In many years to come, people would ask him why he took relish in pushing her just that bit too much. Why would he, claiming to fancy the socks off of her, always have a biting comeback ready for her clever insults? Why would he, having asked her out nearly a thousand times, be snogging another girl in a broom closet a couple of hours later?
Perhaps he'd tell you that he enjoyed seeing the fire light up in her eyes. The way that her emerald coloured doe eyes would narrow threateningly towards him and her lips would compress into a tight line. The way her nose would scrunch up in anger and disgust, made him want her even more.
Maybe he'd tell you that after his large ego took a beating when she rejected his offerings for a Hogsmeade companionship, he'd do pretty much anything to save his pride. He'd explain that a bloke couldn't be blamed for seeking refuge when the girl he sought after rejected him day after day for years. That, while the other girls were never like her, they brought a numbness that he needed.
And he wouldn't by lying exactly.
Of course not.
They were all logically sound reasons for the questions they asked.
Because how could he explain, that the reason that he'd always have a biting comeback prepared and be snogging another girl a couple of hours after his declaration of love was not because of how attractive she was when she was angry, or because his ego needed some healing.
No.
How could he explain that the reason for the way he treated her, all of those years, was because her anger and hatred was better than the indifference he would receive if he didn't have a biting comeback or another girl at his arm?
How could he tell these curious questioners that he preferred the girl he loved to hate and abhor him rather than not acknowledge his existence?
Because as he looks at her now, her eyes sparkling, her lips widened showing all teeth and her nose crinkled in laughter, he realises that a life without her, even if it was just so that they could have a row, would kill him.
So when she asks why he made her life a living hell at school, he swoops her in for a passionate kiss and says, "Because you are so hot when you're angry."