"You're going to stay in here for three hours. When I'll open the door, I want this room to shine, understood?" Said Professor McGonagall with coldness in her eyes, "Give me your wand." She ordered as she reached out towards the two students before her. Both of them placed their wands on her palms, "See you later." She walked out, locking the door with magic.
Since detention began, they hadn't been looking and talking to each other. Josephine started cleaning immediately by mopping desks and chairs as Draco pretending to sweep. She had her back to him as Draco took a peek over her long, black hair running down her back. His bore was taking over, and he thought of doing something to break the silence dominating the room.
"Did you obtain what you wanted?" Draco snarled.
He was waiting for and answer as Josephine decided to completely ignore him. She wouldn't never expected him to speak, ahe had lost hope after their deathly silence.
Draco stopped sweeping and looked at her as she was mopping, "You deserve to rot in a bloody hospital for freaks and weirdos like you. It's only your fault if I'm here now."
He was astonished by her not reacting, without paying attention to his words. Josephine was good at this - what Draco was telling her went right over her head because she knew he only wanted to cause her a reaction.
Draco returned to sweep as he lined up with her position across the room, "Don't think that my father won't hear about what you did, then we'll deal with it." He threatened with a superior smirk.
"I just needed another platinum blonded asshole." Josephine mumbled, without worrying about him hearing.
Indeed, Draco heard perfectely. He blocked any movement to look at her, "What did you say, you mudblood?" He raised his voice furiously, "Say it again, if you dare." Josephine kept on ignoring him and mopping, untill Draco shouted out, "Look at me while you say it!" His jaws clenched angrily.
At that moment, Josephine turned to him and scanning him with a raised eyebrow defiantly, "Apparentely, I'll face not only asshole junior, but asshole senior too."
Draco's vision blurred quickly due to the anger running through his veins, and started quivering as he stared at her defiant eyes. He let the broom he was holding fall to the ground, and rushed to her. His hand wrapped around her neck, sticking her body to the wall.
"You bastard, don't you dare speak about my father like this." He boiled with his low and penetrating voice, "Do it again and I'll fucking kill you!"
At that moment, Draco realized he hadn't never been so close to Josephine before. He could feel her warm breaths on his chin as she was looking up at him. Her mantle didn't change, even though he had attacked her.
She wasn't scare of him, and Draco got it. This wasn't good, Josephine should fear him. His features soothed slowly as he got confused little by little, withought expecting any reaxtion from her.
"Get your hands off me, you twat-" Josephine roared and took advantage of his moment of distraction. Her knee hit his hip as she her hands pushed him away.
Suddenly, Draco came back to reality by feeling a huge hurt, and placed an hand on his hip. He wanted to yell any kind of insult in this planet, but she forestalled.
"You know nothing about me, Malfoy-" Josephine raised her voice dangerously, her defiant steps towards him, "I regret drawing the Acanthus on you arm and hoping you to listen my words." She shouted as she pushed him over and over, causing him to back.
"These three years I have always got over your insults only for my origins. I haven't never paid attention to your words because if they're told by someone that doesn't knoe who I am, they are insignificant."
She kept on pushing him untill his back hit a desk, lying back on it. Her body followed his, and she hovered above him. She grabbed his collar and, staring at his eyes, Josephine went on speaking.
"I can accept you insulting me," Her wide opened eyes pierced Draco's, and her hands started trembling as she fought the urge to beat him again, which increased within her, "But I'll never accept you insulting my parents." She articulated every word with her hoarse and intense vocie.
"I'd rather die than being a pureblood like you."
Josephine's breaths were warm and heavy on Draco's face. He never looked away from her eyes, and listened every word fleeing her mouth. Malfoy didn't react, despite he wanted to. Before she spoke, he would've grabbed her neck again harder and would've not let her distract him, but she had been faster.
It all happened quickly, so quickly that Draco hadn't even realized what was going on. He was feeling anger, confusion and hurt due to the knee she had given. He didn't understand that Josephine was pushing him, it felt as if he couldn't feel it. He was focused on her yelling, on her anger. In that moment, Draco wasn't thinking, but he was listening and looking at her.
