"And you never wondered why Fred made that bet with you in the first place, did you, Potter?"
She rolled her eyes at him, just a bit. They were smug and green and somehow catlike.
"He had to know you'd be brave enough to do it. Have you ever known Fred to make a bad bet? To voluntarily lose money?"
She had a point there.
She also had her hands on the wall on both sides of his head, like she wanted to pin him there, probably so she could get out all the choice insults she saved over summer break.
Except she probably hadn't thought through the part about teenagers and growth spurts, because, well, he towered over her now, and she was forced to reach almost directly upward.
"Unleeeesssss, of course, someone bet him TWO galleons that he couldn't trick the famous Harry Potter into setting himself up for a humiliating rejection."
"Uhhh... wait. You're trying to tell me you planned that whole, uh, disaster?"
"Did I say anything of the sort? I don't think I did. I just said 'someone'.
"The point is, I'm taking pity on you, Potter. Heaven knows you need it. These people aren't your friends, not really. They're low-class, and they'll sell you out the moment they can earn a galleon doing it. You should try to associate with a better class of people."
Harry took hold of one slender, elegant white wrist, and gently but firmly pried her hand off the wall, stepping to one side.
Her cheeks flushed, probably from anger that he had dared to touch her aristocratic skin, but he wasn't going to let her push him around. Not anymore.
He quickly dropped his hand before she could express her disgust by wrenching hers away.
"Oh, so if 'someone' had a plan to humiliate me, why'd you say 'yes', then, Malfoid? Did you have a different idea?"
He should just walk away, but he had to admit he was... curious. Ever since they'd been forced to fight the Bandersnatch together, and especially since that incident in the Gryffindor dormitory with the Truthstone, she'd been acting... strangely.
"Well, I wouldn't have wanted your humiliation to end too quickly, would I? It would have just been one single moment, with no one there to witness it, and you wouldn't have learned a thing," she said with a haughty sniff.
"I may not think much of you, or your entire ridiculous House, but Hoggwarts is a quality school, and no one else seems to be willing to step up and teach you not to embarrass us all."
She hadn't tried to trap him against the wall again, but she was still standing far too close. Ever since they'd returned from summer break, she always seemed to be hovering somewhere near him, always ready with a sneering word.
"Well, Miss Malfoy, you needn't worry about suffering my obnoxious presence again this year, I won't ask you again."
"Oh! Well, you.... you... Ahh... good! Good! It's not like I wanted to! And you wouldn't have the guts to ask me again, anyway! I bet you wouldn't!"
"Oh! Well if you're so dead certain, why don't you just go make another bet with Fred and get your money back?"
She recoiled as if he had slapped her.
"Yeah, well, maybe I will!"
"Good! Go then!"
But she was already storming off down the corridor, looking a lot less smug than she had a few minutes ago.
That felt... satisfying. But somehow, also not. Perhaps he wasn't as used to her verbal barbs and constant hostility, from being on vacation these three months.
He didn't know what else to think. For some reason, his fingers still tingled where he'd held her wrist.
Hmmmm... come to think of it, he should try to find out if she actually made that bet again. Because if she did, he could actually ask her again, and make her lose.
Which would be no more than she deserved. Even if she was rich enough for it not to matter, it was some small measure of revenge for everything she'd put him through.
Yeah, that was it. Revenge, he thought, rubbing at his hand a bit.
Besides, it wasn't like she would say yes or anything.