Midnight Meetings ::Clafin & Paige_Mary::

Thomas followed Clafin when he saw her sneak out of the Gryffindor common room. He stayed back so that he wouldnt see her, but his attempt at being sneaky failed miserably. She turned and walked straight to him. "Well, if your going to follow me, you might as well walk with me Thomas." she said half irritated half amused. "I know you to well." she added on kindly.

Thomas smiled at her with his best grin and started silently walking down the halls with her. He soon got irritated with awkward emptiness of the halls and started to whisper to her. "So, what are you going to do for your birthday?" Clafin looked at him and put her finger to her lips, motioning for him to be quiet.

"I really need to be more careful with these quills...."Veronica muttered to herself, as she walked sleepily down the hall to the common room." This is the third one i've broken this month." She continued to mumble on about how cheap modern supplies were becomming these days, and she didn't even notice the two people standing in front of her. There was a short black haired girl, and a very tall, very curly haired boy. He was really cute. She blushed a little, and then very quietly said," hello," in her shy voice.The girl stared at her curiously.

Clafin looked up at the girl standing in front of them for a moment. Having realized she didnt recognize her, she skipped over to her and gave her a hug. "Hello. I'm Clafin Potter." she giggled upon release. Clafin looked over her shoulder at Thomas and waited for him to reply.When she saw that he wasnt going to say anything, she quickly added, "...and thats Thomas." She looked back at the girl and grinned.

Thomas looked down at the girl but remained silent as Clafin went through introductions. Hmmm. Do I know her? She seems familiar. She's pretty cute. he thought to himself.

Veronica smiled in a nervous way, and replied," I'm Veronica Sparks. I'ts nice to meet you." Clafin gave her a huge smile. Wow, She thought, This girl sure is friendly. Hmmmm....she seems nice enough, and it would be great to have another friend.....or two.She looked at Thomas, he was looking down, playing with a button on his shirt. He didn't seem as welcoming as Clafin, but maybe there was potenial. She drifted off into thinking about her and Thomas and the friendship they might have. She hadn't realized that Clafin had been talking to her....

Clafin realized that she was rambling again, so she quickly cut herself off. She looked up at Veronica once again to find that she hadnt even been paying attention to her. She'd been looking at Thomas the whole time.

Thomas finally looked up at her. "Errr. Hi." he said distractedly. "We were just about to go to uhhh..." he stopped and looked over at Clafin. "Where exactly is it that you were sneaking off to?" he asked almost scolding her.

"Ugh. Why are you so nosey Thomas? You dont have to act like my...well..a parent, you know?" she said musically. She then turned to Veronica. "I was going up to the Room of Requirements when I found Mr. Oh Im SOOOO Sneaky following me." she said sarcastically as she flicked his stomach. "Your welcome to come along too. If you'd like that is." she offered.

"Oh...that sounds good. I've been meaning to go up there. I forgot my jacket last time and i haven't had a chance to-"Veronica was cut off by a very loud that came from a POP! sound that came from a corridoor that was off to the right. Clafin snapped her head up, as well as Thomas. "What was that?!" He whispered. Clafin turned around and shhhhh'ed him. There was another POP! This time it sounded closer. There were serveral more POP! sounds, and each on e sounded closer, and closer...

Clafin whipped her head around. "Ugh if this is peeves..." she started, sounding extremely full of hatred. Her right hand involuntarily clenched into a tight fist as her other hand pulled out her wand.

Thomas looked at his small friend in amusement. I just dont see how someone so small can be so full of emotions sometimes...especially the bad ones he thought to himself as he went to stand behind her. He put his hand on his wand, making sure it was covered by his robes, just in case he needed it. He looked back at Veronica and motioned for her to come and join them.

Veronica saw Thomas beckoning to her, and went over to them, making sure that she was silent in doing so. She hadn't come across peeves very many times in her life at Hogwarts. Plainly speaking, she had tried to avoid him, and with good reason. He was...for lack of better words, a pest. She put her fingers tightly around her own wand and waited for whatever was around the corner.

