"Louis, wh-what are you doing here?" I asked nervously. I didn't want anyone to see me coming out of the bedroom with Malfoy in there.

Louis looked at me for a moment before blinking a couple of times.

"Did you know about this?" he demanded angrily.

"Know about what?" I asked confused, still standing in the doorway.

"That I'm just your best friends little play toy! That she was using me to get with fucking Adam Bryce!" he snarled.

"Oh, Louis," I said as I put my arm around him but he shrugged it away. "I swear I had no idea," I insisted. God, I wish Sophie had held off till tomorrow to talk to him. I didn't have my head in the right place to help him.

"You're lying!" he accused me.

"Louis, I'm not, I swear. I would never lie about something like this!"

"You know how I've felt about her. Since we fucking met her on the fucking Hogwarts train six fucking years ago," he said. "I thought…I thought she actually liked me. This…this was all just a game for her."

"I know, Louis, I know," I said sadly. I put my arm around him again to hug him and he didn't push me away this time.

"Yeah, but we're fucking over for good!" he yelled.

"I'm so sorry," I rubbed his back. "Why don't you come home with me, I was just leaving," I said. I remembered Malfoy and turned to see him watching Louis and me with his arms folded, slightly amused. I ignored him and led Louis into the bathroom to wash up. Malfoy was gone by the time we came back out and I led Louis downstairs. We made our way to the kitchen so we could leave from the back. I planned on calling my dad. I knew he'd come get me. I sat Louis on one of the chairs at the kitchen table and disposed of the liquor bottle in the trashcan under the kitchen sink.

He asked for some water so I rushed to get him some and grabbed some of that interesting fruit punch for myself, downing two cups again. It felt refreshing in this stuffy house full of bodies. Suddenly I caught sight of Sophie coming out of the powder room, puffy eyed with mascara running down her face.

She looked up and saw me and I was about to go see her but she stopped me. When Louis wasn't looking, she motioned for me to stay with him and mouthed a 'thank you.' I nodded in silent understanding. I also saw Donny and he rushed over to us.

"There you are," he said to me. "He was looking for you. How's he holding up?" Donny jerked his head towards Louis who was angrily glaring at the glass of water on the table in front of him.

"Not good," I said in a low voice. "I was going to take him home."

Louis burst, "stop fucking talking about me like I'm not fucking here!"

"Okay, buddy," said Donny. "Just try to relax, alright?" Louis huffed and started cursing under his breath. Donny turned to me, "Fred borrowed my car but as soon as he gets back, I'm taking Louis home. You can get a ride with me if you want."

That would be better than waking my parents up, I realised. I agreed to Donny's plan and after that I took Louis back up to Eric's room where he plopped on the bed and played with his phone. I went back downstairs looking for Sophie but I ran into Alayna instead who said Sophie got a ride home with Priya and her dad. Alayna also told me that Sophie had asked her to tell me not to worry about her and that she'd call tomorrow. I made a mental note to invite Sophie over and take her for ice cream and movies if she was up for it.

I asked Alayna about Emma and she said Emma was tipsy and dancing with cute seventh years from Ravenclaw.

"Don't worry I've been keeping an eye on her," Alayna chuckled. "Want to dance, Rose?" She suddenly said. "We're just standing around anyway."

I tried to say no politely. "Where's Donny, I'm sure he wants you to himself."

"He has me all the time," Alayna laughed. "Besides, I think he might be with Louis. Come on it's just us girls, and we came to have fun!"

Half-heartedly, I agreed. It wasn't that I didn't want to have fun. I just didn't want to be near Malfoy. He could be in the house for all I know. And if he was, I knew he'd be watching me. He must have been watching me earlier if he saw me go into Eric's room. I didn't want to do anything that would make him angry and attack me in front of so many people. But then I realised I didn't want to be afraid of him either. He couldn't hurt me with all these people here to witness it. He wouldn't. Knowing that, I loosened up and followed Alayna to the dance floor.

While dancing with my friend, I spotted Malfoy on the couch with Dominique in his lap. The horrendous sight made me want to gag. Dom had her perfectly manicured fingers clutching the front of his shirt while her face was buried in his neck. She was probably leaving sticky lip-gloss stains on him. I cringed. As for Malfoy? Malfoy just sat there, one hand carelessly stroking Dominique's back while the other held the red cup he was drinking from. He looked a little bored, watching bodies dance. He was also accompanied by some of the other guys and girls from our school as well as the unknown ones who'd arrived with him. The were all sitting on the couches together like they owned the place

I hated Malfoy so much. He looked so smug with the prettiest girl at Hogwarts all over him. I snorted; Dominique had a cruel side too. They were perfect for each other.

And no way in hell was Malfoy allowed to tell me what to do.

