Rhiannon was rudely awaken when a roll of parchment was dropped on her head and an owl screeched. Ducking her head under her pillow, she tried to block out the screeching of the barn owl, but to no avail. Grumbling, she pushed herself up on her palms and sat on her bed, and tossed her pillow grumpily at the owl. Rhi ran her hands through the rat's nest that was her hair, and after rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she reached for the roll of parchment and opened it. "Meet me in the library after breakfast," it read. "Next to the suit of armor." And that was all it said. There was no signature or anything. Rhi stared confusedly at the bold, black hand-written words on the creamy parchment, and scratched her head once more.

It's definitely guy writing. Even if it is rather tidy, it's guy writing for sure, she thought. Sighing, she climbed out of bed and turned to Aponi. "I can't even sleep in peacefully on my first morning here," she told the magnificent eagle owl. "It's even Saturday, and I'm not allowed to sleep." Aponi sat on the top of her cage and hooted softly, slowly blinking her huge, beautiful eyes.

Finally mustering herself up, she dragged herself out of bed and contemplated having a bath before breakfast. Glancing at the clock on her bedside table confirmed that she had enough time. Gathering up her things, Rhiannon walked to the girl's bathroom, and ran a tubful of hot, steaming water, and thick, sudsy bubbles.

Rhi sank gratefully into the bathtub and leaned back, sighing in sheer delight. When the water started to cool, she sat up and washed herself from the top of her crazy hair, to the very bottoms of her dainty feet.

When she climbed out, she dried herself off on an over-sized white towel, and got dressed. Since there was no classes today, due to the weekend, she didn't put her school robes on. Instead she put on another black skirt that stopped just above her knees, and swished pleasingly when she walked. With it, she paired a blue t-shirt that revealed her flat, toned stomach, and on her feet was a pair of strappy sandals. Pleased with her appearance, she went down to the Great Hall for breakfast.

Rhiannon sat at the Slytherin table and her golden plate automatically filled with eggs, sausage, toast, and fresh fruit. She started to eat, and then took a sip of her pumpkin juice, and just as she did, Aponi swept in through an open window and landed on Rhi's shoulder, beginning to preen her mistress's hair.

Rhi smiled and stroked Aponi's chest feathers softly. "I spoil you," she said, feeding the owl a small bit of sausage with her fingers. As she started to feed Aponi another bit of sausage, Draco sat across from her, and stared.

"You bring your owl to breakfast?" he asked, sounding insulted to be sitting at the same table that an animal was present at.

"Yes, I do," Rhi answered. "Why?" she asked glancing at Draco, "do you have some kind of problem with it or something?"

"Owls belong in the owlrey," he stated matter-of-factly.

"Yes, and they are also the responsibility of their owners. We are supposed to feed and care for them. And just for the record Draco, Aponi is more to me than just a messenger bird," she said, kissing the tip of her index finger and placing it on the owl's beak.

"Is that so?" he sneered. "Well if Aponi is more than just a way to send and receive post, what is it then?"

"She, is also my guardian Draco. She looks like an ordinary owl, but she's special. She possesses as much magic as I do, maybe more. She is also constant company and friendship. If I were you, I would try paying more attention to that magnificent bird that your parents bought you, instead of sniping at others who care for their pets," she said sharply as she got up.

Just as Rhiannon turned and was about to walk away, she felt Draco's hand clasp around her wrist. Turning back, she saw he was leaned far over the table. Rhiannon looked at the hand around her wrist, then at Draco and raised one eyebrow eloquently. "This conversation is finished," she told him coolly. "Let go of me, or we will continue this with the head of our house. You may be a favorite of Professor Snape, Draco, but so am I, and I have the leverage of the headmaster on my side. Are you sure you want to play this game?"

Draco thought about this for a moment, then released her wrist slowly, his eyes going to a hard, mean, ice blue color. "You think that's leverage? As if I don't have any of my own. Remember, Brandy, my father has immense amounts of influence in the Ministry of Magic," he leaned in close to her face, and she could feel his soft breath on her cheek. "In fact," he said, "with the kind of influence my father has, he or I, can make anything happen. We even had you ancestor removed from the position of headmaster before. Don't think that your little threat scares me."

