A/N: Thank you for the two lovely reviews! Very happy to have been spoken of so kindly! You both made my day!

Couple quick notes: About Harry being gay. Don't know where you thought of it, but I'm not saying, lol.

About Draco treating Ron badly, I'm sorry. It's gonna continue, though. I'm addicted to sadictive, bastardized Malfoy, couldn't tell you why.

-- chapter 1 -- chapter 2 --

- October 7 - 1997 - Seventh Year -

Hermione was talking excitedly about the Elvin War of 1032 she had read about in some book or another, but Harry and I had tuned her out as we headed towards Hagrid's hut. She'd been so enthusiastic about history lately, and for Merlin only knew what reason, not as though the subject was even a little bit interesting, that both of us wanted to put a silencing charm on her and have some peace.

"Wood sent me an owl yesterday, said he's been bumped to starting keeper. The ink was kind of blotchy; I think he was so excited he'd been crying." He let out a chuckle and I knew what he was talking about. Oliver Wood was about as passionate about Quidditch as Hermione was about homework. This would probably rate up there with getting married and having children in the 'best moments of life' category for him.

"Brilliant! Think he'll send us some tickets? Maybe when they're playing the Cannons?"

"Don't know, I'll owl him back and ask."

"Be brilliant, wouldn't it? See Oliver play against the Cannons? Cannons would win, of course, but it'd still be bloody brilliant." Harry only shook his head at me as we approached the class, all waving to Hagrid. Hermione was still on about the bloody Elvin War, not noticing that we weren't listening, but she stopped when Hagrid began giving a lesson on Squirplicks. Everyone was huddled around something on the ground, and when we managed to maneuver our way up to the relative front, we saw what they were all looking at as they listened to Hagrid. Two medium-sized pools had been dug in the ground and there was a pile of white globular things in the middle of each. Hagrid told us they were eggs and that they would hatch by the end of the week into tiny tadpoles. Frogs, he was showing us frogs. Honestly. Yes, they had wings and could ward off certain dark spells if you had one in your hand, but still. They were glorified frogs.

As Hagrid continued to talk, I managed to slip further back in the crowd, listening less and less to what he was saying. Neither Harry nor Hermione seemed to notice that I had slipped away. Once on the outskirts, I found a rock near where Hagrid's boar hound was roped to the side of the hut and sat down to pass the time petting him and thinking of Quidditch. Fang sniffed at my sleeve before licking my hand affectionately. I wrinkled my nose and tried to pull the hand away from all the slobber, feeling slimy and in desperate need of a wash basin. "Fang… don't do that, mate. You've got me all gross now." I finally pulled it from his reach and wiped his drool off on the grass near the rock. I was just reaching up to scratch behind Fang's ear to halt his tongue approaching my cheek when a drawl to my right stopped my hand.

"I didn't know your mother was visiting, Weasley, I'd 've brought a gift." I looked up to see the slimy little git standing above me with his ever-present smirk playing at the corner of his lips.

"Go bugger your cronies, I'm not interested." I turned my back to him and focused on Fang as I scratched behind his ears, clenching my teeth in anger. I was surprised to have a hand clench tightly around my forearm and pull me to my feet. Malfoy was dragging me around the hut to the back, out of sight of the other students. "What the bloody fuck, Malfoy?! Let me go, you slimy ferret!" I tried to pull my arm out of his grasp, but his grip was stronger than a binding spell. I lost my breath momentarily as I was shoved up against the back wall of Hagrid's hut, Malfoy's hand pressing into my neck to keep me in place.

"What did you just call me?" he growled, eyes mere slits of angry fire. I returned the glare.

"You heard me, you fucking ferret. Let me go, you're hurting my neck." I tried to pull at his hand, but he wasn't about to budge.

"I have no intention of doing anything of the sort, and if you do not stop calling me that, I'm really going to hurt you." He was furious and I knew this was not going to go well, but I couldn't stop myself.

"I'll call you whatever the bloody fuck I like, you stupid, spoiled, little prat." I spat back, stopping my struggling in favor of glaring him down. His grip on my neck intensified and I found myself in a slight struggle for breath.

"That's right, Weasel, I am spoiled. Unlike your pathetic excuse for a family, my parents could afford to get me whatever I wanted. Which means that I get very angry when I don't get what I want. Where the fuck were you last night? I waited for half an hour for you. Malfoys. Do. Not. Wait."

