"Call me mudblood one more time!" Sloane growled, climbing up from the mess of blankets and pillows she had been sleeping in on the floor before she was so rudely interrupted. She wasn't sure where the boldness came from, but the rage coursing through her veins made the walls of the Slytherin common room feel like they were closing in on her.
It wasn't her fault the stupid Sorting Hat had put her in Slytherin. She hadn't asked to be a Muggle-born in a house full of pureblood supremacists. And she certainly hadn't asked to be singled out by Draco Malfoy.
She'd been sleeping in the Common Room for weeks now. It had become easier than enduring the cruelty of her pureblood roommates, who also despised her for something that wasn't her fault. She didn't have a say in who her parents were or the powers she was born with. Yet here she was paying the price for a series of awful decisions by the universe.
Sloane would have given anything to be smart like the Ravenclaw girls or kind like the girls in Hufflepuff. She would have sacrificed her left kidney for just a fraction of that Gryffindor courage. But, no. Here she was facing off against Draco Malfoy at 3am in the Slytherin common room. This wasn't the first time he had corned her or called her names, but this was the first time he'd done so without an audience. This was the first time it felt truly personal.
"Why are you sleeping on the floor, Mudblood?" Draco spit out the awful name again.
Sloane's fist flew up, but he caught it. His grip was surprisingly strong and was surprised how good it felt to have skin to skin contact with another human.
Draco's icy eyes were shockingly blue up close. Sloane's breath caught in her throat as they made eye contact. She resisted the urge to brush the stray strand of white blond hair out of his face with her free hand so she could see his eyes better. The Malfoy hand gripping her arm was a bright snow white against her own mocha-colored skin. Her heart slammed against her rib cage.
She licked her lips and tried to sound brave. "You wouldn't hit a girl, would ya, Malfoy?"
The look in his eyes was dangerous. He brought his face even closer to hers and snarled.
"You are a disgrace to this house, Sloane."
"And you are a disgrace to the Hogwarts name, Malfoy!" Sloane spit back.
He blinked hard, like she had slapped him. Most Slytherin girls were all too happy to slitter Draco's praises. He had probably never been talked to like this before by any girl other than Granger.
He pushed her back into the wall so fast and hard her back hit the stone. He still held her wrist and his thumb, digging into her skin, was starting to cause a bruise. Images and horror stories ran through her mind. Stories of other mudbloods and half-blood girls beaten and raped by Slytherin boys who truly believed those girls were somehow less than human. Was she about to become another statistic?
"Draco, please." She felt herself start to whimper and looked him right in the eyes. "I'm just trying to sleep."
And then his lips were on hers, but it wasn't forceful. It was soft and sweet and she found herself kissing him back. When he pulled away, she felt his tears on her cheeks.
The look on his face still scared her, but now for a completely different reason. He look utterly and thoroughly broken. She reached out for him, but he released her wrist and pushed her away from him, backing up in a hurry.
"I'm sorry," he whispered and then he was gone.
