Exams were finished.

His last rounds of exams as a student of Hogwarts. He took a sip from his butterbeer, letting the warmth spread through him from where he hid while the rest of his housemates partied in the common room. He'd had more than a few over the past hour he'd been tucked away in this room. He'd found it at the beginning of this year, tucked away just off the side of the dungeons. It was relatively small, compared to the other rooms that made up Hogwarts, barely large enough to hold more than fifteen people at most. But from what he had observed, no one else knew about it. And that was the one thing that Draco Malfoy wanted the most at times like this – to be left alone.

He took another drink from his butterbeer, finishing it off before setting it down onto the small table next to the chaise lounge he laid upon. A few years ago he would have been in the common room with his housemates, partying it up and basking in the glow of attention, drunk off of firewhiskey and praise. Now all he wanted to do was drown in his own misery alongside his butterbeer. Falling from grace did not suit a Malfoy.

"So this is where you've been hiding." The voice sent him scrambling up. No one in the year he'd been coming here had ever found him. Yet there in the doorway stood Astoria Greengrass, blond hair spilling over her shoulder in soft, golden waves. Daphne Greengrass's younger sister wore the Slytherin attitude better than her older sister did, Draco thought to himself. She had that commanding way about her that her sister lacked. The smirk and her raised eyebrows paired with the haughty expression did not bode well for Draco. She seemed too pleased with herself. Victorious, even.

He forced himself to settle back into the cushions of his seat.

"What of it, Greengrass?"

"Nothing Malfoy. Just wondering why The Almighty Slytherin Prince isn't out celebrating his finals days at Hogwarts with the rest of the nobility." She smiled, waltzing over to the chair across from him and settled there. Draco raised an eyebrow at her.

"I do what I please. Obviously, I wanted to be alone. Now would you leave me?" He snapped.

"I can't do that. Number one, you haven't answered my question. Number two, I couldn't bear to head back up to my room and deal with all of the celebrating coming from the common room. Even with a deafening charm on the walls I could still hear it." Astoria said.

"I don't have to answer any of your questions."

"I've asked you nicely, so I don't see why you're being such a bother about it."

"I've already asked you to leave."

"And I've already told you I'm not. I've been coming to this room for three years, I'm not about to let you chase me out of it." Astoria quipped, leaning further back into the plush chair she sat in.

"And why would the almighty Astoria Greengrass need a hiding place for?" She shifted her shoulders uncomfortably.

"It's not a hiding place. I just need some time alone every once in a while." She mumbled.

They sat in silence as the awkward air weighed upon them. Each shifting their eyes away as to not look at the other one. Finally, Astoria flopped her hands down onto the arms of her chair.

"This is silly. We're both good, pureblooded Slytherins and there is no need for us to be acting like nervous little first-years." She blurted out, standing awkwardly in the small room and going over to the draped window. Draco watched her like a hawk, noticing the sway of her hips and the way her hair trailed behind her like a golden veil. How had he not noticed how enticing Daphne's younger sister had become over the years?

"And how would you know if I was good or not?" He growled, letting his head tip back onto the chaise. Astoria turned back to him, tilting her head so that her hair tumbled down her shoulder.

"Because you're not a bad person, Malfoy." She said it as if she was saying the sky was blue. He scoffed.

"And how would you know? You have no idea what kinds of things I've done."

"That's a rather naïve thing to say, don't you think? Or have you forgotten what kind of society we grew up in? Everyone knows everyone else's' business. Just because my parents weren't death eaters didn't mean they didn't have contacts that fed them information." Astoria said, placing her hands on her hips.

Draco simply stood and walked over to her, taking in how her body tensed as he pinned her against the wall, hands on either side of her head. Her eyes flared up at him with what appeared to be irritation. He didn't care. She didn't understand anything. She didn't have to do any of the things that he did. Astoria couldn't possibly understand. She knew rumors. Stories.

He had lived it.

"And what did Mommy and Daddy tell you, Princess? To stay away from that horrible Malfoy boy? That his family is ruined now that his father has practically lost his mind? That is mother is sick with worry and stress? That he doesn't have a fucking future anymore because his name is ruined?" He seethed. The anger and resentment that had been building in him flooded him like a dam that had been broken. Astoria kept her eyes guarded, and her face as passive as she could.

"Stop it, Draco."

"Why should I? I know you think the same thing as everyone else."

