"I'm not really sure why we're coming along mate," Theo admitted, jogging behind the blond to keep up. "I can't hit a girl."

"I didn't ask you to hit a girl."

"I get along with Daphne well," he continued, matching pace with Blaise. "I never realized Astoria flew that far off the handle."

"Drugging your competition is a new twist," Blaise agreed, his tone lighter than the others. "She's a determined little twit, isn't she?"

Draco spun, glaring at the pair just as they reached the Slytherin dorm room. "Don't give her credit."

"What exactly are you going to do?" Blaise asked, meeting Draco's eyes a moment before the head boy spun around, opening the commons with a flick of his wrist. "The old bat will come unhinged if you harm another student."

"I'm pretty sure I used the words pay," he ground out, glancing at the clock as the trio entered. He held up a hand, spying the snide girl across the room. She was sitting with Millicent, who looked somewhat terrified as the brooding man approached.

"There you are Drakey," Astoria cooed, twirling a piece of hair around a finger. "I knew you couldn't stay away from me."

"Astoria," he seethed, keeping his voice low. It was just past eleven, but there were enough people in the common room to cause rumors if they made a scene. "What did you do to her?"

She bit her lip, rolling her shoulders as she attempted to give him a sultry look. It was evident she was trying to seduce him, reaching out to stroke his arm. "Oh Drakey, nothing at all."

"Liar," he snarled.

"You're talking about the little Mudblood," she continued, pulling her hand back to drag the digits across her cheeks. She met his eyes, letting a finger slip between her lips briefly before pulling it out with a pop. "I'm sure she'll be a changed person when you see her again."

He bent forward, barely restraining himself from hexing her right there. Her wand was held in a lazy grip but he wouldn't underestimate her, not after she somehow one-upped one of the better dualists in the school. "Hallway, now."

Astoria's eyes widened hungrily, a large grin splitting across her face. "Whatever you want darling."

Ignoring the way her words churned his stomach the same way he ignored the mildly disgusted looks of his friends, Draco spun on his heel and marked back out the way he'd come. Blaise followed immediately after, cutting in before even Astoria could make it out the door.

"Uh, Draco-"

"Just make sure we aren't interrupted," he scowled, pointing to the nearest dead-end hall. "And stop me if I try to kill her."

Blaise shot his friend a concerned look before pulling back, grabbing Theo's robes when he managed to make it out of the door. Astoria perked up when she noted the pair wasn't following, clasping her hands together in front of her chest as Draco lit his wand, guiding them down the hallway.

"Finally decide you wanted some alone time, hmm?" she cooed, immediately pressing her back into the wall once they passed the second door. "Tired of playing with a little virgin baby?"

Draco arched an eyebrow, using the lit tip of his want to keep her in place. He knew it wouldn't be immediately be hot on her shoulder, and would keep her away from him for a few moments. "What the fuck did you give her?"

Astoria pouted, tilting her head to the side. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Jolting forward, he slammed him hand into the stone by her head. "Liar!"

She didn't jump, almost purring at the sudden act of violence. Her entire body trembled, and she wet her lips again. He realized she was getting off on this and pressed the wand further into her skin until she hissed.

"What?" she purred, one hand coming up to toy with the buttons on her blouse. "Upset your little Mudblood harlot gave it up to her ex?"

Draco sneered, bending closer to her face. "She didn't give up anything! She came back to the dorm and called me 'Ron'. He wasn't anywhere near her."

Astoria's sultry actions ceased, the light in her eyes dying. "What?!"

"What did you give her?" he hissed, growling. "I know it was you; you just played your hand. Whatever the intention, it failed. He won't get the chance to hurt her."

Her eyes grew cold, and she grasped his wand in her hand in an attempt to break it. Draco grabbed her blouse, pulled her away from the wall to shove her back, breaking her hold on his wand.

"Looks like she fought it off for now," Astoria hissed, anger evident in her tone. "But don't worry, that won't last long. The magic will stay until she sates her needs. And don't worry, Weasley should be more than willing to play."

Draco's eyes flashed, leveling his wand at her chest while she drew her own, glaring into his eyes. "I'm not going to ask again Greengrass; what did you do to her?"

"Greengrass?" she mimicked, feigning hurt. "Is that any way to treat your future wife? There's a little over three weeks left Draco; and I'm not giving up."

"We're not getting married."

"You don't have any say in the matter!" she screamed, eyes going wide. "You will be my husband!"