As I was staring at him while dancing, Malfoy's scanning eyes found mine, and I stilled for a moment. His expression was hard but thoughtful. He was looking at me coldly yet the curiosity in his eyes was there. What was he thinking, I wondered. Not that I cared. But he was unpredictable and I realised I needed to stay a step ahead of him if I wanted to come out on top. I watched him nudge Dominique off of his lap and she didn't look too pleased. He leaned forward; eyes narrowed, and slowly took a sip from his cup, his gaze never leaving me. He was watching me. Even from afar, I shuddered under his scrutinizing gaze and his eyes lit up with a faint, crooked smirk.

"What's wrong, Rose?" Alayna yelled over the sound of the music.

"Nothing," I quickly said.

Alayna followed my gaze. "Dominique's being needy again," she noted but I only nodded and we resumed our dancing.

I turned away from him and danced with Alayna like he didn't exist. I didn't know then that his eyes were still on me, even after I'd turned away. And when I felt large hands on my hips from behind, a pelvis grinding with me, I welcomed it because I knew it would anger Malfoy. I didn't care that I was grinding with some random stranger. When I sneaked another look in Malfoy's direction, his expression had hardened considerably, his cold eyes like slits. I saw Dominique try to get his attention again and he shoved her off rather roughly this time.

Now it was my turn to be smug. I liked knowing I was twisting him up on the inside. I liked that I was making his blood boil like he's done to me since we met. I smiled to myself at my small inner victory. I wasn't going to let Malfoy run my life. Who the hell was he to tell me to stay away from Damien or anyone else. I knew he was still watching so I leaned my head back towards the stranger behind me.

"Weasley, right?" said the stranger in chirpy voice.

"Yes," I breathed.

"Merlin, I like you better than all of them," he joked and I let out a small chuckle.

I turned around and saw he was very cute with light hair and soft hazel eyes.

I put my hands around his neck to pull his head down. "I'm Rose," I said close to his ear over the sound of the music.

I saw his face flush slightly. He had a sweet smile. "I'm Alex. Alex Davies from Ravenclaw. What year are you in, Rose?"

"Sixth," I said. "You?"

"Seventh!"

I turned back around and Alayna winked at me. She wished me a good time with my new friend before saying she was going to go look for Donny. Alex and I resumed our dancing and I could feel his hands slide up to my waist.

From behind me I felt him lower his head quite a bit to whisper in my ear, "I'm going to owl you before school starts. Get dinner with me?"

He gave my waist a gentle squeeze but I didn't respond. I didn't really even know this guy. I was only giving him attention because I knew it would annoy Malfoy. So I only nodded and with Alex's face in my hair, he felt my bobbing head and took it as an affirmative answer.

I shut my eyes and let myself be moved by the music. I wondered if there was something in the punch? I was far less rigid now than I had been earlier. Alex's hands were gone now and I was moving on my own for a bit before he placed them back on my hips.

Alex's gentle squeeze was replaced by a rougher one with fingers that bit into my flesh right through the fabric. The hands were larger and the touch was not gentle at all. My eyes grew wide and I tried to turn around.

"Stay," growled Malfoy. I tried to stop moving but he used his rough hands on my hips to forcefully move me.

"Get your filthy hands off of me!" I said.

He pulled me in roughly and leaned his head down, rubbing his nose on my shoulder from behind. "I thought I gave you specific instructions," he snarled in my ear.

I tried to elbow him in the side but he turned me around. Even in the lack of proper light, I could see his face was livid.

So I spat, "I don't follow your fucking instructions!"

"Have you been drinking?!" He demanded.

"Let me go!" I yelled.

"I think it's time for you to go home, flower," he growled.

"You don't get to decide for me!" I retorted.

Malfoy tightened his grip on me, his fingers digging in to my hipbone, and I yelped in pain. He grunted in my ear, "I do now."

…

Malfoy grabbed me by the upper arm and dragged me out of the crowd and to the sides where the couches were, throwing me with full force on to the seat next to one of his older friends.

"How dare you?!" I cried out but Malfoy only glared at me.

I heard a voice on my other side and saw Dominique on the loveseat next to my couch. "Scor, why the hell did you bring her here?"

"Shut up, Dominique!" He barked. His friends turned to look to him.

Dominique's eyes grew wide and she huffed angrily before storming off red-faced. Malfoy then turned to me.

"What were you thinking?" He snarled.

"Excuse me?!" I said getting back up. He took a step closer to me but I was fully ready to face him! Or his chest for that matter…I looked up into his eyes, glaring back.

"Underage drinking?! Grinding with some horny teenager?! That's not you, Angel!" He growled.

"You don't know anything about me!" I retorted.

Malfoy scowled and it drove me nuts so I shoved at his chest and hurried towards the kitchens. But I didn't miss the snickers coming from his friends. I didn't know if they were laughing at him or me. But I was sure he was burning holes in my back with his eyes right about now.

