HOURS BEFORE THE four Marauders and the two blonde girls had arrived at Maple manor, Claudia was getting ready for another one of the insufferable dinners she had been attending frequently the first few weeks of the summer in order to find the best suitor possible.

So far, the girl had been forced to go to four dinners; three with some random lads from Slytherin that she had never spoken to, and one with Mulciber and his parents.

She had hated every minute of each dinner - and the worst one hadn't even been yet.

Because the worst one was that very night, with Evan Rosier and his parents.

Well, she wasn't exactly certain that it was that type of dinner - since no one really mentioned why she was supposed to attend - but Evan did have intentions of getting her, and even if it was just a normal dinner, it would still end up with a conversation about it.

And, lucky for Claudia, it was also the anniversary of her mother's death.

Another thing that made that day the most dreadful one in what felt like forever - despite the fact that Claudia had spent pretty much every other day so far during summer getting struck by curses.

She was exhausted; but sleeping wouldn't help. It could not make her any less tired.

She was exhausted from waking up in pain - and barely sleeping because of it.

She was exhausted from attending dinners and acting as if her whole body wasn't screaming at her to lay down and sleep, or even go to St. Mungos.

She was exhausted from being hurt and bloody and dealing with her aching body all the damn time.

And she was exhausted from being all alone.

She hated Remus, she really did. He had invaded her privacy for god knows how long without telling her, and then he had made an assumption without even allowing her to explain herself.

But, despite all of that, she couldn't help but to want one thing and one thing only - and that was for him to come back and hold her again.

Claudia had been feeling blue for as long as she could remember - but nothing could truly beat that very day that came once a year.

The day that was the anniversary of her mum's death. The day were she had to live with knowing that at the same time as she was all alone in a dark house with the worst people she had ever met.

The day that would always cause her to want to give up.

And, this time around, she couldn't tell if it was worse than ever before or not.

Because she had lost the boy she loved, and most of her friends as well. But, she still had them somehow - she could feel it inside of her.

That was pretty much the one thing that kept her going.

She finished getting ready by putting on a black dress with long sleeves, so that the guests couldn't see the bruises and the bandage-covered gash on her shoulder, and then she walked down with a fake smile on her face.

And, oh, how difficult it was for her to not fall over in the staircase, due to the fact that she had just two nights before been crucioed for being caught reading a muggle-book Pandora had gifted her.

But, half-ways down the staircase, she suddenly felt an arm wrap around her waist, causing her to let out a small gasp as she looked up and found Regulus standing there with a comforting smile on his face as he helped her walk by holding her up.

"What're you doing here?" She asked, clearly surprised, but she couldn't help but to smile back at her favourite Slytherin.

"Nicolas invited me," said Regulus. "And apparently our parents are taking us somewhere tonight, so my parents are here too."

"Do you know where they're taking us?" Claudia asked as they neared the end of the staircase.

"No idea," said Regulus, but something told Claudia that he seemed a little put off because of it. "Maybe it's an amusement park."

"Or the zoo," Claudia grinned.

"Maybe they're taking us to the circus," Regulus smiled as Claudia's father neared the two with a frown on his face.

"Hurry up, Claudia, our guests are already here," he said sternly. "You don't want to keep them waiting."

"Well, I am technically standing here with a guest already so I'm not really keeping them waiting now, am I?" Claudia asked with a small smirk.

"Don't say something you will regret," her father warned as he grabbed her arm with a firm grip and dragged her off to the Rosier's, who were standing by the door.

"Mr and Mrs. Rosier," Claudia said politely as she shook their hands. "How lovely to see you."

"The pleasure is ours, young girl," Evan's mother said kindly, but Claudia couldn't help but to notice the tone of disgust in her voice.

Eventually, after plenty of awkward greetings and snarky comments to Regulus from Evan - who still thought that Claudia and Regulus had some sort of relationship - the three families sat down by the table and ate; Claudia doing so whilst trying to hold in tears from how badly her body was aching and how much her gash on her shoulder was stinging against the fabric of her dress.

"So, Claudia is it?" Evan's father asked as they neared the end of the painfully awkward and long dinner.

Here we go, Claudia thought to herself.

"Yes, Mr. Rosier."

