Toxic Crush

~18~

Dumbledore himself stood speechless for a few moments, looking at the short, pink woman with amusement.

She took his silence as an invitation to speak, and she stood from her chair (making it obvious that she was barely taller than the table) and began to address the entire hall as Dumbledore had just been doing.

Her speech mainly consisted of things the students didn't really understand or care about, so most of them tuned out to talk about how outrageous it was that she had interrupted Dumbledore.

However Clara and the other fifth year Ravenclaws listened intently, cringing at every syllable of sickly sweet dialogue.

When she finally finished speaking, they put their heads together.

"That was so scripted."

"She's definitely changing the way we learn, did you hear the way she spoke about the education system?"

"Something's going on."

Dumbledore retook his position at the podium and raised his hand to silence the crowd, forcing the Ravenclaws to stop deliberating and turn back to face him.

The rest of his speech was boring, as it usually was, but there were hints of encouragement and reassurance in it that made Clara feel perfectly safe anywhere he was.

When the word 'prefects' came out of his mouth, she sat up a little straighter, puffing her chest out slightly with pride.

She stood up with the rest of the students and kept Marcus close to her as she yelled out for the first years excitedly.

"First years! Ravenclaw first years with us!" She called with a large grin on her face.

Her eyes made contact with Dumbledore's and he nodded at her in acknowledgement. She smiled in return and turned her back on him to guide the first years up the stairs.

When they reached the third floor, she felt a hand wrap around her wrist and her stomach flipped when she turned to see Draco.

Her cheeks immediately flushed pink and she turned to Marcus, pushing Draco inconspicuously away as she spoke. "I need to go to the bathroom, cover my duties?"

"Yeah I've got you. You need anything later? I have a rather large stash of honeydukes chocolate."

"No, no that's okay." Clara said gratefully. "I'll see you later. Thank you so much."

Marcus smiled warmly. "Any time."

She strode down the corridor, flattening her hair nervously and looking behind her, her mind reeling over and over.

It had been three months, did he still want her?

The second she was around the corner she was pulled into his arms, her lips crashing into his with desperation.

Turns out he did.

All she could smell was his scent, and it made her feel all kinds of things.

He kissed her a little more deeply as they backed into a familiar broom closet, and she poured herself eagerly into him as his tongue entered her mouth.

Her back hitched as she was pushed against the door behind them, closing it with a loud click.

"I missed you." She whispered between breaths, running her hands through his hair.

He only grunted in response, kissing down her jawline and unbuttoning her collar to expose her neck.

The moment his lips left her own she began to question herself.