"I don't think so."

Astoria sneered. "Wouldn't you like to know the cure so your little virgin doesn't frolic off and demand the Weasel take her? That would really be a tragic end to the story, wouldn't it?"

"I'm not a moron. You aren't an all-knowing witch. There are plenty of other wizards who surely have the cure to whatever you gave her, or at least a counter. I'm not here to barter with you."

She stamped her foot, looking petty. "Well, boohoo. Guess I'll just have to wait for Weasley to hunt her down instead. If he knows she's willing he won't hesitate."

Draco silently thanked himself for leaving Pansy behind, conscious that the pair may have a plan in case Hermione somehow ended up back in the dorm. "She's not willing if you've drugged her, she's just delirious. It's rape."

Astoria waved a hand, looking completely unfazed. "Whatever. It'll happen either way until she sleeps with him. That's the counter to the spell."

His hand tightened on the wand, fighting down the urge to blow her bloody head off. "She won't be sleeping with him."

"Oh, sorry," she mused, the dark glint in her eye unwavering. "You should've corrected my wording. I meant fuck."

He lost his composure, leaping forward to grab Astoria. She didn't fight him off, grinning when he grabbed her neck, slamming her into the opposite wall. She gasped in pain before moaning, rocking her body into the wall. "Tell Weasley the deals off."

Astoria gasped again, reaching out to play with the buttons on his shirt. "Just like that, baby. I do like it rough."

He scowled in disgust, immediately letting go of her. She sank back against the wall, pouting when he put space between them. Half a second later Blaise appeared, not looking nearly as concerned as he should. When Draco's eyes lifted to his, he shrugged.

"All you said was don't let you kill her."

Astoria moaned again, the sound grating on his nerves. He took several deep breaths, reminding himself that beating her to death wouldn't solve all his problems. Tilting his head, he narrowed his eyes.

"Where did you think she was going to go?"

Laughing, she shook her head. "What, you didn't figure that part out? Well, where it all started of course. May as well finish the memory, right? But don't worry, this time he planned on using your spot."

Draco snarled, Blaise's hand shifting to hold his shoulder. He didn't need to go after her again. "How do you know about that?"

"Oh, Weasley's been watching a while," she replied, nodding along as she stroked her neck. "He was insanely jealous the first time he saw you two going in together. He's almost certain you've slept with her now. But I can see that nothing's changed. She's still too sweet and innocent to have been deflowered, and in a library at that."

"And you were going to send her there," Draco continued, clenching his wand. "While she had no idea what was going on."

Astoria shrugged, showing no remorse. "It'll be good for her to lose that stick up her arse. Maybe she just needs a good shagging."

Draco started towards her again, stopping when Blaise held him back. "She's safe, and we'll get the antidote so that she doesn't have anything to fear."

"I don't think she's the one you should be worried about," Astoria reasoned, shaking a finger at them. "No. I'd probably be more worried about Weasley. I had to give him a little bit to in order to draw her to him. Obviously I should've given him more. Maybe that would've been better. If he didn't have any moral obligations he would've really gone to town."

"Draco," Blaise warned, struggling to keep him back.

"You're fucking batty if you think I'm going to marry you," he said, shaking his head. "Absolutely fucking nuts."

She shook her head, closing her eyes as she clicked her tongue. "Draco, Draco, Draco. We both know you'll go through with. We promised to marry before the end of my seventh year. If we don't marry on the eighteenth then both our inheritances are null and void, and we all know you won't give up the family fortune."

"December is hardly the end of the school year," he grumbled, shaking his head. "And my only duty is marry and carry on the family line. My parents picked you out of desperation, I didn't. I could still marry someone else and keep my family's history intact."

She barked out a laugh, her gaze hardening. "The Mudblood!? Your ancestors will roll over in their graves before they allow someone like her to become one of the family!"

"Their opinions aren't very important to me these days," he reasoned, keeping his wand level with her. "And I'd rather forgo the fortune than be bound to you."

"Your mother's already come up with a way to get you there," she replied, looking unconcerned. "Mudblood be damned. I was just trying to speed the process along."

"You didn't do a good job," he sneered.

She pouted again, lifting her legs up into a bent position. The skirt slid down her thighs, revealing a lot more of Astoria than he cared to see. "Don't worry Drakey – three weeks and we'll be together forever."

"Like hell."

