Sunday morning dawned a little chilly, and some of the students could be seen wearing their warm cloaks in the Great Hall for breakfast. At the Gryffindor table, Harry and Ron were busy discussing their latest Quidditch tactics, and at first didn't notice that Hermione and Ginny were unusually frosty with each other. Or to be more accurate, Ginny was frosty with Hermione, who was trying her best to draw Ginny out, beseeching silently with her eyes for her friend to understand. Ginny had been like this ever since she had seen Hermione speak civilly with the enemy. None of them noticed Sia staring morosely off into the distance, unaware of what was happening around her. And certainly none of them noticed a blond Slytherin taking unusual interest in the goings on at their table.
Sia had many things to be depressed about. For starters, she had been unable to locate her ring, and didn't relish the prospect of bringing this fact to her father's notice. In fact, she positively dreaded it. Her father had forgiven her for many things in the past, and not forgiven her for a few things as well, but she was certain that if she failed to find the ring, he would probably disown her. Or worse. And then to compound matters, she had lost her wand. Again. She knew where it was, or rather, with whom it was, but she knew he would take his own sweet time about giving it back. She could have simply asked Hermione to Summon it for her, but her infuriating pride always got in the way of doing things simply. This was between her and Malfoy, and it would stay that way.
And then there was Malfoy himself, Sia sighed. If only she could control herself when he was around, life would be so much simpler. But no, he had to come near her, and she had to lose every sane thought in her head. And last night, Sia swallowed miserably, embarrassed beyond words, last night had been disastrous. Or it could have been, if they hadn't been interrupted. She couldn't even lift her head to steal a glance at the Slytherin table to see what he was doing. Now, she was wandless, ringless, and minus a sizeable chunk of her pride, and two of these things were his fault, Sia thought resentfully.
She would have been even more resentful had she known that all of the above were entirely his fault.
Just then, Sia was jolted out of her reverie when Ginny suddenly burst out at Hermione, "Oh, please, don't try to justify yourself Herms. I refuse to understand this."
Sia, Harry and Ron, all turned to gaze at both the girls - a teary-eyed Hermione and a visibly upset Ginny.
"Say, whats going on? Gin, why are you speaking like that with Hermione? And what do you refuse to understand?" Ron asked in a puzzled tone.
Ginny glared at Hermione, debating whether or not to discuss this in front of others, but then decided that she had to let Harry and Ron know about what was going on. Harry could help, and it concerned Ron seeing as how he felt about Hermione.
"Hermione has been fraternizing with the ferret, that's what is going on!" Ginny spat out.
"Wha…?" Ron was speechless with shock, every one of his fears that had been forgotten ever since Hermione had nearly reverted to her old self coming back magnified many times over.
"Ginny!" Harry began in warning tones as Ginny's voice had carried and people from other tables were looking at them curiously, as were the rest of the Gryffindors. The Great Hall wasn't even half-full, as it being a Sunday everyone was being leisurely, but their conversation was still supposed to be private. "What are you saying?" he admonished her quietly.
"I am speaking the truth, Harry! Ask her if you don't believe me. They were speaking so civilly with each other, she was saying 'sorry' and he was saying 'thank you' , you'd never know it was our Hermione and the same Malfoy!" Ginny fumed, eyes blazing.
"What? Hermione, what is the meaning of…" Ron began angrily only to be cut off by Harry.
"I am sure Hermione has a plausible reason for it. What is it, Hermione?" he asked, but his tone was a bit cool.
"For Merlin's sake, we live together! How can it be possible to fight all the time? And all I did was apologize to him, and all he did was accept my apolo…"
"That's exactly it! Why did you have to apologize to him? After all he has done to us over the years, you apologize to him over such a trivial matter? And you make apologies for me? He insulted my family, threatened to kick me out, and you apologized to him?" Ginny was breathing heavily, and it looked as though she would start breathing fire any moment now.
