Draco coughed and rubbed his throat, casting another murderous look in the direction Granger had run off. This was definitely not how he had planned this thing. Right about now he was supposed to be sated from a most satisfying tryst, not having a sore throat from being poked. He had been supposed to do all the poking, damn it! He lashed out in frustration, sending one of the shelves tumbling down with a loud crash. Perversely, that made him feel a little bit better.

Fucking bitch.

He didn't know why he wanted her so badly, but he did. For the last four weeks, he had been able to think about nothing but burying himself inside her again. The first two weeks, he had felt like crap, trying to convince himself that he could not have release, because she was a Mudblood, but, after a while, that reasoning just seemed empty. He didn't want to marry her, for crying out loud, he just wanted to fuck her. Yes, fuck was his new favorite word. It described very well what he dreamed about doing every night: taking her hard and fast, pounding into her, watching her face flush and her eyes roll back, hammering, until he felt her walls clenching around him and…

Fucking bitch.

He felt cheated. Her hands and lips had soothed some of his need earlier. She had felt warm and wet, and they had been so close to actually completing the act. He felt like a man dying of thirst, who had gotten enough water to soothe his craving for a few minutes, just to have the need returned all the stronger because of the taste.

Potter, it was always Potter. There was one person he wouldn't miss if he fell off the face of the earth. In fact, wasn't there a rumor about an Anti-Gravitation spell? He'd have to look into that.

Draco stepped out of the closet, not bothering to clean up the fallen shelves, and began walking towards the dungeons. No reason standing around like a fool. She wasn't going to change her mind. Not tonight, anyway. Eventually, though…

The thing that had changed his resolve to stay away from Granger once and for all had been when Pansy had come on to him in the common room one day. He'd thought, "Why not? She's willing!" and had brought her to his room. There he had proceeded to kick everyone out, before taking his pent up lust out on the girl with a kiss that should have burned them both up.

Pansy had not responded as he had hoped. While she had not pushed him away, she hadn't been a quivering lusty morsel either. She had been rather passive, and he had noticed a brief look of fear in her eyes, quickly hidden with a seductive glance taking its place. It had surprised and annoyed him that she had shown fear in the bedchamber of all places. He had never given her the least of unsolicited touches, and it angered him that she seemed to think he would start now.

She had then proceeded to coo for his patience while undressing him. He had let her, even though patience was a word almost unrecognizable to him at this point.

When they had been on the bed, he had continued to kiss and touch her, but, to his immense dissatisfaction, she was nowhere near his level of need, and his intensity seemed to scare her more and more, until he finally couldn't take it anymore and told her to get out.

She had tried insisting that she wanted this until he had wrenched her legs apart, forced a finger into her dry heat and, leaning over her clearly wincing and frightened visage, had sneered, "Not a drop. You haven't even the decency to think of someone you do want to shag. Now GET OUT!"

She had jumped from his bed, gathered her clothes and, sobbing, she had run from the room.

Draco supposed he'd been a bit hard on her. It wasn't really her fault that he didn't want her anymore, either. Yet, the next day she had approached him at breakfast with a wary look, and, upon seeing that he wasn't about to treat her any differently than usual, she had gleefully resumed the old act. Keeping up appearances was important after all, and being associated with a Malfoy was good, even if he did humiliate you in the privacy of his bedroom.

The whole thing had left him violently frustrated, and it was then he had started scheming to get Granger alone again. It had been much harder than he had first thought. For a week, she had eluded him, never being alone for a single second. At first, he had tried taunting her for a response, but that hadn't helped at all; she'd only grown more defensive. Then he'd stopped the taunts and started planning the seduction. The important part was to not allow her to think. The closet had been the perfect place to execute the plan, and he'd almost succeeded too.

If it hadn't been for that Potter!

Draco reached the stone wall blocking the entrance to his common room and mumbled, "Ambition!" allowing him in. He had plenty of ambition, all right. Inside, he flung himself into a comfortable armchair near Crabbe and Goyle, who seemed to be struggling with school work, and continued his musings.

There were other girls, of course. Yet, somehow it seemed like Slytherin girls were afraid of Pansy, and non-Slytherin girls didn't find him quite as charming as he would have thought. In the week that Granger had eluded him, he'd gotten the farthest with the Greengrass girl, who smiled and blushed whenever he was around, but, after two days, she had suddenly begun to avoid him and shoot fearful glances in Pansy's direction.

Draco sighed. Maybe his love life would get easier if he simply gave Pansy the slip, yet, somehow, he doubted it. She was much like him – too used to getting her way. No, it was probably better to keep her close and have at least a little control over her actions.

