"Oh—Narcissa! Lovely to see you." Mother's friend raised her arms in the air, and gave Mother a short hug with her bone-wreckingly thin arms. "How have you been?"

"I've been fine, thank you," Mother said politely. "This is Draco, my son." She put a hand behind her back, and pushed me forward.

I huffed quietly. She could have been a little gentler.

"Draco Malfoy. Aw, you are such a good looking young man. I'm Mrs. Woods. Very nice to meet you," she said, grinning widely. It looked like she had had practice on smiling so largely. It was actually quite hypnotizing, her smile.

I blinked. "Nice to meet you, too, Mrs. Woods."

Her smile didn't appear to be able to fade. She gave me a quick, curt nod, and then turned back to Mother. "Here – I made tea. My daughter's supposed to be down in a minute or two; I apologize for that . . . she's very stubborn." That's when she stopped smiling. She let out an exasperated sigh, and rubbed her forehead like she had a headache.

Mother made me sit down at a little wooden table. Mrs. Woods sat down on the opposite side, and poured us both tea. I looked around the little house. It appeared to be very cramped; the windows were at a slant on the wall, the kitchen area seemed to overlap, and the dining set looked like it was made for dwarves. As I looked around the house, my house was filled with disgust – how could anyone live like this? I let out a quiet scowl.

Fortunately, it was too quiet for Mother to hear.

I listened to Mother speak to Mrs. Woods for just a few minutes before I found it completely uninteresting. I was about ready to fall asleep – actually, I was on the verge of it. I held my head up straight with the palm of my hand as I leaned against the table. But I was jolted awake at the sound of footsteps pounding down the stairs.

"Oh, there you are!" Mrs. Woods called, twisting around in her seat, her blonde hair spinning around her face.

Behind the wall came a girl. She would have just been one of those average girls you see everyday – straight blonde hair, average height and weight . . . but she looked my way immediately, and I at an instant noticed her piercing green eyes.

If Mrs. Woods smile had hypnotized me, I was practically a servant just at a glance to the girl's eyes. I was quiet as she walked over, and she plopped down beside her mother, letting out a breath.

"Hello," Mother said in a curt tone.

"Hi," she replied, not taking her stare away from me at all.

Surprisingly, her intent gaze didn't seem to uproot me at all. Actually, I found myself quite confident – though I didn't have the nerve to speak to her. However, I didn't need to worry about that. She spoke for herself.

"So," she said, shifting slightly in her seat. "What's your name?"

"Draco," I said, leaning forward a bit. The corners of my mouth curved upwards, and I grinned slightly.

She gave a quiet, shaky laugh. "I'm Bianca."

I sat upright in bed, and wiped my forehead.

What was that?

I glanced over at the clock to the right of me, and saw it was nearly time for classes. But I didn't necessarily care. I was thinking about skipping classes today, anyways. So I settled down back in my bed. I wasn't really looking forward to my next dreams.

BIANCA'S POINT OF VIEW . . .

The noise of people talking filled the air. I shoved my plate of food away, knowing that I wasn't very hungry. This breakfast in the Great Hall hadn't been going so well – everyone had been staring at me. I gulped, and glanced briefly at Ron.

He was talking to Harry, looking as if he was indulged in an intent conversation.

I let out a sigh and pulled at the ends of my hair. It was a bad habit that I'd never gotten over.

"So," a voice said from across the table.

I looked up. George.

"I never thought you'd go for my brother," George said, striking a smirk.

"Yeah," Fred chimed in, "I always thought you'd go for me."

I rolled my eyes, and laughed slightly. "I'd rather be stuck talking to Malfoy for a day."

"Really?" Fred asked, letting out a mock gasp.

This time, I really did laugh. "No, not really. Why?"

"Because he's coming this way now," George said, nodding his head towards the Slytherin table.

"What?" I said. "No he's not. Really?"

"Look for yourself."

Instead, I didn't. I ducked my head down in my folded arms, and soon enough I heard footsteps from behind me. I let out a loud groan, hoping he'd hear me.

"Woods." Yes, definitely Malfoy. His voice was all too familiar.

"Leave me alone, Malfoy," I said, lifting my head up slightly so he'd hear me.

"How'd you know it was me?"

I glanced up, and saw George hopping in his seat. I would've laughed, but having Malfoy right behind me destroyed my sense of humor. Fred nudged George in the ribs, and he sat down.

"Your brother wants me to ask you something," Malfoy continued.

I rolled my eyes, and lifted my head. "Then why doesn't he ask me himself?"

"Because he's a lazy ass. Is that what you wanted to hear?"

I spun around in my seat, shooting Draco a death-glare. "Not quite," I huffed. "What do you want to ask me?"

I caught him staring at everyone around me. "I'd prefer to ask you . . . alone."

"Okay, fine," I said, thoroughly annoyed. I tried to think of everything that could go wrong, but knew there wasn't enough time for that. "But if this takes more than five minutes, I have my wand," I threatened.

I stood up, shot him another glare, and led the way out of the Great Hall. Once the wooden doors were closed behind us, I turned around and looked him in the face.

"Okay. Speak, dog." I crossed my arms over my chest.

"I think I'll ignore that."

My mouth twisted up into a smirk – much like the one Malfoy liked to wear.

"Zabini heard that you slept with that Weasley boy."

I rolled my eyes. Did Malfoy just want my attention? "I already told you yesterday. I did not." I was being stern—harsh—but that's what Malfoy had treated me like for what felt like forever. I couldn't even remember a good side of Draco Lucius Malfoy.

"Then why does practically the whole school think so?" he asked. He wore an evil smile – he must have thought I was nothing under that look.

"Because they're idiots that listen to the works of Finnegan, Flint, Zabini, and apparently you." I was still cross, and I was intending on keeping that attitude. "I don't have time for this, okay, Malfoy? My life isn't a game. You can do whatever you want with yours, but leave me out of it." I let out a heavy, aggravated sigh, and pushed past Malfoy back into the Great Hall.