I grabbed a bottle of firewhiskey and poured myself some in a rinsed out, red cup I'd found under the table. I'd never had firewhiskey before but suddenly I wanted to drink. Just as I was putting the rim of the cup to my mouth, I heard Dominique.

"I bet you're just so pleased with yourself, aren't you," she sneered.

"What do you want, Dom?" I snapped.

"I should be asking you that," she said coldly. "Since you can't seem to decide between Eric, Davies and even Scor!"

"Excuse me?!"

"That's right, little Rose. Congratulations, you've finally achieved your goal of being the Hogwarts Whore!"

I didn't know what got in to me but I threw the contents of my red cup at Dominique's face.

"MY EYES!" Dominique shrieked, clutching her face. God I hoped the alcohol burned straight through! "YOU BITCH!"

And then she lunged for me! I screamed and used my arms to cover my face. I had no experience with physical fighting whatsoever! Dominique was pulling my hair and shoving me to the ground and I didn't know what to do!

"Stop it!" I cried out. "Stop it, Dom!"

I heard people rush over to us. They were trying to pull her off of me.

"You mental freak!" I cried out as I tried to get up. And then suddenly, I felt a blow to my temple and the last thing I remembered was a pair of sturdy arms cushioning my fall.

…

I didn't know if I was dreaming or not but I felt like I was being cradled in a bed of sandalwood and musk that gave off more warmth than a fire.

And suddenly my bed was moving and I stirred.

"Sshh, you're okay, baby girl. Go back to sleep."

My bed talked?

Like hell it did! I could recognize that voice even in my sleep!

I meagrely struggled, trying to move but not sure if I really did. "No…Malfoy…"

"I'm right here, flower,' I heard him say, still not sure if it was really even him.

…

I stirred into consciousness with a pounding headache…what was happening? I could tell I was laying in a soft bed because I felt cold but I could feel a duvet on me. My head was on a warm but hard pillow and I had the most wonderful cooling sensation on my hot, throbbing temple. When I grew more aware, I realised I felt cold because something icy was on my head.

I slowly opened my eyes and the first thing I saw was a dark green canopy above my head.

"Wh-where am I?" I groggily muttered.

Suddenly, Malfoy's upside down face came into view, giving me a shock.

"Morning," he said, smirking.

"M-Morning?" I said trying to get up. He pushed my shoulders back down though.

I realised I was lying in a bed but instead of a pillow, my head was in his lap and he was placing ice on my temple.

"Depends on how you look at it," he said.

"What…?" I asked confused. "Wh-what time is it?"

"It's half past three in the morning," he said, gently touching the freezing bag to my head.

"Where am I?" I asked again.

"You're in London…in my apartment," he said, looking smug as ever. "You passed out, flower."

The memories of Eric's party flooded back into my brain and I shot up, the covers slipping off.

I turned around to look at Malfoy whose hair was now dishevelled and his eyes were bagged. They were still twinkling with malice though and it infuriated me to no end.

"YOU!" I yelled. "YOU LOATHSOME, LITTLE COCKROACH—"

"I prefer scorpion—"

"YOU KIDNAPPED ME AGAIN! HOW DARE YOU EVEN LAY A FINGER ON ME?!"

"Last time I checked, you were laying on me, Angel," he smirked.

"I'M NOT YOUR ANGEL!" I snapped. "HOW THE HELL DID I GET HERE?!"

"Well," he said. "Dear cousin Dominique is as vicious as she is sexy and she happened to deliver that little gift to your head," he pointed at my temple and I touched it to feel a bump.

I watched him get up and dump the ice bag into a trashcan next to a fancy mahogany dresser.

"I want to know how the hell I got to your apartment!" I yelled.

"I carried you and we apparated," he shrugged.

"How dare you even think I'd want to go anywhere with you after everything you've done to me?!"

"I don't do anything I don't believe necessary," he grunted. I watched him open the first drawer of the dresser and pull out a t-shirt. He started unbuttoning his shirt and I stared, confused…what the hell was he doing?

And then I saw it. Sitting on top of the dresser, neatly folded, was my golden dress! I looked down at my self and saw that I was wearing an oversized t-shirt that I didn't recognize and my legs were completely bare. Suddenly my mind raced with thoughts of all that could have happened while I was unconscious.

"No, no, no!" I started saying to myself. I felt like I was going to have a panic attack! Malfoy had taken off my clothes, he had me in his bed, and he was taking off his own clothes for Merlin's sake! "No!" I said.

Malfoy smirked, "Don't want me to wear clothes, flower?"

I looked at him, tears gathering in my eyes, I brought my knees to my chest and stretched the shirt over my knees to cover myself some before bursting into tears.

Malfoy looked slightly startled. "No need to cry, Angel—"

"You evil man…" I sobbed.

"Evil?"

