"But Headmaster, if you will just…"
"What is done is done, Severus. If you decide to change the captain now, the morale of the whole team will be affected, not to mention you will lose the services of your best Chaser. And in any case, my insistence that you do not make Mr. Malfoy the captain has very little to do with quidditch, as you well know." Albus Dumbledore peered at Snape over the rim of his half-moon spectacles as he shuffled his papers on the desk.
"That's what you say. Pardon me, Headmaster, but sometimes I cannot help but think that this is another strategy to help Potter lift the cup this year too." Snape gritted through clenched teeth.
"Harry doesn't need anyone's help to lift the cup, Severus; after all, he has been doing it admirably by himself. And I do not like your presumption that I will ever favour one student or House over another." Dumbledore seemed to radiate heat for a few moments, and Snape appeared to back down, albeit reluctantly.
"And just to remind you, my decision to make Mr. Malfoy the Head Boy over Harry and not the quidditch captain of the Slytherin team has more to do with your prodigy than Harry. Have you forgotten those reasons, Severus?"
Snape remained silent, but it was a very malevolent silence. Dumbledore sighed, pushed aside his papers and fixed his tired old eyes on the man before him.
"You care for the boy, do you not Severus?" he fixed Snape with a penetrating stare.
"He is an intelligent boy, Headmaster, and a worthy Slytherin. He has all the qualities a head boy should have." Snape replied dispassionately.
"Ah, yes…but I inquired about your liking for the boy on a personal level."
Again, Snape remained silent.
"I will take it as an affirmation. When you care for the boy, Severus, then my reasons should not be so difficult to understand for you." Dumbledore continued in a kinder voice. "You are aware where the boy stands presently, Severus? His father is a deatheater, and not just any deatheater; Lucius Malfoy belongs to Voldemort's inner circle. Currently he is in Azkaban, true, but Draco is at a very crucial point of his life. He has come of age, and he will be expected to join the deatheaters once he steps outside these walls. You tell me Lucius has never pushed the boy towards Voldemort, but as a young boy, he has most probably grown up dreaming about joining up. Do not mistake me, Severus, I do not blame the boy as it was inevitable." Dumbledore clarified as Snape made to protest.
"But I am equally certain that given that as he is now, for the time being, removed from the influence of deatheaters, he may be slightly confused. You have informed me that he is not evil yet, and I believe you. I also believe he is in two minds, and a prod in the right direction is what he needs the most right now, more than even the quidditch cup. He has already seen one side, now its only fair to introduce him to the other side…our side. He should see for himself, and decide for himself. But it is our duty to help him make the right decision so that his innocence is preserved. One life saved from the clutches of Voldemort, Severus, and with his talents, he will make a very fine member of the Order."
"So in other words, you are trying to shield him from the Dark Lord so that you can use him for the Order. Is that the higher plan, Headmaster? But why single him out for this honour? There are many others who could benefit from this thoughtfulness" Snape sneered.
"I am trying to make him a better man, Severus, and if that means he can also help us in the bargain, then so be it." Dumbledore replied briskly, with a hardness on his face that none except Snape had ever seen. "And as for singling him out, he is the most vulnerable, being Lucius Malfoy's son. I doubt very much that Mr. Crabbe or Mr. Goyle are held in the same regard as Mr. Malfoy by Tom Riddle."
"Theodore Nott..." Snape began testily, but Dumbledore cut him off by speaking over him.
"...is a clever boy who can look after himself. And I doubt whether he could be swayed in his thinking easily should he make a decision. Moreover, he still has a year left at Hogwarts. Maybe he can be our next Headboy..." the old eyes twinkled at Snape who failed to look impressed.
"But why should all this come in between Draco being the captain…?" Snape began irritably only to be cut off by Dumbledore.
"It will go a long way in building his character, Severus. He has always got his own way; this will teach him to bow to the will of others and work as a team player. And I have full faith in him, and you, and I know that the Slytherin team will not suffer much." Dumbledore added a bit impishly. Snape bristled with annoyance.
"I notice, Severus, that you did not complain when I made him the head boy in place of Harry. Surely you know that Harry has all the qualities that the Head Boy of Hogwarts requires?"
"With due apologies, Headmaster, but Potter is a little too hotheaded to really be suitable." Snape smirked.
"And what do you have to say for Mr. Malfoy's past record of bullying, unpleasant behavior, and general troublemaking? Surely such a record speaks against him?" Dumbledore inquired mildly.
"Yet you chose him, so that means that he definitely scores over your obvious choice where it matters the most." Snape was still smirking.
"He does, Severus. He scores because of what he lacks, not because of what he has." Snape's eyes narrowed at that, and Dumbledore smiled at him, elucidating his point, "I made Mr. Malfoy the Head Boy so that he is taken away from the pureblood elitisms of the Slytherin common room, and he can be near Miss Granger, so that he sees the other side. Miss Granger is a very rational, helpful and enlightened individual, and, I might add, a lot less hotheaded and more patient and forgiving than Harry or Mr. Weasley. She will be his guide to the other side and hopefully, with her help, Mr. Malfoy will become a better person and choose right over wrong."
Snape looked highly disbelieving of that, as though he found the idea of Miss Granger being able to help Draco become a better person ridiculous.
"I very much doubt that Draco will let her come anywhere near him. And anyway, Draco is already a very fine person, Headmaster…its just that he doesn't let everyone see it." He said softly.
"You just might be the only person in Hogwarts who thinks that, Severus, but still, its all the more reason that we make every effort to preserve and fine tune his exalted qualities. He needs Miss Granger's company, Severus, and making him Head Boy when she was a natural choice for Head Girl seemed a reasonable solution. Of course, his being smart, intelligent and a natural leader helped. All that he needs is to shed some prejudices and learn to shoulder some responsibility. And once he gets to know the Gryffindors better, he is bound to be influenced. His cool temperament can be a perfect foil to Harry's hot head if they begin to work together."
Snape made a non-committal noise. Dumbledore returned to his papers before asking, "Fancy a sugar quill?" Snape huffed.
Draco was reclining lazily on a plush armchair in front of the blazing fire in the Slytherin common room. Pansy was perched by his side, her arms round his neck, one hand playing with his hair. Every now and then, she would plant a soft kiss on his forehead, temple, or cheek, anywhere he would let her. Whenever he accepted her caresses, she would shoot triumphant glances towards a group of girls huddled in another corner eyeing Draco hopefully.
To say that he was happy would have to be an understatement. Behind the smooth mask of his face, he was ecstatic with joy. He was unable to believe his luck that he had managed to make friends with Granger, and the best part was the offer of friendship had come from her. A little forgiveness does go a long way, he smirked to himself. A whole week had elapsed since that little episode, and he couldn't have been more pleased with himself. True to her word, Granger was being a cold stranger to him in company, and a thoughtful, if slightly inquisitive and talkative, companion in private. Now Potter was only an arm's stretch away from him, either way. But admittedly, it was a very long arm.
