"I don't think it's called rape if you beg for it, Agorios." Malfoy wiped the spit off his face.

"Oh, Bratfoy," Lia cooed. "It is so adorable when you talk about things you don't understand. Now." She paused. "Why am I here?"

"Revenge," said Malfoy, bluntly. "And because I have questions."

"Ooooh. Is baby Malfoy still angry that I insulted his daddy? Don't worry, I'm sure he'll still change your diaper, when you run crying back to him that is."

He snorted. "After I'm finished with you? You'll be the one pissing your pants for the rest of your life."

"No." Lia gave a cold laugh. "No. I don't think you'll hurt me, Malfoy." She was surprised to find that the words rang true as she said it.

"And why ever not?" he glowered.

"You don't have it in you. You're gutless. Just like your father."

His face simmered in rage at that and he pressed one hand against the wall, leaning towards her, drawing his face nearer, so that their noses almost touched. "Say that again," he growled, his voice low and throaty.

Lia winced. He was getting a bit too close for comfort now. She met his gaze. His eyes were incensed, and a muscle twitched in his cheek. She swallowed. She knew that she had to choose her next few words carefully. Malfoy looked like he was contemplating strangling her.

"I don't think you'll hurt me," she repeated again.

Malfoy shot her a look of incredulity. "Think you can beat me, Agorios? Where's your magic now?"

"I don't need magic," she said, firmly. "You won't hurt me, Draco. Because you don't want to."

He snickered at that, resentfully, dubiously. "Channeling your inner Potter are you? Do you really think that everyone's oh so good and noble? Well, let me tell you that you're wrong, so very wrong and so very stupid ... I want to hurt you." He smirked, nastily. "Hurt you badly."

He snapped his head up. "Crabbe. Goyle. Go stand outside and watch if anyone's coming. I'm going to teach Miss Agorios here some manners."

The two stout boys looked at each other glumly, but did as Malfoy asked. No doubt they had wanted to watch the showdown that was bound to occur. Lia thought that they should have finished with it and bought along some popcorn too. They opened the door, and stepped outside, to be Malfoy's ever loyal, duteous guard dogs.

Malfoy pointed his wand at her. "Lia. Lia," he tsked. "Always too innocent for your own good. Hoping I can't do it? Father's taught me much." He held his head high in the air. "And now you're going to pay for disrespecting him. And disrespecting me." He swallowed, his tone was clear and confident. For a second, Lia thought there had been a glint of … what was that … amusement, in his eyes? What a sadistic boy.

"Crucio."

Lia recoiled back. She remembered the agony the curse had inflicted when Quirrell had struck her with it. She instinctively closed her eyes, waiting for the sound of a scream to come. And it came.

But for Lia? There was nothing. Not even a tingle went through her body. That was strange. She'd been sure that Malfoy had aimed directly at he - he was standing so close that even he couldn't have missed - and she'd seen the jet of red light. So what had happened? And who had screamed?

Malfoy swore. He was staring at his wand with chagrin. He didn't look very surprised that the curse had not worked. There was now an ugly red mark on his cheek, as if he'd been burnt. Although he had been glaring disdainfully at Lia beforehand, he now seemed unable to meet her eyes.

She took the time, while he was distracted, to rage at him. "Crucio? CRUCIO? CRUCIO! HOW DARE YOU! Malfoy, you better hope your parents bought you life insurance, because you're dead meat! Oh, you're going to be expelled! No … that's an unforgivable curse that is. HA. You're going to fucking Azkaban. Even your father can't get you out of this one."

He shot daggers at her. "Calm down."

"Calm down? You want me to calm down? You … you just tried to torture me! How do I calm down after that? Oh when I get my hands around your ne-"

"I knew it wasn't going to work."

"You knew it wasn't going to work? OH! I see now. Well now everything's alright isn't it? Sure you did. That's a bloody believable excuse."

"You burnt me," he said, the tone was condemning, but his eyes, his eyes sparkled with veneration.

She didn't stop to think though; she was too angry for that. "And you fucking deserved it. You deserve worse, you bastard! Come here and face me like a man! I'm going to freaking kill you!"

"You burnt me," he said again. "You burnt me. You burnt-"

"Are you a fucking parrot?" Lia cut in.

"Lia! This is wonderful! You passed the test!" She hadn't been expecting that.

"I passed the test? What test? You're trying to lie to me again! Well, you know what?" She was beside herself with fury. "I'm not going to bloody believe you. You're going to Azkaban. And that's that!"

"No, Lia!" Malfoy looked smug. "Don't you see? You burnt me. While you didn't have a wand! And you didn't even need to say an incantation!"

"It was a heat of the moment thing," said Lia, her wrath rising up again. "Especially since you tried to use the cruciatus curse on me! Oh, you're going to get it –"

"We can date now!" Malfoy interjected suddenly, stopping Lia from finishing her speech about how she going to chop Malfoy's balls off. His tone was almost merry.

There was a long pause.

"WHAT. THE. FUCK?"

She blew up, choked on her own spit, and started hacking. Her anger was replaced with shock. This had to be the most bewildered she had ever been. Never in a million - scratch that, a billion years, would she have thought that those words would come out of Draco Freaking Malfoy's mouth. Was she dreaming?

Malfoy gave a small look of disgust at Lia, who was still croaking and gasping for breath.

"You see, obviously when I still believed that you were a Potter, I didn't have any feelings for you. It's not my fault though. At that time, everyone thought you were a halfblood. And Harry's sister at that." He said those phrases with scorn. "It's a bit unfortunate because we wasted that whole year. But now? I've spoken to father and since you're a pureblood, and the daughter of a death eater, he's given me permission to fancy you.