"Looks like you did, doesn't it?" I stated with a smirk, pleased to have successfully turned the tables on him. He slammed me harder into the wall.

"Where were you, you pathetic excuse for a pure blood?!" He was seething by then and I half-expected him to start hitting me at any second.

"At the last minute, I decided I had better things to do. Sorry to have left you waiting. Now would you please let go of me? You're contaminating my skin with your Slytherin slime." This only earned me another slam against the wall, my head hitting with a loud thump this time, making me a bit disoriented for a moment.

"Better things?! What could you possibly have to do that is better than being with me? I can't imagine anything that could possibly dissuade you from such a privilege." His teeth were clenched and I could tell that he was struggling to keep his composure.

"I found a more… attractive partner." The smirk grew as I saw the flash of pure ferocity and then his fist connected with my nose before I even had time to see him move. My hands flew to my face as he let go and I slid down the wall to slump in the grass. "Merlin, Malfoy…"

He leaned down, face contorted into a sneer as he pulled my chin up to meet his eyes. "There is no one more attractive than I am. You are mine, no exceptions. You had better be lying or I might just pull an avada kedavra on your pathetic ass. Don't you dare think I wouldn't."

I laughed as I wiped the blood from my nose with my sleeve, looking up at him still snickering. "You would never dare kill me, ferret. You want me too bad. Who else would you fuck? No one else could put up with you."

He growled and shoved me into the wall again. "I could fuck anyone in this school if I wanted to. You are easily replaceable. Don't be so stupid as to place yourself so high up on my list."

I shook my head, smirking, "It isn't just fucking, Malfoy, and you know it. No one else would fight with you the way I do, and that's what you want more than anything. Don't try to deny it because I know you better than you think. If you didn't have someone to yell at, you wouldn't even be able to get it up." I had managed to stand by the time I was finished and Draco was so close to me I could feel his heaving breath on my cheek.

His hand was shaking slightly as he grabbed onto my collar to pull me that much closer as he hissed in my ear, "You shut the bloody fuck up or there are not words for what I will do to you." There was a tick in my head and I suddenly forgot about my bloody nose or the intoxicating smell of his soap as I shoved him off of me and moved away from the wall, turning to walk back to the class. I glanced him almost lose his footing, but he remained standing as he stalked after me. "You. Do. Not. Walk. Away. From. Me. Get back here!" he yelled, yanking my sleeve to pull me around to look at him again.

I yanked my arm away and glared into his smoldering face, "Go sodding talk to Pansy, why don't you? I'm finished with this conversation." I turned before he could respond and hurried around the building to rejoin the class. If he followed me, I don't know, and at the time, I didn't care either way. I was done letting him abuse me, especially after hearing what Seamus said he saw him doing with Parkinson behind the broom shed. The sodding bastard could rot in Azkaban for all I gave a shit about him.

At lunch I told Harry and Hermione I wasn't hungry and I would see them later. They both looked quite skeptical, but didn't ask me any questions. I was thankful, because I would have had to lie. There was no way that I was going to tell them that I wasn't hungry because I didn't want to see Malfoy. So, I went up to the Owlery to visit Pig, who was flitting excitedly next to a very annoyed-looking Hedwig. I laughed and smoothed a hand down Hedwig's neck to relax her while Pig flew up to nest in my hair. As much as my tiny excuse for an owl buggered me, he was loyal and he never once failed to get a message to the rightful owner. I took a few owl treats out of my pocket as I reach up to pull him out of my hair. He puffed up in my hand and then cooed when I gave him a treat. Hedwig eyed him suspiciously before accepting the treat I held out for her as well. Pig was affectionately nipping at my finger as I rubbed down his feathers with my thumb, giving him another treat to settle him down a bit more. I held out a few more for Hedwig and patted her head as she ate. "Why do I always fall for the wrong people, Hedwig? Am I cursed?" I asked as I continued to stroke her neck with my free hand. She only chirped at me and nipped at my thumb. I sighed and nodded to myself, "I thought so."

- - - - -

There was a small package wrapped in silver paper sitting on my bed when I got back to Gryffindor after dinner. It was sitting on a torn bit of parchment with a short sentence of perfect script. It read simply, "More at midnight." There was no signature. Confused, I sat down and opened the package. There were two chocolate-covered strawberries inside.