"He did what?" Harry and Ron asked in unison, dark clouds of anger gathering on their countenance.
Hermione wanted to remind Ginny that she had apologized before Malfoy had insulted her, but by now nobody was ready to listen to her. Ginny was in full flow, at any rate.
"You do realize that he came there just because he had got wind of our sleepover? He is nothing but a perverted, sick…" Ginny would have gone on, but just as Hermione burst into tears, Sia joined in the fray.
"He may be a lot of things, but he is certainly not any of those." She spoke coolly.
All four of them turned to stare at her. Sia met the eyes of each one of them briefly before turning her attention to Harry.
"He came there just by chance, and I am sure if he had known about our sleepover, he would've taken care to steer clear. HG did the right thing in apologizing to him, and he did the right thing in accepting it. I fail to see what the brouhaha is all about." She finished dismissively. Ginny was having none of it, though.
"Oh, they did the right thing, did they? You have no idea what that ferret has done to us over the years, calling Hermione filthy names, among other things, and now she…"
"And now they are both grown up, and Heads. What sort of impression would it create if they were constantly bickering? And do you actually want him to call her filthy names? You seem terribly disappointed that he was civil to her!" Sia finished derisively.
Ginny gasped at that, unable to believe she had just been accused of less than honourable intentions towards her best friend.
"And how can you say he didn't come there knowing about the sleepover?" Ron began belligerently. "I bet he just couldn't resist the chance of playing peeping tom to a group of…" he abruptly stopped, going red in the face at the thought of Malfoy gawping at scantily clad Ginny and Hermione.
"My dear Ron", Sia drawled sneeringly at him, unable to comprehend herself why she was defending Malfoy, "do you really think that Malfoy would get worked up at the thought of seeing a few pajama-clad girls, when he has seen lots of them without it?"
Ron's color deepened, and he stole a furtive glance at Hermione, who was gazing fixedly at her hands in her lap. Harry, who had so far been watching his friends thrash it out, decided it was time to cool things off. The way Sia put it, he certainly couldn't see anything wrong in Hermione and Malfoy being civil to each other. In fact, it came as a relief to him that Hermione wasn't being subjected to constant verbal abuse in the Head's dormitory. That certainly didn't excuse Malfoy insulting Ginny, but at least it let Hermione off the hook. And now he thought about it, Malfoy had not done a single thing this year, uptil now, to vex them. Maybe he was changing…growing up, as Sia suggested.
"Hermione, I'm sorry for doubting you. You are right, as always. And I am glad Malfoy is behaving himself with you." He told her, and Hermione looked up at him, eyes shining with tears. She tried to smile at him, failed, burst into tears once again, got up and exited the Great Hall, every eye in the room on her.
A bit stunned, the other four looked at each other uncomfortably. Sia rounded on Ginny and Ron, eyes blazing, "Look what you did to her! What was the need for going on and on about such a non-issue, will you tell me? Your level of intelligence and maturity is pathetic!" she sneered haughtily at them.
"Oh, pathetic, are we?" Ginny asked loudly, and every eye in the room turned upon them. She lowered her voice. "You seem to know a great deal more about whats going on between them, don't you Sia? What advice have you been giving to Hermione lately? And the way you have just defended Malfoy makes me think you actually like him! Is that the truth?" Ginny asked Sia, anger piercing through every word.
Sia stiffened, and her lip curled in a sneer so reminiscent of Malfoy Ginny was sure she was right. "I have been defending your best friend against your unreasonable and childish accusations, in case you didn't notice," Sia spoke through clenched teeth. "and if it looks like HG and Malfoy are standing on the same side, then maybe you need to take a look at where you are standing. You know HG better than I do; she can't be all wrong."
Ron visibly drooped at that; if Malfoy was playing some game to trap Hermione into thinking he was nice, he was doomed. Maybe it was time to finally let her know what he thought about her, before it was too late.