Rhiannon's gaze became hard as granite, and a soft flush of anger rose in her cheeks. She's breath-taking when she's mad, Draco thought. "We're close enough too . . . It doesn't matter that people would see us, we're in the same house after all. It's not like she's in Gryffindor and friends with that loser Potter.

Rhiannon's black eyes flashed with anger as she glared into Draco's own eyes that were as hard as ice. "I have to go, so if you're done trying to prove who's better than who, please excuse me."

With that, Rhi turned and left the Great Hall, walked through the corridors, past the portraits that hung on the walls, was harassed by Peeves, and finally reached the library. She saw the suit of armor, but noticed that there was no one there yet, so she sat at a table next to it to wait. As her boredom got the best of her, she got up and asked one of her schoolmates, who was from Hufflepuff if she could borrow a quill, some ink, and some parchment, then sat back at her own table and began to write things that flowed into her mind.

Why does he do that, she wrote. If he didn't irritate me so much, we would probably become friends. Maybe more. He's definitely cute enough for more, she wrote as a slight smile spread slowly across her face. Sometimes he acts as if he wants me to bend to what he wants, and submit, other times I think he likes that I fight back. So far he's the only person who's really said anything to me since I got here. I mean, yeah, that Pansy Parkinson girl said stuff to me, but it was just to say that she liked my boots yesterday, and it didn't seem like she was too honest about it. Maybe coming to Hogwarts was a mistake. Maybe I shou

"What are you writing," a now familiar voice asked from behind, causing her to jump and flip the parchment over quickly. Turning she saw Draco standing behind her, with a cocky, half-smile on his face.

"Nothing that concerns you," she told him, feeling an embarrassed heat rise in her cheeks. She folded up the parchment and went to tuck it into her shoulder bag when he made a grab for it. Rhi was quick, but not quick enough to keep something from the Slytherin Seeker.

Draco grabbed the folded up parchment from her fingers and holding it above his head so she couldn't grab it back, started to unfold it. Instead of jumping and trying to grab the page of thoughts back, she pulled her wand out of her bag, waved it, and said "wingardium leviosa," and directed the note high out of Draco's own grasp, then back into her bag. When the page was tucked safely away in her bag, she closed the flap and waved her wand once more. "Niterbarat," she said, causing a lock and hasp to appear on the front of the bag.

"Try and get into that," she said. "Oh, and just so you know, alohamora doesn't work on that spell. In fact, I can't think of any basic spell that will open that. Now, what do you want? I'm busy."

"Smart little witch aren't you?" Draco said, smiling. "You don't look busy to me. What are you doing, other than writing secret notes to yourself?"

"I'm waiting for someone," Rhi said coldly.

Draco's face lit up. "So that owl did manage to get you my note this morning," he said. "I had thought so, but I wasn't sure when you were so rude to me at breakfast."

"You wrote me that note?" she asked him.

"That's right."

"Why didn't you sign it?"
"What need was there? The last thing I need is people spreading the word that I'm writing love notes to the new girl, which is absurd. This covers both of our tails. No one can say anything about us sending mushy notes to anyone. Understand?"

He looked at her as if she was mental.

Rhiannon rolled her eyes, "well then, what did you want?"

"To talk," Draco said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"So then talk," Rhi said, gathering up the quill and parchment to return to the Hufflepuff, along with her shoulder bag.

"Will you at least sit?" Draco asked her.

"No, we tried the sit and talk thing at breakfast. It didn't work too well, and I feel that it was completely pointless. Why repeat something that is doomed to fail once more?" she asked walking out of the library with Draco following her closely.

"Call it intrigue," he said, eating up the ground her short, quick steps covered, with easy strides of his long legs. "Plus, I'm giving you the chance to kiss me again."

By this time they were outside in the court yard, and she turned at gaped at him. "Give me the chance to kiss you again!" she exclaimed. "Well, here's a news flash that the Daily Prophet won't type: I will NEVER kiss you again Draco Malfoy. Do you hear me? It was a mistake that you even walked into my compartment with those two buffoons of yours. You are insulting and insufferable, and the mere sight of you makes me want to curse myself silent! You are self-centered, arrogant, and further more -"

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" he yelled at her, getting down close to her face. "Do you ever shut up? All I hear about is how you did so well at whatever that other school you went to, and what spell you created and how great you are. You call ME arrogant you little git, look in the bloody mirror!"

