Claire wasn't used to feeling so warm and calm. Usually she was almost always quivering from anxiety and sometimes the cold, but she was too tired to even more at all. She could faintly hear whispered voices around her, but her eyelids didn't seem to want to open. For a panicked second Claire believed that she was in a coma, but the voices suddenly got closer and much clearer.
"She should be waking up any minute now," Madam Pomfrey said softly, the sound of the curtain being closed assuring Claire that she was still in the hospital wing. "She seems to be exhausted, the poor girl."
"But is she okay?" Remus asked, his voice shaky. Claire had tried to convince herself for years that she didn't need her dad, but in that moment she wanted nothing more than for him hug her and assure her that she was okay.
"Well...I don't think so," Madam Pomfrey said. "I found these when I was changing her out of her wet clothes."
Claire flinched a little at the nurse's cold hands pressed against her wrist. While she still couldn't force herself to wake up, Claire cursed herself for not putting on a disillusionment charm before the game. Her bruises from Thomas were almost all gone, but the worst ones still littered her skin. Since she had been wearing so many jackets, Claire didn't bother to cover them.
"Are they..." Remus stopped midsentence to take a deep, shaky breath. "Does that...does that look like someone is-is hitting her?"
Madam Pomfrey didn't answer but based on the soft curse that Remus let out and the sound of him sitting down heavily, Claire guessed that she had nodded.
"I'm very sorry, Remus," Madam Pomfrey said quietly. "I know why she couldn't live with you when she was younger due to your condition, but she's older now. Is there any way she could live with you?"
"It's much more difficult than just my condition," Remus admitted, his voice thick. "I-I don't know if she will ever be able to live with me. But she can't live with Evan Rosier anymore. Not if he's hurting her badly enough that she still has bruises."
"She needs help, Remus," Madam Pomfrey whispered. "From what I understand, this wasn't the first panic attack she's had. And she clutched onto me like someone who had never been held before. Not to mention how the rest of the school treats her."
Madam Pomfrey was quiet for a moment, allowing Remus to digest her words.
"I never...I never wanted this to happen," Remus finally stuttered out. Without even being able to see him Claire could still tell he was crying. "I've tried protecting her, but I've just made everything worse."
"You can't blame yourself for this," Madam Pomfrey said assuringly. Remus cleared his throat, the sound of his chair scraping the floor hitting Claire's ears.
"I need to go talk with Dumbledore. Let me know when she wakes up please," Remus requested. Claire listened as both Remus and the nurse left, leaving her alone once again.
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When Claire woke up next, she woke up completely. She still felt warm and calm, but she was able to open her eyes and move. Clare yawned and rolled over on her side. This seemed to get Harry's attention since he jumped and dropped his book.
"Merlin, you scared me!" Harry exclaimed.
"Hmm," Claire mumbled, cuddling closer to her blankets.
"You scared all of us," Harry whispered, staring at his blanket. "Hermione was practically crying when I woke up cause she was so worried for you."
Claire didn't say anything in response, only cuddling closer to her blanket as if she was trying to crawl into it and never come out.
"Professor Lupin was here... he asked me about your bruises," Harry admitted. Claire's head shot up, her eyes wide with worry.
"What did you say?" Claire asked.
"I said I didn't know," Harry said, sounding ashamed at himself. "I know I should've told them, but I saw Professor Lupin's face and he looked absolutely devastated. I couldn't make it worse."
"It's his fault," Claire admitted softly. Harry's head shot over in shock. In the whole time he had known Claire, while she had grown to resent her father, he had never heard her blame him once. It was always herself. "If he had kept me I would never have gone to live with the DeBlanc family. And I never wouldn't met Thomas, or Evan, whatever his name is...it's all his fault."
"I think he knows that," Harry said softly. "You should've seen his face. I pretended to be asleep most of the time he was in here, but he looked horrible. Worried, angry, resentful. Everything."
"I just wish he could tell me why. That's all I need from him is an explanation," Claire sighed.
"Can you explain why you had a panic attack?" Harry asked hesitantly. Claire's faced hardened some, though she was still cuddled up to her blanket so it didn't look very angry or upset.
"I don't know," Claire mumbled. "I've been having them often recently. Sometimes once or twice a day."
"Why didn't you say anything?" Harry asked, sounding a little hurt and worried.
"Cause it's my own battle," Claire said. "I have to deal with it, no one else."
"You can't do this alone."
Claire was silent as she thought over Harry's words. She had been alone so long that she had grown accustomed to not having anyone to help her. But now that Harry and her had fixed their relationship and Draco was talking to her, she actually had people she could trust and talk to. But old habits die hard.
