Author's Note: Sorry it took me so long to update. It's getting harder to find time to write so it might be a week or two between postings. Thanks for reading. This story is unbeta.

Chapter 8

Love does not begin and end the way we seem to think it does. Love is a battle, love is a war; love is a growing up."

- James Baldwin

It had been over a week since Draco started tutoring Willow and now that Draco was helping Willow with her studies Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape were free to attend to other matters that required their attention. Occasionally Snape would drop by to check on them but majority of the time they were left alone without supervision. Despite the mutual attraction they harbored for one another Draco and Willow did nothing but fight during their daily tutoring sessions. Draco found the redhead argumentative and stubborn while Willow found the blond Slytherin arrogant and pretentious.

Willow was sitting in the dungeon classroom with a large spell book opened in front of her looking at Draco as if he had grown a second head. "That's the most ridiculous thing I ever heard," said Willow pointedly. Willow knew that Draco was smart but sometimes he would say the stupidest things that made her questioned his intelligence.

"It's true. You can ask anyone," said Draco earnestly.

"Werewolves do not eat their young," replied Willow dryly.

"Well what would a muggle-born know about it anyway," challenged Draco smugly.

"I happen to know a werewolf and I consider him one of my friends," countered Willow.

"Bloody Hell! You actually associate with one of them. Merlin I thought muggles were bad enough, but you consort with the half-breeds too," yelled Draco in shock. He had never met anyone who was willing to admit they actually knew a werewolf no less being friends with one. Willow Rosenberg was one strange bird and Draco was beginning to realize that she wasn't just some ordinary muggle-born witch.

"God Malfoy does everything have to be about breeding. People aren't dogs you know," cried Willow in outrage.

"It matters if you're anyone of importance," said Draco smugly as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"You are such a snob," yelled Willow in frustration. Willow didn't know what about Draco that made her so angry. She never got this mad over Cordelia and the cheerleader had taunted her for years. There was just something about Draco Malfoy that seemed to rub her the wrong way.

"Mutt," shouted Draco as he unfolded his arms and allowed them to fall to his side with his hands clenched into a tight fist.

Willow shot up from her seat and placed her hands on her hips. "Inbred," shouted Willow angrily as her emerald eyes blazed with liquid green fire.

Draco's eyes narrowed and he leaned in until the tip of his nose was mere inches from Willow's flush face. "Mudblood," sneered Draco vehemently.

Willow's hand moved before she realized it and her palm made a loud cracking sound against the side of Draco's face leaving a large red hand print on his pale cheek.

Draco's eyes widen in shock as he held his hand over his sore cheek but it didn't took him long to recover from the blow and his eyes narrowed in rage as he slowly stood up from his seat. "Why you little b…," snarled Draco furiously.

"Enough!" shouted Snape as he entered the classroom. Severus had overheard the whole confrontation and decided to interfere before the situation got out of hand.

"Ms. Rosenberg, go to your room!" shouted Snape angrily.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to," cried Willow pitifully. She really didn't mean to hit Draco, it just happened. She didn't even know what mudblood mean but the way Draco had said it as if she was nothing but dirt made Willow's blood boil and she just snapped.

"Leave now!" yelled Snape sternly.

Willow startled at the harsh tone in the professor's voice. She had never seen him this angry before. Willow gathered her things quickly and left the room quietly giving Snape feeble glances all the way to the door.

Draco smirked at Willow's pained face as she left the room. It was about time Snape showed the girl her place.

"Mr. Malfoy what exactly is your problem?" asked the professor harshly with a hard look on his face.

"Excuse me?" asked Draco in confusion. "She's the one who hit me," whined Draco innocently.

"Ms. Rosenberg wouldn't have retaliated if you didn't provoke her," replied Snape confidently. He had no doubt that Willow wouldn't have strike Draco unless he deserved it and to be honest Snape derived some level of pleasure watching the little redhead smack some sense into the arrogant boy, something he wanted to do for a long time now.

Draco was shocked that Professor Snape would take a mudblood's side over his. "But…but she hit me!" cried Draco in outrage.

