If there was a pit of hell that would welcome Astoria Greengrass into it with open arms then she would gladly leap into it. The moment would spare her the agony of being near the horrid people that were going to be tainting her night later on but when no such hole appeared or no unearthly creature offered her the salvation she craved, her heart sank.

It seemed as though she would have to be spending her evening around people that she despised, people she loathed. To make matters worse, she would have to do it while wearing a tight dress that she couldn't breathe in and feeling her toes pinching against her heels.

Why her parents insisted on treating her so cruelly would never be fully understandable to her. Astoria heaved a miserable sigh as she tried not to think of some way to stay home, knowing that there was no point in even thinking of an escape, even if the very idea of it was highly tempting.

If she managed to find the courage and pitch herself out the window, her parents would only want the dress back and hope that her blood hadn't stained the satin material too badly. These thoughts, while over dramatic and cruel couldn't change the fact that she was currently trying to loosen the iron comb from stabbing her scalp, pain shooting all the way down to her stinging toes.

The comb had once been her mother's but it was making her unbearably thick brown hair even more insufferable. Dread settled onto her shoulders as she realized that she would probably have to suffer for a while longer, she was currently waiting on her father so that he could inspect her two older sibling's, Emily and Scorpious.

Even though the night would prove to be nothing but torture, their father would be very keen to make sure that they were flawless, perfect and bitterly happy. There was no outward reason for her not to be happy, Astoria thought with a slight frown as she tried not to think of other, darker things hanging over her head.

The Greengrass family lived in a perfectly nice little home that was separated from any Muggle things and she had a nice garden out back that always bloomed healthy pink roses and gorgeous white ones. Her parents never denied her much, so long as it was in their meager budget and she'd been allowed to buy a few books over the years, a pair of pretty leather gloves here and there.

Astoria knew that her feeling of unease wouldn't fade anytime soon as she tried to inhale slowly, exhale gently. For as long as she could remember, she and her siblings had gotten along very well, though Scorpious had an attitude that suggested that if he could murder himself on the spot, he would do it without hesitation.

Emily liked this sort of thing, parties and dances and zoos, because that was what this was and Astoria groaned inwardly while trying to salvage the remains of her throbbing scalp. "Would you stop fidgeting?" her sister asked sharply.

"I can't help it, this thing is stabbing me." Astoria complained and she could barely breathe for the tightness of her emerald satin gown. It was so deeply green that it in the certain light it was black and she though that it was pretty. But if only her mother hadn't insisted on her corset being so unbearably tight, she seemed to think that if she passed out over supper that she would land a mate.

Oh, sorry, this wasn't a zoo. This was a farm and she was going to be passed around like a fresh plump cow to leering old men and their nasty sons until one of them took pity on her and married her.

When she could return to Hogwarts and lock herself in her dorm, her own private dorm in the far east of the school, would be a reprieve from this torture. She would happily drown herself once she got there but the fact that she had a private dorm wasn't nearly as luxurious as it sounded.

Astoria hated it very much but it was still necessary for her safety because no one could find out her family's secrets. Emily took her long pale fingers to her hair and loosened the comb for her but as she did so, a few tendrils of her hair escaped, creating a wispy cloud around her pale face. "There. Now that is lovely, simply lovely," she said happily.

The only thing lovely about her right now was her eyes, the only things that weren't pinched or prodded or raw from ceaseless rubbing. But even they were starting to ache, her eyelashes had been curled and she'd been stabbed in the eye with coal to make the violet tint in them stand out even more, "I'm not lovely." Astoria mumbled.

"You sure aren't," Scorpious suddenly said as he lounged against the wall, his blonde head bowed against his chest. He looked dashing in a set of dark robes, the color making him appear like a heroic prince from a fairy tale, "take it from me, Stori. Being ugly will spare you."

Emily glanced at Scorpius and gave him an annoyed frown, her own perfect blonde brows shooting up. The cherry red gown she wore was snugly fit around her slender body and Astoria thought that she made a beautiful figure, "You're not ugly by any means, Scorpius!" she said sternly. "It's that uglyattitude of yours that's keeping you from getting married!"

"Married," Scorpius said with a sneer, his distaste enough to make the hairs on the back of Astoria's neck stand up. He quirked an insolent brow at their sister's outraged expression, his lips tilting up in a mocking smirk, "Merlin, I'll take a knife to my vein before I ever even consider doing something like that with one of those stupid pureblood girls."