"I'll have you sent to Azkaban!"

"Azkaban?"

"I hate you!"

Malfoy looked amused, "What did I do to warrant such scrutiny?"

"What haven't you done?! You've assaulted me—multiple times! And now…now…"

"Go on…"

I buried my head in my knees and wiped my eyes. Blotchy faced, I looked up at him. "You…you did something to me, didn't you? While I was unconscious? You took off my clothes and you…you…"

Realization dawned on Malfoy's face and suddenly, his expression hardened, his eyes narrowed into slits, his lips pursed, and his face became red.

"I didn't fucking molest you!" He said, his teeth grinding.

My entire body burned and I turned red!

"I undressed you so you could be comfortable!"

"You still shouldn't have," I retorted.

Malfoy turned away from me; he snatched his t-shirt and headed straight for the bathroom, slamming the door closed. He was changed once he came back out.

I'd dried my tears as I sat there on the bed, unsure. I wanted to ask him to take me home but he still looked angry.

"Why didn't you take me to my house?" I blurted.

He looked at me for a moment, "Your parents had a protection spell up. I couldn't get in."

"Will you take me home now?" I asked.

"Are you daft?!" He burst. "I told you, I can't get in!"

"Okay, okay," I said, startled. "Stop shouting at me…"

"You can go home in the morning," he grunted.

"Morning?! My mum's going to have a heart attack if I show up at home in the morning!"

Malfoy ignored me and got into his bed. I immediately hopped off. He turned to his side, perching his head up by the elbow and stared at me. His t-shirt only came up to my knees and I tried to pull it down some more.

"If you must know, I tried putting a pair of sweatpants on you," he said. "But they swallowed you up and fell off."

I blushed crimson. I tried to look anywhere other than at him. I tried to focus on his bedroom; beige walls, mahogany furniture, emerald green accents and spotlessly clean.

"Why the hell didn't you call James or Al?" I demanded. "When I passed out?"

"They weren't around," he shrugged.

"What about Ben? You should have called him. He'd make sure I get home safe," I said.

Malfoy's eyes narrowed into slits and he growled, "Sloper?"

I nodded. Malfoy's face was hard but he didn't say anything and we were both silent for a bit.

"Will you stand there till morning?" He asked, his tone lighter now.

"Why do you care?" I snapped.

Malfoy looked at me, amused. "You looked rather lovely wrapped up in Malfoy embellished covers."

I wanted to punch his face out but I didn't. He still scared me. He was teasing right now but who could say when he'd lose his top on me.

"I will not be getting in your bed," I said firmly. "I'd rather bide my time on the floor."

I lowered myself to the ground, taking care to keep myself covered by the t-shirt as much as I could, and I sat there leaning against the wall.

Malfoy's face hardened. "Get up," he ordered. "Get off the floor."

"No," I simply said.

Instantly, Malfoy got out of bed and came to stand in front of me. I shivered, partly from the cold and partly from nerves.

Without saying anything, he gripped my upper arms and pulled me up.

"Hey, no! Wait a second!" I protested but he dragged me to the bed and pushed me back on it, gentler than he did in Eric's room.

"What do you want from me?!" I demanded, frustrated.

"Right now? I want you to get in bed and sleep. I'll take you home in the morning."

"Sleep so you can do whatever you want without me knowing?! Hell no! I don't trust you Malfoy!" I snarled.

"Is that so?" he said through gritted teeth.

"I'm staying awake all night if that's what I have to do to keep myself safe!"

And before I knew it, he was hovering above me, pinning my wrists to his bed and breathing in my face.

"Get the hell off of me!" I yelled.

Malfoy put his hand on my mouth and glared at me before lowering his head next to mine, his mouth at my ear and his hot breath down my neck giving me goose flesh.

He kissed the skin behind my ear and I stilled. Not believing what had just happened.

And then he whispered.

"There's one thing you need to understand, flower," he growled. "When I fuck you, you'll know it…and you'll know it for days."

My body burned furiously, I was probably turning scarlet everywhere, and I felt warm and sweaty. I laid there, shocked by what had just happened. Did Malfoy just…did he just use figurative speech or threaten me?!

Malfoy rolled off to the other side, his back to me, and lifted the covers over himself. "I'm a light sleeper so I'll warn you not to try anything," I heard him say.

I laid there still as a statue, too afraid to even flinch. Malfoy was completely mental! I had to get the hell out of here! There was no way I was willingly going to be his little toy! What was he thinking kissing my neck?! It was absolutely revolting! No. No. I was not going to stay another minute here. I'll find my own way home but I won't stay with Malfoy for a second longer than I have to!

So as quiet as a mouse, I got off the bed and tiptoed to the door. It was jammed. Locked indeed. So I tiptoed back to my spot in the corner on the floor and decided that first thing tomorrow, I was going to demand the asshole take me home. And then I was going to tell my mum everything and have her tell the aurors to arrest his stupid arse!