"I'll be fine by myself," Claire said shortly.
"Claire, please," Harry said pleedingly. "I don't want you to be hurt."
Claire didn't respond, turning over to her other side so she wasn't facing Harry anymore. His exasperated sigh made her feel even worse.
"Look, I'm not great at talking about feelings, but I'm always here if you need someone to talk to," Harry offered after a few moments of awkward silence.
"Thank you," Claire whispered. She couldn't see him, but she assumed that he nodded.
"Do you remember when we were eight and we ran away to get ice cream?" Harry asked suddenly. Claire grinned and turned over, sitting up as she did so.
"We ran five whole miles," Claire remembered.
"I can still remember how sore we were the next day," Harry said with a chuckle. "But it was completely worth it."
"The mint chocolate chip was better than the strawberry and you can't convince me otherwise," Claire said seriously.
"What? No way!" Harry argued. "The mint chocolate chip was barely minty!"
"But the strawberry was almost completely strawberry and no ice cream!" Claire said, a disgusted shake of her head.
"The strawberry was good icecream," Harry said firmly.
"You wouldn't know good icecream if it hit you in the face," Claire scoffed. Harry let out a fake offered gasp.
"As fascinating as icecream is, Miss. Lupin needs to come with me," Professor Snape interrupted. Claire and Harry both jumped, neither one of them having realized that the man had entered the hospital wing. Claire hurried to stand up, tripping a little. Her hands went to pull her sleeves down to cover her hands, but since she had been changed by Madam Pomfrey, she was wearing short sleeves. Professor Snape's eyes glanced down at the bruises on her wrist, which were obviously hand marks. Claire hurried to throw on her nearby school robe, her cheeks red as Professor Snape's upper lip curled up in anger.
"Come visit me later?" Harry asked hopefully. Claire nodded, hurrying to catch up to Professor Snape, who was walking faster than she could. He led her all the way to a statue before stopping.
"Lemon drops," Professor Snape mumbled. Claire gasped a little when the statue moved, opening up to show a spiral staircase. It didn't take long before the two of them were at the top, knocking once before opening the door.
Claire's breath immediately got caught in her throat at the sight of Thomas DeBlanc. He looked angry and annoyed as his eyes went to Claire. He didn't even try to hide his disgust as he took in her disheveled appearance. Remus, however, seemed to notice how her entire demeanor changed at the sight of her uncle. In no time at all he was by her side, helping guide her so sit, noticing how she didn't stop watching Thomas.
"Hello, Miss. Lupin," Professor Dumbledore said kindly, breaking the awkward tension.
"Hi," Claire mumbled. Her eyes kept glancing over to Thomas who was sitting in the seat next to her. Remus was in the other seat next to her while Professor Snape stood behind them and off to the side some. Madam Pomfrey was also there, sitting on the couch in the room.
"After your recent incident, we just wanted to talk," Professor Dumbledore said.
"A-ab-about wh-what?" Claire asked.
"Stop stuttering! You know it's annoying!" Thomas snapped. Claire nodded hurriedly, placing her hands under her thighs so no one would see them shaking. Remus glared at Thomas, having seen how scared Claire was. Her whole body seemed to be trembling, her eyes glancing off to her side every few seconds.
"Mr. Rosier, that is no way to speak to a child," Madam Pomfrey chastised.
"I'll speak to her how I please," Thomas sneered.
"Mr. Rosier, please be respectful," Professor Dumbledore said, sounding a little angry.
"It's DeBlanc now, thanks to you," Thomas spat. Professor Dumbledore didn't seem to care or notice how rude the man was being, but Remus noticed the way Claire started shaking and sniffing more. He nudged her a little, her eyes wide and teary when she looked at him. He hesitated a second before pulling an orange lifesaver out of his pocket, handing it to his daughter. Claire sent him a shaky smile as she accepted the small candy, surprised that he remembered it was one of her favorites.
"Back on topic," Dumbledore said before Thomas could get more upset. "We are here because we have concerns that Miss. Lupin isn't being treated well at your home, Mr. DeBlanc."
"She's treated like she should be," Thomas sneered. Claire bit down on the lifesaver, trying to distract herself a little.
"What, like a dog?" Remus asked angrily. Claire could see the look Professor Dumbledore sent him, and she assumed that he had been told to stay quiet.
"Since she came from you, yes."
Claire gasped in shock when Remus stood up, pointing his wand at Thomas. Professor Snape took a step forward, but stopped a few steps away, ready to step in if needed.
"Mr. Lupin!" Professor Dumbledore chastised, standing up as well.