Just then, their parents walked into the living room where they had been huddled, the house reeking of secrets and comfort. Scorpious straightened up from the wall and smoothed out his black robes and probably died just as much as Astoria did with the look their father sent them, "You all look fantastic," Maximus Greengrass said happily while smoothing a hand over his own gleaming black hair.

Astoria watched as her mother placed her hand on his arm and smiled up at him in that way that could reduce any man to butter. When she tried to do it, she appeared constipated, "Wipe that horrible look from your face this instant, Astoria!" the woman snapped, her irritation more than clear.

"But Mum, we're going over that insufferable prat's mansion and my dress is too tight and I have the most unbearable itch between my—" Astoria trailed off as Scorpius roared with laughter. Emily just gave her a revolted stare. "I'll try for your sake though, if it'll please you."

Dark green eyes narrowed dangerously but her mother noticed a stray lock of blonde hair and tucked it behind her ear. A diamond on her earlobe glittered and made Astoria's eyes hurt when it hit the lantern light. "That'll do, Astoria." She said tightly, giving a sort of exasperated sigh. "Are we all ready then?"

"Yes, I believe so." Her father replied calmly as he looked at his wristwatch, his blue eyes narrowed as if he thought the mechanism had had a lot of nerve to distract him. He had been busy earlier with last minute business, which had caused them to be a tad late to the party, "we'll just make it before they start getting seated for dinner and the children can relax and chat," he said and she rolled her eyes a bit. Emily glared at her before they all clasped hands and Disapparated.

They would have traveled by Floo but Astoria's mother hadn't wanted their dresses to get dirty. Their house-elf would be arriving a second or so later with their coats, and hopefully a bottle of poison so Astoria could contemplate the afterlife, it had been a bit chilly for an August night but she had been planning on hiding underneath her coat and vanishing into a hallway.

When their parents had given them the horrid news that they would be attending this blasted party last night at dinner, she'd nearly screamed with horror. After the shock had worn down, Astoria had feverishly planned on making herself comfortable in the closet and playing Exploding Snap with Scorpious, more than eager for the party to go on without them.

But apparently that wasn't going to happen tonight. Instead, they came to a sickening stop inside the cavernous foyer of Malfoy Manor and she felt her soul escaping her body as Lucius Malfoy and his pretty blonde wife crept up from around a corner, chatting in that phony way of theirs.

Astoria couldn't feel anything but disgust as she released her sister's hand, her parents shooting her a warning look that she ignored. Scorpius twitched with some biting comment but it failed immediately on his lips since there were a lot of people around, though his scowl remained, "You can hardly breathe from all the evil in here," he muttered to her after dropping their mother's delicate hand.

"Shouldn't some of these people be holding up bridges?" Astoria muttered back.

Scorpious snickered and their parents gave them both warning looks before he could reply, his shoulder's shaking. Emily had ignored them and was too busy smiling and giggling, she was already catching attention from a group of pureblood boys that were loitering in a corner together, looking dark and sickly.

Astoria mentally pitched herself from the highest window, imagining what her body would look like right when their father introduced them all. "…and I believe my youngest daughter goes to school with your son Draco, Lucius." He was saying merrily, though only she recognized the calculating warmth in it.

Her mother's eyes boring into her skull and Astoria forced herself to smile warmly, or as warmly as she could up at Lucius Malfoy. The man gave a polite smile and regarded her from a pair of cool grey eyes before she extended her hand, each nail was painted and filed and her fingers adorned with simple rings.

Revulsion roiled in Astoria's stomach and she squirmed inwardly as he took it and pressed his lips to her knuckles. She had a feeling that he might be enjoying it far more than she did, as he was a gentleman with the rags of a man on his body, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Greengrass." Mr. Malfoy murmured.

"Thank you," Astoria whispered and she hoped that the flush to her cheeks wasn't making her look as ill as she felt. Scorpious and Emily gave polite smiles as they were introduced and Mr. Malfoy kissed the knuckles of her mother's hand until she blushed a little, though it was obvious that her upper lip was trying not to curl.

Mrs. Malfoy smiled thinly at Astoria once the introductions were over and she knew why she was gathering that nasty look from her. Out of a household of purebloods, Astoria was the only half-blood in the entire home, "Ms. Greengrass, my son Draco has never mentioned you. Do you not get on well enough at school?"

To say that they didn't get along well in school would be saying that Scorpius was enjoying himself and Astoria tried not to frown. Draco Malfoy was nothing but a cruel, self-indulgent little bully but she knew that she could never tell his mother something like that and smiled just as thinly,"I'm afraid that we have different views while we're at school."

