The entire apartment was one big mess. "It looked like someone had dumped a truckload of garbage in here," Dahlia said in a disgusted tone. Empty cans and pizza boxes criss-crossed the kitchen floor and half a wardrobe worth of clothes covered the sofa.

Dahlia had never been able to master the household spells but then she never tried to. Who would want to clean up when you've got a house-elf to do it?

"O blimey, now I've got to clean it like a filthy Muggle," she sighed.

With those words, she put her purse and robe away and started to pick up the trash, stuffing it all into a garbage bag. Madeira will have to sort it out herself, Dahlia thought as she shoved two bags into the storage room. At least the bedroom wasn't in too bad a state. She only had to change the sheets.

Now that everything was neatly cleaned, she smiled contently to the empty living room before she strode of to the bathroom for a quick shower.

After the refreshing shower, Dahlia carefully dressed. Luckily, Madeira was about the same size so that wasn't a problem. Her friend had good taste and spent more time shopping than sleeping.

Dahlia felt a jolt of triumph when she spotted the perfect dress that would have the desired effect. It was a dark blue silk dress. It was low cut in the back, had no sleeves and showed enough cleavage to drive any man mad – certainly such a virile man as Lucius Malfoy, she mused when she looked herself over in the mirror.

She went to the bedroom to make sure she hadn't missed any details. She looked up and was rather pleased with what she saw in the mirror that was attached to the ceiling right above the bed. She smiled at her reflection and returned to the living room where she sat down in a comfortable armchair near the fireplace. Dahlia stared into the flames and it didn't take long before she dozed off.

A crackle in the fire had awoken her. She yawned noisily and stretched out like a cat, shaking away the sleep from her body.

"I dared to assume that you had something more…interesting planned to celebrate your birthday."

Dahlia gasped and looked around to locate the owner of the voice. In the far corner of the room, she spotted a tall figure. The person stood motionless in the shadow but a glint of light from the fire shone upon the small, silver snakehead atop of the cane he was holding.

"Good evening Mister Malfoy and welcome," Dahlia said as she rose from her seat and strode to where Lucius was standing.

"According to Belgian traditions, you owe the birthday girl three kisses," Dahlia said as she stopped mere inches from Lucius.

"That's very interesting," he replied, "but according to French tradition, it's four kisses."

Lucius bent his head and gave Dahlia the kisses she deserved. Just as he was about to give her the fourth kiss on her cheek, she slightly turned her head towards him so that their lips met.

"Can I offer you something to drink?" she asked when she broke off the kiss.

"A red wine if you happen to have it," he answered coolly as if nothing had happened.

"I hope you can appreciate this Vin de Merlot, imported from France," Dahlia said as she returned, carrying two magnificent crystal wine glasses.

"Please, Mister Malfoy, make yourself comfortable," Dahlia said as she gestured towards the armchairs at the fireplace.

"Dahlia, you may call me Lucius. We are hardly strangers anymore. I've known you since you first attended Hogwarts, fourteen years ago," he said as he took the glass from her hand and sat down on the chair opposite hers.

He put his cane down on the floor next to him and slowly removed his black leather gloves. Dahlia followed every single move he made. Her hunger for her prey grew rapidly but she knew very well that she had to be careful if she wanted to win this bet.

"May I ask why you've decided to come here after all Mister… sorry… Lucius," she corrected herself when she saw the warning in his eyes. "You didn't seem to eager when I invited you in the Three Broomsticks."

"I thought you would understand Dahlia. A public place like that has many unwelcome listeners who could miss-interpret these things. I wouldn't want Narcissa to hear any nasty lies and I'm sure your parents wouldn't appreciate it either," Lucius said.

"Of course. You're right Lucius. I think my father would throw me out like an ordinary house-elf," Dahlia said.

"Why did you invite me? You must have more… mature friends you can celebrate your birthday with?" Lucius asked.

"Sure, but they are rather dull. They take life too serious and I want to enjoy my life as much as I can. Actually, I hadn't exactly planned to invite you. Let's just say it was a hint of inspiration," she replied.

"But why such an 'old' man like me?" Lucius asked. He really didn't know why she had chosen him to join her.

After all, he was just an acquaintance of the family and had known Dahlia since she was a little girl. When he came to think about it, she still was a little girl who wanted to act like an adult but didn't succeed too well at it.

"You're not old Lucius. I rather see you as an interesting man with a life full of experiences," Dahlia replied as she sipped from her wine.

"Besides, the Malfoy family has always interested me," Dahlia said as she rose and slowly strode towards Lucius like a snake ready to catch its prey.

She leaned forward and placed her hands on either side of the armchair allowing him to have a great view of her cleavage. Instead what she had hoped for, Lucius didn't seem to pay any attention to that but kept looking into her eyes. She closed the remaining space between them and tentatively brushed his nose with her lips.

Since she still wasn't getting the slightest reaction from him, she pulled herself up to full height and looked down on him as she drained the remaining contents of her glass.

"And Draco is a bit young for me, don't you agree?" Dahlia said.

She didn't wait for a reply to that question, simply turned on her heel and slowly walked towards the door. Dahlia blew a kiss at Lucius just before she strode out of the room and into the bedroom.