You know I'll take your hand | Claudia & Simon (TW: Death)

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Midway through dinner - May 15 2026

Claudia hadn’t decided yet whether she’d go to dinner that evening. There were still days that she didn’t feel like she deserved food. She had been working with one of the school nurses since the Holidays on her...condition… and was really starting to feel better about it. But sometimes it was impossible to shake the mindset. She ate to fuel her body. If she wasn’t dancing as regularly or as enthusiastically as she was before, she didn’t feel like she needed, or deserved as much fuel. She hadn’t earned it.

“Look you’re coming to dinner and just sitting with me at least because I’m certainly not going to sit there alone.” Sofia said, standing at the end of her bed with her hands on her hips. Claudia couldn’t tell a lot of the time whether Sofia cared about Claudia’s condition, or if she really just didn’t want to go to meals alone. Claudia knew Sofia had other friends. But Claudia was sure that Sofia had also realized that if she convinced her to go and just sit there, she’d at least pick at something, and that was better than nothing. “Fine.” Claudia replied and pulled herself up to a standing position. She followed her friend out of the Slytherin Common rooms.

As they walked through the dungeons they began to feel a rumble beneath them. Cobblestones began to collapse and flames shot through the openings. The two girls looked at one another and then began to try to make a mad dash for the stairs to get out of this area as soon as possible. Neither had any clue what was already happening in the Great Hall. The collapsing floor was catching up to them faster than they could run and the stairs to the basement crumbled nearly under foot. Whatever was happening couldn’t have been an accident. This was an attack. Though surely the professors would be keeping the students safe in the Great hall, if they could just get there they’d be alright…

“Claud!” Sofia called, she had fallen a few steps behind and her voice sounded almost like an echo. Claudia turned her head back and saw her becoming engulfed in flames and falling into the rubble. Claudia stopped running but by the time she turned around her friend was gone from view and a string of awful screams filled the air. Claudia knew there was nothing she could do. She pulled out her wand but the fire was spreading still and she felt the flames on her skin. She couldn’t stop and try to help or she’d die too.

With tears in her eyes she continued to run as the entire castle felt like it was falling apart underneath her. She made it to the main floor and saw the same thing. Rubble everywhere, fire taking up nearly every inch of space. There was a mad dash of students running out of the entrance hall and she followed their lead. While it seemed like many, she realized there were only a few dozen, maybe who made it with her out to the lawns. Where was everyone else? Where was everyone who was having dinner? She and another group of students who made it out were ushered down by the lake by an adult and were tended to. All had injuries and most were in tears.

Claudia was no exception. Her back, arms, and legs were covered in ash and scrapes, and her head sported a big welt from where a price of the rubble had apparently hit her. She didn’t even remember it happening, she had been running on so much adrenaline that it hadn’t even fazed her. Claudia barely took in what else went on around her, but there was quite a lot of commotion. She didn’t notice anything until she spotted a familiar head of dark hair up by the castle. She stood quickly, ran past the healers and helpers, and grabbed onto Simon’s arm as soon as she was close enough to reach him, throwing herself into his arms.

simon sixten svendsen

[simon sixten svendsen]

Simon was in the Gryffindor Tower when he got the news that Hogwarts was under attack. Lily Potter bolted into the boys dormitory, passing along the message for all of the Phoenix Rising members to meet at Greenhouse number 3 immediately. Today wasn't a drill and there was no time to spare. As he got the news, everything suddenly started to go into hyper speed and felt hazy like a dream. Simon could barely remember running down the stairs, passing bodies of unnatural flames dancing and kissing the paintings surrounding the rotating staircases. The tenants of several paintings were screaming and crying, many backgrounds of the paintings burned to ash, nothing but a sooted frame hanging on the wall. The Fat Lady wasn't in her spot which was an eery feeling. Simon couldn't ever remember a time the Gryffindor Tower wasn't guarded.