"Is that so?" Mrs. Malfoy asked coolly, raising a brow.

Astoria felt her annoyance spike but was aware of her parents and gave a demure little smile that she hoped would suffice. Hogwarts was already unbearable but her son made it so much harder than it needed to be but she pushed that truth aside, "He enjoys his Quidditch and I find myself in the library more often than I'd like."

This apparently seemed to soothe Mrs. Malfoy but her eyes darted over her figure a bit and then her face as if she found her repulsive. Astoria felt her eyes narrowing with dislike for the woman and the celebration that they were having, the Dark Lord having resided right under this very roof on more than one occasion as he took his War to the next level.

Although it would have been foolish to say so out loud, she abhorred it deeply, as did her brother but Emily's feelings were always muted. Whatever her feelings on the War were had been shut down deeply as she tried to gather a good match in a marriage and Astoria had never disliked her more for it.

The name Greengrass had been synonymous with wealth and power, almost as much power as the Malfoy's and the Blacks back in the day but over time, greed and poor management had left them with a poor fortune. More of a river than the vast ocean it used to be and her family longed to worm its way back into the folds of pureblood society but Astoria herself had never found it in herself to want it or need it.

Being half blood and therefore unable to really thrive on the advantages of a pureblood match, she had given up any pretense of trying. The secrets and lies of her family ran very deep and she found being around these pompous fools very stifling and she tried not to flip the woman off under her pretty little nose, "The children are in Draco's personal lounge if you'd like to get off your feet before supper." Mrs. Malfoy said kindly, or as kindly as she could.

Astoria raised her upper lip in a grimace of a smile but Scorpius held out his arm for her as Emily floated away to some of her pureblood friends that she couldn't stand. Their parents shot them one last warning look before they turned their attention back to the Malfoy's, their smiles as false as fog, "I'll escort you." Her brother whispered, sensing her horror.

They had been here on more than one occasion and Astoria had been in Malfoy's personal lounge more than once, each time more unbearable than the last. She had always found herself longing to sink into the floor or take the teapot and pour it over her head to bring some life into her numb scalp, "Merlin, thank you. I can't stand that woman, she's foul." Astoria murmured as they walked away.

"Indeed she is, but look at the extravagance!" Scorpius said, dripping disdain and foolishness and Astoria laughed a little. The Manor was very large with three levels of floors and filled to the brim with opulence, grace and many things that she would never be able to afford.

Every inch of the slick marble floors sounded like bones as they walked down a corridor, portraits of past family members angling their heads at them. The party was filled with many people and the chatter was infectiously nasty and Astoria saw silly women twittering their fans and men puffing out their chests.

It reminded her of those historical romances that she secretly read from Muggle books and wondered why the Wizarding world tended to move so slowly. It was as if she were suddenly transported to the eighteenth century and at someone else's house, it would have been very entertaining.

But Astoria found it rather dull as they walked, her ribs feeling as if they were about to be snapped in two from her corset. If she didn't get this horrible dress off of her soon, she would fall face forward into her bowl of pea soup, though she doubted if she would drown, "Will you stay with me and spare me the horror of being alone with Malfoy and his nasty little friends? His ego can grow so big that we'd suffocate." Astoria said and her older brother laughed.

"I hear that men like that are often compensating for something they lack," Scorpious replied wisely and seeing her confusion, he gave her an affectionate look. "Not for your tender ears yet, Stori but you won't have to worry about someone like Malfoy, his ego is all he really has."

Astoria thought that that was more than true but she couldn't help but think that there was a dark streak in Malfoy. Over the years she had noticed how fixated he could become, how certain he was to have whatever he wanted and the thought chilled her until she found herself changing the topic, "Are you staying here?" Scorpious's face became mockingly innocent. "Or are you going to see your girlfriend?"

Scorpius had a Muggle girlfriend that lived in the city and showed him the wonders of movies and all of those other silly things that Astoria found herself liking. On those rare moments when they had been able to sneak out of the house to visit, she had always been left feeling wondrous and only a bit envious, "I will so long as you don't tell Mother and Father," he said, adopting Malfoy's arrogant tone perfectly and she giggled.

The giggle faltered as they came to the end of the hallway and heard laughter coming from a tall, heavy door. There was a bright yellow light spilling out from the crack in the frame, like the entrance to Hell with laughter filtering from it and Astoria felt her upper lip rising as she imagined the imps that were loitering on the inside. "Well at leastyou'll be having a fun time." She grumbled.

