. Claire, Fred, and George assisted Professor Flitwick with moving the speakers which he was very grateful for.

"Where do you want these speakers, Professor?" Claire asked motioning to the speakers.

"Hmm, well, I believe putting two on either side of the stage would be best." Professor Flitwick said.

"Wingardium Leviosa!" Claire, Fred, and George said in unison.

They moved the speakers where they were instructed to.

"Thank you, Mr. Weasley, Mr. Weasley, and Miss Smith." Professor Flitwick thanked them.

"No problem, Professor. Is there anything else we can help with?" Claire asked.

"No, the only thing left here is for the Weird Sisters to set up their instruments. They should be here any minute." Professor Flitwick said. "They'll want to hear your song. I'm sure they'll enjoy it. Your song was the best one out of everyone who auditioned. That's why the judges and I chose your song, of course. You should consider taking choir or a music class elective next year."

Claire blushed at the praise. "Er—thanks, Professor. I'll keep that in mind."

Professor McGonagall came over. "Everything's set for you three to start with the snow."

"Professor McGonagall, is there anything here that can play music?" Fred asked.

"Why?" Professor McGonagall asked skeptically.

"We—well, Claire actually—charmed the snow to change colors to the music." George said.

Professor McGonagall raised her eyebrows in surprise. "How did you manage that, Miss Smith?"

Claire took out her Sonic Screwdriver.

"I see." Professor McGonagall said. "Well, there's a Gramophone over there."

"Thanks, Professor." Claire said.

McGonagall nodded and walked away.

"Alright, Fred you say the spell, George you stand by the Gramophone, and I'll change the color of the snow." Claire instructed them.

Within five minutes, there was a light colorful snowfall in the Great Hall. The three of them sat on the edge of the stage admiring their work. The other teachers had finished decorating the Great Hall. The walls were decorated with sparkly silver frost, with hundreds of garlands of mistletoe and ivy crossing the starry black ceiling. In front of the stage, there was a large round table and the House tables had been replaced with about a hundred smaller, lantern-lit ones, each seating about a dozen people.

"So, are you excited to perform with the Weird Sisters?" George asked.

"Yeah, I'm just nervous is all." Claire said.

"What could be nerve-racking about singing in front of a thousand students?" Fred said.

Claire glared at him and replied sarcastically, "I don't know, maybe falling off the stage, tripping, messing up the lyrics—"

"Listen Claire, there's nothing to worry about. I'm sure you'll do fine. Right, Fred?" George said.

"Yeah, I mean if you figured out how to synchronize the color changing snow to music, I'm sure you can sing a song in front of the school." Fred agreed.

"You're right. I guess I'm just being overly dramatic." Claire said.

"What's knew?" Fred said sarcastically.

Claire rolled her eyes.

"We should get going. We need to start on setting up those fireworks." George said.

"Alright, let's go." Claire said.

"You should stay here, Claire." George replied.

"Why?" Claire asked.

"Because the Weird Sisters are here." Fred said, pointing toward the entrance of the Great Hall.

Fred was right. The six band members wore artfully torn black robes and had a lot of hair; both on their heads and their faces. There was Heathcote Barbary (rhythm guitar), Gideon Crumb (bagpipes), Kirley Duke (lead guitar), Orsino Thruston (drums), Donaghan Tremlett (bass), and Myron Wagtail (lead singer). They were carrying their instruments to the stage. Claire's nerves were increasing by the second.

"You'll do fine, Claire." George said.

"Yeah, good luck." Fred said. "We'll see you when you're done."

Just as the twins left, the band members caught sight of Claire. The lead singer walked up to her.

"You must be Claire Smith." Myron said to her.

"Yeah, that's me." Claire replied, trying to maintain her composure that the lead singer of one of her favorite bands was talking to her.

"So, you're the one who won the songwriting contest." Kirley said. "I'm Kirley, lead guitarist and co-writer."

"I know everything about you guys." Claire stuttered as she realized that she sounded like a stalker. "Er—what I meant to say was I've done my research on your band."

"The judges told us your song was incredible. We've been waiting to hear it. Do you mind if you sang it for us?" Kirley asked.

"Er—yeah, sure, no problem." Claire asked and took her wand out. "Accio guitar!"

In a few seconds her guitar was in her hands. Claire sat on the edge of the stage.

"So, this is my original song. It's called 'When I'm Alone'." Claire began to play a riff before she started singing.

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It was silent for a moment when Claire finished the song. She wasn't sure what to do, but then they clapped.

"That was fantastic!" Myron said.

"Blimey! I didn't expect that!" Gideon exclaimed.

"How long have you been writing?" Kirley asked.

"A few years." Claire said.

"You definitely have a talent." Heathcote said.

"Thank you." Claire replied. "That means a lot coming from you guys. I mean you're one of the most talented bands in the Wizarding World."

"There's one suggestion I have though." Donaghan said. "How would you feel about us playing back-up for your song?"

"You're joking, right?" Claire said in disbelief. "That'd be brilliant!"

"Well, then we'd better start practicing. What key is the song in?" Myron asked.

And with that they spent the next hour practicing. It was a surreal experience for Claire. She was thankful for this opportunity and that all the band members were genuinely down-to-earth. When they finished rehearsing, Claire thanked them before leaving the Great Hall. As she walked back to her dorm to put away her guitar, she remembered she had to give her father his gift and set off to his classroom.

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Claire opened the door to her father's classroom with a gift in her right hand. "Happy Christmas, Dad! I have—bloody merlin, I've gone blind!"

Claire had walked in on her father and mother kissing; she covered her eyes with her free hand. Her parents jumped apart at the intrusion.

"Oh, Claire, dear, sorry, we didn't see you there." Carina said, blushing slightly.

"Obviously," Claire muttered, removing her hand from eyes after making sure they still weren't sucking one another's face off. "Er— not that I'm not happy you're here, mum, but what are you doing here?"

"Didn't you get my letter? Sirius, Remus, and I said we'd be stopping by for a visit." Carina said. "I have some exciting news to tell you. I've been training to become an Auror."

"Wow, that's great, mum." Claire said.

"But that's not all the news. The Ministry has let Sirius off house arrest for good behavior!" Carina exclaimed.

"No way!" Claire exclaimed. "You're not serious."

"'Course she's not Sirius, I am." Claire turned around and saw her uncle entering the classroom with Remus and another woman in her mid-twenties with unnaturally pink hair.

"Uncle Sirius!" Claire ran to her uncle and hugged him. "I heard the great news! You're officially a freed man! Wait until Harry hears the news."

"Hello, Remus." Claire greeted the werewolf. "Any luck finding a job?"

"Slowly, but surely. I've managed to find small short-term jobs around the area." Remus replied. "How's Moody doing as the new DADA teacher?"

"He seems like he knows his stuff, but you're still my favorite teacher." Claire said. "Moody sort of gives off this creepy vibe. I think it might have something to do with that glass eye of his."

"I don't blame you." The pink haired woman agreed. "Moody used to train me when I started training to become an Auror. First time I saw his eye, it made my hair turn gray, literally."

"Claire, this is your third cousin, Nymphadora." Sirius said.

Claire watched as Nymphadora's hair turned red and she glared at Sirius. "Don't call me Nymphadora, Sirius. It's Tonks."

"Nymphadora Tonks, who prefers to be known by her surname only." Remus said.

"So would you if your fool of a mother had called you Nymphadora." Tonks said. Her hair then turned back to pink as she smiled at Claire. "Wotcher, Claire! We've never met before, but my mother Andromeda met you when you were a baby. It's nice to finally meet you."