"Ah, well, I must tell you, Claudia, that my son has been talking very highly about you," he said. "He says that you are a very polite and smart young girl, is that correct?"

"Well, I wouldn't exactly call myself tha-"

"That's correct," Nolan interrupted with a smirk. "Right, Claudia? You're even being nice today out of all days."

Claudia tried her hardest to not yell at Nolan due to the comment he made referencing her mum's death, as Charles froze and Louisa choked on her water.

"What's today?" Mrs. Rosier asked curiously.

"Oh, nothing," Claudia replied with a fake smile, looking to Regulus for reassurance.

Claudia's grandmother, who was also attending the dinner, then cleared her throat to find a way out of the topic - considering that she knew what day it was too.

"Tell me, Mr. Rosier, what are your intentions with my granddaughter?" The woman asked Evan, who grinned widely at the question.

"Your granddaughter is a lovely girl," said Evan. "I would love to court her and see where it goes."

"And where do you want things to go?"

"Hopefully in the right direction," Evan smiled as he leaned back in his seat. "Marriage."

Claudia was the one to choke on her drink this time around, causing everyone to stare at her questioningly.

"Sorry," she mumbled. "It went down the wrong pipe."

"Did it really?" Nolan asked with a teasing grin. "Because if I was to explain that, I would've said that you don't want to marry Evan."

Claudia couldn't help but to send Nolan a glare, and then she diverted her attention to everyone else.

"It's not that," she lied.

"Alright," said Charles. "Well, I must say I am very keen on the idea of betrothing you to my daughter. You are, after all, our most consistent suitor. Is that something you would like, Mr. Rosier?" Charles asked Evan's father as Claudia nearly had a heart attack.

"Well, I do think that it sounds like a good idea, despite the circumstances," he began, taking a quick glance at Claudia since he clearly referenced her blood status. "My son is very fond of your daughter, and it would mean a great deal for our families to connect that way."

"Well, then maybe we should make the arrangements immediately-"

"No!" Claudia yelled, panicking immediately. "I just meant...uhm, we have a few suitors left, right father? We mustn't pick one immediately, because there are several other options! And I do think it's quite rude to not consider them-"

"I don't think so," said Charles with an almost teasing smile on his face. "You do not have many people who would like to marry you, Claudia. And if we get a suitor as good as Evan, we need to make the arrangements immediately."

"But, father," Claudia sighed. "I'm too young."

"Nonsense," Louisa interrupted. "My mother married my father when she was 15. You are not too young."

"But..." Claudia went on. "Why do we have to make this decision right now-"

"Because I said so!" Charles snapped, clearly annoyed with his daughter. He then turned to his mother, only to find her frowning.

"I agree with Claudia," Margaret said. "I would like it if Claudia finished her education before she gets betrothed-"

"But, mother! She'll marry him when school is over, not before," Charles said. "And, besides, if we don't make the decision now, she'll never find anyone!"

"No, Charles, I think she'll be perfectly fine-"

"No, mother, she won't! Look at her!" Charles yelled as he pointed towards Claudia. "She's a halfblood, for heaven's sake! No one will ever love her, let alone marry her unless we make the arrangements now!"

Ouch.

"And whose fault is that?" Margaret seethed. "Yours, Charles. Not Claudia's. She did not choose to be born your daughter. And I think it is quite rude of us to be having this discussion when we have guests, don't you?"

"Right," Charles said, still looking as angry as ever as he turned to his guests with a fake smile. "My apologies. Let's eat some dessert."

The house-elves then appeared with some dessert, but Claudia couldn't eat a single bite as her father's words kept repeating in her mind.

"No one will ever love her."

She wasn't surprised that he had said that, not at all. But that didn't change the fact that it hurt like a bitch that her own father had said that about her.

She didn't say a word for the rest of the dinner, and nor did Regulus or Nicolas. They all just stared at their desserts with frowns on their faces - Claudia doing so as she tried to hold in tears and not scream at all of them for treating her that way.

For making her feel like she was unlovable - and for making her sit in that chair for hours on end as her body practically screamed at her.

"Claudia?" Margaret questioned as they all had finished their meals and Claudia had stayed put, staring at her chocolate cake.

And she just couldn't help but to think about Remus.

"Yeah?" The girl said, teary-eyed as she looked up.

