author's note: i rewrote this because i was unhappy with the first draft. i think it's better now. let me know what you think. 'kay, thanks!

vera faulkner was not from a well-known wizarding family but she was from a pure wizarding family, a fact she was proud of. she resented families like the malfoys for their prestige and wealth. vera knew it was ridiculous but she didn't like how her family was so unknown. the faulkners were a pureblood family and they were never known for weakness. in vera's mind, that should be acknowledged in the very least.

it irked vera to no end that her mother pressed her to 'make friends' with the malfoy boy. you'd think after four years of avoiding him and bad-mouthing him, her mother would take the hint. but that was to be expected. her mother came from a pureblood family that was even more obscure than the faulkners. her mother wanted to get her claws into a good wizarding family and, since she hadn't been able to achieve that herself, she put her hopes into vera.

vera was in no way thrilled.

and, as she sat in the slytherin common room, she reread her mother's pleading letter. vera was ashamed of her mother's ridiculous antics in trying to get her to at least befriend draco malfoy. her mother was truly pathetic. how did her mother expect to get anywhere in life if she didn't grab it for herself? her mother was too subservient.

vera knew how to get on top in life. true, befriending malfoy would mean a couple steps up the ladder but vera didn't for two reasons. one, making malfoy a friend would mean alienating a lot of other potential steps up the ladder. and two, she just couldn't bring herself to go with her mother's wishes. the last reason played a bigger part than vera would like to admit but a part it did play.

instead, she befriended everyone else regardless of house or if they came from a pureblood family. vera knew it was prudent to be in everyone's good graces.

sure, most of the other slytherins whispered she wasn't fit for their house but what did they know? they let prejudice and ignorance cloud their ambition. if they were true slytherins, they would branch out instead of being elitist and 'sticking to their own kind'.

vera let out an irritated sigh. no matter how many times she reread the letter, she still couldn't believe her mother. how could anyone be so shamefully shameless?

vera's attention was diverted from the letter when someone sat on the arm of the chair she was seated in. when she raised her eyes to see who it was, she met with blaise zabini's curious stare.

for a second, vera let herself be caught but his stunning features. such smooth, dark skin. and he had such high cheek bones. his full lips tempted anyone to kiss them. and though there was a distinct distant and cold look in his eyes, they warm brown was still able to make one feel like he might actually be listening to you. the effect of his features was stunning.

it only took vera a couple second to reel herself back in.

'yes?'

blaise gave vera half-smile and said, 'you looked annoyed. usually you're all smiles and politeness. i've never seen you scowl before.'

vera fought the urge to frown in confusion. she had been scowling? it was unlike her to lose control of her facial expresions. vera shrugged it off to exhaustion and her mother's ridiculous nature.

'i'm just a tired,' vera said with a perfectly polite smile. blaise continued to look at her with curiosity.

he studied her with more attention to her minute facial expresions and how she held her body.

blaise had always wondered about vera. she was cheerful and nice. she made friends outside of slytherin with ease. he couldn't see the slytherin in her. he, like the rest of the slytherins, assumed the sorting hat had made a mistake. she seemed to belong to hufflepuff with all her friendliness.

but when he saw that scowl on her face, he was shocked. it was far from friendly and even farther from nice.

'well, everyone else is in bed.' blaise informed her, motioning to the rest of the common room. indeed, it was empty asides from vera and him.

vera was actually surprised by this. when she had sat down, the common room had been brimming with activity. she had been rereading her mother's silly letter for longer than she had realized.

'oh.'

that small sound that escaped from vera's lips captivated blaise unexpectedly. her lips rounded around the sound looking for all the world innocent. the way her lips stayed that way for a moment after the sound ended entranced him. her lips weren't perfect but they were full enough to be tempting.

vera was still looking around the common room as blaise continued to stare at her lips.

when vera turned back to him he suggested gently, 'you should go to bed.' his eyes were still locked on her lips. blaise didn't trust himself to stay seated next to her so he stood, turning his back to her. he stretched to hide the embarrassment that was slowly bubbling up in his stomach.

vera stayed seated and watched him stretched. the fireligt flickered across blaise so that half of his lithe figure was illuminated while the other half was in darkness. the effect was stunning.

