a/n: friendly reminder that red (taylor's version) is officially out and claudia, betty and inez would've wanted you to listen on repeat !!!

SITTING ON THE OTHER side of the table, Claudia found herself analysing her grandmother for the first time in her entire life.

She had always worn that same pinkish lipstick, she noted, and her cheeks were always slightly rosy. But Claudia had seen pictures of Margaret when she was young, and the pink lipstick had once been red just as the stern face had once been soft.

But, there was always something hidden behind the eyes of Margaret Maple. Something that no one knew about and no one could see through.

Something scary.

However, it was not the type of scary that Claudia's father could be. It wasn't as if Margaret would ever kill anybody. She most certainly wouldn't.

The elderly woman wasn't even a death eater, Claudia realised as she her grandmother's sleeve got pulled up slightly by accident.

Margaret was just plain and simple scary. Well, intimidating might be the right term.

She could get whatever she wanted just by asking or even just implying it.

And the thing was, no one really knew why she had everyone at her feet. Not even herself. She just did.

Claudia found herself wondering what Margaret would do if she told her that her father had killed somebody and that she had witnessed it.

When she told the full story of the village to Nicolas, the boy shrugged it off as if it was nothing as he told her to not do a thing about it.

So, naturally, that's what the Marauders had to tell their parents to do.

To stay out of it.

Because if Charles found out where Claudia was and who she was with, none of the involved would survive long enough for him to go into hearing at the ministry.

And they definitely wouldn't witness him going to Azkaban.

Because he was Charles Maple, and that surname could get him out of anything.

Reminding herself of Nicolas' warning, Claudia quickly let go of any amount of trust she had in her grandmother as she thought about how the woman knew of the abuse and simply only helped her heal instead of helped her out of there.

So, when their second butterbeers of the day arrived, Claudia chose to try and keep the conversation polite and short.

But Margaret had other plans.

"Tell me, Claudia, is there anything you'd like for your birthday?"

"Uh..." Claudia trailed off. "I think I've got everything I need, thank you."

"Are you sure? How about some new sheet music? Or possibly a new dress?"

"I'm alright," Claudia said, smiling awkwardly and then falling into a state of confusion. "Grandmother?"

"Yes?"

"Why are you suddenly so...grandmotherly?" Claudia asked slowly and quietly, confusing herself as well with her question.

However, let's face it, Claudia had no idea why Margaret had suddenly brought together the family for butterbeers and then asked if she could have one alone with Claudia and after that asked her if she wanted anything for her birthday.

Sure, Margaret had always had some sort of hidden soft spot for Claudia. Healing her, defending her and planning to leave the family legacy to her proved that. Even so, Margaret wouldn't in Claudia's wildest of dreams had asked her if she wanted a new dress for her birthday.

Margaret chuckled slightly, "I've been your grandma your entire life, haven't I?"

"Yes, but...you've just never really been like this."

"Oh, I see what you mean," Margaret said with a faint smile. "You know, Claudia, I've done some things I'm not proud of. Ignoring you for many years is one of them. I'd quite like to get to know you a bit."

"Really?"

"Yes, of course, why are you so shocked?"

"I'm not sure," Claudia shrugged. "So, you just realised that one day, or...?"

"You could say that," she said, and once again there was something hidden in her eyes. "So, Claudia, I'm going to ask you again. Is there anything you want for your birthday?"

"No."

"Then it's too bad I've already got you something," said Margaret, picking up a small gift from her purse.

"Oh, you don't have to-"

"Oh, cut the politeness, girl," Margaret said, causing Claudia to take off the ribbon of the box as well as the lid. "It's only right considering that it's a family heirloom."

"A family heirloom?" Claudia asked as she picked up a small silver ring with a maple leaf engraved on it.

"Yes. It belonged to your grandfather, and his father, as well as his father," she explained. "I managed to get it altered to fit you."

"But why don't you give it to my father instead? He's not dead yet, he's the rightful owner-"

"It once belonged to my son," said Margaret. "Albert, I mean."

Albert.

Albert was the oldest son of Margaret and her husband Barney, which meant that he was the older brother of Charles. He was the one who had passed away as he and his wife expected a child all those years ago before Claudia was even born.

This was a story Claudia barely knew anything about. However, she did know that it was a sensitive topic that her father never spoke of and her grandmother found hard dealing with.

Every time Claudia had asked about it growing up something had had happened to her. So, now when she was around her grandmother who never would hurt Claudia intentionally, the girl's curiousuty took over.

"Albert?"

"Yes," Margaret nodded. "It once belonged to him considering that he was the oldest which meant that he would inherit the riches. You know, he was supposed to give the ring to his unborn son when he was old enough...but that obviously never happened. So, instead, I figured we could pass it down to you. That I could pass it down to you."

"So father doesn't mind?"

"What he doesn't know won't hurt him," Margaret said, and for the first time Claudia was sure that the smile on Margaret's face was nothing but one of playfulness and a slight sense of affection towards her granddaughter.

Weird, Claudia thought. Her grandmother smiling at her was something that she had to get used to.

"You know, grandmother..."

"Yes?"

"Father has never told me about his brother," Claudia spoke nervously. "Albert. So, I was just wondering if maybe I could just..."

"Ask me about him?"

"Yeah," Claudia nodded. "I understand if it's difficult, but-"

"Oh, don't say such nonsense! It's difficult, but it's been a long time. Of course I'll be able to tell you a bit about him if you want. You are family after all."

"Okay...so, he was older than father, right?"