Sia turned her attention back to Harry, and asked him, "What do you have to say to this, Harry?"
Harry considered her for a moment, let out a sigh, and began slowly, "As much as it pains me to say this, I think if Malfoy is behaving nicely with Hermione, she is right in returning the gesture. I don't trust Malfoy, no, but I trust Hermione and her instincts. She rarely does anything without thinking it through, and I am really glad Malfoy is not calling her names, at any rate. I agree with Sia; we were wrong in tearing into Hermione for such a small thing." He finished, and Sia flashed him a smile that he returned. Ginny saw this and it irked her further, but she really saw red when Sia looked at her and raised one eyebrow slightly, mocking her.
"You know what, Sia," she said viciously, making sure her voice carried, "I think you are beginning to like Malfoy, and want all of us to like him for you. What surprises me is how Hermione fell in with your pla…" Ginny couldn't complete her sentence, because Sia stood up in one swift motion from her seat, and at the same moment the milk jug at Ginny's elbow exploded, covering Ginny, Ron and Harry in milk and shards of broken glass.
There was a sudden silence in the Great Hall as every person present was staring at them. Ginny glared at Sia and took out her wand and cleaned herself even as Harry surreptitiously cleaned away the rest of the mess. Ron swallowed nervously and looked up at Sia who was glaring at Ginny with a terrible expression on her face.
"Just because Harry agrees with me and not with you is no reason to suggest there is anything between me and Malfoy!" Sia told Ginny with cruel amusement in her voice, guessing the real cause of Ginny's outburst. It was quite a while since she had lost control of her magic, and resolved to be more careful.
Ginny snarled and jumped up at that, pointing her wand at Sia. Just as she hurled her bat bogey hex at Sia, Sia snatched her unused and sparkling plate from the table to shield herself. Ginny's spell collided with the goblin-made metal, and deflecting from the polished surface, rebounded at an angle to hit Ron instead. Ron yelped and flailed his arms, trying to beat them off. Enraged, Ginny raised her wand once again but this time Harry caught hold of her wrist with one hand and snatched her wand away with the other.
"Enough!" he bellowed, and turned to help Ron.
Ginny and Sia continued to stare at each other, Ginny heatedly and Sia with a malicious smirk upon her face.
"So what is the moral of the story, little girl?" Sia asked Ginny so quietly only she could hear. "Lesson 1: It takes more than a wand to hurt Sia Raisingh. Lesson 2: Simple stuff like bat bogey hex is something that I have left far behind me. Lesson 3: Behave around Harry, if you want to keep him."
As Ginny's color shot up at that, Sia smirked at her and walked off.
Draco was lying on his stomach on his comfortable bed in his room, twirling Sia's wand playfully between his fingers. He smirked as he thought that she kept losing her wand because of him. Last night she had forgotten it on the common room floor as she had nearly bolted from there, having dropped it there in the first place because of him, he smirked again.
Aaah, last night, he sighed as he rolled over. Who would've thought he would be frustrated at the height of his arousal by Luna Lovegood, of all people! But maybe it was better that it was her, otherwise it would've been all over the school by now. He laughed as he thought about the story Sia had cooked up, about checking his teeth, of all things! Luna had fallen for it straight, and even suggested that he might be having an infection of Molarphagi, whatever they were! He had desperately wanted to protest, considering it were his ivories under discussion, but Sia had glared at him so fiercely he thought she might burn a hole right through him. So he had played along, more so because she was still sitting on top of him, frozen in the position Luna had caught them in, about to kiss him. It hadn't helped though that her top had slid down considerably, his doing of course, and the upper curvature of her breasts were open to his perusal. But all in all, he was secretly relieved when Sia had convinced Luna that his teeth were not in any imminent danger and had left with her to sleep in Hermione's room.