Draco had come down to the Slytherin common room in celebration for the weekend. Of course, he couldn't confide his happiness or its cause to anyone, but it felt nice to be able to be himself for a while. The Mr. Nice Guy image he had been projecting for Granger's benefit was getting on his nerves. And anyway, it worked out nicely for both of them this way when he came here for weekends; they both got a break from each other and got a chance to mingle with their real friends, or in his case, his real counterparts.
Just as Pansy decided to get intimate and dove for his lips, he heard a familiar drawl behind him.
"Hey babes, its me…back in full colour! Did you miss me?" It was followed by an indistinct reply, probably because Blaise was kissing the girl.
Draco smirked to himself; it was payback time, and shoving Pansy aside, got up.
"Blaise!" he called out in his warmest tones, "So good to see you back. What did Granger do to you, by the way?"
Zabini was snapped out of his kiss at that, and he considered Draco coldly.
"Nothing more than what Raisingh did to you, Draco", he sneered.
"Really? But I heard she didn't even let you touch her, and even slapped you for good measure? Now that could have gone better, don't you think? Refused by a mudblood!" Draco's voice was laced with derisive amusement. A few sniggers were heard from around them that were quickly muffled when Zabini glared at the room in general.
"We'll see what goes better in your birthday party, won't we Draco?" Zabini retorted spitefully.
"That, we will. And the thing I will enjoy the most will be the present you give me, Blaise." Draco smirked.
"Don't get your hopes up so soon mate; the subject in question has wounded you once already, and I am keeping my fingers crossed for an encore." Zabini smiled nastily before turning his attentions towards the girl wrapped around his left arm once more.
Draco turned away and his gaze collided with the questions in Pansy's eyes. Having no stomach to face them, he stalked off.
He would have to do something about Raisingh now, he mused as he walked towards his dormitory, the castle corridors empty at such a late hour in the evening. He simply could not allow himself to lose this bet; he had never lost a bet to Blaise, for one thing, and he was looking forward to seeing him honour his side of the bargain, he smirked. And then, he could not lose face in front of Potter and his cronies. Most of all, he was simply looking forward to finding out if Raisingh delivered as good as she looked.
Thinking about her and his plans for her, Draco smiled to himself and started twirling his wand in his hands. He gave the password and stepped inside his common room, but at the same time, fumbled his grip on his wand, and it fell down softly on the carpet. Draco bent to pick it up, and heard an unfamiliar female voice call out, "Its not here!"
Surprised, he looked up before straightening, and found his eyes leveled at a pair of pink breasts, nearly entirely visible as their owner was down on all fours, peering beneath an armchair.
The first thing he noticed was that the girl wasn't Granger, and thanked his lucky stars. The next was that the girl was wearing a transparent lavender chemise, and the next that she wasn't the only one sporting such dishabille.
He slowly straightened up, and looked around, his mouth open. The next sight to leap out at him was that of a pink butt, only partially covered by baby blue knickers as their owner was also looking underneath another armchair on all fours with her back to him. Slightly dazed, he closed his eyes for a few seconds and opened them again; half convinced that he was dreaming. But now he saw more girls, all in a variety of nightwear that had only one thing in common: they revealed more than they covered.
As his eyes shifted from the bodies to the faces, he noticed in a daze that he recognized all of them. The girl in lavender was Lavender Brown of Gryffindor, the one in baby blue knickers and matching top with spaghetti straps was Hannah Abbott of Hufflepuff. His eyes swept the room and he found Parvati Patil of Gryffindor clad in a transparent lilac sheath with thin satin straps, and just behind her, her twin in a similar outfit in peach. To his surprise, he found the curly haired girl whom Blaise had been kissing in a baby pink nightgown, also looking for something. As he stared at her, she swept up her hair into a loose bun and kept looking, and suddenly he found out why he hadn't been able to spot her last year. She was Emilie Bennett, a sixth year Ravenclaw prefect, who normally had a thin, pale face with straight, lank hair that hung about her face desolately, looking like they had ash in them. She had colored her hair and curled them, and that had given her a whole new look. Damn these girls, he thought a bit irritably. But then his irritation vaporized as his eyes fell on the girl who had just straightened up from looking under the bookshelf. Wearing a simple dark green slip with frilly straps, its scooped neckline showing her young figure to perfection, she was a sight for sore eyes. Draco doubted even Potter had ever seen her wearing so little, and the thought cheered him up considerably as he watched Ginny.
Surprisingly, none of them had noticed him yet; they were all busy looking for something, checking under every piece of furniture in the common room. Draco looked around, his gaze coming to rest on a slender girl dressed in a translucent black nightgown with thin noodle straps emerging from the small kitchenette off the common room, her arms laden with an enormous tray holding all sorts of savories. She was the one to notice him, and her eyes and mouth rounded in an identical 'O' of speechless shock as she stopped dead in her path. Draco eyed her reproachfully; never had he imagined Granger to be holding underwear parties, but then he thought there was a lot he still didn't know about her. Her appearance returned him his power of speech, though.
"Well well, what do we have here?" he drawled out, and waited for effect. He wasn't disappointed; the girls shrieked and ran for cover, Hannah Abbott tripping over a small stool in her haste. The girls ran around like headless chicken, some grabbing cushions off chairs and some actually hiding behind furniture. If it hadn't been so important to appear cool and unruffled, Draco would have collapsed into fits of laughter.
Finally, only Hermione was left in the open, unable to do anything with her arms laden with food, and too shocked to put it down anywhere. Her eyes drifted towards something black dangling from the back of the couch, and Draco, seeing it, levitated her tray off from her and she gratefully went to retrieve her discarded robe. Once she had put it on, however, Draco dumped the tray back down in her arms none too gently and she caught its weight, fumbling a little. He had a bone to pick with her now, and wasn't going to let her get away with this.
Ginny was quicker than him, however.
"What are you doing here?" she asked accusingly, and would have looked intimidating in her anger if she hadn't been hiding behind a cushion.
"A question I might ask all of you, considering I live here." Draco told her, walking casually towards the couch, his favorite place in the room. "You know", he continued conversationally, "I've had this fantasy since a long time to be in a room full of girls. But in my fantasy, the girls wore nothing at all, and none of them were Gryffindors."
All the girls in the room blushed at that, and he smirked, leaning against the back of the couch, considering them. Finally his eyes came to rest on one.
"Want to tell me now whats going on, Granger?" he asked quietly.
"We are having a sleepover, that's all." She replied a bit defensively.
"Oh, is that all? And considering that I also happen to live here, didn't you think it necessary to inform me of your plans beforehand?" he inquired.
"You always spend your weekends in the Slytherin common room, so I thought…"
"So you assumed I would be doing it this time too, did you?" He asked her coolly, and Hermione flushed. Before she could say anything, however, he continued.