"You too, Tonks. I've never met a metamorphmagus before! That's really cool!" Claire said, noticing Tonks changing hair color.

"Thanks! I love your shirt by the way." Tonks complimented her Weird Sisters t-shirt. "The Weird Sisters are amazing! I can't wait to see them tonight at the ball. I heard you'll be performing with them."

"Yeah, I just got out of rehearsal with them. They're really cool." Claire then remembered her gift for her father. "Oh, by the way, dad, this is your Christmas gift."

"Oooh, presents!" The Doctor exclaimed in a childish manner as Claire handed him the gift. The Doctor opened the gift to reveal a watch.

"I thought it might help you get to class on time seeing as you're always late." Claire teased.

"That's asking for a miracle, Claire. You're father hasn't been on time to anything." Carina said.

"Hey! That's not true. I'm always early...it's just everyone else tends to show up earlier than me." The Doctor said defiantly.

Tonks glanced at the time on the watch. "Oh, I better go. I have somewhere to be before the ball. See ya later."

"I'd better head off to. Goodbye." Remus and Tonks walked out of the room.

"Bye, Tonks, Remus!" Claire waved goodbye to them as they exited the room.

"By the way, mum, I have yours, uncle Sirius, and Remus's gifts upstairs. I'll give them to you later." Claire said.

"Thank you, Claire." Carina replied. "You know, you didn't have to get us anything."

"Speak for yourself, Carina." Sirius interjected. "I'm expecting that gift later or else."

"Well, it's our first Christmas together, so I figured I should get you something." Claire said.

"Did you get your gift from us?" The Doctor asked.

Claire nodded. "I loved it. I can't believe you got me a guitar!"

"Your father told us you won the Weird Sister contest." Carina said. "We knew you didn't have a guitar, so I decided to give you my old one."

"You used to play guitar?" Claire asked surprised.

"Not only did I play, I was in a band. Your uncle was in it too." Carina said.

"Really?" Claire said raising her eyebrows. "What was it called?"

"Recipe For Disaster. The two of us as well as James and Remus were in it." Sirius replied, motioning to himself and Carina. "I played the drums and your mother played the guitar. Carina and I also took turns singing lead. We started the band when we were fifteen with James and Remus. James played rhythm guitar while Remus played the bass. Peter was going to join too, but he couldn't really play any instruments."

"What happened to the band?" Claire asked.

"There were more important things to worry about when we stopped playing. As the first war progressed, both wizards and muggles were being murdered by Voldemort and his Death Eaters." Carina explained. "The five us decided to put away our instruments and pick up our wands. We signed up for the Order of the Phoenix to fight against Voldemort and his followers."

Her mother's expression turned melancholy much like her father's did whenever he spoke about the Great Time War or when Mr. and Mrs. Weasley brought up the first Wizarding War.

"What was it like living through that? Mr. and Mrs. Weasley hardly ever talk about it, but when they do they say it was difficult to live through." Claire said.

"It definitely was." Carina nodded. "The most difficult part of the war was deciding who to put your trust in. Trust was the most valuable tool during that time. Oftentimes, you'd find it'd be broken more than you'd like to think. It was hard to tell who the enemy was when the enemy and your friend were wearing the same mask."

"To think it was all because of one man who wanted to have power over the Wizarding World." Sirius said.

"He wasn't the first and he more than likely won't be the last." Carina said. "Power makes people do terrible things."

"Power itself isn't the bad thing, it's the person's motivation behind it." The Doctor said.

"In any case, was that power really worth the lives of thousands?" Claire questioned.

"The age old question," The Doctor replied. "For centuries people have fought in wars all in some way, shape, or form linking to power. They see the damage it inflicts upon people and yet they continue to repeat history."

Claire bit her lip thinking back to the dreams she kept having about Voldemort's return. "Do you think that maybe Voldemort really has returned?"

"I wish I could say he hasn't, but with what we've witnessed the past several months and the dreams you've had it's hard to deny." Carina replied. "You shouldn't stress over that at the moment. He's not back as of right now and hopefully not for a long while."

"I know I shouldn't, but it's just something that keeps popping back into my head. I don't want him to come back." Claire said.

"None of us would fancy him coming back either, Claire." Sirius said.

"No, matter what Voldemort's done, Claire," Carina began, "you can't let the fear of him replace your way of life."

"I'm not afraid of him. I'm afraid of what he can do to the people I love. There's a difference." Claire said quietly. "If he returns even more powerful than before..."

"Claire," The Doctor said. "We can't promise you he won't return, but we can promise you if he does we're going to defeat him."

"Your father's right," Carina agreed. "Whatever it takes, we'll stop Voldemort."

Claire engulfed her parents in a hug.

"Oh, I didn't know I was wearing an invisibility cloak." Sirius said in a loud sarcastic tone.

"Come here, Uncle Sirius." Claire said, grabbing his arm to join in the hug. "Happy Christmas."

"Happy Christmas, Claire."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Claire walked down to the Black Lake in a good mood. She thought this Christmas was the best one yet. She had her parents and uncle back and they were a family again. It felt as though she were in a dream. Life seemed too perfect and she couldn't help but think something bad might happen to ruin it. Claire waved those negatives vibes away as she spotted the twins, Ginny, Hermione, Ron, and Harry by the Black Lake.

"About time you decided to show!" Fred shouted as he saw her walking towards them.

"What took you so long?" Ron questioned.

Claire told them about the surprise visit from her mum, uncle, their old DADA professor, and her third cousin who was an Auror and a metamorphmagus. She told them about her mom training to become an Auror and Sirius being officially declared free by the Ministry of Magic.

"That's brilliant!" Harry said. "I thought the Ministry was just going to keep making excuses for him to stay on house arrest."

"You and me both." Claire replied. "By the way, Sirius said he'd stop by and visit later."

"Your mom is really going to be an Auror?" Ginny asked.

Claire nodded. "She said she just started training a month ago. She's really excited."

"Not that this isn't good news, but could we get on with the snowball fight?" George interrupted. "We've been waiting an hour."

"Sure. Who's on what team?" Claire said.

Moments later, they were in their groups. Fred, George, Harry, and Ron were on one team while Hermione, Ginny, and Claire were on the other. It was three hours before the Yule Ball when Hermione and Ginny began to walk away from the game.

"Where are you going?" Ron yelled.

"Yeah, we're winning!" Claire yelled as she dodged a snowball from Ron and successfully threw one at his face.

"We need to get ready for the ball tonight." Hermione said. "C'mon, Claire."

"What? But we have ages until the ball." Claire complained, as Hermione and Ginny tried to pull her away from the game.

"We'll need every second of it if we're going to be ready in time." Ginny said.

"What could possibly take us three hours to get ready?" Claire questioned.

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In all her fourteen years of life, Claire had never dressed up. She thought it was pointless and didn't see the need for it. She felt it was wiser to spend more time on one's attitude rather than their physical appearance. So, when Hermione and Ginny said they were going to help her dress up for the ball, she wasn't too keen on the idea. Claire couldn't understand why Hermione and Ginny needed three hours to get ready. All you had to do was throw on your dress, slip on some shoes, and style your hair. Why would that take three hours? Claire's question was answered when they walked into Ginny's dorm and she pulled out a large bag, spilling its contents on her bed. There were various types of make-up, hair products, and nail polishes. Claire raised her eyebrows as she stared at it all.

"Er—Ginny, Hermione you're not planning on using all those things, are you?" Claire asked apprehensively.

