Written in the Stars | Sirius Black

XXIII. Changes

J U L Y 1 9 7 7

.・。.・゜✭・.・✧・゜・。.

THE WAIT TO RECEIVE her N.E.W.T. results was tortuous, to say the least. In the four weeks since leaving Hogwarts, Clara had concocted enough outlandish scenarios in her mind to last a lifetime.

At one point she had nearly convinced herself that she had earned a Troll in every subject and St. Mungo's would retract their offer of employment. But luckily, on the final Friday evening of July, her results came.

Of course, her marks were exemplary. It seemed that she was the only person within Potter Manor who was truly surprised by her high performance.

N.E.W.T. exams aside, there was still the matter of The Order lingering in the back of her mind. An unmarked envelope had been delivered to her mere days before. Unlike the rest of the post that morning, this particular letter had been dropped at the window in her bedroom.

A sinking feeling of dread consumed her from the moment she watched the owl make a quick departure, as if in the hopes of escaping the Manor grounds undetected. By whom, she was afraid to theorize the possibilities.

Before even retrieving it, Clara knew it would be about The Order and for that reason alone, it sat unopened, buried in the back of her desk drawer. Despite the neglect, its presence constantly nagged in the back of her mind.

But now, as she was packing a few essential things she'd need to stay the week with Fabian and Gideon in their flat on Diagon Alley, Clara knew she couldn't avoid the letter for much longer.

Perhaps she didn't need to read Dumbledore's message at all. Surely the twins would have received their own similar letters. Maybe they could simply relay the message to her. Hearing it from them would no doubt feel better than hearing it from the disembodied voice of her former Headmaster.

Still, as she opened the drawer to retrieve her favourite quill set, the unmarked envelope taunted her, beckoning her to face her fate.

"So, you're really leaving then?"

Instinctively, Clara slammed her desk drawer shut and spun around to see Sirius leaning against the doorframe glancing at the open trunk sitting atop her bed. It seemed he hadn't noticed she was hiding something. That, or he was doing a rather good job of acting as though he were none the wiser.

"I'm not leaving, not for good." Clara replied, steadying her voice, "It just makes more sense for me to stay in London with Fabian until I get used to my work schedule."

Sirius said nothing, merely nodded as he entered her bedroom uninvited and sat on the edge of her bed. Part of her wanted to ask him what he wanted from her, why he felt the need to speak directly to her for the first time in months.

But now, as she was only hours away from leaving the Manor, Sirius sought her out. There were a million things she could say to him, to ask him. Namely, why? But she didn't.

Clara matched Sirius' silence, only watching as he brushed his hair behind his ears and glanced around her bedroom. It was almost as though once she was gone, the room would cease to exist, and her along with it.

And maybe that was Sirius' reality. The only thread that had ever connected them had been James and that had been severed. She felt no need to try and reconnect something so fragile.

As Sirius' fingers ran through his hair, Clara couldn't help but notice the faint white line on his palm – the scar that lingered from her less than perfect healing charm months prior. Now that she knew about Remus' condition, she assumed his injury occurred on one of those nights in the Shrieking Shack.