Hello, readers. You've waited patiently so here it is. Sound the trumpets! The next installment of my story is up. I want to thank all of you who have reviewed it. I'm blushing over here! I really just wanted to succeed in writing a mediocre, if not average, story starring our favorite Slytherins. My highest hope actually was that I would not get flamed too badly for my poor writing. I never thought people would actually think it was quite good. So, you can only understand why I give sincere thanks to all of you! - Makbee

Pansy sat on an old oak desk in a currently abandoned classroom. It was located somewhere high up in a tower of the old castle and thus the wind howled louder and madder than she had ever heard it, as if the gods above were furious with the world. She gazed at the cobwebs that occupied the ceiling of the room, trying to distract her mind from thinking about the contents of the letter she was holding.

It was from her dear mother, reprimanding her for not answering Draco's proposal and demanding to know what she could be doing that was possibly more important than securing her future. She had rolled her eyes when she read that line. Honestly, she felt bad for Draco if they ever were to get hitched (fat chance!). He would have a hell of a time with his mother-in-law. But then again, she would probably fawn over him the way she did with the golden statues she kept on the mantle.

At last, the old creaky door opened and she turned her attention to the two girls who walked in. Pansy quickly shoved the letter in her robe before they could see it.

"Parkinson, we're here. What's with the secret huddle?" asked Daphne.

Millicent said nothing. Instead she opted to lean against the wall facing Pansy.

"What are they saying about us?"

"About who? You and Malfoy?"

"No, you idiot, about Dumbledore. Of course about me and Draco!" Pansy snapped.

Daphne, used to the verbal abuse, rolled her eyes. "The whole house gossips about you two constantly. But the consensus seems to be that you two have reconciled and that any day now, you'll accept his proposal."

Pansy nodded her head. Good, at least that was going the way she wanted it to. Being a mastermind of a devious plot was difficult sometimes.

"You're not going to, though." It was Millicent who spoke up. Daphne gave Pansy an inquiring look.

"I told you from day one, Daphne, that I wanted him to suffer." Pansy sniffed. She narrowed her eyes and looked at Daphne in the face. "I wanted him jealous, to want me again, all so that I could destroy him and his wretched ego." She had said it with such hate and conviction that the other two girls were baffled. Her actions whenever she was around Draco did not seem like it was forced at all. So this hate-confession somewhat shocked them.

"Well, you're acting is commendable then, Pans," piped Daphne. "You honestly had me forgetting that you despised him so." Millicent only nodded in agreement.

Pansy let out a chuckle. "Heh. It wasn't easy, I'll admit. Being near that toad was unbearable." Half-lie! It was unbearable in that she could not stop those stupid feelings from coming to the forefront sometimes. But they didn't need to know such damning details.

"So you have no feelings for him left, whatsoever?" asked Millicent, dubious to her display of venom against the Malfoy heir.

"None," she replied as cold as she could.

"Alright then, that's that," Daphne said, crossing her arms. "What do you want us to do?"

"I need to you to keep feeding the fire, of course. Spread it to our house that I'm finally going to answer Draco's proposal tonight in the common room. Make it sound like you want it kept secret, that way it's guaranteed that it won't."

"You're going to reject him?" asked Millicent. "In front of every Slytherin who comes along to watch?"

"Which is our entire house," reasoned Daphne.

Pansy cast an evil sneer their way. "A fitting scandal for our last week of school, no?"

"You always did like taking center stage," sighed Daphne. "Did you know that he's so sure you're going to say yes that he never bothered to send any other girl a proposal? Such an ego! I mean, he is Draco Malfoy so you can't fault him for it but I never thought you of all people would be the one to turn him down."

"Hell has no fury like a woman scorned," quoted Millicent.

"How did you find that out, Greengrass?"

But Daphne only smiled. She had her secrets too. And one of them was that Theodore had confided in her the juicy tidbit while they were alone in her room. It was a casual remark but she had filed it in her head as important information.

"Well, then. Go. You know what to do." She dismissed them like she was born to be the queen of everything; she had done it a million times before, and they obeyed her willing and eagerly, just like they had done a million times before.

Draco was in his room, searching for a book he had borrowed from Theodore, who was currently demanding Draco return it lest he forgot about it after graduation. He honestly did not even remember ever wanting to borrow anything, least of all a book. But Theodore had insisted that he did and that he at least take the time to look. He only obliged because Theodore was one to bother you until he got what he wanted.

He opened one of the drawers in his desk and found a picture. It was of Pansy, who was sleeping on one of the tables in the library. She had dozed off when they were studying for a Charms exam one year. The photo had her breathing in and out deeply, with her hand twitching occasionally. Not that she knew he had taken a photo of her. She was somewhat self-conscious about what she looked like asleep. He personally found her mesmerizing. He stared at it for a few more seconds before placing the picture back. In the process of doing so, he found another trinket. It was a green ribbon that he knew all too well. Pansy had taken to wearing it around their fourth year. She often left one or two lying around in his room when she spent the night. He shook his head at the memories. He knew deep down that he did not want her to have anything like what they had with any other man. He gently shut the drawer and resumed his search.