"'Course not." Ginny said waving her hand dismissively. "Hermione, did you bring your muggle fashion magazines? If not I managed to get several copies of Witch Weekly."

"Oh yes, they're in my dorm. Claire, why don't you come with me? We can go get our dresses for tonight." Claire nodded and followed Hermione to their dorm.

When they returned to Ginny's room, Ginny had begun sorting the various beauty items on her bed.

"I think this color would really make the periwinkle hues in your dress pop, Hermione." Ginny said holding up a light blueish-purpleish nail polish.

"You're right, Ginny." Hermione agreed. She caught sight of a green colored nail polish. "This one would be good for you, Gin. Oh, and Claire this teal colored one would be really nice on you."

Hermione handed Claire the nail polish. Hermione and Ginny then took out the magazines and started to flip through them.

"Witch Weekly says that it's important for any special event for one to have all the necessary beauty items. This includes: shoes, accessories, outfits, nail polish, hair de-frizzing products, body washes, eye-shadow, lipstick, lipgloss, blush—"

"Doesn't this all seem a bit much?" Claire questioned taken aback by the long list of items Hermione listed. "I mean, in all honesty, all we need to do is put on our dresses, shoes, and do our hair."

Hermione and Ginny looked at her like she was crazy.

"What?" Claire said cluelessly. "Isn't that what you're suppose to do?"

"Claire, there's more to it than that." Hermione replied. "We have to choose the best eyeshadow, lipstick, blush, foundation—"

"Why?" Claire groaned. "It's all unnecessary. Who cares what we look like? It's a dance, not a beauty competition."

"Stop complaining." Ginny said. "You're acting like it's going to kill you."

"We know it's not a beauty competition, but don't you ever want to just dress up once in a while?" Hermione said.

"Not really." Claire replied. "And if you're dressing up for Viktor, I'm sure he won't care what you wear."

"I'm not dressing up for Viktor or any else." Hermione said. "I'm dressing up for myself... to build up my self confidence. Dressing up isn't about impressing others, it's about making you feel more comfortable in your own skin."

Claire had never thought of it that way.

"Besides if girls dressed for men we'd walk around naked." Ginny added.

The girls laughed.

"I guess you're right, Hermione." Claire sighed. "But I don't know why you don't feel confident in your skin. I mean, you're smart and beautiful. Not a lot of people have that going for them. Plus, you seem to have a lot of confidence when it comes to school. If you put that same confidence in your looks, then you'd be set."

"Thank you, Claire." Hermione smiled.

"And Ginny you're beautiful and smart too." Claire said.

"I already knew that, but thanks." Ginny said cockily, flipping her hair over her shoulder dramatically.

Claire rolled her eyes. "So, how exactly are we suppose to start this whole 'dress up' thing?"

"Leave that to us." Hermione and Ginny said in unison.

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Three hours passed rather quickly, which didn't surprise Claire. Claire highly underestimated the amount of time needed to prepare for the ball. The three of them managed to finish getting ready ten minutes before the ball started. Hermione was in her periwinkle dress and her hair was no longer bushy, but sleek and shiny. Ginny had twisted Hermione's hair up into an elegant knot at the back of her head. Her make-up included a light blue eyeshadow, mascara, light pink lipstick, and blush. Ginny was wearing her light green dress with spaghetti straps. There was a light pink waistband on it. Her eyeshadow was light green and her lipstick was pink. Ginny had straighten her hair and left it down. Claire looked into the mirror and didn't recognize herself at first. She was never one to care about her looks, but she felt beautiful. Her hair was left down in her natural curls. Her dress accentuated her hourglass figure and her make-up was done tastefully. All three girls were wearing the jewelry they got from each other for Christmas.

"See that wasn't so bad, was it?" Ginny said.

"That's debatable." Claire replied.

"We're going to be late. C'mon, we better hurry." Hermione said.

Claire, Hermione, and Ginny walked down to the corner of the corridor which led to the final set of steps into the Yule Ball.

"I'll see you two later. I have to meet up with Neville." Ginny said.

"Neville? When did that happen?" Claire questioned.

Ginny blushed. "He just asked me to the ball. It's not like we're dating."

"Yet." Hermione said smiling slyly causing Ginny to blush more.

"Shut up." Ginny muttered as she turned the corner going down the stairs.

"Is it just me or do you feel extremely nervous?" Claire asked Hermione.

Hermione shook her head. "No. I'm nervous too."

"Together?" Claire suggested.

"Good idea." Hermione nodded.

The two of them descended the stairs. Claire suddenly felt very self-conscious. She could feel people staring at them. Claire stared at her feet as she descended the stairs in fear of falling. Once she reached the final step she looked up only to lock eyes with a pair of familiar green eyes near the doors to the Great Hall. It was Harry and he was staring wide-eyed at her. Claire could feel her cheeks warming up and sent him a small smile.

"Claire, there you are!" Jeremy was dressed in black robes with a purple tie. "Wow, you look great!"

"Thanks, so do you." Claire blushed. "Sorry I'm late."

"You're fine. You just made it actually." Jeremy said offering her his arm. "Ready for some fun?"

Claire hooked her arm with his. "Sure am. Wait until you see the decorations. They're incredible; especially the snow."

As they entered the Great Hall, Claire saw her parents, uncle, Tonks, and Remus seated at a table next to the large table in front of the stage. Her mother was wearing a black halter dress and her hair was down in waves. Her father was wearing a muggle black suit. Sirius and Remus were wearing traditional dress robes and Tonks was wearing her Auror uniform. In fact, the remaining seven seats at the table were occupied by Aurors who were all in their uniforms. She wondered why there were so many Aurors. Carina caught sight of her and sent her a smile and a wave. Claire returned the wave.

"Those are my parents, uncle, cousin, and Remus." Claire said to Jeremy. "Oh, and just so you know my uncle is a free man now."

"I'd like to meet them later." Jeremy said. "And you were right about the decorations."

"Miss Smith, Mr. Anwir, take a seat at one of the empty tables." Professor McGonagall told them.

The only seats available were at the table where Fred, George, Ron, and their dates Angelina, Alicia, and Padma sat.

"Oh no," Claire muttered.

"What's wrong?" Jeremy said.

"Er—well, the only seats open are next to Fred, George, and Ron..." Claire said.

"Let me guess, they're extremely protective over you because you're like a sister to them and you didn't tell them you had a date to the dance." Jeremy replied.

"I told Ron, but not the twins. I only told Ron because he was trying to get Hermione and me to go with him and Harry. Otherwise I wouldn't have told him. The three of them overreact when it comes to things like that. I was hoping to avoid them so they wouldn't intimidate you or ruin the night." Claire asked.

"Don't worry they won't intimidate me." Jeremy said. "Besides surely they won't ruin the night."

"Just don't accept anything the twins offer." Claire warned him.

Jeremy led Claire to the table. When they reached the table Jeremy said, "Can we sit here?"

"Sure." Angelina said. "Wow, Claire you look really pretty."

"Yeah, Claire, your hair looks nice down." Alicia complimented.

"Thanks, Angelina, Alicia." Claire replied.

"Claire?" Fred, George, and Ron said in unison. They were shocked by her appearance.

"Hey, Fred, George, Ron." Claire greeted them taking the empty seat next to Padma and Jeremy sitting in the empty seat next to Claire.

"Why didn't you tell us you had a date?" the twins questioned in unison. They didn't look happy.

Before Claire could answer, Angelina spoke up.

"You're really asking her that question? You two are the most protective brothers over her even though you aren't even her real brothers."

