She'd expected a surge of annoyance at his response, but instead Rowan only stared, her glower weakening. In truth, an afternoon at a tea shop seemed just lovely, though she would hardly admit this to Malfoy. Instead she only felt her resolve fall away. Any rage she felt at him, at Splitters fell away. She knew she'd been right about the tea shop - knew he'd been half-concealing the truth, but Rowan's will to hold up this argument and come out the victor had completely disappeared into the air as quickly as her breath had crystalized and floated away.

She became acutely aware of how cold it was, and how she hadn't thought to be out this late so she'd neglected to take a heavier coat with her. Rowan's shoulders slumped. Any sort of argument she could come up with had been completely overridden by her desire to be finally be away from here and this night.

And he wasn't wrong. Hogsmeade was safer than the jewelry store. As if Rowan wanted to concede that he was right in any sort of scenario, especially this one. "Christ, fine!" She exclaimed, exasperated, stalking past him. Why was she so against falling into his trap of implying she knew about the tea shop? It infuriated her to no end, but she refused to let the words pass across her tongue.

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The following 1 user Likes Rowan Yaxley's post:1 user Likes Rowan Yaxley's post
   Raphael Malfoy

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On the contrary, annoyance was all he was capable of processing at the moment. Annoyance that she'd acted so ungratefully, annoyance that a few bumbling lackeys thought they could pursue a Malfoy no matter who he was with, annoyance that she continued to yap at him even while conceding. He crossed his arms and leaned back on his feet, staring at her with childishly pursed lips and knitted brows.

"Has anyone ever told you that you have a nasty temper?" he asked, unsure if he'd ever told her himself. He didn't usually ponder on the remarks he made about others' characters; most of the time he said things off-handedly and to get a reaction, or at the very least to voice his displeasure. But he wasn't saying it because he wanted to poke at her—he meant it.

"Now, you'll have to tell me where you live so I can get you there," he declared. "I'm not letting you loose only to have you kidnapped and have this entire ordeal be for absolutely nothing,"

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set by lady <3

His words hit the back of her as she faced inwards toward the alley and she resisted the temptation to run her hand through her hair in frustration. Of course no one had ever told her that, she wanted to snap, because no one had quite brought this side out of her before. Under normal circumstances, she might have ground that precise answer out between her teeth, but as it stood, Rowan merely sighed, giving into the urge to run a hand through her hair. Running had completely messed it up anyways, and there was hardly anyone here she wanted to impress.

Her hand stopped mid way as he continued, and she whirled around, eyes wide. "You are not." she stated firmly, forgetting to push an annoyed expression onto her face. The thought of Malfoy even so much as crossing onto their block was not only hard to imagine because he would stick out like a screaming Mandrake, but the questions his presence would invite from their neighbors was not something Rowan wanted to endure for the next week and a half. "I'm not some sheep to be herded. I'll apparate."

Her hand dove for her wand as she replied, but ultimately her hand found nothing in her pocket. Through the thick oncoming fog, Rowan spotted her wand on the ground. At his feet.

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Apparating probably was the safer alternative, but the fact that she'd argued meant he was going to insist on principle. Besides, was it wrong of him to want to know where she lived when there was quite literally a group of goons after her? He didn't know if they knew where she lived, and there was no way to tell if she knew if they knew. He didn't want her apparently precious pearl earring—(bought with his galleons)—to end up right back in their hands. Naturally. But before he could open his mouth to retort, his eyes caught her gaze and followed it to the ground in front of him.

Her wand.

He raised his gaze to hers again and lifted a brow. Then, still keeping eye contact with her, he stepped forward and bent down and grabbed the wand off the ground. He rose back into a standing position and twirled the wand in his hand—taunting, challenging, he wasn't sure what exactly he was doing, but he wanted a reaction.

"Go ahead then. Apparate."

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set by lady <3

He didn't pick up her wand to hand it back to her, because of course he wouldn't. Not when there were only a few people left on the street who were completely oblivious to their figures. The fog rolling in had made sure of that, though she could make out his figure leaning and infuriatingly casual against the wall with her wand in hand.

She'd finally conceded, had finally given up arguing with him and he had to go and do this. "Give me back my wand." She said, her voice low as another scowl etched its way onto her features. Exhaustion had settled onto her shoulders and she gritted her teeth. She had just wanted to go home, and now not one, but two men had taken her things hostage tonight.