"Yes. By three years."

"And he had a wife?"

"Indeed. She's much younger than him..." she said, pausing for a moment of nervousness before continuing. "I presume she was even younger than your mother was when she met Charles."

What is it with the Maple men and younger girls? Claudia asked herself, being reminded of the fact that her father was eight years older than her mother.

"I remember that she was very nice. Pureblooded and a Slytherin just like both my sons. She was respectful, but rather quiet."

"And what was Albert like?"

"Oh, he was an angel," Margaret said sadly. "He always took care of Charles, you see. He helped him with everything, and he was always the one thinking ahead and taking the blame for everything."

"You miss him, don't you?" Claudia asked with a sad and almost pitying smile.

"Every day."

"How long has it been?"

"18 years."

"Um...and what exactly happened?"

Margaret paused for a moment, and then she shook her head slowly, "That's enough."

"Oh...I'm sorry-"

"Don't apologise!"

"Okay, I won't," Claudia smiled awkwardly. "But thank you for the ring. It's beautiful."

"And it belongs to you now," Margaret said quite sternly. "It's your responsibility now. Just as this family's name is."

"I know," Claudia nodded as she wanted to question how she, as a female, could possibly carry on the family name and legacy. However, she didn't dare since Margaret's mood had clearly sunk slightly at the mention of her dead son, grandchild and daughter-in-law.

So, basically all the conversation that was made after was led by Margaret as Claudia tried to place the woman who was still such a mystery to her.

But, as Claudia prepared to leave and say goodbye, the short yet slightly warm hug Margaret gave her and the request that Claudia would call her 'grandma' instead of 'grandmother' was enough to make Claudia realise that the woman behind the mask wasn't who she had always thought that she was.

She was just a grandma. Maybe she didn't bake cookies, knit sweaters or even so hug Claudia often, but she did want to protect her just as any grandma would.

•••

Arriving back at Hogwarts, Claudia wanted nothing more than to go to sleep. Sure, the somewhat positive hour spent with her grandmother and the mostly successful time spent with her family had made her feel better than she thought that she would, but Evan's hand on her thigh, Louisa's comments, her father's questions about Remus and the unanswered questions still left her feeling exhausted and sad.

Of course, Remus was prepared to meet Claudia just as he did, and it was sadly not to his surprise that the girl looked completely done with the entire day.

However, the way she pulled back slightly as he walked up to her after finding her heading towards the Ravenclaw common room told him that something was indeed wrong.

"What happened?" He asked immediately, deciding not to touch her unless she wanted to since she had moved away from him.

"Nothing," she mumbled.

"I know you're lying," he said. "I can tell."

"No, you can't," Claudia insisted.

"Yes, I can."

"No, because how could I possibly have kept so many secrets for so long if I was a bad liar?"

"You're not a bad liar," Remus said, shaking his head. "It's different when you lie to me than when you lie to others."

"No, it's not."

"Claudia, love, you can't look me in the eyes when you lie to me anymore," said Remus. "You can't. So, tell me."

"I can look you in the eyes," she said, thinking back to all the lies about the whole animagi situation.

But then, she hadn't exactly lied, she had just avoided telling the truth.

"Okay," Claudia sighed, finally meeting his eyes. "It was just a shitty day. You worry too much, Remus, it's not healthy."

"How shitty was it?"

"Louisa told me that I was overweight at the same time as my grandmother told me that I was underweight. My father asked about you and nearly caused me a heart attack despite him not really caring about you in reality. I made my grandmother sad at the same time as she suddenly wants a relationship with me and Evan wouldn't stop touching my goddamn thigh! It just fucking sucked!"

"He what?!" Remus asked angrily. "What the hell did Rosier do?!

"He just...he just did what he used to do, you know," she said, crossing her arms as Remus practically fumed. "He kept his hand on my leg and thigh and...sort of touched me, I guess. And then he was about to tell my father something about you so I had to let him do it. I even had to bloody allow him to go further up, and now I feel like shit because I don't want him to think something and I don't want you to think that-"

Claudia stopped her rambling as Remus quickly headed towards the staircase, map in hand.

"What're you doing?" Claudia asked as she immediately followed him.

"Murdering him," the boy muttered, continuing his journey down the stairs as Claudia followed behind.

"No," she said simply, grabbing onto his shoulder so that he stopped. "I don't want you to, Remus."

"Why not?"

"Because I just want to forget about this day," she said. "I just want to go to bed and do nothing all day with you, okay? That's the only thing I want."

Remus face softened as Claudia continued, "I just wanna be with you until I fall asleep. No drama. No distractions or...why are you grimacing all of a sudden?!"

"Well," a grimacing Remus shrugged. "About the last part..."

"No," Claudia said out of disbelief. "You did it, didn't  you?"

"We did," Remus confessed, causing Claudia to groan. "I'm sorry, love, alright? I tried to tell them that you just wanted a peaceful night, but they were impossible to convince!"

"It's alright," Claudia sighed. "As long as it's not terribly boring."

"If it is you and I will go to sleep immediately," Remus assured.

"Even if it's eight o'clock?"

"Even if it's eight o'clock."

"Okay, then," Claudia nodded, smiling faintly at the boy who she would spend the next few hours with as she tried to push the thought of her family and Evan to the back of her head.

And then, as the later hours of the day arrived, the girl had to pretend to be surprised as Remus helped her and Lily, who shared a birthday with Claudia, inside the Gryffindor common room as everyone yelled a loud and excited, "SURPRISE!"

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