mirrorball

chapter five

Clara woke early next morning, wrapped in a thin blanket on the drawing room floor. A chink of sky was visible between the heavy curtains. It was the cool, clear blue of watered ink, somewhere between night and dawn, and everything was quiet except for everyone else's slow, deep breathing. Clara glanced over at the dark shapes Ron and Hermione made on the floor beside her. Ron had had a fit of gallantry and insisted that Hermione sleep on the cushions from the sofa, so that her silhouette was raised above his. Her arm curved to the floor, her fingers inches from Ron's. Clara thought they had fallen asleep holding hands. She smiled at the idea.

She turned her head to her side, where Harry slept with his back turned to her. Her smile faded slowly. Suddenly, the idea of Ron and Hermione's romance made her feel strangely lonely.

Clara tiptoed out of the room. She wandered the halls for awhile. She came across an empty room and stood in shock. It was the room she had coaxed Harry out of during the holidays. She looked around at the dim room. Everything was the same except it was now very chilly.  

The windows were open, blowing in small gusts of wind that caused Clara to shiver. She rushed over to them and closed them. She stayed in the room a moment, letting the past wash over her like a warm wave of sweetness. 

"Clara!" shouted Ron. Clara ran out of the room towards his voice.

"What?"

"Godric!" said Ron from the bottom of the closest flight of stairs. "I've found her!" He called downwards. 

"Tell her she's an idiot!" called Harry. Clara rolled her eyes.

"We thought you were kidnapped or something."

Clara walked towards Ron. "I was just exploring."

"Ron! Get Clara and come down here, now!" said Hermione. The pair ran down the stairs. They finally reached Hermione and Harry a moment later. Ron's wand was in his hand, aimed and ready to cast whatever spell came to his mind.

"What's up? If it's massive spiders again I want breakfast before I— " Ron frowned at the sign on Regulus's door, in which Hermione was silently pointing. "What? That was Sirius's brother, wasn't it? Regulus Arcturus . . . Regulus . . . R.A.B.! The locket—you don't reckon—?"

"Let's find out," said Harry. He pushed the door: It was locked. Clara pointed her wand at the handle and said, "Alohamora."There was a click, and the door swung open.

They moved over the threshold together, gazing around. Regulus's bedroom was slightly smaller than Sirius's, though it had the same sense of former grandeur. Whereas Sirius had sought to advertise his diffidence from the rest of the family, Regulus had striven to emphasize the opposite. The Slytherin colors of emerald and silver were everywhere, draping the bead, the walls, and the windows. It reminded Clara of Draco's room, only more established.

The Black family crest was painstakingly painted over the bed, along with its motto, Toujours Pur. Beneath this was a collection of yellow newspaper cuttings, all stuck together to make a ragged collage. Hermione crossed the room to examine them. 

"They're all about Voldemort," she said. "Regulus seems to have been a fan for a few years before he joined the DeathEaters . . . " A little puff of dust rose from the bedcovers as she sat down to read the clippings. Clara, meanwhile, had noticed another photograph: a Hogwarts Quidditch team was smiling and waving out of the frame. She moved closer and saw the snakes emblazoned on their chests: Slytherins. Regulus was instantly recognizable as the boy sitting in the middle of the front row: He had the same dark hair and slightly haughty look of his brother, though he was smaller and slighter than Sirius had been.