"Would you mind coming with me and your father into the drawing room?" The woman asked. "I believe we must have a conversation."

"Sure," Claudia said, not feeling as nervous about being alone with her father if her grandmother was going to be there as well.

She walked inside the drawing room with her grandmother, only to find her father standing there with a special look on his face.

The look that meant that he was about to explode.

Margaret closed the door and muttered a silencing spell before he began.

"I will not tolerate you behaving this way, Claudia," he spat. "You must be good to our guests."

"I'm sorry," Claudia said quietly as Margaret scoffed.

"Charles!" She yelled. "The girl wasn't being rude! She's only against getting engaged at this age! She is 16 years old, it is perfectly normal-"

"Just because you were parading around Hogwarts with your secret boyfriend when you were 16 doesn't mean that Claudia can!" Charles yelled, confusing and panicking Claudia immensely.

"And when did I say that Claudia has a secret boyfriend?" Margaret asked. "I make the decisions here, Charles, not you. You know why. And I have decided that Claudia can wait to get betrothed and married when she is finished with getting her education!"

"Alright!" Charles surrendered, his eyes flickering to Claudia. "But don't you for one second think that this means that you can do whatever you want, Claudia. You must try your hardest to keep Evan Rosier around."

"And what happens if I don't succeed?" Claudia asked boldly. "What will you do?"

"Whatever I need to do," Charles responded with narrowed eyes. "And you do not talk to me that way young lady! Because of this you are not allowed to come tonight-"

"Oh, how terrible," Claudia sighed dramatically. "I don't wish to go to your stupid death eater meetings anyways!"

Charles stopped for a few seconds as his daughter glared at him and his mother looked at him out of pure disbelief.

"You must know that this meeting was hugely important for our family's future within this society," Charles said slowly. "Without this, who knows what will happen to you when you do not have me around?"

"It can't be much worse than it already is," Claudia said.

"I will deal with you when we get home," Charles said, and then he left, Margaret following after quietly.

Claudia stood quietly for a few moments before she composed herself and decided to head upstairs so that she could get out of her dress and sleep.

But, yet again, luck was not on her side.

Because she ran into Nolan git Clarke on the staircase.

"Awe, did daddy not let you come and see the show?" Nolan said with a teasing grin as Claudia walked past him. "I bet you miss mummy even more now, when she's not around to let you go-"

"Shut up!" Claudia yelled as she turned around. "Will you please just leave me alone for once?!"

"But that would be no fun," Nolan pouted. "He's right, you know."

"Who is?"

"Your father. You really are unlovable. Not even Lupin wants you," he said with a grin before he walked away.

Claudia froze yet again, this time on top of the staircase.

And then, she just couldn't help but to let small tears rush down her cheeks as she walked towards a window and leaned her arms on the windowsill.

Little did she know who was watching her.

"Claudia?" A voice suddenly said softly. "What's going on?"

Regulus.

"Nothing much," Claudia shrugged as she kept her eyes on the windowsill. "You know what's funny?"

"No, what?"

"That my own father doesn't even love me," she chuckled. "It's embarrassing, really. He was my everything when I was kid, you know?

"Claudia-"

"I was always so excited when he would come and get me...I thought that I could finally spend some time with my dad like all the kids in the books did. But, he was always a day or two late, and then he completely neglected me whenever I was around."

"I'm sorry-"

"Don't be," she said with another chuckle. "I don't need him. I don't need him to love me, even if he is my father. I guess it would've been nice, but I just don't need him. But it does hurt, you know?"

"Yeah, I know-"

"It hurts that he even says that he doesn't love me. That he has never said it to me, even when I was a little baby. And that he said that no one ever will...love me, I mean."

"That wasn't true-"

"But it was," Claudia sighed. "It was true. It is true. Even if someone loves me, they always disappear. I'm like a walking shield against love."

"Claudia, that's not true. Stop saying that," Regulus sighed as he slowly walked towards her.

"It is true. You know I love him, right? Remus, I mean."

"I know."

"And that he isn't talking to me anymore."

"Yeah."

"He hurt me," she said. "Really bad. But what's even worse is that..."

"What?"

"I always knew that I was loved. But I never truly felt it until he came along."

That's when the tears began to fall and Regulus came to hold her as the very boy she was talking about stood right outside the house, watching her.

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