Starbeam - A Wizarding World Story - ON HIATUS

Chapter 12

Wait, Pride? Nah, I Have Absolutely None. Not. At. All.

As the carriages rolled forward, pulled by creatures Claire was thankful her friends couldn't see (she wouldn't wish seeing the death of a loved one on anybody), she thought of her small nap in Draco's lap. Had she truly been that comfortable with him, that her subconscious would allow herself to enjoy the comforts of being that close to him? Was she just overthinking this? She probably was. 

The auricomous haired girl hadn't realized how lost in thought she was until Cedric randomly yelled her name into her ear. Startled, she jerked, her head whipping back only for it to connect painfully with the headrest. 

"Ow! Cedric! What'd you do that for?" She asked, her tone equal parts annoyed and joking. He shrugged. 

"You looked too deep in thought. I figured that I needed to fish you out before you drowned." He reasoned, his voice joking. She rolled her eyes playfully. 

"Puh-lease Ceddy. If I were drowning, I'd make it more dramatic than just sitting here thinking." She replied. He shrugged. 

"You never know, C. You could very well be drowning and not want to take us down with you so you don't let us know." His teasing tone was gone, replaced by an uncharacteristic seriousness. Claire, unused to this side of the boy, blinked in shock. 

"I'll always let you know, Cedric. You should know that." She told him softly. He relaxed his tense form with a sigh.

"I do know that, Claire. Sorry, it's just... I knew someone who didn't tell anyone that they were having bad thoughts and they... they killed themselves before they could even see their Hogwarts letter." He replied. 

"Really? That's so sad! I'm so sorry, Cedric." Claire said, sympathetically. The atmosphere in the carriage had significantly changed from the start of the ride, everyone had picked up on that. Thankfully, the somber mood soon dissipated when Hannah let out a shrieked. Everyone turned to look at her, and she looked up from her book, blushing. 

"Sorry, something amazing happened in the story. I got excited." She apologized, causing the rest of the group to laugh lightly. 

The carriage ride soon ended and the doors opened, signifying that they had arrived at the castle. The students filed into the Dinning Hall, every single stomach grumbling from hunger. The Sorting happened quickly, Claire not paying attention to much. Instead, she was thinking of food and how hungry she was. The encounter with the dementor had taken quite a bit out of her, and while the nap helped, it didn't help with her hunger. Once the Sorting was done, Dumbledore launched into a speech. At the wave of his hand, food appeared on the tables, and Claire immediately dug in. Her friends laughed at her enthusiasm. Draco, upon spotting the very hungry girl, laughed internally as her blonde hair shook with her own laughter. 

The first day of classes came with a flurry of excitement. Hannah and Claire had Potions for 4 hours first thing, something Hannah has expressed her displeasure for, then Care of Magical Creatures with Hagrid that afternoon. 

Unfortunately for Claire, she had accidentally splashed part of her unfinished potion that Snape already had them start making even though it was the first day of classes, so she had to miss Magical Creatures. Hannah, on her behalf, had explained the situation to Hagrid, who, kind as always, told Hannah to tell Claire that she could come to the Slytherin/Gryffindor period the next day, as long as it didn't interfere with her other classes. Thankfully for her, it didn't, so the next day, Claire joined Harry, Ron, and Hermione in the small clearing that Hagrid had the students assemble in.