"It was on purpose!" Claire complained as they entered the medical room.

"It wouldn't have happened in first place if only you came here by yourself! How can you even imagine that you can cope with your current condition?" Aizak asked firmly while lifting her on a gurney.

"Um... I don't know how to respond to that." She replied clumsily, making herself comfortable on the soft mattress.

Sitting on a bed just beside Claire's "And what's up with all these injuries you got? I have been observing you getting these almost every weekend since the end of our Fourth term! Whatever you are up to, it is very dangerous! You should take care of yourself.... " He said. His heart was jumping inside his chest and he was trying very hard to stop a weird smile fighting its way onto his face.

"Are you spying on me or something?" Claire asked, grinning.

To which he fluttered and replied "I... I wa... I was just... Just worried about you."

Claire stopped smiling and glanced at him straight in the eye, Aizak found himself too weak to resist so he simply looked back at her.

'She is just like a beautiful shinning star in the dark sky for me. A star at which I can only look up to and desire to reach someday... But truth to be told, the distance between me and that star is far too much to be covered' Aizak thought, Only the thought of Claire going away made him feel horrible. That's when he realized that he is still staring at her, he quickly reverted his gaze.

Claire's face reddened and this time it wasn't due to the cuts or bruises....

"I will drop by to check your stats, get well soon." Aizak spoke as he saw Madam Pomfrey making her way towards them.

"Thank you!" In a soft tone, answered Claire.

"Its nothing, it feels very nice...talking to you, I mean." Aizak blurted without a second thought.

"It does?" Claire asked, teasing him.

"Argh! Leave it" with shy words, Aizak walked away.

He decided to keep a watch over Claire, mainly because he wanted to save her from the source of these wounds and secondly because he himself wanted to know what is bothering her. Every fifth year students got busy practicing vanishing spells for Professor McGonagall, working out a counter charm for Professor Flitwick and finishing the drawing of Bowtruckle for Professor Kettleburn and just like that, the whole week passed without giving any spare time to the students.

As for Claire, she got in her best shape sooner than Madam Pomfrey predicted. The weekend arrived and Aizak had a clear motive in mind for this day. The morning went without any ordeal. At evening when students were leaving for their visit to Hogsmeade village for a change, Aizak noticed Clarie among them. But even before he was able to follow her, Ruso stepped in front of him.

"Oh man! You should stop appearing out of nowhere! Look currently I am busy, see you later" Aizak babbled quickly in order to get rid of him.

"I know what you are up to, you like that girl isn't? You really want to do this? It can be dange.... Well, whatever!" Ruso confronted him as he walked away.

'Now this was something new, Ruso never said something as big as a sentence to me and now....' Thought Aizak.

'Well I gotta go!' remembering what he was up to, Aizak made a run towards the main gate of Hogwarts castle and was relived to see Claire there in the line which was about to leave for Hogsmeade.

In the village he kept his distance while following her and then to his surprise when no one was looking Claire changed her route and started walking towards a place which had lush green trees and surroundings but it was not that big to be declared as a forest. She stood there for a while and then made a strange sound, Aizak swiftly took cover behind a Shrub in front of him. That's when the ground started shaking! Aizak heard some footsteps approaching towards Claire and finally stopping in front of her, but when he looked there was nothing but air in front of her.

"Please take me to Diagon Alley." She requested, patting and stroking the space in front of her.

It seemed like she was talking to herself. Then a strange thing happened. To Aizak's amazement, she climbed on something and was lifted few inches above the ground! Within few minutes she vanished into the sky.

'It was invisible! But it seemed like she was able to see it, something which can fly?' Aizak stormed his brain and the answer came to him.

"Thestral!" He almost shouted. Now the only challenge was to reach Diagon Alley in order know what is cooking behind all this.

Aizak had an idea, he took out his wand and gave it a little shake while stretching his hands out. With a burst of ear wrecking sound a purple coloured, triple decker bus with a tag of 'Knight bus' above its windscreen, came to halt just in front of him. He jumped in without any hesitation and asked for a ticket to Diagon Alley.

Soon the bus screeched as it reached its destination. Aizak hurried out, the darkness was all over the sky but the streets of Diagon alley were illuminated by the good old street lights. Suddenly he spotted Claire moving very cautiously towards an unknown corner of the alley, she turned and went straight in.

Aizak did the same, this alley was very dark and even more twisted! He saw a signboard with 'Knockturn Alley' engraved on it. He sensed some really bad aura coming from this street but Claire wasn't stopping, hence he made his mind and followed her maintaining his distance. Claire stopped in front of a shop, slowly opening the door she entered the shop. The whole street was empty, it was night after all what else can you expect it wasn't like the idea of people being here on this street at this time meant any good at all.

'Ye Olde Curiosity Shop' was the name of the shop in which Claire entered or that's what Aizak made out from the name on the board above the shop at least. The shop boasted its beauty with the surrounding ones, as it was very beautifully crafted. Its door was made up of transparent glass carved with flower design in side ways and all of its front was made up of transparent glass to showpiece the contents of the shop.

The light coming from the shop was quite dim but it was just enough for Aizak to make out what was happening inside the shop from the transparent Door. In the hazy brightness he saw Claire talking to an old figure who seemed like a very aged man in his late 30s. Expression on Claire's face told Aizak that she knows that person whereas the expression on that old man's face was of confusion and agitation which changed without any warning and became the one of bloodlust! As Aizak watched, the old man pounced on Claire and started hitting her without any sign of holding back! Claire went out cold as soon as her body thudded on the floor. Something snapped inside Aizak, he was so furious that he wanted to give that old man a taste of his own medicine with his own bare hands!

But the old man suddenly backed down with regret and some trace of sorrow on his face and that's when Aizak leaped inside with intention to fight but out of nowhere a voice shouted bombarding spell on the shop! Everything was Shattering and a part of roof was about to fall...

On them!

To be continued...

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