At this point, dark clouds had rolled in and thunder began to rumble deeply. "If you have such a problem with me MALFOY, then why the hell are you still around me? Leave if you want. I couldn't care less!"

"If you weren't a girl -"

"You'd do WHAT?" she demanded. "Hex me? Curse me?" Rhiannon yelled at him, pulling her wand out of her bag. "Try it and see who walks away to detention and who has to serve theirs in the hospital wing. But don't worry, I'll bring you some belladonna while you're recovering with Madame Pomfrey."

Draco pulled his own wand out of his robes, and took a step back, his pale, cool skin turning a hot red. "Don't worry, you won't have to trouble yourself," he yelled back. "Because I won't be the one in the hospital wing. EXPELLIARMUS!"

Lightning split the sky as she blocked Draco's attack and sent one back of her own. "RI PERI SIKAT!" but Draco was just as good as she was, and blocked her attack as well.

The two of them circled each other like caged griffins, watching each other coldly, daring the other person to cast the next spell. Rain started to pour down heavily and drenched them both, plastering hair and clothing to their bodies.

"I can play this little game all day Draco, how long can you keep it up?"

"For as long as I need to," he snapped back at her.

As they circled once more, she thought, too bad I'm going to hex him. He looks really good in the rain. And she pictured herself brushing her fingertips over his damp face, to bury her hands in his moonlight colored hair.

Damn her, he thought. Why does she have to make such simple things so difficult. If she had kept her mouth closed like a proper woman, then we wouldn't be getting drenched in the rain, and working our way up to a doozy of a detention.

Just then, out of no where, a bludger came hurling at Rhiannon from the side. But because her attention was so completely on Draco, she didn't see it. Instead, Draco ran at her, full tilt and tackled her to the ground.

"GET THE HELL OFF ME!" she screamed, and slapped him.

Draco grabbed both of her hands and pressed her to the ground, staring down at her and yelled back.

"THEN MAYBE NEXT TIME I'LL LET THE BLUDGER CRASH INTO YOU! It's not like it's my damn fault that who ever is practicing Quidditch can't keep their eye on it." He pushed himself to his feet and started to stomp off. Jumping to her feet, Rhiannon had to run slightly to catch up with him.

"Draco, stop."

He ignored her and kept walking. She grabbed the shoulder of his robes and he brushed her hand off and still kept walking.

No one ignores me, she thought. Fine, I guess I'll make him listen.

She ran at his back and jumped on him, wrapping her legs tightly around his lean waist, and her arms around his neck. Draco spun trying to get her off his back, but she stuck like a leech.

"Get off me," he yelled.

"Listen to me," she yelled back.

"Fine, but get off me first!"

Rhiannon unwrapped her arms and legs and slid to the ground, and Draco turned to face her.

"What do you want?" he asked her. "It can't be to stay, because you only just told me to leave you alone."

At the sight of him, Rhi's breath caught in her throat, and her heart began to pound in her head. The buttons of his robe had come undone when she had jumped him, and so did the top four buttons of his shirt. And all of it was soaked in rain, his hair plastered to his head.

For a minute Rhiannon was speechless. Her mouth worked, but her voice was gone.

"What?" he asked impatiently, but her voice still betrayed her, and wouldn't make a sound.

Sighing, she used her wand to write in the air. Crystalline words formed and glistened in the pouring rain.I'm sorry, it said, and then her voice began to work once more and Draco laughed at her.

Rhi laughed as well. It was all so ridiculous what they had been arguing about. She leaned in and brushed her lips over his in a soft kiss, and when she pulled away, she watched him with sparkling black eyes from beneath the harsh fringe of her bangs.

Draco brushed them out of her face softly with one hand, and leaned down for another kiss. Just before their lips met, the sharp, "Draco Malfoy, Rhiannon Brandy, what in the name of Merlin are you doing?" caused them to jump apart.

Both turned to see Professor McGonagle, her hands on her hips, her hard gaze locked on the both of them. "You will both receive detention for that wonderful little impromptu display of a wizard's duel that you took upon you selves to entertain the entire school with. Report to my office immediately." And with that, she turned and walked back into the castle, leaving Draco and Rhiannon to follow silently with their heads down, but sneak a glance and a smile at each other.