Making it to the Greenhouses were a task of its own when the castle was engulfed in an inferno. There were many stragglers finding their way, searching for loved ones amongst the rubble, a nightmarish amount of people still trapped in the Great Hall...and other parts of the castle that were now unrecognizable. Everyone he cared about suddenly passed through his mind at a rapid speed. Sofia, Claudia, Nate, Arlo, Brigh, Isa, Luna...even Jessie. So many people. Fuck, he couldn't get his thoughts together as a feeling of impending doom overwhelmed him. Thick smoke filled his lungs as he yanked a couple of third years by the arm toward the entrance of the building, throwing them on the grass before running back toward the castle in a full sprint again.

The cacophony of screams and cries surrounding him prickled at his gut, filling him with anxiety and a whirlwind of other emotions he couldn't sort out at that time. No amount of training could have prepared Phoenix Rising for this. Simon wasn't prepared to pull out bodies of people he knew. He was in complete shock at the events.

Simon wasn't sure how long he had been at work fighting the unforgivable blazes, but he'd continue to pull out injured people from the rubble until he couldn't anymore, or until the school completely crumbled to ash. Black soot and other peoples blood covered almost every inch of his body, making him appear as if he had gotten in fight with a chimney. His arms and hands had been kissed by the flames multiple times during the mad dash, but he couldn't feel it yet from the mixture of adrenaline and shock. All he could do was wipe the blood from his eyebrow and breathe in the smokey air and hope not to pass out.

As Simon stood breathless, head craning back to look up at the castles final moments; smoke billowed out in every direction, embers flying into the sky. His heart beat against his chest, he felt useless in the situation, his body was exhausted and mentally he was giving up. There was too much fire, too much death, in every direction he faced. It would take time to mentally process every detail he had seen. Fuck, he hoped it was a bad dream and he'd wake up comfortable in his bed any moment.

A tug at Simons arm caused him to stagger back as a familiar body collided into his. Simon froze at first, preparing for a tree to fall on him or flames to completely engulf him. Thank Merlin it was Claudia. His breath caught in his throat, "Claudia" he called out breathlessly, his arms clutching onto her as some form of comfort in the hellish situation. She looked like she had gone through hell and back. So many emotions were spiraling through his head. He was relieved to see Claudia, but he was scared out of his mind, and worried about his twin sister. Simon held Claudia against his chest before pulling away, eyes filled with worry and partly because his ribs hurt, "I-I still haven't seen Sofia." he said quickly.

@claudia

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The attack was far from over, but being with Simon made her feel like everything was going to be okay. She had no proof of that, no sign of returning normality or any retreat from the flames that engulfed nearly the whole castle. It was madness. Havoc. Pure terror. Some plot intended to take as many down as possible and it seemed to be working. She noticed aurors, as well as medi wizards and others running all around them. She wouldn’t be surprised if a majority of their world was present at the castle on this warm, May night.

Claudia saw the injuries marking on him as well and wondered what he had been through over the course of the night. He seemed like he was fighting. Trying to help. Unlike her, just sitting over there feeling sorry for herself and trying to get the image of her friend burning out of her mind. And then he mentioned that he still hadn’t found her and her breath caught in her chest. “She was with me… we were in the common room. Si, she didn’t make it out of the dungeons.” Claudia whispered.

simon sixten svendsen

[simon sixten svendsen]

“She was with me… we were in the common room. Si, she didn’t make it out of the dungeons.”

Before the words began to fall from Claudia's mouth, he could tell she was about to tell bad news by the pained look on her face. For the years that he had admired Claudia, she wasn't the type of person to show emotion, at all. She was a ballet dancer for crying out loud - they were masters at hiding feelings. There was nothing to hide now. The world was in turmoil and reality hit him like a ton of fiery bricks.

Simon froze, speechless, the words too heavy to process in his current state. "No.." he shook his head in disbelief, as if she were painting a fucked up image in his mind. The look on her face was clear that Sofia wasn't alive and something horrible must have happened to her, which seemingly Claudia witnessed.

