A grey ghost swirled out of the bubbling water. Draco blushed and sank lower in the bubbles, then scolded himself for being embarrassed. He sat up, trying to act nonchalant. Every time Myrtle rose out of the water, she startled him. Draco had a stinking suspicion that she enjoyed it. He never heard the other prefects complaining about her. The fretful ghost seemed to have it out for him.
Myrtle snickered to herself when Draco darted below the water. He was her favorite student to bother. She saw him with the others, acting all tough and superior. Everyone thought he was such a ladies' man. Only she knew how modest he really was. Probably because he was so skinny. It was one secret she was willing to keep.
Cooly, she dropped down into the water next to him. Draco tried to cover himself with a loofa. She ignored it. "Hello, Draco," she battered her eyes, "it's soooo nice to see you again."
Draco flushed. "Hello, Myrtle. Can't you leave me alone while I'm bathing?"
"But, Draco," she whined, "don't you like me? Why don't you want to be my friend?" She was only joking, but he never paid enough attention to know the difference.
"Don't get upset, Myrtle," Draco tried to appease the pouting haunt. "You know I always talk with you
Myrtle knew this, but she also knew it was only because he was afraid of her - afraid of making her unhappy enough to spread rumors about him. So she kept teasing him. "You like hurting my feelings. You don't care about me one bit!"
Draco scooted back unconsciously, away from the sulking specter. "That's not true, Myrtle. You know how nice I am to you." It was true. Draco treated the girl better than any of his friends. Myrtle enjoyed their odd relationship. He was kind, because she held the power over him. At the beginning of the year, he had been nasty to her, and she had told all the other prefects that he had girly bathing habits. Which he did, but only because he was fastidious about being clean, but they didn't need to know. He enjoyed spending a long time, alone, in the bathroom. Alone, except for Myrtle.
"You should treat me better," compelled Myrtle, hoping to blackmail him further.
Frightened, Draco lookup up at the brooding wraith. "What do you want?" he dreaded her answer.
Myrtle thought for a minute, knowing she'd won. "Tell me how pretty I am."
Draco sighed, then described the petulant ghost in glowing adjectives as he quickly tried to finish bathing. Myrtle blushed happily.