"How would you like it Granger, if I decide to return this favour to you? One day you come back here expecting to find nothing more than your comfortable bed and a good night's sleep, and come across a party thrown by me for my friends. And let me warn you, the only thing common between your parties and mine are scantily clad girls, and even that changes after a couple of drinks."
Hermione blushed to the roots of her hair. She had no answer for him, so she just hung her head.
"Stop bothering her. Its not her fault you suddenly decided to break habit and saunter in on a weekend night." Ginny jumped in to Hermione's rescue, throwing away her cushion in her agitation without realizing it. "And why have you come, did the other Slytherins throw you out, or did you get a wind of our sleepover and decided to peep in?" she accused him.
Draco raked her figure with his eyes insolently, causing her color to rise, but she refused to dive for the cushion this time. He looked away disdainfully, returning his gaze to Hermione. "Why is that" he asked the room at large, "that you Gryffindors have so little faith in each other's abilities to fight your own battles? Try to talk with one, and the other one jumps in to the rescue without invitation!"
"Its called friendship, Malfoy, but obviously you don't know anything about it." Ginny retorted.
"Too true I don't." Draco smirked and Hermione colored. "But then I don't need anyone to come to my rescue either. Anyways, Granger, what do you have to say to all this?"
Hermione took a deep breath, fully realizing that the devil that he was, he had knowingly put her in a spot, perhaps to see if she was serious about being his friend. She would show him.
"Malfoy", she began composedly, "I am truly sorry for this mix up, and I realize its my fault as I had not informed you of my plans earlier. And I also apologize on behalf of my friend casting aspersions on your character. I do not believe you to be a peeping tom, whatever else you are. So now please, if you could be so considerate as to leave us?" Hermione was politeness and cool indifference personified, and Draco mentally applauded her.
"Thank you for your apology, Granger. And I am just leaving." Draco nodded at her and turned towards the stairs, but Ginny's angry voice stopped him.
"What the heck is all this? Hermione, you are apologizing to this ferret? And he is thanking you? What is happening around here? What is going on between you two?" she cried suspiciously.
Draco turned to her; now it was his turn to do his bit.
"Even though neither of us pins our badge on our night dress, as I think one of your brothers did…what was his name?…but nothing detracts from the fact that we are the Heads, and as such, committed to be civil to each other for the sake of the student body. Does that answer your question, Miss Weasley?" he mocked Ginny.
"Don't you dare talk about my family, ferret; two of my brothers were Head Boys, one was a Quidditch captain, and one is a Prefect, as I am. You can't boast of such a…" but she was cut off by Draco in mid stream.
"Oh right, how could I match it! My father was a prefect in his day, and now I am only a Head Boy. Gosh, how I wish there had been more of us, but to overcrowd the Manor as you and your siblings overcrowd your …er…house, there should really have been an army of us. How inconsiderate of my parents to just stop at one, when they could clearly have gone on and on as yours did, outnumbering many families put together." Draco's voice dripped with sarcasm.
Ginny went scarlet and started clenching and unclenching her hands, clearly wishing for her wand, which was lying upstairs in Hermione's bedroom.
"Why, you foul, twisted piece of Slytherin rubbish…." She started furiously.
"Five points from Gryffindor for your impertinence, Weasley. Now do you really want to complete that sentence?" he sneered.
Ginny looked ready to pounce on him, but Hermione stepped in between them.
"That's enough, both of you. Malfoy, you apologize to Ginny this instant…" she began darkly, only to be cut off by him.
"Get real, Granger. And she started it, in case you didn't notice. The only reason I have not hexed her little butt to Mars is that she is here as your guest, otherwise believe me, I would take the greatest pleasure in kicking her out of here." He spat at her.
"Why you…kick me out indeed! And since when did you learn so much so as to hex me? I seem to remember something about a ferret and flying bogies." Ginny mocked him cruelly.
"That was then, Weasley…this is now. And one more impolite word directed at me out of your mouth, and you will find yourself in double detentions with Filch and Snape." Draco's eyes had gone silver again.
"Ha ha…now that frightens me." Ginny jeered him.
"Ginny, Malfoy…this has gone far enough. One more word out of any of you, and I will take twenty points from your house….yes Ginny, believe me I will." Hermione's temper was beginning to rise now.
Ginny huffed and looked away, and Draco released a long breath and looked around. All the other girls seemed to have been frightened into silence, and they were staring at the three of them apprehensively, probably wondering whether they should be trooping back to their own dormitories.
Draco shook himself mentally…when was the last time he had lost his temper? He couldn't remember, and he certainly didn't relish showing this weakness. But there was something about these bunch of blood traitors that seemed to rub him the wrong way. The worst was their assumption that they were in any way his equals. He could laugh when Weasel trumpeted such notions, but his sister was something else. She wasn't a fool like him, and her association with Potter made her think that she was practically royalty! Shit, Draco suddenly froze out of his anger, he had been arguing with Potter's girlfriend, for Merlin's sake! Talk about being sickle-wise and galleon-foolish! He had made friends with Granger and angered Weaselette! Damn, it was all because of these stupid Gryffindors! But who wielded more influence on Potter, Granger or his girlfriend, Draco wondered. It would definitely have to be the former, as she was the brains in their group! But it wouldn't help his cause to antagonize the Weaselette either.
He decided to just leave, but then he remembered their search, and his curiosity was aroused. What were they looking for anyway? He knew he had to ask.
"By the way", he began, and was pleased to notice that his voice was back to normal, "which one of you has lost her marbles?" he directed the question at Hermione, and was rewarded with a confused look. "You were all looking for them when I came." Draco reminded her with a small smirk, and Hermione suddenly relaxed…he was back to normal, and Ginny would cool down pretty quickly, she knew her.
"We were looking for Sia's ring." Hermione told him.
Draco raised his eyebrows at that. "And what would Raisingh's ring be doing here in her absence?" he asked her, and now he thought about it, he found her absence at this do most puzzling.
"Absence? She is very much here." Hermione replied, gesturing to the couch, and for the first time since he set foot there that evening, Draco looked down at his favorite place, and found it occupied by a girl wearing full-length, full sleeved cream-colored robes in silk, with tiny embroidery in pale hues of pink, green and blue, lying on her stomach, her face obscured by dark, wavy hair, one arm dangling from the couch. Only her hand resting on the carpet was visible, and yet there was no mistaking the tall, slim girl-Draco's nemesis.
Draco was surprised that she hadn't joined in the fray when he and Ginny were sparring and was content to lie comfortably in front of the fire. On his couch! He was more astounded by the fact that she was the only girl in the room who was fully clothed in non-transparent robes. How bizarre was that!
Draco approached her cautiously; there was no telling what she might do, after all, but she didn't stir. "Whats wrong with her?" he finally asked Hermione, but it was Parvati who answered.
"She has lost her ring, poor thing, her family heirloom! She will be eighteen soon, and her father had sent it over to her so that it may be altered to fit her when the occasion came for her to wear it. She was just showing it to us, but now its lost!" she sounded more distressed than Raisingh could've been, Draco thought.
