On the inside I felt shocked and angry, but I tried not to let it show on my face. "Who's Claude?" I asked simply, looking at her innocently.
"Oh, don't play dumb Jo!" She stammered. Veronica took a few steps toward us, so only we could hear her. "I want that book!" Then she stomped her foot like a two-year old.
"It's 'Josephine' to you." I said staring at her in the eye. Ginny shook her head and looked at me questioningly.
"Wa-wait!" She turned holding her hands out, like she was physically halting us. "Claude is a book?"
I nodded, because I didn't know what else to do. Is Ginny mad at me?
"Give. Me. Him!" She held out her hand, like I actually had Claude on me.
"Why do you need him? Claude doesn't like stuck up prats like you!"
"I don't care if he likes me or not, I just need him."
"If that's the best reason you can come up with, you have another thing coming." Then I grabbed Ginny's elbow and pulled her away from Veronica.
We left her standing there like an idiot. Ginny glared at me, which isn't a very good look on her.
"Who's Claude?" She asked. Though inside, I knew she wasn't asking. She was demanding.
I sighed, it was now or never. "Remember that book I got from Florish and Blotts?"
Ginny nodded.
"Well, the cover kind of turned into a face, and it can talk, and his name is Claude. Also, when you open it a special way, Claude turns into a map of Hogwarts and you can see everyone walking around doing there business. It's really cool!" And then I was exited to get Claude back from Hermione. And do a little stalking of my own. God, I'm weird.
Ginny smiled. "That is cool!" then she frowned. "Why didn't you tell me before?"
I looked at her apologetically. "Sorry, I just felt like keeping it to myself."
She nodded again, "That's fine. Just... Can I see him?" Ginny was getting excited about a book.
"Sure." Then laughing and talking we ran to the common room.
We arrived out of breath. Hermione was there at the portrait door conversing with the fat lady. "Woah, there." She said when she saw us.
"Hey, Hermione, do you have Claude?" I asked.
"He's right here." Hermione took out Claude, His purple cover was still as worn and ratty as ever. "Thanks for letting me borrow him. I had a suspicion about someone, now I know." She handed us the book and walked away.
I shrugged, Hermione was strange sometimes. I gave Claude to her.
"Who is this?" Claude asked, his face the picture of confusion. "Oh great, not another wacko. That other one kept asking me stupid questions." He rolled his eyes. Ginny simply stared at him.
"Toffee." I said to the fat lady. She swung open her portrait and Ginny and I climbed through the hole in the wall.
Inside the common room, Ginny and I could easily see Fred and George's flaming heads bent over piles of books and parchment at a table in the corner.
"Fred! George!" Ginny yelled. "Look at this!" Then she rushed over waving Claude in their faces.
"Ginny! Shhhhh!" I whisper shouted at her. It was lucky that no one saw. In fact, there was barely anyone in the common room. It was a nice day out, then I was wondering, why aren't we outside?
"What's this?" Fred took the book from Ginny. "Ow!" Claude bit Fred and Fred dropped Claude.
"Ow!" Claude called indignantly.
"It has a face!" George exclaimed.
I picked up Claude. "Are you O.k?"
"Obviously not!"
"What is that?" Asked Fred. He took the book from me and set him on table, Ginny, Fred, George and I gathered around him.
"I'm not a what, I'm a who." Claude said. I laughed, that was one of the first things Claude said to me.
Fred looked at me weirdly.
"Alright then. Who are you?" George questioned.
"I... " Claude paused for dramatic effect. "Am Claude, the Marauders map!"
Fred and George exchanged a look I didn't understand.
"Would there happen to be two of you?" They asked.
"Why yes." Claude said, obviously happy to be recognized. "I was made by Padfoot. Do you know him?"
"Why yes. Were quite good friends actually." The twins said.
"You guys can't tell anyone!" I said to the twins.
"Of course we won't." Fred said. "No one really wants this public. No offense Claude."
"None taken."
"Well," I started. Should I tell Fred and George? I'm going to tell them. "Can you guys think of a reason why Veronica Hughes would want Claude?"
"Well, she might want some inside information on someone."
Ginny and I looked at each other.
"Anything else?"
"..."
"I guess not." Ginny said. "Hey don't you have a detention at 7:00?"
"Yeah why?"
"You were supposed to be there twenty minutes ago." Ginny tapped her watch and smiled. For a moment, I forgot what it was like to breath, and be calm and have a normal remembrance of important things.
"HOLY SHIT!" I yelled.
"You better get there like NOW!" George said to me. But I barely got to hear his whole sentence. I rushed out of the common room, nearly ripping the portrait and plowing six or seven first years in the process. On my way to the dungeons I received a lot of wild stares and annoyed looks. All I needed though, was to get to the dungeons.
I barreled into the room Snape and Malfoy were to meet me. I threw myself so fast into the room, I knocked over several chairs. Snape glared at me. Draco it seemed, was trying not to laugh.
"WHERE, have the HELL you been Clearwater!" He seethed.
"Um, I was-" Snape's rage terrified me. If he wasn't a teacher he might of skinned me then hung me on the wall.
"No time for excuses! Twenty points from Gryfindor. One point for every minute you were late." Snape shot one more glare at me then swooped out of the room.
Draco looked to me, smiling critically. "Well, you finally decided to show up, eh, Clearwater?"
I smiled, and realized how out of breath and sore I was from running here. "I, lost, track, of, time." I huffed.
Draco's face turned from amused to concerned. "Here sit down." He pulled up a chair and sat down in one opposite the one he pulled up.