Oh well, he sighed again, but if only they had not been interrupted! He had so wanted Sia at that time, he had been unable to go to sleep afterwards. It had been his mistake; he should've made sure they were in the privacy of his room, but then Sia had rendered him incapable of logical thoughts. He reflected when was the last time a girl had had that kind of effect on him, and was unable to remember.
He rolled over onto his stomach again and propped himself on one elbow, playing with her wand with the other hand. That morning, he had watched her carefully at breakfast from his table, and found her looking rather depressed. That was strange; after an episode like that with him, girls usually blushed, and a few naughty ones smiled and winked, while ones like Pansy looked smug. But nobody looked depressed, for Merlin's sake! He knew how good he was, and her seeming depression was a cause for concern. He had to really get a move on if he wanted to win that bet. Last night he had lost control completely and the bet was the last thing on his mind, but that would have to change. As much as he wanted Sia physically, he had to keep his goal in mind. He just couldn't afford to lose…his pride, his ego…a lot of things were at stake. He would have to work on her, and soon. What was that goblin saying, mould the gold while it pours! And last night's events would still be fresh in her mind.
He got up from the bed, determined to find her. He flung the wand on to his nightstand beside the ring, pushed a hand through his hair and brushed off imaginary flecks of dirt from his shirt. As he stepped out, he suddenly recalled the fracas that had taken place at the Gryffindor table that morning, and burst out laughing. He knew what it was all about from the way Hermione had run away crying; Weaselette was having problems with their civil behaviour towards each other. He shook his head, smiling; if the Gryffindors couldn't find anyone else, they tore apart each other. It was a miracle the Gryffindor tower was still standing.
Sia was walking about aimlessly and disconsolately. As satisfying as it had been putting Ginny in her place, that high had worn off a long time back. Now she was dreading what would happen if she didn't find her ring, and was getting more and more irritated about the fact that Malfoy had her wand. In fact, she was getting irritated by his very existence on the planet. But most of all, what really bothered her was the effect he always had on her. She had tried to analyze this particular problem from every angle, and had come to the conclusion that it was his heady scent that caused her to lose touch with reality. After that his eyes, and then his nearness. And then his touch. And kisses. And caresses.
Ugh, she seethed at herself. But she had taken care of the basic problem as she saw it, albeit temporarily. She had found Hermione sobbing in a deserted classroom, and had asked her to temporarily block her sense of smell. Now she couldn't smell anything at all, and was glad that Hermione had been too distracted to question her motives. Then she had tried to find Malfoy to test her newfound immunity, and had failed to locate him. And now she was back to getting depressed about her ring, and her wand.
As she walked past a giant statue of a rather ferocious looking wizard, a hand suddenly snaked out and grabbed her around the waist, and she was pulled smack against a solid chest in the shadows of the statue. Startled, Sia immediately brought up her knee in reflex action to kick the living daylights out of the smartass who had tried to manhandle her till she noticed the platinum hair.
"Flaming Chimaeras, Malfoy, what the heck do you think you are doing?" she hissed, relaxing a little. "I could've killed you, or worse!"
Draco laughed. "It's the worse part that worries me." But he brought his other arm around her as well, holding her firmly in place.
"In that case, what are you doing?" she asked him coolly, secretly delighted and slightly disappointed that she couldn't smell him at all.
"Trying to wish you a proper Good Morning, after the abrupt way you said Good Night." He retorted, nuzzling her neck with his nose, and Sia decided she should've asked Hermione to temporarily block her sense of touch as well.
"It should've told you that I didn't want to do anything with you." Sia snapped, and Draco shook with silent laughter against her.
"That's what you keep saying, Raisingh, and I will definitely leave you alone the day you really mean it." He said softly against her hair. Sia felt heavenly in his arms and relaxed against him without realizing it, and he looked into her eyes. "What do you say, shall we say a proper Good Morning, then?" he murmured, and Sia, sidetracked by his proximity, was about to agree wholeheartedly, but the rational part of her brain kicked into gear just in time.
