The Quiet Kind Of Beauty -Marauder Era

Chapter 7

After twisting and turning in bed, Clara gave up on sleep and dragged herself out of bed and into the bathroom. Her mood only decreased when she saw her reflection. Even without her glasses on, she could see how horrible she looked. Her bright blue eyes had been reduced to a dull blue-grey colour and her hair stuck up in all angles. Grumpily, she began brushing her teeth, not bothering to take a shower as she already took one last night.

She left the bathroom fifteen minutes later looking slightly better than when she had looked when she entered. Her hair had been braided tightly in a thick rope, and her contacts cleared up her vision. She had made sure that she had rubbed a face cream onto her cheeks before she forgot. Her mood was slightly better than what it was. Sighing, she slipped into her uniform, tucking a stray curl behind her hair. Looking in the mirror, she bit her lip slightly. I look horrible, she thought miserably. She shook it off, standing up straight, it doesn't matter anyway, she told herself firmly, this is school, not a runway. Pushing her shoulders back, she straightened her uniform and swung her bag over her shoulder and quietly slipped out of the silent dorm.

The common room was just as silent. The rising sun's glow sent light pouring into the round room and seemed to fill it up with a strange sense of coziness that Clara had never realized before. Sitting down on the couch, she let her body relax. Her shoulders ached from spending countless hours hunched over her textbooks. Closing her eyes, she turned her body sideways so her back rested against the arm of the sofa and her legs were stretched out in front of her. She put her head back against the armrest, rubbing her eyes, and thought over the events of last night. There was no way that she would allow herself to get married to some pretentious pureblood prat, she just didn't know how to tell her family. Angering her father would be one of the greatest mistakes anyone could make and Clara definitely didn't want to cross that boundary. Rubbing her temples, she racked her brain for a solution. Going to the Potters' would most likely be the easiest, but then there's the risk of her dad finding out where she was. He has connections with some extremely dark wizards who would find her within a minute. He was a man who was upheld with a great respect in the Ministry of Magic, and Clara still had the Trace on her. But then again there was always Rose's house, the only sibling who cared about her and actually stuck around. Either way, she had to wait until her Trace was gone, making her untraceable.

A warm feeling had settled over her left cheek, and she brought her hand up unconsciously and slid it over her face. I'm just imagining things, she thought distractedly.

When Sirius and Remus tiptoed their way down to the common room that morning, they were met with the sight of Clara curled up against the big sofa. Sirius' heart sped up a few notches like it did every time he was around the blue-eyed girl. Clara's eyes were closed, and she was gnawing on her bottom lip gently. Sirius pulled out a grin and began walking up to her.
Clara must've dozed off because she was standing in front of her father. His hands were clasped behind his back, and he was staring at Clara in such a cold way that his glare seemed to send shivers up her spine. She wasn't going to let him boss her around, not ever again.

"Clara."

Clara's eyes shot open and she was on her feet, wand in hand, within a second. It took her a moment to realize that she was in the Gryffindor common room and that she had the tip of her wand was pressed against someone's neck. It took another second to realize that it was Sirius.
Sirius stared at Clara in shock. Her eyes were blazing and her wand stabbed his Adam's apple. Her eyes widened slightly and her gaze switched from his to Remus' face. She lowered her wand, sighing.

"Don't scare me like that!" She huffed irritably.

Sirius stared at her incredulously. "You almost beheaded me!"

"Yeah, what was that, anyway?" Remus asked her. Clara sighed, rubbing her temples.

"Just nerves..." She muttered. Sirius wasn't convinced.

"Clara..." Sirius said.

"Yes?" She sighed, tucking a strand of hair behind her hair.

"Tell me the truth."

She shot him an annoyed look. "I am telling you the truth," Sirius arched his eyebrow. "I am!" She huffed again and grabbed her bag, leaving the two boys alone in the common room.

"Well, that was odd," Remus said finally.

"She's acting weird.." Sirius muttered, scratching his head.

"Well, you know how women get on certain days," Remus replied. Sirius sent him a pointed look.

"It's not that, Moony. Can't you tell that somethings bothering her?" Sirius sighed.

"No, how would you know that anyway?"

"Well, it's pretty obvious!" Sirius said, exasperated.

"Not really, do enlighten me, Padfoot," Remus said wearily.

Sirius exhaled a lengthy sigh, "Her eyes are this dull shade of blue, her eyes turn that colour whenever she has a problem. Haven't you noticed that?"

"Well considering that I don't gawk at her like a fool, no I haven't noticed." He said slyly, a smirk tugged on the ends of his lips.

"I don't gawk at her!" Sirius defended as colour rose to his cheeks. Remus rolled his eyes tiredly.

"Sure you don't."

"I don't.." Sirius mumbled.

~*~

It turned out that trying to keep her problem to herself was harder than Clara had anticipated. Several times that day she was tempted to open her mouth and spill everything to Lily, but thought better of it. The urge was so strong she had to bite her lip the entire day to keep her mouth shut. By last period her bottom lip was swollen, cherry red and throbbing painfully. On top of everything, an irritating pain had been tapping against her shoulder blades, erupting in quick but painful ache.

"Clara, are you okay?" Lily whispered worriedly to her during Charms.

"Of course I am, just a little on edge," Clara replied. It wasn't a total lie, her nerves had been acting up again. Being a NEWT student was hard. Lily nodded, but didn't look convinced. The pressure in her chest welled up the size of a balloon and she was afraid she would burst. She bit down on her lip hard and, to her dismay, a metallic taste seeped into her mouth. A wave of nausea plummeted into her stomach and she jumped to her feet causing a class full of heads snap in her direction.

"B-Bathroom," She gasped, trying not to lick her bottom lip. She didn't wait for Flitwick's reply, leaving all her things she bolted from the boiling classroom.

Lily stared after her best friend in worry and shock as she fled the room and wondered if anyone else had noticed the blood stain on her lip. She's definitely not telling me something, Lily finalized.

Thankfully the hallways were empty so Clara had no trouble sprinting to the nearest washroom. She bent over the side of the sink, gripping the edges painfully tight. Turning on the water tap she let her hands soak under the cold water before dabbing her lip gently, sighing when the cold water droplets hit her gnawed skin. She washed the blood off her fingertips and her lips and straightened up and stared at her reflection. Her skin was pale and slightly sweaty. There was another sharp pain in her shoulder blades and she let out a groan. Why do the worst things always happen to me? She thought tiredly.