"That's not fair, and you know it." She growled out, teeth clenched. Draco tilted his head down, and Astoria felt his bangs fall across her forehead. He was so close. Close enough for her to smell the butterbeer on his breath and the smell that always accompanied him—a mixture of cologne and earth. She tilted her eyes towards his, all fight draining out of her.

Something about the shift in the blue of Astoria's eyes brought Draco back to the moment. Her lips were painted red, accentuating the fullness against her pale skin. Those lips were tempting him. Taunting, even.

Before his mind could even comprehend what he was doing, he was kissing her. He pressed her close against the wall, hands moving to cup her face. She tasted like peppermint, smelled of it. As if she had doused herself in it. His hands slipped beneath her sweater, trailing along the smooth, pale skin of her back. He liked the way she melded into him, the way her body felt supple and soft. He deepened the kiss, tilting his head ever-so-slightly and nipping at her bottom lip.

Astoria felt her eyes shut and fought back the moan that threatened to escape.. She hadn't anticipated this when she had come to her hiding place. She hadn't expected to her attraction to him take over like this. She wrapped her arms around his waist, tugging him closer and leaning into him. He was so warm. From his hands on her back to the feeling of his lips against hers, he radiated heat. She felt lightheaded and scorched, as if he was burning her alive.

He pulled away all too soon for her liking. And her eyes snapped open to watch his reaction. Draco was a loose cannon. She couldn't predict him or the way he would feel after that kiss. Then the realization hit her.

She had just kissed Draco Malfoy.

Astoria backed away, feeling his hands slide away from her back and rest on her hips instead. Her face flamed and she looked away, trying to focus on anything that wasn't the man standing a breath away from her.

Draco watched her with half-lidded amused eyes, a smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. She was blushing. Astoria Greengrass was blushing. She flicked her eyes back towards him, then away once more.

"What is it?" she mumbled, hands pinned at her sides.

"You're cute when you blush." He mumbled, placing a kiss onto the side of her mouth while she looked away. She blinked up at him and he pushed a lock of hair out of her face. She felt his other hand trail across her leg, the feel of his fingertips feather-soft against her thigh. She melted, just a little, as butterflies went wild inside her chest.

"Do you want to be with me, Astoria?" Draco asked. She felt the blood drain from her face. He wanted her to just say it? Just come out and confess that she'd had a crush on him since she was a second year? She took a deep breath, holding it inside of her.

"Yes. Probably more than I should. But don't you dare think you're going to anything more than a kiss out of me, Draco Malfoy." She whispered. That smile stayed on his lips, making her even more on edge.

"I can deal with that." Draco mumbled, bringing that hand that run on her leg came up to trace little designs on the small of her back.

"Do you," She coughed, trying to clear the hazy sound from her voice, "Do you want go get a butterbeer? I know that Zabini and Daphne are wondering where you are." She let her voice trail off. She didn't really know if she wanted to ruin this moment. But she had a feeling that, despite what she had said, if she stayed in this secret place with Draco, things were going to get intense, and quickly. Too quickly for her liking. She was not going to be some quick conquest. Not for Malfoy. Not for anyone.

Draco leaned away from her watching her unease. She was so different from her sister. Stronger, somehow. She wasn't afraid to challenge him, or to call him out. It was a good quality in a Slytherin. Especially a pureblooded Slytherin. Astoria had potential. Potential for what exactly, he didn't quite know yet. One thing he did know, however; she had that quick wit and inner fire that used to burn inside him as well.

"Come on then. I can't have the masses wondering about me for too long." She nodded, stepping away from him. Draco headed for the door, then though better of it and took her arm and threaded it between his. Astoria raised an eyebrow and those red lips of hers pursed at him. Draco smirked.

"Don't look at me like that. They're probably already thinking it anyway, with the both of us disappearing and all." He said. Astoria kept that displeased look on her face until it turned into a smirk that rivaled his own.

"As if you'd get that lucky."

And so there it is. My first fanfiction that I've felt comfortable enough to post. I certainly hope it wasn't too horrible. It being my first, I do understand that there are probably numerous mistakes.

The inspiration for this story was a prompt given at the Hogwarts is Home subsidiary community of Sugarquill on LJ. For those who are curious, it was..."Draco Malfoy/Anyone. Seventh Year, Last Semester. PG-13+. Butterbeer, a secret room, "That's not fair, and you know it.""

Either way, Read and Review.

Love,

MadameSheep