"Absolutely not", she told him, poking him in the chest with an index finger to keep him away as he leaned into her.
Draco looked down at her finger and smiled impishly. "Do you remember what I did the last time you tried to put something between us?"
Sia flushed as she remembered the gesture she had found so erotic, but managed to keep her thought process on track. "Hmm…speaking of which, where did you learn that?" she tried to sound cool and collected, as though she were discussing the latest Transfiguration spell.
"Learn it?" Draco feigned a hurt expression. "My dear Raisingh, you break my heart by insulting my creative talents."
Sia rolled her eyes at that, and he continued in a lofty manner, "Just to prove to you how creative I am, I'm going to do something totally different this time." He proclaimed and as Sia stifled a giggle, he took her finger into his mouth and repeated the gesture of the night before.
Sia sucked in her breath; her nose might be immune to his scent, pheromones and all, but the rest of her certainly wasn't. But just as she thought she was going to melt literally, he brought the exquisite torture to a stop and looked up into her eyes, smiling a little.
"This was different?" Sia asked after clearing her throat and giving herself a vigorous mental shake, and for effect, wiped her finger on his shirtfront, raising her eyebrows at him.
"Of course it was", Draco quipped. "Last time it was your wand, remember?"
"Which reminds me, where is my wand?" she asked rather crossly.
"By my bed…want to come and collect it?" he asked wickedly.
"You obviously think I was born yesterday." Sia sneered.
"If I did, I wouldn't be holding you in my arms like this", he smiled and tightened his hold on her.
Sia felt her breasts crush softly against his chiseled chest that she had explored so lovingly mere hours before. Something began melting inside her at the memory, and she felt her legs turning to jelly and a languorous warmth steal over her entire body. Draco felt her stiff body relax against him, and when he lowered his mouth to hers she welcomed his tongue willingly. They tasted each other slowly, relishing the memory and each other, taking time over every caress, every touch a promise of things to come. Sia felt as though it was destined that this guy should be kissing her, and so sweetly, and she moulded herself against him unthinkingly, sliding one hand under his arm to caress his back and the other through his silken hair. Draco shuddered as he felt each and every curve of Sia pressed intimately against him, and deepened the kiss, losing himself in the kiss and her.
Their ardour increased in urgency, and Draco slid one arm down and brought up one of her legs to slide around his hips, bringing her closer still. Sia responded with a low moan, and Draco caressed her denim-clad thigh with his long fingers. His touch filled her with an overwhelming ache, and suddenly she wanted nothing more than his skin against hers, and him within her. She wanted to cry out in frustration at the barrier their jeans posed, and let out a small whimper. Draco heard the message her body was sending him and growled in satisfaction, as that was what he wanted as well. He turned them around so that he was facing the wall, and pushed her against it, all the while trailing down hot, wet kisses along her jaw and neck. Sia clutched at his shirt and pulled the fine fabric, as though determined to tear it way from him. Draco thrust himself against her, and Sia felt her world shatter around her like glass. Draco looked into her eyes, and read the want and desire he felt echoed there. Before he could decide what to do, they heard voices and footsteps coming near, and without a word, Draco pulled her against him and retreated further into the shadow of the statue.
As a group of fifth years passed unaware of their presence, Draco felt his tense muscles relax a little. There was no use pretending he had been anywhere in control; the way their bodies were plastered together, he was sure she could feel his erection, his wildly pulsating heart, his ragged breathing. The only consolation was she was in much the same condition, if the heart hammering away against him was any indication. He felt her squirm, and realized he was holding her far too tightly and relaxed his grip. As Sia made to step away from him, he held on to her, albeit gently.
"Hold on…for a while", he managed to rasp out. He didn't know whether she would agree or not, but the next instant felt her head rest against his shoulder. He let out a long breath and rested his head on top of hers. They stood like that for a while, getting themselves under control, holding each other loosely.
