A/N: I'm updating on mobile, so I apologize if there's grammatical errors or if the layout of this chapter is wonky. Thank you so much for the kind comments! It really does make my day, and it makes working on this story that much better!
I hope you enjoy chapter 23!
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It all happened so fast, Sirius couldn't really process it. One moment Clara was in his arms, hands resting on her curves, the ones that were usually hidden by her school robes (the ones that drove him crazy when they weren't), as she peered into his eyes while he was practically drowning in hers. He remembers fussing over her health. Her breath fanning over his lips, and her hand on his jaw and oh my god is that a sunburn on her nose that's fucking adorable. He was probably looking at her in a way that might have given everything away, but he could care less because she was looking at him as if he was the only one she really wanted to see and it was then that he knew - he knew - that he was a goner for the short, blue-eyed girl he'd been tip-toeing around for so long.
It ended just as fast as it started, because she said she couldn't stay, that she was only there to say goodbye. That she was getting engaged (married, for fucks sake). At first, Sirius held onto his doubt, thinking that there was no way Clara could ever agree to that. But he saw Clara's flush and indignation at Lily's abrupt confession, and then the bags under her eyes, and the way her shoulders were held taut, and he wasn't so sure anymore. Then his mind started reeling, connecting the dots slowly; it reeled long enough for the anger to settle in. And the panic. (And a little bit of hurt because they're supposed to be friends-).
As the climate inside of him changed, Clara changed with it to match his frenzy with her own calmness, clasping his hand to firmly state, "I'll be fine," before letting go - something hard dropping into his hand - and allowing the man with her trunk to escort her back to her father. Joseph Campbell, stood rigid across the platform. He alternated between glaring at Sirius with his cold eyes and staring Clara down, his gaze harsh enough to cause her to lower her head. The fire in his stomach grew hotter, enough to propel him towards his direction. He would've picked a fight too, if it weren't for Evans reaching out and grabbing the back of his leather jacket to pull him back.
"Evans," He said through his teeth. "he's right there, we can get her out of there,"
The redhead's grip tightened on his shirt. "I know, but it might just makes things worse -" Clara clasped her father's outstretched arm, and Sirius reacted. "No, Sirius, just listen to me!", and just like that, Clara disappeared from the platform.
Silence.
Sirius let out a frustrated groan, and ran his hand through his hair. "She was right there!" He repeated, whirling around to face Lily, eyes reflecting the desperation inside him.
Lily let go of his jacket. "I know, but she's not seventeen yet, Sirius! She's still Traceable." She snapped, her own eyes alert.
Sirius clenched his jaw in realization, and opted to open his palm instead of replying. A round, metallic object lay in his hand, reflecting light as he shifted it's angle to examine it.
"What's that?" Lily inquired, moving closer to peer at the object too.
"I don't know, Clara gave it to me before she left," He said dejectedly, letting her take it from him.
She flipped it around in her hand. "I think... this is a mirror,"
Sirius stared. "I don't see a mirror anywhere on that,"
She rolled her eyes, and traced her thumb over the crack between the top and bottom. "I mean inside it. There should be a way to open... Aha!" She pressed on a smooth piece of metal and the mirror clicked open. Lily opened the compact, which held a mirror on one side and a sliding panel on the other. She slid it to the side with her fingernail, revealing a small slip of paper wedged between the tiny hatch and the bottom of the compact.
Lily dug the paper out carefully, unfolding the parchment and smoothing out the wrinkles. Inside, Sirius recognized Clara's handwriting.
"It says 'two way'..." Lily mumbled, her eyebrows furrowing.
A shock went through Sirius. "It's a two way mirror,"
Lily whipped her head to meet his eyes, a grin slowly making its way onto her face. Looking proud, she stared down at the mirror, before extending it back to Sirius. "Here,"
He shook his head, pushing her hand back, but Lily persisted. "She gave it to you," She said firmly, looking him in the eye. "Not me. She wanted you to have this,"
~*~
On the way to the Potters' house, Sirius allowed himself to take a break from the visuals outside the car (and James' loud snoring inside the car) to crack the mirror open and peer into the reflective surface.
It may have been his wishful thinking, but he could've sworn he saw a pair of ocean blue eyes flash in his palm.
