"If I didn't know better, I'd say Malfoy was trying to impress you, Rose."

I look askance at Albus, the owner of that ridiculous reflection.

"Impress me?"

"Frankly, the rest of us here are just shocked. You, on the other hand, appear to appreciate his efforts," he explains, sounding quite put out at the thought.

I just roll my eyes at him. "Malfoy's a prefect, like me."

"So what?" Al replies.

"What he just did, that's his duty," I answer slowly and clearly.

"He just deducted some points from Slytherin. From some of his classmates.

Because they pranked a Gryffindor firstie. Granted, they lit his robes on fire. But he is Gryffindor. And they are Slytherin."

"I guess that makes Malfoy a dedicated and fair prefect."

Al scrutinizes Malfoy suspiciously. "I don't like it."

"Whatever's wrong with being a good prefect?" I ask, now rather annoyed.

"I don't like it," Al repeats more vehemently.

"If I didn't know better, I'd think Malfoy was checking you out", Louis suddenly says, distracting me from my Potions essay. We're having a short study session in the Great Hall before lunch and we're by no means the only students doing so.

I turn and follow Louis' gaze until I notice Malfoy not far from us, at the Slytherin table.

He is indeed looking at me, but as soon as he sees me looking back he nonchalantly picks up a textbook and starts reading. Considering the rather creepy cover illustration of a floating eye in a crystal ball I presume it's a Divination textbook. This is somewhat curios - since I didn't know Malfoy was taking Divination - but of no real use to my present goal, which is to finish my Potions homework for the day.

"Do I have something on my robes or in my hair?" I ask Louis, turning back to my parchment.

He spares me a glance before shaking his head.

"On my face?"

"No."

"Huh. Whatever." I return to my essay.

"TAKE OFF YOUR SHIRT!"

Now that's something you don't often hear in a Potions class. Or in any class for that matter.

I immediately look up from my cauldron to see what, or who, made our dear Professor Dittan ask such a thing... only to find Malfoy furiously disrobing right in front of me. Presented with such a display, and believe me it is quite the view, I almost don't notice Professor Dittan fussing about Malfoy, checking to see if any of the crushed Moonseed juice reached his skin. Being a concerned fellow student, I check him out just as thoroughly.

He appears to have escaped unscathed. The same cannot be said for his shirt, which lies in seething and smoking tatters on the tiled floor. Pity he wasn't also wearing his cloak, since those are generally made more resistant at least to the vagaries of weather. Pity, or tremendous luck...

Clare appears to agree with me as she leans closer and whispers only for me to hear. "If I didn't know better, I'd drag him into a dark corridor and snog him into oblivion."

"What's stopping you?" I whisper back.

She shoots me a surprised look. "Slytherin."

"Of course."

"If I didn't know better, I'd say you've gone soft. Why are you so against us sneaking to the lake tonight?"

I'm heading to the Great Hall for dinner when I hear this tidbit intended from Tanner to Malfoy. It seems like an interesting conversation, the kind a prefect would like to know about, so I match my pace to theirs and follow in their wake as stealthily as possible.

"I'm not on patrol tonight," Malfoy informs his dorm mate.

"So?"

"I can't save our sorry arses if we're caught, Samuel," he explains in a manner that implies the answer should've been obvious.

Tanner doesn't seem to be getting the point though. "Of course you can," he says. "You cover with some prefecty reason why you're outside while the rest of us make our escape. Like always!"

Well, this conversation just got a lot more interesting...

"I'm not on patrol tonight," Malfoy explains again, "but I'm pretty sure she is." He's pointing at me and they both turn toward me... and just when they were getting to the good part. Guess I wasn't as stealthy as I thought. No matter.

"That's right," I say, looking first at Tanner and then settling for Malfoy. "I am. So don't let me catch you outside your dorms after curfew."

They both know I'm not going to fall for any excuse Malfoy might make. I've caught them before.

But Malfoy just smirks at me. "Don't worry, you won't... catch me, that is!"

Witty prat. I just scowl at him and move past. It really doesn't matter how witty he is, they still won't be going to the lake tonight.

"If I didn't know better, I'd think you were going on a date the way you're fussing," Maya tells me, back in our dorm room.

"It's just patrol, May..."

"Exactly! So what? You want to shock all miscreants into behaving with your dazzling good looks?" She chuckles.

It could happen... Good looks can be intimidating to others. Or they can make you feel more confident when you're the one looking good. And confidence is obviously useful when dealing with students breaking the rules.

But, the thing is, sometimes you work on your appearance with the express purpose of making someone misbehave. Which is why I'm also laughing as I walk out the door, leaving Maya with only a "Something like that..." for an answer.

"If I didn't know better, I'd leave, thinking you weren't coming," Malfoy drawls at me as soon as I clear the last step of the Divination Stairwell.

"You know I patrol around Gryffindor Tower. It took forever to get here. Why did you choose the Divination classroom anyway?" I make a face that should leave him in no doubt of my opinion of his choice.

He gives me a look. "It has pouffes and pillows..."

I spend a few moments pondering the possibilities, then relent. "I see your point."

"Took you long enough." He still has that look and hasn't moved from holding up the wall next to the classroom door.

"If I didn't know better, I'd say you weren't very happy to see me," I tell him.

He suddenly snags my hand and draws my body flush against his. "My apologies for the inadequate greeting." He caresses my cheek, still with that look in his eyes that I can't get enough of. "Is this better?"

I stand up on my toes so I can reach his ear and whisper. "Getting there. But you see, if I didn't know better, I'd think I was imagining things the entire day: that you were just doing your job and your homework, that you were just momentarily distracted, that you don't care for me or my company at all."

Although right now I'm the one in danger of getting distracted, since he has his hand under my shirt and is currently following the line of my spine with his fingers. But it occurs to me he can't be very comfortable against the wall, so I lean over to push open the classroom door. Scorpius takes the hint and turns us around, slowly pushing me inside with his hands on my hips.

"And do you?" he asks me. "...Know better, that is?"

I answer just before kicking the door shut and touching my lips to his.

"I do."