He rubbed his throat again. Saucy wench, he thought, having calmed down a great deal. He couldn't keep from grinning when he imagined just how much his prize would be worth all his hardships.

"That can't be good," a dry voice commented. Draco looked at the speaker to see it was Theodore Nott. Nott was a queer sort of fellow, and Draco was somewhat surprised to be addressed by him, yet there was no mistaking who he was talking to.

"What?" he croaked, before giving a slight cough. Damn wench had really poked his vocal cord good.

"You come in here looking like murder and five minutes later you are grinning like a maniac. No, please don't tell me what you're up to. I don't want to know," he waved Draco off before he could reply, and then returned to the book he was reading.

Draco couldn't help but laugh.


The very next day, Draco was still feeling optimistic about his chances and in a better mood than his friends had seen him in for a long time. Granger's usual unwillingness to even glance at him at breakfast didn't even detract from it in the least. He knew she wanted him, her moaning and squirming and slick folds did not lie. Soon his burning need would be satisfied.

Yet, even in Arithmancy, which her moronic friends didn't take, she remained aloof, ignoring him, while answering every single question in her usual annoying way. Draco still wasn't discouraged, but the lack of attention had begun to get on his nerves again. Having nothing better to do, schoolwork being out of the question, he made whispered remarks to his friends every time she answered a question, gradually making a disturbance as his friends were trying hard to hide their laughter and failing, while Granger's face turned a darker and darker shade of red. She still didn't deign to look at him, though. Eventually he had to stop as Professor Vector noticed, berated him, and deducted points from Slytherin, promising him detention if he continued.

It was when he was on his way to Charms that it happened.

Something hit the back of his head, stretched and burst, leaving him with a decidedly sticky and yucky feeling.

"PEEVES!" he roared, turning to face the culprit, while he could hear sniggering from around him, making his face flush a little in embarrassment. He was awarded by getting another dose of what appeared to be water balloons filled with some green slimy substance straight in the face, to everyone's great mirth, especially one girl was laughing louder than everyone else.

Spluttering, he removed the worst goo from his eyes and mouth and then proceeded to hurl various hexes in Peeves' direction, yet lamentably missing him every time. Another balloon was thrown, but this time Draco dodged it, and, judging from a shriek behind him, it found another target.

Draco turned to see who had been hit, yet forgot to laugh at the fifth year girl with a giant splotch on her robes, when he noticed who was laughing so merrily at him that she was almost jumping up and down and clapping her hands with delight. A balloon hit the hem of his robes, but he no longer cared, and Peeves got bored aiming at him and began juggling instead.

Granger.

Her friends were with her, of course, both wearing big smirks. Granger was flushed and had tears in her eyes, while she pointed at him and tried to say something that came out more as a heehawing. Draco looked at her and watched her slowly regain her composure, only to lose it again, when Weasley mumbled, "Always did say he was a slimy git."

Draco did consider trying to shut Granger up with a very suggestive crack about his effect on her, but he recognized that he was in no position right now and settled for a scowl. She took one look on his face and laughed even harder.

"Sl—" she sobbed. "Sssssllllllllllllllll—" Another burst of laughter and gasps. She had an interesting shade of purple on her face now, and tears were openly rolling down her cheeks. "Sssllllllli—Slim—Ssssssli—" She seemed incapable of finishing the word and actually almost toppled over laughing, before being steadied by Weasley and Potter, who now seemed to be paying more attention to her than Peeves' antics.

Peeves made another attempt at getting the attention back by aiming for the back of Draco's head once more, but Draco moved in that instant, and the balloon only grazed his shoulder and hit Granger, leaving half her face and a rather large portion of her unruly hair covered in the green substance. Even this did nothing to stop her laughing. She wiped her face with one hand, and, upon seeing what she'd scraped off, she laughed even harder, making rather desperate gasps for air, and grabbing a hold of Weasley with the dirty hand, making him wince a little. Draco even felt his own lips twitch as others, including her own friends, were now giggling openly at Granger, who couldn't seem to stop herself.

Draco started fantasizing about grabbing her laughing frame, hauling her into an empty room and kissing her until her giggle turned into a moan and she was clawing at him again. This thought left him in a rather uncomfortable state in itself, of course, but the appeal of the fantasy could not be denied.

"Out of the way, shoo," came the voice of Professor McGonagall. "Really, Miss Granger, I would have thought you of all people would exercise more restraint. Mr. Malfoy…" she sighed. "Wait here. PEEVES!" The formidable head of Gryffindor House then proceeded to threaten Peeves, who was now juggling his bombs and making raspberries at her, delighted that finally someone paid him some heed.