The Lion swallowed hard, collapsing to his knees in anguish, inevitably pulling Claudia down with him. His chest trembled up and down as the words echoed in his head repeatedly. "She didn't make it out of the dungeons" A part of him could feel that Sofia wasn't with him anymore, maybe it was a twin thing, but having Claudia confirm it made everything so much more real. Uncontrollable tears trailed down his ash covered cheeks as he buried his face into his hands, only to look at Claudia to ask with a pained expression, "W-What happened to Sofia?" he asked her frantically, not entirely prepared for the news but he couldn't handle not knowing.

@claudia  

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Claudia felt new tears re-wet the dried ones on her cheeks as Simon realized what she told him. Sofia hadn’t made it out of the dungeons. His twin sister, her friend, succumbed to the flames and was likely buried and burned under the castle, or what was left of it at least. Clauida wanted to hug him, to comfort him, but she also felt a little frozen. Paralized with the memory playing again in her mind when he asked what happened to her. How could she even begin to explain it? How could she do it justice? Would she even be coherent if she tried? “The stairs collapsed under us. I think she tried to hold on but the flame’s engulfed her. By the time I heard her scream and turned to look she was gone…” she admitted.

She wondered if she should have gone back. If there would have been any point to trying to find her in the fire and fallen stone. If she had, she would have died too, she knew it. Was it selfish to leave her? Why did Claudia deserve to make it out more than Sofia did? Maybe she should have died down there too. Her breath grew sporadic and she felt her jaw start to shake. She wanted to just throw herself onto the ground and throw a tantrum like a three year old. She wanted to sob. But she bit down on the inside of her cheeks firmly and swallowed back the lump in her throat as she looked back at Simon. “I’m sorry, Si.” Claudia wasn’t good at apologies. This was perhaps the most sincere apology she had ever given.

simon sixten svendsen

[simon sixten svendsen]

Ash floated through the dark smokey air around them as the sun started to set. Soon, the remnants of the castle engulfed in flames, and embers shooting into then starry night sky, would be the only provider of light for the summer evening. Simon felt a tidal wave of sadness fall over him. He didn't want to fight anymore. He remained kneeled in complete shock, speechless, barely able to decipher Claudia's words until he finally collapsed onto the ash covered grass with his long legs out in front of him. There was nothing he could say, the words wouldn't come out, only a series of weeps and whimpers. 

Claudia apologized for the loss. He didn't want her to apologize because she experienced the loss firsthand. Simon pulled Claudia into his arms and hugged her carefully, his entire body and skin hurt but he was relieved to have Claudia in his arms, at last. He was quiet for a long time as the healers, and other adults continued to drag people out of the castle. Simon quietly assessed Claudia's injuries as he enveloped her in his arms; she had many scrapes, burns, and a bump on her head. Simon stroked the pad of his thumb on her cheek, "We should move, the castle will collapse soon." he suggested, clenching his jaw as he swallowed hard. The thought of Sofia's body perishing with the castle made him nauseous. Simon's icy saucers fell on Claudia's matching tear stained face, a war paints of sorts. His lips gently caught hers in an attempt to comfort her before slowly pulling away, "Are you okay? You have blood on the back of your head." he told Claudia with concern as he wiped it on his pants.

@claudia  

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Simon basically collapsed onto the ground and Claudia whipped her cheeks with the palms of her hands. She couldn’t even imagine how she looked if she tried. Claudia Watkins, a woman who prized her appearance over most else, was a mess for perhaps the first time in her life. And he didn’t care even a little bit. She was glad to be alive, and Glad to have Simon here. He pulled her into his arms again and she let him. She let him look her over and gave her a gentle kiss before he commented that they should get out of the way before the castle gave in. She nodded her agreement and stood up, offering her hands to help him up as well. He commented about the blood on her head and she nodded. “Yeah, I was hit at some point… I probably have a concussion.” she admitted it like it was nothing. In comparison, it wasn’t anything.