Clafin rushed around the corner leaving the other two behind. She looked up in the air to find Peeves. "Fancy seeing you here Pesty Peeves" Clafin said coldly. She watched him for a moment as he threw dungbombs to the ground. "Your really quite childish. Not even Fred and George would've stooped this low" this time her words came out bitter with a bit of sorrow behind.


"Weeeee little Potter" Peeves began to chant.

Wow....i'd forgotten how annoying his voice was....Veronica thought, as Peeves chanted at Clafin. She looked up at him and yelled," Hey! Leave her alone! We don't have time for your nonsense. We have places to be and they don't involve you!" She pulled out her wand and pointed it right at him." Don't make me get the bloody Barron, " She added.

Clafin looked back in shock as Veronica scared off Peeves. Nobody had ever taken the lead from her...ever. Clafin got irritated and pouted her lip as she began to venture to the Room of Requirements.

Thomas watched as his friend stomped off. "You really shouldn't have done that" he said quietly to Veronica. "I'm going to have an ear-full for weeks." he added on as he groaned. He started to follow after Clafin then turned back to Veronica. "You comin?" he asked quickly and kindly.

"Yes..." Veronica answered. Darn...! I don't mean to cause problems with her, i've only just met her...She thought to herself as she rushed to keep up with the others. She let her mind wonder about what she would say to try and make things alright with clafin, and she walked right into Thomas. She felt very clumsy, and awkward, as she looked up at him with pink cheeks.
"Umm...sorry." She managed to say.

Thomas looked down at her as he raised an eyebrow. Can she not tell what I am? he thought to himself. "Oh, its fine." he said softly as he backed away carefully but graceful, as not to hurt her.

Clafin looked around at the two as Veronica awkwardly spoke to Thomas. "Oh come on you love birds. I really need to get there...sometime today." she said mockingly. Oh boyyy. There goes that charm of his again. I dont understand how people cant see him for who he is she thought to herself.

Veronica Blushed again, and got to her feet, not wanting to irritate Clafin more than she already had. She brushed the dust off her robes and continued to follow as they made their way to their destination.
Before long, they were standing in the corridor where the room resided.
"This is it," She said. "So, what exactly do you need from the room, Clafin?" She asked, realizing that she'd came with them here having no idea why they were here in the first place.

Clafin heard Veronica but ignored her because she was still irritated. She paced back and forth three times while thinking of what she needed. Then she stopped and looked up to see a door appear. She looked back and grinned at the two behind her and skipped through the doors.

Thomas looked down at Veronica as Clafin paced. "Just give her some time. She'll come around eventually...I hope." he said as he flashed her a smile. With that, he turned and followed Clafin to the doors, holding it open for Veronica to pass through.

Clafin looked around her at the rows of books and cauldrons and other equipment. Great! An early start on some classes. I'm going to need to be way ahead if I'm to go to DA meetings. she thought to herself.

Veronica looked down as she walked through the door, held open by Thomas. He's really sweet.... She thought to herself...but her happy feeling left her when she looked up to see the dirty look that Clafin was giving her....
She walked across the room, over to where Clafin was standing, and gave her and apologetic look." I'm sorry that i took your thunder back there, with peeves. There are rare occasions when i feel confident and strong. That was one of them, so i took advantage of it. I'm sorry that it caused a problem. Can you please forgive me and tell me what in the heck we're doing here?!"She stated.There was an awkward silence...

Clafin listened to her but continued to glare. "Hmph." she said still aggravated. "I'm here so that I can get an early start on classes. I want to be able to go to every meeting there is this year, without having to worry about passing." she said in a bitter tone.

Thomas looked over at Clafin with a scolding look upon his face. She glared at him for a moment and then turned and walked to a cupboard to pull out ingredients. Thomas filled the gap between Veronica and himself in two long strides. "Well, she forgives you, but she won't be buddy buddy right away"

"Well...That's just great." She said, under her breath. She decided, that as long as she was there, she might as well get a headstart as well. She wanted to be able to attend the meetings as well.
She Pranced over to a very convienient bean bag chair, and propped open the charms book.
She could hardly pay attention to charms though, she was too busy thinking about Thomas. He was so nice...
and secretly, she wished that he would come sit next to her...
oh well...

