"The old bastard was doomed since he let Potter free Father's house-elf." Draco Malfoy cackled lazily, sprawled ungainly along the black leather sofa in the Slytherin Common Room. "It's about time he died, seriously. I'm just sorry we have to wait another month."

"What was he, Drake? Four hundred years old?" Pansy's stifled laugh fell awkwardly between herself and Draco. Her hands wrung painfully in her lap as she watched Draco sink further into the cushions as well as further into his own mind. Her eyes darted from his face to his pocket – from the couch, to the door, to the steps leading from the bedrooms – constantly reassuring herself that they were alone. The mascara caked on her eyelashes was so thick that it would have made her lids droop, if not for her nervous, rapid blinking. It gave her a strong resemblance to someone staring into the sun too intently. But of course, that's how all addicts appear when they're looking for a fix.

The Slytherin common room was, indeed, very quiet save for the sound of a sobbing student on the other side of Snape's office door. The professor was so wicked sometimes it was quite difficult to understand how he was permitted to stay in this blasted castle, Draco thought. He sighed in silent admiration and was reassured of why his Head of House was such a good Death Eater.

"Mr. Creevey, you will clean up the mess you made this instant or I will personally see to it that Gryffindor loses five hundred points and that stupid hide of yours is trapped in detention for the next month!"

Draco snickered lightly to himself at that and tossed a few peppermint pasties into his mouth piggishly.

The fire was blazing extra high so that the green dressings of the room had a sickly olive tone. The color fit the couple perfectly; one had green on her mind, and the other had green in his blood.

"Look, you want any of this shit anyway? It's not any good. I'm going to give it to Crabbe." Pansy removed a small vial from her pocket and proceeded to uncork and sniff. "The old hag in Knockturn Alley said it was good… stupid old fuck. Smells like garlic."

Draco sat up quickly and, reaching across the low table separating them, snatched the vial from her fingers so violently that she was pulled forward from her sitting position. As soon as she hit the floor, her chin-length black hair rubbed the opposite direction and stuck straight up from the abundance of hairspray she had used. It was actually quite lucky that it did not catch on fire considering how close to the hearth she had landed.

"Pansy, you dumb bitch, it is garlic! How much did you pay the witch?" His grey eyes were furious.

"Ten Galleons," she replied timidly. "But you said-"

"I don't care what I said. Girls never do anything right. What the hell is the matter with you?" His pale pace had turned pink and he lowered it as soon as he noticed the noise in Snape's office had died down. "Do you even know what cocaine looks like?"

"Well to be honest, Draco, I never use Muggle drugs."

"Coke is not a Muggle drug, Pans… You really don't know anything, do you?" He raised an eyebrow. "You've only ever been good for one thing anyway."

Pansy stood shakily and walked to the door of the girls' dorms. She was stiff and jittery from a prolonged withdrawal. "And you better believe you get none of that tonight."

"I'll fuck Daphne," he replied coldly, not even looking at her.

Pansy could admit she was hurt. All she'd ever done was for Draco or the Dark Lord and his behavior wasn't helping. She turned.

"I don't care." It was her way of showing him he wasn't everything. But she had always been a bad liar.

Draco smiled dangerously. "I'll fuck Yeva."

Pansy's inner dam collapsed and she spoke in a low, cracked voice. "Parajanov… you and Parajanov are… I knew it. You bastard! You are so like your father I could scream."

"In that case would you like some of my stash, slut?" Draco still did not look at her but instead pulled a packet of real cocaine from his inner robes. "Parajanov's a powerful witch… so pure. You must understand, pet, only the best for the Malfoys."

Pansy was dizzy. Her head was spinning and her feet felt light. Her face was pale and her eyes were dry. She needed the coke that he held, she needed it more than air.

Her terrible aching need for the drug made her bold. "I'll go to Snape," she said. "I'll tell him what you did to her…. He'll kill you! And you know he'll have no mercy. He loves that little bitch to death."

Draco's lush mood was replaced in an instant with unadulterated malice. A growl escaped deep from his throat and he rose from the couch ferociously. Pansy steeled herself against the ebony doorframe and tried to focus.

Draco was moving forwards… no back… no, yes backwards… towards the hearth. His hand outstretched and dangled the packet of narcotics over the flames.

Pansy couldn't help it. "No," she whispered. "Please, I'm sorry."

Draco chuckled. "That's right, slut." With a flick of his wrist he tossed it to her and it landed at her feet. "Not so fast." He snatched it away before she could grab it. And then he kicked her, hard.

She whimpered.

"Kiss my shoes, slut," he said.

