I don't think I had ever been more relieved to see Draco in my life- and I'm very frequently relieved to see him. He tends to spend a lot of his time being almost dead.

"Hey, baby," he drawled from the door, "I'm here to gallantly rescue you."

"I needed someone to gallantly rescue me an hour ago," I said, and raised my glass of brandy at him. "I've now sunk to drinking."

"Alone? That's a bad thing, doll."

"Are we in a gangster movie? Did I miss something?" I asked, giggling. Maybe I'd had about fourteen glasses too many. I was only tipsy though- besides, I knew from experience that Malfoy's sobering-up spells were the best.

"You've been crying," he said, and then quickly crossed the kitchen and wrapped his arms around me. "I'm going to kill Potter for this, he should never have left you here on your own."

"No," I said, sliding my own arms around his neck and letting him burrow into my shoulder. "It's fine, I'm good now. I was just a little shaken."

"I told him you shouldn't have come at all, you aren't ready for this," he murmured. "And I should have stayed with you sent, oh, I don't know, anyone but me into the house."

"You're way more distressed over this than I am," I said, wondering if it was all right now to press a kiss to his hair. I loved his hair, even if I did know just exactly how much time it took to get it that soft. "You're sweet."

"I am not," he said, apparently having gotten over his agony enough to start kissing my collarbone. "I'm very, very, very evil. And insensitive and a lot of other bad qualities," he then took a moment to move up to my jaw. "But, I'm also very, very good in bed. It just sort of comes with the whole sexy bastard turned good package."

"Yes, bastard," I said, and pushed him away. "Lovely, lovely bastard."

"I'm irresistible to women!" he crowed. And then did a sort of impromptu jig that I didn't really need to see- but I'm as good as in love with the poof. This was poor Petunia's (the fact that I'm saying that is demonstrative of the pure horror of the situation) first impression of Draco.

"He's, um, very inbred," I said after a moment. "Possibly insane." Petunia just stared as Draco did something that looked very much like a pirouette to me. "Malfoy! Look, I know your poor, oversexed neurons can't take much, but don't you think this is taking it a little too far?"

"Well, no, not really. Your neck tastes like heaven."

"Oh?" I asked, hardly restraining myself from giggling. It would not do to giggle at his antics- then he gets to do them again. Draco Malfoy may play the cool, calm and collected snob, but on the inside, he's a crazy teenaged boy who has mood swings that even I can't compete with. "Aren't you supposed to be rescuing me?"

"Gallantly, yes," he agreed. "Where'd you put him, then?"

"Under the stairs," I said, smiling. "Fitting, don't you think?"

"There's a reason I adore you," he said, then kissed me on the cheek. "Fix up whatever you need to here, and then, for God's sake, come home so I can ravish you."

"You know, you're very forward," I said, and then watched Petunia ogling out of the corner of my eye and pulled him in for a proper kiss. "I'm just not that kind of girl."

"I am Draco Malfoy, everyone is that kind of girl when I'm in the room," he said, "including the men."

"Prat!"

"Why, yes."

"You'll tell me everything when you get home?"

"If we can hear anything over the moaning and groaning."

And, it was the stupidest time I could have picked to fall in love with him.