❛ Take me home ❜
Days and days had now gone by. Claire and James kept their act together and convinced the whole school they were in love. It seemed far too easy for Claire. She effortlessly answered the questions fifth year Gryffindors -who swooned over James- asked and successfully ignored the stares she'd get when she left the boys dormitory after a STUDY SESSION. Do not get the wrong idea.
The hardest part of the whole plan was the fact that it seemed as though the other boys had grown a soft spot for Claire. They always searched for her in the Great Hall and sat through her long rants about the workload she'd have after dinner. They laughed at her jokes and complimented her hair when she said it looked like she had just rolled out of bed. The fact that it was only for the benefit of the couple seemed to weigh down on Claire's shoulders and make her feel guilty. She couldn't help but think of the fact that James could've asked any other girl, and if he did then she wouldn't have grown the unexpected friendship with the other boys.
James took notice of this as well. Whenever she entered the common room, they would all light up and embrace her with friendship. Sirius and Peter would always include her in their upcoming plans. Remus would excuse himself to meet her in the library (which was a good thing according to James). And James even found himself glancing at her continuously in the Great Hall.
The time lead them to the first Hogsmead trip, which according to the contract was crucial to the plan. Claire couldn't help but think about the day nonstop. She thought about her outfit and her makeup and the nice chat they would have at The Three Broomsticks. It all seemed so perfect, but Claire being Claire made sure to not make up scenarios in her head that she of course knew would never happen.
"Claire! Stop, you look fine!" Riley finally cracked after watching Claire stare at herself in the mirror for at least fifteen minutes. Claire whipped around to look at her and let out a groan.
"Maybe I should wear the purple shirt instead-" Claire began.
"It's lavender and no, you look amazing," Hannah cut in as she stepped out the bathroom. Claire turned back to the mirror and gave the baby blue blouse one last look before nodding hastily and grabbing her bag. She made sure she had her money and her wand before spraying her perfume on one last time.
"You smell great, Claire," Riley assured. "Go! Your prince awaits."
"Goodbye, my loves. I will see you after the function," Claire announced, waving like a princess.
"Remember, consent is key. Don't do anything you don't want to do," Hannah yelled down the stairs.
"Who do I look like, Han?"
"I don't know, but I'm just saying, peer pressure is very very much real so you should never feel like you have to do anything-"
Claire drowned the rest of her friend's speech out as she entered the common room. She found James standing just outside the girl's dormitory, leaning against a table, awaiting her arrival. He looked up and smile with a twinkle in his eye.
"Hello," he greeted.
"Hey."
"You look nice."
"You look- okay."
"Very funny."
"I try."
The walk to Hogsmead was spent in mostly peaceful silence. They walked along the Clock Tower Bridge with the little conversation skills they both admittedly had. Finally, the village came into view and the chatter of the wizards and witches shopping met their ears.
"Where to first?" James asked glancing down at her.
"Well, I need more chocolate because I am all out at the moment, don't know how that happened, so I'm thinking Honeydukes?" Claire explained. He smiled and grasped her hand, leading her towards the small shop full of sweets. It was loud in the small building but the whiffs of chocolate and caramel made up for it. Claire walked straight to the grand chocolate aisle where she stocked up on her favorite, Fudge Flies. She didn't want to seem too unhealthy in front of James so she limited herself to only three boxes. Walking past a pile of chocolate frogs, she quickly grabbed one and continued walking ignoring her conscience telling her 'that's enough'. After paying, she met James at the door and flashed him a satisfied smile. He rolled his eyes.
"Happy?"
"Mhm," she hummed. They had then agreed to going to the Three Broomsticks next which was fine by Claire if it meant a nice butterbeer. They walked into the pub and James instructed her to sit down while he ordered their drinks. When he came back with two glasses in his hands, Claire perked up. She thanked him and sipped the sweet drink silently. She was already halfway through the cup when she noticed a certain someone had walked in.
She kicked James under the table to grasp his attention. He looked up confused and slightly startled. She nodded towards the door making him turn and look. There stood Lily Evans with Marlene and Alice. Lily took notice of them immediately and her content expression turned into a scowl as she watched James reach over and place his hand in Claire's while turning back to talk to her. Evans looked away and walked off with her friends to go find a table.
"Very good job, Mr. Potter, she doesn't look happy," Claire beamed seeming very content about it. James took notice of this but didn't comment, he only smiled proudly.
"Thank you very much, Miss Labelle."
To say the rest of the time they spent at the Three Broomsticks was enjoyable was an understatement. They talked about loads of things like quidditch, music, and Claire's love for math even if it wasn't used very often in the Wizarding World. She even explained to him what a movie was. Throughout their many conversations, James didn't let go of Claire's hand, even after Lily left.
It was a faster walk to the castle than from, now that the couple had fun. They continued to talk and stare at the things they walked by, and as they approached their school, Claire noticed a certain blonde-haired boy and his Slytherin friends. They seemed quite amused by something but Claire didn't care enough to ask or look into it much. She simply brushed off their menacing laughs and proceed side by side with James.
"I have to go meet the boys in the kitchens so I'll catch up with you later," James told, stopping in the Entrance Hall.
"Alright, I uhm, I had fun today," Claire stammered. James smirked.
"Of course you did, you were with me," he replied as if stating the obvious. "but I had fun too. So far, you are a great fake girlfriend."
"I'm flattered."
Claire turned to leave towards the common room. "You're supposed to say it back. I'm an amazing f- boyfriend," he called after her. She laughed to herself and shook her head, ignoring him and continuing to walk off. She strolled all the way to the Gryffindor Tower with a silly smile on her face and dreamily sang the password to The Fat Lady. When she walked in, her smile was wiped away in an instant.
Hannah sat there on the couch sniffling with Riley to her left, comforting her. Claire rushed over to her friend and shot her questions, one after another. All these questions lead her to one answer.
"Lu-Lucius, ca-c-called me a-a-" Hannah stopped trying to answer when her sobs got the best of her. Riley finished the sentence for her and when Claire heard her clearly, she was furious.
"Malfoy called her a- blood traitor. Because she hangs out with us."
Claire was silent for a moment and allowed Hannah's cries to fill the mostly empty room, apart from the few first and second-year students who didn't pay much attention to the scene. Claire finally stood up and reached for her wand.
"No," Hannah called out, knowing that whatever she was going to do to Lucius, it was a bad idea. After all, Claire was never bad at Defense Against the Dark Arts and could most certainly outduel him. "It's not like hurting him will help."
Claire returned to her side with a sigh. She simply wrapped her arm around the girl in a small hug. The group stared at the fire for a few moments, no one talking or crying. "We don't have to hurt him, just turn his hair blue or something."
"I'm on board." Riley agreed. Hannah cracked a grin.
She looked at the two from side to side, "Green would be better."