Cottage Roads ° james potter

-xxiii. a misunderstanding

❛ Down cottage roads ❜

After a rather peaceful sleep, Claire woke up with her other two friends. They didn't even have to shake her awake or yank the covers off her body. Instead, she sat up and glided to her trunk where she picked out her uniform.

"Are you alright, Claire?" Hannah asked. Claire looked up at her confused.

"Of course I am, why wouldn't I be?" she asked. The other two only shared a glanced and shrugged.

Claire ignored the interaction and got dressed peacefully. To her surprise, Hannah and Riley actually waited for Claire that morning and the three all left the dormitory together.

"You know, I bet my soulmate's in like Belgium or something. That would explain a lot," Hannah said as they walked towards the Great Hall.

"Or maybe he's just not Malfoy," Riley deadpanned. Hannah scowled at the name.

"Do not say that name, Riley."

As they walked into the hall, Claire was forced to ignore all the stares she received. "I thought people stopped caring weeks ago," Claire muttered to her friends as they sat down.

"What, didn't you hear," Riley asked. Claire looked at her quizzically.

"Hear what?"

The other two shared a look. Hannah took it upon herself to explain.

"Potter and Lupin got into a fight last night. No one really knows why but some people have their suspicions," Hannah told. Claire grew even more confused. That didn't explain why people continued to stare at her while she sat at the end of the Gryffindor table.

"What, people think I have something to do with it?" Claire asked. The two girls nodded faintly. Claire huffed. "How? I didn't even know about it until now. How could I have possibly had something to do with it?"

"Well. . ." Hannah trailed off.

"Don't tell me you think so too."

Hannah looked away and down at her plate. Claire then looked at Riley how looked away cluelessly.

"Unbelievable," Claire grumbled. "You guys are supposed to be on my side."

"And we are, it's just that, ya know, it makes sense," Riley began.

"Some people said they saw you at the lake with Remus so-"

"We were talking, that's it," Claire whisper shouted. I guess he's the only person you can talk to, huh? Claire's conscience said. She then stood up abruptly. "I need to find James."

"Claire-" Hannah began but was cut off by her friend walking away.

"At least she'll have a story to tell tonight," Riley reasoned.

Claire searched the halls of Hogwarts as quickly as possible, not wanting to miss another lesson. She went to the common room to see if anyone was there but it was completely deserted. She peeked into the library but the only one occupying it was Madam Pince and seventh years studying for their N.E.W.T.s.

When she had given up on looking for the boy she admittedly loved, she retreated back to the direction her first class was in. Potions to be specific.

When she walked in, she scanned the room and no sign of James was present. She did however notice Remus ducking his head in a book. She walked over and greeted herself. He looked up and to her surprised, his lip was busted and he had a bruise on his left cheekbone.

She immediately cut to the chase, "Did James do this to you?"

He looked away and to the desk, he was seated at, "Yeah, but it's fine. I don't mind, really."

"How can you not mind? Look at you Remus," Claire said.

"It's not that bad, but you should talk to him," he suggested.

"I've been looking for him but I can't find him anywhere."

Remus could only frown and watch as Slughorn strode into the room. Claire huffed and plopped into her seat at the shared desk. She looked at the empty seat reserved for James and reluctantly pulled out her textbook to prepare her notes.

The rest of the day was filled with people staring and teachers blabbering on about insignificant things. Time went by cruelly slow for the brunette girl and all she wanted was the truth from James. She wanted to know why James wasn't acting anything like James.

After the long school day, Claire made a beeline towards the common room. The only place she hadn't checked was the boy's sixth-year dormitory and she was praying to Merlin that he wasn't there. She didn't want all the memories of their time spent there to come flooding back.

So, she mustered up all her courage and began walking up the stairs. The sound of her soft footsteps bounced off the walls. She arrived at the door after what felt like hours of walking and squeezed her eyes shut. She then regained her composure and quickly knocked on the door.

There was a moment of silence. Then a shuffle. The doorknob jangled then opened.

His hazel eyes met hers and they only stared.

"I don't think I'm alright," Claire began.

"I know."