"And her father is a very strict man, she told us; she is distraught with worry and grief. Inconsolable. She's crying her eyes out, poor girl." Lavender added.
Draco looked at the girls incredulously; were they referring to the same girl he had come to hold in a bit of awe! Raisingh was crying her eyes out? Draco looked down at her prostrate form once again, and then at Hermione, who confirmed this story with a serious nod. How odd!
"Why didn't you just Summon it?" Draco asked in a puzzled tone.
"Because", this time it was Hermione, "it can't be Summoned. It's a muggle ring, but because of its value for the family, it has been charmed so that it can't be Summoned, Banished, Transfigured or stolen. It also repels Sensing charms. We have to find it the muggle way."
"Oh!" Draco offered. But he was finding it difficult to believe that Raisingh was crying her eyes out over it; she just didn't look the type who shed copious tears. Determined to find out, he bent slightly towards her and carefully brushed a strand of her hair away from her eyes with his wand. She didn't stir this time either, but it could've been because she was fast asleep. And there wasn't the trace of a single tear on her face.
Draco smirked to himself; just as he had thought, there was more to this story. And then the Seeker in him saw it-a glint of gold coming from the hand resting on the carpet. On the pretext of bending over the sleeping girl in concern, which in itself was a laugh, Draco bent down to her level fully and carefully pried the glittering object from numb fingers. Satisfied that no one had seen him, he pocketed it, whatever it was.
"Well, in that case", he said straightening up, "I will leave you girls to your fun. Night."
With that, he turned towards the stairs and had placed one foot on the bottom stair when a dreamy voice floated to him, "Watch out for the Staircrits!"
Draco's eyes widened, and he slowly turned around on the spot, hardly believing his ears. But there she was, climbing down from the cupboard that held old School trophies, wearing a silver nightgown that fastened under her neck and flowed down to her ankles. Draco stared at her, not being able to decide whether to be more surprised at her pronouncement or the fact that she was looking for a ring on top of a cupboard!
"They eat away at the staircase as you climb, and then you suddenly find a stair missing and get your foot stuck. There is a serious infestation at Hogwarts." Luna told him seriously, having jumped to her feet gracefully.
The look on Draco's face was priceless, and Hermione giggled. Even Ginny smiled. But then he turned away stonily and was gone.
Damn these girls, and damn Luna Lovegood, thought Draco viciously. First they descend on him in droves, with negligible clothes, then they fight with him, and then warn him about imaginary critters! Draco tore out of his clothes in anger and threw them with such force they traveled the length of his room and hit the windows opposite. He stomped to his wardrobe and got out his boxers to wear for the night, but then decided in favor of black silk pyjamas; who knew what Miss Bonbon might get up to! She might decide to come here looking for some blibbering creature that roams the forests of her imagination! Draco fervently hoped that no part of him reminded her of crumple-horned snorkacks.
Girls were nothing but a necessary evil, he thought. Life would be so much better without them, but then it wouldn't really be life! He felt claustrophobic at the thought of the girls downstairs; feeling trespassed upon. Maybe it had something to do with growing up in the Manor as an only child, but it bothered him just the same. And he felt renewed irritation at Hermione for inviting all the irritating girls of Hogwarts without bothering to inform him. Weaselette, Patil and Brown, Lovegood, and even Bennett. He was irritated when he thought how much she had changed her look simply by changing her hair, and it bothered him to think he had lost her to Blaise now that she was looking good; it hurt his ego. Then he considered how he would look if he curled his hair, and then almost shouted with shock at the direction his thoughts were taking. Stupid girls, he raged.
He threw himself on his four-poster and was just about to hide beneath the covers when he suddenly remembered what he had taken from Sia. He leaped towards his discarded clothes and fumbled with them, finally locating it.
It was the ring. A huge, ornate ring, studded with many gems in the shape of a rising sun, and below it, two crossed swords. Must be some kind of family-crest, he though. It looked very old, and very valuable. Its thick gold band and the heavy design rendered it unfit to be worn by a girl, and Draco sniggered as he pictured Sia trying to lift her hand with the ring on it. He wondered how he had managed to get hold of it if it couldn't be stolen, but then reasoned that he had taken it just to tease Raisingh, so it probably didn't count. Just for a laugh, Draco put it on, and this time he really shouted.
The ring suddenly glowed an eerie green, and became hot and very tight, burning Draco's finger. He tried to get it off, but it wouldn't budge. Just as he blindly lunged for his wand, his eyes watering with pain, the ring suddenly returned to normal, and it slid off from his finger as he turned his hand upside down.
Stunned, Draco studied his finger; it was absolutely normal, as though it hadn't just been burned. A bit scared, Draco flung the ring on to his nightstand and blew out his bedside candle, sliding beneath the covers. He had seen many dark objects in his life, and was sure this was one of them.
He was in one of the gardens on the estate of Malfoy Manor, admiring the flowers and the architecture, and then he heard a giggling. As he turned the corner, he was confronted with a group of girls, bathing nude in the fountain, splashing water all around them. As he got nearer, one of them turned-it was Ginny Weasley. "How dare you?" she screamed, and her face suddenly transformed into Hermione Granger's. "It is charmed. It cannot be stolen." She told him. And then the scene changed, and he was standing in a run down, decrepit building with his parents. There were a lot of cloaked people around, and he shivered with apprehension. And then they were standing before someone, a tall, emaciated someone, with his back to them, and his mother tried to shield him with her cloak, and his father stepped in front of him so he couldn't see. But then a high, cold voice told them to kneel, and they did, and then he saw him, a snake-like face with red eyes and slits for nostrils, the ugly mouth contorted into a sinister grin, and then he raised his hand, and Draco saw on his finger a heavy gold ring, with the emblem of a rising sun and two crossed swords, and the ring suddenly glowed green, and the hand came towards him…he was going to brand him with it! No, he shouted, he didn't want to take the Mark! But the Dark Lord laughed, a high, cold laugh, and many people suddenly seized him and his parents, and the ring suddenly pressed on his left forearm, searing his flesh…he cried out in pain, but they all laughed. And then he saw…on his arm, a grotesque skull with a snake coming out of its mouth…he had been given the Dark Mark!
Draco woke up with a start, drenched in sweat. He looked around hurriedly, and found, to his relief, that he was in his bedroom at Hogwarts. Safe. But just to check, he got out his wand, lit it and ripped off his shirt and checked both his arms…they were unblemished. He looked at the ring where he had thrown it before going off to sleep…it was still there, innocent in its inertness.
