Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or creations by J.K Rowling etc etc

Things are starting to heat up and I am promising plenty of Lemons to come in the next chapter.

Also if things are a little confusing about Rayne and why she's so concerned about Snape finding 'things' out well all will be revealed in later chapters. You will find out the same time that Draco does, until then all I shall reveal is that her 'story' at the beginning was not entirely true and there is a little more to how and why she is at Hogwarts.

A/N: Edited 29/11/08

Un-Malfoy like Behaviour

Draco awoke early the next morning, so early that the sun had barely risen over the castle and the dungeon common room was still deserted. He'd tried earnestly all night to get some sleep but had failed to block out the fitful thoughts and concerns that had been rioting inside of his head long enough to let him rest. As he saw the first rays of artificial sunlight begin to filter their way through the hangings around his bed Draco resigned himself to getting up.

Grabbing a towel and clean clothes he headed down to the bathroom for a shower whilst it was still quiet. Roughly he twisted the taps and stepped beneath the warm flow of water, closing his eyes and sighing as it caressed his skin. It soothed his tired and aching muscles but did nothing to ease his sulky and irritable attitude. He had royally fucked things up with Rayne last night, she'd been furious with him and he, once again, found himself wanting her acceptance and forgiveness. Angrily he scrubbed shampoo through his white blonde locks, how the fuck am I going to sort this mess out?

He shouldn't have insisted she go and see Snape with him, but he just couldn't resist showing her off could he? "Valuable asset," he muttered viciously, how callous could he have been? And knowing she was right outside of the room. "I've been such a fool." He said quietly to himself, throwing his head back against the marble tiles of the shower wall, shutting his eyes tightly against the harsh lash of the water on his face.

After a few moments Draco began to hear shuffling and muted conversation outside of the door, the rest of the house was getting up. Sighing he stepped out of the shower, killing the flow of water as he left. He wrapped the towel around his waist and went to pick up his clothes and his wand. Using a drying charm he dropped the towel unceremoniously to the floor and proceeded to dress in his school clothes before standing in front of the mirror to sort out his hair.

Satisfied that he looked perfect enough Draco smirked and headed out of the bathroom, depositing his laundry in the hamper on his way past, well at least something's going right, he thought knowing full well just how good he looked.

Fully dressed and groomed Draco gathered his bag and hurried out of the common room and up to the Great Hall without so much as a word to anybody, there has got to be some way to rectify this.

***

Rayne too had spent a fitful night. Ranging between bouts of rage that left her too inflamed to sleep until they'd properly cooled and slipping into dreams of flesh, blood and pain coupled with numerous, rather compromising, images of Draco that left her uncomfortable and confused.

Pale shafts of what looked like sunlight had begun to filter through the small gaps between the hangings on her bed and the sounds of her classmates leaving the dormitory around her caused Rayne to grimace in the realisation that it was morning already. Slowly she forced herself into a sitting position and groaned at the violent pounding inside her head, a result of too much stress and nowhere near enough sleep. Groggily she pulled open the hangings and screwed up her eyes against the bright sunlight that streamed in through the enchanted windows.

"Well look at the state of you." She heard an irritatingly bright but snide voice shoot at her. Cracking her eyes Rayne met with Pansy's well presented, if still not particularly attractive, form.

Rayne ignored the snippiness of the comment and said, "What time is it?" Her voice was harsh in her tired and dishevelled state but she didn't care what Pansy, of all people, thought of her.

"You'd better hurry, there's only twenty minutes of breakfast left." She snapped airily before breezing swiftly out of the room.

"Shit." Rayne muttered, forcing her resisting body out of bed. Taking a glance in a nearby mirror she hated to admit it but Pansy was right, she did look a state. Her skin was greyish, opposed to its usual brilliant white, her lips were dark and cold, her sleek raven locks were in tangles and her eyes were as pale as lavender.

Shaking her head Rayne flipped open the lid to her trunk and pulled out a set of clean clothes for the day and then, digging deeper, she extracted a fairly large vial of a thick, dark red substance which she promptly uncorked and swallowed the lot. She dressed quickly, ran a brush through her long black hair and, picking up her bag, hurried up to the Great Hall hoping she would make it in time for a coffee.

***

Draco was already seated at the Slytherin table when Rayne walked into the hall; he was sat looking sulky as he pushed the food around on his plate, never once raising it to his lips.