"Yeah," Alicia agreed. "She probably didn't want you to sabotage her date."

"Us? Sabotage her date?" George scoffed.

"We'd never do that." Fred said. He then pulled out some of their pranking candy and practically shoved it in Jeremy's face. "Care for a candy?"

"No thanks." Jeremy politely declined as Angelina took the candy from Fred and slapped his arm.

"Honestly, Fred. Just let Claire be. She's fifteen—"

"She's fourteen she won't be fifteen until January 30." Fred corrected her.

"It doesn't matter. The point is Fred she's old enough to take care of herself. And the same thing goes for Ginny." Angelina said.

"Thanks, Angelina." Claire said.

"No problem. I've dealt with these two for six years. I know they can overreact a lot. If they try to interfere later come get Alicia or I and we'll deal with them." Angelina offered.

"I'll take you up on that offer." Claire said.

"Claire!" She turned around to see Ginny and a pale, nervous looking Neville. "Can we sit with you guys?"

Claire nodded and they both sat at the table. "Hey, Neville, why didn't you tell me you asked Ginny?"

Neville looked extremely nervous. "Er—because I wasn't sure how you'd take it."

"I don't care that your brought her. I'm glad she's with someone I can trust. Right, Fred, George, Ron?" Claire said as Angelina, Alicia, and her sent all three boys a stern look.

"Yeah—" Fred said.

"Sure." George added.

"Just don't snog in front us. That goes to the both of you." Ron muttered grumpily, crossing his arms and leaning back in his chair.

This made Ginny and Neville blush while Claire rolled her eyes. Claire looked at the large table in front of the stage to see Dumbledore with the other two school headmasters as well as Ludo Bagman and surprisingly Percy seating themselves. Claire wondered why Percy was there and where Mr. Crouch was considering it looked like the judges were sitting at the table. Suddenly, Dumbledore stood and everyone went silent.

"Welcome to the Yule Ball!" Dumbledore paused as there was a large round of applause and cheers.

"Before the champions come in, I'd like to make a few announcements." Dumbledore continued. "First off, while I do hope you all enjoy your time tonight, please be responsible. If something happens tonight that you feel you need to report, please do so to either one of the faculty members of the schools or the Aurors. Second, I'm sure you've all recognized Sirius Black is here tonight, but there's nothing to fear. He is officially a innocent freed man."

Claire, the twins, Ron, Ginny, and Jeremy applauded loudly.

"I hope you all have fun and enjoy the Weird Sisters as well as the singing contest winner Claire Smith!" Dumbledore looked at Claire.

Claire looked down in embarrassment as the crowd applauded.

"Now, here are the champions of the Triwizard Champions!"

Professor McGonagall led the champions to the table Dumbledore was seated. Leading the champions were Cedric and his date Cho. Cedric caught sight of Claire and Neville and sent them a smile. Claire returned the smile and Cho didn't seem too happy about it. That is until Cedric whispered something in her ear which made her smile. After Cedric and Cho, came Fleur and Davies. Claire rolled her eyes as Ron's eyes followed her to the table. Claire then noticed Viktor and Hermione come in. Ron hadn't noticed her yet. An idea formed in Claire's mind.

"Hey, Ginny!" Claire said loudly. "Is that Hermione with Krum?"

Ginny smirked and went along with it. "It is. Hermione Granger's date is the Bulgarian Quidditch Seeker Viktor Krum!"

"What?" Ron's head snapped to the front entrance and his mouth dropped in shock. He wore almost the same expression as when he first saw Fleur. However, as Krum said something to Hermione, Ron's expression turned sour. He narrowed his eyes on Krum.

"Is Ronnikins jealous of Krum?" Claire teased him.

Ron was not in the mood and grumbled in his self-pity.

Finally, Harry and Parvati entered the hall. Parvati looked like she was having the time of her life, beaming at everything, and pulling Harry towards the table almost like a dog on a leash. Parvati sent a wave to her sister Padma who was definitely having second thoughts of coming to the ball with Ron as he stared moodily at the table. Harry looked extremely nervous and caught Claire's eyes. Claire sent him an encouraging smile and it looked like he gained some confidence. She saw her uncle Sirius send Harry a wink as he passed their table. Claire furrowed her eyebrows in confusion wondering what that was about.

"I've been promoted," Claire could hear Percy telling Harry even though they were three table away. Claire shared a look with Ginny and the twins who also could hear him. "I'm now Mr. Crouch's personal assistant, and I'm here representing him. I'm afraid to say Mr. Crouch isn't well, not well at all. Hasn't been right since the World Cup. Hardly surprising—overwork. He's not as young as he was—though still quite brilliant, of course, the mind remains as great as it ever was. But the World Cup was a fiasco for the whole Ministry, and then, Mr. Crouch suffered a huge personal shock with the misbehavior of that house-elf of his, Blinky, or whatever she was called. Naturally, he dismissed her immediately afterward, but—well, as I say, he's getting on, he needs looking after, and I think he's found a definite drop in his home comforts since she left. And then we had the tournament to arrange, and the aftermath of the Cup to deal with—that revolting Skeeter woman buzzing around—no, poor man, he's having a well-earned, quiet Christmas. I'm just glad he knew he had someone he could rely upon to take his place."

"Is he really that full of himself?" Ginny said in disbelief.

"I bet Crouch still calls him Weatherby. 'Weatherby, I need you to take my place tonight at the Yule Ball.'" Claire said mocking Crouch.

"Who's that?" Jeremy asked referring to Percy.

"He's our brother." Fred said. "Right, git, I tell you. Thinks work is more important than the family."

"Sounds like a git." Jeremy agreed. "Family always comes first."

Fred looked skeptically at Jeremy. "Just because you agree with me, doesn't mean I'm going to treat you nicer."

Angelina hit Fred on the arm and scolded him. "Fred, stop it!"

"I'm not expecting you to treat me any differently because of that. I understand you're just concerned for Claire. I'd do the same if I had a younger sibling." Jeremy said.

Fred stared at him for a second before picking up the menu on the small empty golden plate. "How are we suppose to order without a waiter?"

Claire glanced at the table with the headmasters.

"Pork chops!" Harry said.

"I think we're just suppose to say what we want." Claire said, picking up her own menu. She scanned the menu before saying, "Spaghetti."

Spaghetti appeared on her plate and the menu disappeared. Her goblet was filled with Butterbeer. The others at the table ordered food. As they ate, they could hear Fleur complaining about the decorations and how at Beauxbatons they had ice sculptures, choirs of wood nymphs, and better food.

"Does she ever stop complaining?" Ginny said annoyed. "I'd hate to be a part of her family."

Claire looked around the hall. Hagrid was sitting at one of the tables near her parents' table. He was back in his horrible hairy brown suit. Claire hoped he didn't wear that awful perfume again. She saw him give a small wave, and looking around, saw Madame Maxime return it, her opals glittering in the candlelight.

"Have any of you noticed Hagrid and Madame Maxime?" Claire said.

"Yeah, the two of them seem to be getting close." Jeremy replied.

"I think it's nice Hagrid's found someone." Alicia said. "He's such a nice person."

When all the food was consumed, Dumbledore stood up and asked the students to do the same. Then, with a wave of his wand, all the tables zoomed back along the walls leaving the floor clear.

"Champions to the dancing floor, please!" Dumbledore said.

The four champions walked to the middle of the dancing floor and Professor McGonagall started the gramophone. The snow started to change colors to the song. It took a moment for anyone to start dancing because they were shocked by the snow. When Harry danced, it looked like Parvati was leading the entire time. Couples started to join in the dance. Jeremy led Claire out onto the dance floor.

