RAIN // h. potter

Chapter 1

Claire sat in her Astronomy lesson, listening intently. It was her favorite class, and she often found herself sitting in the Astronomy Tower in her free time. Claire carefully noted down everything Professor Sinistra said, soaking in every bit of information. She wasn't aware of a particular raven-haired boy staring at her from across the classroom.

Harry Potter completely zoned out of his Astronomy lesson. His eyes were focused on a girl sitting across the room. Out of his four complete years at Hogwarts, Harry had never noticed her. Ron smacked the back of his head to get his attention. Harry looked up to see Professor Sinistra standing before him.

"Tell me, Mr. Potter, what is the name of the supermassive black hole in the Milky Way?" Professor Sinistra asked. Harry stumbled with his words. Professor Sinistra turned away from him, nodding.

"Maybe you would have known the answer if you weren't so busy staring at Ms. Wood."

At the mention of her name, Claire looked up from her notes, and towards Harry, whose face was burning red. "Ms. Wood! Care to enlighten Mr. Potter with the correct answer?" Professor Sinistra asked.

"Sagittarius A," Claire stated. Professor Sinista nodded, turning back towards Harry. "Well, Mr. Potter, that marks two things you learned in class today," she said. Harry furrowed his eyebrows.

"The first being that Ms. Wood is indeed quite beautiful," she continued. Claire's face went red as Professor Sinistra returned to the front of the classroom, chuckling quietly.

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Claire made her way out of the Astronomy classroom after Professor Sinistra had dismissed everyone. Claire ran down the stairs gracefully, eager to find Arabella Scott, her best friend. She made her way into the Great Hall for lunch, spotting Arabella at the Ravenclaw table. Claire let out a relieved breath, sitting down next to Arabella.

"Hey, Claire!" Arabella exclaimed. Claire smiled at her, grabbing a sandwich from the platter in front of them.

"How was Astronomy?" Arabella ased. Claire cringed, taking a sip of her pumpkin juice. Arabella raised an eyebrow at her. "Something happened?" she asked. Claire nodded, sighing.

"Apparently, Harry Potter was staring at me," Claire muttered. Arabella snorted, covering her mouth as she tried to keep in her bubbling laughter. "Why are you laughing?" Claire whined. Arabella shook her head, placing a hand on Claire's shoulder.

"He probably likes you," Arabella said. Claire rolled her eyes, turning back to her food. "We've been at the same school for four years, and never talked once. Why would he have a stupid little crush on me?" Claire asked. Arabella grinned, popping a grape into her mouth.

"Because, Claire, Harry never noticed you before. When he saw you in Astronomy today, he thought, 'Woah! That girl is gorgeous!' and now he likes you," Arabelle explained. Claire stared at Arabella for a while before the two best friends burst into laughter. They were interrupted by Asterio Santos, their other best friend. He sat down on the other side of Claire, throwing his arm over her shoulder.

"What are you two laughing about?" he asked. Arabella tossed another grape into her mouth as Claire smiled at Asterio. "We're talking about Potter's little crush on Claire," Arabella said. Asterio's eyes went wide.

"Potter? As in Harry Potter?" Asterio asked. Asterio felt a small pang in his chest, but he shook it off, continuing to eat and laugh with his friends. Claire nodded. "What? Surprised that someone might actually like me?" Claire teased. Asterio smirked, pressing a sloppy kiss to her cheek. Claire shrieked, wiping her cheek. They all laughed loudly.

Meanwhile, Harry sat at the Gryffindor table with Ron and Hermione.

"Hey, Ron?" Harry asked. Ron looked up from his food with his mouth full of sandwiches.

"What?" he asked. Hermione rolled her eyes at Ron's manners, turning back to her book.

"In class today, Professor Sinistra called that girl Ms. Wood... is it Wood as in Oliver Wood?" Harry asked. Ron nodded, swallowing his sandwiches. "Yeah, she's Oliver's little sister. They don't talk much anymore, though. Her name is Claire," Ron answered. Hermione looked up from her book.

"She's in Ravenclaw," Ron said. Hermione scoffed. "I'm sure Harry can tell by her robes," she said. Ron sighed, taking another bite of his sandwich. Harry laughed slightly, but stopped when he looked over to the Ravenclaw table. A muscular guy had his arm around Claire. He kissed Claire's cheek. Harry looked down, turning back towards his friends.

"I didn't know she had a boyfriend," he mumbled. Hermione raised her eyebrows at him. "If you're talking about Asterio Santos, you don't have to worry. They're not dating, just really close friends," she said. Ron shook his head. "I reckon they like each other, though. You can't be that close with a girl and not fancy her. It's just how it works," he said. Hermione scoffed.

"Ronald, I'm a girl. I don't fancy you or Harry, and you don't fancy me either. Girls and guys can be just friends, you know."

Ron's face went red as he took a big gulp of his pumpkin juice. Harry completely tuned out their conversation as he watched Claire. Even though Hermione had told him that she and Asterio weren't a couple, he still couldn't help but feel jealous about how close they were.

Harry shook the thought from his mind. He had never even talked to the girl, and he was already getting jealous.

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First chapter! Also, if you saw the character list earlier, go back and check it because I added a new character (Asterio). And if you couldn't tell already, I changed the title. It used to be "ALONE" but now it is "RAIN"

Don't forget to vote!

Stay cool, Anika<3