When next Malfoy caught Gwen's eye in the hallway he whispered threateningly. "You'll pay for that. You will."

She smirked at him. "What do you want with me anyway?"

"You'll find out soon enough." He turned heel and walked away. Graves had seen the exchange and ran over to her concerned.

"What curse would you like me to put on him?"

"None. I have it under control. As a matter of fact, I don't think I'm going to try and curse him anymore either. I think it would be best if I just let him be."

"He'll have you in the hospital wing again before you can shake a wand at him. He's not safe."

"No, he's not, but I don't think he can hurt me just now."

"Confidence can't protect you from curses Gwen. Wise up. He's going to try and hurt you and whether it's to get to me or Potter doesn't matter. I won't let him hurt you."

"Corwin." She said softly. He stopped. He knew that she only called him Corwin when it was truly important. Although how he knew this he wasn't certain. She continued. "There's a time to retreat and there's a time to battle. If we retreat now, we'll be alive to fight him another day."

He gave her a hard look, and while he agreed he didn't want to be weak. Running away seemed like exactly the kind of thing any Slytherin would be against. He sighed. Maybe he wasn't really a Slytherin after all. "Fine." He said quietly.

She watched him warily as he walked away. She knew he loved her. But would he keep his promise?

To be continued in Episode Nineteen