Scorpius grinned arrogantly. "I'll take you with us to the movies and then to a theme park some other time but you know how Mum and Dad are gunning for you and Emily to make a good match." They wanted him to make a good match as well with pretty pureblood girls but he had made his attempt at that very well- known.

Astoria inhaled a bit, which was hard to do in the condition that her ribs were in as her brother pushed the door open to find a large, elegantly wrapped room. It was packed with Malfoy and his friends, eight of them in all and dressed to perfection in dress robes and expensive gowns. Most of the people here she hated from school.

They were chatting and talking to one another, pompously seated in leather armchairs or other furniture in the room. Parkinson was lying on a chaise with her legs drawn up and a smile on her pug-like face and Astoria groaned, perhaps too loudly because Malfoy angled his head at them.

He had had his back to them as he'd talked to Crabbe and Goyle, two of the biggest, nastiest Death Eater children around and that Zabini boy. Scorpious sneered around at Theodore Nott as he sat lazily in an armchair, his hands gripping a stem of wine as he eyed some other girl that Astoria didn't know, taking in her short brown hair and the brilliant green eyes.

There was another girl with very red hair and a voluptuous figure eying Zabini with interest and she frowned with distaste. Astoria didn't know her name but boys had leered that she was a very experienced and pleasing pastime and she shuddered a bit as she took in her slinky purple gown and the length of leg that she was showing off.

Astoria was jerked away from the sight as Malfoy sneered. "Well, well. I was wondering what that smell was." His voice wasn't necessarily deep but it had a cultured air to it that always reminded her of a very conceited prince, the words going down the center of her spine like mice.

"Might be your natural scent Malfoy." Scorpius replied kindly and Astoria giggled behind her hand and saw Malfoy's eyes glance at her, filled with hatred. They had nothing but dislike between them and it was obvious that he hadn't forgotten over the summer, "touch one hair on her head and I'll flay you alive, every last one of you and I'd enjoy wiping that smug grin off your face for a change."

There was a thick silence because while he smiled, his blue eyes were as hard as granite and Astoria felt quite safe. Eventually though, Malfoy angled his head in a way that suggested that she would be in one piece physically when he returned and Scorpious smiled down at her, raised her hand and kissed her knuckles.

"You know what to do if you need me." Scorpius whispered and she nodded.

Astoria allowed her fingers to slide from his as he sauntered away and she watched his gleaming blonde hair shining in the light from the fireplace. The brick foundation was so large that it seemed to stretch to the ceiling, causing her to think that it must have gotten chillier outside for it to be lit.

She jumped just a little as the door clicked closed, knowing that it wouldn't be right to cry and call Scorpious back. Her brother's mind was on the girl that he had fallen in love with and she felt a stab of envy, it had to be more than lovely to find solace in someone that obviously made every single day brighter.

An ugly silence issued and her scalp was burning, the corset taking what little oxygen she had away. "Sit down then, Half and Half." Malfoy sneered at her when she simply stood on the elegant Persian carpet and mentally hung herself, some childish part of her wanting to run after her older brother and cling to his robes.

"I wish that you would stop calling me that, Malfoy. It makes your inner evil shine each time," Astoria murmured delicately, walking further into the room. It had an unnerving sense of debauchery and sensuality hanging around it, cleverly packaged and adorned with expensive objects to cover up the fact that Malfoy probably did very inappropriate things here.

If the rumors were true and Emily had heard quite a few of them, he had had quite a few experiences on that chaise that Parkinson was on. And on the windowsill to that ridiculously large window or the armchair that Nott was sitting in, the very thought making her shudder with revulsion.

Astoria knew that every single wall had his stain on them somehow and had even caught him hiking some girl up against one the last time she'd been here. It had been quite embarrassing. She'd thought that she'd been escaping the horror of his parents and the leering old men and had sought this horrible room out as sanctuary but she had turned round and saw a lot more of him than she had wanted to. Ever since then she had wanted to keep her distance.

Not only had it been mortifying to see but Malfoy had kept his dirty little eyes on her even more than he did already at school. It had never quite made sense to her on why he seemed to find her so intriguing but he'd never ceased trying to find out more about her, thinking that various things about her were very bizarre.

Although it was true, Astoria couldn't have him sneaking around her family's secrets and she'd tried her best to get him to leave her alone. But Malfoy was unnervingly resilient and determined and arrogantly thought that his charm, wealth and appearance was enough to sway her into relaxing her guard and somehow spilling the truth.

