AN: Okay so I suck at updates, I know, I keep forgetting about this story. I'm so sorry it's terrible of me, but I do have the next two chapters outlined, and I'm going to attempt to get those out before Saturday.

Chapter 6

As it was, Draco forwent his usual morning quidditch routine in favour of joining Amy, Blaise and much to his surprise Daphne; apparently he had missed out on something and kept shooting Blaise questioning looks whilst Amy looked nothing but overly smug at herself and this new development that had developed before his eyes.

It was Friday morning when Blaise started to question Amy about her weekend, if Draco didn't have the ball to actually ask her, well, maybe he could coax him into it.

"Are you going to Hogsmeade with anyone this weekend?" Blaise asked Amy, resolutely ignoring the look of contempt Draco was giving him.

Amy shook her head "nope, well, Nott asked me but I turned him down"

"Really?" Blaise asked looking perplexed, "Strange, I heard that you were going with Draco"

Amy quirked an eyebrow at the olive skinned boy, quickly catching onto to his little game. "Well, he's not asked me, and I don't presume to be going with someone without an invite of some description."

Blaise shrugged his shoulders, "Well if he hasn't got the balls..." he trailed off "You know, I would invite you to come with me but, I've already asked Daphne if she like to accompany me, but I'm sure Nott would ditch whichever tart he's found in a second for you"

Amy grinned, but not for the reasons currently flying through Draco's mind as if they'd been asked to try out the new Firebolt. She could almost feel the annoyance and underlying anger radiating from the blond as he and Blaise discussed her weekend.

"You know what Blaise, I might just do that"

Draco huffed, he was aware he was pouting as Amy stood from the table and announced she was going to head off early to Potions as she had a question for Professor Snape.

"You are cruel Zabini" Draco announced once Amy was out of hearing range "I mean, I was sitting right here beside the both of you. And seriously, persuading her to go crawling back to Nott for a date?"

Blaise shrugged "Then you should man up and ask her, because you know she will ask Nott if his offer still stands just to spite you"
"Well you could of sent her to anyone but! Nott only wants to get in her knickers, have his way with her and leave her in favour of his next victim once he's had her." Draco snarled in a loud whisper.

"Amy can hold her own Malfoy I don't know why you're getting your wand in such a not, it's not as if Amy wouldn't make it purposely clear to Nott that it's everything but a date. You almost make it sound like you care about her Malfoy"

"Yeah well Theodore Nott never was the brightest Kneazle in the Litter." Draco muttered as the first bell of the day went signalling the start of lessons, which meant Potions for Amy, Draco and Blaise. Daphne would be heading outside to Care of Magical Creatures.

Potions passed in a relatively habitual fashion. Amy spending most of her time whispering helpful tips to Blaise who had ever really acquired the concentration needed for potions. Theo had never really been any good at the subject, and Amy wondered why he still took it never mind how he managed to scrape and O on his OWL.

A permanent scowl seemed to have fixed it's self to Draco's face since Amy had left the breakfast table, and Amy could tell without looking at him that his mind wasn't on potions. She'd had to prevent him from adding the wrong ingredients at the wrong point in the potion they were brewing several times.

"For goodness sake Malfoy get your mind on track that's the 4th time I've had to prevent a mishap on your part" she hissed under her breath.

Draco mumbled something he knew Amy wouldn't believe as an excuse, causing the small petite girl to huff and grabbed the stirring rod from his hands, pushing him out of the way, silently telling him that she'd finish the potion if he wasn't fully there.

Draco let her. He knew his attention wasn't at all where it needed to be. He was far too distracted watching Amy and Theo exchange small glances, and in his opinion Amy was batting her eye lashes far more than the situation warranted, and if he wasn't mistaken, Amy was actually trying to flirt with Nott, if the high pitched giggle that she'd just emitted was anything to go by. A giggle worthy of Pansy Parkinson, not Amy Rookwood.

The giggle caused Blaise to turn away from his cauldron; his eyebrows seemed to be receding into his hairline as Amy continued to giggle. His eyes landing on a less than impressed Draco, he gave the Slytherin prince a knowing look.

Narrowing his eyes he gestured to Blaise to turn back to his potion which had started bubbling ferociously and had turned a nasty shade of green. He could see what was going on beneath his eyes fine without Blaise pointing it out.

Slughorn has started to wander between the tables pausing to look into the cauldrons, a few he recoiled from rather quickly causing the students working on said particular potion to panic.

A quick glance in the direction of his and Amy's potion told him Amy had successfully completed the potion in the allotted time, and had even managed to attain the colour described in the book. Not that he was surprised; Amy was more than a competent potions brewer.

A resounding ring sounded throughout the dungeon as Slughorn called for a vial of potion to be placed upon his desk for marking.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Theo whisper something to Amy causing a smile to break out across her lips. She picked up the vial of their potion, ready for Slughorn, swinging hr bag onto her shoulder as she made her way to the front of the class. She paused briefly to put the vial on Slughorn's desk before exiting the classroom.

Draco vanished the remainder of the potion, hauling his own bag onto his shoulder and followed her out, elbowing his way through the rest of the class who had crowded to the front of the dungeon. As soon as he reached the dark damp dungeon corridor, Draco lengthened his stride, not quite running after the brunette. Malfoys did not run after anybody.

"Hey! Rookwood! Wait up!" Draco turned to see Theo several paces behind him, calling after the petite brunette who turned to see who had called her. Amy briefly met Draco's gaze before turning her attention to Theo. She smirked and continued around the corner, Draco catching a hint of a playfulness making its self known on her face.