"I didn't know you had it in you to threaten an unarmed man," Thomas said with a scoff.
"When it comes to my daughter, I'll do anything," Remus said lowly.
"Mr. Lupin," Professor Dumbledore said again. Remus hesitated, but with one glance at Claire he sat down, albeit with an angry huff.
"Do your lies ever eat you up inside?" Thomas asked Remus, a sneer clear on his face. "Do you every lay awake, thinking about how you claim to care so much about your daughter but yet you can't even spend time with her? You can't even raise her?"
Professor Snape had to actually grab Remus, restraining his arms before he could hurt Thomas, who had a proud smirk on his face.
"You know exactly why I did what I did!" Remus growled, shoving his way out of Professor Snape's arms. Thomas stood up as well, looking ready for a fight.
"Boys!" Madam Pomfrey yelled, stopping a fight before it could start. "Let's act like men for once and sit down and get this over with!"
Remus and Thomas slowly sat down, glaring at each other the whole time. Claire was shaking so hard her teeth were chattering and she was surprised that she hadn't fallen out of her chair.
"In a way to make this as short as possible, I'll ask the most pressing question," Professor Dumbledore announced. "Miss. Lupin, has Mr. DeBlanc been hitting you?"
Claire wanted nothing more than to yell out the truth, admitting that there were days during the summer where she was in so much pain that she couldn't get out of bed or she puked up blood. But instead she looked over at Thomas. His eyes looked murderous as they focused on Claire. She realized immediately what she had to do.
She had to lie. Thomas was an angry man, and she couldn't imagine what he'd do to her if she told the truth. Plus, there was no promise that she'd end up with her father or with a family that was actually nice. While the DeBlanc's were horrible, there were people even worse, and Claire didn't think she'd survive living with them.
"No," Claire lied, her voice shaky.
"Miss. Lupin, you have hand marks all over you," Madam Pomfrey said softly. "I've worked here long enough to know abuse when I see it."
"I'm f-fine," Claire lied, internally cursing herself.
"I'm not an abuser," Thomas practically growled. "And this whole thing is ridiculous."
"How do you explain the hand marks then, Evan?" Professor Snape asked, sounding angry.
"I g-got into a-a fig-fight," Claire said quickly, wincing a little at her stupidity. Professor Dumbledore raised an eyebrow at her, obviously not believing her lie.
"A fight?" Professor Dumbledore asked, sounding skeptical. Claire nodded her head quickly, not trusting her voice.
"There you have it. I'm innocent," Thomas declared. "Can I leave now?"
"She's obviously lying," Remus protested. "You're hurting her and she's just so scared of you that she can't tell the truth!"
"I'm not the one she should be scared of. I'm not the monster," Thomas responded. Remus' jaw clenched and the tension in the room seemed to grow. Claire's breath got caught in her throat as it was basically confirmed that Remus was a werewolf.
"Let's not bring that into this issue," Professor Dumbledore said. "If Miss. Lupin has nothing else to say, then we are through here."
Every eye was on Claire. Remus' eyes were pleading her to speak up, but one glance at Thomas made her shake her head no. Professor Dumbledore, Snape and Madam Pomfrey all looked disappointed in her. Remus looked angry, but not at her. Thomas looked smug as he stood up leisurely.
"I'll be leaving then," Thomas said, smirking at Remus. No one had time to react before Remus was pinning Thomas to the wall, a murderous look on his face.
"I swear to Merlin, Rosier, if I find out that you're hurting her in any way, I'll ruin your life even more than it already is ruined," Remus threatened, his voice dark. Professor Snape was standing by the two men, but Dumbledore raised a hand and nonverbally told him to wait.
"You've already hurt her more than I ever could," Thomas spat, both verbally and literally. Claire let out a shriek and she was pulled back in a protective embrace by Madam Pomfrey as Remus punched Thomas. A short scuffle broke out but Claire shoved her face in Madam Pomfrey's shoulder so she wouldn't have to watch. Claire slowly looked over to see Thomas with a split lip and Remus with bruised knuckles. Professor Snape was holding Thomas back with a surprising amount of force while Professor Dumbledore calmly stood behind his desk.
"As I've said before, we need to let go of our past issues for Miss. Lupin," Professor Dumbledore said calmly, but with an edge to his voice. "Starting fights will not solve anything. Mr. DeBlanc, it's best if you leave now."
"I never thought I'd see you helping him," Thomas growled at Snape, shrugging off his arms and using the floo powder to leave the room. An awkward silence filled the room, only broken by Claire as she tried to not cry.
"Claire, I'm sorry-" Remus tried to apologize, but Claire rushed out of the office before he could.