I sat at the Gryffindor table, working my way through the fabulous dinner Hogwarts always provided. Three tables down, a young man with sleek, blond hair sat enjoying his share of the feast. A year ago, I would never have imagined the affect that one man would have on me.

I had always hated Draco Malfoy. I had hated him ever since that day I met him in Flourish and Blotts, so long ago. If I had gotten a chance I would have fought him. But the chance never came. But I didn't give up so easily. It's not in my genes. I was sick of him dissing my family. I wanted revenge. But this all changed last summer.

Last summer I was trying to forget the events that took place towards the end of the previous school year. Dumbledore was dead. Killed by Severus Snape, whom Dumbledore had believed to be completely innocent. Malfoy, who had been in n the whole thing, ran off with Snape. I was glad because the filthy, little slimeball was finally out of my life. But I was also angry. Angry because I would never be able to seek revenge on the man whom I hated so much.

After Dumbledore's death I was faced with yet another blow. Harry Potter broke up with me. He didn't exactly break up with me, but he made it clear that he did not want t o be with me any more. It was not because he didn't love me. He claimed he still did. He said he couldn't bear to lose me like he had lost Sirius, and now Dumbledore. He insisted that I not acompany him on his journey to destroy Lord Voldemort. But I was broken. I didn't understand. Harry was the first boy I had ever felt right with. And it was truly love at first sight. I had loved him ever since he became my first crush, when I was barely ten years old.

When I had arrived home for summer vacation I thought I had escaped from the pain of my fifth year at Hogwarts. But I hadn't. Harry started sending me letters. Owl after owl would come to my window, but I never read one. I burnt them in my fireplace despite the heat of July. But I didn't care. I refused to be a part of Harry Potter's life. That was what he wanted in the first place, wasn't it?

It finally became too much. I needed to get away from The Burrow. Just for a little while, to ease my tired mind. Mum let me escape to Diagon Alley. I packed a small suitcase, and I was off.

I decided to board at he Leaky Cauldron. For the first time in weeks I felt at peace. I had the quietness of my rented room, and it seemed that Harry had finally gotten my drift and had given up on corresponding with me. Little did I know how much my life was about to be changed.

One night in mid July, I sat in the pub, thinking over my last year at Hogwarts. I had tried and failed to fall asleep so I decided to creep down stairs. It was dark and as silent as a graveyard. Tom the innkeeper had gone up to his room ours ago. I sat at the long wooden table in the middle of the pub, lulling over the past year. Out of no where, there was a loud knock on the door. I looked up, startled. Who would come check into an inn at this time of night? I glanced around nervously and stood up. I slowly walked to the door and peered into the darkness. I couldn't believe my eyes. Draco Malfoy stood outside the door, begging me to let him in. His robes were torn and he looked like he had been traveling for days. I opened the door. However much I hated him, I felt a small amount of pity for the man standing in front of me. We glared at each other for what seemed like hours. I could feel the hated coursing through me. Draco finally broke his stare and pulled out a chair from underneath the table He sat down looking tired, but strong. I couldn't help the words that came out of my mouth next:

Than Malfoy looked into my eyes and told me how he had helped Snape only because it was under Voldemort's orders. How he had been scared of what Voldemort would do to him if he disobeyed. He told me how he had escaped from Snape and was now a wanted man in the Deatheater's circle. He said he refused to be a slave to Voldemort any more and that he would be whomever he chose. As I stood against the wall, Draco stood up and gazed at me. He took a step towards me and ,without warning, kissed me. At first I was in shock. But than my eyes closed and I found myself enjoying the kiss. Just like that, my hatred seemed to melt away. It was as if that kiss had sealed the envelope that my life was about to change. It was the end of the old me and the beginning of the new. Draco broke the kiss and looked into my eyes. I looked into his. I couldn't believe what was happening, but it felt so right.

That night Draco took me for a broom ride. At 3:00 in the morning we had soared high above the alley below.

"Scared?" he had asked me in his sneering voice, as we flew higher than I had ever dared to fly.

"Haha, no!" I had answered, smirking at him as he smiled over his shoulder.

Draco was a new beginning for me. He was something that didn't remind me of my painful past. He did what he wanted and his life contained no rules. It was as if he had completely forgotten the days when he would do anything to put me and my family down. I wondered if he was aware of what I had been going through.

I snapped back to reality where everyone was eating happily. I grabbed an apple and sunk my teeth into it's juicy flesh.

Draco opened my eyes to what life could be. Those few weeks that I spent with Draco Malfoy were the beginning of my new life. The life where I actually felt alive and I wouldn't let life pass me by.

That July Draco and I experienced everything there was to experience in Diagon Alley, and more. There wasn't a second of the day that I wasn't with him. I didn't think so much about the future, but soaked up every precious moment of the present. When I closed my eyes at night, in the cozy room at the Leaky Cauldron, I dreamt of going to far off places with Draco. And sharing the adventures of a lifetime with him. But than I would wake up knowing that simply life is the adventure of a lifetime.

I could barely remember, or believe, that this Draco Malfoy was the same Draco Malfoy I had known most of my life. And than I looked at myself and it struck me by surprise that I could barley remember, or believe, that I was the same me that had hated life because of a stupid boy. I guess Draco and I didn't have the strength before to let each other in, because we were blinded by our own self pity.

I continued to eat the apple. That July had been the best month of my old life, and just the beginning of my new life. I'm not the same girl I used to be. Draco taught me how to live life to it's extent. But we had known that our relationship would never last. That it wasn't worth the heartbreak we would have to face. When it came time for me to go back to my home, The Burrow, we knew it was the end of our short relationship, but we also knew that it was the start of a wild, spontaneous life to come. Thanks to Draco, I now know how life is supposed to be lived. I will never be able to thank him enough.

Before he came along I was overcome by depression that I was causing myself. I didn't know how to forget my past and move on..

I finished my apple as I awakened from my day dream. As everyone started to stretch and yawn as the day came to a close, I saw a tall, blond haired figure stand up and walk past the four tables. Our eyes met for a split second. I smiled. Draco smiled back than strode up the great, marble staircase. I smirked down at me plate. A part of me would always love Draco Malfoy.