maple syrup | remus lupin [1]

70. coming home

CLAUDIA HAD BOARDED the train back to Hogwarts early. This time around, with the lack of Nolan and her father, she had had an easier time than normally to sneak away from Louisa before she could make another comment on how unpresentable she looked.

Claudia stared at herself in the mirror of the train's tiny little bathroom as she applied another layer of a concealer Betty had gifted her to her practically black under eyes.

She pulled down the sleeves of her sweater even further, faked a smile and took a deep breath - and then she headed out the door to find an empty compartment.

She did so in a rapid speed, praying that she wouldn't come across a specific boy with the prettiest of brown eyes in the process, and then she found a compartment; which she walked into with her trunk by her side.

She sat down by the seat closest to the window, pulled her coat over her head and closed her eyes - hoping that she would be left alone to sleep for the entire journey to Hogwarts.

She did this because she was exhausted. She had not been sleeping much, due to how much her body had been tormenting her. All she had been doing was staring at the roof as she waited for her father or stepmother to return.

She had been spending her summer thinking so much that she suddenly had ran out of thoughts. Or, at least, that's what it felt like.

Claudia felt completely numb - and she couldn't even grasp that herself because she couldn't even think too much about it.

The past 19 days had been hell. No food, no sleep, no conversations and no breaks from the constant curses, smoke-filled rooms and burnings hot knives.

No breaks.

But, she was feeling a little better. She was returning home, her grandmother had healed her as much as possible the night before, and she had even made Claudia a small little promise.

Claudia was allowed to try out for the quidditch team despite what Charles thought - and that truly did make her feel better.

Why her grandmother allowed her to do this, Claudia didn't know. Maybe it was out of pure pity for the girl, maybe it was a newfound drive to become a feminist, or maybe it was just Margaret being a grandmother.

However, no promises had been made on wether she could break off her engagement to Evan Rosier - who, lucky for Claudia, was a bloody sixth year.

She didn't even remember that at first; but then she did considering she caught a small glance of him as he paraded past her compartment with a cocky grin on his face.

Claudia groaned slightly to herself as she thought about the scenario in which she would be his wife until the day she either died from a disease he contracted her, or from the side affects of being his wife.

She wanted nothing more than to avoid that.

But, Margaret had not made a promise. She had made a decision and an agreement with Charles; but maybe, just maybe, she would change that decision and break that agreement if Claudia only gave her a little more time to realise just how shitty Evan Rosier was - and just how bad things could end up if she was forced into marriage with him.