Today was not a good day.
"Claire stop it, you are going to burn holes on her head!" Hermione whispered harshly at the girl next to her. Claire on the other hand narrowed her eyes a bit more as Umbridge continued on speaking. After what she saw what Umbridge had done to Harry's hand her hatred for the woman had flared even more and it seemed as if she was just getting started. "Miss Dupree," The woman dressed in pink from head to toe turned around and smiled, "What would be the proper way to stop a swarm of Pixie's in a closed space?" Claire blinked as Umbridge continued to stare at her. "The best way to stop a swarm of Pixie's would be to use a freezing charm Ma'am." She seethed out, her fists clenched under the table.
"Very good Miss Dupree, next time though," She waved her wand a vertical motion and Claire felt her skirt drop to her waist and tighten itself there, "Girl's skirts must be down to the knees, not above it." Claire was the first one out of the room once the tower rang, Fred and George soon joining her when they noticed the fuming girl. "I swear I will find a way to somehow KILL that woman!" The twins looked at each other and grinned, placing their arms over her shoulders as they walked towards the Great Hall. "What did she do now?" The two sat down and looked over to her when they noticed she hadn't sat down yet. Claire tugged at her skirt feeling it cut her circulation as it squeezed her waist.
"That damn woman did something to my skirt." She grunted as she tried to tug it upwards, the twins even offered their power to help move the skirt but it wouldn't budge. "Wow she really did get it in there tight didn't she?" Fred stared closer and tapped his wand against the waist band. "Not even a normal cast will uncharm it." George added now at a loss at what to do. "I guess I'll just have to wait until Hermione arrives." Sitting down Claire took her plate in her hands and was about to fill up her plate when a large black owl hooted and flew her way. The large bird landed on her table and slowed its flight until it stood straight on the table, its height quite imposing.
It hooted and held out one of its talons out to her and she had been so intrigued with its height that she hadn't noticed the bouquet it held. Large black flowers were clustered together whereas in the middle laid a single white flower, the petals shimmered with small lights and seem to almost dance, overall they were beautiful! Claire looked up at the owl who stared down on her and that's when she noticed many were looking her way, interested in not only the large owl but the new gossip they would get from this. She took the flowers into her hands and noticed the small white envelope within the flowers. On the back there was a family emblem she didn't recognize and when she tore it open a familiar smell wafted around her; a familiar cologne and clean suit, the smell of air after a rain storm and overall man.
"Whoa that's some strong love potion," "Even I can smell it from here." The twins got closer and inhaled strongly at the envelope. Taking out the letter her eyes trailed over beautiful written letters.
To a flower such as yourself, to the one who stood out amongst black, please accept this gift from me too you.
From, Xavier Creeden, your 'secret' admirer.
She hadn't noticed she was smiling nor that her fingertips caressed the soft petals of the beautiful flowers. The owl was still waiting and she only guessed that it wanted to take something back so taking a sheet a paper she wrote a quick thank you and how she loved the flowers and how he didn't have to go out of his way to have gotten them for her. Rolling it into a cylinder form Claire placed it in the owl's talon and it lifted up in the air and out of the castle. "So whose it from?" Claire looked at the twins with a raised eyebrow and a devilish smile, her anger from her last class already gone.
"You two are like old woman, always wanting to find the latest gossip." She laughed but told them the story of Xavier and how they had met at her parent's party. The two ooh'ed with interest and laughed as she smacked their arms playfully. "What's this Dupree? A secret admirer?" A voice that she very easily recognized said from behind her and she smiled a quick second before it vanished and she turned to meet with the one and only Draco Malfoy. "Not really much of a secret admirer since he gave me his name." She caught the look Pansy gave her as she clinged to his arm, her eyes narrowed at her and the twins.
He gave a bark of a laughter at her and said, "Who would waste their time chasing after you?" His eyes asked a whole different story, 'Who is it?' She smirked and tilted her head, "You would be surprised Malfoy, you're not the only one who have dogs chasing after you." Claire glanced at Pansy when she had said the word 'dog' but her silent answer said, 'Don't worry about it.' Pansy was about to retort when Draco pulled his arm away from her and turned, the rest following after him. Fred and George continued on glaring at the large door even after his blonde head and disappeared and they both said, "What an arrogant little git." Claire was too into her flowers to hear them; the smell from the letter intoxicated her mind.
Claire shivered when the cold draft blew through the window; a thin veil of snow covered the land which was the only indication that winter was quickly approaching. Her feet involuntarily walked on their own accord down the hall and to the outside where the wind whipped and lashed against her bare arms and legs and immediately she felt her teeth chatter and her skin cover itself with goose bumps. Her neck twitched to the side and she groaned in pain, her vision became blurry yet she could make out the thin lines of tall trees that were huddled together almost as if trying to get warm from the cold. 'Keep walking Clarisse, you are almost there.' She cried out when she heard the voice in her mind, the pain in her temples pierced as if something had hit there directly.