"I'm warning you," Claire began. "I'll probably step on your feet."

"That's alright." Jeremy said as they started dancing. "I probably will too."

Claire laughed.

"This snow is pretty cool. I wonder how they managed to synchronize the music to the color of the snow." Jeremy said as he looked at the green snow.

Claire smiled knowingly. "Well, it's quite simple really. All you need is a Sonic Screwdriver."

"How would you know that?" Jeremy asked curiously. "And what's that?"

"I was the one who did it. Well, Fred and George helped too. We all did it." Claire replied. "And a Sonic Screwdriver looks like a muggle screwdriver but it does various things."

"That's impressive." Jeremy said.

Once the song ended, the gramophone disappeared and the Weird Sisters appeared on stage. There was a wildly enthusiastic applause.

"Hogwarts! Are you ready?!" Myron shouted into the microphone.

The crowd screamed back. Kirley began to play a mournful riff on the guitar before Myron began to sing.

When all is dark and there's no light

Lost in the deepest star of night

I see you

Your hands are shaking baby

You ain't been sleeping lately

There's something out there

And it don't seem very friendly does it?

If I could help you I would help ya

But it's difficult

There's something much more powerful

Than both of us possessing me

I've got to get to grips

I don't wanna feel like this

Your voice keeps haunting me

I cannot eat or sleep

I'm going crazy in this hazy fantasy

You put a spell on me

Aw but I ain't going down at all

"They're awesome!" Jeremy shouted over the music to Claire.

"I know! They're my favorite band!" Claire shouted back.

So take your hands off me

Tonight I'm breaking free

This is the night

This is the night

So take your hands off me

Tonight I'm breaking free

This is the night

This is the night

There was a time

I would have walked on burning coals for you

Sailed across the ocean blue

Climbed the highest mountain

Just to call your name

The moon throws down its light

And cuts me to the quick tonight

The change is in the air

And nothing will ever be the same

You still look good to me

Oh but you're no good for me

I close my eyes

And squeeze you from my consciousness

And in the morning when I wake

I walk the line I walk it straight

But the morning's so many miles away

Good God now

So take your hands off me

Tonight I'm breaking free

This is the night

This is the night

So take your hands off me

Tonight I'm breaking free

This is the night

This is the night

Claire and Jeremy danced the entire time the Weird Sisters played. After four songs, Jeremy asked her if she wanted to go get a drink. Claire nodded. They walked through the crowd to the refreshment table. Jeremy poured them both a glass of Butterbeer.

"Thanks." Claire said taking the drink for him.

"No problem." Jeremy replied. "So, you feel like taking a break from dancing and introducing me to your family?"

"Sure, why not?" Claire said. "First we have to find them."

"They're over there." Jeremy said, pointing towards the front doors of the entrance hall where her parents were.

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"Mom, dad!" Claire yelled over the noise.

Carina turned her attention to her daughter. "Claire, look at you! You look so beautiful!"

Carina hugged her daughter. She then noticed Jeremy and her eyes narrowed.

"You! You must be the boy who stopped talking to my daughter. Listen here—"

"Carina." The Doctor interrupted.

"No, Doctor. I'm going to give this boy a piece of my mind." Carina said.

"Mum, this isn't Jason. This is Jeremy." Claire explained.

"Oh," Carina said sheepishly. "Sorry, Jeremy, was it?"

"It's alright, ma'am. My name's Jeremy Anwir. I'm from Durmstrang Institute. I'm one of Claire's friends." Jeremy said.

"It's nice to meet you, Jeremy." Carina replied. "How did you two meet?"

Claire told her mom that he worked at the muggle music store near the Weasleys. She told her how she'd been going there since she was about eight or nine. It was what inspired her to learn the guitar and write songs.

"My family owns it." Jeremy explained. "I work there as well."

"That's nice." Carina said. "Who are your parents?"

"Catherine and Matthew. They're muggles." Jeremy said.

Claire furrowed her eyebrows. I thought he said his parents were Pureblood. Maybe I misheard him.

"Really? And you said you go to Durmstrang Institute? I thought only Purebloods went there." Carina said.

Suddenly, they heard someone clear their throat. Claire turned to the perpetrator and frowned; it was Karkaroff.

"Mr. Anwir, come with me for a second." Karkaroff said.

"I'll be back." Jeremy said before leaving with Karkaroff.

"So, Claire, are you having a good time?" The Doctor asked.

"Yeah, I just hope nothing bad happened with Jeremy." Claire said.

"So, you and Jeremy are friends?" Carina asked.

"Yes, mum. We're friends." Claire said.

"Is this the same type of friends as you and Harry?" Carina questioned.

Claire blushed before saying, "Yes."

Carina looked suspiciously at her daughter. She didn't fully believe what she said.

"Where are Sirius, Remus, and Tonks?" Claire asked trying to distract her mom.

"I'm not sure." The Doctor said.

"Do you know why there's so many Aurors here tonight?" Claire asked.

"Oh, we were hoping you wouldn't notice that." Carina said. "The Ministry coincidentally decided for them to be here the moment Sirius decided he wanted to come here for the Yule Ball. It's a precaution on their part."

Claire rolled their eyes. "So, even though he's declared a free man, he's going to have people watching him?"

"Yep." Carina said. "Sirius doesn't mind though. He's just glad to be outside that wretch house. The Silencing Charm on your grandmother's portrait stopped working. You can only imagine what it's like to be in that house at the moment. Anyway, how's your father at teaching?"

"He's better than Professor Binns. Binns was so boring. Dad makes history exciting. Though we could do without the essays." Claire said.

"I have to make sure you all understand the material." The Doctor said. "I think Jeremy's coming back."

Claire turned around to see Jeremy with an upset expression on his face. She said goodbye to her parents and walked over to Jeremy.

"What's wrong?" Claire asked concerned.

"It's my mum. She sent a letter to Karkaroff telling me there's an emergency at the shop and I have to come home immediately." Jeremy said. "I'm sorry, Claire—"

"It's fine, Jeremy. I understand. Like you said earlier, family comes first." Claire said. "Just owl me when you can."

"Thanks for being so understanding. Maybe I'll be back before the dance ends." Jeremy said. "But if not I had a great time with you."

"Me too. Bye, Jeremy." Claire replied.

"C'mon, Mr. Anwir." Karkaroff said and Jeremy followed him.

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Claire hoped whatever was going on with Jeremy's family that it wouldn't be too bad. She spotted Viktor and Hermione and couldn't help but smile as Viktor kissed Hermione's hand before walking over the punch bowl. Claire walked over to her best friend.

"I see you and prince charming have been getting on well." Claire said.

"Oh, Claire, he's the nicest person you'd meet. How's Jeremy?" Hermione asked.

"He had to leave. Family emergency." Claire said.

Hermione's smile disappeared. "I'm sorry, Claire. You can hang out with Viktor and I if you want."

Claire shook her head. "It's fine, 'Mione. Enjoy your time with him. I think I'll go see what Harry and Ron are up to."

"I'll come with you. Viktor went to go get us drinks." Hermione said following Claire.

"By the way," Claire began. "Ron seemed really peeved by the fact that you're here with Viktor. I think he's jealous."

"Really?" Hermione sounded excited for a second, but she cleared her throat and then spoke with a disinterested tone. "Really, is that so? Serves him right. He should've asked me first rather than a last priority."

"Well, at least, it doesn't look like he's having a good time." Claire said, as she motioned to the grumpy ginger seated next to the bored Ravenclaw.