"Thanks." I said. Draco does have his moments.
"So. For your detention. You have to organize Filch's list of hooligans."
"Seriously?" I slumped in my chair and didn't believe my ears.
"Yup. Now get up. We have to go to his office."
I groaned and leaned against him. "I don't wanna." That was probably against all Gryfindor rules, but I don't care. Draco put his arm around me carefully, like he was handling delicate china.
"Sorry, Josephine. Life just isn't fair." Draco rested his chin on my head and pulled me tighter. That was probably against all Slytherin rules. But obviously didn't care. I put my other arm around his waist. Draco was very tense here. I thought. He was strong.
We walked out of the cold dungeon room like that together, and we didn't pull apart until we saw the great hall at the top of the stairs.
...
"Here." Filch handed me a stool. "Take out files 'N' through 'z' from cabinet two." I put the stool down in front of the filing cabinet and searched for files 'N' through 'Z' from cabinet two, and pulled them out. Draco took files 'A' to 'M'.
"Alright now, sort through them and stamp the ones that have blond hair with this red stamp." Filch handed us a stamp that said 'BLOND PERSON' and a pad of red ink.
"What use is that to you?" I asked. "To know who has blond hair and who doesn't?"
"It doesn't help me in the slightest. Were just running out of chores for you scheming students to do. That trophy room had been polished at least twice a week." Then still mumbling about about punishment and his own kinds of punishment he would inflict upon us, he hobbled out and shut the door.
"What has this school come to?" I asked Draco sarcastically.
"Who knows, really." He answered. taking a seat in Filch's old broken swivel chair. I sat down in the stiff wooden chair in the corner. There were wrist holders at the end of the armrests. I scooted the chair closer and set the pile on the desk next to Draco. For awhile we sat in silence. Then I sneezed.
"WOAH!" Draco jumped off his chair and smeared red ink all over Luna Lovegood's folder. "Did you sneeze or a bomb just went off in the next room over?"
I laughed and began to explain. "Sorry, that's how I sneeze normally."
Draco started to sit down but pretended to look really uncomfortable and weirded out.
"No seriously!" I pushed him over and his face broke into a wide grin. "Before I sneeze, I like to warn people right? So before I sneeze I yell 'I'M GOING TO SNEEZE.' Then no one is startled."
Draco laughed. "Well, you sure startled me. Your so small and quiet, I was expecting your sneeze to be short and high-pitched."
I laughed. "That's how Ron sneezes."
"Seriously?"
Whoops. shouldn't of told him that. "Yeah... " I said sheepishly. "But don't tell him that I told you!"
"Oh, he is going to know." Draco smirked evilly. His smirk crinkled his eyes a little. He had nice eyes, green ones.
"Don't tell him! I'll get in trouble!" I whined.
"Oh, I don't know, I might just need something in return." Draco said mysteriously. There was only one way this might go.
"What's that now?" I asked.
"I want a kiss." Draco pointed to his dimple. "Right here."
"Why's that?" I just want to hear him say it.
"Doesn't everyone want a kiss from the talented and beautiful miss Josephine Clearwater?"
I blushed, but suddenly remember something Dad once told me. 'They'll only say "I love you" to get in your pants'. 'Is that what you did for Mom?' I had asked. His reply was yes. I ignored this, and let what I wanted get in the way. "It's Jo. for you." I said smiling.
"Alright, Jo. Right here."He said pointing to his dimple.
"Right here?" I asked Draco. I pointed to his cheek and he nodded. I found the spot with my lips, and kissed him. softly, I hoped, like a feather on a block of wood. I felt Draco open his jaw.
I pulled away. "What?" I asked. I pulled away and turned to see what he was gaping at. Filch was standing in the doorway. He didn't say anything. His face was holding a mixture of emotions. He was looking at us like we were cats mating, or like he was unsure what just went on. He looked at us like he didn't even know what a kiss was. He simply turned around and hobbled out again.
I clamped my hand on my mouth. "Oh dear." I said, my voice muffling.
Draco was shaking with laughter. I pushed him over and he pulled me over to him. I laughed with him and he wrapped his arms around my waist, I placed my hands behind his neck, and then we went quiet, still smiling to each other. Slowly I put my forehead to his, and he took this as an invitation to pull me closer, I was now in his lap now. God how awful that sounds. But we were to entranced with each other to notice. Our noses touched and it wasn't long before his lips found mine. His were firm and inviting. He moved himself in all the right places, like he was supporting me without even knowing it. I kissed him back, and for awhile that's all we did. We kissed. Nothing else mattered. Only me, and him. Draco was strong. I could feel all his back muscles tensing and straightening when he moved. We only broke apart when we heard footsteps coming from down the hall. We untangled ourselves from each other and began blondifiying the files.
Snape barged in. "A little birdy told me, that there has been kissing in this room." He drawled. If this was not as serious a situation, and I wasn't still under a Malfoy daze, I would have laughed. Snape said the word 'kissing' like it was the worst, most foulest thing that could have happened in filch's office. And in a way, it was.
"Nope, no kissing in here." I mumbled stupidly.
Snape frowned at me. "You are dismissed Clearwater. That has been enough sorting for one night. He looked meaningfully at my barely touched stack of files. Draco started to get up, but stopped when he saw Snape's face. "You may go now Clearwater!" Snape spat through his gritted teeth. I stole one last glance at Draco before hurrying down the hallway.
Where was all this affection coming from? I wondered, on my way back to Gryfindor tower. Who cares, a voice said in my head, lets just hope it doesn't stop.