"Give. it. back." Her voice hadn't risen but remained quiet as she stepped towards him with each word, reaching him with the third stride.

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She was rapidly proving his point about her temper. Even though her words were quiet there was no mistaking the anger imbued in them, and he once again questioned why she seemed to hate him after all they'd been through. He didn't hate her, even if she was more infuriating than any woman he'd known since... well, perhaps ever.

"Tell me where you live at least," he asked, staring down at her. There was nearly a foot of difference in height between them; it made it quite difficult to take her demands seriously. "You clearly don't understand what men like them will do to women who've slighted them. I'm merely looking out for your safety."

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set by lady <3

Every muscle in her body wanted to slap the living daylights out of Malfoy. How could one very tall man be so infuriating?! Was he made entirely of a substance made solely to set her teeth on edge? "No." She pushed the answer through her teeth, a pink tinge rising in her cheeks. She would refuse to admit this, but half of her stubbornness was borne out of embarrassment. What would Malfoy, first born to one of the richest families in Wizarding Britain, say to her family cramped into one small house at the edge of town, bordering on the slums? There was absolutely no way she would risk any sort of embarrassment he might see fit to bestow on her. If he would just leave her alone.

"I do not need your protection, Malfoy, if you would merely see sense enough that I simply need my wand, I can show you just how much I can ward off unwanted advances." She stepped closer to him, smiling sweetly up at him. "Care to find out?"

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There it was again, and not for the first time. It was the the subtle uptick in his heartbeat, the tightness in his chest that felt like a million impulses pushing up against the wall of good sense. He didn't like the way she'd phrased it, as if he'd done anything wrong to her. Most women would treat him like a hero, but no—not her. She seemed to take pleasure in being obstinate.

In some twisted sort of defense mechanism that he already knew was a bad idea, Raphael reached out and gently flicked the back of his pointer finger over the high point of her cheekbone where the pink was still visible. "Unwanted?" he challenged, cocking a brow up.

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set by lady <3

The moment his finger brushed against her cheek, Rowan felt an unknown sensation rise in her stomach, tickling her spine as it coursed its way through her. He might as well have dipped his finger in a serene lake, his touch sending ripples of anger radiating throughout her extremities. She stilled, refusing to dip her gaze despite the color obviously rising even further into her cheeks. For one shattering, blissful moment, Rowan petulantly dreamt of impaling her heel on the bridge of his shoe. The only thing holding her back were his actions earlier in the jewelry shop. And so she fought to keep the sweet expression on her face.

His steely gaze seemed to cut straight through it, and her smile dropped. "Give me back my wand, Malfoy." She murmured, locking eyes with him. There was no need to shout; there was little room between them for any need for raised voices. "I won't ask again."

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The silence seemed to stretch on for minutes despite his sense telling him it was mere seconds. He shouldn't have said it, but his pride refused to feel regret. She was being difficult, so he was in his full right to be, too. He towered over her as they stood face-to-face, yet for that long, stretched-out moment it was as if they stood on the same level, his heart pounding as he awaited her response. It would have been easier to deal with some snappy, angry remark, because all throughout his life he'd met chaos with more chaos, but she offered none of that. Her voice was dangerously calm, leaving him unable to snap back without looking like he was trying to rile her.

"Fine," he said through his teeth, pulling back far enough to hold her wand in an outstretched hand, his hand grasping its tip so she could grab the handle. He allowed his jaw to slacken, his intense expression replaced by a fake, closed-lipped smile, "but just know that when you find yourself in trouble again, I won't know where to go to save the day."

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The following 1 user Likes Raphael Malfoy's post:1 user Likes Raphael Malfoy's post
   Tilda MacFusty

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set by lady <3

Rowan reached out, her eyes on his and wondering if he would decide to draw back at the last minute and turn this into another game. But he didn't, and she grasped the end of her wand, quickly stowing it away into her pockets before he could change his mind. She then put a hand in her pocket to feel for the pearl earring. "What makes you think you'll be saving me?" She shot back, taking a few steps to distance herself from him.

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Raphael's lips slipped into a sly grin, one that was more patronizing than genuine. "Oh, I'm overdue to rescue you," he said simply, expecting she would vanish any second.

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set by lady <3

Rowan didn't wait for the color to rise in her cheeks. Merely pressed her lips into a frown as she threw him a glare over her shoulder and twisted on the spot, apparating back home with a loud crack.

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