Claire noticed that Harry was seated at the same table with Parvati. He wore a similar expression as Ron and Parvati wore the same expression as her sister. Two Durmstrang boys went up to the twins and asked them to dance to which they both practically threw themselves on them.

"Don't you two look like the life of the party." Claire greeted the grumpy boys.

"It's hot, isn't it?" Hermione said, fanning herself with her hand. Claire raised her eyebrows at her friend. "Viktor's just gone to get some drinks."

Ron gave her a withering look. "Viktor?" he said. "Hasn't he asked you to call him Vicky yet?"

Hermione looked at him in surprise. "What's up with you?" she said.

"If you don't know," Ron said scathingly, "I'm not going to tell you. Just like you didn't tell me who your date was. Now you know how I felt."

Hermione stared at him, then at Claire, then at Harry, who shrugged.

"Ron, what—?"

"He's from Durmstrang!" Ron spat. "He's competing against Harry! Against Hogwarts! You—you're—fraternizing with the enemy, that's what you're doing!"

Hermione's mouth fell open.

"Don't be so stupid!" she said after a moment. "The enemy! Claire came with someone from Durmstrang too and you're not saying she's doing it! Honestly—who was the one who was all excited when they saw Krum arrive? Who was the one who wanted his autograph? Who's got a model of him up in their dormitory?"

Ron chose to ignore this. "I s'pose he asked you to come with him while you were both in the library?"

"Yes, he did," Hermione said, the pink patches on her cheeks glowing more brightly. "So what?"

"What happened—trying to get him to join spew, were you?"

"No, I wasn't! If you really want to know, he—he said he'd been coming up to the library every day to try and talk to me, but he hadn't been able to pluck up the courage! A lot like someone else I know."

Hermione said this very quickly.

"Yeah, well—that's his story," Ron said nastily.

"You're being ridiculous, Ron," Claire said.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Hermione asked Ron.

"Obvious, isn't it? He's Karkaroff's student, isn't he? He knows who you hang around with...He's just trying to get closer to Harry—get inside information on him—or get near enough to jinx him—"

Hermione looked as though Ron had slapped her. When she spoke, her voice quivered.

"For your information, he hasn't asked me one single thing about Harry, not one—"

Ron changed tack at the speed of light.

"Then he's hoping you'll find out what his egg means! I suppose you've been putting your heads together during those cozy little library sessions—"

"I'd never help him work out that egg!" Hermione said, looking outraged. "Never. How could you say something like that—I want Harry to win the tournament, Harry knows that, don't you, Harry?"

Claire was hoping Harry would say something to back up Hermione, but he just sat there with a grumpy expression.

"You've got a funny way of showing it," Ron sneered.

"This whole tournament's supposed to be about getting to know foreign wizards and making friends with them!" Hermione said hotly.

"No it isn't!" Ron shouted. "It's about winning!"

People were starting to stare at them.

"Ron," Harry said quietly. "I haven't got a problem with Hermione coming with Krum—"

But Ron ignored Harry too.

"Why don't you go and find Vicky, he'll be wondering where you are," Ron said.

"Don't call him Vicky!"

Hermione stormed off across the dance floor, disappearing into the crowd. Ron watched her go with a mixture of anger and satisfaction on his face.

"You're such an idiot, Ron!" Claire exclaimed.

"You shouldn't even be speaking. You're doing exactly what Hermione's doing." Ron said.

"You mean that 'fraternizing with the enemy' nonsense? Gosh, Ron, why can't you man up? She had every right to take who she wanted to the ball. If you were upset about it, then you should've asked her before someone else did." Claire said.

"That's not the point. You both claim to be Harry's friends and yet you both came to the ball with someone from the competing schools!" Ron said.

"Harry, tell Ronald here that he's being stupid." Claire looked to Harry to say something, but he remained quiet with the same pouty expression like a child. Claire's blood boiled. "Fine. Then I guess I shouldn't be hanging around people who believe that I'll betray them."

Claire stormed off towards the beverage table.

"Claire, there you are!" Fred said, George following him. "Someone looks mad. Does it have something to do with your date?"

Claire shook her head. "No, Jeremy had to leave because of a family emergency. It's your brother who's the problem."

"Which one?" Fred asked.

"Ron. Harry was also involved. They're mad at Hermione and me for 'fraternizing with the enemy'." Claire explained.

"And you say we overreact." George said. "Sorry you're not having a good time."

Claire shrugged. "Nevermind that. What'd you need?"

"We were going to go talk to Bagman. Wanna help?" Fred asked.

Claire nodded. "Let's go talk with him."

The three of them found Ludo Bagman by the entrance of the Great Hall.

"Mr. Bagman, Ludo-o, buddy-o-pal, nice to see you." Fred said, startling the man.

"Oh, it's you two and..." Bagman looked at her questioningly.

"Claire Smith, sir." Claire took his hand and shook it. "I'm one of their helpers. You see, sir, it came to my attention that you placed a bet at the Quidditch World Cup with my friends here. You lost the bet and they won, but you have yet to pay with actual money. Sure, you did pay them with Leprechaun gold, but you need to pay your debt with actual wizarding money."

"Uh, yes, I've told them I will pay it soon." Bagman said taken aback.

"I'm afraid, sir, that it's been several months since you've said that and they've yet to see a single knut from you." Claire said.

"Yeah!" Fred agreed. "And we rightfully earned that money!"

"Mr. Bagman, I hope these three weren't harassing you." Percy intervened.

Claire glared at him.

"No, of course not," Bagman said. "We were just having a nice friendly chat."

"Miss Smith," Professor McGonagall interrupted their conversation. "You're needed on stage."

Claire froze for a moment. "But Professor—"

Professor McGonagall sent her a stern glare. George whispered to Claire, "It's alright. We'll take care of this. Thanks for trying."

Claire nodded to them before following Professor McGonagall to the side of the stage.

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Professor Filtwick handed Claire her guitar when she arrived to the side of the stage.

"Thank you." Claire said, as she pulled the guitar strap over her head.

"Good luck, Miss Smith." Professor McGonagall said.

"Thank you, Professor." Claire replied.

"And now Hogwarts, a special treat! Please welcome Hogwart student, Claire Smith performing her original song!" Myron introduced her.

Claire climbed the stairs to get on stage. She felt like her body was shaking from the nerves. Myron sent her an encouraging smile before stepping away from the microphone stand so she could take his place. The stage lights shined in Claire's face as she tried to see out into the crowd.

"Um, hi, everyone!" Claire said, feeling extremely awkward. "Er—I wrote this song a while ago. It's basically about how someone you hang around makes you feel happy and they don't realize how much you need them. It's called 'When I'm Alone'. Hope you like it."

Claire tapped the rhythm with her foot for four beats before playing a riff. The drummer, back-up guitarist, and bassist followed suit.

I turned my back

You were gone in a flash

Like you always do

You always gone off somewhere else

And when the phone rang and I thought it was you

And I sprung like a kid who just got out of school

But it's almost always never you, never you

I scream like a child

My insides went wild

When I'm alone with you

You make me feel, you make me feel

When I'm alone with you

You are the one, you are the one

And when I reach out and I only grab air

And it killed me to think that you never did care

And it's hopeless

You've always run off somewhere else

I'm throwing a tantrum

Why are you such a phantom?

