maple syrup | remus lupin [1]

133. the cheater of death

ABOUT A WEEK OF SUMMER had gone by as Nicolas entered Claudia's room and found her sleeping in her bed, holding tightly to her stomach that had just recently been the victim of a curse from Louisa that gave her a rather nasty wound.

The blonde boy had a letter from none other than Fayola Ingannamorte in his hands, and just as he had promised the professor, who he had agreed to help out when it came to contacting Claudia, he did not open and read the letter.

So, Claudia woke up a while later to an empty house and a letter on her nightstand.

The girl grabbed the letter quickly and expected it to be something boring or possibly a letter from her friends, considering that her father always read everything first.

However, the fact that the letter was still sealed caused the girl to frown a little. But, the handwriting was one that she recognised every so much after being the writer's student for a year.

The girl opened the letter eagerly like a little child, expecting some sort of invitation from Fayola, who had after all hoped that Claudia would visit her so that she could tell the truth about everything.

And that was exactly what it was.

Basically, Claudia was told that she could come anytime she pleased on that day if she was free, which she of course was. So, she sent a letter back where she wrote saying that she would be there soon, and then she got herself ready before sitting down by her desk and picking up a quill as she opened the book that Remus had charmed and wrote:

Going to see Ingannamorte today. I'll write to you tonight, so don't worry!

Smiling contentedly to herself as Remus immediately answered with an encouraging few words, considering that he knew everything about the fact that Fayola refused to tell her certain things, the girl got up, fetched her jacket due to it being such a chilly day, and then she apparated away after having locked the door to her room.

She landed in Diagon Alley on the specific street where both her mum had lived when Claudia was a baby and where Fayola was living now.

Of course, she had been there before with her mum when she went shopping for school supplies for her first year at Hogwarts, and alone afterwards once she went shopping for all the other years.

So, Claudia took a moment to just look at the flat where her first memories had been made, her first words had been spoken and her first steps had been taken.

And the flat where her first signs of magic had been showed.

She smiled to herself as a beautiful sense of nostalgia washed over her, and then she left the flat behind to find Fayola's - something she did quickly due to the woman standing out on the street with a smile on her face.

"Oh, Claudia," she said, her smile faltering slightly at the sight of the girl who already looked far less healthy and happy than she did at Hogwarts, despite it only having been a week since she had left. "How are you?"