Characters: Daphne Greengrass, Romilda Vane.

Warning: Rated M for some adult themes. Femslash implied. Some BDSM themes involved.

Prompt: The Cold War (#124)

"Maybe our relationship isn't as crazy as it seems.
Maybe that's what happens when a tornado meets a volcano,
All I know is I love you too much to walk away though."

(Eminem, Love The Way You Lie)

"What the hell are you doing here, Daphne?" are the first words out of her mouth as she spots the girl with strawberry-blonde curls as she emerges from the hearth.

"I'm just wondering when, if ever, you plan to emerge from your little hole, or talk to me. I am, after all, your girlfriend," the posh girl replies with a roll of her cornflower-blue eyes as she removed the soot from her expensive robes with an efficient flick of her wrist.

Tracey doesn't bother to reward the blonde with a second glance as she continues to read her novel, her socked foot all the while, stroking through the fur of the Irish Wolfhound stretched out before her armchair.

Daphne pouts at the fact that she is being ignored by the girl with shockingly dark, red hair; a trademark of her blood-line. It was one of the first things that had drawn Daphne to the aloof, quiet girl. She'd simply never seen that shade of red before; that it looked almost impossible for it to happen naturally.

Tracey's hair was the color of red velvet cake, and it fell in perfectly straight, silky plaits to just beneath her shoulder blades.

"Tracey, I haven't seen or heard from you in two weeks! Are you freezing me out? Because I've heard that both Blaise and Theodore have seen you!" Daphne stated in irritation, her voice rising enough so that the wolfhound raised its head and looked at her with it's intelligent eyes.

For a moment, she smacks her teeth in distasted at the large beast. She'd never much cared for animals... they were simply so dirty. And yet... Tracey, while coming from a rich family, she'd never quite carried herself with the feminine refinement of her status.

She had a grand total of four of these large, slender dogs and she wasn't the least concerned with spending hours out on the ground of her family's extensive grounds, simply in the company of her dogs.

"Always with the dramatics," Tracey sighed in exasperation, her eyes slowly looking up to the stunning girl, wondering why she'd ever become friends, much less consented to dating the girl before her. Her jade-green eyes narrowed on the blue-eyed girl with an hour-glass figured, and she felt her possessive anger flicker inside her like flames in her veins.

For a moment, Daphne flinched slightly at the look in Tracey's eyes. While Tracey was usually quiet, and very difficult to anger, she did reach a point, eventually, when she simply exploded.

Daphne tried to ignore the shiver that coursed up her spine. She was equal measures of fear and excitement.

Sometimes it made her wonder if something was wrong with her. She wondered if perhaps, she pushed Tracey so, simply to get a reaction from the girl who could be as cold as a winter storm.

And they call me the ice queen, Daphne sneered mentally.

"You have been avoiding me," Daphne pointed out, trying to keep her tones level. It wasn't really the first time. Their entire relationship was a precarious balance between friendship, passionate nights, and cold wars where each girl waited to see who would break first.

"I've been taking a cooling period," Tracey replied, getting fluidly to her feet, avoiding stepping on her dog. She then proceeded to put the book away on one of the shelves of the study she'd commandeered for herself ever since she was a small child. "And it isn't over yet, so you can show yourself out."

"Tracey," Daphne whined in annoyance to be dismissed so easily.

"Daphne, if you don't get the hell out of my presence, I won't be held accountable for losing my temper," Tracey stated in very firm tones that left little room to argue.

Daphne paused for a moment, uncertain what to do. To retreat now wounded her pride too much. But her mind started to wonder about what she'd been up to before Tracey had gone into hiding, and what she might have done to piss off the now trembling girl.

The only thing her mind could draw up was Tori and Draco's engagement party.

Did I... she started to wonder if she'd committed another one of her indiscretions and found herself blushing when she realized she had a little too much wine, and had perhaps ended up making out with Lucius Malfoy in one of the many studies of Malfoy Manor.

But how could Tracey possibly have heard about that? Daphne wondered.

Theodore and Blaise were both present, and both boys were almost as loyal to Tracey, as the girl's four dogs.

For a moment, she felt her heart breaking as she watched the red-head who looked close to snapping as she continued to face away from Daphne.

It was hardly the first time she'd cheated on Tracey. But they more or less had an... unspoken arrangement regarding their affairs. Unfortunately, Tracey was far more discreet, as Daphne hadn't ever heard of any of Tracey's other lovers. Perhaps because Daphne had broader appetites, where Tracey preferred women alone.

"Very well, Tracey," Daphne stated finally, unable to help the sudden fear. Moving towards the hearth, she paused before reaching the mahogany box that contained floo powder. Biting on her full, bottom lip, she paused. "You're not..."

As if knowing what she wanted to ask, Tracey interrupted her. "I have no intention of breaking up with you, Daph. Even if you can't follow the rules to the letter."

Daphne felt herself flush in embarrassment, but found herself to happy that she hadn't ruined her relationship with the girl she loved.

"I'll see you then?" Daphne stated, her tone as cavalier as she could manage while her heart was racing as it was.

"No... I'll see you. And no sooner," Tracey replied steely. Daphne huffed, but took the instruction, turning to go back the way she came.

For a few more moments, Tracey stood, hands clenching the desk while she closed her eyes and tried to get over what it was that she was feeling. Honestly, she wasn't sure why she continued to stay with Daphne. Her possessive streak didn't make a woman with such varied needs, ideal, especially as she hatted to show such a trait, as it revealed a little too much of her heart, which made her uncomfortable.

But then... she'd known Daphne since she was eleven. And somehow the girl who was everything Tracey wasn't, had made her way into Tracey's reclusive heart.

Daphne enjoyed her lovers, but she'd never form an attachment to them. For the girl with strawberry-blonde curls, it was merely about her pleasure.

For Tracey... she could do without the other girls she regularly took to bed; they were only around so that the arrangement wouldn't be so one-sided, so Tracey could deal with her bruised ego; and sometimes because there were simply games she would play with them, that she didn't want to play with Daphne.

Which reminded her...

Pulling her wand from the pocket of her sweater, she turned around and pointed to the dog which began to change from its position from where it was watching her to a scantily clad witch on her knees with a saucy smirk on her face. Tracey stalked over, her gaze trained on the younger witch on her knees wearing nothing more than black lace underwear and bra.

"Why do you keep her around?" Romilda asked, her tone snooty as Tracey stood over her.

"I've known Daphne a long time, and we play a different game," Tracey replied, grabbing a fistful of dark hair at the base of Romilda's neck before tugging on it roughly so that Romilda exposed her neck to Tracey who ran the tip of her wand along the girl's olive skin.

"I think you love her," Romilda stated, once more speaking out of turn, her full lips set in a line as she looked up at Tracey with dark and challenging eyes.

Tracey clenched her jaw, her fist tightening and pulling harder on Romilda's hair, causing the dark-haired girl to grunt.

"My sentiments are not your concern. Nor is my relationship with Daphne," Tracey stated as she glared down at the girl whom she'd yet to break. Romilda's pride, arrogance, vanity and bossiness made her quite the challenge and sometimes, Tracey wondered if the girl was even worth all the trouble.

But then... Romilda wasn't a weak girl. She wasn't delicate. Which made her ideal to take her frustrations out on, even if the girl was trying to supplant Daphne and was sure to cause trouble. But Tracey felt confident that she could handle Romilda, and that Daphne's confidence could not be swayed by the likes of a mere Gryffindor.

"Now, lets see about your punishment for speaking out of turn," Tracey smirked darkly.

~FIN~

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