He might have been put of by such an announcement before he'd taken her, but there was little use in fretting over it now. Besides, despite what he'd said he didn't feel dirty, aside from his own sweat.

"So long as you haven't caught fleas," he said with a light, teasing tone. He pushed her leg away and stood, crossing towards the door that connected his bedroom to the bath. "Or scabies, or something," he added. What sort of things could one catch in the forest? He didn't exactly know.

The idea that this knowledge might someday be relevant to him was annoying. He didn't want to go mucking about in the woods like an animal, the way Antigone had. He was convinced that she was only doing it to spite him, but what if there was some inherent difference in their natures? Something that gave her the ability to complete the Animagus transformation while preventing him?

So what? he asked himself as he opened the bathroom door and drew his wand to fill the tub, but his pleasant mood was already fading. Let her live like an animal if she wants. It's nothing to me. She's nothing to me.