“What about you… you’ve got some scrapes and bumps too, are you okay?” she asked. A wave of pure love overcame her as she realized Simon was safe and here with her. Throughout all the pain and trauma of the night, he was still here. And she was going to do everything in her power to keep him. But then another face flashed into her face and she felt her eyes grow wide in concern. “Have you seen Nate?” she asked.

simon sixten svendsen

[simon sixten svendsen]

The pain in his lower ribs was starting to grow more intense, he had a feeling like something was cracked, but he know the pain he was feeling wasn’t anywhere comparable to what most people had endured that evening. Simon was grateful to have Claudia by his side in his darkest hour. Breathing was hard and he was scared beyond comprehension, but he was still alive. Simon was afraid for the adrenaline to wear off, he wanted to remain numb to his surroundings. All he knew was that Claudia was there with him.

Simon pushed himself up from the grass slowly, accepting the hand from Claudia to steady himself. His hand raised to wipe fallen tears from him face, smearing more soot under his cheeks. ”Maybe a cracked rib, I’ll be fine.” he said quickly, hiding the wince from his expression so she would hopefully believe him. He didn’t want her to worry about him. ”If we walk to Hogsmeade we can apparate to St Mungos to get checked out.”

The half vampires expression faltered when Claudia asked if he had seen Nate. His name falling from her lips still made him feel guilty for everything else that had happened between them the past couple of months. Simon desperately hoped he wasn’t in the dungeons at the time of the collapse. ”No, I haven’t seen Nate.” he confirmed quietly, a great sadness oiling his tone.

As he swallowed a lump was in his throat, he had the realization he didn’t even know how he’d contact everyone he cared about to make sure they were okay. What about graduation? Everything happened so fast, he was shell shocked thinking of what to do next. ”Lets go.” Simon encouraged her lightly, wrapping a careful arm behind her shoulders so they could lean against each other if they had to and starting in the direction of Hogsmeade. Black smoke filled the sky all around him. His eyes took in the nightmarish scene ahead. Simon didn’t want to say it out loud yet, but it appeared Hogsmeade was on fire too.

@claudia

[Deleted]

Claudia nodded when Simon explained that he probably had a cracked rib but that he would be fine. She supposed they were both lucky to have the injuries that they did when the alternative was to be dead or trapped in the castle. “yeah that’s a good idea.” she agreed. She had no reason to believe that anything was happening in Hogsmeade. She still didn’t even know what was really going on. All she knew was that the person who was probably her best friend was dead, and Simon was alive. She then wondered about her own brother. She hated him 90% of the time but she still felt a pain in her chest thinking of him sharing Sofia’s fate.

Simon admitted that he hadn’t seen Nate and Claudia nodded, not wanting to think about what that could mean. He was a skilled wizard, surely he’d be alright… at least that was what she needed to tell herself to stop from having another breakdown right here on the Hogwarts grounds. She followed him across the lawns towards the village and when the smoke finally came into view she sighed. “oh god…” she whispered and then she turned to him. “Why is this happening?”] she asked, wondering if maybe he knew.

simon sixten svendsen

[simon sixten svendsen]

The thought of Sofia, and Nate, were clouding his mind. There was an inner battle telling him to stay at the castle, but he also didn't want to see it collapse to dust. His heart was already shattered.

As he and Claudia started toward Hogsmeade slowly walking side by side, his eyes widened at the sight of smoke billowing into the air above Hogsmeade Village. He couldn't believe his eyes. Shaking his head from side to side, "Of-fucking-course." he scoffed under his breath. Simon wished he had taken the training with Brigh and Phoenix Rising more seriously. Maybe he could have prepared more people for a disaster if he wasn't too busy fucking off.

Claudia asked him why everything was happening and his jaw clenched. "This is the work of Elaine Dupree and her followers, the Purifers.." Simon told her breathlessly before continuing, "Brigh O'Dalaigh recruited me to Phoenix Rising, where we prepared for something like this, but I honestly didn't think it would happen..." Simon admitted to her, his brows creasing downwards with regret as he sucked a breath in and sighed.