As sanity returned, Draco felt like cursing. What in the name of Salazar's beard did he think he was doing, about to take her in a public place in broad daylight? Okay, they were hidden from general view, but Malfoys did not behave like that…like common stock! And the fact that a mere kiss could make him lose control like that frightened him. To be absolutely candid with himself, he wanted Sia for himself, and the hell with the bet. Well, not the hell with it; he wanted to win the bet too…but he knew that he couldn't cast aside this Gryffindor as a triumph; he would want to be with her. He was rapidly coming to the conclusion he wanted Sia as his girlfriend so he could spend a lot of time with her. Her very presence electrified him, and he enjoyed being with her, even sparring with her. He liked her toughness, her wacky sense of humour, her wisecracks, and to a certain extent, her pranks that were often directed at him. The only thing was to convince her because for some obscure reason, she kept on saying no eventhough both of them knew that she wanted him just as much.
Sia slowly opened her eyes, her breathing now nearly back to normal. What had just happened had frightened her. If they hadn't been disturbed for a while longer…she couldn't bear to think after that. She found it most shocking to find herself behaving like a common slut, about to have sex in the middle of a corridor in broad daylight! She instinctively knew that this was a guy to be avoided at all cost. She could understand physical attraction, but if this guy could reduce her to behaving like an animal, she didn't want to be around him. If a simple leisurely kiss could do this, she dreaded what a full-fledged affair with him would do to her. She would most probably be left with a broken heart, and she wanted to avoid that at all costs. There was no place for a guy in her life…specially a guy with a strong personality like Draco Malfoy. She would have to do something to get him out of her system, and fast.
As Sia gently stepped away, Draco leaned forward towards her, one arm still around her waist. "Good Morning", he whispered. Sia couldn't summon enough energy to even frown at him, and simply looked away. For the first time, she couldn't bring herself to meet his eyes.
Draco sensed her uneasiness; he felt much the same way. To lighten things, he looked around and remarked casually, "I can see the old walls beginning to smoke."
Sia's swollen lips trembled at his attempt at humour. "In which case, we should stay away from each other. I don't want this place burned down before I pass NEWTs."
"You always seem to want to run away, Raisingh. I thought Gryffindor house stood for bravery." When Sia didn't reply, he went on softly, "what are you afraid of, Raisingh?"
"I am not afraid, Malfoy. I just don't want…this." She managed to get out.
"You obviously think I was born yesterday." He smiled, mocking her earlier words. "Don't you think I would know the difference between a 'yes' and a 'no' by now?"
Sia stiffened, and turned to look at him. "I said no, and I mean no."
Draco raised his eyebrows. "Not even in the name of house-unity? Just think what it would mean if we got together…a Slytherin and a Gryffindor!" his voice was playful.
"I am not that charitable to sacrifice my happiness for this lofty ideal, thank Merlin!" she replied in clipped tones.
Draco considered her thoughtfully. "If you think we are moving too fast, maybe we should slow down a little…you know, taking things a bit easy and…" but Sia cut across him.
"You are misunderstanding me, Malfoy", she told him coolly. "I am not saying 'not now'; I am saying 'no, not ever'. Theres a big difference." She spoke with a sort of finality in her voice.
Draco stared at her a bit incredulously. Was this the same girl who was ready to rent his shirt just a few minutes back because she couldn't get enough of him? He actually looked down to check, and sure enough, the places where Sia had clutched at the fabric were mussed. Sia followed his gaze and flushed and turned away from him, dislodging his arm from around her waist.
Draco was in a bit of daze. For the first time in his life, he had asked a girl for something, and he had been turned down. He tried to think what he was feeling about this…hurt, humiliated? No, he decided, not yet anyway. But he did feel a burning curiosity; what girl in her right mind would turn him down?
"Why?" he finally managed to ask.
