Together….a marking; so that would explain the permanence of it. And yet….Rowan wasn’t recoiling in horror at the idea of it. Surely it wasn’t the fact that they’d just hauled Walter’s impaled body off of the pipe and nearly vomited in unison; or that exhaustion was most certainly seeping into her ability to think properly; or that permanently tying herself in some way to Malfoy wasn’t the most outlandish thing that she’d done today.

The mention of spies caused her eyes to widen, and her expression spasmed in weary desperation. “Beside the point?” She echoed, not bothering to marvel that this was the aspect she was focusing on, and not the fact that she was actually considering this. “Malfoy, I’m a Ministry employee, I have to attend balls, how would I explain a permanent marking on my body to someone?” To her family, or to someone she was going — to be intimate with...

A blush bloomed across her cheeks as the memories from the last time they were together flooded her senses once more. Gritting her teeth, she gave herself a little shake and forced herself to focus on the version Malfoy in front of her, and not the one from last month.

---