He got up off the bed with a sigh and stared out of the window. The grounds outside looked peaceful, as they always were. He walked up to his nightstand and picked up his watch. A quarter to Four in the morning. He picked up the jug filled with water and drank from it, not bothering with a glass. Setting it back down, he wondered what to do. It had been a very unsettling dream, no doubt brought about by the gaggle of girls Granger had managed to collect for the weekend. But it had been quite a while since he had dreamt about his first meeting with the Dark Lord; that had been a scary adventure. It was in the summer before his fifth year; the Dark Lord had just come back and had wished to meet the families of his favourite minions. Crabbe and Goyle had been there too, as was Theo. They had not even dared to acknowledge each other, the atmosphere was so forbidding. Draco had always associated power with everything positive, like fame, wealth, influence, grace, beauty, intelligence...everything. Probably having grown up watching and idolizing his father had done that, but that night he had been brought face to face with the ugly side of power. Yes, he wanted power, but he was equally certain he would never sacrifice his good looks for that. But one just didn't say such things to the Dark Lord, of course. Or even thought them; his father had cautioned him beforehand that the Dark Lord was a very skilled Legilimens.
He did not fancy going back to sleep, and weighed his options. He could always go down to the common room and read a book on his couch, but then he remembered the girls again. All of a sudden, his stomach rumbled, and he wistfully thought about munching a ham and cheese sandwich by the fire on his couch, reading Quidditch Through The Ages.
He put on a black silk robe lying across the chair by his portrait door, and opened the portrait stealthily. There was no noise that he could detect, and he tiptoed out gingerly. As he climbed down the stairs to the common room, he found it mercifully deserted; the girls had gone to sleep in Granger's room, thank Merlin. The fire was still burning invitingly though, and Draco smiled to himself and walked forwards.
All was quiet, and he thought about conjuring a plate of sandwich, but realized he had forgotten his wand upstairs. Rather than go for it, he chose to rummage around in the kitchenette; maybe Granger had left something after feeding her pet monsters. Just as he reached the door and caught sight of the fruit bowl lying on the table, an apple suddenly zoomed from it towards him, and he ducked hurriedly, startled, as only his Seeker reflexes saved him from being hit. The apple disappeared into the room behind him. He turned around to face the common room, just in time to see a hand from the depths of the couch catch it. How could he have forgotten?
"Trouble sleeping?" she asked as he approached the couch. She was reclining arrogantly on it, as though she owned it, Draco thought sourly. When he was towering above her, however, she straightened up slowly to give him a seat, but it wasn't his own side, it was Hermione's.
Draco sat down beside her as she carelessly munched on her apple. "What about you? What are you doing here this time of the night?" he asked her instead of answering.
"Eating this apple", she gestured to him with it, and Draco found irritation bubbling within him. "You want one?" she asked, making an attempt at politeness.
"No, thank you, I was leaning towards a sandwich, personally. Ham and cheese, but I forgot my wand upstairs." He confessed tightly.
"No problem. Please allow me." And with that, Sia waved her wand and a plate appeared before him, revolving in mid air before he caught it.
"Thanks", he mumbled, and taking one, offered the plate to her.
"No thank you, I am a vegetarian." She told him, staring into the fire.
"Really?" Draco was amazed at that, and stared at her.
"Yes, really. I only eat boys" she told him with the merest hint of a smile, and Draco saw tongues of flame dancing merrily in her eyes. "And really enticing ones at that." She added for good measure, showing all her teeth as she turned to smile at him.
Draco smiled inspite of himself, and his gaze traveled to her mouth. He wanted to kiss her now, but knew he had to be really careful around her. One wrong move, and there was no telling her reaction.
"So what are you really doing here, apart from the obvious?" he asked her instead, throwing a look at her rapidly disappearing apple.
"Looking for my ring." She replied a bit shortly.
"Ah yes…Granger mentioned something about it. You appeared to be crying over it." He told her, checking to see her reaction.
"I wasn't crying over it, I was sleeping over it, and that was when it disappeared." There was no denying it, she was worried; Draco could tell from her voice eventhough her face remained impassive.
"Sleeping?" Draco asked, feigning surprise. "When everyone else was looking for your ring, you were sleeping over it! Do you mean you had it all along?"
"Had is the operative word. But now its no longer here." Sia said moodily, staring into fire once again.
"Then what was the point of pretending it was lost?" that was what he really wanted to know.
"It was the only solution that occurred to me at that time to keep peace." She said enigmatically.
"I am sorry?" Draco was puzzled.
"Don't be. You haven't done anything….yet." she smiled devilishly.
Draco studied her; her hazel eyes were ablaze with mischief, and her skin with its golden-coppery hue glowed in firelight. Her teeth dazzled when she smiled, and even though every inch of her was decently covered, she looked ravishing. And to top it, she was flirting with him. Draco was mesmerized.
"Tell me, do you always flirt with guys when you find them alone at night?" he asked amusedly.
"Not always…only sometimes." Sia replied cheekily.
"I hope you are aware where this could lead?" he asked her hopefully.
"Its not leading anywhere; I have to find my ring, that's my first priority right now. This is just comic relief." She shrugged nonchalantly, and Draco was piqued.
Sure enough, she got up from the couch with a graceful movement, tossed her glossy hair around and threw the apple kernel up in the air, setting fire to it with her wand.
"Hey!" Draco called out in alarm as it dropped, but it was reduced to ashes before it touched the carpet.
And then she was on all fours, looking for the ring that was sitting on Draco's nightstand.
"I heard you totally flipped out when you saw our little gathering." Sia called out from somewhere behind the couch.
"That's putting it mildly. I wonder how you'd react if you experienced what I did. The first thing I saw upon entering the room was Brown's breasts, for Merlin's sake!"
"I see what you mean. I had reservations about this whole thing from the start when HG told me that you didn't know about this." Sia told him from somewhere far off. "Why else do you think I wasn't dressed, or undressed, to kill!" So that's one mystery solved, Draco thought. He got up and went to stand beside her as she levitated a chair and tried to peer under it, balancing the chair at the same time with her wand.
"It's a good thing you didn't know about this beforehand, actually; I was half expecting you to show up with your cronies in tow, you know, Gorilla Goyle and Crocky Crabbe and Sexy Eyes! Maybe you would have if you'd known!" Sia continued absentmindedly, peering beneath a small ornate table now.
"In that case, I must say Granger has more faith in my character than you do." Draco told her impassively eventhough her remark stung.
"She's a bit like Harry in that case, seeing the good in people, even when it doesn't exist. At least Harry doesn't see any good in you!"
"Ah, I was wondering when you would begin praising the Chosen One; its an annoying habit of most Gryffindors." Draco drawled.
Sia looked up at him, amused. "There is hardly any person alive who'd come in contact with Harry and not like him."
"I can name a few, and I assure you all of them are very much alive." Draco said dryly.
Sia actually laughed at that. She abandoned her search under the bookshelf as she looked up at him, her eyes dancing. "You don't know Harry. Trust me, if you ever need his help in a potentially life-threatening situation, he would help you."
"In that case, Harry is such a dear!" Draco mocked. "But tell me, why did you fall asleep after telling everyone to search for your not-yet-lost ring?" Draco asked her as he took out a bottle of firewhisky hidden behind a fake book titled In Defence of the Purity of Blood: Why Muggleborns are Suspect. He was sure Hermione would never read a book like that, and it served his purpose.