His head could barely process everything. The closer they got to Hogsmeade Village, he could feel the pain starting to creep in. Walking toward the smoke started to brew a newfound anxiety inside him after what they endured, he didn't want to put Claudia through another situation in fear of them not being able to get out this time. "Everything is on fucking fire.." Simon stated in disbelief. He wished he had a cigarette because it would have been the one time he wouldn't have gotten into trouble for smoking one on school grounds, but alas, his box of cigs fell out of his pocket while pulling a crying girl out of the staircases. No good deed went unpunished, that was for sure..

Simon turned to Claudia, he wanted them to think of a gameplan before walking into the fiery village where chaos was bound to ensue. "We only have to enter far enough so we can apparate, but we also have to be fast because there may be people dueling and we don't want to get caught in crossfire. Since you likely have a concussion, you should hold onto me to side apparate." he ended gently, expecting her to side apparate. Simons gaze fell on Claudia, trying to read her expression.

@claudia

[Deleted]

While Claudia didn’t find herself very involved in politics, she did know a bit about the situation that their world found itself in. She would have had to be completely blind to ignore everything that had happened throughout her years at Hogwarts. This wasn’t the first time that Hogwarts had suffered an explosion, but she didn’t think the castle would bounce back from this one as quickly. Claudia nodded when he explained. To be honest, she had no idea he was involved in any of this, but she found herself incredibly glad he was. Simon was a skilled wizard and she was an average witch at best. She would have no idea what to do without him now. “I don’t know if anyone really anticipated this…” Elaine Dupree must be a psychopath to want to attack a school.

A wave of relief flooded over her when he began to explain a plan. At least he had a plan. Claudia still felt numb and frozen in her fear that she wasn’t sure she could form more than a sentence or two and still have it be coherent. He explained that they only needed to enter the village enough to apparate and she nodded. That made sense. She had no idea what to expect and was glad to take his word for it rather than try to find out for herself. “Yeah, okay...” she agreed. “I can do that…” she had just barely passed her apparition test. It was far from her strongest skill and she was never confident doing it. But she’d get it right this time. She had to. The consequences were too dire to let her anxiety get the better of her. “I’m ready.” she decided, squeezing his hand.

simon sixten svendsen

[simon sixten svendsen]

Simon shrugged when Claudia tried to reassure him there was no anticipating someone attacking the school. The guilt pinching at his gut was excruciating. He didn't want to think about having to explain what happened to Sofia to his parents and dealing with her loss forever. What upset him the most was they fought earlier than day when they talked, and they hadn't exchanged the kindest of words. They were cruel to each other but he knew he loved his sister more than anyone. Simon desperately wished he could wake from the nightmare but he knew the pain he was feeling deep within his core was real.

The fire crackled in the buildings around them as he heard shouting in the distance, ash dancing in the air around them. Claudia agreed to apparate and he nodded his head, meeting her gaze carefully. He could tell that she wasn't sure about it. "It's okay, I got you." he reassured her, determined to keep his word. He was confident in his ability to apparate. "Hold on tight, don't hold your breath." he instructed softly before lacing fingers with hers tightly. Simon was scared out of his mind, but if there was one thing he knew, it was that he was going to keep Claudia safe. The thoughts of Sofia swirled in his mind but he knew he didn't have time to cry. So he thought about the three D's of his learnings in apparition class: destination, determination, and deliberation.

St. Mungos was somewhere he had been plenty of times due to his penchant for playing too rough on the pitch and general debauchery. So he thought about the waiting room he'd spent many hours in as he held onto Claudia for dear life. A crack emitted through the air and the world he knew around him became a blur as his feet tore from the cobblestone walkway of Hogsmeade.

After a couple of seconds, he skid and rolled onto the linoleum floor as he lost his footing, falling straight onto his ass. He yanked Claudia into him so he wouldn't land on top of her. But he couldn't think of a time he was more happy to be greeted by the bright hospital walls. Simon pulled her into him and searched her gaze, "You okay?" he winced with a pained look he was trying so hard to mask. St. Mungos was currently undergoing a tragic triage situation but at least the hospital wasn't on fire. 

@claudia