Author's notes:

Jane, thanx 4 bein my beta! it really reassures me wen i have sum1 2 tell me they approve and correct my mistakes!

Leonora, thanx 4 ur reviews. knowin least sum1 out there likes my story makes me want 2 keep writin it!

Sorry i haven't posted anything 4 a while, i went away for a few days. This chapter's shorter than the others but i promise to make the next one longer!!! Keep reading and please review!

Varina walked a few steps behind Pansy and her friends. She got the feeling Pansy wouldn't have said Varina could have the spare bed in their dorm if Draco hadn't asked her. They went in and Varina stood awkwardly in the doorway.

"Uh, Pansy?" she asked, "Which is my bed?"

"That one in the corner," she replied, indicating a bed to the right of the room next to a small window.

"Ok. Thanks again."

"Yeah. Sure," said Pansy before turning back to the other girls. "So, where was I?"

Pansy resumed the story she had started in the common room, about the amazing Weird Sisters concert she had gone to over the summer. Varina thought this story was filled with hyperboles and was merely a way for Pansy to remind her friends that she had money and a fabulous life. Varina sat on her bed listening to the inane babble, not joining in the conversation herself until Pansy actually bothered speaking to her.

"So, Varina, you seemed pretty pally with Draco back at the feast before."

"Oh, I did?" said Varina, taken aback at being spoken to, "I mean, we were just talking. He asked about me and I told him. That's all."

"Do you like him?"

"What? Well, yeah, I mean, you know, he seemed nice. Yeah."

"He's more than nice, he's fabulous! We've seeing each other for a year now. I mean, he's liked me for ages. We went to the Yule Ball together in fourth year, but we only started going out last year."

Ah, thought Varina, this is the "he's mine, so don't even think about it" speech from the jealous girlfriend. So pathetic. What does Draco see in her? Pansy was still going on what a wonderful boyfriend Draco was and how meaningful their relationship was. The other girls were joining in now. "Oh, you are so lucky Pans," said Millicent, "Draco's the most gorgeous boy in school!" "Isn't he?" agreed Pansy, smirking uncontrollably. "And he's fantastic in bed!" The other girls all groaned in jealousy. Varina had an overwhelming desire to kick something. Or someone. She got into her pyjamas and slid into her bed. Nobody said anything. She snuggled down under the covers and buried her head in the pillow, trying unsuccessfully to block out Pansy's accounts of her passionate encounters with Draco.

"You didn't waste much time with the new girl did you?" Crabbe remarked to Draco as they unpacked their trunks of only the bare essentials. Draco just looked over at him, grinning, as he pulled out his robes.

"Well, there's no harm in talking to her is there?" he asked, pulling a face of mock innocence. The others laughed appreciatively.

"The way you were looking at her, I think you wanted to do a bit more than talk to her, mate," said Goyle, "But I can't say I blame you. She was fucking gorgeous!"

"I know!" agreed Draco, "Easily the best-looking girl here. Did you guys hear her accent? It was so sexy! It had like an American twang, but also slightly French. Really unusual."

"No, I didn't hear it. I didn't talk to her," said Blaise Zabini, another boy in their dorm. "She was too busy talking to you Malfoy. She was well into you mate."

"Do you reckon? I wouldn't be surprised though. Most girls find me irresistible," he said cockily, gaining many groans from the others.

Draco always acted so confident in front of his friends, but in truth, Blaise's comment had surprised him. He thought Varina was gorgeous, but she seemed really nice as well. He couldn't help smiling when he thought she might actually like him. He was really unsure when it came to girls. He could never tell when someone liked him. He only had a girlfriend because Pansy had been fawning over him since first year and then asked him if he would take her to the ball in fourth year. It was as he thought this that his smile faded. He was seeing Pansy. They weren't serious or anything, but he was still seeing her. Even if Varina did like him, which he doubted, he couldn't do anything about it.

"I tell you, you boys are lucky I'm seeing Pansy, because I'd have had her in a shot." There was that innate arrogance that always revealed itself in front of the other boys again. Draco quickly changed the subject, his confidence waning the more they talked about Varina. They talked for a while longer before finally settling down to sleep. The last image that entered Draco's mind before he drifted off was of Varina's sparkling blue eyes.