Clafin looked over her shoulder at Veronica. She felt bad for being so rude. She just wasnt used to people not paying attention to her. She set the ingredients down on the table next to a cauldron. "Hey Thomas. Catch!" she said as she threw him something.

Thomas flew his hand out and caught it. Probably faster than he shouldve. Great Tom. Now Veronicas really gonna think your normal he thought to himself sarcastically as he turned toward her. He tried to read her face.

Veronica gasped in suprised as she watched Thomas snatch the object out of the air. What that object was, she didn't know. But it wasn't the object that had made her gasp, it was how fast Thomas had snatched it. He moved so fast that she had barely even seen him move at all.
She stared at him curiously.
"What's that all about?" She asked in a very quite voice. Her heart fluttered with anticapation as she waited for one of them to speak...

Clafin looked at Thomas then to Veronica. "Errrr. Tommy boy. I think she's found your little secret." she said to him but she kept her eyes on Veronica. She didnt need to hide any emotions. She wasnt scared at all. Its about time someone got it. she thought to herself.

Thomas gracefully walked to the wall opposite of Veronica. "What do you mean?" he asked her politely as he shot Clafin a glare.

" I think you know exactly what i mean, 'tommy boy.'" She let out a little giggle, at this cute nickname. " I want to know how you grabbed that out of the air so fast. It's like you didn't even move at all." She stared at him meaningfully, with questions in her eyes. "I just wanna know the truth..."

Thomas looked at Clafin as though he were trying to throw daggers at her. She only smiled up at him and continued to make her potion.

"Well...Alright" he finally said after an eerie silence. "You have to promise not to tell anyone, but I understand if you dont want to talk to me anymore." he said calmly

" I promise. I'm a very good secret keeper. I won't breathe a word to anyone." Veronica was a little nervous about the last part, but she didn't say anything. She just stared at Thomas, eagerness on her face, and anticapation at it's peek. She sat back in her chair, and siad," Okay, I'm ready."

Thomas looked over at Clafin, surprised to find that she wasnt going to say anything rude. He turned back towards Veronica and grinned his perfectly white teeth. "Alright then. Im a vampire." he stated in a matter-of-fact attitude as though it were nothing and everything all at the same time.

A look of suprise rolled across veronica's face. This was not something she had expected. She looked from Thomas's teeth to his eyes...and then she spoke, very slowly, but surely. " I think that's....wonderful!"
She smiled at him, and blushed a little, too.

Clafin looked up in surprise at Veronica's response. She skipped over to her and hugged her. "Thats the first time Ive ever heard that one!" she said happily.

Thomas watched Clafin and Veronica in amusement as he slid down the wall to sit.

After Veronica was done being suffacated by Clafin's bone crushing death grip...she walked over to Thomas, and smiled.
"Do you mind if i sit, we could talk?"
She asked.
She didn't know what, but something seemed to pull her towards him, and she coudln't honestly say that she didn't like that feeling.(:

Thomas looked up at Veronica. "Of course you can." he said softly as he gently touched her hand.

Veronica clsoed her fingers around his gentle touch. she slid down the wall next to him, and asked," So...how long have you been a Vampire?"

He thought about how he should answer for a moment, not wanting to scare her. "Well, to be honest. Only a few years. I uh..." he glanced over at Clafin with sorrow in his eyes.

"What?" Veronica looked desperately at Clafin for answers.
"What happened?"
She squeezed his hand even tighter....

Clafin looked over at the two and wondered what they were talking about. She went to the other side of the table to see if she could hear better, but she couldnt.