vera stood hastily. she didn't like her emotions or homones running away without her. the fact that she was already partial to the slytherin standing before her made it harder as well. he was quiet with a charmingly regal air about him. he wasn't outright cruel like one of his friends, draco malfoy but his disdain was made apparent by his lack of attention to others. his subtlety was an attractive trait to vera.

vera wanted to smack herself. she had felt this pull before. the boy was a ravenclaw. his wit and intelligence had lured her in and his apearence, clean and simple, had caught her. she had fancied the ravenclaw for a month before she had informed him in a smiling, bashful manner, that she liked him. regardless of how nice she had been to him or how they had some semblance of a friendship, he wouldn't have her. why? because she was a slytherin. that was his only reason. needless to say, vera was furious but she just smiled and said she understood and wouldn't press him further. they remained friends but vera was not content to take rejection. it wasn't in her nature to take rejection. she got her revenge but vera concluded that fancying boys was not worth the trouble. but here she was, admiring blaise's backside.

when blaise turned, he caught vera looking at, admiring really, his backside. he didn't give an indication he had caught her but she knew he had and she blushed unwillingly. blaise smirked. vera melted a little.

blaise was not against flings. he had had his share of flings and short-lived relationships. and vera was far from unattractive. but she had always been so cheerful and seemingly innocent which blaise was never attracted to.

but her scowl had caught his eye, a scowl that gave him a peek into who vera really was. and what he had seen, he wanted.

blaise began to walk toward her and vera knew she had to flee the scene of end up hopelessly in lust with blaise zabini. but she was caught like a mouse staring into the hypnotic eyes of a snake about to strike.

vera had to wait a moment before she spoke because if she didn't, her voice would probably tremble.

'blaise,' she said firmly but then her voice faultered, 's-stop.' she didn't let herself wince because she had already slipped up and stuttered.

blaise didn't stop. he came only cenimeters from her, towering over her.

vera desperately tried to get the message to her limbs, demanding that they move but nothing happened.

blaise smirked, enjoying the brief moment of control he seemed to have over he. his smirk grew as she glared up at him, knowing at the moment, she was powerless.

she didn't like this situation at all.

blaise lifted her chin gently with one hand, the other moving to brush a lock of hair behind her ear. he bent his head down and placed his lips softly on hers and vera still couldn't get her limbs to move and her resolve was weakening quickly.

and then, as if on its own accord, vera's right hand slapped blaise squarely on the cheek. it was as if she had been released from a spell because, once again, vera had full control of herself as she backed away from blaise.

'stop means stop, blaise zabini.' although she continued to glare, his kiss was still burning on her lips and she fought to urge to wipe her lips to get the sensation to stop.

blaise barely registered the smack. he was thoroughly caught up in the sparkle her honey-colored eyes had acquired as she glared at him more fiercely than before. never had he seen her eyes so full of any emotion that it stunned him. when she smiled or laughed, the expression never reached her eyes. it was amazing how something as simple as anger and a hint of confusion transformed her.

how could he have never suspected something like this behind those doll eyes? she was like a snake, a creature blaise had always found stunning and fascinating. he had to have her.

vera couldn't help but smirk inwardly at his obvious wonder. what he found wonderous, she didn't know but it made vera feel safe to know he was as out of water as she was. even so, she was still wary.

blaise recovered and looked at her with a mixture of amusement and interest. inside, he stuggled against his desire to embrace her. if he wanted to capture and dominate the fiery spirit he had witnessed, he would have to take his time.

'so, you really are a slytherin.' blaise said, showing her his rare smile.

vera loosened her muscles and made her outward appearance seem less guarded. she once again became vera, the wayward slytherin. she rolled her eyes, giggled, and gave him a friendly smile. even her tone was friendly although her words implied stupidity on blaise's part.

'of course i'm a slytherin, silly. the sorting hat doesn't make mistakes.'

while the situation was less dangerous, vera knew she still needed to get away from blaise as soon as possible. every moment she stayed in his company was dangerous for her selfcontrol.

she faked a yawn, covering her mouth as a proper miss should. her act was flawless.

'i really should get to bed. good night.'

vera didn't wait for a reply. she turned and walked towards the stairs to the girls' dorms. she wasn't aware that blaise had followed her to the bottom of the stairs until he spun her around.

'good night' blaise whispered in her ear efore giving her a chaste kiss then heading up to his own dorm.

vera glared after him but couldn't stop the butterflies fluttering in her stomach.