As he was lied back on the desk with her face a few inches away from his, it felt as she was beating him again. But this time the punches were her words. Josephine was the first hitting him phisically and verbally. He couldn't let this go, it was impossible for Draco. He wanted to do something, to make it clear she couldn't do whatever she wanted with a Malfoy.
But he did nothing.
The punches hitting his face pinned him down. Draco was petrified.
They had been staying in this position for a while, for a sew minutes or so. They didn't have words for one another anymore. Josephine came back down to earth as she remembered she was in detention and had to clean the room. So she moved aside from him slowly and returned to mop, saying nothing.
Draco came back to reality as soon as he felt her grip of him soothening, and after she got off him, he straightened his back and was astonished by watching her cleaning as if nothing happened.
He observed her mopping with his hands in his pockets. He fixed his collar, grabbed the broom and returned to sweep till the end of their detention.
"Don't push me and don't grab my collar again, Blake." His voice broke the silence. Draco blocke his doings to turn around, and waited for her to turn and answer.
Indeed, Josephine turned with her eyebrow raised and her mouth curled, "Then don't make me, Malfoy."
__
After the detention, Draco headed to the Black Lake and sat down on his rock, placing his elbows on the knees. He breathed in deeply and as he observed the space around him, he thought of the first time he saw Josephine painting.
Draco decided to not let his father know about what happened. Right now, he was between two streets and didn't know which to take. One of them led to his father, to Malfoy's beliefs and his aim to be the perfect son. The other street led to Josephine.
After he spent a sew hours with her, and had the confirmation of her audacity - Draco couldn't help but be so attracted to her right now. He was so fascinated by her doings, how she answered, her personality, her audacity and bravery.
Draco was so attracted to her mind. That's what caused problems and troubles.
His father had raised him with the idea that mudbloods weren't as worthy to purebloods, even to be in the same place and breathing the same air. He despised her like all the people with her same blood. Still, he wasn't able to control the attraction he felt, and needed to satisfy the curiosity, which kept on growing.
Draco wanted to get to know her.
He wanted to get to know the girl who had so much self-confidence to stand against a Malfoy. All the wizarding world knew his family's power, prestige and wealth. That's why everybody was at their feet.
Untill now. Untill her.
Josephine broke his conviction of being superior because she overtook him. How could Draco be indifferent?
Draco was furious.
There was no person who could stand up against him and didn't respect his name. Still, there was and it was the last human being he could ever imagined.
Draco wanted to understand everything about her. Despite a part of him begged him to go on his way, he couldn't ignore her charm and let it consume him.
Josephine was going to be his first exception.
__
"Jo, are you sure you don't want to spend Christmas at my place?" Hermione asked, her voice mixed with the sound of her teeth chattering due to the cold wind, as she and Josephine went back to the castle after spending the afternoon in Hogsmeade.
"Don't worry, Hermione. Teddy has already asked, but I miss my aunt and I want to stay with her at least during Christmas holiday." Josephine tenderly smiled as she walked like a penguin to not slide on the street covered in snow.
"What a pity...my mom was so happy to see you. She always asks how you are and was so sorry for...what happened with Malfoy last month." She muttered hesitantly.
"How sweet...I hope you said I'm great." Josephine chuckled with a sweet smile on her lips.
"Of course I did." She laughed before lowering her head.
Josephine's gaze moved on her friend, "Are you okay?" Her hand stroked her shoulder.
"Yes, I just wanted to ask something, but I don't think I should." Her head shook as if she wanted to get the thought out of her head.
"Do you want to ask me if something happened after the detention with Malfoy?" Josephine chuckled as she fixed the scarf wrapped around her neck.
"Do you mind?" Hermione blocked her steps and looked at her, her eyebrows frowned.
