The sky was just barely showing signs of lightening. Not a sliver of the sun had risen yet, but a fraction of light managed to filter through the windows of the castle, brightening the halls just enough to make it possible to maneuver without running into a poorly-placed statue, or tripping on a stray object that had been lost in the halls by a student. Hogwarts was quite silent, but for a corridor where a pair of soon-to-be sixth years argued quietly between themselves.
"There's just no end with you, is there?"
"I went for a walk; why is that so baffling for you?"
"Why sneak out of your dormitory to sit by a window?"
"I couldn't sleep."
"I've heard that enough."
"Leave me alone, Draco." She said, irritated by the way he insisted on walking at her side as she headed back up to Gryffindor Tower so that she could get ready for the day.
She'd sat on the ledge of the window the whole night, which was only a couple hours in reality. She hadn't even fallen asleep. Of all people to find her first, it had to be Draco. Why he'd happened to be walking that way was beyond her, and she was greatly annoyed by it.
"And if I refuse?" He prompted.
"I really don't want to deal with you right now, Malfoy." She snapped. "You're one of the last people I'd voluntarily talk to at the moment."
"Leave that as it may," He said, "You'd hunt me down sometime before we got to King's Cross."
"The way it's looking, I wouldn't have to." She muttered. She came to halt, adding, "You could at least have the decency to wait until I'm no longer entirely incensed with you."
"You don't have as much reason to be upset-" He stopped as well, glaring at her.
"You've done so much that I can't stand-" She said feverishly. "Why on earth-"
"You've done plenty that I can't stand, yourself, Alvers." He shot back at her.
"Well your disapproval is ill-founded." She countered. "It's far from my fault that you were raised with selfish, unreasonable prejudices."
"Ill-founded!" He repeated incredulously. "We're worth more than they are, Remington." He said darkly, "Our blood is entirely magical. Not simply a fraction. Muggle blood is tainted with- mutations. Our blood is pure, theirs isn't."
"They're still human beings, Draco!" She protested, "And what about the pure-bloods? You don't think inbreeding causes its own complications?"
"So some haven't been careful enough to look farther out of their family trees." He said, "But most of us have better sense." She shook her head lightly, irritably. "You're criticizing your own parent's choices, you realize."
She'd not really thought of it that way before. She'd always thought it'd been more than that, but why else would a man like her father marry a woman like her mother? But then again, it isn't as if her father ever tried to tell her she was better than other people because of the blood in her veins. It didn't make a lot of sense to her. She couldn't believe that her father ever held those sorts of views, though.
"My father would never-" She paused, trying to formulate the proper words. "He wasn't like that. He didn't care about blood status-"
"That's certainly not how it sounds." Draco remarked.
She shook her head, "He couldn't have possibly believed all that-"
"In that case," He said, his eyes were just as sharp as his voice was, "Less work for the Dark Lord?"
Her lips parted as she stared at him for a couple beats, then, her hands shaking slightly, "You're a damn heartless leech." She managed before turning to walk down the hallway, feeling a smidge light-headed.
Before she'd gotten much more than a couple yards away, though, she knew she was being pursued. When his hand caught a hold of her wrist, she whipped around, "What more could you want, Malfoy?" She demanded, all her efforts into not letting her voice tremble.
"Listen." He said, still holding her wrist. She didn't try to evade his grip anymore, glaring up at him with a fair amount of indignation. "Neither of us want to end the year hating each other."
Her glare didn't soften much, but he could see the slight shift. "What you've said-"
"I'm not entirely proud of what I just said to you." He admitted, so off-hand that she didn't realize right away that that was as good as an apology from him. "But then again, I'm sure there's things you've said..."
"Perhaps there is." She said slowly, her eyes narrowing as she pulled her hand back from him. "But I've had good reason, and none of which would've hurt you so-"
"Really?" He interrupted her, eyebrows arched. He shrugged slightly. "Nonetheless, you still don't want to hate me, Alvers."
"You have no idea how much I want to hate you, Malfoy." She said, seriously, but without anger or venom. "I wish I could hate you just as effortlessly as everyone else in my House, but-" Her shoulders rose and fell as she rolled her eyes slightly. She ran a hand through her hair before looking at him again. "It'd be easier if we hated each other."
"It wouldn't be." He disagreed, "What would you done this year if-"
"I'd have figured something out." She argued defensively. "I'm not helpless, thank you."
"You aren't very strong, though."
She looked at him for a moment. "I'm as strong as I need to be."
"We'll see about that." He said.
She took a deep breath, "Is it worth it to give you any more chances, Draco?"
"That's not for me to answer." He replied.