I laid myself on the floor and pulled up my knees to my chest, using his shirt to cover me as much as possible. I didn't even care that I was shaking and shivering. I didn't even care that the floor was hard and not comfortable at all. I was so tired I began to feel drowsy and my eyelids were becoming too heavy to keep open…

I stirred in my sleep to find that I was somehow back on the bed and this time I was covered in a thick, furry blanket that smelled like fabric softener. Gentle fingers were running through my hair and I could swear I heard Malfoy's deep voice softly whisper.

"There's no one quite like you, Angel."

And I was too tired to fight back.

…

I woke up at about eight in the morning with a jolt and it took me a moment to remember why I was seeing a dark green canopy above my head.

I saw that I was perched at the very edge of the bed so I shifted towards the centre to keep from falling off. I turned and saw Malfoy on the other side and my face flushed when I saw I'd wrapped myself not only in a furry beige blanket but also his green 'M' covers. All the while he laid there with his knees to his stomach, occasionally shivering. I didn't feel bad at all.

"Malfoy!" I shook him. "Wake the hell up!"

Malfoy stirred awake and I threw his covers back at him and muttered, "Here's your stupid blankets."

Malfoy looked around, squinting, and stretched; gathering his wits. He looked at me and slow smirk crept on his face, "Morning, beautiful." Why the hell was he smirking?!

"Take me home," I demanded flatly.

Malfoy didn't respond. He got up and headed straight for the bathroom. Looking down at myself, I realised I was still in his t-shirt. I heard the flush go off and then the tap running. Knowing he was busy in there, I quickly pulled his shirt off and put my dress back on. When Malfoy came out, I greeted him by throwing his stupid t-shirt in his face.

I glared, "You little weasel!"

"You're the Weasley—"

"Before kidnapping me, you could have at least made sure I had my purse on me!"

Malfoy didn't say anything.

"It had my phone! My wallet, my house keys, my lipstick!"

"I'll get you a new purse," he brushed me off turning away to pull out clothes from his dresser.

"I don't want anything from you, you sick human being!"

Malfoy turned to me and glared. In an instant he was standing in front of me, his hands painfully gripping my arms below the shoulder. He jerked me forward and looked down at me.

"I've just about had it with your yelling," he said in a dangerously low tone through gritted teeth. "Don't think for one second that I don't know how to force manners into a misbehaving little tart like you."

"Let. Go. Of. Me. You ass!"

"Careful, Flower," he growled. "I know how to teach a lesson and I know how to make it hurt."

His grip tightened on my arm and I tried to glare back at his fiery eyes but then my gaze dropped down and I meekly struggled to get away. God I felt pathetic.

Malfoy suddenly let go of me and barked, "Go to the bathroom and wash up!"

He stepped away and turned back to his open dresser drawer.

I stood still, rooted to my spot, not able to believe Malfoy had just threatened to hurt me. He fully threatened me! I can report him for that, can't I? What was happening, I couldn't wrap my head around any of it!

He turned around, eyes narrowed, "Move it!"

Not a second later, Malfoy's palm collided with my ass so hard it jerked me forward. I shrieked and ran for the bathroom, clutching my stinging behind, my eyes teary.

Did Malfoy just…I couldn't believe it! He'd slapped my ass! He fucking slapped my ass! He just…he just slapped my butt cheeks! I lifted my dress and turned in front of the bathroom mirror to see a red hand print there. It really stung! It actually hurt enough to bring tears to my eyes. I felt humiliated!

After drying my tear streaked face, I decided I wanted revenge.

Malfoy wasn't going to get off that easy so I retaliated in the only way I could think of in my anger-hazed brain. I grabbed his toothbrush off of the stand, lifted the toilet lid up and dipped the brush head in the toilet water before placing it back in it's spot.

I used his mouthwash to thoroughly rinse out my mouth before dumping the almost full bottle into the toilet and flushing. I wondered if I should fill the now-empty bottle with toilet water but the water was clear and the mouthwash had been a transparent blue-green. And then I put a whole bunch of toilet paper down the toilet and flushed; pleased that Malfoy's toilet was successfully clogged. Once I was done, I washed up and dried my teary eyes before stepping out. Malfoy was already changed and sitting on the edge of the bed doing something on his phone. He looked up when he saw me come out. I was walking a little funny because the fitted dress was chafing my stinging posterior.

He handed me his phone and ordered me to call home and ask someone to undo the protection spell. So I called Hugo and asked him to unlock the front door for me. My parents would probably sleep in Sunday morning, which meant I could sneak in like I'd been home all night.

I gave Malfoy his phone back and he got up and put his hands on my arms again.

"Don't!" I struggled. "Let go of me…"

"You don't want to go home?" He smirked. "You can stay as long as you like…I don't mind having you here."