"Oh do shut up Mr. Malfoy. It wasn't that bad. The way you're carrying on you would have thought the girl tried to murder you. Show some backbone boy," said Snape harshly.

"I demand that she be punish and if you won't do it I'll go to my father and have her expelled," threaten Draco.

"Is that a threat Mr. Malfoy," sneered Professor Snape. Draco swallowed hard as he caught the gleam in the professor's black eyes. "Your father may be a powerful and influential figure in the Wizarding World but behind these castle walls I carry far more weight than him. As long as you reside in Hogwarts you are mine Mr. Malfoy and mark my words if Ms. Rosenberg fails so do you," vowed Snape as he let each word drip with malice from his tongue.

"Do you understand me Mr. Malfoy?" asked Snape sternly.

"Yes sir," scowled Draco bitterly.

"I can't hear you?" clipped Snape.

"Yes sir," repeated Draco loudly.

Draco sulked in his room for the rest of the day before he finally decided to venture out and face the redhead. He knew that Willow had won the last argument but he wasn't about to give her the satisfaction of thinking he was afraid to face her. He might as well get it over with and bare humiliation that was sure to come.

"Darn it!" yelled Willow in frustration.

"Having some trouble Rosenberg. I see things are going as usual," smirked Draco as he strolled into the classroom.

Willow sighed. "Look Draco I'm sorry for hitting you and for what I said…well maybe not for everything I said, because some of it was true. But I shouldn't have hit you. It was wrong and I'm truly sorry for hurting you," apologized Willow sincerely.

Draco was shocked by Willow's sincere apology. He was not expecting that from the fiery redhead. Snape had taken Willow's side and she had won. If it was him he would be rubbing it in her face by now. Draco narrowed his eyes at Willow suspiciously trying to gauge if this was some sort of a trap to get him to lower his guard. But all he could see was genuine regret and remorse in her emerald green eyes. She was silently pleading him to forgive her leaving herself completely vulnerable to him and it touched him far more than he thought it should.

Draco cleared his throat awkwardly. "Well…I guess we can call a truce for now," offered Draco hesitantly.

Willow beamed at him causing Draco to swallow nervously. "Truce," agreed Willow happily and she offered him her hand.

Draco looked at it warily as if he was deciding if it was safe before he finally took her hand and gave it a firm shake. "Truce," agreed Draco.

"Wingardium Leviosa," shouted Willow loudly as she waved her wand over a large white feather lying in front of her on a large wooden table. The redhead glared angrily at the feather that seemed to be mocking her by continuing to lie motionlessly on the smooth table's surface.

"You're doing it wrong," singsong Draco as he leaned causally against the wall on the far side of the room.

"Shh. I'm trying to concentrate," hushed Willow as she closed her eyes tightly in concentration. "Win...gar...di...um Lev...i...o...sa," pronounced Willow painfully slow, drawing out each syllable a second longer than normal.

"Oh yeah, that will work," snorted Draco sarcastically as he pushed himself away from the wall and sauntered gracefully across the room until he was peering over Willow's shoulder. He had promise Professor Snape that he would help Willow but Snape never said that he had to be nice about it. The truth was that Draco got a perverse sense of pleasure in aggravating the fiery redhead. He found himself doing the most obtuse things just to see her big bright green eyes flash in anger, her cheeks flush and nostril flair with frustration. Merlin she was beautiful when she was angry. He would imagine that's what she would look like in the moment of passion and those images fueled his hormonal teenage boy's fantasies of the redheaded mudblood.

"Shut up," hissed Willow under her breath.

Draco stood there in smug silence as Willow did the spell incorrectly for the third time in a row.

"Why don't you try waving your wand back and forth real fast and just maybe you could create enough wind current to float the feather off the table," snorted Draco in amusement.

"If you don't shut up, I'll Wingardium Leviosa this feather right up your a…" yelled Willow angrily but her threat was caught short when suddenly the feather began to float.

"But…but how!" cried Willow in disbelief.

