"Why bother?" The words were out of her mouth before she could even consider keeping them in. She berated herself. She couldn't allow her curiosity at his behavior to blind her to the fact that he had been a dick for the last three and a half years. But, as was apparently becoming his new default, Malfoy surprised her because, as if it were the easiest question he'd ever been posited, he responded immediately. "Because you’re interesting, pretty, and wicked smart." She paused, considering him for a moment. She knew she'd always been those things (although the whole hair situation oftentimes interfered with the pretty thing), and he'd never made any move to indicate his apparent attention. He had, in fact, gone to extreme lengths to be a complete and absolute bigoted twat towards her for the last three years. She felt the urgent need to remind him of this, to set this conversation to rights and to return to their standard program (him: insulting, her: unbothered).