Granger was in no way discouraged by the arrival of the teacher, she was now giggling and sobbing into Weasley's chest, making unintelligible sounds, while he smiled fondly down at her, trying to avoid the goo while patting her back, and looking mightily pleased with himself.

Suddenly, for the first time that day Draco felt angry enough to commit murder. He suggested to nobody in particular that she was under the Tickling Charm, but Professor Flitwick, who had also been attracted by the commotion, heard that and rushed to assure him that she was simply having a fit of being a Teenage Girl, which was quite common for girls her age.

"Now, — really, Miss Granger –" Professor McGonagall said, having finally intimidated Peeves to stop, "let's have a look at you, Mr. Malfoy." She flicked her wand at Draco, but nothing happened. Frowning, she flicked it again. And again. Draco kept being as covered in gunk as he had been before. Gingerly, she touched the substance and then sighed. "I should have known. It's ectoplasm. There's nothing to do for it, it won't remove by magic. I only wonder how he managed to get such quantities." She sighed again. "Off you go, then. Bathe and change your clothes, and I will let your teachers know that you will miss this class. You too, Miss Granger, if you should manage to get a hold of yourself." Having effectively dismissed them both, she then proceeded to talk to the other girl that had been hit, who only needed a change of robes.

Granger's sobs and giggles had receded a little, but every time she looked up at him they would return with renewed force. Fortunately, nobody questioned the furious glance he shot at Granger and Weasley as he brushed past on his way off to the baths. He made sure to shake his head to spread the wealth a little as he passed them.

Draco hadn't gone far when he saw Pansy and a group of her girlfriends. Thinking that finally she might be of some use, he went up to her. The second she saw him, her eyes widened, and she glanced around, quickly, as if to see how many had seen. Good old shallow Pansy. He forced a smile at her.

"What happened?" she asked in a horrified voice. "Why are you walking around like that?"

"Peeves," he replied. "Be a sweetheart and give me the password for the prefects' bathroom, so I can get a nice bath, will you?"

Pansy nodded and whispered the pass in his ear, being very careful not to touch any of the ectoplasm. He couldn't really blame her; he was wishing that none of it was touching him either. "Thanks, love," he said and walked on.

Before going to the fifth floor bathroom, Draco had to go four floors down to get clean robes, and by the time he had made it six floors up again, he was certain that the entire school had not only seen his appearance but had bought into Weasley's feeble 'slimy git' joke. That boy had a death wish.

The second he pushed the door open to the prefects' bathroom, he knew something was off. Someone was there. His eyes went to the enormous tub, where a certain unmistakable bushy-haired Mudblood was floating covered with foam, her eyes closed.

This certainly was an unsuspected treat. He had forgotten that the little spitfire was still a prefect, but of course she was. Without making a sound, he closed and bolted the door, frowning that she had forgotten to do this. Was she expecting someone? Perhaps she had known he would come? No, unfortunately he had to discard that theory; she couldn't have known that Pansy still let him use the bathroom sometimes since he, strictly speaking, wasn't allowed here anymore.

Slowly, he walked towards the pile of robes and towels that she had placed next to the edge. She didn't stir. He took the pile and deposited it where she had no chance of reaching it soon and then tip-toed over to the pile of fresh towels in the corner to cover up the mermaid picture. It was the mermaid's indignant screech that made Granger aware of his presence. She started and then, of all things, began laughing again when she saw him. Draco raised an eyebrow and then began pulling off his boots – that shut her up.

"What are you doing?" she asked, alarmed.

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm taking a bath."

"You're not a prefect. You're not allowed in here. In fact…" She turned to the door, frowning.

He grinned at her. "How clever of me to know one, then."

Realization dawned on her face. "Pansy. That irresponsible, inconsiderate, little—"

"Now, now," he said, having finished with his boots. "That's not very nice. She just wants a nice, clean boyfriend, doesn't she?"

"Well," Granger said. "As you can see the tub is in use!" She blushed, as if just realizing she was naked. He had certainly known all along. "So you'll just have to go bathe somewhere else. Shoo!"

"You're not being very friendly, are you?" he said, loosening his belt, smirking as her eyes widened. "I mean, you certainly look much cleaner than I am."

"Oh! In that case I'll just—" her voice abruptly cut off as she turned to where her clothes had been supposed to be. "What did you do with my clothes?"

"It made sense to move it so it wouldn't get wet," he said, pointing across the room, not bothering to hide the grin on his face.

"Well, give it back!"