He took a swig from it, and as he lowered the bottle, saw Sia looking at him. He merely shrugged; he knew she wouldn't bother Hermione with it. "Hmm?" he prompted.
"That is part of the reason", she told him, gesturing to the bottle. Draco was taken aback; how did she know about this when even Granger didn't!
"Alcohol", Sia clarified at his shocked look. "For the first time in my life, I had Butterbeer, two bottles of it, actually, and then was so drowsy I could hardly have lasted for more than half an hour." Draco looked puzzled. "I don't drink at all." She added.
"Wait a minute, are you trying to tell me you do not drink at all? But butterbeer is kids stuff! Hardly any alcohol content!" he asked, half amused, half disbelieving.
"Enough for me." She told him briskly.
"You certainly are full of surprises, Raisingh. Very strange girl!" he laughed.
"You can say that again." She told him disinterestedly, continuing with her search.
"Ok, so that was part of the reason. The other part?" he asked, recovering.
"Ah yes, the other part." Sia sighed, standing up and bending backwards slightly to straighten her shoulders and back. Draco's eyes followed her movements; why was everything about her so graceful, and yet so…unrehearsed, untamed! His mind snapped back to attention as Sia continued.
"Who wouldn't want to go to sleep if your idea of activity at a sleepover is being read articles out of Transfiguration Today, Partner to Perfect Potions and Charming Charms?" she asked a bit grumpily, and Draco laughed.
"Granger has some very strange ideas about entertainment", he conceded.
"I guess I should've expected that, once I came to know she kept Hogwarts: A History for light-reading. But when she took out Healing Herbs, I was ready to scream. But seems everyone was feeling the same, because then Parvati and Lavender started a game of their own invention, in which you tell everyone three things about yourself, and three things you desire the most in a person of opposite sex. Then both of them mumble some spell and voila, the name of the person who is your soul mate appears out of thin air!" she finished morosely, and Draco quirked his eyebrows amusedly.
"Why only opposite sex? Suppose you like someone from your own team?" Sia seemed to wave the question away with her hand, and Draco snickered.
"And…who got paired with whom, if one may ask?" he continued, still amused.
"Well, it seems Emilie's partner should be Nick Rafter, whoever he is…" she began.
Draco smiled impishly. "He's the sixth year Ravenclaw you kneed in Hag's Tales that day" he told her.
"Really! Which one?" she asked interestedly, and Draco laughed again, reflecting his instinct at that time had been right.
"Anyways, and guess who HG's perfect partner would be! Ernie McMillan!" she pronounced, rolling her eyes, and Draco snorted.
"Not that pompous prig!"
"Unnhuh! Have you ever seen him speak a single straight statement without sounding like a seasoned politician just about to inaugurate a function well-attended by the press?" Sia asked him, and he laughed again.
"I can just see Granger, spending the rest of her life writing his speeches!" he guffawed, and Sia laughed with him.
"Anyways, that really rattled HG. And then Hannah's soul mate turned out to be Neville. I have never seen anyone blush so prettily; maybe she has a crush on him!" Sia wondered, and Draco smirked.
"That, at least, seems logical. I have always thought Longbottom deserves to be in Hufflepuff. So a Hufflepuff for him, fair enough."
Sia eyed him coolly. "Logical, eh? I'll tell you something even more logical. Luna's ideal partner turned out to be none other than you, Draco Malfoy! So hows that?" she smiled wickedly.
"What?" Draco blanched. "That's preposterous!" he thundered.
"She didn't look too thrilled about it either." Sia drawled. "She seems to think you have a closed, unimaginative mind, and told us all how you refused to believe in the existence of Crumpet Caps even when she shoved the overwhelming evidence under your nose." She finished a bit reproachfully, as though Draco should've believed that nonsense.
"Its crumple-horned Snorkack." He told her automatically.
"But I doubt she would've gone out with you even if you had believed her…" she continued seriously, and Draco's eyebrows disappeared in his hair.
"She would refuse to go out with me!" he asked incredulously.
"…because she informed all of us that you suffer from the Liplockers Curse." She finished in the same tone, as though Draco hadn't spoken.
"What!!!" Draco was flabbergasted. "And what, pray, is Liplockers Curse?" he ground out.
"A seriously contagious disease, it seems" Sia told him calmly. "Its symptoms include an overwhelming urge to clamp your lips down onto those of an unsuspecting victim, thereby transmitting and spreading the Curse" she said with a perfectly straight face as Draco's jaw dropped open. "Other symptoms include sleeplessness, inattentiveness in classes, a desire to haunt deserted corridors, frequent night time wanderings and so on. Its supposed to be very dangerous." She finished, looking at Draco thoughtfully, as though expecting him to start exhibiting the symptoms at any moment.
Draco stared at her for a few moments, his mouth open, taking it in, and then he dissolved into a fit of laughter. He had to hold onto the straight-backed chair to keep himself from falling. He couldn't remember when he had last laughed so hard. He looked up at her, wiping his eyes, and saw Sia looking at him still, but her eyes gave her away. They were full of a wild, devilish amusement in stark contrast to her composed face. Slowly, as he watched her, her mouth relaxed into a smile that was so full of mischief he wanted to feel it against his mouth.
"So, did you tell her that you suffer from the same Curse now, having once locked lips with a cursed guy?" he asked her, eyes dancing with devilment, mouth echoing her smile.
"No" she told him softly, seducing him with her dancing eyes. "Apparently, the Curse is not transmitted if the cursed person doesnot initiate the er… contact. It's a very complicated curse."
"I'll bet it is." Draco told her, his eyes locked with hers, their silvery-gray depths drowning her as he took a step towards her. "I'm already feeling an overwhelming urge to clamp my lips down on an unsuspecting victim."
"It doesn't apply to me, I already suspect you." Sia told him naughtily.
"Of what?" he asked, quite close to her now.
"Of every sin under the sun, and then some." She continued to smile impishly.
"Like having my friends over for a voyeuristic treat?" that had stung.
"Hmm…something like that." She answered a bit distractedly; he was mere inches away now, and Sia felt her senses stir.
"Is that what you would've done?" he asked her in a low voice, hardly knowing or caring what he was saying.
"That was something that I did do, in the past." She told him, her nerves tingling with his nearness, her mind slowly losing its capacity to think clearly.
"What?" Draco was momentarily thrown off, and his exclamation broke the web of sensations that had built up between them.
"Well, yes." Sia conceded and took a step back, looking away to clear her head. She felt strangely jittery and weak, and walked back to the couch on trembling legs, sinking down gratefully.
"When I was in my fifth year at Beauxbaton, the Head Boy was a real bastard", she told him, and Draco followed her to the couch, settling down beside her. "He would hand out punishments to girls for things like having a thick neck, fat lips, flat chest, or an ugly face. It was disgusting." She spoke with vehemence.
"Weird guy." Draco observed.