Pansy had seated herself beside him looking decidedly smug after seeing Rayne in the state she'd looked that morning. She was sure there was no way Rayne would make it to breakfast looking anywhere near half decent, it must take hours to perfect that white makeup she puts on her face, Pansy thought ignorantly, hoping that Draco would soon realise he'd been very much mistaken with all of the things he'd said on the train. However Pansy's vain hopes were shattered when Rayne swiftly glided into the Great Hall looking every bit as immaculate as she had done the previous day.

Whatever she had drunk from that vial had worked wonders, her eyes, lips and skin were all bright and glowing, her long black hair shimmered in the morning sunshine and she appeared to be completely revitalised despite such an obvious lack of sleep.

Pansy's jaw dropped at the sight of her as Rayne gracefully seated herself on one of the opposite benches near to where she and Draco were sat. How on earth did she manage that? Pansy screamed inside her head as she noticed in frustration that Draco was watching Rayne with raised eyebrows as she helped herself to some coffee.

Rayne quietly smirked at the look of horror on Pansy's face; it certainly was a wonder what a small amount of human blood could achieve. Unlike a vampire Rayne did not need blood to survive, no she ate much like a human does, but she did have an instinctive craving for it and when taken it could have amazing benefits.

Sweeping her eyes to the right she locked her gaze with Draco's for a few brief seconds before he dropped his eyes. In those brief seconds the images she'd seen over and over in her dreams last night began to flood back. Her heart fluttered in her chest as she feasted on his appearance. He did look good, even with that sulky expression, but just seeing him alone wasn't enough to make her forget his words last night. An asset, that's all he thought of her as, and now Snape was going to be sticking his overly large nose where it wasn't wanted. No she'd have to forget him and do what she was required to before it was too late.

With a resigned sigh she looked away from him and gazed into the depths of her coffee cup, rejecting the thought of food. Not after the blood she had taken, they didn't sit well together and the alone caffeine would suffice to keep her going until lunchtime.

She was drawn out of her thoughts by the sound of Professor Snape making his way up and down the table with a large pile of parchment in his hand. He met Rayne with an icy smile, which made her somewhat nervous, handed over to her one sheet of the parchment on which was drawn her weekly timetable and then carried on down the table.

She'd smiled at him warily in response and hastily looked away with the pretence of examining her timetable, his knowing gaze set Rayne on edge. Scanning her amethyst eyes across the page Rayne looked to see how she would be spending her day. The morning looked promising at least with both Herbology and Care of Magical Creatures that meant that her entire morning would be spent out in the grounds. The afternoon however was a little more disappointing, Defence Against the Dark Arts followed by double Potions. An entire two hours of having to endure Snape's knowing glances, plus he was bound to pair her with Malfoy so that he could 'keep and eye on her' as he'd put it last night. Still, dropping the parchment into a pocket on her robes, she'd pass each bridge as she came to it.

Draco watched coyly as after she'd caught his gaze Rayne proceeded to ignore him. He was trying his best to ignore Pansy's sulky and jealous comments that she insisted on rattling off at him. Snape approached with Draco's new timetable in his hand and had obviously noticed the animosity between the two. Leaning down to hand Draco the sheet of parchment he muttered, "You've not spoiled things with her I hope."

Draco chewed his lip nervously before he hissed a hushed reply, "A minor set back, nothing I can't deal with." But his words were far more confident than he actually felt about the situation.

"You'd better Draco," Snape added menacingly, "If my suspicions are correct then her 'friendship' could prove to be vital." He then straightened and continued to stalk back down the length of the table distributing the timetables.

Draco swallowed hard and flicked his eyes back up to look at Rayne, she thankfully hadn't noticed the hushed words between himself and Snape, being too involved in studying her own timetable. He needed to apologise to her to rectify things and soon. He grimaced at the thought, but Draco was going to have to swallow his pride and grovel, the thought of such un-Malfoy like behaviour began to make him feel sick.

Rayne glanced down at the time, reading it off of the brushed silver watch that was coiled tightly around her right wrist. It was almost time for classes to begin and a quick glance around her showed many of the other students already filing out of the hall and heading to various parts of the castle. Tipping the remainder of her coffee between her lips Rayne stood, putting her cup down with a clatter, picked up her bag and began to head out of the hall.

Draco noticed that Rayne was making to leave and, shoving his plate roughly away from him, he stood intending to follow.