He continued to grin at her. "I don't think so. Why don't you go and get it?" Images of a wet and naked Granger emerging from the water were running through his head and were having a pronounced effect elsewhere. He pulled off his robes, making her hastily look away.

"You insufferable, arrogant son of a—"

"No need to drag my mother into this."

Granger merely sneered at him. "Give me my clothes back, then."

"I told you," he said, stripping off his underwear. "You're welcome to go get them." He didn't fail to notice that she had turned pink and was avoiding looking at him. He wondered whether her flush was from anger, embarrassment or arousal. He hoped for the latter.

As he slipped into the pool, she edged warily away from him. "Relax, Granger," he smoothly said. "There's plenty of room for the both of us." He lowered his lashes, making a pretense of washing off, while covertly watching her. He really hoped she'd make a run for her clothes, and he didn't fail to notice the gentle rounding of the top of her breasts, even as she was still warily keeping an eye on him.

"Why are you doing this?" she asked in a strangled voice. "Why do you keep…" Words seemed to fail her.

"Because I, unlike you, am not a hypocrite," he answered without stopping his washing. Damn, this stuff was everywhere and it had dried into stubborn cakes in places. Stupid poltergeist. Yet, if it hadn't been for Peeves, he wouldn't have been here…. He had to remember to thank him if this went well.

He coughed and spluttered, as she unexpectedly splashed water in his face.

"I am not a hypocrite," she hissed.

"Of course you are," he said with an annoyed glance at her. "You won't acknowledge what you want, will you?"

"I know what I want!" she said a little too loudly while hitting down on the water, splashing it everywhere.

There was a silence.

"Do you, now?" he finally asked in a low voice.

She blushed. "I—I didn't mean… I don't want…"

"In that case," he said with a disappointed sigh, "you are still a hypocrite." Deciding he had had enough conversation that wasn't getting him anywhere, he dived to rinse his hair. While under the water, he opened his eyes for a most delicious view, and in a couple of strokes he was next to her, resurfacing.

Granger shrieked and then made for the edge. She reached it just as he reached her, and before she could hoist herself up, he had her turned and caught between his arms.

"You know what really bothers me?" he asked, but didn't wait for an answer. "The fact that you still act as if I'm about to force you, even though you want this as much as I do." Swiftly, he bent to kiss her.

It wasn't a gentle kiss, yet their bodies weren't touching, and, had she wanted to, she could easily have slipped away. She didn't. She stood as if stupefied by his words and allowed the kiss. Draco was fighting himself hard not to simply press her against the side of the bath and give them both what they needed, but he was not going to force himself on her. It would defeat the whole reason he wanted her in the first place. He wanted her to surrender.

After a few seconds, he felt her hands on his arms, caressing him, moving up to his neck. A low moan escaped her lips and a jolt of pure need shot through him. Did she even have the slightest inkling of what she was doing to him? When she pressed her body against his, he felt positively ready to go off. He broke the kiss and with an act of extreme willpower stepped away from her.

Granger made a muffled sound of objection and looked at him with big brown eyes filled with need. Did she know how transparent she was? "Why did you stop?" she asked in a throaty voice.

"If you want me…" he said, almost already regretting his resolve. "Come and get me."

She slowly shook her head and disappointment seeped through him, mixing with frustration and anger.

She will rather have us both suffer than admit she wants me. Why?

"I can't," she softly said. "Not again. I won't be your slut."

What?

"What are you talking about?" he demanded a little angrier than he had meant to.

"You called me a slut," she said with her eyes averted. "For… you know, coming and getting you."

Draco closed his eyes and cursed himself. Sometimes he could be such an idiot. So could she. "Fuck, Granger," he said, ignoring her reproachful look at his language. "Sometimes you can be really stupid, you know that?"

At this, Granger paled, her eyes widened, and she made to get away from him. Again he grabbed a hold of her, back to front, before she could get out. "I said those things," he whispered in her ear, "because I hated what you could do to me. You were a virgin, how could you be a slut? It was a lie." This seemed to mollify her a little, and she relaxed against him.

He felt himself reacting strongly to the closeness of their bodies, and he knew he couldn't let go again. He had to have her; she had to want him – whatever it took. He let his hand caress her neck, feeling her lean into him, and, slowly, so as not to scare her away, he turned her and claimed her for another kiss. She didn't push him away.

He grabbed her closer and deepened the kiss hungrily, and still she didn't push him away.

He backed her against the edge of the basin, and she wrapped her legs around him and ran her fingers through his hair. Draco moaned against her lips. He felt his senses fill with the feeling of her skin against his, the warm water surrounding them, and the heady, perfumed smells of the bubbles and foam covering the entire pool.