My eyes widened. "No! Take me home!"

Malfoy gripped me again, more firmly this time, and apparated us to my driveway. He let go and I lost my balance for a second. His hands were instantly on me again but I jerked away, taking a step back.

I was home. This was my domain. Malfoy couldn't do anything here.

"See you around, flower," he said, putting his fingers on my bare shoulder.

"Don't touch me!" I snapped before huffing away to my porch.

When I turned around, he was gone.

…

"What were you doing out all night?!" Hugo said as he followed me to my bedroom and shut the door behind him. "Do you know how freaked out we all were. Ben and Damien and Eric kept calling my phone! They said you were missing from the party!"

"What did you say to them?"

"Well first everyone thought you went home with Louis and his friend Donny and his girlfriend so Ben called her. She said she looked for you but assumed you'd already gone home. And then they called me and I told them you weren't here! Where were you Rose?! I was about to wake Mum and Dad just now before you called."

"It's a long story…I don't want to talk about it right now."

How does one tell her little brother she spent all night with a man and then got spanked by him in the morning?

It sounded bad.

Like really bad.

Hugo would think I was out being the tart that Malfoy referred to me as.

"Malfoy…took me home…when Dominique punched my head," I pointed to my temple.

Hugo gasped. "She punched you?! I'll kill her!"

"Hugo, it's alright…just…just forget about it."

"Why would Malfoy take you home?"

"To ice my head!" I said. "Can you believe it?! He said he couldn't get in the house cause of the protection spell Mum and dad put up at night."

Hugo grew silent for a bit and looked at me curiously.

"What?" I said

"You were with him the entire night and you couldn't have bothered to call us and let us know you're okay?"

My eyes widened. "I lost my purse at Eric's!"

"How did you call me just now?!"

"Malfoy's phone!"

"You couldn't have used Malfoy's phone like five hours ago?!"

I kicked Hugo out of my room and plopped down on to my bed but my sore butt made me regret that. I got up and changed into comfortable pyjamas. After sending an owl to Eric about my lost purse, I laid on my bed on my front and thought about everything that had happened.

Malfoy was the strangest person I'd ever come to know. He called me loving names but harassed me and basically abused me every time he saw me. I'd never met anyone who did that. I couldn't forget about what happened last night either. When he'd been furious that I was with Damien or when I'd danced with Davies, it was strange. Why did he care? It wasn't his business. Was it possible he was jealous? Or possessive? But why would he be possessive of me? We hated each other. Maybe he wanted to alienate me. So he could catch me alone whenever he wanted to and get whatever sick pleasure he got from scaring me.

I fell asleep thinking about how much I hated Malfoy.

I felt better knowing his toothbrush was now drenched in toilet water.

…

I was startled awake when Hugo burst in with Ben at his heel. I found out he'd come over after I wasn't picking up my phone and he'd called Hugo. Hugo told Ben I was home, safe and sound, and Ben wanted to come over and check in on me.

"How the heck did you, of all people, end up in a drunken brawl?" Ben asked, bewildered.

I shrugged, "She called me some nasty names so I threw whiskey in her eyes."

Ben was stunned, "I'm not even mad. That's amazing…I tried looking for you when I heard. And someone said Malfoy carried you upstairs but we went to check and neither of you were there. What the hell happened? Where were you? We were so worried."

"Malfoy took me to his house and iced my head…" I muttered.

"What?! You were at his house?"

"Was I speaking Spanish, Ben," I said, frustrated. God I was beginning to sound like Malfoy.

"You should have come straight home, Rose!"

"I was knocked out!" I reminded him.

"Well…still! Malfoy's not your type…just…just stay away from him."

"Again, he took me! I didn't willingly go with him!"

"You could have asked him to apparate you home once you woke up," Ben insisted.

"Whatever, I'm fine…"

"You're a good girl, Rose. I don't want you to start hanging around the wrong crowd—"

"I'm not hanging around the wrong crowd! I'm not hanging around any crowd!"

I decided that I really didn't want to talk about Malfoy with my friends again. Hugo and Ben's reaction frustrated me to no end. They made it sound like it was all my fault. What did I do that was so bad though? Grinding with the cute Ravenclaw? Having the spiked punch? I didn't even know it was laced with Tequila until Ben told me. Was I wrong to have disobeyed Malfoy in the first place? None of this would have happened if I'd just hung around my girl friends all night…No! I can't believe I just thought that. It was not my fault!

I apologized to Ben for yelling at him with the excuse that I had a headache. Ben asked me if I was going to James' in the afternoon to practice Quidditch. The rest of our Gryffindor team would also be coming but I said no because I wanted to hang out with Sophie today and so I sent her an owl as soon as Ben left.

