The Quiet Kind Of Beauty -Marauder Era

Chapter 31

An uneasy silence had settled over everyone in the car. James sat in the driver's seat, thick brows pulled together, and casted cautious looks into the rearview mirror every now and again, eyes focusing on the landscape behind them. Lily sat beside him, legs drawn to her chest, her long hair pulled into a knot at the top of her head. Also in the passenger seat sat Remus, with his chin in his right hand, caramel eyes troubled. Lily held onto both of their hands, James' right, and Remus' left, knuckles white.

The rest were squished into the back seat; Aaron against the left side of the car, Daniel beside him, then Sirius, and finally Clara, who had been staring out of the window since they had pulled around the final corner that hid the Campbell manor from their view indefinitely. Her hair had been pulled out of her bun, hanging around her face like a well-placed curtain that hid her expression from everyone in the car. Clara hadn't moved since she pulled the last flower from her hair, the pins clutched tightly in her hand. On her side, Daniel and Sirius say awkwardly shoulder to shoulder, each trying their hardest not to make eye contact with each other.

The unsaid question had been on everyone's mind since her use of the expulsion spell: how was she capable of casting a spell that powerful?

Sirius couldn't help but wonder... the spell tore through the gravel roads as it sped towards Joseph Campbell, chucking chunks of rock and earth on either of its sides. How was it possible that Campbell had withstood that strength without immediate damage?

~*~

Forty-five minutes later, James felt like the silence was going to suffocate him. Lily was still pale with fear, Remus as taut as a bow string. In the back seat was Sirius, whose eyes were fixed on the ceiling of the car, head tilted backwards to lay on the headrest. His fingers tapped against his knees in a disjointed rhythm.

He's thinking about them again, James concluded worriedly.

He wanted to say something, make a joke, comment on the weather, anything that would make the tense silence evaporate. The words would die at the tip of his tongue every time he tried.

Finally, in the distance, the bright lights of London came into view.

~*~

Clara hadn't noticed when she fell asleep, head pressed into the window, her hairpins still sitting in her hand. She remembered seeing London, and James exiting the highway just before entering the city, bordering the urban streets until the trees became thicker and more abundant. Then, blissfully, there was nothing. The next time she opened her eyes, they had stopped moving.

"Clara, we're here." Sirius' voice whispered, tapping her shoulder gently.

As she recalibrated herself, she felt no more less tired. Distantly, she heard the voices of their friends located outside.

Clara nodded, somewhat detachedly. "Okay," She said quietly, moving slowly for the first time in over an hour. Her muscles groaned in pain, her neck aching from her sleeping position earlier. Sirius watched silently, wondering if he should say something.

Her mind was evidently preoccupied, because she opened the door and slid out of the car without a word. With defeated a sigh, Sirius ran a hand through his messy hair, and followed her.

As soon as his feet hit the ground, he stretched his arms above his head, bones popping with his movement. James was talking to Remus and Lily with his eyebrows drawn close together. The two were listening intently, nodding occasionally. A few feet away, Aaron and Daniel spoke in hushed tones, the latter stiff and clearly feeling out of place.

Look at that idiot, Sirius snorted silently, over there with that stupidly nice tuxedo of his...

James clapped Remus shoulder, who was holding Clara's trunk, and the three spilt up, James heading towards Sirius and Clara, and Remus and Lily heading towards the backyard. Clara was present enough to wonder where they were going.