She could hear her name being called but no matter how much she wanted to turn around and run back to her bed her body wasn't paying attention to what she demanded it to do. A pair of arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her back fast enough to be pulled out of the trance, a small hissing sound was the last thing her mind heard before it finally belonged to her and the only thing she was focused on was the wild wind roaring near her ear. "What the bloody hell are you doing out here?" A large black robe was placed on her shoulders and heat spread through her body thanks to the previous users wear of it. "Claire!" She turned around to see Draco squinting at her, his eyes trying to block out the wind as his hair moved to every direction but she couldn't really say anything due to the fact her nonstop chattering teeth.
He grabbed her elbow and yanked her to him as he walked up the hill and into the east wing of Hogwarts. The clacking of her teeth were the only noises in the halls and as they sped walk towards the Slytherin room but they were stopped by a monotone voice. "What are you two doing out at this hour?" Draco abruptly stopped causing Claire to slam against his back and fall back with a small 'humph'. "Nothing Professor Snape, I couldn't sleep so I had been looking out my window when I saw her out on the grounds… sleepwalking." Draco kept a straight face but felt a need to flinch at the lame excuse. Snape looked at him with antagonizing gaze then flicked it over to Claire. "See to that Miss Dupree gets warmer and do not get caught by anyone else." Draco felt he had left something hanging but Snape had quickly disappeared.
Grabbing her elbow once again he said the password to the painting and walked inside. Setting her in front of the fireplace he went over to the large green couches and took the large quilts off of them and placed them over her shoulders and legs, now noticing how scanty her choice in pajamas was. The large tank top hung very loose on her torso and he quickly came to the conclusion that she wore no bra under the shirt. Her shorts were small and a baby blue color and hardly passed mid thigh. "L-like what y-you s-see?" She sneezed and huddled closer to the many quilts and his large robe. "I've seen less than that." He felt himself smile when she did so herself and placed his hands on her cheeks.
"Why is it that you are always out in the cold when you absolutely hate it?" She shivered again when she thought about the voice that had been in her mind and digging her hands out from the quilts she grabbed his own and stared at him, fear evident on her face. "Draco it was him, he was in my mind and he was making me walk towards where he was and I couldn't stop no matter how many times I wanted to and and-" She was hyperventilating, her breathing going at a too rapid pace to be considered normal. He pulled her forward and placed his lips on hers, her quick gasps slowly came to a stop when her mind finally placed its attention on what he was doing.
"There, just relax and breathe slowly." Her breath hit his face as she took control of her breathing. "I-I'm sorry it's just that… do you think he will do it again?" Claire looked into the fire finally feeling her body heat return to normal. "I just don't understand why he's calling you when you have done absolutely nothing." He stared at the fire too and prodded the wood with a long metal prod. This was her parent's fault, the only reason she had met the Dark Lord at all was because they had invited her to that 'get together' she should have just taken one of Fred and George's silly prank candy and told them that she had suddenly came down with something. "Has he ever called on you?" Claire whispered suddenly, afraid of someone hearing their conversation.
"Once but it was nothing big, he needed to see my thoughts on some of the passage ways of the school that had been built after he had left but other than that one time, no." Her eyes widen and with large eyes she looked at him and said, "He can see into your thoughts?" Draco nodded slowly, wondering what had her so spooked out. "Do you think he knows… about us?" The quilts, now long forgotten, lay on the floor as she kneeled in front of him, her hands gripping his white t-shirt. Draco's own eyes widen just a bit at the realization and said, "He probably does but I mean, it doesn't matter right? It's not like he can use it against us."
Claire's face contorted into a look of disgust as she slapped his chest multiple times. "Have you no shame Draco Malfoy? Those moments are private! I don't know about you but I rather not parade my more intimate life to You-Know-Who!" She hissed the last part out and noticed the silly smile he wore. His eyes looked over to the paintings which covered the boys and the girl's dormitories and then back at her. "Oh no we are not!" She made the gesture to stand but he pulled her down to his lap, her knees on either side of his thighs. "Who sent you the flowers?" He asked simply as his hands slowly crawled up her shirt. "Stop it Draco, what if someone wakes up ear-" He pecked her lips and held one of her breast's in his hands, silencing her quickly.
"That wasn't the answer I was looking for." He growled on her lips, tracing small figures on her bare flesh. Biting her neck roughly, she angled her neck for him to perfectly access whatever part he wanted. "Who sent you the flowers?" He asked again this time holding both in his hands. "That g-guy… from the p-party." She crawled closer to him sitting right on top of his groin and held on to the back of his head. "What guy?" He slithered down to her waist band and tugged the small boy shorts down. Claire, though trying all she might, couldn't remember the name for the life of her and let her mouth open and close as if she were a fish, encouraging her mind to try to conjure up the name. "Hey! You there!" Both their heads snapped to their right at the heavy accent when they noticed the man on the portrait, who ironically looked a lot like Draco's father, peered at them, his eyes narrowed trying to see in the darkness.
"What do ye're think ye're doing?" The man stood from his chair to get a closer look but Claire had lifted herself up and trying to muffle her laughter lifted Draco up with her and ran over to where the boys and girls dormitories laid about ten feet from each other.
A/N: Well here is Chapter Seven and unfortunately I am not satisfied with the low number of comments this story is receiving. I am not the type that will threaten to erase the story just because I am not getting any comments but how am I to know whether you like it or not? How am I to know your opinion how the story is going? I would just like to see more comments on this story. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, hopefully there will be more to come.