He could barely see the top of her head over the huge book she had set in front of her face. "Advanced Transfiguration: The Power of the Mental to Control the Physical" he read from the cover. She was definitely smart; this book was part of the sixth-year curriculum, and they were only in their fifth year. Then again, she had spent five years in McGonagall's shadow, putting transfiguration before her other studies, rising to the top of the year in that course. Unfortunately, she spent so much time studying transfiguration that her Defense Against the Dark Arts grade was slipping, and she was regularly failing her Potions assignments.

Despite the brains, she wasn't too bad to look at. Plain brown hair, stunning grey eyes, skin slightly too pale and riddled with freckles, but somehow the simple look fit well for her. She didn't draw men like Narcissa Black or Lily Evans, but she did have a few fans of her own. Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws, mostly, but Peter Pettigrew had a crush on her, and everybody at Hogwarts (except for Eily's brother) knew that Sirius Black's goal for the year was to shag her. No Slytherin would ever think to ask her out, because Aimon Lireinne had sworn to hunt down and slit the throat of any man who dared touch his sister.

Lucius refused to deny his attraction to her. He had always wanted a smart girlfriend; intellectual conversation was a necessity to him. Narcissa had been his last girlfriend, and though she was Slytherin to the core, she wasn't as intelligent as he'd been hoping. She was smart enough to get by in her classes, but she never bothered to further her studies outside of class. Eily was very different from that; she didn't care about anything but getting her studies done. She, at least, understood the importance of knowledge. And true, she was a Ravenclaw, but she'd been raised in a predominately Slytherin family and understood the inner workings of the Slytherin mind. She was one of the few outsiders (as most Slytherins thought of those not in their own house) who cheered for Slytherin over Gryffindor, who encouraged cunning to brute strength. She'd have made a fine Slytherin, the entire house agreed, if only she had the ambition.

Lucius was certain she lacked ambition because her entire life was planned out for her. The only daughter of ten children, her parents had immediately mapped out her entire life- where she would go to school, who she would marry, what socially acceptable profession she could have while still being a housewife... Of course, her parents had been in for a nasty shock when Sirius Black turned out to be a Gryffindor who was ready to renounce his family and Eily announced flat-out that she would never marry Severus Snape. A Malfoy was out of the question; their family was too prestigious for a mere Lireinne. Lireinne married Black or Snape, but never Malfoy.

Still, despite the social restrictions they both understood, she had seemed to be sending Lucius a silent message that told him he need only ask and she would be his.

Or maybe that was his imagination. Maybe she'd been subtly trying for Black's attention all along, and he happened to be ensnared as well. Or maybe, heaven forbid, she had been trying to open up to Pettigrew, and was merely waiting until he found the courage...no, that was his fear talking. Pettigrew didn't have anything going for him in life; he lacked ambition, brains, and style. All of which Black had, all of which Eily was sure to desire.

There was a slight cough, and he snapped out of his thoughts to see that Eily had put her book down and was studying him curiously. "You've been staring." It was a flat statement, no emotion, no curiosity. It was as if he were a particularly fascinating experiment.

"Er, well, yes, I was thinking that um...uh..." He trailed off, unable to come up with a good excuse for staring at her.

"I see," she said, but he could see the smile that tugged the corners of her lips as she tried to maintain the stern look. It gave him renewed courage and took away some of the embarassment.

"I was kind of wondering if you'd like to go to Hogsmeade with me," he said nervously. "There's a trip coming up in two weeks..."

"Yes, right before exams," she agreed. He felt his heart freeze. Of course, he should have remembered. She never went to Hogsmeade around exam times. "Severus says you'll be staying up here for the Christmas holiday, so we'll see each other plenty then. I was planning on staying too, to get in some extra studying."

"I-what?"

Again, the smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. "I said we'll see each other plenty over Christmas holiday. Seeing as we're both staying here and all." Lucius forced up a smile. The truth was, he hadn't signed up to stay over Christmas and he had no idea why Snape would have told Eily such a thing. But it didn't matter, she was interested in seeing him over the holiday, and that was all he cared about. "I have to check this book out from Madam Pince, but I'd like to continue this conversation with you."

"I, um, definitely would like to keep talking, too."

This time she allowed a sly smile to creep across her face. "What would you like to talk about?"

This caught him dead. While it didn't really matter what they talked about, he had absolutely no idea what a good topic would be. He thought quickly while Madam Pince checked out the book, and as they were leaving the library, he finally managed to say, "Uh...taken a look at any of the job flyers yet?"

"Oh yes," she said. "Some of them look interesting, but none of them seem quite right for me. You?"

"Not really," Lucius admitted. "I guess it's not really that important to me, finding a good job."

"Because of your inheritance?" He glanced over at her, surprised that she would mention the Malfoy fortune.

"Mostly. I don't have a whole lot to worry about as far as money goes, and that's why you need a job, right?"

"Not for me," she replied. "I've got a big inheritance too, you know. But I don't want to be bored for my entire life." She seemed to want to say something, but shrugged. "I've never had much of a life to live. I want a job that would break the monotonously rich lifestyle."

He chuckled. "Do you know how many women wish they could have half the pile of gold you've got, just so they can avoid working for the rest of their lives?" She said nothing in reply, and he bit his lip. Was she offended? "Have you eaten lunch yet?" he asked, hoping to change the topic.

"Yes, before I went to the library. But I'll sit with you while you eat." His heart leapt again. She was volunteering more of her time to spend with him. "I think Severus said he was going to be eating soon, too." And his heart plummeted to his feet. So much for eating lunch alone. Snape was the only real link he and Eily had, though. Snape and Eily had grown up together and been best friends all through their childhood. It was no surprise that they remained good friends at Hogwarts, despite being in different houses. When Lucius befriended the lanky Slytherin, he'd been introduced to Eily, and though they didn't bond as a group, they felt a slight kinship toward each other for sharing the same friend.

"We'll eat with him, too, then," Lucius said. "I hear he's got a...er...girlfriend."

"That's a nasty rumor." Eily's voice was suddenly icy. "The bastard who started it deserves a knife in the back." Lucius saw her clench her fists tightly. "If I can ever prove it..."

"Don't like his reputation scarred?" Lucius asked dryly. They both knew Snape didn't have a good reputation around school.

"No, I don't like those four always picking on him. They're nothing but rotten bullies. Potter can't even be bothered to fight him face-to-face, he knows Severus would win." Her jaw clenched tightly. "Every time they go after Severus, it's at least two against one, and they always attack from behind. Slytherin tactics, I know, but they're messing with my best friend. And nobody does that." Her eyes were narrowed dangerously, as though she were carefully plotting how she would destroy Potter and Black.

"Have you ever thought about...well, dating him?"

"Severus?" she asked in surprise. "I did, a couple months ago. But I don't think it would ever work out. We do good as friends, but as lovers...we'd probably kill each other."

"You've never dated anybody before," Lucius pointed out. "How do you know what kind of guy you need to go out with?"

"I've always looked at the milder men." He saw her glance in his direction. "And slightly...paler...men." His head snapped over to her. Had she just insinuated what he thought?

"So in other words, you want to shag me, right?"

She smiled. "Why, Mr. Malfoy, I resemble that remark."

He stopped walking, and Eily turned slightly. "What do we do now?" he asked.

"I suppose for starters, you ask me out on a real date sometime. But until then, I forgot that I have to go catch Remus up on a couple classes he missed."

Lucius smiled faintly. "Funny, isn't it? He's always sick. Practically every month."

"Yes," she agreed. "Funny. Have a good lunch, Lucius. Say hello to Severus for me."