"Because…" Sia sighed, her back to him. How could she even begin to tell him! That he scared her by making her forget herself around him? That she couldn't afford to forget herself, because she was the only person in her life she could count on! That she was afraid he would take everything out of her life, or rather, that she would give up everything she held dear for him! She couldn't tell him all this, and he would never understand anyway; girls were a knut a dozen for him. She had always been a loner and she would stay that way. It was a torture to deny herself something that she so wanted, that was within her reach…but she knew her path in life was decided and it didn't go anywhere near Draco Malfoy.
While she was casting around for something to say, her gaze fell on a dark-haired boy who had just rounded the corner and was coming towards them. For a moment, Sia's scattered thoughts couldn't place him though he looked familiar. Then she suddenly realized who he was.
"Because", she began again, more firmly this time, "I'm dating Terry Boot." She stated.
Draco saw the boy in question making his way towards them, and was amused Sia thought him such a child as to fall for it.
He slid his arm around her again from behind, making her shiver, and rested his chin on her shoulder, his head fitting perfectly in the nook that seemed tailor-made for him.
"And does Terry Boot know of his immense good fortune yet?" he asked her amusedly.
Just as Sia opened her mouth to reply, a dark-haired girl came up behind Boot and tapped his shoulder. He turned around and with a whoop, swung the girl into his arms, covering her mouth with his. Sia closed her mouth and her shoulders sagged involuntarily.
"Evidently not", Draco answered his own question, his voice rippling with laughter.
He was laughing at her, Sia thought in growing irritation. Damn all boys, she raged silently, they were more trouble than they were worth!
"He will soon enough", she told him confidently, and Draco raised his head to peer at her.
"I might be wrong, but you seem to have the instincts of a predator. You do realize he's seeing someone else?" he asked her.
"So?"
"Isn't anything sacred around you?" he asked, mildly puzzled.
"If it isn't the pot calling the kettle black! When did seeing Parkinson stop you from rolling in the hay with anything that wore a skirt?" Sia countered, slightly amused herself.
"You have a point there" he conceded. Terry Boot had by now set the girl down and was talking to her with his back to them, giving them a partial view of his girlfriend. Draco suddenly laughed softly.
"What?" Sia asked, irritated he had again found something to laugh about.
"I just remembered. You Gryffindors seem to have a habit of causing havoc, and you frequently end up bringing down storms upon each other. With the rate you people are going, there might not be a single Gryffindor left before long. Sure you don't want to hook up with me, just so at least one of you survives?" Draco was smiling devilishly.
"What are you talking about?" Sia frowned looking up at him, thinking this had something to do with her standoff with Ginny that morning.
"The girl on whose toes you are about to step" Draco gestured with his eyes towards the girl with Boot. "Romilda Vane. Fifth year Gryffindor. Makes her opinion known on everything, and quite forthcoming on her likes and dislikes." He finished, eyes dancing.
Sia stared at the girl in question. So that's why she looked familiar, she thought. But still, that didn't explain how…
"How do you know so much about her?" she demanded, managing to keep grumpiness from her voice.
Draco studied his fingernails instead of answering, and Sia sighed, half-amused, half-exasperated.
"Is there any girl in Hogwarts you haven't touched?" she asked him.
"There are plenty, in fact" he told her wickedly. "I have tastes."
He looked so endearingly naughty standing there saying wicked things, Sia turned around and planted a kiss on his mouth without thinking. Her impulsive action took him by surprise, and before he could imprison her within his arms, she stepped away nimbly and smiled roguishly.
"What was that for?" he asked, touching his fingers to his mouth, a slight smile playing on his lips.
Sia suddenly sobered up. It was no use delaying the inevitable, she had to deny herself this temptation.
"It was for goodbye" she told him softly, stepped out of the shadows and walked away from him.
A/N: Sorry for taking forever to update, but I want you to know that I haven't abandoned this story, and will try my very best to update regularly from now on. Cheers. And do drop me a line.