"Sick is the word you are looking for. I already loathed him, and then one day he gave me a detention for using my wand to pick up my books…"
"What? How is that a crime?" Draco was puzzled.
"Evidently it was. He and his cronies used to hide behind statues and split bags of unsuspecting girls who passed that way. The girls would bend down to pick up their stuff, and…" Sia made an ugly grimace.
"Oh…a pervert." Draco was disgusted. "How could he have been made a Head?"
"Beats me. So anyway, since that day, I was on the lookout for revenge. It wasn't easy, since he was the Head Boy. But then I came to know that he was throwing his birthday party in his dormitory, only close friends invited, and I knew it was the perfect chance. Knowing him, I knew the party would be dirty, so I recorded the entire proceedings to nail him." Sia's face split into a malicious grin.
"How?" Draco really wanted to know.
"Oh, I ordered a house-elf to hide there and watch the entire thing, without revealing himself to anybody, and then told him to give me his memory, forbidding him to tell anyone about it unless I said so. So I had the entire party in front of my eyes…and the next time my bag split, well…you can imagine. He had to resign and then he couldn't look me in the eye for the rest of his stay at school." Sia finished smugly.
"Well done!" Draco applauded her. "But I have two questions. One-why are you not in Slytherin, and two-why are you wearing the wrong colors? Shouldn't you be wearing black or green, connecting you to the devil or something poisonous inside you?" he asked amusedly.
"Is that why you are so fond of these colors? Because they connect you to the devil and the poisonous serpent inside you?" Sia raised her perfectly arched brows at him.
Draco laughed; it was almost impossible to win with her. Unless of course he used different weapons, he mused.
They sat in silence for a while, but the silence stretched between them, becoming heavier with every passing moment. Unwilling for it to become overwhelmingly uncomfortable, Draco asked the first thing that popped into his head.
"So who's your perfect soul mate?"
"Terry Boot" she replied, secretly glad to be talking again. "I must remember to smile at him the next time I see him." She told him.
"What? Why?" Draco was annoyed, though he hid it.
"Oh, he's a nice guy."
"So?"
"Tall…"
"So's Weasley!"
"…clever…"
"Nott's pretty clever!"
"…good looking…"
"Not more than Blaise!"
"…and a prefect!"
"I am Head Boy!" Draco nearly shouted out the last.
Sia considered him for a moment. "Aaah, yes…but none of the boys you mentioned have all the qualities, do they?"
"Which of these qualities do I lack?" he asked her, seriously piqued now.
"You don't count…you belong to Luna, and you have that curse hanging upon you." Sia's lips twitched.
Draco glared at her, and she continued. "And as for being Head Boy, did you know that Terry was among the three boys short listed for the position?"
"But somehow I don't think he made it." Draco said sarcastically.
"And I think you made it only because you are the most troublesome of the lot." Sia smiled at him, as Draco's eyes narrowed. "I mean, look at it from Dumbledore's point of view. By making you Head Boy, he forces you to behave; so in one master stroke, he gets rid of the Headache of Hogwarts, as well as getting the job of Head Boy done. Brilliant!" she finished, her eyes twinkling at him.
Draco was so annoyed at that he refused to look at her, let alone speak, and amused, Sia got up again and started looking for her ring with renewed vigour.
She kept poking around here and there, Draco feigning to ignore her completely although his ears remained peeled to whatever she was doing or saying.
Sia kept puttering around, sometimes muttering things like, "Where could it have gone!" and "It can't fly now, can it!" or "It can't be stolen, so where is it!" Draco remained seated, pretending nonchalance even while being increasingly amused.
But that was until…
"That's the only thing left to do now…I should've done that the first time itself…" she muttered to herself. "That's it, I will burn the blasted carpet away so I'll be able to see it better…" she began decisively, irritated beyond measure at her failure, and Draco was horrified.
"Whoa! Hold your hippogriffs now", Draco leaped up from the couch and walked up to her, trying to tower over her menacingly. The only thing was, while it would've worked with most other girls, Sia was quite tall herself, and not easily intimidated, so she met his eyes squarely. "I would like to remind you that its my room you are thinking of setting fire to, and I won't stand for such nonsense for the sake of a stupid ring…"
"Stupid ring!" she nearly yelled. "I'll tell you whats stupid…this bloody room is stupid that seems to have eaten my ring, you are stupid, and so is everyone who tries to speak rationally to you!" She thundered, eyes blazing in her anger at her own failure, and Draco mentally retreated a step or two. But he was in no way going to let her know that.
"Oh, just because you can't find an ugly old ring doesn't make the entire world stupid!"
"I don't care what you, or anyone else, thinks of it! But its very important to me. Apart from the fact that its an old family heirloom, traditionally passed on to the younger generation marking their coming of age, its extra special for me because I am going to be the first girl to wear it ever since it was made for the Raisingh family." Sia spoke so passionately Draco's irritation with her vaporized.
"Why the first girl?" Draco asked a bit composedly.
"Because", Sia let out a long sigh, and some of her anger, with it. "The ring has only ever been presented to the first male child of the family when he comes of age, no matter how many elder sisters he has." She said bitterly.
"But what if there was no son?" Draco wondered aloud.
"Oh, there was always a son…my ancestors made sure of that; even if that meant producing a horde of girls while trying for a boy or remarrying several times. It was only a couple of generations back that this male-child fixation was abandoned. My grandfather didn't have to care anyway, since he had two sons, my father being the elder. There was some talk initially, of handing over the ring to my uncle's son who'll come of age next year, seeing that my father has two daughters, but father was adamant that the ring goes to me." Sia smiled a bit smugly at that. "You see, what father wants, he gets; its impossible to cross him."
"Sounds like a Malfoy." Draco observed.
"Hardly." Sia smiled at him. "If he had been a wizard and had come to Hogwarts, he would have been the most famous Gryffindor after Godric himself."
"More famous than the Chosen One?"
"Why are you so envious of Harry?"
"I am not envious of a guy who's famous because of an ugly scar!"
"He's famous because of the reason he has that scar." Sia didn't miss a beat. "And anyway, Harry is much more than being the boy-who-lived. Just being around him makes you take a look at yourself and wonder if you're doing the right thing…"
"If this is the time to sing hymns in praise of the exalted Harry, then I must say goodnight, I'm afraid." Draco cut in.
"Nobody's stopping you." Sia coolly pointed out.
Draco was about to walk off, when he remembered something and turned back to her.
"What now?" Sia asked him waspishly.
"This is my dormitory, my common room; and if anyone will be going from here, it'll be you." He told her.
"Ah, but you forget that I am a guest of the Head Girl, and this dormitory and common room also belongs to her." Sia smirked at him. "Moreover, I have the wand, you have forgotten yours upstairs."
Draco smiled nastily at her. Folding his hands across his chest, he perused her coldly. "So you're going to hex me, Raisingh? Lets see you do that…it should be easy, seeing that I am unarmed…easier than trying to hex Weasley in DADA class anyway. But then, maybe not." He smirked.