"He is angry about what you did in Flourish and Blotts, make no mistake. He thought you were an impudent child at first, but he recognized your bravery. And bravery is valued. What's more, you are young, so you have the potential to change. You were raised by muggle scum and with that filthy Harry Potter, so it's understandable that some … unpleasant residue might still be in you. But my blood's pure enough for the both of us. Father told me that it's my mission now to clean you of the stain you've got from associating with trash like the Weasleys and the Grangers."

Malfoy continued. "Of course, there's many other families in the Sacred Twenty-Eight that are deserving of my affections. For example, mother always liked Pansy Parkinson. One of her ancestors was once Minister for Magic, you know? I'd thought that we would end up together."

He smirked a little. "But after last year? Parkinson's blood is pure, but her magic is weak. You would make a much worthier companion – you're a pureblood, and an awe-inspiring witch. I had to be sure though. That's why I thought of this test. So I could see what you could really do when you were threatened. And I'm impressed." He hesitated. "You have nice eyes too. More attractive, than Parkinson's at least."

Lia was going to faint. Her heart was beating so fast that she was afraid she'd have a heart attack. "What are you thinking, Malfoy? Literally, five minutes ago, you were threatening to kill me! You said … you said … you were looking forward to hurting me!"

"I'm a good liar," said Malfoy. "I was playing you. How else would I be able to see the true extent of your abilities? And I did. You showed me. You burned me." He looked almost happy at the fact that he now had a burn mark on his face.

"You used Crucio!"

"I knew that it wouldn't work, I told you before. It only has an effect if you truly want to inflict pain. And I've never really wanted to hurt you. You said so yourself."

"Well, maybe. But I did not mean that you were … what? Secretly in love with me!"

"Love? It's not love. Emotions don't matter," Malfoy scowled, looking offended. "This, this is logic and reason! We're a couple that would work perfectly together. I'm rich, and my father's powerful. You're powerful, but you're poor and your parents are dead. We make sense!"

"We make sense? What part of this makes sense in your idiotic brain? And emotions don't matter? Do you have any idea what real relationships are meant to be like? I've never seen such a small mind in such a big head before! And there is no we. There is no us. There is me. And there is you. I hate you. You hate me."

"I don't hate you. I used to, maybe. But not anymore. You've proven yourself."

"I don't believe this. Malfoy. Let me out." He shook his head. "Let me out! I need to knock some sense into you!"

"No," he said, willfully.

Lia was about to scream profanities at him, but she shoved it back down. What could she do now? Malfoy was watching her, with eyes full of anticipation.

There was another lengthy silence.

She forced a smile onto her face. "Draco," she said, slowly. "Draco, I think I finally understand now. You're right. We do belong together."

She swallowed her pride. "I was just a lost girl, who had been much too brainwashed by her brother and his friends to see properly. But my vision is clear now. Earlier, I must have been too confused, blinded by rage, I was really angry you know? I see now. You're right. I'm grateful that someone like you, a Malfoy, has taken interest in me."

He smirked. "Finally. Took you long enough."

"Draco. You know what we must do now?"

"What?" asked Malfoy. "Kiss?"

Lia barely stopped her voice from shaking with alarm. "No, save that for later. We first have to announce our … coupling, to the Slytherins!"

"You're right," he said. "Alohamora." The chains around Lia loosened and she stood up. She gave another forced smile to Malfoy.

"And my wand?" she asked. Malfoy paused. "Draco. You have to give it back to me someday. How else will I be able to learn magic? How else will I be able to … to become a witch worthy of you?"

"Yes." He nodded. "Right again." He handed the wand back to her, their hands brushing during the process.

As soon as her wand reached her fingertips, Lia pulled away instantly. She sent a body-binding curse at Malfoy, who toppled over, his eyes still wide with shock.

"Mopefoy," she spat. "You dare kidnap me? And … and … insult me with your ignorance like that? You want to know how I feel about you? I wasn't born with enough middle fingers to show you! Try shit like that again, and I promise you, you won't have a dick to breed Little Malfoys for your father anymore."

She glared down at him. "I didn't like you before. I don't like you now. And I won't ever like you. Do you hear me? You're a bigoted, chauvinistic bully, and you're not worth a single strand of my hair." She scoffed. "How could you even think that I cared about blood? What good is blood status anyway? We're all human. We're all witches and wizards. We all bleed just the same. So don't go trying to … to 'clean me of my stain'. I don't want you imposing your brainless, moronic ideas on me."

She groaned in irritation. "And Malfoy? Next time you try to pick up a girl? I hope you try to be more romantic. You're going to end up dying alone at this rate."

Lia stormed out of the room, but not before she'd said, "Shalvios," and Malfoy's eyebrows had promptly fallen off.

As she stalked away, she met Crabbe and Goyle at the corridor, who stared at her in shock. "You prats," Lia hissed. They looked terrified. "I'll curse you into oblivion!" She didn't though. But she did finish with a nice Bat-Bogey Hex, which left them running wildly, swiping at the bats that flew out of their nostrils.

She was still infuriated when she arrived back at her dormitory. Tracey had been about to chat with her, but she'd taken one look at the thunderous expression on her face, and slinked out.

Who did Malfoy think he was? He was such a pig-headed arsehole – talking as if, she, Lia, was somehow below him. As if he was some God, bestowing her with his attention.

She ranted on and on, silently, in her mind.

Underneath it all, there was a small part of her, a very small part, that knew that not all of her anger was directed towards Malfoy. A tiny bit was at herself.

For when Malfoy had been standing so close to her, leaning towards her, that blond hair falling across his brow, there had been a moment when Lia had marvelled at how silver his eyes looked in the light, and she had thought of what it would have felt like if she kissed those flushed lips.