When I'm alone with you

You make me feel, you make me feel

When I'm alone with you

You are the one, you are the one

When I'm alone with you

You make me feel, you make me feel

When I'm alone with you

You are the one, you are the one

Remind me of home

When you're around me

Next time you leave

Don't go without me

No, don't go

No, no

Yeah, yeah

When I'm alone with you

You make me feel, you make me feel

When I'm alone with you

You are the one, you are the one

When I'm alone

The second Claire strummed her last note, the crowd went wild. It felt as though she were on top of the world at the moment. She couldn't help but smile.

"Thank you!" Claire said, bowing before walking off stage.

As she walked off stage, she caught sight of Harry and Cedric leaving the Great Hall. She was curious about what that was. She put her guitar on one of the stands.

"You were amazing, Claire!" Ginny exclaimed, practically tackling in her a hug.

"Yeah, I didn't know you could sing." Neville said. "Your voice is really nice."

Claire smiled at them. "Thanks."

"Where's Jeremy?" Ginny asked.

"He had to go home. Family emergency." Claire explained.

Ginny nodded in understanding. "C'mon, the twins and Hermione want to congratulate you on your performance."

Ginny grabbed her hand and practically pulled her through the crowd, Neville running to keep up. They reached one of the tables with the others already seated. Hermione, Krum, the twins and their dates also praised her vocals. The Weird Sisters started to play 'Do the Hippogriff' and they wanted to go dance.

"Coming, Claire?" Hermione asked.

Claire shook her head. "No thanks, I'll sit this one out."

Hermione frowned, but did not push further. Soon Claire was alone at the table.

"Where's your date?" Claire looked up to see Harry. He no longer wore the grumpy expression he had earlier.

"Left. Family emergency." Claire said shortly. "That must make you happy. Now I'm not 'fraternizing with the enemy.'"

"About that, Claire, I'm sorry." Harry apologized. "Is it alright if I sit here?"

"Depends," Claire said with a stern glare directed at him. "Are you going to stop being an arse?"

"Look, Claire, I'm sorry about earlier. I was a complete jerk—"

"Arse." Claire corrected.

"Arse." Harry said. "I shouldn't of been so cold to you. And I shouldn't have said something so stupid. I was not only an arse but an idiot."

"At least you're not oblivious about that." Claire teased.

Harry rolled his eyes. "I'm assuming that means we're back to being friends."

"Yes, but you'll still have to make up for your behavior." Claire said.

"It's that time of night, Hogwarts! Thank you so much for letting us perform here! Thank you to Claire Smith and the fans! This will be the final song of the evening!" Myron said into the microphone.

"Claire, if I asked you to dance would that make up for it?" Harry asked.

Claire felt that strange feeling in her stomach when Harry asked her to dance. She pushed it away and heaved a dramatic sigh, "I suppose that will do."

Harry smiled amusedly. "Well, then, milady, ready to dance?"

Claire smiled at him and put on her posh accent. "Why, of course, kind sir."

The pair walked out onto the dance floor. Harry glanced at the other students dancing and mimicked them. He placed his right hand on Claire's waist. A spark of electricity ran up both their spines as Harry did this, but they both ignored it. Claire then took Harry's left hand with her right while placing her left hand softly on his right shoulder. The guitarist began to play a riff. The lead singer then spoke into the microphone.

"This one's going out to all the lovers out there. Hold each other tight and keep each other warm."

Claire expected there to be an awkwardness between her and Harry; especially since they were dancing to a slow love song. However, she found it was anything but that. It was a comfortable feeling dancing with Harry and looking into his green eyes. As the lead singer sang the lyrics to the song, Claire felt a familiar feeling in her stomach. She couldn't quite explain what this feeling was, but she knew it had been occurring a lot this year and only when Harry was around.

"Claire?" Claire was snapped from her thoughts by Harry.

"Oh, sorry, Harry, what were you saying?" Claire asked.

"I was saying it's brilliant what you and the twins did with the snow, you know." Harry said. "I'd never expect it from them."

"You sound surprise that they'd come up with the idea and actually make it happen." Claire replied. "You know, they aren't as dimwitted as they appear. They really are a lot smarter than their given credit for. They just show their smartness through their pranks rather than their grades."

"Not to sound like Hermione, but shouldn't they care about their grades?" Harry asked.

"They do and they don't, but I have a feeling they'll be successful whether they succeed or fail school. I mean look what they managed to accomplish tonight with the snow and the fireworks. Not to mention those Canary Creams and the other pranking candies in the works. They even planned out their joke shop and what they're going to sell." Claire said. "They've been selling their finished products here to save up for a shop."

"They should have enough money soon then. Especially with the bet they won at the Quidditch World Cup." Harry said.

"Yeah, that's if they can get their bet money back. Bagman has been avoiding them." Claire replied.

"So that's why I saw you and the twins talking to him earlier." Harry said.

Claire nodded. "Yeah, Percy interrupted us though. He wasn't too thrilled by the fact that we were 'harassing' him. Percy's a git. I saw you and Cedric talking. What was that about?"

"He told me a clue to the egg." Harry said quietly so the two of them could hear.

"What was it?" Claire asked.

Harry told her that Cedric said to take a bath with it and gave him the password to the prefect bathroom. Claire furrowed her eyebrows.

"That's an odd clue." Claire said.

"You're telling me." Harry muttered.

"You're going to follow through with it, right?"

Harry nodded. "It's the only lead I have."

"I can come with you if you want help to figure it out."

"Yeah, that'd be great."

Claire then noticed Hagrid and the Beauxbaton Headmistress were no where to be seen.

"I saw Hagrid and Madame Maxime catching one another's eyes during dinner. It looks like they retired for the evening." Claire said.

"Actually, they got into a fight..." And Harry told her about him and Ron finding out that Hagrid was a half-giant and he accused Madame Maxime of being one which didn't please her.

"Her excuse was that she had 'big bones'?" Claire said in disbelief. "Who does she think she's fooling? Anyone with a brain could tell there was something abnormal about her height. I'm not surprised Hagrid's a half-giant. It explains his height. Not that I have a problem with it. He's the sweetest person I've met. Though I do understand why he hasn't exactly broadcasted that around. Giants aren't the nicest creatures."

"That's what Ron said." Harry replied. "Also, Ron and I saw Karkaroff and Snape talking. Karkaroff looked anxious and was going on about something becoming clearer and Snape told him to leave if he was concerned about it but he was going to stay at Hogwarts."

"That's a pity. It'd be nice if Snape left. It seems like Karkaroff might be afraid of something that's coming." Claire said. "What do you think's troubling him?"

Harry shrugged. "I'm not sure, but it can't be good."

Claire definitely agreed with that. "So, did you have a good time tonight?"

"To be honest, it started off rough, but I think it ended on a high note." Harry said. "You?"

"Don't get me wrong, I had a great time with Jeremy when he was here...but I don't know, it's weird...being around you is different than being around him or anyone else for the matter." Claire said.

"I know how you feel." Harry said. "So then, you and Jeremy are just friends?"

"Yes, I can't imagine us being anything more than that. There's a two-year age gap, it'd be like dating one of the twins and that's gross." Claire said.

There was silence between the two.

"Claire, I don't know if I told you this yet, but you look beautiful tonight. Not that you're not beautiful all the time. You look better without make-up. I—I mean not that you're ugly with it..." Harry stuttered, his cheeks flushing red.

"Harry, it's fine. I get what you're trying to say. Thank you. You look pretty dashing yourself. Though you couldn't have at least tried to tame your hair." Claire said, smiling playfully while tugging lightly on one of his lose hairs on his head.

Harry shrugged, returning her smile. "That's an impossible task in itself."

"That's very true. Maybe the next task will be trying to tame your hair instead of dragons." Claire teased.

