Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

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The next day, as she woke up, Emma felt a lot better about everything. Yes, he had been rude. Too rude! But she had also had a great time. Her potion! She was so excited about her potion! And the kisses had been great too. Maybe they could do it again sometime. But then on her terms, obviously. And of course, he'd better apologize too.

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Tom also felt a little better when he woke up the next day, although apologizing was just about the last thing on his mind. The girl was a bitch, no doubt. And she would pay dearly for that one day, he'd make sure of that! But that potion was amazing! It could really be useful. He would just have to make sure that she wouldn't go blabbing about it all over the place, he wanted it to be something that belonged to him only. He didn't want any of his enemies getting their hands on it. Or his friends, for that matter, as you would never know if your 'friends' wouldn't be your 'enemies' one day. So he would have to talk to her, as soon as possible.

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Emma was hanging out in the common room. She had just finished getting dressed, and was waiting for her friend Jarinda to come and get her for breakfast. Jarinda had just run out to the library for a moment, to get a book.

Jarinda now stumbled into the common room, breathing heavily and clearly highly excited. "Emma, Emma!" she yelled.

Emma looked up at her in surprise.

"Emma," Jarinda shrieked again, "guess who's outside, waiting for you!" She was actually jumping up and down now. "It's him, it's him!!!"

Emma gave her a disdainful look. What the heck was wrong with these girls? Going nuts over a boy? But she had to admit she did feel a flutter in her stomach. He must have come to apologize! She smiled inwardly and climbed out of the entrance.

"Hey Tom," she said with a smile as she casually strolled over to him.

He wasn't smiling, and could not understand why she was. Maybe she was going to apologize? He decided to perform Legilimency on her, as she stood there staring at him, with that stupid grin on her mouth. He found himself staring at her even more, after that. The woman really was an idiot! She actually expected him to apologize? Now who slapped who, here?

Emma folded her arms, as he didn't seem to do anything but stare at her. "Well?" she said, no longer smiling but looking puzzled instead.

"We need to talk," he said, barely containing his anger. He felt like dragging her by her hair, dumping her in a deserted class room, and hitting her with a nice dose of the Cruciatus Curse. But he couldn't do that. Not yet. He just had to be patient, and then everything would work out for him, just like it always did.

"Alright," she said. "Then talk!"

"Not here."

"I am not going to that place with you anymore."

He sighed. "Fine! We'll go somewhere else. Just follow me, ok?"

She hesitated for a moment. Should she go? She had a feeling he wasn't going to apologize, or he would have done it already. But you never know, and she might as well see what he had to say for himself. So she followed him to a deserted classroom.

Tom was silent on the way. He knew he had to make peace with this girl somehow, if he wanted her to keep quiet about the potion. But she was bugging the hell out of him! Oh well, he would have to sacrifice himself a little for the greater good, he thought. He would just make up for it later.

He held the door of the classroom open for her and she walked in. He couldn't help giving her a playful slap on her bottom as she walked past, to which she gave a little yelp, and shot him an angry look. He just grinned and closed the door behind them.

He leaned back against the door as she was standing in front of him, her arms folded, waiting expectantly. "Emma," he finally began. "Listen, about that potion. I don't think you should tell anybody about it for the time being."

She looked puzzled. "Why not? I was going to tell Slughorn! Maybe I can still get my grade revised. I'll tell him you helped me with it."

He gave her a grim smile. That potion was worth a lot more than a few points on some dumb test, he thought. And Slughorn would be the first to recognize that. "Uh-uh," he said. "Don't tell him. I think we should work with it some more first. Do a few tests, change a few things. Find some applications. You can tell him eventually, but not for a while yet. Let's make it perfect first."

She narrowed her eyes. "Why? Isn't it perfect as it is?"

"I think it could be better," he said. "Have you told anyone about it yet?"

"Not yet. But I intend to tell my friends soon."

"Don't. Not yet. It'll be better if you don't, trust me!"

"Trust you?" she said with a skeptical look.