He was in the middle of emptying out his trunk when he heard a soft knock on the door. He quickly abandoned his search and opened it, only to find Goyle standing stupidly in the doorway.

"What is it, you imbecile?"

"Heard something from a few of the girls. Thought you should know."

Draco gave him a disbelieving look. "When have you ever been in the presence of girls, Goyle?"

The husky boy just shrugged. "I was on my way to the Great Hall and I heard them talk about stuff," he replied.

"Well, what is it?" Draco really had very little patience at the moment. That damn Nott would probably hound him until he found the stupid book. If it even existed.

"They said Pansy is going to say yes to you tonight. Said she was going to be looking for you in the common room later on," he offered.

Draco's face retained the same cold, unfeeling look he almost always had. Underneath that marble exterior however, he was elated. She sure had taken her sweet time about it. Imagine, making THE Draco Malfoy wait this long for a response. That girl was really something. But as much as he was annoyed that it took her that long, he was also relieved. A part of him thought that she was surely going to reject him. But it was a very small part. Certainly he was irked by her constant lavishing of affections on Zabini, but he knew that he would win out in the end.

He nodded his head to Goyle, who took that as his cue to scram. Draco shut the door and finally allowed himself to smirk in satisfaction. All thoughts of finding Nott's book went out the door, as he prepared to make himself look presentable for the evening.

Meanwhile, Pansy was up in her own room, pacing back and forth. This was it. There was no going back. This is what she wanted, right? All that planning and acting cumulated to this one finale. She was nervous. She could not believe that she was actually about to do what no Slytherin girl would ever think to do: reject Draco as her husband. Yes, it was serious.

But what would she do after? Who would she accept, instead? She was already thinking that far ahead. She wasn't a smart-because-I-study-so-much kind of girl like Granger, but she was still clever. She knew her plans needed to extend further than revenge; she had to know how to respond to the consequences of tonight's actions. She could always look through the list of suitors again and find out which one was attractive AND rich and go with him. That was the option she favored the most at this point. But what really mattered now was the task at hand. "No turning back now," she said to herself. Pansy braced herself and steeled her nerves for the show to come.

She found him in the common room, rooted by the fireplace. He was lost in thought, she could tell, as he twirled the silver snake emblem hanging from the chain around his neck. Loose strands of his fine blonde hair lightly brushed his face, moved to life by the ever-present draft of the underground room. He was surrounded by their peers, but alone at the same time. They hovered just outside his presence, not daring to be within fifteen feet from him. Instead they were milling about and pretending they had business in the common room, chatting with others. But she knew they were there to witness what they thought would be her acceptance.

She ignored the incessant chatter that had noticeably lowered in volume and approached him without a lot of pomp. She stood in front of him yet he seemed oblivious to her presence, still lost in thought. She made no noise. He would notice her soon enough. And he did.

He was caught up in his emotions for her. Not that anyone would get him to admit it. Rather, he would have lied and said he was exhausted from searching for Nott's imaginary book. But he snapped out of his trance when he sensed her. His eyes quickly found hers and one corner of his mouth formed what she could only describe as the beginnings of a genuine smile. Too bad, she thought. He would have nothing to smile about after this.

He cleared his throat, as if signaling to everyone that they were ready for an audience. The crowd never stopped talking, but that should not surprise anyone as they were Slytherins. Instead, voices dropped to hushed whispers and low-toned conversation; everyone was acting like they didn't care but still wanted to hear what would be said.

"Pansy." That was all he said as he took her hand. An eternity of silence immediately followed.

Make it good, she thought. She let images of Draco kissing Violet, of herself crying over him flood her mind. She found her hate and need for vengeance.

"No." She had said it so softly that at first no one really heard her, except for Draco. She felt his hands grow cold.

She tried again. "I won't have you, Malfoy." She snatched her hand away from his. "You don't deserve me, and I sure as Salazar don't deserve someone as despicable as you." Now the room went deathly quiet. He was in such shock that he said nor did absolutely nothing but remain standing still.

As uncaring and cold as he made his expression out to be, she nevertheless saw the hurt in his eyes, all the confusion. Well, there it was: revenge. Already the whispering around her returned. Pansy couldn't breathe. She felt the tears start to form in her eyes and she did not even know why! It was so bittersweet. The room started to spin and she knew the look on his face would somehow haunt her forever. Pansy did the first thing that sprang to her mind: run!

And run she did. She ran past the talking dimwits that had formed a circle around them and past the doors of the room. She ran up stairwells, down hallways, and up even more stairs. She did not stop until her lungs ached and not until she was sure she was lost. Finally, out of breath, she placed her back along the cool stone walls of the castle and allowed herself to slide down into a sitting position. She wanted to laugh at it all. It was ridiculous. She knew for a fact that she would have hated herself for not going through with it, but she was also mad at herself for doing what she did.

"Ugh. No, this is my triumph," she said to no one but herself. "I won't have these stupid guilty feelings." She brushed the errant tears that had managed to escape. She inhaled deeply, before pronouncing in a soft voice, "I win."