"You know, Malfoy, you're such a nasty piece of work that if it hadn't been for the fact that I don't want HG to get in any trouble, I wouldn't even need to use my wand to do what I really want." Sia sneered at him.
"What you really want? All that you want is to kiss me Raisingh, and you cook up all sorts of excuses for it. I just want to tell you theres no need for that; just tell me, I'm game for it." Draco smiled wickedly.
"Don't push it, Malfoy", Sia's eyes narrowed warningly, "I don't want to break every bone in your body and have HG held responsible for it; especially after landing myself in this hex situation trying to keep peace."
"Hex situation?"
"I pretended that my ring was lost to stop Ginny leaping on Parvati's throat, and now its really lost!" Sia nearly wailed.
Draco was by now so sick of hearing the word 'ring' that he thought of just getting it and chucking it in her face to shut her up about it. He resisted the urge only because he had a plan about riling her further with it; but he would have to sidetrack her from dwelling on it, or he would go mad.
"You Gryffindors love violence so much that if there's no enemy to fight with, you fight amongst yourselves." He said snidely, and Sia's eyes narrowed again. "Why did Weasley want to throttle Patil, anyway?" he asked hastily.
"It was that stupid game. Lavender still has feelings for Ron, I think, so she proclaimed herself as having a relation with him from previous birth, if you can imagine! HG would've hurled her stack of magazines on her if I hadn't shouted out that I was starving, and Emilie very smartly seconded that. But just as HG left to get victuals, Parvati decided to tell everyone who her soulmate was!" Sia told him grumpily, completely sidetracked, and Draco congratulated himself.
"So who is the lucky guy?" Draco asked sportingly, knowing the answer by now.
"Its Harry, but she never managed to get it out, as I'd guessed what she was about to say. She has a major crush on him, poor girl!" Sia grimaced.
"Poor girl! such terrible tastes!" Draco sniggered, and Sia glared at him.
"She's a poor girl not because there is anything wrong with her tastes, but rather that he's never going to return her feelings. He's too smitten with Ginny, and she's not his type… and then even if Harry does look at her, Ginny would kill her. She's all fire, that one." Sia continued to frown, and Draco noticed that she looked irresistible even in her foul mood.
"So are you…" Draco told her softly, startling her out of her temper, "…and a very tempting fire at that…" he added as he took a step towards her.
"So don't come near me." Sia managed to snap at him; she didn't want him anywhere near her, he interfered with her thinking process.
"Why not? I'm not afraid of getting burned." Draco smiled slightly as he came to stand directly in front of her, but then his smile faltered as she thrust out her wand, poking him directly over his heart with it.
"Stop right there, Malfoy. I don't want anything to have to do with you." She told him firmly.
"If you say so, Raisingh. But you've been sending some really mixed messages in this regard." He told her, not backing off.
"There is nothing mixed about what I am saying right now, Malfoy. I am not interested."
"No?" he asked her with a slight smile, her wand pressing against his chest. "But you want me, we both know that. Why not admit it, as I am admitting to wanting you?"
Sia was slightly surprised at his admission. "But I don't want you…why is the truth so hard to stomach?" she raised her eyebrows.
"Because its not the truth. Why are you in denial?" Draco asked softly, persuasively, but Sia was not ready to fall for this trap now.
"I am not in denial…" she began hotly, but stopped abruptly when Draco laughed huskily, sending shivers down her spine.
"No is the only word you've been using, Raisingh. Say yes for once…we can set fire to the castle with the heat of our passion." Sia mentally shook herself to clear the images his words conjured before her eyes. This was not done, she told herself fiercely, trying to maintain a grip on her senses.
But then, Draco took hold of the tip of her wand with one hand, and Sia tightened her grip thinking he was about to snatch it, but he simply raised it slightly, and stooped his head to close the distance. As Sia watched, startled, he closed his mouth over it, kissing the tip of her wand, his eyes downcast, giving it his full attention.
Sia felt a shockwave of electricity go through her at this erotic gesture, and when he released her wand, it fell from her numb fingers unheeded. Draco captured her gaze with his, and neither spoke for sometime. The tension built up between them, almost suffocating Sia, and then Draco took a step towards her, whispering "Now its my turn."
"What?" she managed to choke out, and as he smiled and showed his teeth, her eyes widened. "No…"
"Yes…" he breathed against her ear, nipping it lightly with his teeth, and she felt a delicious warmth steal through her even as she shivered. Draco straightened up and looked into her eyes, asking for permission to continue, and Sia responded by brushing his platinum locks away from his face. Draco smiled slightly as he gripped her shoulders with his hands, pulling her towards him, and Sia wrapped her arms around him as his mouth came down on hers…gently at first, and then with increasing passion as she responded hungrily to his kiss.
Draco let go of her shoulders, sliding one hand to her nape to keep her delicious mouth in place, while the other traveled to her waist, its passage igniting something deep within her. She moaned softly as his fingers played with her back, her own busy drawing patterns on his.
They didn't know how or when, but the next thing they noticed was that Sia was lying on her back on the carpet, her robe discarded to reveal cream silk pyjamas with a matching short top with noodle straps, and Draco lying above her, his robe missing too, kissing her neck, her shoulders, her chin… His one hand came to rest on her side, sliding below her to grip her hip, turning her towards him. Sia's hands were moving feverishly on his bare back, shoulders, his arms as she received his ardour with a matching passion.
As Draco raised himself slightly, his gaze traveled down, and he saw the tiny bolt of lightning at her belly winking naughtily at him in the dying firelight, and he dove for it. He took it in his mouth, and then licked her skin with his tongue, making her moan. Unable to take the sweet torture he was inflicting on her, Sia wrapped her arms around him and flipped them over. She then proceeded to return the favour, kissing him, licking him, earning moans from him. As her tongue circled his flat nipple, he shuddered and as she licked it with the tip of her tongue, he flipped them right back, kissing her mouth with unrestrained passion even as his hands were busy exploring every inch of her. As Sia raked his back with her fingernails lightly, he moaned and put one hand under her top, closing it on her breast. Sia moaned in pleasure as he played with it, teasing her, his eyes fixed on her face, and she brought his mouth back down and kissed him ardently.
They flipped over again, Sia sitting astride on his belly as she kissed his chest, Draco running his hands freely down her silk-clad body, touching, teasing, pinching and kneading her soft flesh. Sia felt his hard arousal the same moment he felt her wetness, and suddenly both of them wanted nothing more than feel their skin against each other's. Sia leaned over to kiss his mouth once again, and he put his thumbs under the thin straps of her top, pulling them down. And right at that moment, a voice rang out from the semi-darkness surrounding them, "Sia! What are you doing?"
A/N: Long time, no update! Yeah, I know, and I'm sorry. So here's a long chapter to appease my furious Reader Gods. Please do review once you have partaken of this humble offering. :-)