Passion was his main weapon however and he seemed to think that that would be able to get her to talk about her secrets. Astoria was scared of that sort of thing and she would never find herself wrapped up in the arms of Malfoy so long as she was living and breathing, no matter how romantic she could be.

The very thought of being romantically involved with Malfoy made her want to gag, a slug possessed more charm. A faint grin spread over her lips as she thought of the man that she would like to marry... the type of man that she wanted was so very different, he would most likely be Muggle-born.

Handsome with dark hair to match hers and a nice smile that could light up an entire room until it was bathed in happiness. Astoria sighed dreamily, imagining that this imaginary husband would buy her books and take her on long trips over every scrap of the country until she was spoiled rotten.

At night, he would give her amazing, gentle kisses that made her head swim even though she really had no idea what such a kiss could be like. There had only been a few pecks over the years but Astoria imagined that a real kiss from someone that loved her would lead to things that she really didn't understand...tender caresses that made her float on a cloud, her heart filled with peace.

But Malfoy made her want to strangle herself. His touch was slimy and his mouth had been on far too many things for her liking, "Are you going to sit down or not?" Malfoy jeered and she glared at him. "My God, you're gaping and fawning like you've never been in a room this large before."

"I was merely considering strangling myself Malfoy and now you've broken my concentration. You should be ashamed of yourself," Astoria snapped and watched as the others raked her dress, her hair, her face and her shape, as if she were a prime piece of steak.

Parkinson sneered and Astoria studied her for a moment, knowing that she was very rich, supposedly an only child of very cruel parents and mean. Sadly, she seemed to think that her wealth gained her a bit of an upper hand on lowly mortals such as herself, "Half and Half," she said jeeringly.

"Ms. Pug, as charming as ever," Astoria snarled back and that effectively put the girl in her place, being known far and wide as no beauty. The red-haired girl pursed her lips meanly as she settled herself on a little chair near Blaise Zabini, her skin prickling oddly at being so close to someone that she had rarely heard even speak.

Zabini was tall and had beautiful brown skin that glowed in the firelight, his features handsome but a tad smug. Astoria ignored him as she felt his dark eyes flicker to her with curiosity, as if he had felt that same sensation of his skin prickling before she began wondering how it would feel if she slit her wrists.

"I'm surprised that your family was invited." Nott said smoothly as he angled his dark blonde head at her. Astoria had always found his light brown eyes to be slightly unnerving, as if they were empty of a soul, "I thought they were only inviting wealthy families, Draco."

That stung but she knew that his own family would soon be suffering the after effects of debt. It would happen as soon as his mother learned that his father was busy gambling their fortune away but Astoria knew this because her father had told them about it over dinner, sounding quite pitying about their fate.

The fact that he had somehow obtained this information hadn't been a surprise for her but she merely pursed her lips now, her head hurting painfully. "I suppose Father has to take a bit of pity where he can." Malfoy said calmly while running his eyes unnervingly down the length of her throat.

Zabini grunted something and relaxed in the armchair that he was sitting in, his long fingers stroking the material of the arm. Astoria had never spoken to him or had heard him talk much but he changed the topic almost as if she weren't there at all, "Before we were interrupted, we were having a conversation, weren't we?" he asked and she had a feeling that he had found the previous talk rather dull. "Go on, Draco about the Dark Lord,"

Astoria felt revulsion bubbling inside of her and saw Malfoy take his eyes away from her throat before saying pompously. "He's settled quite nicely in with us, as you know, Blaise." He said pointedly and Zabini rolled his eyes, "Father says that we have to keep a lot of our meetings a secret because we'd never know who's really a spy and who's really loyal."

Parkinson simpered a bit before trying to capture Malfoy's attention, her eyes holding all the love in the world. Astoria had never understood her interest in him and rolled her eyes, heaved a sigh that made Zabini's finger cease their stroking of the arm of his chair, a smirk coming across his mouth. "But you have to tell us something Draco. We're all friends here!" Parkinson said and then her eyes flickered to Astoria, "at least,some of us are."

"I'm envious of your outstanding friendship, my apparent jealousy is written all over my face." Astoria said calmly while looking at her nails and hoping that the nail polish wouldn't be too much of a burden to have magically removed later. "Go on, Malfoy, woo me."

For some reason, the words caused a flush to spread to his cheeks and Nott thumped his hands on his legs and said wearily. "I've had enough with business for one night, Draco if you don't mind." His eyes were on the pureblood girl with the brown hair and green eyes as he said loudly, "Let's play a game!"

