The Slytherin Princess - Year Four

July 1994

A couple weeks after Lucy finished her third year of school her father became more interested in work and Lucy barely saw him anymore. Her mother started getting agitated easily and was on edge a lot of the time. Grayson was starting his sixth year at Hogwarts and when he wasn't shut up in his bedroom studying or doing homework he was out with his friends.

Reuben had spent a lot of his time following Lucy around, who just wanted some peace and quiet, away from her little brother. Tina had been writing letters to Lucy as well as Hermione and Lisa. Even Draco had kept his promise and made more of an effort to see Lucy.

They had only spent a few days together since school ended but already it was more than last summer. They still had another month and a half before the end of summer, so Lucy was determined to get as much time with him as possible, just the two of them.

"This transfiguration reading is doing my head in." Draco groaned. Over the summer, Professor McGonagall had asked all the third years to read the chapter containing turning a Hedgehog into a pincushion before the start of their fourth year.

Lucy and Draco were tucked away in the long grass, under a large oak tree near the river, behind Parcivall Manor, reading. Lucy chose the spot to hide from her brother but also to get some time alone with Draco, away from listening ears.

"Come on, we're only halfway through." Lucy stated, giving him a look. Draco rolled his eyes and continued reading.

Lucy watched Draco as he read and found her thoughts wandering back to that night, in Draco's bedroom when the two of them exchanged passionate kisses, but she always came back to the reminder that they were just friends. Besides, they worked better that way anyway.

"Pansy sent me a letter." Draco said, shifting from his laying down position, to sitting up, facing Lucy.

"Okay?" Lucy responded, lifting her gaze from the page she was reading to Draco. He almost had a worried look on his face.

"She sent me a letter." He repeated himself, more sternly. Lucy just frowned.

"Okay, and?" She laughed, frowning even more at him.

"And, well," he began to say, trying to find the words to say it with, "she asked to hang out, and I told her okay." He explained.

"Okay. So what? Are you asking my permission?" Lucy joked, giving his shoulder a friendly push.

"No." Draco snapped. "I just remember you having a cry over it last summer." He added.

Lucy's jaw dropped open, "I did not have a cry about it." She defended. "You were the one who completely ignored me last summer to spend it with her. As long as you don't do that this year then we won't have any issues." Lucy declared.

Draco shook his head and laughed. "What is it about her that interests you, anyway?" Lucy asked.

Draco sighed and fell backwards, he laid in the soft grass and looked up into the canopy of the tree above them. He sighed again and Lucy looked at him worryingly. "She's just easy. She does what I tell her to do with no questions asked." He added.

"So that's the kind of girl you find attractive?" Lucy exclaimed. "One that's your, what? A submissive?" She teased. Draco shot her a glare.

"I was attracted to you, wasn't I? And you're the complete bloody opposite." He declared. Lucy was silent, she didn't know what to say. "You were and still are so bloody stubborn and infuriating. You never do anything anybody tells you to do. You definitely don't listen to me." Draco explained.

"That's not true." Lucy defended. Draco shot her another glare. "Okay, so maybe it's partly true. But what do you expect?" Lucy exclaimed. "Anyway, I find Pansy to be rather boring, actually." Lucy admitted.