I received owl mail from Emma asking what happened to me last night and why wasn't I picking up my phone. So I replied that I lost my purse at Eric's and because I wasn't in the mood to explain what happened with Malfoy, I said I left early. I was kind of annoyed at Emma for abandoning me yesterday to dance with seventh years. She didn't even look for me to make sure I'd arrived in the first place.

Sophie rang my doorbell at half past six and we went for a walk around the block. It was late afternoon and everyone had come out now that the sun wasn't scorching hot. People were riding their bicycles and kids were playing in their front yards. Someone accidently kicked their football to us and Sophie kicked it right back with a small, sad smile.

"Maybe, in a couple of days he'll understand you only care about him," I suggested to her.

"I don't know," Sophie sighed. "You didn't see him yesterday."

"What did he say? When you told him?"

"At first he thought I was lying. He was going through everything we did and everything I said since we started dating. He kept saying it was all a lie. I thought he was going to have a panic attack!"

I sighed and muttered, "Panic attacks seem to be a Weasley thing…"

"What's that?"

"Nothing."

"I kept telling him I only want to be with him," said Sophie.

"What did he say then?" I asked.

"He said he doesn't know whether to believe me anymore."

"Oh Sophie, I'm so sorry," I said. "If you want I can try and talk to him."

"No," said Sophie. "Not yet. Just give him time. He needs time."

I nodded.

"Rose, he's so kind to me," she sadly sighed. "He always just wants to take care of me. I mean, I don't need to be taken care of but he's always there if I need him."

I linked arms with Sophie as we walked across the neighbourhood park. We heard the familiar sound of the ice cream truck and when it stopped near us, I treated Sophie and myself to chocolate ice cream cones.

"So I heard Malfoy apparated away with you last night. Where did he take you," said Sophie.

"He took me to his apartment," I said. "To ice my head."

"Since when does Malfoy even know who we are?" Sophie snorted. "I've never once talked to him in my entire life."

I shrugged. "He was friends with James, I saw him around."

"He's really handsome," Sophie suggested and I shrugged.

"I bet Dominique must have been pissed that he tended to you."

"What makes you say that?" I asked.

"Well yesterday, I was going upstairs with Louis to look for a private place to talk to him and I heard them arguing outside Eric's bedroom."

"What?" I said, my ears perking up.

"She was demanding why he was so interested in some girl. She didn't say the name though."

"What did Malfoy say?" I asked, wondering if this happened while I was inside the room.

"He told her to 'get the hell downstairs'. And get this; he's like 'don't you ever fucking follow me again.' She must have followed him upstairs," Sophie said, wondering.

"Do you think they're dating?" I blurted. I didn't care. It was just weird that she was all over him last night but he treated her like shit.

"Malfoy and Dominique? No! Definitely not. Dom kept asking him 'why are you so interested in her?' About the other girl I think. If they were dating, he wouldn't be so openly interested in whomever he's interested in. Why are we even talking about this?"

I snorted, "Because our lives are boring?"

Sophie chuckled.

Once we were back home in my room, we used Sophie's mobile to call Emma and Priya to discuss last night's party in a three-way.

"Dominique and Sandra had a fight last night," Emma told us. "After you all left."

"Why?" Priya asked. "Aren't they best friends?"

"Apparently, Dominique went upstairs to clean up after her fight with Rose and walked in on Sandra and Tyler, her ex."

I heard Priya gasp and squeal and I rolled my eyes.

"Did James and Al come back?" I asked. "I hadn't seen them the entire time."

Emma spoke, "James and Sonia were there for a bit but left through the back sometime after you arrived. Al and Arielle left as soon as Arielle arrived. I hear James apparated somewhere and Al took James' car. I think Al took Arielle home to his place because Nick went home by himself—"

"Emma did you even know Malfoy apparated me away last night?" I asked her; suddenly annoyed that she kept tabs on everyone except me. "You were so busy getting drunk, I didn't see you all night. I even looked for you."

The lines grew silent and Sophie looked at me.

"Alayna said you were with her just earlier," said Emma. "I didn't know you'd been in a fight with Dominique."

I didn't say anything.

"Alayna should have told me," Emma continued. "That Malfoy took you upstairs."

"Alayna didn't know. She'd already left to see Donny and I think the two took Louis home."

"Well, Rose…you should have called us. You should have called Ben or anyone else. They'd have come to pick you up."

"I didn't have my bloody phone! Malfoy didn't make sure I had my purse on me when he apparated me away while I was knocked out! You're my friend! You should have been there!"

…

After Sophie left, I gave a call to Louis to make sure he was doing alright.

"Obviously I'm still pissed at being made a fool of," he said.

"Yes but she came clean," I tried. "That counts for something right?"

"I don't know," he said. "I don't know anything anymore."

"I'm sorry all this happened," I said.

"I love her, you know? I mean, I know she doesn't feel the same way but I've loved her for so long."