Draco hastened after her frowning, she couldn't be serious about propositioning Theo about Hogsmeade this weekend after she'd initially turned him down. Turning the corner he found Amy leaning against the wall not two meters away from him. Continuing as if he would walk straight past her he curled his fingers around her elbow, obliging her to go with him.

An unfortunate looking sneer crossed Amy's lips as she was hauled away by the blond and steered unceremoniously through a dusty looking tapestry of several witches brewing a disgusting looking potion in an old rusty cauldron.

Yanking her arm free from Draco's grip she turned her sneer on him. "What do you think you're doing Malfoy?" she hissed.

Skipping any sort of explanation Draco said "Don't mention Hogsmeade to Nott, it's all a game to him" to his own ears he sounded desperate.

Crossing her arms across her chest Amy quirked an eyebrow, but before she could continue Draco spoke again.

"He'll hurt you Amy, he only out for his own gain and you've just spent the last two hours leading him on, letting him think he has any sort of chance with you" He hadn't intended it to come out as a whine, a desperate plea to get her to listen to him.

Of course Amy had heard the rumours surrounding Theo Nott, but he had been nothing but nice to her, and she told Draco as much, causing the taller of the two to shake his head.

"You're not the one who has to listen to the things he says about a whole variety of girls, you included. It's incredibly demeaning."

"How do I know you're not just making this up?" she questioned, dismissing what he had just said.

"Why would I?" Draco challenged

"Why wouldn't you?"

Draco gave a quiet almost inaudible sigh before replying.

"I have no reason to" he admitted

Amy frowned, subconsciously stepping forwards, making the small gap between them even shorter "I have seen you do this to other people, therefore I wouldn't put it past you to do something like this to me, to invent something just to put me off some guy I might potentially like, a lot"

She was going to push him until he gave her the reason she was really looking for, Draco could see the determination, mixed with a hint of stubbornness brewing behind her eyes like a perfectly concocted potion.

"Now you're just looking for excuses and being ridiculous" he accused

"I am not" she retorted

"Are too"

"Am I?"

"Yes"

"So now I'm ridiculous?"

"That not what I said and you know it" Draco exclaimed "stop twisting my words and stop looking for a fight"

Amy scowled "well it's not exactly a secret you don't like him"

Draco sneered, frustrated because he was trying to stay nonchalant about this whole conversation and Amy could go out on a date with whomever she likes and he really wouldn't care. He was only getting so involved because it was Nott, and Nott was a nasty piece of work even by Draco's standards. But he knew that wasn't true, that wasn't the reason he was getting involved and frustrated.

"I'm saying it because you'd just be a quick fuck to him, an easy one too if you proposition him" Draco spat, towering over the small girl before his voice softened at the hurt expression that clouded her face "you don't deserve to be used like that"

"And what if I knew all of this beforehand?"

Draco gave her an incredulous look "then you'd be setting yourself up to be hurt"

"And that bothers you because..?"

"Because I don't want to see you hurt"

A small, faint, contented smile spread across Amy's lips making Draco realise he'd said what she wanted to hear all along.

"Then that would mean you care Draco"

The blonde threw her a dirty look, this was the most Slytherin he'd seen her act in a while.

"Of course I care" he mumbled.

Before Amy had the chance to say anything the tapestry was pulled open without warning, the slightly better light corridor assaulting then with a strong glow of light allowing Amy to see the vulnerability, mixed with something she couldn't describe behind Draco's eyes, which usually shone dark, cold, indifferent and uncaring.

The moment was short lived as Draco's attention turned to a giggling Daphne who seemed to have wrapped herself around Blaise. Realising who they'd stumbled upon, Blaise remarked "Well you too seemed to have made up"

The blonde shook his head minutely; answering the question he could see brewing on his friends lips. Turning to look back at Amy it struck him just how close they were and he could already see the clogs working in Blaise mind.

"I meant what I said Amy he will use you, and abuse you" before he turned and made his way out of the now over crowded alcove.

Blaise did not miss the way Draco's fingers brushed over Amy's wrist as he left, or the small hitch of surprise in her breathing.

"He may not be going about it the right way, warning you about Nott or dissuading you from going with him, but trust what he says is the truth, having to listen to Nott ramble on and on about you and a whole load of other girls he'd like to 'do' is truly disgusting" Blaise informed her, a knowing smile crossing his lips as he looked at Amy, who only seemed to be half listening to him, her eyes were fixed on a point just over his shoulder. Blaise was prepared to bet on his wand that she was staring at the spot Draco had left through.

"He had other reasons as well for not wanting you to go with Nott as well you know" This pulled Amy out of her musing as she stared at Blaise, but it was Daphne who explained.

"When we walked in here, I have never seen Draco look at someone the way he was looking at you, he never looked at Astoria in such a manor"

Confused Amy said "what?"

Daphne shrugged, "I only saw it for a minute, but he was looking at you as if you were the only girl in the world"

Blaise smirked and tightened his grip on Daphne's waist for a moment, silently giving his approval as to what she was doing.

Amy continued to stare at the youngest Greengrass sibling, but it was more than evident that her calculating mind was trying to decrypt just what Daphne had told her. After a minute or so, she excused herself.

Blaise rolled his eyes, placing his hands on Daphne's hips, turning her to face him. "I wonder how long it will take them to actually get together" he intoned, placing a kiss to the tip of Daphne's nose.