He laughed sarcastically. "Yes, me," he said, putting his arms around her. "You can trust me. I won't tell anyone either, it'll be our little secret!"

She looked up at him, still not completely convinced.

He started stroking her hair and gave her a small kiss on her forehead. Then he stared into her eyes for a little while. He could tell she was softening up a little.

"Oh, alright then," she said, finally. "For the time being..."

"Promise me you won't tell anybody until I tell you that you can," he said.

She frowned.

"Alright," he quickly corrected himself. "Then let us both promise that we won't tell anybody until we both agree that we can!"

She smiled now. "Okay, then. I promise!"

"Good," he said, letting go of her.

"Wait," she said, frowning again. "You forgot to promise!"

"I promise," he said quickly, as he moved towards the door.

"Tom," she called out to him just as he was about to open it.

He turned his upper body around to see her looking at him, her eyes sparkling.

"You may kiss me now," she breathed, as if it was a special treat that she was granting him.

The girl had some cheek! He thought about it for a moment. Then he turned around fully, leaned back against the door, folded his arms and looked straight at her. "Are you going to slap me again, then?"

He was hoping this comment would invoke some humility in her, but once again, he was wrong. She walked up to him, held his arms and gave him a little peck on his cheek. "Of course not, silly! I'm giving you permission, aren't I?"

"Alright, sweetheart," he said with a cheeky grin, as he picked her up, turned her around and used his body to pin her against the door. He lifted her chin up towards him. "So what, exactly, are you giving me permission for?"

She gulped. She felt kind of…trapped! And the way he was looking at her, his eyes so dark! He looked almost…dangerous? "Just…just to kiss me," she stammered.

'Good,' he thought to himself. She was stammering! He was finally causing her some anxiety. He liked that. He grinned at her. "That's it? Just to kiss you? Nothing else?"

She gave him a weak smile. "Well, er…for now…" she stammered again.

"And…is that just for today, or do I have permission to kiss you whenever I want now?"

She gave him a puzzled look.

"I don't like to be slapped, you know," he said, in a harsh tone. "I would like to avoid that from ever happening again. So please be precise in telling me exactly what I can and cannot do."

She gulped. He seemed…angry, his piercing stare chilling her insides. "You, er…you could always ask, you know," she said meekly.

He laughed at her. "Ask?" he said, sarcastically. "You want me to ask you? As in, 'May I touch your boobs now, Emma?' 'Can I take your shirt off?' 'Can I take your pants off now?' 'Can I put my cock inside you?' "

She was finally blushing.

He continued to laugh as he looked at her. Much better, he thought. That's how he liked his girls, a little more humble. He pushed into her and roughly pressed his lips on hers. Then he kissed her, long and hard. She gasped at first, but then she gave in and responded to his kiss.

He pulled back. "Can we move on from this now?" he asked.

"Not…not yet," she said, looking a little frightened.

"Then when?"

He could feel her hand reaching out, trying to find the doorknob. "I'll let you know," she said. "I…I have to go."

He took a step back. Whatever, he thought to himself.

She made use of the opportunity to get out, as quickly as she could.

He gave an exasperated sigh. The girl was proving to be a bit of a challenge. But at least his potion was safe…for now.

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Emma felt a little apprehensive as she was walking back to her common room. There was something very strange about this boy, she thought as she felt a chill creeping up her spine. She wasn't really sure what to think of him. Yes, he was handsome. And charming…very charming, in fact. But at some point there, she had actually felt frightened of him! She shook her head. That was not good, not good at all. No boy should make you feel that way! Maybe she shouldn't be involved with him anymore?

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Tom made no effort to approach her again in the next few days. He wasn't exactly sure that she was worth the effort. There were plenty of other girls who were a lot more willing, and a lot more timid. But this one knew about his potion now and he had to make sure she would never tell anyone about it. Besides, she still had to pay for her insulting behavior towards him. There's no way he would let her get away with that! But there was no hurry. If he waited long enough, he knew she would come to him eventually.