Astoria wondered what poison tasted like.

Malfoy looked put out that the attention had been taken from him but a cunning smile formed over his face and he rubbed idly at his chin before suggesting. "Let's play hide-and-go-seek." Astoria snorted with a laugh that she hastily covered up when Zabini glanced at her, his dark eyes twinkling just a little.

Apparently though, the game was one that they had played quite often and Parkinson clapped happily to herself and sat upright on the chaise. The low cut of her gown was displaying far too much cleavage in her opinion, it was a nasty looking pink that reminded her of dead, rotten flesh.

The thought made her think of maggots just as her head began to pound, distracting her and Astoria grappled with the comb in her hair and tried to nudge it looser. She succeeded after a few deft tugs and her hair came almost undone, heavy locks falling onto her sweaty neck, "Draco, are you all right?" Parkinson suddenly asked and Astoria looked up to see that his eyes had become dark and heavy. The sight of them on her hair made her recoil with terror, "perhaps you're very eager for the game."

Malfoy snapped out of his thoughts and smiled a bit and Astoria had a feeling that that was what demons smirked like. "I am, actually. We can play after supper is over and the adults are busy but try not to give us away, Pansy." He warned playfully and Astoria raised her upper lip.

"It wasn't my fault last time!" Parkinson said fiercely and Nott laughed. "I was too excited you'd catch me and I had no idea that my parents were listening in when I'd made that unladylike comment."

Astoria didn't want to know what the comment had been. It made Crabbe and Goyle grunt with laughter and she knew that it couldn't be anything good but Zabini didn't look too interested in playing either as he said, "I'm out this time, Draco. I'd rather hear about it afterward."

"Scared, Blaise?" Malfoy asked with a superior sneer.

"Scared ofwhat?" Zabini asked threateningly.

Malfoy angled his head at Astoria. "Of getting a match that you don't want? We can't have our dirty little intruder tainting that family tree," he said in a whisper and Astoria glared at him and watched as his eyes flicked to her mouth before he turned away. "I've never known you to pass up an opportunity."

"I'll play then." Zabini said tightly while the red head in the room moved closer to the group, her hips swaying sensually. Astoria was reminded of a siren, "you as well, Samantha? I wasn't sure if this was your idea of entertainment." He said to her with enough sarcasm to flood a small valley.

The red-headed girl gave him a very provocative look that earned nothing but a blank stare in return, her pouty lips forming a warm smile. "I'm a Travers, Blaise. We can't just sit around while everyone else has the fun," she murmured with a sweetly crafted laugh, her eyes running over him as if she wanted nothing more than to lick him.

Travers…Astoria thought with disgust. That was a name that she had heard quite often from her fathers' contacts, the siren's father was a known Death Eater and had had a nasty habit of murdering his wives shortly after they were married to get his claws on their money.

Samantha Travers had that same calculating evil in her and she smiled prettily, her eyes twinkling like paste jewels. "Your father won't be pleased when he finds out what you're getting yourself into this time," Parkinson warned gravely, though she had a look on her face that suggested she wouldn't quite mind.

"My father doesn't have to know everything that I do, Pansy." Travers shot back at the girl before focusing her eyes on Zabini again, the sight making Astoria stiffen a bit at the blatantly sexual look. The boy appeared politely revolted, "and you'll see that I can be a very good sport," she purred and Astoria felt bile in her throat.

Malfoy glanced at the girl with disinterest and Astoria knew that he had a hatred for anyone with red hair. The entire Weasley family sported it nicely and they were known to be blood traitors. "I meant Greengrass," he said dryly.

Zabini looked away from Travers with barely concealed disgust but it was difficult to see what had revolted him. Astoria didn't think he he cared anymore about half-blood witches than his moronic companions, "I see," he said to Malfoy, "we can't have that happening no matter how much we want it, now can we?" he asked pointedly.

Malfoy flushed a bit pink at this but it was from annoyance. "True," he said crisply and in a warning tone that caused Crabbe and Goyle to sneer at each other as if hoping for a bloodbath. "Well?" he asked Zabini.

Astoria wondered what the tension between them was all about but she had a feeling that Zabini despised Malfoy and that caused her to smirk a bit. She apparently wasn't the only one and she looked at Zabini and saw that his eyes were running over her critically, going to her heaving chest and then back to her face. "Are you in, Greengrass?" he whispered.