"Draco!" He heard his name shouted shrilly from behind him, "You're not even listening to me."

He groaned and turned to glare angrily at Pansy, "Look Pansy just shut the fuck up, I don't care." He said harshly before grabbing his bag and hastily making to follow Rayne out of the Hall.

"Rayne." He called when he was just a few steps behind her.

She closed her eyes and bit her lip to resist the want to turn around and hear what he had to say. She kept on walking determinedly, she had to ignore him, forget him, he would lead her to trouble and he couldn't know any more not with Snape hanging around.

Draco rolled his eyes when she ignored him and reached out to grab her arm. Pulling her around to face him they both stopped walking to the side of the Grand Staircase and locked eyes with each other. "Rayne look, listen to me," Draco said a little unsure of how to do this, "Please." He added.

Rayne sighed and chewed on her lower lip, making it redder than it already was before nodding indicating that he should proceed. She would hear him out at least.

A wash of relief passed over him as she conceded to listen to him but then Draco was faced with a problem what should he say? Apologising and grovelling were alien territories to him. "What I said last night, that wasn't how I meant it, it was a bad choice of words I don't see you like that at all." He said, his words a slight babble but for a beginner at this sort of thing he didn't start out too bad.

"Then how do you see me Draco?" Rayne asked, her voice cold and stern. She would hear the real truth out of him yet.

"A friend," he said softly reaching out to grasp one of her delicate hands in his. "More than a friend?" He gazed imploringly into the amethyst pools that were her eyes.

Rayne forced back her smile at his words and instead asked in a slightly strained voice, "And why should I trust you?"

"Because I mean it. Because I've never done this for anyone before. You're different from all of the others Rayne." And if you don't Snape is likely to kill me.

She pulled her hand away from his and sighed, still unconvinced by his words. The danger he'd put her in after last night was too great to overlook just because Draco Malfoy had never grovelled to somebody before, whether he understood it or not.

He could sense her reluctance to accept his word and so pressed on, "Rayne, you and me we could have something great. Something too good to just throw away over some stupid comments, lets just forget it and start again."

Haven't we been here before? Rayne thought to herself. She sighed, "Draco for a start there is no You and I to speak of, I believe we forgot all of that the first time we went through this. Second I don't think you quite understand how serious this is. Before last night things could have been promising but after everything you told Snape, well, I can't afford to risk it."

Draco stood in confusion, not at all sure what she had meant. All he was sure of was that he'd been rejected and he didn't like how it felt one bit. "Rayne come on, it's too good an opportunity to just pass up on." He tried coaxing.

She merely rolled her eyes and started to turn away, amazing how egotistical he could been even when begging for forgiveness. "Forget it Draco, it's not going to happen." She said, with some reluctance, and made to walk away from him.

From behind him Draco heard a patronising laugh, "Nice one Malfoy, very smooth," A voice said. Looking behind him Draco scowled it was Potter and the Weasel. He'd never hear the end of it if they saw him crash and burn like this. "Yeah and here's us thinking you were a ladies man." The Weasel taunted sardonically and Draco fumed.

Not thinking clearly Draco strode forwards and grabbed Rayne by the arm. She was about to complain when he suddenly turned her around and pulled her close against him, fastening his lips against hers in a bruisingly passionate kiss.

She resisted for a second but soon melted away into the sensation of those full, soft lips against hers and the heat from his body as he pulled her closer. Raising her arms she wrapped them around his shoulders, twisting her fingers into his soft, platinum locks.

Draco delighted as she gave in to him and pulled her closer still as she twined her fingers through his hair. He ran his tongue teasingly across her lips and moaned softly when she parted them allowing him to snake his tongue inside.

All the images from her dreams flashed before Rayne's eyes once again now seeming to be a very real possibility. As he deepened the kiss Rayne sighed softly at what she had come so very close to missing out on. How could she have considered rejecting him? It just couldn't be done, he was a Malfoy and they always got what they wanted in the end.

Softly Draco broke the kiss but kept Rayne locked tight against his body, "So what do you say, shall we start over?" He asked in a breathless whisper.

Rayne simply nodded in reply, a grin spreading on her face. Fuck the dangers and consequences she knew what she wanted and would be damned if she'd let anything interfere with that. What sort of demon would she be if she valued what was expected of her over personal pleasure?