"Like I'm always telling you Rosenberg it's not so important how you do it, then how much you want to do it. You had the mechanics down but you lacked the will. Magic isn't just words. It's about intention, focus and power. If you can remember that you won't have any problems," smirked Draco.

"It worked. It worked!" shouted Willow in glee as she bounced up and down in excitement. Then she flung herself at Draco and hugged him fiercely.

Draco stood there in shock for a moment before he wrapped his arms about Willow's small waist, closed his eyes and allowed himself to enjoy the feeling of Willow's warm body against his.

A week later…

Willow's magic improved by leaps and bounds. The girl's power increased at a frightful rate. The floodgates had open and Willow absorbed spells like a sponge now that she understood how they worked. There wasn't a doubt in anyone's mind that Willow will be ready to join the fifth years when school began in a month.

Unfortunately her relationship with Draco didn't fair as well. In fact it seemed to get worse. Draco and Willow bickered back and forth as if they were old enemies until they both was red in the face from yelling at each other. Draco found the girl infuriating. She challenged every barb, insult and slur he threw her way. No one had ever gave him this much trouble. Instead of insulting him or ignoring him Willow would get right in his face and demand evidence to prove his position. If he failed to do so to her satisfaction Willow would dismiss the comment and promptly informed him that he was full of it.

Draco had found himself actually having to be careful of what he said around the girl for fear that Willow would prove him wrong, which seemed to happened more often for his liking. It was annoying as hell. Draco didn't like to be wrong. He wasn't use to having to explain himself. People usually just accepted what he said as fact and move on. Everyone knew that purebloods were superior. He was just the only one with enough guts to say it out loud. Why should he be the one to explain that to the stupid girl?

Once again Draco found himself trying to convey that very concept to the stubborn redhead during one of their impromptu 'lessons' of the Wizarding World. Draco was just about to explain the importance of ancestry when Willow so rudely interrupted him in mid rant. Apparently Willow had enough and decided the subject wasn't worth pursuing.

"Yada yada yada. I don't care Draco," said Willow dismissively.

"Someone should teach you some manners Mudblood," sneered Draco.

"I would like to see you try," challenged Willow as she glared definitely at him.

Something flared inside Draco and he grabbed Willow's forearm in a painful grip. How dare she talked to him that way! Didn't she know who he was? He was the Slytherin Prince, heir to the Malfoy throne and someone to be feared and not ignored.

Willow struggled in his iron tight grasp. "Get your fucking hands off of me Draco before I hex them off," threaten Willow.

"My, my what a dirty little mouth you have there. I'm sure we can find a better use for that sharp tongue of yours," said Draco seductively.

"W…what," squeaked Willow.

Draco almost howled in delight as Willow began to stutter and blush. He had finally found the Achilles' heel in the mudblood's armor, something that would finally shut her up. If he couldn't intimidate her or insult her maybe he could embarrass her. It seemed that little Miss Rosenberg couldn't handle sexual innuendo so Draco turned up the Malfoy charm a notch and went for the kill.

"Is there something wrong Rosenberg? You look a little flushed," purred Draco as he brought their bodies closer together until he could practically feel her body heat through her robes.

"Um…um…I'm fine," stammered Willow as a light blush spread across her cheeks.

"You're sure? You look kind of 'hot' to me. May be we should lay down a bit," whispered Draco huskily.

"Hmm…Yeah," moaned Willow distractedly as Draco pressed the full length of his body against her. "I mean no!" yelled Willow quickly as she pushed lamely against Draco's chest.

Draco soon began to see the flaw in his plan. Apparently he was just as affected by their interaction as she was. Who knew that Rosenberg could blush so prettily and that moan almost did him in. He was in real trouble. This was just too much like his fantasies for comfort and he could feel himself becoming aroused as she wriggled against his body. Draco wanted her so badly and if he didn't do something quick he was going to embarrass himself. But Draco just couldn't seem to pry himself away from her warm soft body and he did the most stupid thing he could ever do. He caved into his desires and kissed her.

Willow's eyes widen in surprise when she felt Draco's lips press against hers, and then she sighed as they closed in languid ecstasy.

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