Here's the new story I've been promising! If anyone's read One Day by David Nicholls, then you'll understand what I'm doing here. Each chapter will be the same date but a year apart (hence the name of the story!) And for those of you who have read the book, this will not be the book. I just like the concept.

Also, I own nothing! Hope you enjoy!


May 2, 1998
Everyone in the wizarding world knew the story of the final stand between Harry Potter, the boy who lived, and Lord Voldemort. They knew good would triumph over evil; it was the way things were meant to be. That night, as Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry burned around them, Harry and He Who Must Not Be Named stood with wands drawn and spells flying. Harry came out victorious, ensuring peace for their world. It was a story people would tell for generations.

But their story was one that went untold. It was a story of rivalries and hatred past. It would be a story to demonstrate the coming of a new time for the wizarding world. Prejudice could, in fact, be erased and love found in an old enemy.

The Great Hall was a stifling place. Bodies lay in rows as Madame Pomphrey and other able-bodied fighters tended to the wounded. The dead were moved to a quieter place to allow friends and families a more proper place to mourn. A family of three sat huddled in a far corner of the large room, away from the rest of fighters for the light. They were the Malfoy family, and public enemy number one in the eyes of most. They fought for the dark; Lucius Malfoy at Voldemort's right hand for decades. Draco, Lucius and Narcissa's son, had been forced into service by the cruel dictator on the heels of his father's failure.

A thin brunette walked by the family without seeing them. She walked with her head cast down. Her feet shuffled as if she were too exhausted to fully lift them to take a step. Her clothes were dirty and torn from a year on the run and the final battle. Draco watched as she exited the Great Hall alone and stood to follow her, ignoring the questioning glances he received from his parents. He passed through the entrance hall unnoticed by those who were recovering bodies, and slipped through the front doors. The night had grown chilly and stars dotted the blackened sky. At the bottom of the steps sat Hermione Granger with her head cradled in her hands. When he got closer, he heard the sniffles of stifled sobs. He knew she had lost many friends, knew too many good people had died over something so senseless as blood purity.

"Hi," he said softly, taking a seat beside her.

"Go away, Malfoy," she muttered, never looking up.

"I'm sorry, Granger," he murmured. They sat in silence as they listened to the sounds coming from the Forbidden Forest. The deep, wooded area had once terrified them both, but the things they had witnessed in the last year seemed to impugn those fears. They had seen torture and death, known both physical and emotional pain. A few centaurs, acromantulas, and a half giant were the least of their worries.

"What is it you're sorry for?" Hermione wondered, using the back of her dirty sleeve to wipe her eyes.

Draco let out a long sigh. "Everything," he replied, hanging his head. "Everything, Granger. Everything I've said, everything I've done, everything I didn't do. I'm sorry for what happened to you, you know, with my aunt. I thought about stopping her, really I did. But then the cowardly part took over again and I kept my mouth shut."

Hermione nodded as she took in his admittances. "Thank you, Draco," she said. "I'm sorry too."

"What could you possibly have to apologize for?" he asked.

A wry smile twitched up the corners of Hermione's lips. "Remember that time in third year when I slapped you? I'm sorry for that," she told him. Draco held a hand to his left cheek as he remembered that day. He'd been cruel and merciless in his hatred of Hagrid, and he told her that. "It seems silly now, doesn't it."

"All the fights we used to get into?" he guessed. Hermione nodded as she stared out at the broken front gates. "Yeah, it does."

Once more they lapsed into silence. Draco rose from the bottom step and stretched out his back. He took three steps forward before looking back at her. "You coming?" he asked.

For the first time, Hermione looked her Draco. Her brows furrowed in confusion. He was acting uncharacteristically kind, which frightened her. "Where?" she wanted to know before she stood.

"The lake," he decided on the spot.

Hermione rose, brushing off the seat of her pants out of habit. "Planning to push the mudblood in?" she inquired, though she walked with him.

"You should know I don't think of you, or any muggleborns, that way anymore," he stated as they strolled around the castle grounds until they reached the Black Lake.

It wasn't until they were seated along the bank that Hermione spoke. "Only you would show up to a battle in business attire," she remarked.

"All my good denims were in the laundry," Draco sarcastically replied. "You know, it's a really nice night tonight if you can forget what's happened here."

"I'm not sure I can ever forget," Hermione declared, the humor gone from her voice.

"I reckon I'll have plenty of time in Azkaban to relive each and every second of it," Draco added mournfully. "You know, sometimes I wonder if I'd just done things a bit differently - not teased you and your friends, not thought I was so high and mighty - maybe I would have been able to avoid joining him. Then again, maybe I wouldn't have. He was going to kill my parents if I didn't. I love my mother more than anything, and even though I hate my father for things he's done I didn't want to see him dead either. I wanted to save them. I guess I thought I was finally being brave, but once the task was presented to me, I knew I couldn't do it."

"That doesn't make you a coward, Draco," Hermione said, softly resting a hand on his right arm. "You've got a conscience though."

He considered what she said. Perhaps Hermione Granger was right. It would be nice to, just once, not feel like he'd done something for purely selfish reasons. His eyes closed momentarily to calm his overactive mind. When he opened them, Hermione was lying on her back with her eyes closed beside him. He shifted until his body was flat on the ground, and then he too fell asleep.