She broke the kiss to nibble at his neck, and he couldn't wait any longer, yet when he wanted to enter her she pulled a little away from him. He growled.

"I should do the getting, remember?" she purred at him, before she poised herself at his tip and slowly lowered herself, extracting a low groan from him. When she withdrew, he made a sound of protest.

"Why," she asked, nibbling his ear. "Would I want to get it, though?"

"Because you want it," he choked out. She laughed.

Once more, she did the same maddening motion, and he was sure that he would disgrace himself if she didn't stop teasing him soon. He told her as much. She merely laughed again.

"Why don't you go to Pansy, then?" she taunted. "I bet she'd do things your way."

"I haven't wanted her since—" He stopped, but it was too late. She had heard and from the look on her face, she was very pleased with what she had heard. Too pleased.

Growling, he took matters into his own hand, and, holding her against the side of the basin, he thrust into her, hard and deep. She moaned her approval as he thrust into her again and again. It felt even better than he remembered if that were possible.

Much faster than he had hoped, he felt his control slip and his pace quickened. Fuck. He wouldn't be able to get her off. He tried desperately to regain control, but it was a lost cause as the way she moved against him and moaned his name was driving him rapidly towards the edge that he was trying to pull away from. He sucked the tender spot on her neck, making her arch against him, and he felt it coming. In another few strokes, it would be over.

"Fuck, Granger, I'm coming," he murmured apologetically against her ear. Immediately, he felt her response, as she bit down hard on his shoulder to stifle a scream, and she convulsed around him. The sharp pain made him hiss, and then he was coming too.

For several long moments there was nothing but their heartbeats and the sounds of their breathing.

Slowly, Draco lifted his head to look at her. "Damn, Granger…"

"We have class," she interrupted, not quite looking at him. "We should hurry. We've taken too long already."

She was right, of course, but he didn't like her reaction. "I'm sure you'll be forgiven," he said. "Maybe if you just explain to them that you needed a good—"

"What the hell is the matter with you?" she yelled, pushing him forcefully away from her. "Why, in the name of Merlin, do you always have to be so crude?"

Draco winced. Not at her words, but because some suds had made his shoulder sting. He looked down at it to see that she had very nearly taken a bite out of him – the teeth marks were deep and she had drawn blood. She seemed to just notice too, and her eyes grew big and contrite.

"I can fix that for you," she mumbled. "Hold on." She pulled herself out of the tub and went for her wand, seemingly unaware of her naked, glistening body. Draco wasn't unaware; he was fully capable of enjoying the sight offered him.

"No," he said, when she had found her wand and was making her way back. He got out as well and began drying off, taking care around his tender skin. "Leave it." He liked the bite mark, although he wasn't going to tell her that. The adrenaline when she had bit down had made his orgasm even more intense, and he liked the thought that there was at least one girl around here that he could drive wild with need. Even if he did have to stalk her for a month before she allowed him to.

Granger didn't argue. She merely dried off as well and got dressed. Draco stood looking at her, wondering if she was still in denial. When she was done, she looked thoughtful for a moment, before she spoke.

"Here's the thing," she said. "What we're doing is unhealthy and deceitful and stupid."

Draco raised an eyebrow at that. He supposed that was a yes. "Not to mention wrong and perverse," he added helpfully.

She nodded, and he stood watching her for a few moments as she gathered her things. She was really quite pretty. He didn't know why that thought surprised him – of course she was. Why else would he want her so badly? It couldn't just be because of her rather lusty nature, as he was quite sure that if Millicent Bulstrode started ripping his clothes off and was panting in his ear, he wouldn't be the least interested.

When she didn't say anything further and again seemed to avoid looking at him, he decided to kiss her. Striding over to her, he turned her and pressed his lips against hers, before she had time to object. This was the first time he kissed her without an urgent need raging through his body. It was a kiss holding the promise that he'd have her again no matter what. He let his hand tangle in her wet curls and dragged her closer. At first, her eyes widened, and she briefly struggled, but then she surrendered to the kiss on a sigh. When satisfied with her response, he broke the kiss.

"So, when will we do this again?" he calmly asked.

That got her attention. "We just agreed—"

"We never agreed to stop," he cut across. "Don't tell me that that's what you really want."

She shook her head. "I—I need to go to class," she said. Draco was feeling thoroughly exasperated, when she walked away from him once again. Pausing at the door, she looked at him and said: "I guess I'll see you around?" And before he knew what to make of this, she was gone.