I didn't respond. I was a bit hesitant to call Louis's long-term infatuation with Sophie, love. But then again, what did I know.

"I know she wants to be with you," I said.

Louis only snorted, "I used to know that too."

…

That night, my parents, Hugo and I headed to the Potters' for dinner. Uncle Harry's family and my family had dinner together at least once every two weeks. Sometimes it was at our place and sometimes it was at theirs. So after dinner, Hugo and Lily practiced their quidditch skills with Dad and Uncle Harry, Mum and Aunt Ginny gossiped over herbal tea and James, Al and I headed straight for the basement where we discussed yesterday's party.

"Of all people, Sofia Towler, James?" I asked him.

"Come on, have you seen that body, Rose! Trust me, if you were a lesbian, you'd wanna too", James defended himself.

"Gee, it's too bad I'm attracted to men, then", I rolled my eyes.

"And how about you, young man", I turn to Al "You've got yourself a girlfriend, now!"

"Yup!" Al said smiling wide.

James tried to pinch Al's cheeks but Al slapped his hands away.

"You should've seen Nick, he looked like he was going to hurl when he found out", I chuckled.

"So, Rose, you had your first fist fight last night with Dom?" Al snickered.

I threw a cushion at him. "Yeah, I really gave it to her bad."

James sniggered. "That's not what we heard. We heard she jumped you and you were like 'no, Dom! Please don't hurt me!'"

"I did not say it like that!"

"And did you really go home with Scor after that?" Al asked curiously.

My ears turned pink. "It wasn't like that! He just apparated me to his place so he could ice my head."

James rolled his eyes. "Right! Like anybody really believes that!"

"What do you mean?" I demanded.

The smile faded off James's face. "Listen, I'm just teasing. I don't mean to offend. Your body, your choice. No one's judging—"

"You think I was sleeping with him?!" I said.

"Well…weren't you?" James shrugged.

"NO!" I said, appalled. "I was unconscious when Malfoy took me. I didn't willingly go with him!"

"Why didn't you call anyone to come get you?" Al asked.

"Because he left my purse at Eric's and my phone was in there."

"So how did you get home?" James asked.

"Malfoy apparated me home in the morning," I said.

"Why did you ask him to take you home before morning?"

"I did but—"

I realised there was no explanation for why I could get home earlier except that there was no one to open the door for me at three in the morning and I'd lost my keys with the purse. But come to think of it, Hugo would have woken up to let me in if I called him. Why didn't the idea occur to me earlier? I could've been saved from a humiliating morning.

James left soon after to go out with Eric for the evening. When Al and I were finally alone, I told him about everything that happened with Eric.

"Well, you've definitely caught his eye," Al said. "At least he apologized for groping you."

"Yeah," I sighed. "I mean I get it, he was drunk…maybe I just had a more romantic situation in mind for us."

"Well, just wait till the carnival. You'll have a better chance of getting to know him."

I shrugged, "yeah whatever."

"Hey, don't be too upset about what James said. He doesn't know you and Scorpius are friends from SCSY," Al said.

"We're not friends. And we're done with SCSY. It was so stupid."

"Did something happen?" Al asked curiously.

"Yeah, he lock—"

I stopped. I couldn't tell Al that Malfoy had locked me in the storage cupboard and physically assaulted me. I shouldn't have gone with him to begin with. It was irresponsible of me and I could get into shit for that.

"He what?" Al pried.

"Nothing. We don't click and neither of us have the time for stupid SCSY," I said bitterly.

"If something happened, you can tell me. I know Malfoy's scary sometimes. He used to have a temper problem for a while when we were younger," Al said.

"He did?" I asked curiously. "What did he do?"

"He beat Casey Warrington with a beater's club once on the Quidditch pitch after practice. I don't know what Warrington said to him but he grabbed the club out of Lance's hand and just started thrashing him. This is a long time ago, like when he was fourteen or fifteen I think. He was suspended from the pitch. He's only allowed back again this year since it's his last."

Malfoy was violent. Like I didn't already pick up on that. I wondered if I should tell Al about the way he attacked me last night or the way he'd slapped my behind this morning. It still stung when I sat! But it was embarrassing; I couldn't tell Al Malfoy spanked me! I didn't want to make a big deal about Malfoy. I just wanted him to slip out of my life quietly like he'd never been there to begin with.

"He seems different now…" I said more to myself than Al who was texting on his phone now.

"What? Oh yeah," Al said. "He's got himself under control. I heard he got into wrestling or kickboxing or something."

"He's definitely built for it," I muttered.

And I thought about all the times he's used his strength against me.

I wanted to be strong too.

A/N: Please let me know how you're liking this story so far. It's considerable different now, I realize, but please, please, please review! Hearing from you guys motivates me to continue, it really does!

I love all of you Malfoy lovers!

- Madamam