Thomas barely felt her hand in his. It was so light...so delicate. He looked down for a moment before replying. "Some Death-Eaters decided that they'd try to get to Harry by using Clafin. She was 8 and I was 10. Shes my best friend. I couldnt let anything happen to her. I still won't. Anyways one of them got ahold of me when I tried to stop them. I got bit, they left me to die and went after her parents. They got killed and for the last year, shes been living by herself in the old cottage. She still hasnt really gotten over it, but thats why she joined the DA. She's going into the Order the day she turns seventeen. She wants revenge. I know she acts carefree but she cries herself to sleep almost every night. I have to watch out for her. She's like my little sister." he said quietly and softly as he looked up at Veronica with his eyes filled with pain.

Veronica was almost in tears, herself. It was hard to watch these people she'd grown to like so much be in pain.
She stared into Thomas's eyes, and tried to find a little happiness, but she couldn't. All that was there, was dark and cold.
She reached around him and gave him a hug. "Everything is gonna be alright now," she said. "I'm here to listen, i can feel your pain."
I looked over at Clafin, and wondered if she had heard us.
i saw some sadness in her eyes that i hadn't noticed before.

Clafin skipped over to Thomas and Veronica. "Look!" she said as she held out a small vial of clear liquid. She grinned at them.

Thomas looked up at her and raised an eyebrow as he tried to hide his emotions.

"Is that what i think it is..?" Veronica questioned, as she stared into the vial of clear liquid.
she looked at Clafin with confusion, and waited for a reasonable explanation...

"Yes ma'am Veritaserum!" she said excitedly. "I've been trying to make some for the DA for a while now, but it always turned out a pretty teal color. I found this book the other day when I was up here trying to hide something." she said as she handed Veronica an old tattered potions book.

Thomas looked up at her and smiled. "Is this what you were working on in your basement this summer?" he asked her mockingly.

She playfully gave him a dirty look. "No Tommy boy. That was a Befuddlement Draught that I slipped into your drink. I see the effect still haven't worn off though." she said through a grin.

Veronica laughed a little, and then looked back at Clafin.
"What do we need veritaserum for, anyways?"

"For Death-Eaters" she said crossly and walked away.

"Where are you going, Clafin?!"
Veronica Pulled herself awayfrom Thomas, (no matter how much she didn't want to,) and followed Clafin, with a questioning look on her face.

Clafin used an invisibility spell followed by a silencing charm so that Veronica couldnt follow her. She couldnt handle talking to anyone right now...not even Thomas.

Thomas stood and caught up with Veronica in just a few long strides. He put his hand in hers. "Just leave her be. She'll be fine tomorrow." he said softly. He put his other hand on her face and let it rest beneath her chin. He pulled himself closer to her, not sure if he should.

Veronica was pretty sure she knew what he was doing. She hadn't kissed very many boys before, but she knew what to do. She filled the space that was between her face and his, and kissed his lips. It was amazing. she could've stayed there forever, in his arms. Things just felt right. She stood there and waited for him to pull away.

Thomas pulled away, trying not to hurt her. He didnt want to risk anything dangerous happening. He looked down at her and smiled as he let his fingers run through her hair. I wonder why she isnt shivering. Everyone does... he thought.

Veronica could sense some hesitation in the way Thomas was holding her.
She looked him dead in the eyes and asked," What are you afraid of?"

He thought for a moment before answering. "Hurting you" he said softly.

" I trust you not to hurt me..."She whispered softly in his ear.
" Please, if you feel that you have the strength, kiss me again?"
She closed her eyes and rested her head on his chest.

Thomas pulled her head up and leaned in to kiss her.

Clafin popped up around the corner. She looked at them for a moment. "I swear Tommy boy. I leave you two alone for two seconds and your snogging in the middle of the corridor?" she said playfully.

Thomas looked up and sighed. This is just sooo Clafin. he thought to himself.

"Well...Seeing as Clafin has ruined the moment, anyway..."Veronica paused , and gave Clafin a friendly wink," How's about we head back to the common room. It must be at least 3 in the morning."

"Actually its almost 5:30" Clafin said grinning. "Lessons start in half an hour."