If her parents found out that she had stabbed them in the eye with the heels of her shoes, they would disown her so she said, for their sakes. "Yes," though she intended on being very, very far away.

Malfoy's lips tilted upwards in a challenging sneer before he stood up and stretched, Astoria wondering why someone had blessed him with such a nice physique that he didn't deserve. Tall and strapping but she supposed that his father had appeared just so before he had starting sinking his teeth into every vulnerable woman in the area.

"Let me get the bag." He said while walking to a large bookshelf and moving aside some novels and reaching into a small hole. "If my parents found out how we spend our evenings, they'll stop letting me have you all over."

Astoria looked over warily to see a small bag in his hands that he rattled around, the red fabric appearing like a bloody and bleeding heart, tied off with a gold string. Malfoy sauntered back over to the eager group and opened it and took out a small, square piece of wood that was colored a deep black, "Now, for those of you who don't know what the game really is, I'll waste my time explaining it."

Every eye turned to her and her brow quirked and she fanned herself a bit, wanting the corset strings to be loosened. The powder room would have house-elves and she could have them take it loose for her so she wouldn't drown in pea soup, "Go on," Astoria said dryly.

Malfoy's eyes were on her for a while longer after everyone else had looked away and she felt as if ghosts were doing a waltz on her spine. He held up the black piece of wood with a smirk, "Now, this is just a simple matching tool. Each piece of wood is a different color with a different instruction on the back. This one says, "bite"," he said cheekily and Parkinson and her other friend giggled. "The mate to it will be blank."

"Why?" Astoria demanded. "So the other person has to allow some random stranger to sink their teeth into them and not fight back?" she asked hotly.

Nott leaned forward in his chair and she saw his dark eyes going over her, as if taking in her scent and she recoiled. "I smell a virgin in the room. Now it really gets interesting."

Astoria wondered how quickly she could contact Scorpious. Emily would be too busy flirting and giggling to save her and she wondered if she had ever played this game before. "That is apparently the object of the game, Greengrass." Malfoy said calmly, "if you get caught by the person who has the instruction then you have to let them have their way."

"But that's wrong!" Astoria cried hotly. Parkinson laughed jeeringly and Nott gave her a look, "you're all mental!" it was almost so disgusting that she couldn't grasp that she was even in the same room with them.

Malfoy rattled the bag. "Scared?" Astoria frowned at him and felt herself blushing. "You said that you were in, so you're in, Half and Half. And you'd better pray that Goyle doesn't get you. He likes to chew," he said and the boy laughed a little, as if he found it very funny.

Astoria would make sure that she was far from the room and turned her nose up at him and tried to say with some dignity. "I'll play, Malfoy. You don't scare me." Zabini gave her a pitying look as Malfoy rattled the bag again, placing the black piece back inside and shaking it up rather well.

Parkinson and her friend were bouncing in their seats and Astoria hoped that she didn't get a girl, they were all so mental, all so horribly twisted in the head. "All right," Malfoy murmured silkily as he opened the bag and held it out to Nott, "you first, mate."

"Let me get "suck", Ilove getting that one." Nott said as he waggled his brows and Astoria reeled away in her seat, hoping against all that was holy that she wouldn't match his color. When he reached inside of the bag, he pulled out a pink piece and frowned, ""tickle"?" he read annoyingly.

Malfoy laughed a bit and held out the bag to the unknown girl in the room and said with a cajoling smile. "C'mon Mary, your sister Millicent is all the way outside chatting it up with Rowle. She can't save you this time." He whispered devilishly.

Astoria had a feeling that she was younger than they were, explaining somewhat why she hadn't really recognized her but the name Bulstrode reminded her of pain. Mary Bulstrode didn't look at all like her bull-like sister and she recalled that Emily had told her that their mother had had an affair before she had been born, which would explain her shocking appearance.

Regardless, the two girls were daughters of Death Eaters as well and she paled considerably as the girl reached inside and took out a purple piece. Nott frowned deeply and Mary Bulstrode looked at it and pouted, "It's blank. Apparently my fate us up to someone else tonight, Draco,"

Malfoy smiled in a pitying way before holding the bag over to Parkinson and she reached eagerly inside of it and pulled out a pink piece and frowned. "Not again!" she said and Nott rolled his eyes and sank moodily into his seat, not very pleased with this turn of events.

Zabini sighed wearily and Astoria felt his eyes on her hair and she glanced up at him and narrowed her eyes warningly. A grin was playing across his mouth that she thought was almost playful though it was hard to tell, "Scared?" he whispered.