"That'd be worse than the dragons." Harry said.

They both laughed. Suddenly, the snow around them turned light red to pink.

And don't believe that magic can die

No, no, no this magic can't die

So dance your final dance

Cause this is your final chance

Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. They locked eyes and leaned in. Their lips were about to touch—

"Ron you always ruin everything!" Hermione's voice could be heard from outside the Great Hall.

Claire and Harry realized their position and awkwardly broke apart. They could hear Hermione and Ron fighting and they sent a look to each other before running out of the Great Hall to see Hermione standing on the staircase.

"Well, if you don't like it, you know what the solution is, don't you?" Hermione yelled; her hair was coming down out of its elegant bun now, and her face was screwed up in anger.

"Oh yeah?" Ron yelled back. "What's that?"

"Next time there's a ball, ask me before someone else does, and not as a last resort!"

Ron mouthed soundlessly like a goldfish out of water.

"Well," he sputtered, looking thunderstruck, "well—that just proves—completely missed the point—"

"Er—Ron, let's go back to the ball, they're about to set off the fireworks..." Harry took Ron back to the Great Hall.

Claire sat next to Hermione on the stairs. Hermione was furiously trying to dry her tears with her hands. Claire conjured up a handkerchief and handed it to her. Hermione accepted it and dried her tears.

"Thank you, Claire. I should've thought about that." Hermione said.

"It's fine, Hermione. Ron shouldn't have ruined your night like that." Claire said.

Hermione sighed. "I just don't understand why he acted this way. Why couldn't he just tell me why he's upset instead of being so, so, stupid?"

"It's Ron's logic. Don't try to understand it. It makes no sense." Claire replied. "Just don't take what he says to heart. He talks out his arse more than his mouth."

Suddenly, the twins appeared.

"It's time to start the fireworks." George said. "Hermione, are you alright?"

"Ron was being stupid." Hermione said.

"He's acting normal then." Fred replied.

"Go on, Claire." Hermione said. "I'll stay to watch the fireworks. I'll be fine."

"Are you sure?" Claire asked.

Hermione nodded and hugged her. "Thanks for being there for me."

"That's what best friends are for. I'll see you later." Claire said. "C'mon, Fred, George. It's time to light up the night!"

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"Who wants to do the honor?" George said, pointing to the firework.

"You should, George," Claire said. "This was your idea after all."

"Yeah, light them up, Georgie." Fred agreed.

"Alright," George lit the fireworks.

The three of them backed away as the firework shot up into the sky. The crowd gazed up as the navy blue sky was illuminated by various bright colors. Claire smiled at the brilliantly lit sky feeling content with the end of the evening. She looked around the cheering crowd and saw Hermione laughing with Viktor, Ginny, and Neville. She also spotted Ron and Harry. Harry caught her eyes and smiled at her; she returned it. Claire remembered their almost kiss and strangely she felt she would've been happier if their lips actually touched. She shook her head. She couldn't think that way about her best friend. Claire then felt as though someone was watching her. She turned around and spotted a person wearing a black cloak; similar to the ones worn in her dreams by Voldemort's spy. The cloak covered the stranger's face. Could this be Voldemort's spy? The person raised their wand and pointed it at her and the twins.

"Get down!" Claire yelled, as she pulled each of the twins by an arm to the ground as a red light shot out from the end of the person's wand and hit the fireworks.

The crowd screamed as the fireworks blew up and went haywire. Claire looked back and saw the person running away. Several Aurors spotted the stranger and went after him.

"What the bloody hell happened?" Fred shouted over the screaming students.

"That person tried to attack us!" Claire exclaimed.

"Why would they do that?" Fred questioned.

"Fred, Claire, you might wanna have a look at this." George said gazing wide-eyed at the sky.

Claire furrowed her eyebrows and looked up into the sky. Her mouth dropped as she saw the fireworks form a familiar image in the sky.

"Is that what I think it is?" Fred said in disbelief.

Claire nodded as she stared up at the sky, frozen in place. There, up in the navy blue sky, a clear image of the Dark Mark had appeared. Claire's throat felt dry and she wasn't aware of the frantic students around her who were trying to be calmed down by the teachers. She was drawn back into reality when she heard a scream coming from the same direction she saw the strange figure run. Claire didn't know why, but her gut told her to run off towards the scream. She ignored Fred and George calling her name. Her feet had a mind of their own. She withdrew her wand ready to use it if need be. As she turned down another corridor, she saw a girl on her knees sobbing. When Claire got closer, she recognized the girl to be one of her roommates, Evy.

"Evy?" Claire said.

Evy turned around pointing her wand at Claire. Claire noticed a Evy's eyes had a sort of dazed look and there were tears streaming down her face. Her wand shook as she held it in her hand. "Who are you? Stay back."

"Evy, it's me, Claire. You're roommate." Claire replied, but there was no look of recognition on Evy's face. "I'm not here to hurt you."

Claire took a cautious step towards her and Evy held her wand higher. "Petrificus Totalus!"

Claire ducked just as she fired the spell. The spell hit the wall behind her.

"Stay back!" Evy ordered.

"Miss Smith! Miss Jackson! What are you—oh, my!" Claire turned to see Professor McGonagall with the twins behind her. They were looking at something on the ground behind Claire and Evy.

"What are you looking at?" Claire was stopped from turning around by Fred grabbing her arm.

"Claire, I don't think that's such a good idea." Fred said dubiously.

"For once, Freddie's right, Claire." George agreed.

Claire pried Fred's hand off her arm.

"Oh, would you two stop with your jokes? I'm sure whatever it is can't be that—"

Claire stopped mid sentence, dropping her wand once she completely turned around. Numbness was sent throughout her nerves and she didn't notice her legs had given out until Fred and George each grabbed one of her arms to keep her standing.

"I came as soon as I—" Mad-Eye Moody had shown up.

"Professor Moody, would you mind gathering up the other Aurors. They'll want to know about this." Professor McGonagall said, motioning to body on the floor.

"Aye, Professor McGonagall!" Moody gave a curt nod to her before leaving.

"Mr. Weasleys escort Miss Smith and Miss Jackson to the infirmary immediately." Professor McGonagall said.

"Sure thing, Professor McGonagall." Fred said as he escorted Claire to the infirmary and George helped Evy.

"There's two of you!" Evy said looking back and forth between the twins.

Claire's mind was blank for once as she walked with them to the infirmary. It seemed as though the rest of time was blurred together. She was aware of where she was after she entered the infirmary. Madam Pomfrey practically forced a bottle of Dreamless Potions into her hands before dismissing her and helping a very confused Evy. Fred, George, and Claire walked back to the Gryffindor common room in silence. Claire wasted no time heading to her dorm once they reached Gryffindor Tower and changing clothes before slipping into her bed. She pulled the covers up to her neck and laid on her side staring at the wall in front of her trying to forget seeing the body of her friend Jeremy Anwir.

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HAPPY HOLIDAYS! Hey, everyone! I'm back! This chapter is your present and I hope you enjoyed it. Let me tell you a lot has happened since I last updated. I've been buried in homework and school concerts. We got to perform at Disney Candlelight and Neil Patrick Harris was the narrator. He came in to the room during rehearsal and talked to us. He's sooooo sweet. Does anyone like Troye Sivan? If you don't know who I'm talking about you need to look him up. His album Blue Neighborhood came out and it's perfection. Another exciting piece of news is that I recorded a single, like an actually single of this song I wrote. I wrote for the John Lennon Songwriting Contest. I'm hoping to win money for college.