~*~
Clara's body was humming when she arrived home. She couldn't tell if it was from seeing Sirius again, or from disbelief that she had slipped him a compact mirror that she had charmed to be two way. A mirror, whose sister sat on her dresser, that might help her run away.
Feeling as if she was floating, she started towards the staircase, only to be jerked back by a hand on her shoulder that shoved her roughly against a wall. Her upper back sparked with pain, strong enough for a gasp to escape her lips. Joseph held her against the wall, his fingers tight into her shoulder. Another sharp pang went through Clara's body and she visibly flinched. Joseph's eyes flashed.
He dug his fingers into her skin.
The message was very apparent. Clara let out a small sound of pain, hating the way she immediately teared up and, hated even more, the way she couldn't tell her father to let go of her. She hated that she couldn't look away from the floor. She hated that she knew that somewhere above her, her father bore holes into her skull with eyes that looked like hers.
Somewhere behind Joseph, there was a shuffle and a weak, "Mr. Campbell-".
His grip on her released abruptly, as if brought back to sanity by Bailiwick's concern.
Clara spared no time looking at either of their faces. She ran past Bailiwick, almost tripping over her trunk, and up the stairs. It was only when she turned into the east wing that she allow a tear to slide down her cheek. As she slipped into her room, she took gulping breaths, and shut her eyes tightly. The pain in her shoulder was beginning to ebb, but the stinging in her heart was beginning to resurface.
She took another deep breath.
When she opened her eyes, she was still.
~*~
After a quarter hour of laying in bed with her head under the covers, she remembered the mirror. Numbly, she crawled out of bed and towards the dresser on the other side of the room. A mirror identical to the one she gave to Sirius sat on the sleek wood, surface unscathed. Clara grabbed it and returned to bed, tucking her head under the covers and clicking it open, hoping that by some miracle Sirius was looking back at the same time.
Luck seemed to enjoy toying with its preference, because a pair of grey eyes stared back at her before she even opened the mirror the entire way.
She was so surprised that her hand jerked, and the mirror thumped onto her mattress. Yanking the sheets off her head, she sat up hurriedly and fumbled with the mirror. Once it was facing her again, relief spread through her mind because Sirius was still in the reflection.
There was movement on the other end, and his eyes disappeared and half of his mouth appeared, a smile pulling at his mouth to reveal his teeth. Then they were gone, because the angle had panned out and Clara could see his entire face.
Having nothing else to do, Clara set the mirror down on her mattress, angling the surface so it was showing her face (at least, she hoped it was her face. Two way mirrors don't show your own reflection), and waved slightly.
Instead of waving back, he touched the bridge of his nose, a twinkle in his eye and a shy smirk pulling at his lips. Confused, Clara furrowed her eyebrows. She touched her own nose, and then scowled when she remembered her sunburn.
~*~
Clara scowled on the other end of the mirror and Sirius couldn't help but let out a chuckle. His movement caused the image to flicker, and cut for a few seconds. Just as he began to wonder what happened, there was a flash and Clara was back in his palm, her curly hair flowing down her bare shoulders. There was a strange look on her face, and he noticed, for the first time, the puffiness around her eyes and redness on the tip of her nose that was not caused by her sunburn. Her lips were pulled down, as if she had realized something unpleasant.
Sirius frowned. Are you okay? He mouthed.
Her brows furrowed as she focused on the movements of his lips. She looked back up when she understood, her eyes unreadable. She lifted her shoulders to shrug, then winced at the action. From the other side of the mirror, Sirius saw her take a deep breath, and his insides twisted in an odd way.
Both were still after that. Sirius didn't know what to do, so he rested his head against the window of the Potters' silent car. James sat across the backseat, snoring slightly, his sweater between the two. Seeing that the sweater was no longer in use, Sirius grabbed it and draped it over his head, hiding himself as well as the compact from view.
Clara matched his actions, moving the mirror with her as she lay on her side. A moment later, a purple sheet covered her head, casting a soft lavender glow over her profile as sunlight filtered through the cloth.
Sirius felt his pace quicken. It was an odd, yet pleasant, intimate moment that Sirius hadn't expected to unravel him in the manner that it did.
It seemed to have the same on Clara as well, because her eyes welled with tears that tried to escape. She raised a wiry hand up to cover her face, eyes squinted shut behind it.
As Sirius watched helplessly, he remembered thinking that he'd steal all the stars in the sky if it meant she'd never cry again.