I want to punch him in that infuriatingly straight nose. On my way here, to St. Mungo's, I was ready to forgive Draco any measure of stupidity. All I wanted was to know that he'd be all right, but now that I know his "injury" consists of nothing more than a pair of fairy wings, I'd like to kill him.

"What were you thinking?" I ask the git.

He sighs and starts to lean back, but bounces forward again when the edge of a green wing touches the back of his chair.

"I told you, I thought I could handle it. And I was right… in a way. Evangelina Brown isn't dangerous at all. I just wasn't prepared for how careless she is with her… experiments."

I nod slowly, making a mental note to ask for more details about the case later. "So this has nothing to do with what happened Friday?"

He shakes his head, but his cheeks flush a rosy pink. Obviously he's lying.

"Good, because that would have been idiotic, and not to mention, unprofessional."

"That it would," he says.

Wow, that's a first. He's never agreed with me about anything before.

He looks at me for a moment, then takes a deep breath. "Harry, I've been thinking—"

"Yes?"

He rubs away an imaginary scuff mark with his shoe. "Well, you obviously want to get into my pants, and I'm a bit embarrassed to admit my lack of experience—maybe we can make a deal."

I must say that I like his train of thought. "And what kind of deal did you have in mind?"

He takes another deep breath and his eyes meet mine. "Let's shag."

Even though I'd been expecting him to say something of that sort, I feel lightheaded with elation.

"Just this once," Draco adds, "no strings attached. I'll get that first time out of the way, and you can cross me off your list and move on to the next name."

There is no list, but I don't bother pointing that out again. This might be my only remaining chance at getting a piece of that ass.

"Are you sure that's what you want?" I ask. "It sounds very…formal."

He nods. "It does, but it's the only condition under which I'll sleep with you. There isn't any sense in deluding myself into believing you might want a real relationship."

He looks up at me then, as if expecting me to argue, but I don't. I'd like to assure him that I do want more—I feel differently about him than I have about any of my previous conquests— but I myself can't be sure that won't change once we've been together. I haven't been in a relationship since Ginny and I broke up.

His face falls slightly, but he masks his disappointment with a smile. "We'll have to wait until these stupid wings are gone."

I laugh. "Of course."

The silence that follows becomes uncomfortable, so I ask about the case. He says a neighbour had reported unusual activity at the Brown home and suspected that Evangelina might have had something to do with her husband's disappearance. The good news is that she was guilty of nothing more than irresponsible attempts at performing faerie magic; the bad news is that we're now back to where we started.

When he's done recounting his adventure, we exchange an awkward goodbye and I take my leave. There's an obvious bounce in my step as I walk down the hallway of the fourth floor. I spot a lime green-robed Healer near the lift and grab his sleeve.

"Make sure you have the best team possible working to reverse Auror Malfoy's condition," I tell him.

His eyes stop linger on my scar for a moment and he blushes. "I'll make certain of it."