She moved achingly to comply when he kicked her again, in the face, until her nose bled a deep maroon on the green carpet. Then he loomed threateningly and grabbed a fistful of her thick hair in his hands. He pulled her to her knees.

She dare not cry out for fear that he would not give her the drugs and she bit her lip instead.

He leaned in close until he could lick her ear. "You better believe I take after my father," he whispered. Dangling the coke in front of her face, he spoke again. "And if you interfere with my plans again you get no more of this, you understand?"

Pansy nodded through the pain as best she could with his hand fisted in her hair.

Three seconds of terrifying silence passed and he dropped her, as well as the drugs, on the blood spotted floor.

Pansy scrambled to grab the vial lest he snatch it away again, but as she turned he pulled his wand from his pocket.

She froze.

"You cross me one more time, Pansy, I swear I will kill you. You are worth very little in the Dark Lord's master plans. You understand me?" She nodded wordlessly. "I will have my way, my dear," he said with a smile. "NOW GET OUT OF MY SIGHT!"

Pansy shot up the stairs without looking back and slammed the door.

"I know what you're doing you slimy rat." Yeva's eyes blazed from where she stood in the shadows of the darkest corner of the common room. Draco jumped from the sudden noise. "I will never fear you, Draco. Never. You have the discretion of a hippogriff… And I know what you're doing to the girls."

Draco's surprised stumble turned into a snobby pose. He raised his chin and narrowed his eyes, taking a few steps closer to where she stood. He would have liked to think that he looked powerful but instead it came off as foolish.

"Yeva, my sweet. Wherever did you get off to last night?" he asked sickly. "I missed you." He winked.

"You coward." Her voice seethed with rage and lowered to the basement of her register.

Draco swooped in suddenly and grabbed her wrists with both hands, slamming them against the wall behind her head, and breathed his sour breath onto her face.

"No one calls me a coward," he whispered threateningly. "No one ever calls me a coward."

"Until now, you mean." Yeva tried desperately to break free. The pressure he had placed on her body was one of the most disgusting things she had ever felt.

At the realization of her comment he slammed his hips into her stomach harshly until she could feel a bolt of pain along her spine as well as an extremely unwelcome bulge that formed in his groin.

"You have ten seconds to take that back or I will have to floo Father. We wouldn't want that now, would we?" His tone made her want to be sick and his breath smelled of garbage.

"Do what you want," she said defiantly. "Just be prepared for Severus to skin you alive. You know he will."

Draco backed away instinctively, as if he had just realized that Snape was in the next room. But he did not give up the fight.

"Whose side are you on, bitch?" he asked carefully, articulating each degrading word with his sloppy tongue. "Because recently, I'm not so sure anymore."

"Fuck you," she said simply.

"A pleasure. Truly though, pet. We might need to… set you straight." He took a step closer.

"Fuck you," she said again, louder. "You want to set something straight? Try yourself!"

Yeva certainly knew how to push his buttons.

A growl escaped his raspy throat and manifested in the cool air of the dim room. He took another step towards her.

She did not back down.

"You think giving Pansy and Daphne drugs is going to keep them quiet?" She sighed raggedly. "You'll never win like that, Draco. You don't know the first thing about strategy. You haven't known a thing about anything since you were in nappies."

"You bitch," he spat.

"Thank you." She smiled and stepped closer to him, showing him that she wasn't afraid in the slightest. "That is quite more than can be said for you. It's a shame you never allowed me to show you how to choose your battles. Some Death Eater you turned out to be."

In a flash Draco's whole arm swung to strike her face… and within inches of her skin, she caught it, glaring at his bewildered expression smugly.

"What is going on in here?" Snape's voice piped up from the doorway.

The two enemies froze.

Draco opened his mouth but, at a loss for words, he sputtered like an idiot.

"Nothing, Uncle. Only teaching Draco here some knew dueling tricks I learned at Durmstrang." The entire time she spoke she watched Malfoy's face for signs of rebellion, daring him to step out of line.

Snape studied them from a distance, trying to put two and two together as he examined the blood spot on the floor from Pansy and Draco's earlier match. After a few seconds, his headache took priority again and he lost interest.

"Just keep it down then," he snapped. "I'm ready to blow up Gryffindor tower."

Yeva chuckled, still not breaking eye contact with Draco.

"I'm sure no one down here will mind," she said.

Snape nodded and turned abruptly in a swirl of cloak, exiting the way he came.

Yeva finally dropped Draco's arm and shoved him till he stumbled backwards.

"Next time, ferret, try learning a bit more about who you're up against." Her eyes narrowed dangerously. "I am a Death Eater too, don't forget."