Astoria shrugged. "Go on, report me. What good is it going to do? It's a lust powder. Until she does something she'll whither and beg for someone to help her. Putting her in the infirmary won't help." She laughed, meeting his gaze. "Actually, go on and report me! I'd love to see the fallout when the whole world hears little miss perfect is begging for it."

Draco jumped forward, grabbing her blouse once more. He vaguely registered that Blaise failed to restrain him, something he was glad for this time. "No one's going to hear about it."

"Oh, are you going to fix it yourself then?" she asked, continuing to laugh. "Go on. Least it'll be out of your system once we get married. She's completely out of her mind by now, I'm sure of it. Play out a fantasy Draco; you'll only get the chance once."

Draco lost control, finally snapping when he drew his hand back. Blaise reacted, dragging the blond back before he could do something he regretted. Draco struggled, glaring down at the woman before him as she sneered.

"Three weeks," she seethed, getting up off the floor. "Then you're all mine."

"Draco let her go," Blaise urged, barely restraining the blond. He held onto his wand as he glared, trying to put together what was happening into something that made sense. She was spouting nonsense, and he couldn't distinguish what was a sham and what wasn't.

He badly wanted to reach out and show her exactly how much he hated her, but beating but the girl wouldn't make him feel better, and it definitely wouldn't help Hermione.

"Why'd you give Weasley some too?" he spat, glaring at her. "If he's in on it he probably doesn't need any convincing."

Astoria waved a hand, looking bored. "Oh, he's a little bitch. He can only pursue her when angry or drunk. Now he's got that leech Brown hanging off of him and it's incredibly distracting. He's working with me, he doesn't need that fickle thing tagging along. All she does is distract him from going after Granger."

"She dumped him."

"Well that doesn't matter," Astoria huffed, shaking her head. "None of it's going to matter soon, Darkey. You'll be mine, I promise you that."

"A little cryptic," Blaise grumbled, and Draco nearly slammed his head back into his friends. Anything to be let free right now and grab her again. She was playing with everyone's fates to determine her own future, and she didn't give a damn who she crushed in the process.

If he didn't leave right now, he wasn't certain she would leave at all. All he could see was red and Astoria was at the center of it.

"What kind of deal did you make with my mother?" he growled, glaring at her. He was furious, but he wasn't dumb enough to ignore the details. Astoria was a tell type of person, not a show. If she could impress you in the moment she would, and he hoped she'd continue spilling details.

Astoria winked, reaching out to run her fingers through his hair. Blaise let go, apparently more concerned with being out of the line of fire than keeping Draco from attacking her. "Oh, just a little something," she purred.

"Tell me," he seethed, placing his wand at her neck again. She still didn't look frightened, like she knew there was something going on that he couldn't beat.

She leaned in, breathing on his face. "Daddy's going to be unhappy with you if you break the vow," she whispered, meeting his gaze. "He's so looking forward to the wedding. You know he always wanted to see his little boy carry on family tradition."

Draco's confidence faltered, unsure what exactly Astoria was getting at. "Your father is dead. Mine's in Azkaban for life. Neither will be there on the eighteenth."

She shrugged, pressing her chest into his. "Don't be so certain of things, darling. Don't forget what we Greengrass's made our fortune on."

As she pulled back Draco felt his confidence wean, his wand slackening as her words set in.

It was a lie. It had to be.

He'd heard through the grapevine from Daphne once that the family used to be responsible for funding a lot of the construction of Azkaban's additional cells in the past century. It was ironic really, since many members of the family found themselves behind bars in that very prison.

They had influence before the war, specifically in who came in and out of the prison. Azkaban might be a government structure, but offering private funding allowed the Greengrass family to have more of a say in who went in and, more specifically, came back out.

"No one's going to listen to a work you have to say," Draco replied, but his voice wasn't as certain now. He'd never really considered the Greengrass influence on Azkaban, especially now that nearly every pureblood family was out of favor of the Ministry.

She laughed, clapping her hands together. "Oh, I get your attention now, did I? Your mother knew you wouldn't be able to ignore us once you heard the news." She grinned, placing her hands confidently on her hips. "Daddy's coming home Draco."

A/n: And there's chapter 21! It's been close to a year since I posted this story, and I have to admit I thought I might have more posted by this time but 21 chapters is decent. Hope you liked it, and here we go stirring the drama some more. Don't worry, we'll check in on Hermione next chapter. Let me know what you think!