Starbeam - A Wizarding World Story - ON HIATUS

Chapter 28

"What Is Love, Baby Don't Hurt Me, Don't Hurt Me No More!" "Claire, What On Earth Are You Singing?" 

A week after Harry's retrieval from 4 Privet Drive, Claire was struck by an idea. If what her friends said was true, and Draco was scared by his feelings (if there were any), then maybe she could send him a letter asking him to meet up to talk about it. So, she set to crafting the message, carefully choosing the words she used to make it sound more open-ended and less threatening, figuring that he'd appreciate it. About an hour after she sat down to do said task, her letter was in the air, carried by the Diggory's family owl. 

Draco's response came not two hours later, expressing his equal interest in "meeting together to talk," as he so eloquently put it. Claire almost snorted when she saw his elegant cursive. Of course he wrote in cursive. Then again, what did she expect? He is a bloody Malfoy, after all. Her blue-grey eyes scanned his reply. 

"Ooh, Little C got herself a letter, did she?" she heard Cedric tease from the doorway of her room. Claire turned, eyebrows raised.

"Taking notes from the Weasley twins, are you? Do you need something? Or are you just trying to be the drama queen you've always been, Ced?" she shot back, not really in the mood for a protective older brother nor his jokes. 

"Alright, alright, I'll leave you alone." he replied, backing away with his hands raised in surrender. 

The next day, the date of their rendezvous arrived with Claire rushing to get her minimal chores (she insisted upon helping the Diggory's house elf) and Draco fretting over what the girl he loved could possibly want to talk to him about. His nails were chewed down to the bed, a horrible nervous habit of his, while her's were freshly painted a dusky rose from spending a "girls' night" over at 12 Grimmauld Place with Ginny, Hermione, and Tonks with Mrs Weasley supplying the snacks and drinks. 

The appointed hour approached, and Draco decided he couldn't wait a moment longer. He sent a note ahead of his departure, waited 5 agonizingly long minutes to make sure it arrived before he did, and then stepped through the Floo into the Diggory household. The blonde boy was met with chaos. 

Apparently, the Weasley twins snuck some of the candy they were experimenting with into Claire's pocket, who then accidentally offered the disguised sweet to the Diggory's house elf, turning her a bright blue that seemed irreversible. Marie was horrified, Amos was frantic, and Cedric was muttering cursed aimed towards the twins under his breath. Claire was seething, her hair and eyes a vibrant shade of searing red. Without a word, she stalked passed Draco, flooed to a whispered destination, and returned with two red-heads, the twins. They, upon seeing Claire's fury, made quick work to remedy the situation.

Soon, the elf was back to her normal color, Fred and George flooed back to the unknown location, and Claire visibly calmed down, her hair and eyes returning to their natural states. Draco, unsure of what to do in that moment, scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. This movement reminded Claire of her visitor, and she turned to him, wide-eyed.

"Oh! Sorry! I forgot you were coming over, what with the whole Weasley twins' candy fiasco. Merlin, I feel bad for Dawdie, it was my fault for not realizing. Anyway, c'mon. Let's talk in my room. Maybe get away from prying ears, such as my brother." Claire's ramblings amused the blonde boy, who followed the girl up to her bedroom as she suggested. 

It was nice and spacious, with a comfy-looking queen-sized bed. The color seemed to be gold, silver, and white, the three colors making the space a lot brighter and seem a lot bigger than it was. She had a desk, pushed up against the wall, full of all her school things. It looked untouched, sans for the pile of letters on the left. Claire also had a potted plant near the floor-to-ceiling wall of windows. One of the only thing that made the room look lived-in, besides the messy sheets on the bed, was the occasional article of clothing on the floor.