"Of course not," Astoria shot back.

That earned her another grin and she watched as the firelight played across his brown skin and for just a moment her heart skipped a beat. Astoria flushed a bit in annoyance, thinking that his dark eyes were almost hypnotic, "There's no reason to lie, I understand that this is probably more frightening than anything else that might happen tonight." The boy replied, obviously mocking her.

Astoria frowned warningly and it only seemed to amuse him further, though the others didn't seem to notice this little bit of conversation. Malfoy's eyes darted between them briefly at some point but he said nothing, only scowled, "You make it sound like I'm about to be sacrificed," she snapped.

"I wouldn't be surprised if they tried to, you should be careful. Not all of them are just going to play tonight," Zabini replied calmly and she saw his eyes glance at Malfoy, who was watching her once again. Astoria's upper lip curled before she glared at him again, wondering what sort of game he was playing, "or be gentle about it."

"Like you're any different," Astoria replied coolly.

Zabini's eyes flashed warningly and it made her think of dungeons and rooms that were set far underground, away from humanity. "Careful, Greengrass that sharp mouth might get you into trouble with the wrong person if you don't watch your step," he said just as coolly, his brows raising as if he found her to be reckless.

"Bite me, Zabini." Astoria hissed back.

"Careful, you may get your wish." Zabini whispered back with a little wink that caused her to wonder if someone were being tortured several miles away. The brief bit of outrage she'd seen in his eyes was gone but before she could answer him, there was a loud bark of a laugh that broke whatever moment they'd had.

"Purple, Crabbe!" Malfoy suddenly crowed and Mary Bulstrode looked very nervous and sickly. Astoria looked around uncomfortably, wondering how she had allowed Zabini to distract her from the real monsters in the room, "what's it say?"

""Touch"," Crabbe said in his surprisingly quiet voice, though it was by no means gentle.

Astoria felt very sorry for Mary Bulstrode.

Malfoy turned to Samantha Travers with a challenging grin and she smiled at him a bit before reaching into the bag and taking out the black piece from earlier. "I was hoping to get that one myself," he murmured and Astoria felt spiders moving under her skin as he glanced in her direction.

Shaking the bag a bit, he turned to Zabini and watched as his eyes glanced warily between Astoria and Travers, a nasty frown on his face. Astoria watched as Zabini smiled thinly at him before reaching inside and pulling out the matching black piece. "Damn," he whispered.

"I just noticed that we don't have enough girls," Malfoy said, there being only four girls and five boys in the room. He looked thoughtful but just then, the door opened and Millicent Bulstrode strolled in, larger than a normal woman should be and Astoria recoiled in revulsion as she stomped over. "Ah, we were just talking about you."

"Not that game again," Bulstrode said dryly.

Malfoy winked at her and held the bag up imperiously. "Come on. Try your luck."

Bulstrode said with a slight smirk that made her wide mouth look like a frog's smile. "I'll play just this one time because I'm bored and it seems like Mary's already gotten into it without thinking first." She sounded disapproving before she reached her beefy hand into the bag and pulled out a red blank and frowned a little, "I hope it's not "nibble" this time."

Goyle was looking quite nervous and Astoria didn't really blame him as Malfoy held out the bag under his nose and said with a smile. "Test your fate, Greg," there was something very mocking about it but she wasn't certain if that were anything particularly unusual for him, he seemed to like bullying even his friends.

Astoria watched as Goyle reached inside and pulled out the matching red piece and groaned irritably. "It is "nibble"" and Bulstrode kicked at the floor and made herself look all the more mannish.

Malfoy now turned to her. The bag was rattling around in his hand and she could hear two more pieces and knew that no matter what she got, she would not enjoy it. For a moment she considered taking herself elsewhere and fleeing but there was a nasty look in his eye that would have been too cruel to ignore.

As if he could read her mind and he smiled challengingly and watched as she reached inside the bag, wondering if she would be bitten or struck down before pulling out a simple white piece. She looked at it, feeling it chipping into her fingers and it looked very well used and she frowned before Malfoy reached inside and pulled out the match.

Parkinson frowned and then asked curiously, "They change each time. What did you get, Draco?" Astoria felt her fingers burning and she found herself getting very dizzy and wondered if she were going to faint.

But Malfoy smiled happily, holding up the white piece and twirling it around in his hands as if he were already stroking her skin and she felt bile rising in her throat as his grey eyes flicked to her violet ones. "Aren't you in for a treat, Half and Half?" he purred. "You get to be kissed tonight."