The sun was shining brightly and tree branches were swaying in the breeze in a manner very much like that of a graceful dancer.

The bottom line was that Evie hated the day.

Strangely, she had never been one for sunny days and light breezes. She was more of a winter kind of girl. She liked lying in bed at night, listening to the calming sound of nothingness mixed in with the steady patter of raindrops. If there was something she liked even more, it was hearing the sound of a rainstorm while reading a book in the Ravenclaw Common Room. And the only thing she liked more than that was snow.

So, obviously, it was way too sunny for Evie's liking. But she decided to 'make the best of her misery' as her parents always said, and wandered over to the flower beds. She hadn't been there in quite a while.

When she got closer to her destination, she was able to catch sight of someone, a boy from the looks of it, with blonde hair. His apparel showed that he was from Slytherin. Oh great, Draco Malfoy. Hooray! she thought sarcastically. Nevertheless, Evangeline Holloway was way too proud to just turn around and leave.

And she found another reason not to do this when she got even closer. He was sitting in a patch of flowers, fingering the tiny buds of the surrounding plants. A small smirk formed on Evie's lips, and she just couldn't resist the urge to taunt him.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't the so- called Prince of Slytherin," she started. "Having fun with the pretty little flowers? Where's your posse run off to, anyway? Have they all of a sudden developed a brain and realized that they're taking orders from a boy who likes sitting around plants and basking in the sunlight?"

When Evie opened her mouth the first time, she knew what she was getting herself into. She was very much aware that she had to be ready for a verbal battle with Draco Malfoy, but she was up for it.

One good thing about being a Ravenclaw: you never ran out of insulting adjectives.

Which was why Draco's response shocked her. All he did was make a remark about her walking around alone. Draco Malfoy? At a loss for words? This was getting to be a weird day.

Still not one to back down, Evie quickly replied, "Yeah, well, I, for one, don't have either the patience or the lack of dignity required to let myself be around unwelcome company." She did her best to stress her words just so; she was trying to get the message through that she considered herself a better person than him. After all, the people one hangs out with really says a lot. And who did Malfoy hang around with? Crabbe and Goyle.

Logic was beautiful.

And her logic told her that she wasn't about to tell him her name. She knew he'd catch that sooner or later, so she stubbornly crossed her arms.

Evie smirked. "But you see, compared to how much of a prat I think you are, even half makes you seem pathetic,"

Evie wasn't normally one to immediately label someone as an utter loser, but Slytherins were an exception. Sure, it was stereotypical. But that's life, it was screwed up, people had to deal with that.

"Oh, and you're not welcome company. It's not like I plan on following around like Parkinson. I'm just in a very generous mood today."

Evie didn't know why she was talking to him, frankly. Boredom? Ha! That was low, even for her. She had nothing else better to do, so she decided to pick a fight with Malfoy. Precious. Not only was she speaking to a Slytherin, but she was wasting her time on a Fifth Year prat.

Oh, well. It actually was entertaining.

It took a while for Evie to come up with a retort, but when she did, she opened her mouth and said, "First of all, I'll jump out of the astronomy tower as soon as you do. After all, my life will be complete when you're wiped off the face of the planet. Second, my time is my own to waste. So, technically, I'm just ruining your day."

Now, she launched into an inner conversation, trying to decide whether someone could waste their time and have fun at the same time. After a bit, Evie decided that it was possible.

Now, the question was, why was she having fun trying to torment some annoying Slytherin? She should be disgusted. No, appalled. Or, anything bigger than that, if there was anything.

But Evie never really liked delving into things she knew she could never explain, so, instead, she plastered a smug smile on her face and waited for Malfoy's reply.