"No, I don't mind because nothing happened." She merely shrugged, "We all thought that he was going to come up with a wicked revange, but he hasn't done anything yet. So I don't get if he wants to leave me alone or if his plan is so twisted and well studied that he takes so long to implement it." She laughed as her fingers scrutched her nose.
"Better this way." Her friend nodded slowly.
Once they got to the castle, headed to their dormitories to get ready for dinner. Josephine entered the Slytherin common room and saw Theodore, Blaise and Draco studying intensely. It was the penultimate day before Christmas holiday, and the next day they were going to have Astronomy test.
"What are you doing?" She suddenly asked, causing Blaise to jolt.
"Salazar, Jo, never do it again." Blaise panted with a hand on his heart as if he could slowed down its pulse.
Josephine burst out laughing and went to Theodore, seated next to him, to hug him, "Next time I'll try harder." She evilly chuckled.
"Hey, beautiful." Theodore stroked her arm without stopping writing, "How did it go with Granger?"
"We went for drink butterbeers and she told me about how scared Harry is of Sirius Black." She slipped on his lap.
"Sirius Black? Why?" Blaise frowned.
"Because he wants to kill the scarhead." Draco's hoarse voice answered for her, as he was reading the book.
"Don't call him scarhead." Josephine said fiercely. It was the first time she talked to him after a month and at her words, Draco lifted his eyes up to see her serious mantle, as his head was still lowered.
"And why that freak wants to kill Potter?" Theodore asked.
Josephine looked away from Draco, "I didn't get it, too much information and too many worries." She stroked Theodore's soft curly hair.
"Yeah, too many for the little head of yours." Blaise mocked as his finger tapped on his temple.
"Exactly." She rolled her eyes, "I'll let you study." A sigh fled her throat as she stood up to walk away.
"You're good at Astronomy, aren't you?" Draco's voice caused her steps to block. He wasn't able to start a conversation and get to know a person, that's why he hadn't been talking to her for a month and maybe it was for the better. He hoped this could soothe her anger towards him.
Josephine turned slowly and saw Draco's eyes pointed on her, "Do you want my help?" She asked, emphasizing the word 'my' with wide open eyes.
Theodore and Blaise exchanged a confused glaze as she was waiting for the blond's answer, who was dragging back the chair between him and Theodore. He nodded for her to sit, and immediately returned to his book, waiting for her to sit down. Josephine slowly approached and slipped on the chair.
She looked at Theodore as he shrugged, "I'm as surprised as you are." He whispered.
Josephine answered by rising her eyebrows, and turned to Draco. She didn't know what to say or to ask, she felt so uncomfortable, "Erm..."
Draco, instead, was almost amused by this situation and self-confident, despite he felt a bit uncomfortable. He had asked help to the same girl he had been insulting for years, who he had been beated by and should avoid.
Josephine stared at Blaise and Theodore to ask for their help with her eyes, "So..." The boys stayed quite, they were curious to see what was going to happen, "You didn't understand something that you want me to explain or you want me to ask you some questions?"
"I want you to question me." Draco answered as he handed her the book, "Ask me something." He ordered.
She moved her gaze from the book to him, "Are you sure you didn't hit your head?" That was the only reasonable explenation for this surreal situation.
"Will you help me or not, Blake?" He said before she started reading the book.
__
"You're ready." Josephine sighed as she closed the book, "Was my help useful?"
"Yes." Draco replied as he put away his books. They stood up at the same time, ending up face to face as they looked coldly at each other.
"I didn't forget what you did, Malfoy." Josephine muttered severely, breaking the silence.
"I don't care." He said acidly before marching over his bedroom as Josephine headed to hers, "I didn't say anything to my father."
Josephine faltered before turning around to face him, his hands into the pockets of his pants and his spine rested on the door of his room, "Will you?" She reproduced his position with her arms folded and a raised eyebrow.
Draco didn't move a muscle as he looked at her, and Josephine encouraged him to speak with a nod of her head. His body pushed away from the door and he opened it without looking away from her.
"Don't make me, Blake." And he closed the door behind him.