Astoria met his gaze angrily, unwilling to look away this time. It seemed he had goaded even the normally placid Astoria into action. She tapped a single finger against her wand, having an unfamiliar urge to use it against him. Dueling in class and in the club came naturally to her, but she had rarely felt the urge to use violence in response to a personal affront. It annoyed her further, that Malcolm had the power of influencing her emotions to that extent.
She was happy to reclaim her cast-off arm, folding both of them over her chest and continuing to stare at him woodenly. "I don't know either," she said resentfully, resettling on the couch again. He might have destroyed her equanimity, but there was no way she was going to give any indication that she was less than perfectly composed once more.
Swallowing once, she was relieved to hear the sound of his footsteps recede into the distance. With a slightly shaken sigh, she resumed her contemplation on the fire, determined to forcefully push the uncomfortable encounter from her mind.